Several years ago, we started decorating our front porch with giant spiders, a huge web, and crows above the doorway. On Halloween night we set up a bubble machine lit up by a strobe light. The bubbles fly all over the neighborhood, needless to say, attracting a lot of trick-or-treaters. Since then, little by little, […]
Outdoor Art and then some
Twice a week I walk three-and-one-half miles round trip to the gym where I do strength training, passing Portland State University each way. A few weeks ago, I noticed workers peeling up the lawn and laying out lines in an empty, grassy area of the university’s grounds. Next concrete was poured and sprinklers installed to […]
Make Cords By Hand and Machine
I”m teaching a one-day workshop at The Oregon Garden’s Stitches in Bloom show on January 21, 2016 in Silverton, Oregon called Accenting With Creative Cords. We’ll be making a variety of cords, spending the morning making them by hand and the afternoon by machine. When I attended London City and Guilds, we spent six months […]
More Radical Elements
“Quirky Quilts Inspired By the Periodic Table” is the title of an article in Hyperallergic by Claire Voon. She states, “quilting meets chemistry” in an array of 40 quilts that “expand the definition of art quilting.” It’s a great article, well illustrated with photos, in which Voon takes a look at a number of quilts […]
Learn the How-tos of Quilt Judging
Do you enter judged quilt shows? Are you interested in becoming a quilt judge yourself? Are you responsible for setting up and running your guild show? If any one or all three of these describe you, I have a two-day quilt judging seminar coming up here in the Pacific Northwest at the Clark County Quilters’ […]
An International Fairy Tale Challenge
I recently completed a small quilt for an international challenge whose theme is “A World of Fairy Tales” featuring 30 fairy/folk tales from Japan, France, and the US. There are thirty quilters from each country with one quilter from each interpreting the same tale, resulting in three variations of the same theme. The tale I […]
Chateau of Chaumont and the Festival des Jardins
To finish up my time at the Festival, here are my favorite pieces of indoor art. This work is described as a forest of bells and timber, a powerful and spectacular work where the artist expresses his wish to wake up a sleeping chateau, each bell appearing, according to Kounellis, as a mouth letting escape […]
Chateau of Chaumont and the Festival of Gardens
In a previous post I wrote about El Anatsui’s artwork at the chateau of Chaumont. I should explain that his work was just one among many at an event called the Festival des Jardins (Festival of Gardens) the chateau holds every summer. I have always wanted to go and finally had the opportunity. When I […]
La Fondation du Doute
How can you not love a building that looks like this? Something completely different from the expected chateaux, cathedrals, and famous monuments. When you walk into the courtyard, a “red carpet” greets you, taking you to the front entrance and a multitude of intriguing signs. The yellow sign at the top reads: “To create is […]
Chateau Royal de Blois, La Maison de la Magie, and Blois Cathedral
During my trip to France I spent a day on my own in the city of Blois while the rest of the group went to Chenonceau castle, which I have seen twice before. My self-guided, on-foot tour began at the Chateau Royal. It sits up on a hill, as chateaus do, in order to have […]
El Anatsui, Ghanian Artist
I spent ten days in France at the end of July and through the first part of August, splitting time between the Loire and Dordogne regions. The Loire is well-known for its beautiful chateaux. During this trip I was lucky enough to see the Arts & Nature 2015 exhibition at the chateau of Chaumont-sur-Loire. Each […]
Complex Threads–an E-book
Between 1995 and 1998, I studied with Gail Harker as my tutor for London City and Guilds coursework in design and embroidery. A few years ago, I returned to do a Master Class under her tutelage at the Gail Harker Center for Creative Arts. The outcome of this further study was an exhibition titled “Complex […]
Introduction to Quilt Judging Seminar at 2016 Clark County Quilters Show
For the first time, the National Quilting Association’s Two-Day Introduction to Quilt Judging Seminar will be offered here in the Pacific Northwest. Until this year, interested quilters had to attend the seminar at the annual NQA show, formerly in Columbus, Ohio and currently in Little Rock, Arkansas. I taught the seminar this past June in […]
Georges Sand–writer and avid needleworker
I recently returned from a ten-day trip to France with a group of four others, one of whom is my French professor, Sylvain Frémaux. I have continued to study French throughout my life since beginning at age eleven. In addition to a life-long love of fiber art, I have always been enamored of words and […]
More Pixeladies’ Photoshop Essentials
This past week we have been working with two photos side-by-side, combining part of an image from one photo with another. I “cutout” my nephew, Nick, and his wife, Samantha, from a New Year’s Eve photo and superimposed them onto a detail shot of a quilt I recently completed. It was challenging and fun. I […]
UK humor and the Tour de France
You may be aware the Tour de France is going on presently with many spills and thrills for cycling enthusiasts. One of the top contenders has fallen, breaking his shoulder in numerous places, and is out. In an effort to expand beyond France’s borders, the Tour started in The Netherlands this year. Last year, the […]
Pixeladies’ Photoshop Essentials
I’m starting Photoshop Essentials II this week with the Pixeladies who are Deb Cashett and Kris Sazaki. I completed PSE I during June and found it immensely helpful and interesting. Cashett and Sazaki do a great job of breaking down the tools of Elements into manageable bites, with four lessons per week for three weeks. […]
UK Road Signs
I enjoyed so many aspects of the fiber art tour I did last September in the United Kingdom. But I never expected to find the road signs so enjoyable. Here are two of them that speak for themselves. Our driver Alan told us the slang term for speed bumps is sleeping policemen. What a great […]
Radical Elements Exhibition feature article
In previous posts, I’ve written about the Radical Elements exhibition at the National Academy of Sciences. The exhibition is featured in a new, on-line article entitled “Sewing Together Chemistry and Quilting” in Chemical and Engineering News. SAQA continues to find ways to attract new audiences by expanding exhibition venues beyond typical quilt shows. My piece […]
46th Annual National Quilting Association Quilt Show
I spent last week in Little Rock, Arkansas at NQA’s annual quilt show. This was a new venue, as previously, the show was held in Columbus, Ohio. I really enjoyed seeing a new city I had never visited before. On a free morning, I walked down the street to the Clinton Presidential Center to tour […]
Hollis Chatelain–Master Art Series
I recently returned from a five-day workshop with Hollis Chatelain entitled Understanding Threads. This was the seventh workshop in a ten-part series begun six years ago. We meet once a year in Silverton, Oregon at The Oregon Garden. For the first three years we drew with pencil, the third year concentrating on portraiture. Since then […]
