Lately, we’ve been seeing lots of quilts that are photos printed onto fabric and then stitched. Although often stunning from across the room, I’m not always enamored with these quilts. That’s because I want to see something more than the photo. I want to see some added texture, drawing with the quilting line, or thread…
Ellen Anne Eddy says, “If something’s worth doing, it’s worth doing badly.” In other words, don’t expect yourself to master something right away. If it’s worth doing it’s worth your practice time and whatever mediocre results you get along the way. Well, I think maybe I was the poster child for this philosophy in my…
Gee, I’ve been teaching so much that I haven’t had time to update my blog with all the great student results. These are the results from a February “Floral Improv” class in Charlotte, NC. With only 7 students, we had plenty of room to spread out and within the first few minutes colorful flowers were…
One third personal, one third class stuff, and one third quilts: that’s about the ratio of my luggage contents when I travel to teach. Since I want the quilts to arrive with a minimum of wrinkles, so I’ve developed a way to let each one pad the crease of another. I start with the one…
Have you tried ice dyeing? Oh my! It produces BEAUTIFUL brilliant colors and complex patterns. At a recent group dyeing day, Dij taught us how to do it. First, she showed us various ways to bunch, scrunch, and secure the fabric. Like tie dye, the folds in the fabric affect the way the dye penetrates…
My local art quilt group, the Dirty Dozen Fiber Artists, had a dyeing day recently, at Ruth Anne’s “barn.” We started with Gabriele explaining wet cyanotype to us. It’s similar to sun printing, but with chemically treated fabric that turns dark blue. That is, until you add water to the process. After that the results…
There’s a fascinating exhibit at my local art museum right now. It features the work of Derek Gores, who makes collages from magazine pages. Like this. Isn’t it wonderful? As you can see, he interprets things in a somewhat abstracted way, which I think is VERY compelling. Check out this detail shot. Don’t you love…
I was delighted to receive an award of merit at a local mixed media show. My piece,Vine Ripened, won this recognition at 100% Pure Florida, a show for Florida residents. It’s always nice to win an award, but I’m especially thankful when it’s in a mixed media exhibit. These shows draw viewers who may not be…
There were many amazing quilts at the World Quilt Show Florida, recently held in Tampa. This show actually features two competitions. The first is the Best of World entries, which travel to all the Mancuso managed shows. Plus, there’s a competition for Florida residents only. Here are some of my favorites from the world quilt…
My small art quilt group was thrilled to have our work exhibited collectively at the World Quilt Show Florida, recently held in Tampa, FL. There was LOTS of prep work before the exhibit was ready to hang: photos, proposals, layout planning, technical figuring, signs to make, attaching quilts onto felt panels, and finally, installing everything….