Category Archives: Briar Patch

100 day Challenge, Blue Horizons, Briar Patch, Creative Assistants, Crow Calls, Envision, Forest Flock, Meandering Mind- Examine, Pixies Group, Presume, Thread Painting, Understanding Orange, Wool Rounds

Opening +

January 26, 2023 admin

Hello,

The opening on Sunday was the big event of the week for me. I was happily pleased by all the folks who came to support me. Two of the gals in this photo came from over from an hour away and that was a big surprise.

My daughter and youngest grandson came as well . He is over six feet and makes me look really like a small grandmother.

With this show I tried to show old work and new as well as show all the different techniques I use. This work in the show is my first Fire piece and it was done about 25 years ago.

I put this work in the show to show off my applique skills and my handwork.

Granite Grannies is and example of a work that is both painted and dyed. I did free motion drawing to out line the faces.

Calling Crows is a work that won Judges Choice at the Adirondack Quilts Show a few years ago. I did it after being awakened by crows at 4:00 in the morning when I was staying in Auburn.

This work is called Forest Flock. I machine drew all the little birds and then appliqued them to the background. The dark tree is made from an old black skirt that I felted.

Briar Patch is a work that came about because I was playing with metallic threads and they suggested shinny berries to me.

Lastly I included the last three studies I did this fall as a part of the Explorations series. I am in a new phase of this same self challenge now.

There were more works in the show , but I did not include them all. The pictures show of the show were taken by my daughter, Wendy.

There was a Pixie Meeting this week and we shared lots of ideas. I am continuing to work away on the 100 Day SAQA challenge. Friday I printed these images . The images on the bottom are new and the ones on the top are the new blocks over an existing image.

I printed new images on Saturday.

I did a Rabbit to celebrate the Chinese New year of the Rabbit

Tue I printed the new images

Wed I cut these new images. I decided to do a Rat as the Chinese symbol because that is my year.

Today is the twelfth day and an even one so I printed . One the left are the prints them selves and on the right are them used on top of another printed image. I am having fun and learning things so I feel good about this project.

Progress Report: Blue Horizons This work is 34.5 ” X 38″. I enjoyed doing the handwork on this piece and finished it on Tue.

The free motion process is also fun for me. I have fun dreaming up images to machine draw.

Presume I am still in the hand work stage here. I am out lining the metallic’s like I did on Forbidden Fruit.

Envision I finished putting together the top for this work on Monday. Then yesterday after pin basting it I did some stitch in the ditch work to stabilize it so I can do the hand work here. I am just thinking about the the pattern the hand work will take at this point.

Understanding Orange I have just begun this top. It is number 5 in the Monochromatic Studies of the Meandering Mind series. I will start using purples when this one is done.

Creative Assistants I finished off 22 more of these little guys this week. This is the most recent bunch ready for the paint and pin backs. I hope to do a few more faces and add bodies before I complete the batch.

I hope that my readers are stay safe and enjoying the season.

Keep Creating

Carol

Briar Patch, Creative Assistants, Label Blocks, Out the Window, Riverwood, Watakoo Wall

Green Day

March 17, 2016 admin 1 Comment

Happy St. Patrick’s Day. It is sunny and bright today and I am really feeling the wonders of spring. Notice the bee in the center of the wind flower on the left. So many trees have big fat buds I am sure they will open soon. I had no meetings this week so I got a lot done. I do have stuff coming up however. This Sat and Sunday I will be apart of the Spring Thing at the Turquoise Street Gallery. I will be there on Sunday afternoon from 1 to 4Come along and have so goodies if you can. My other news is I am off to visit Susan on Tues and I will not be back until the following Tuesday . So there will be no post next week. I am sure I will have lots to share when I get home as she already has lots of plans for activates for the two of us.

Progress Report: Briar Patch I have completed this work, but I do not feel like it is really done. It is OK- but it has no life for me. I will take it to the Associated Artists meeting this week end and get some feed from other artists on it. I do like all the textures and colors that the patch contains but it seems fall short .

Ribbon Rose Pillow When I went to visit Susan last spring I fell in love with a wonderful piece of red fabric that she had. It was topped with these wonderful ribbon patterns. It has taken me a year to study and then adapt the technique to my collection of techniques. I am quit pleased with this typeof embellishing. I will admit that it is not a surface that is comfortable to press against however. But the texture is wonderful!

