Category Archives: Creative Assistants

100 day Challenge, Collage, Conflict, Creative Assistants, Felt Work, Split Compliments

Summer Snow

  Hello,

This week has been full of differing  weather  events.  When we last walked on Sunday the air was full of the floating seeds from the Cottonwood trees.  When my grandson was young he called it “Summer Snow” and it dose cover parts of the ground just as snow dose.   The air has changed a lot sense then.  We are really feeling the effects of the Canadian wild fires here.   Smoke from  hundreds  of fires has polluted our air so much, that warnings about the content have kept us from walking for four days.   I remember being concerned with  air pollution  40 years ago and  building  artworks with my students for a show titled  ” Once upon a time, when the earth was green and there was air you could not see…”   The kids did some great work and the quilt I made for the show ended up as a part of the perinate display at a nature reserve.   We were concerned about coal burning power plants then and we felt we could have some say about that action.   Many of them are phased out now.    But this is different as nature is in charge.    We do take the availability of clean air for granted.  The sky has been so many distressing colors and tints of gray,  and dirty yellow  over the last few days.   It is also the feeling of powerlessness that is part of my unhappiness.  What can one do?

Progress Report: Pony Boy   I did complete this lap quilt that is a part of the 100 Day

 

 

 

Challenge prints stuff.

The process is fun for me as I get to mix some strange stuff together.

 

 

 

Hands   I am to the place in the work were I am satin stitching down the organza hands.  It takes me about 35 min to do each one so this step is slow.   I do like the effect so it is well worth my time.

 

 

 

Conflict   This work is all assembled now and I am  at the quilting step.   I have made free motion circles around and along all the curves and inserted lines.     I am  ready to do the reflective quilting now.

new 110 Day Challenge piece  I am still building on this piece.  The best part in my eyes.

 

 

 

Creative Assistants   I am building lots of faces as it it baseball season and I worked during a game on the weekend.  I need to move forward with the completion steps so this little tribe can be put away until I get to a place were I can give them away.

Collage   I think there are times when one is really in the  creative grove  and then there are times when you just cannot force it.  I had five false starts this week when I played with collage.     I got too busy with layers in one case and nothing seemed to go together in a second.    The values were too close in a third.   Oh well, I can cut up what I did and look at it with new eyes next week.   And after all of that I am not suer about this one either.   Then again one does not get on base every time on goes to bat.

 

Blue Beach   I just keep building and looking at this work.  I do not feel it is done yet.

 

 

Felting  I was handed a bunch of blue roving by a friend and that made me pull out the stuff to start a new piece.  It is a bit bigger then I usually work as I want to use some of the embroidery wool on it.

I hope you are all breathing freely and that things are going well for you.

Keep Creating

Carol

 

 

100 day Challenge, Collage, Conflict, Creative Assistants, FAD (Fiber Art Dames), Hand work, Lap Quilts, Pixies Group, Split Compliments

Warming Up

Hello,

It has gone from a chilly spring to full hot summer here in just a few days.  We walked at 7:30 because it is set to go to 90 degrees here later today.     It was a quiet week for me this week and my only events were yesterday.  The FAD group meant here in the morning and we sat out on the patio and had a good time. 

Sharon is making great progress on the hand work she is adding to this piece.

 

The Pixies had our regular zoom meeting too.  It is always so enjoyable to talk with them as they all have such a different point of view and emphasis.

Progress Report:   Hands   I have now completed the free motion work in all the black of this piece.     I got a little help yesterday on what type of quilting to do in the white areas.   They really confirmed what I was thinking, but self doubt had me a bit frozen as to how to move forward.

Conflict I started and just about finished the construction of this work this week.  It is the fourth in the split compliment series using yellow, blue violet and red violet.

 

 

 

Pony Boy  This is the next in the SAQA 100 day pieces.  It has a lot of old bits of altered and printed fabrics in it.   It is a lap quilt that I will pass forward in the fall.    I only have two more of the pony’s to do shadow quilting on and the quilting step will be done.

Blue Beach  I just keep adding buttons and looking at this work.  It still feels like it needs a bit more so I keep at it.

