I’ve missed chatting with you, but I’m not going to list excuses. We all have them,  and – I hope – you’re here to share what I’ve been doing in the studio. One side note – my husband and I spent the month of April in Australia visiting family and touring. Will the beauty – and friendliness – of this country influence my work? That is yet to be seen.

In the meantime there’s activity in my “Sticks” series. As I mentioned, this series originated from a Nancy Crow workshop in 2011. In the 2012 workshop I did Nancy’s new exercises but continued in the same series. The result is three new Sticks.

The quilt tops I do in workshops are never finished products – far from it! They are learning tools that sometimes – in this case, two out of three – become new works. Two of the exercises I brought home, took apart, inserted new colors and reconfigured before I was satisfied with them. Here are the results, as yet unnamed. Suggestions are welcome.

What I did on this one was add some lines and lighten colors in the center, which was rather muddled.

 

 

 On this one the lines were originally black on the left (yellow) slide. I changed them so that it brought some of the colors from the right into the left side.

 

So what happened to the third sticks exercise? I chose to work with smaller shapes – or perhaps that was the assignment, I don’t recall. I also decided to work in a relatively neutral palate. Why do I challenge myself and, after much frustration, come out with zilch? Do you ever do that?

I cut hundreds of 3-inch squares in neutrals, slashed them diagonally, inserted a neutral strip in the middle and sewed them together. Here are the stacks: When I started putting them up on the wall, I started arranging the squares, which after piecing were irregular rectangles. I put them together as light, medium and dark in an all-over pattern resembling chopsticks. Aha! A name – Chop-ed Sticks.

Then I started to sew them together. Ack! The squares – cut and pieced improvisationally – looked good on the wall, but sewing them together was awful. The edges didn’t match; none of them were the same size. I know how to fix that in larger pieces, but these were so small it became frustrating. I decided the only way was to trim the blocks to a common size – 2 ½ inches wide by 3 inches tall.

When I put them up on the wall, they fit easily together, but something was definitely wrong. They were too structured! They weren’t “me!” I took them all down, put them in a bag and relegated them to the UFO basket. I didn’t have a pity party, Jeanette, but I did eat chocolate.

When we fail, it isn’t satisfying. But when we fail, we often learn a lesson about ourselves. I like to work with larger pieces of fabric. I don’t like to work in “blocks.” I like to work improvisationally. I don’t like to match my points and have everything even. Did I know this before? Of course! Every once in awhile I just have to prove it to myself … again. Here’s to more successes and fewer failures … for all of us!

Last May I told you about a project on which I was working that I call “Sticks.” It evolved from a workshop I took in March from Nancy Crow titled “Lines, Curves, Shapes, Figure Ground.” I reported on two quilt-tops, and since then I have completed three more. So, here’s catching you up on “Sticks”:

Sticks #3 was influenced by a possible title, “Stick Around.” I had planned on putting a circle in the middle of the piece. Then some patterning in the background led me to making two circular cuts. It worked, but I can’t find a real purpose in the cuts.

For Sticks #4, I decided to leave the color of the sticks in the same fabrics and vary the values of the background pieces. I felt this was more successful but still needs some refinement.

Sticks #5 was influenced by a small Xerox copy of a painting in the Portland Art Museum that was given to me by my friend Toni. I was getting bored working with the same design and thought a new one might give me – and the piece – more energy. I cut the entire background into shapes – also new – and pinned them on my design wall. They hung there for about two months while “life” got in the way.

About three weeks ago I got back to the project. Originally I pinned up the sticks in shades of neutrals, but it wasn’t right. My love of color made me switch, and I think it worked. It, like the others, is a “sketch.” I plan on designing more “Sticks” and experimenting and refining as I work.

Prior to Christmas I made seven pieced, leather pillows. The leather came from samples given to me by my friend, Mary Z. It was a project filled with learning, frustration and finally success. I won’t go into the details, but I’m happy to share with you if you’re interested in sewing on leather.

I currently have quilts hanging in two branches of the Vancouver Regional Library. “Africa Goes Crazy,” from 1994 is at the Battle Ground Library as part of an exhibit by the Battle Ground Art Association. “InCircle” is hanging in the entry to the Three Creeks Library. I urge you to consider libraries as possible venues for your work. They may not sell, but it’s better than having them rolled up in your studio.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I also have two large quilts featured in “New Works,” the January exhibition at Art on the Boulevard in Vancouver, WA. “Canyon Dancers” (53”w x 66”h) is inspired by a visit to Canyon de Chelly in Arizona. Water drips down the canyon walls forming, with a little imagination, tall figures that resemble Indian dancers. “Black Mesa Landscape” (45”w x 51”h) is inspired by Georgia O’Keeffe’s 1930 oil painting, “Black Mesa Landscape, New Mexico/Out Back of Marie’s II.” Both are machine pieced and quilted from my hand-dyed fabrics.

Coming up – trips to Hawaii and to Australia to visit family – and I’m sure both will inspire future work.