Out the Window I have finished all the stitch in the ditch work on this piece. It is now stable enough to start the free motion drawing part. I Think I will make each block a different view. I plan to leave some of the “windows’ blank and all the white ones with purple blocks printed on them will be curtained windows. I am thinking that the deep purple blocks will be night scenes. This is a big challenge and I may change my mind as I go along. But that is my plan.

Riverwood This work fits all three of my monthly challenge criteria. It is based on a collage, has my altered fabric and some of Ethel’s fabric too. I changed the color when I went to fabric from red to oranges and from grays to browns. I am showing one of the early pin up steps of this work because I have realized that as I enlarge the work from the 4”X 6” collage to a larger size it takes on a life of its own and I alter the work accordingly. ( note the additional half circles. ) I have finished all the stitch in the ditch work on this piece too and I am now ready to add the free motion work. I am not sure what to do so I am living with it.

Watakoo Wall I started some new work based on photos of rock formations. This is the beginning. I always try to lay the wool out in a pattern that follows the lights and darks of the start, but it too takes on a life of its own when I change mediums. Is this what is meant by abstraction?

This is a second work from a different section of the same photo before I add any fabrics on top. It to has morphed from the photo to this point.

Creative Assistants I have been inspired again this week to get back into doing faces for my creative assistants. I have done about two dozen and I will keep at it for a bit longer. Then move on to the next step.

New work Here is another work that is fits the monthly challenge work. And it too seems to have pulled away from the collage with enlargement. I have broken things up and altered the sizes of color blocks as I have gone along. I guess I will just have to face that the changes are a natural part of my process. It is all a part of learning and creating as I go along. A natural part of the process for me.

Label Block #44 I like the label form my Minion sculpture Christmas gift ( upper left hand corner ) the best in this block.

Keep Creating

Carol

Briar Patch, FAD (Fiber Art Dames), Foggy Dawn, Label Blocks, Out the Window, Parts, Silver Growth

Purple Touches

March 11, 2016 admin

Hello,

It is really feeling like spring here and this wonderful shot of Nancy’s quilt in progress really expresses this feeling. I love all the flowers and the bright colors. She is amazing with her use of more and more pattern. This shot is only about one eights of her quilt. It was all we could show on the small space of my studio at the FAB meeting yesterday. Judy is working away on her sweater. She got some of the yarns from Patti . Judy is such a good knitter she does not even need a pattern to do all these fancy stitches. We had a good time yesterday.

I finished up my entry for the SAQA auction this week. I had a good time creating this little twelve inch square piece. I enjoy and support this organization.

Progress Report: Parts This work is finally complete. I sure enjoyed doing hand stitches all over the surface. I think I will give this work to the local camera shop were I purchased the camera that the parts are from. I got the new camera from them too when I dropped this one an broke it.

Foggy Dawn This work is the second half of older work. I took Corrine’s ‘s advice and did the quilting in a spiral patterns.

The glitter that is on this work was on the fabric when I purchased it. Lots of us like glitz.

Silver Growth I am almost finished with this project. I did all the free motion silver thread work earlier this week and I only need to add the facings now.

Briar Patch I am to the stage where I am adding the leaves and black berries to this quilt. I added most of the black berries first. I did not realize how many leaves I cut until I had them all pinned to the surface . It sure makes it pricklier at the moment.

Out the Window I was having so much fun with the turquoise and purple combination that I did a second quilt using this color combination. I lightened it up and did not go for much of the deep green of summer here. It is a lot closer to the colors of spring and windflowers and snow. Something that I saw on my walks this week.

Label Block #43 Slow and steady get’s the job done on this one.

Looking back over this blog I see lots of spring purple here. I sure am influenced by the season.

Keep Creating

Carol

Briar Patch, Diva Meetings, Foggy Dawn, Label Blocks, Quilt Exploration Group (QuEGs), Scrap Happy Quilts, Silver Growth, Trickle

Ice Cycles

March 3, 2016 admin

Hello,

Long ice cycles are one of the sure signs of spring to me. The weather keeps shifting from cold to warm here and that means melt and thaw and melt again.

I had lots of meetings this week. Sat was a meeting of the Mixed Group. It is always very stimulation and enjoyable to see the work of other artists and get their feed back on one’s own work. Tuesday the first of March so both QuIG’s and the Divas meant. Liz found a weekly offer by Moda on Their web sight were they publish two new blocks ever week. She has a note book already and four blocks are completed.

Corinne shared her print work from our last play day at Angle’s.

At the DIva meeting Kristen shared her shop entry for the “Row by Row “ show at

quilters corner. Donna shared her Bernie Sanders doll.