 

 

 

 

 

Easter Works  This work got lost as the title suggests.  I was organizing and discovered this work I had started as a part of a on line assignment.     Too much stuff in my space I guess.

It got completed this week any way.

 

 

 

 

 

Collage   I had a good time on Tuesday afternoon  this week.  I am feeling more confident about building up the surfaces and things sort of fell together this time so I did two.  “Lost in Thought”  is this blue one with lots of layers of transparency.

 

 

 

“Confused Thinking” is the second.  I used the same figure on both of these.   I am learning that I really like building on a heavy paper base even if that makes the work a little deep some times.

Creative Assistants  I completed nineteen more of these little guys this week.  I am happy to be using up lots of little bits and treasures that I seem to collect with out even realizing I am doing it.

I am enjoying working away on all my projects and for that I am grateful.

Stay safe

Carol

 

100 day Challenge, Circulation, Creative Assistants, Curvie Cuts, Pixies Group, Split Compliments, Take Off

Still Recovering

   Hello,

 

I  am still a little under the weather although now it seems only to be a head cold.  I am just glad not to feel the all over body Ake.     I had a good week however.   I went off to the Schweinfurth Spring Retreat and go to see my old friends and got some work done too.

Susan was there working on a stitched paper pieces.   Making them “float” together with stitches between took a lot of pashents.

 

 

 

 

Victoria worked away on her high relief pieces.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sharon did a nice bit of building on her newest felted piece.   it is based on a photo of the reflections in her bathroom mirror.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Donna spent the weekend building pillow cases for the QBL teachers.

 

 

 

 

 Ellen worked away on several pieces based on some of her classes this year.

 

 

 

Linda made three lap quilts from a bigger quilt that was a family piece.

 

 

I worked away on  my hands project and got it all  arranged.  The pieces got united and the over lays got pinned on before the week end was over.

There were several other folks too all of us happily doing our own thing.

 Meanwhile down stairs the Made in New York show was going on.  My friend Joyce Holman  had a great piece in this show.

 

 

 

 

Pat Pauly was in the show and  her work looked great.

 

 

 

 

Then there was Julia’s piece and it won best of show.

My only other event this week was the Pixies and we talked as usual.

 

 

 

 

Progress Report: Circulation    I did  quilt on this project at the retreat as I needed a bit of a break from the hands project.    It is 36″ w X 44″ l  and the second piece in the split compliments series.   I used a lot of the precut pieces from Liz in this piece and had a good time with it.

 

 

 

 

 

Circus Grounds    This work is 40″w X 50″ l.   I seemed to have let the materials get a way from me here.    It it the last of the 100 day project pieces that I started during the 100 days.  I still have prints to use and will start another soon.  I did lots of machine quilting here and again enjoyed the process.

 

 

 

 

Take Off  I finally got back to this piece this week.   I drew the birds in inktense  pencils and now I am machine appliqueing them down.   It takes me about 20 min to do each bird.

New Split    I  pulled these fabrics for the next one in this series.   Yellow is the main color.    It too has some of Liz’s curved scraps that I will try to incorporate.

 

 Creative Assistants   I did give away a batch of these little guys at the retreat this week.  But I made more than I passed out so I am  making progress.

I hope the wonders of spring are around everyone and that they are all healthy.

Carol

 

 

 

100 day Challenge, Birds, Color Study, Creative Assistants, Curvie Cuts, Pixies Group, Scrap Happy Quilts, Sisterhood of the Scissors, Split Compliments, Take Off

Spring

1 Comment

Hello,

This week was a busy one as they all seem to be.  I went off to Bever Lake with my friend Sharon to the Wool Festival and had a good time.  I did purchase a few oz. of purple and pale blue roving for my next felting project.    The trees were still bare, but the temperature was wonderful so we took the woodland trail and enjoyed the reflections in the pools and all the wonderful textures we saw.    The Sisterhood of the Scissors had a Zoom meeting as did the Pixies.  I always like to catch up with my fellow fiber artists.  I also listened to the SAQA talk this week so my stimulation has been high.

