Ellen Lindner: Art & Creativity

 There once was a shirt with lovely 3D organza flowers.

But, the organza DID NOT like  it’s visit to the dryer, so those lovely flowers turned into a tangled mess.

Click any image for a larger view

 You get the idea.

Since only the embellishments were damaged, I thought I could do some sort of interesting rescue of this garment.  After removing the raggedy flowers, I began to consider options.  Maybe some hands stitching.  But what pattern/design?

 Eventually, I settled on this.  Simple black stitching in parallel lines.

 The loop on one side plays up the skewed neckline.

It’s very satisfying to rescue something like this.  I’ve even done it to quilts! 

What sorts of things have you made over?

Ellen Lindner
See the quilt extreme makeover here.

More articles and tutorials

 I was very happy with my first vending experience, at EGAD in Bloom.  It was definitely a LOT of work, but it was also a lot of fun. 

This photo shows my display.  The room was a little dark, but an overhead light happened to shine exactly on my two center quilts.

Click any image for  a larger view

 I got MANY compliments on my work, and it was great fun to talk with everyone!

Things were quite busy most of the time, but I had enough slow periods to work on some new  little “Notes for a Friend”. 

 I thought it would be fun to include the passersby and they rose to the occasion.  This is the result of our Saturday efforts. (I managed to include every fabric piece they selected for me!  Even the shiny blue fabric chosen by a young boy.)

 And this was Sunday’s result.  I’m quite happy with both of them!

 I’m looking forward to adding machine and hand stitching.

I forgot to bring any sort of trash can, so just like at home, my tiny scraps landed on the floor. 

All in all, it was a rewarding weekend.

Ellen Lindner

My latest fabric collage, Garden Party, is now complete.

Click any image for a larger view

Detail shot:

This was a really fun piece to make.  I roughly cut the flowers without trying to make them look like any particular species.  Then, I thought it needed some contrast, so I added the black curly-Q stitching and circles.  I like the effect! 

Garden Party will make its debut this weekend, when I’ll be vending at a Melbourne, FL flower and garden festival.  Pretty appropriate to the theme, don’t you think?

More info:  Garden Party, 14 x 21, $295. 
Blue skies and spunky flowers mark the start of a perfect garden party.
Cotton fabrics and batting.  Raw edge collage and machine stitching.
Audition this art in your home.

Ellen Lindner

See other quilts to be included in my weekend display

In preparation for my upcoming vending event, I’m making price tags for everything.  At first, I followed the typical exhibit-style wording, listing just dimensions and materials.  But then I thought “Is that what people really want to know?”  I asked myself the question, “If I were standing next to someone admiring this piece, what would I want to tell them about it?”  I realized it would probably be something about my inspiration, or some other anecdote.  So, I changed things up.

Here’s what the first version said:

High Ti
25 x 20

Cotton and silk fabrics, cotton batting. 
Raw edge collage, machine stitching.

EllenLindner.com                              $345

Here’s the quilt:

And here’s the new and improved sign.  (Click for a larger view)

Much more interesting, don’t you think?  (Actually, I wish more artists would use this sort of labeling.  I always want to know the back story.)

If you’re in the Melbourne, FL area this weekend, I hope you’ll come see this quilt (and me) in person.  You’ll find me at “EGAD in Bloom,” a flower and garden street festival.  My booth will be INSIDE the Eau Gallie Civic Center.

Ellen Lindner
P.S.  See more information about this quilt,   including a link to the inspiration photo and another to a detail shot.

If you’ve been following my blog for a while you know a lot of my art features Florida foliage.  So, I’ve been thinking I should look for opportunities to show my quilts to flower and plant loving audiences.  As a result, on March 29th and 30th I’ll be doing something completely new (for me:)  I’ll be a vendor at a street festival-style event!

Having never been a vendor before, I got to work figuring out how to arrange my 1o’ x 10′ space.  I pushed back the grill and other porch furniture and marked off the dimensions.  It seemed quite large before I started adding stuff!

 But, my various tables, easels and display rack quickly filled the space.  I did some experimenting as to which tables to use where, and came up with the arrangement below.  Except I think I’ll use my card table up front for my demo.

Click any image for a larger view

 Next, which quilts to hang where?  They all need to be foliage, colorful, and not too large.  Maybe these two on the right easel?

And these three on the left.
Update:  I’ve already nixed the bottom one, since it will be going to a show soon.  Better not sell it right now!

With some quilt changes here and there, the final arrangement will be pretty similar to this.

I have another nine small framed quilts to go on the table, along with postcards, and notecards.  After seeing everything together, I’m getting pretty psyched about the whole thing!

I have no idea whether I might sell quilts in such a venue, but the prices start at $59, so there’s hope.  At any rate, I expect to show my work to a lot of people, have many interesting conversations, and hand out some business cards.  Fun marketing, at the very least.

