Category Archives: Insect ology

Color- Spring Onion, Colors- Hands, Colors- Imagination, Dance, Diva Meetings, FAD (Fiber Art Dames), Insect ology, Machine Drawing, Quilt Exploration Group (QuEGs)

Visual Effects

June 4, 2015 admin 1 Comment

Hello,

I have spent my week with many other creative people and in doing so my world is richer. Yesterday, while coming home from a wonderful performance of West Side Story with my friend Barb and I, we were enjoying the beautiful landscapes of up state New York. In doing so we talked at length about how we are so eager to feast our eyes on the world around us and that we easy find and celebrate the wonders of our world with joy and delight. That is a job all artists do – with our works we celebrate our own joy and in doing so hopefully open others eyes to the beauty all around all of us. Our acts of “ Valuing the Visual” with each work or art, hopefully makes others value the world as well.

I went to a FAB meeting this week. Nancy displayed her dyed fabrics from the week before. Now she is ready to move on to the final assembly of here quilt. Patti work on one of her mini weaving projects during the meeting.

I then went to the QuEG’s meeting . Sue Ellen is working away on a Tree series and this is one of her pieces in that series. She had several others pinned up in her studio. It will be fun to watch the series get completed. We seem to have a rash of baby related works going on in the group at the moment. This is green and purple one is Linda’s new baby quilt.

Here are two more by another expectant grandmother.

Angela is doing hand work on this felted work that she cut up. We gave her lots of ideas about how to expand and play with this idea. That is one of the great things about a group- the expanded brain power is wonderful and one can pick and choose from the ideas folks toss out for your benefit. Liz had a wonderful little bowl carrier project that she shared with us. This soft hot pad “fits” around a bowl while it is in the micro wave and makes for easy removal with out burning the fingers. Corrine is busy doing paper piecing with very small log cabin blocks.

I stopped and picked up Susan on my way to the Diva meeting. This shot is of her table in her studio. She is really expanding the Flag Challenge in a great way. I am enjoying the contrast of our two styles and will talk more about that in the future. At Diva’s we saw this new work. Anne did a wonderful job with the quilting on this project. The front is wonderful too- but I do not have a shot of that. This is picture of Lori’s layered embroidery work. There is foiling and organza in this as well.

Alice is working on smaller units to sell for Art Trail and this stain glass type pieces is one of her works for that endeavor. I like her color choices. Regina was my guest at the meeting and she showed us her felted butterfly. This was only one of three she had completed sense I had seen her the Wed. before.

Meeting all three groups in one day is exhausting and I will work not to have that happen again any time soon. One can have too much of a good thing.

Progress Report Insect Ology

I am surprised by how much people like this work. The colors are natural, the subject matter is some what off potting- but I get lots of positive feed. I like it too, but not nearly as much as my viewers do. I will make another companion stencil and see if working two together also gets this type of response. I really enjoyed quilting all the leaves on the surface the most when it came to completing this work.

Flag- Dance This flag is really the last of the official series – I think. Both Susan and I did the same image in black and white to start this project. I held this flag until the end to complete. It seemed like a way of closing off. the process for me. But after seeing what Susan is doing I am not so sure.

Flags- Assorted Colors Being unsure of were we were going Susan and I started by using up her paper paste before we did anything else. The flag challenge grew out of that play . I did these colored flags last so when I got to these I was feeling more confident about the use of words and adding objects to the surfaces. For this one, Imagination, I embossed the saying on metal and stitched it to the surface.

The second one- Hands – got its darker additions in the form of painted wonder under that I ironed to the surface.

The paper paste was thinning down by the time we got to the last this last flag so it is paler. I added the oil crayons to is for the onion.

It is a copy of the stencil that Susan made on Wed of my visit when we went to drawing class.

The studio is calling as I have not spent a lot of time there this week.

Keep Creating

Carol

Continue, Insect ology, Label Blocks, Machine Drawing, Pock Marked

Work Space

May 28, 2015 admin

Hello,

Summer is upon us now with all its wonders. I love how fast a beautifully the flowers are opening and changing the landscape. This Poppy is from Regina’s garden were I was visiting yesterday. I enjoy her work an find her approach exciting. One of the things she is working on is printing on fabric with a linoleum block and then quilting into the image. She added the red thread to emphasize the blossoms. She has asked a friend to enlarge the image and print it on the fabric for her so there will be even more of this image in her future work.

I also spent time with Nancy this week doing some dye painting. She could not find the color she wanted for one of her works and decided to paint to get what she wants. I am proud of her.