Progress Report: Circus Parade   This is part of the SAQA 100 day challenge.  It is 35.5″ w X 39″ t.      We are on day 96 of the challenge so I only hope to nearly complete one more piece before the challenge is over.  I used all the animals that I printed for his project.

 

 

 

 

 

Circus Grounds   This is the last one of the SAQA Challenges that I will finish in the 100 days.   I may or may not keep going with the printed images as my starting place for some new work- that remains to be seen.     I am also using lots of the precut curved pieces that Liz gave me in this project.   Doing that adds another bit of a challenge to the process.

 

Analyze-  Split Compliment 1   This a self challenge continuing with the color play stuff.  Again I must thank Liz for the most of the fabrics here.   I am quilting following all the skinny  insert lines for this work.      I am using a metallic blue thread for this one  sense blue is the  Primary color.

Fractured -Split Compliment 2   I have just pulled the fabrics for this project.  The primary color is Red with Yellow Green and Blue Green as the t

 

Creative Assistants   I have been working away on these little guys.  I am having fun cleaning out containers of addons as I go.

 

Take Off   I added one additional curvy cut insert into this base this week and pin basted it .   Now I can begin the birds.

 

 

 

Scrap Happy   I have been working away at this project for a while and I am now to the stage were I have lots  of strips to connect to one another .  These long strips become the edges of the 4.5″ centers for my Romans Strip blocks that I use to create Scrap Happy Quilts.

I hope you are enjoying springs awakening.

Keep Creating

Carol

100 day Challenge, Collage, Creative Assistants, Felt Work, Green Collection, Hand work, Lap Quilts, Pixies Group, Purple Impinging, Shows, Stretched Works

Spring Growth

Hello,

It has been a full week for me.  One of the event that I Zoomed was a review of a fiber art show that I did not get into.  I found it very interesting that only 17 pieces were accepted and over 400 were entered.  That says a lot about how difficult  the judges job was.   The Judge talked and went into great detail about how she considered what selected.   I did not feel badly about not getting into the show even before I listened but,  it did make me think about why one dose enter competitions.   It sure is a boost to ones self image when one gets accepted but dose it really say anything about ones personal direction?     Three of the artist who were in the show also talked about their work.  They were all young and I think they need the acceptance and encouragement of being a part of this event far more than a person like me.  I am established and although I love a challenge, I know who I am.  That has great power in its self.  For those young women who are new to the fiber world it is far more difficult  and important.    I hope I can encourage them to grow into there full  potential and self confidence.   So why do I enter?  Well I think it is a self challenge and a motivator to keep on my own toes about what I do.     Going forward is important even as one ages.

 

I was in the Social Art Show this week( no judging).   This shot is of my friend Victoria’s work and several admirers.  I  got lots of positive feed on my work,  “Three Witches”.

 

The Pixies meant and  we had a lot to talk about.    Laura had taken photos of Susan’s work in her yard sale last week.  I like Susan’s playful style.  Everyone had their say about the week

We are one day 72 of the 100 Day Challenge for SAQA and things are moving along.   I am building up a top with my Tiger prints from earlier this year.

 

 

 

 

I am also doing the Sketchbook Revival and having great fun  as color is the emphasis this year.     One lesson was on mixing water color backgrounds with lettering.

 Several were  collage projects.

 

 

 

 

Progress Report:  Green Collection    This work is 48″ w X 61″l.   It is one of the 100 Day Challenge lap quilts.    I was still in the spiral mood when I free motion quilted this work

 

 

 

 

 

 

Spring Mushrooms    This is a felted stretched work that is 22″w X 16″ t.   I have been working on it for a few weeks and had the most trouble deciding on what size to make it.  I did cut off quite a bit and I think that was for the best.

 

 

 

 

 

 Purple  Imagining   I am nearing the completion of the machine quilting on this project.  There are lots of little sections  here.

 

Blue Beach   I just keep adding buttons to the surface.   I am doing lots of looking at the surface too.

 

 

 

 

 

Creative Assistants   As you can see I am ready to put arms and backing on a new batch of these guys.   I am making progress on them although it is slow.

Enjoy the longer sun shine days and keep creating.