If you’re in the Melbourne, FL vicinity, I think you’ll enjoy this event.  Full details here.

Ellen Lindner
P.S.  See the full collection of quilts to be offered.  Any other small ones you want me to bring?

At the quilt show a couple of weeks ago, I found a fabulous necklace, made with sewing machine bobbins and beads.  Cool!

Click any image for a larger view

I bought it, thinking that it would be fun to wear when teaching.  And tried it out with my favorite aqua top.  A nice combo, I think.

And here I am wearing it the very next day.

Don’t you love cool finds like this?

By the way, I gave a slide show lecture on color, two days in a row, at the quilt show.  The first day there was standing room only!  And there was quite a crowd on the second day, as well.  What a nice reception!

Ellen Lindner
P.S.  I’d love to wear this necklace while teaching for your group.  Find information here. 

C & T Publishing has produced many of my favorite quilt books.  And now many of them are on sale – this weekend only – at ridiculous prices.

You definitely should check it out! 

I have owned (or still own) these books and I’ve enjoyed them: 
Fabric Journey, by Ruth McDowell.  (Only $2!)
Adventures in Design, by Joen Wolfrom
Inspired to Design, by Elizabeth Barton

You might also want to investigate these.  I’ve never owned them, but have either read them, or have heard good things about them:
Connecting Design to Stitch, by Sandra Meech
Fabric Art Collage, by Rebekah Meier
Fabulous Fabric Art with Lutradur, by Leslie Riley
Mickey Lawler’s SkyQuilts, by Mickey Lawler
Paula Nadelstern’s Kaleidoscope Quilts, by Paula Nadelstern
The Quilter’s Color Club, by Christine Barnes

Back to look again and see what I need to order!

Ellen Lindner
P.S.  What favorite quilt books do you recommend?  I’m a sucker for books!

The art dolls at the recent Timeless Treasures quilt show were EXTRAORDINARY!  As a matter of fact, the word “doll” does most of them an injustice.  They’re more like fabric sculptures with  A LOT of attitude!

Just look at these two free-standing roosters, made by Vonda Frenes.  DO click on the image for a much better view.

Click on any image for a large view

And this doll by Gabriel DiTota.  She has twigs for legs!

Making these dolls looks like tons of fun, but I’m purposely resisting.  (I don’t have room to collect any more supplies!)

Several of my quilts won ribbons at the show.  Below, Mountain Meadow  won a blue ribbon in the Mixed Techniques category.  And After Much Consideration  won third place in the same category.  What fun!

Also, Crotons was awarded an  Honorable Mention in the Original Design Category.

It’s always great to get a little affirmation about your quilt making!

Ellen Lindner
P.S.  I had one more quilt in the show:  When Crotons Cut Loose

The recent “Timeless Treasures” quilt show, in Melbourne, FL featured many gems!  These are some of my favorites.

Click any image for a larger view

Viewer’s Choice winner, by Pam Hensel
What you can’t see is that this is COVERED with beads. It sparkled beautifully!

By Lisa-Marie Sanders
Vibrant colors and beautiful curves!

By Margorie Muller
The 3D floppy flowers are wonderful, and the leaf veins are beaded.

By Dij Pacarro
Inspired by Van Gogh, I especially love her swirling sky

The top quilt is, again, by Dij Pacarro.
My “York Wall” is below.

By Susan Schering
I think this is a wonderful example of complementary colors: red and green. Although her colors are subdued, she has created drama with contrast.

 The show was really fun!  In my next blog, I’ll show you some of the amazing art dolls shown.

Ellen Lindner
P.S.  Here’s a better image of York Wall.

See all of my quilts

 For the last few weeks, I’ve been up to my neck in scraps!  I’m teaching art to a group of teenagers and preparing for our glued fabric collages.  That takes  a lot of fabric!

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I asked my fiber art friends for scraps and they were very generous.  But, then I had to go through all those donations, culling the fabrics that didn’t work, and cutting to size those that did.

 Now, it’s time for the students to select the fabrics they want to use, so I’m bagging them up by color.  Which takes a  lot of time!

Some of the students indicated in advance what colors they wanted for their backgrounds and foregrounds and I’ve created custom bags for them.

The remaining students will get to choose two bags of fabrics in the colors of their choice.

Finally, I’m seeing the light at the end of all this scrapping. 

In class this week, the students will start creating their glued collages, working with a theme of imaginary plants.   We’ve already done a lot of brainstorming and sketching on that topic, so they should be off and running.

Teaching art to teenagers is way more work than I anticipated, but I’m definitely enjoying it!

Ellen Lindner
P.S.  Related post:  Designing with Teenagers