PATCHED SAILS

Posting images that are calling my name! Wish we had seen these little boats in Paris, 2000. The vendor was not there the day we passed by the pond.

Patched colorful sails & wagon wheels. Triangles floating over circles.

I can just about taste the collage experience! Definitely going on inspiring imagery to-do list!

PONDERING THE HOUSES

This was at end of the day. Yesterday.

So OK. Now what? Do I like what I see? Not sure. I think it needs to go up on the work wall. Seeing the piece at more of a distance usually helps.

Not a good time to continue and be objective. My mind is on getting ready for the Boston seminar.

Challenge of today is moving clips of my friend, Jens doing art in Niger, from VCR tapes into my Mac and then on to a disc.

You can do this yourself now!! Nelson bought Video Capture@ Apple store.

MULTI-TASKING

• Worked on sky area - Rahab piece - 3 nights & 1 firefilled day. Figuring out fabric for wall area. Painted some.

• Choosing photos - organizing power-point - taking art cross-culture seminar.

• Steamed out creases in the Mahalla quilt. Took out for scanning. Postcard designing ahead.

SLOW WEEK IN STUDIO

I have not had too much time in the studio this week.

I did think more about the Rahab piece. Looks like it will be a small quilt.

I'll initially design it on washed artist's canvas & later stitch that to a layer of fleece backed with fabric. Kind of like collaging on paper then stitching through the layers.

Here's the studio: fabrics on table tops, sewing machine ready, ironing board set up & Rahab collages on workwall. It's a mess!

Hoping to create next week.

HOUSE ON THE WALL

In '03 I forced myself to loosen up design-wise with a challenge to:

• create quick collages

• use limited materials

• withhold judgement

• all in one sitting

I made about 20 collages in a morning. One was a design I thought about doing for a while - the story of Rahab.

What a perfect design exercise for this narrative. I worked out a simple composition of a house on a wall - repeated 5 times. Each section 'told' part of the story through color & design.

No scarlet thread in Vermont where I created them - for those who know the story!

Here they are - quick & dirty. click on images to enlarge

Who was Rahab & what's her story? Coming.

3 UNFINISHED PROJECTS

I emptied 2 drawers onto the big worktable.

Found 3 unfinished projects. I'm thinking of tackling one of them next.

Rahab's Story narrative art quilt

Weather Day & Night art quilt

Outer Most House collage journal started fall '10 @Cape Cod See posts.

Reorganization continues in the studio.

THE POSTCARDS

I've been making postcards of my artquilts since 1997. This week I sorted through them to see the inventory.

When traveling I always bring some postcards to hand out. Well make that 100's ! lt's some of the art that I pack in my suitcase.

I've handed them out in Eurasia, Asia, Africa, Pacific Rim & when new & old friends come to visit me on home turf, they leave with cards too! I figure my postcards have migrated all over the world by now!!

I'll be speaking in Boston & Seattle coming up. Maybe it's time to make a new card.

3 places - postcards

Click images to enlarge.

Click places below for more story & photos

Kunming, China

After teaching design at the Yunnan Institute of Art, students are waiting to have me sign their Creation quilt postcards. The Creation quilt was one I was exhibiting at the art insititute.

Zelenogorsk, Russia

Sitting on a bench at University Camp after sharing the stories of 4 quilts. One of the children is holding her postcard of Good News by God, a quilt they saw in the presentation. Everyone was given the postcard.

Kabuye, Rwanda

I handed out Rwanda quilt postcards after leading the forgiveness & reconciliation workshop with trainers from western Rwanda and Congo. The women were leaders who would teach what they had learned - in their villages back home. I gave them extra cards for their classes.

NEAT PILES OF COLOR

I've been going through every drawer, shelf & cabinet in my studio.

Reordering this space always helps to clear my head for the next art project.

Not sure what that will be, but going through all the 'stuff' is part of the process.

The fabric came off the shelves on the weekend & now it's all back in neat piles of color.

Maybe I'll make a quilt, an accordion book, a collage, paint on paper bags, another series of ?????? Ideas, ideas. I'll have to wait and see.

More to share about the artists working in the studio. Will return to tell more in a few days.

MARCIA'S GALLERY TALK

A very joy-filled Marcia, as you see in the photos, rose to every art challenge I threw out there. Essence became the design term of the week.

She did it! Marcia left with a carry-on filled with new artwork + a head & note pad overflowing with ideas.

Marcia traveled all the way from Seattle to come work with me in the studio for one week. Her heart beats like mine-desiring to use her art in faith-based venues cross-culturally. Her 'story' is a powerful one - that will resonate with the women she meets and works with in the weeks, months and years ahead.

Marcia is a great artist, an eager learner, a woman of strong faith & a new dear friend that I poured into all week. I am filled with anticipation as I follow her journey ahead! I wonder how she will use all that she has learned this past week?

Before leaving, Marcia set up the studio like an art gallery & I caught her on video talking about her work. Click here: Marcia's Gallery Talk

video: I'm still learning

Marcia is now in Nicaragua & she's blogging: Creative Call Nicaragua

Marcia & Marge • Marcia pointing to Nelson on a rare sighting!

MARTHA'S PAGE

My friend Martha is local. Well make that 40 minutes from here. With a full time job it's a treat to have Martha carve out a weekend to come on over.

I love having her come to visit. We have so much to talk about! And of course there's the creating up in the studio.

This time she had 24 hours to hang out and create. Martha brought along a handmade book made by and given to her by Pat, who I blogged about in the last post. She was about to collage on the first page!

Martha staked out the IKEA desk. Though It was covered with clutter, she pushed it all aside and got down to work! Martha's space was like a perch, overlooking the great room below.

I love the the page she designed. What is it about the red, black and white against the paperbag brown? I love it!!!! And I love her minimal design - 9 well chosen images cut into squares and put together forming a larger square. Dynamite! Then we 3 friends signed her page. Well done Marth!

Look at the slide show titled Martha's Page.

PAT & THE 2 DECK CHAIRS

My friend, Pat, is at home in my studio. She always winds up at this table, in this very same space.

What a pleasure to give her the gift of time and place for creating. This time she came for 5 days. I love observing her steady growth as an artist, happening year by year.

We continued where we left off last year with collage & moved right along. Pat made a conscious decision to put aside any glossy pictures to design into the collages and build designs with painted papers and found objects.

One design challenge was to choose an image out of my big box of pictures and use it to inspire a minimal collage that captures the essence of the chosen image.

Pat picked this postcard of David Hockney's acrylic, 2 Deck Chairs. I love what she created! Her own version of "Deck Chairs" (after David Hockney).

I took videos of Pat talking about her collage work. I'll post once I get them into IMovie.

AND THEN THERE WAS ONE

It's Sunday & it's quiet. The artists are all gone. That is except me.

Tomorrow I'll reorganize the studio, putting away painted papers, boxes of colored pictures, glue, paint, brushes, scissors, art, papers.......

I'll rearrange the tables getting ready for...hmmmmm I'm not sure what. But I have a few ideas. Perking. I took alot of photos and videos over the last week. Will take a couple of posts to share our experiences of artmaking in the studio.

Thank you for coming, Marcia, Pat & Marth. Let's get together and create again!

Last Sunday - Marcia, Pat, Martha & me. A laughing break!