Carol

 

 

 

100 Day Challenge, Blue Beach, Creative Assistants, Drawing, Explorations, Felt Work, Pixies Group, Purple Impinging, Re Work, Sisterhood of the Scissors

Longer Sun Filled Days

Hello,

The natural world is responding to the longer sun lit days.  It is wonderful to hear so many birds and see so much green on our walks.     I do not mind it being light until after dinner time either.

There was an Associated  Artists meeting this week and we had a  demonstration.  Her trick is to use that fiber” spider wed” stuff that one can purchase at Halloween to attract the paint on the surface.  She then rubs the fiber off the surface and the lines of paint remain.   I asked for and she gave me the fibers and they were the start of a new felted piece for me.

 I think it will be a new nebula thing of some sort.

 

 

 

 

 

There was also a Pixie meeting and the Sisterhood of the  had a great zoom meeting even though there were only four of us.  Scissors.

I keep working away on the 100 Day SAQA challenge stuff too.  I started a new top yesterday using the Tiger print as my jumping of point.

 

 

My wonderful and  generous  friend, Liz, passed forward lots of beautiful solids to me too.   They were in storage, so now I have a lot of laundry to do.  I see that as a chance to really get to know what treasures she has given me and I can  sort of plan my next projects.

 

 

The spring Sketchbook Revival started on Monday.  I love the little challenges it provides- but that is usually about 2 hours a day to complete the drawings.    I like the starch  it provides me.

As a result I did not spend as much time in the studio as usual, but I am still working.

Progress Report: Collection Greens   This is the total top for this next 100 Day Project.   I did start the quilting using free motion yesterday.

 

 

 

 

This step will go quickly I think  and I hope to finish it this week.

 

 

 

 

 

Blue Beach   I am still adding buttons to the surface here.  I also did finish all the work on all 20  Creative Assistants as my second hand work this week.   No photo of that project as it is all put away for the next QBL already.

 

 

 

Imagine Purple    I finally finished all the hand work on this project on Monday.  I started the machine quilting to fill in all the spaces between the running stitch lines.  There is lots of stop and go on this step so the going is slow.

I hope you are enjoying spring and staying safe.

Keep Creating

Carol

 

100 day Challenge, Blue Beach, Creative Assistants, Explorations, FAD (Fiber Art Dames), Pixies Group, Purple Impinging, Re Work, Wolf Mountain Petroglyphs

Spring Forward

1 Comment

  Hello,

We had a big snow storm this week that out lined the trees in white and made for lots of shoveling.  Those gray cold days did not help me adjust to the springing forward of day light savings time, but I like the everyone else am adjusting.   I went off to the Schweinfurth on Monday and helped take down the Both Ends of the Rainbow show along with the staff.

I see doing that as my community service to the  Art Center as it gives me so much joy and so many opportunities to explore and grow.  The talk was good and we emptied all the galleries but one by the time I had to go home.

The snow cancelled the FAD and Social Arts meetings , but the on line zoom meeting of the Pixies went on as normal.   I feel so very fortunate to have so many groups that connect me with so many wonderful people.

The 100 Day SAQA challenge is at day 61 now and I am doing well.   I am ready to begin project # 5 using my stamped and stenciled fabrics in conjunction with commercial stuff.

 

 

 

Project Report: Wolf Mountain Petroglyph   This piece is 35″w X20.5″ t.   It is the made from stamps that I had created before, but had not printed until I was working on the 100 day project.

  I then started doing free motion quilting creating circular shapes to add around the figures.  It was fun and went quickly so the project is now to the point were I only need to add the sleeve this evening and it well be complete.

Spiraling Out   This work is # 4 from the SAQA  100 Day Challenge.   I am done quilting now and only need to add the binding and sleeve.

The printed block of ferns is an old work of mine.

 

 

 

Imagine Purple  I am still doing the running stitches to connect all the metallic inserts on this project.  I only have 15 more to connect  to the edges or each other to finish this step.

 

 

 

Wool Woods  I stitched down the mushrooms this week and now I need to purchase some stretcher bars to stretch it on.   I did a little painting on the white mushrooms with watered down acrylic as was suggested in the Material Matters lecture two weeks ago.   I want to try more ” painting” on wool  too.