Through this door is the studio. I think it is very important to have a place of your own to work. I have a wonderful converted garage space for my studio. I has had several lives before it became my space. I served as a bedroom for two different boarders, my daughter and young grand kids and then for Eric and myself. Now it is my refuge for creative work. It has a wonderful bay window in the front and a door out side on the east wall. A long four foot deep closet in the back with book shelves is were I store most of my fabrics, yarns and papers as well as my felting machine. I have filled the space with my stuff and it suits me well. This first shot is from the door looking toward the front of the house. My desk/ sit down work space is a U in this far corner. I enjoy using my Grandmother Ruth’s sewing table as a work space for my own machine. That is one leg of the U and the desk its self is the other two sides.

I spend most of my time working in this area of the room..By walking strait across the room from the door and looking back this shot shows the view. Here is my cutting table with a small ironing board on the top at the far end. The pin wall is also along that wall. Next to that I have a book case that is full of projects in progress as I like to keep materials all together until I have completed an idea. This view is achieved when one walks diagonally from the point of view of the second shot into corner I just described and look back. ( the end of the sewing machine is on the lower right ) Here one can see the book shelves. The have lots of quit books and reference materials as well as my tin container collection. They serve as storage for sequins, oils sticks, markers, special fabric bits and small items that I find inspirational. In the corner the plastic drawer unit is full of beads, paints, buttons, lace trims and other attachments. My guest chair, also shown, often serves as a staging area for hand work that will be done outside the studio. I feel fournate to have such a wonderful work area and I enjoy it almost daily.

Progress Report ; Modeled Surface I used lots of surface altering techniques on this work. This red purple section is from the Deconstructed Screen Printing class from the fall.

The light blue is from some dyeing I did with the QuEGs group last spring. This dark blue is from a day I spent playing with paint in my own studio. I was doing tape resist on the fabric and then running the roller over it. The left side of this images shows printing on an old table cloth and the right side is a double print of a silk screen. It was a fun challenge to use only fabrics that I had altered myself.

Insect OlogyI am still working on the free motion part of this work. I so liked the shapes of these leaves that I used them several places in the quilt to fill in the sections. I like finding inspiration from the fabric for my free motion work.

Flag-Continue I only finished one flag this week. This one is Susan’s design and her quote too. I just added the flowers. Now I only have five to finish before Tue next week so that project will get lots of my attention.

New Work True to the way I work I have pulled out a new patch of fabric and pinned it to the wall. I always like to audition fabrics before I use them.

Label Block

Two more are now completed.

Keep Creating

Carol

Consideration, Find Ecstasy, Hand Bags, Insect ology, Minion, Pock Marked, Rejoice, Uncategorized

Travel Log

May 21, 2015 admin

Hello,

I am home from a wonderful trip and I still seem to be flying along with lots of new experiences. Maine was/is beautiful as it too awakens to spring. I enjoyed the tulips in Barb’s yard and took lots of pictures. There are so many wonderful colors. We visited two artists with studios on this trip. The first was Elizabeth Busch’s place. She is working on a new commission for the state capital building in Augusta. This is a shot of the models. She is building in her wonderful weaving on bird netting.She carefully explained how she used her photos of different parts of Maine to build the landscape that she wanted for the project. She refers to them often as she works with the weaving to keep the colors close to the natural look she is building. She has a large collection of printed and painted strips of plastic to choose from when she is working. Elizabeth sometime weaves as many as four strips into one section to create the color she wants for rocks, trees, water and other natural elements. She is working on all three panels at one time so they will flow into one another as they spin from the three eye beams in the lobby. The job needs to be completed by September so she will have a busy summer.

The second Studio was that of Nanci Kohn She is a photographer and paper Mache’ artist. She too was very willing to talk about her process and work. I really love this song bird that is covered in sheet music.

We then stopped and looked at a welded sculpture of an Osprey on a bridge on our way to Portland. It was an enjoyable and stimulating trip as travel always seems to be for me.

Tuesday the FAB group meant here. Patti had nearly completed this happy little wall hanging. I like how she used buttons and beads for the eyes of the kittens.

Judy was busy working on a new sweater. She is doing hand embroidery stitched flowers on it now to add more interest. I like the soft colors she is using.

Progress Report: Paper Quilt- Consideration

I am done working on the surface of this project. I want to add a sleeve in a different manner than I have with previouse paper quilts,because it is so wide. I want to make the slat removable for this one. The papers that I started with were from a Gelli print play day last fall. I have enjoyed doing all the stitching on this one and adding textures

I added painted and melted tyveck for that texture. I used both sides so some areas have the bubble up and some have the bubble down.

Hand Bag I made a new hand bag out of some of the wonderful fabric that Regina gave me a few weeks ago. It is time to switch to a summer color so I put the old one( it was browns and blacks) away.

Place Mats When I was sorting through the material for the hand bag I pulled fabric for place mats too. These are the newly finished batch. I have stacks two more sets setting on the cutting table.