Noel showed off her piece for the “ 15” show that the Divas will have this summer. It was inspiration to see what everyone is doing. I am so very lucky to have such wonderfully creative friends.

Progress Report: Trickle This is the forth stretched quilt that I felted first. For this one I did not add any thing to the back of my woven wool fabric before I felted it. This meant that it all stretch at the same rate and so it ended up much flatter. Now I need to get the corners of the work to be smooth and flat. It seems there is always something to learn.

Foggy Dawn I have taken the advice of my fellow quilters from Tuesday’s meetings on how to quilt this work and did it all in swirling patterns. It is now ready for the facings.

Briar Patch I am having fun doing free motion raw edge applique of the leaves on this work. I will also do free motion to add the black berries .

Silver Growth I started this work because of the gift of a beautiful top that my friend Regina gave me. The deep purple with the silver work on it at the bottom. Now I need to figure out how to ingrate this work.

New Work I have enjoyed laying out the balance of this work. Now I am ready to begin the sewing step. I will fill in the white areas with narrow strips of fabric as I always do.

Scrap Happy I am to the step in this quilt where I have put the blocks in rows. I need to stop now and make a back for this project before I can go forward. It will make a good quilt to pass on.

Label Block # 42 I just keep working away on these little pieces.

Keep Creating

Carol

#3, Briar Patch, Briare Patch, Circling Circles, Coastal Color, Felt Work, Label Blocks, Machine Drawing, Parts, Trickle

Creative Power

February 25, 2016 admin

Hello,

This photo is an example of the marks of wear and tear on the local pavement that winter seems to inflict. The pot wholes this year are big ones.

Why should we all use our creative power? Because there is nothing that makes people so generous, joyful, lively, bold and compass ate , so indifferent to fighting and the accumulation of objects and money . Brenda Upland

I find this quote a very powerful one and I really believe it to be true. Creating takes us out of ourselves in a way and makes one feel more alive. I know I lose track of time when I am working and I have heard others say similar things. When one is building something the mind will not allow you to consider destruction. What a different world we would be living in if everyone was creating!

FAB meant this week and we all enjoyed each others company. Patti showed off her die cutting press this time. She gave me these three little fabric birds. Judy was working on yet another sweater. This one is red with great patterns on it.

I finished my entries for the 6X6 show in Rochester and I mailed them out on Tuesday. I always have such fun doing these little works that the gallery sells for $20.00 each as there fund raiser every spring.

I tried ice dyeing with ice cubes out of the freezer this week. I had heard about this and it means one can work all year long. I will do my own comparison study.

Progress Report:Coastal Colors III This work is 20” X 16” .I am enjoying the building process that goeson with these pieces. In this case I felted to begin with and then I built up layers of yarn, silk paper ribbon and fabric bits on top. I added a layer of batting before I started the stitching on this one to help it stay flat before the stretching.

The stitching adds even more dimension to the surface. The work seems to grow under the needle as I work on it. I like the textures too.

Trickle This work is also a felt built up piece. It is only 12” X 12”. I used a heavy wool for the base of this one and built up the felting on top again. There is no extra batting in this work and I think that because of the heavy wool. It stretched out nice and flat. I plan to do two more using this technique and size. Then I want to experiment with cotton fabric for the base of the felting and see how much distortion I get using that fabric as my base.

Circling Circles I am to the quilting stage of this project. I have finished all the circle quilting and I am now working on the wavy part. It is a nice contrast to the open circles.

Parts I can see the end of this project now too. I have all of the camera parts stitched to the surface and I am now doing the embellishment part of this project.

New Work This is not really new work as it is the second half of a piece I cut up. I thought I had an idea for how to finish it. So after studying it for a while I started working by building up a bit of Angelina to use with it. The Angelina suggested black berries to me. My mind went off on that direction. I made some vines to put on top and then I would add the black berries…….. But it was too much of a good thing and so I have dropped this top back to the unfinished pile and started a new work.

Briare Patch This is the result. The vines are the arched units. They are stitched to wash away now. The new base is not completed yet and it is under the vine unit. I have learned to go with the flow of the work , so this will grow from the idea. Next week there will be more.

Label Block 41 One more block is complete and I am just pushing forward on this project.

Keep Creating

Carol

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Category Archives: Briar Patch

Opening +

Green Day

Purple Touches

Ice Cycles

Creative Power

Creative Fiber Collage Artist Carol Boyer