Creative Assistants  I got busy and added hair arms and backs to 20 more assistants that had faces.  Now I need to move on with the stuffing and addition of pin backs to complete this little tribe.

 

Blue Beach  Work continues on this project.  I love all the textures of the buttons.   I have learned more about controlling tyvec sense I made these sections.  I will try some now work soon in that area too.          So glad that I had really quilted heavily on this background to support the weight.

Stay safe

Carol

 

 

100 day Challenge, Auction pieces 12 " X 12", Creative Assistants, Explorations, Into the Wool woods, Pixies Group, Purple Impinging, Quilt Surface Design Assassination, Understanding Orange, Wolf Mountain Petroglyphs

Movining into March

Hello,

We are in the middle of the wild weather part of March.  Winter does not seem to want to let go in our part of the world. It has been very cold and windy here of late.  I have mostly stayed inside.   No walking this week- too cold!  Only two zoom meetings this week the Retired Art Teachers( RATS) and Pixies.

The 100 days project is moving forward.   I did finish up my Year of the Rabbit piece for the SAQA auction in Sept.    It’s 12″X 12″.     There are some old printed fabrics in this too.

 

 

 

 

Progress Report: Understanding Orange      This work is 34.5″ w X 40″ t.    I am enjoying mixing hand work with the machine quilting as I work on this series.

For this one I did the seed stitches in all the circles that were created when I extended the curve cut sections into the circular shapes.  Every time I came to the edge of one of the circles I changed the color of the thread I was using in the hand work.

 

Imagine Purple  This is the last in the monochromatic series.  I am just extending the metallic inserts that I did as my hand work this time.   Just using the running stitch.

 

100 Day Challenge # 4     I do not have a title for this one yet but it is going well.  It also has way out stretched the original intended boundaries.     I  added some older printed fabrics to this- the blue fern like stuff and the marbleized yellow.    Perhaps that is why it had become so large.   I only need to fill in the white section in the center and add to the bottom so it is even.

Into the Wool Woods   This project grew out of the SAQA lecture on Material Matters were the features artist talked of felting.  I sure had a good time getting the feltier out again and it is still on the desk.   The mushroom steams are stitched down but the caps are still free floating.  That is the next hand project.

Rework-  Blue Beach   I took the frapped flexable tubing off the surface of this work  in Dec.  The quilted  background had been setting on the shelf sense then.   After watching Experimental Surfaces on the Material Matters SAQA sight, I though  what can I paly with?   I had pinned up the painted and  melted tyvek  along the top of my pin wall a while back.  I was inspired to put these two ideas together.    Adding the buttons came later.  I am enjoying all the different textures here.

Wolf Mountain Petroglyph   I did the stamping of the figures in the center at the end of the 50 days for the SAQA  100 Day Challenge.   I use this fabric because it reminded me of a rock wall.   Then when it came to the quilting step I did a little research on petroglyphs and drawings  from my sketchbook.   I had drawn some circular patters several summers ago in a class with Rosalie Dace and thought   could use them here.   I  feel it is coming along nicely.

I did work on Creative Assistances too but did not take a photo this time.

Keep Creating

Carol

 

100 day Challenge, Creative Assistants, Explorations, FAD (Fiber Art Dames), Felt Work, Lavender Fields Forever, Pixies Group, Understanding Orange, Year of the Rabbit

March Tiger

Hello

Our weather man said that March came in like a “tiger” this year.  It was cold and light snow so I guess it was a tiger instead of a lion.   There was no rawer.    For me that  description  sure congers up a different image.  I find it festinating   how we use animal imagery for so many things.    We might say, quiet as a mouse,  brave as an eagle or strong as a bull  to describe our fellows.   Or we could describe others actions as slippery as an eel or jumpy as a frog.  All those descriptions do add color and visuals to our minds.     Well, I will wisely as the owl let, that be the end of this observation.

It has been a quiet week with only two meetings for me.  The pixies meant yesterday and FAD had a meeting here on Monday.    Sharon has finished up her work from the Bett’s demo  and showed us at the meeting.    I like the fence she added to the work.