Pock Marked I am working on the free motion portion of the quilting on this project. It is going slowly as I am trying to find lines to follow for all the stitching and it is very complex in some areas.

Insect Ology I am to the free motion quilting on this project too. It is a much different process than Pock Marked- much more a reflective process. It is good for me to switch from one type of free motion work to the other.

Flag – Rejoice For the experiment on this flag I drew on the surface with magic markers and then stayed it with rubbing Alcohol. I hung it on the line so it would run down as it dried. Not all the makers ran because they were different types of markers. The “Sharpies” rand the most. The quote is” Rejoice in the common place.” from an unknown source.

Flag- Find Ecstasy This flag does not have much in the way of experimentation. But when I found this quote l knew I had to use it. It is from Emily Dickenson: “Find ecstasy in life – the mere sense of living in joy is enough.

More Minions I am now finished with the last four minions. I will pass them along to friends who need a lift as I come across them.

I hope summer is on everyone’s door step.

Keep Creating

Carol

Canyon de Chilly, Insect ology, Memory Map Quilts, Minion, Paper Quilts

Spring advancement

May 7, 2015 admin

Hello,

I am so delighted by the changes Mother Nature has wrought this week. From small buds last Thursday to four and five inch leaves this week. It is a wonder that we take for granted. I ate my breakfast out doors after I brushed the fallen maple blossoms off the table. It is an amazing transformation and I can’t get enough.

I have had a full week. I went to the Spring Weekend Retreat at the Schweinfurth Art Center were the new Barbara Fenstein Make Room was dedicated and open for use. Her quilts lined the walls and her sister Emily found this beautiful top among the stash as she sorted things. Some folks knitted, such as Kitsy, Donna and Linda here. Some sewed and some did a bit of both. Linda also did some beautiful thread painting of a on tree she had painted. She had the most extensive thread collection I have ever seen owned by an indivigal. Nancy finished off this little quilt. One she hopes to use as a teaching tool in the near future. I started two tops- one both days. We all had a wonderful time and hope to do it again next spring if not sooner.

Tuesday was meeting day for me. Both QuEGs and Divas meant as it was the first Tuesday of the month. Linda is taking a on line class and having a lot of fun with it. She is turning out a small quilt each month. This is her line assement.

Corinne is making baby blocks for a baby quilt. This one has wonderful thread work in it. I like how she created the shadows on the elephant in the center.

The Divas also had great work to share. Donna has completed this wonderful mirror. The frame is done with black Fimo.

Cheri is to the quilting stage on this wonderful piece. She is machine drawing / quilting out on to the boarder in the form of the white leaves. She also used the colored leaves as quilting line inspiration on the surface. ( you can see the white quilting lines on the purple boarder) It looks great.

Ruth has reached the quilting stage with her quilt too. This is one powerful graphic. She has discovered that quilting with dark blue in the black areas adds a special interest to the surface. Cool thinking!

Cindy is working small as she is still teaching. These are book pages that she will sent to friends of an exchange group. But even working 6” X 6” , she finds she can spend four to six hours on a page. They are all magnificent.

Progress Report: New Work

This is the first top I did on the week end. I used fabric from the Deconstructed Screen class I had taken last fall for the start of this project. I added fabrics I had stenciled and stamped as well as one wipe up cloth . It is ready for quilting and a title.

Insect ology This is the second top I started at the retreat. Funny how the name just came along with the process this time. I created and printed the insects a while back. I used oil sticks for the printing with this project.

Paper Quilt I am still struggling away with this project. It is made up of two pieces of paper that I printed with the Gelli plate last fall. A little of the Tyvek I melted last week is a part of this work. Some parts of it seem to work a lot better then others. I think I will add some additional paint to the surface as Carol Weibe recommends at this point and see if that helps me move forward.

Memory Map- Canyon de Chelly This project also seems to be only inching along. I did add Rosalie and Marty to the image however…… I am thinking this work might benefit from some paint too. The paint could unify sections and take the sharp edge off some areas. It is not holding together too well for my taste yet.

Minions As this picture shows I am still in the process of assembling the Minions. None of them have eyes or legs yet, but each evening I get a little closer.

Place Matts I was drooling over the wonderful fabric that Regina gave me a few week ago when I realized they could become place mats. I now have two new sets and I love them both.

Label Block And the stitches go on. I am enjoying this project as I read the labels- one thing I never really do when they are in clothing.

I am off to visit my friends in Maine next week so there will be no posting for the 14 of May. I will post again on the 21 of May.

Happy Mothers Day to all.

Hugs

Carol

Cre-8

Category Archives: Insect ology

Visual Effects

Work Space

Travel Log

Spring advancement

Creative Fiber Collage Artist Carol Boyer