 

 

 

I did the SAQA Material Matters lecture yesterday and it was on Silk this week.  I have now pulled out my silk roving and plan to do  a little work with that material next.

Today is day 46 of the 100 Day SAQA Challenge.   I selected the next two prints to start the next work.  I am having fun mixing them printed materials with what is already on my shelves.

 

 

 

 

Progress Report:   Lavender Fields Forever  This work is 21″ w X 26.5″.   This is the second of the pieces using fabric I printed  for the SAQA  100 Day challenge.    I did the quilting shapes using the same shapes as the printed image.

 

 

The white is a paper pattern that I stitched around to do that quilting  job.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Understanding Orange  I just keep adding seed stitching to the surface to fill in the rounded shapes.  I only have five left to fill in and then I will be ready to do the machine quilting.

Year of the Rabbit    This project is also a result of the SAQA 100 day print series.  I will finish this and it will also serve as my SAQA entry for the benefit Auction in Sept.   I need to stitch down the binding.

Wool/Felting   I have built up some additional felting on this work sense last week.  I think I will add spring flowers or mushrooms to this to complete it.

 

Slogan for 2023    During Interlude in January   with Jane Dewald, she  challenged us to come up with a word or idea to emphasis over the course of the year.     I tried several things but not until this week did I find the best idea for me.  So to keep it on my mind and emphasis it  I took the other felted piece I had done and made this sign for my studio.     It says  Be Curious, Be Humble, Be Brave.    Good goals for me.

Creative Assistants   I finished up these eleven creative assistants this week along with several others that are in various stages.    I just keep plugging away here.

Stay safe and be Creative

Carol

 

100 day Challenge, Aplique, Creative Assistants, Explorations, Felt Work, Hand work, Purple Impinging, Re Work, SAQA, Sisterhood of the Scissors, Understanding Orange

What I See

Hello,

I just had cataract surgery on my left eye yesterday and that has alerted me to how our eyes effect what I see.   Through the eye with the new lens things seem clearer and more blue that the yellow brown that I now see through the right one.  It makes for a bit of a fuzzy mix at the moment.    I have not has the reaction that one of my fellow artists talked about.  She found that she hated the color combinations for some of her past work.  So far that has not been the case with me.   The body seems to be adapting.  It is an amazing machine!

This week I made it to the Sisterhood of the Scissors and the Pixie’s Zoom meetings.  Both were enjoyable .  I also made a trip to the Cabin Fever Quilt show were I had three pieces.    This is an old work that is hand appliqued  that I did for my Dad.   It is double bet sized  and I had pulled it for my solo show to start with,  but found it was far too big.

 

Sharon was demonstrating on the day I went to visit.

 

It was fun to watch her cut each branch and then place it before fuzzing it down.     She then machine stitches over the work too.

 

 

 

 

This is an example of a finished work.

 

 

 

I am following the SAQA  Materials Matter series and this week it was on Wool.  That got me fired up to do a little felting.

It is always good to have places to do handwork.

 

 

 

The  SAQA  100 Day Challenge got attention too.   I cut new stamps  and printed one set.

 

 

 

I realized I was  getting tired of printing on white so I pulled some different old work and printed on top of it  for some of  these.

 

 

 

 

Then I selected two from this purple/yellow group to be the jumping off place for the next little project.

 

 

 

 

 

I even got some of them cut yesterday.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Progress Report: Understanding  Orange   I am  only putting in about an hour a day on the  hand stitching so it is slow going.

 

Purple Imaginings   I finished assembling the top of this work  and it is pin based now.  I have not decided how I will quilt this yet so it is just waiting.

 

 

 

 

Creative Assistants    I finished off  16 more of these little guys this week.  There are only 15 in the shot because the last one would not fit on the box top.   There are lots of others in various stages too.

 Rework Project     In my fooling around this week  I decided to add some new surface design to this quilted piece. I had removed the old stuff a few weeks ago.   It is started, but as many things I am not sure were to go from this point, so I will let it set for a while.

 

Keep your eyes open and stay safe

Carol