Quilting Arts Blog

Odds and Ends

Want to see a sneak peek of the cover for the February/March issue of Quilting Arts (on sale February 3rd)?

This chirpy piece is by art quilter Kathy York (who some may remember from this particular Saturday night event). Doesn't it make you hunger for spring? Kathy hasn't seen the cover yet, so hopefully she will mosey on over here and have a look!

This just in…

I find the following an exciting opportunity for anyone living in New England wanting to get serious about art quilting. Quilting Arts contributor Amy Ropple will be teaching a quilting class entitled "Expressive Quilting" this semester at the Massachusetts College of Art and Design. Here's the course description:

Experiment with using a variety of quilt techniques as expressive fiber art forms. Learn traditional techniques and then explore their expressive potential through working on a series of artistic challenges using mixed media. Approaches to piecing, collaging, embellishing, and quilting will be taught, with an emphasis on using traditional techniques in experimental, original and personally meaningful ways. Wednesdays, 6:30-10pm.

For more information contact the Continuing Education office at MCAD at (617) 879-7200, or email Amy at aropple@aol.com. 

I think it's terrific that this college is now including art quilting as part of their curriculum!

More reader challenge opportunities...

We just posted a new Cloth Paper Scissors challenge on our website called "Life's a Beach!"

Help us celebrate summer in the July/August issue of Cloth Paper Scissors by taking our “Life’s a Beach!” reader challenge. Just make a piece of mixed-media art that’s in keeping with the “Life’s a Beach!” theme. The piece may be two- or three-dimensional; it may be one piece, such as a mixed-media sand castle; two or more pieces, like an altered bikini; or it may portray a scene. You may use text or beachy elements like sand, shells, salt, stones, etc. You may be inspired to use some of the techniques in the January/February issue, such as Patricia Gaignat’s encaustic books, Anne Quinlan’s narrative collages, or Chrysti Hydeck’s digitally altered photos. Or, show us something completely different. It’s your choice, so long as you adhere to the basic beachy rules.

 

And don't forget about our Quilting Arts Rock On! Reader Challenge! Only three weeks left before your quilted tributes to Def Leppard, AC/DC, Bob Seger, Debbie Harry (or Debbie Gibson) pieces are due!

Fabric Winners!

I felt a little blessed this weekend to have had a beautiful Saturday afternoon all to myself. I dragged an 8' table onto my driveway and loaded it with piles of fabrics (cottons, organzas, and velvets) as well as stamps, stencils, printing inks and paints.  With Mark Knopfler strumming away on the stereo and the dogs to keep me company, I spent hours stamping, stenciling and screening fabric.

I got paint all over my shirt, smeared on my face, on the dog, and under my fingernails. Total heaven. 

Congratulations to the following for being one of the lucky ten randomly drawn! I loved reading everyone's responses; some of them were a riot and I wish I had more fabric to give away. Please remember to email me by this Wednesday night with your full name and mailing address. Please put in the subject line in caps: FABRIC WINNER. (Otherwise it's possible I will miss your email.)

Carol Sloan
Belinda
Peggy Dlugos
Connie Allen
Trish C.
LuAnn Kessi
Lisa (Studio Rose)
Fannie
Katina
Jo Anna

In case you're curious…
Some of the designs on the fabrics are those I played with in Photoshop® by using the brush tool and brush palette. If you go surfing on the Internet you can find a number of free, downloadable brushes that you can add to your brushes library. Once you make your designs in Photoshop® and print them out, you can turn your brushes into Thermofax screens, freezer paper stencils, or hand carved stamps. (This weekend  I was a little obsessive/compulsive and made all three!)

Some of the fabrics I felt needed a little extra oomph so when I brought them back into my studio, I layered more imagery with my vintage wood type printer letters and more screens.

All in all, I had so much fun and I hope you like them. Admittedly I'm keeping a little bit for myself to use for my segments for the next QA TV taping (in … gulp …two weeks).

Enjoy!

Why The Sopranos Quilt Didn't Get Made

As my friends know all too well, I am slightly obsessed with HBO's The Sopranos, and inspired by a recent call for entries for an upcoming show in Long Beach, I came darn close to formally entering an art quilt dedicated to my Jersey boys.

But there was only one event on this planet that could ever eclipse the need to finish this quilt on time: This past weekend Richard and Dorothy Bolton (my in-laws affectionately known to me as “Dot and Dick”) celebrated their golden anniversary.

Months ago they proposed that we simply meet up for some grub at a local restaurant, but their five children and spouses, and 12 grandchildren knew that to simply go to dinner at the local steakhouse would never, ever do.

So we came up with a plan.

We schemed, we deceived, we laughed wickedly as we coordinated an evening of events that would knock their socks off and bring back feelings and memories for them of newlywed bliss. And what surprised their five children (and us in-law kids) was how our diverse talents and abilities could artfully come together to see this momentous event to its fruition. Case in point:

• The manipulative, persuasive minds of my sisters- and brothers-in-law who coerced the older grandchildren to baby-sit the younger grandchildren and all sleep under one roof so that us elderly folks could enjoy a night out in Boston. Thankfully, us elderly folks came home to houses that were not TP’d nor burned down, and to the best of our knowledge, nothing has been posted to the local police blotter. Yet.

• The stealth abilities of my brethren-in-law who successfully broke into my in-laws’ basement to steal photographs with my in-laws none the wiser. The end result was a hardbound, limited edition, 50-year record of family memories.  A hush descended upon the dining room suite at the Copley Fairmont Hotel as my in-laws opened the album when dessert was served. This picture says it all…

• The ability of everyone to laugh at ourselves and create our very own, homemade and family-relevant version of a popular trivia game. We devised our own categories, and each family was responsible for coming up with more than 100 questions and answers total for all six categories. My favorite category was Boltons Behaving Badly. Here’s a sampling of the questions:

-Who kicked a nun in the shins then ran away? (Diana)

-Who is the most accident-prone Bolton? (John)

-Who, while MCing the annual student musical event at her Jesuit university, had a wardrobe malfunction of the worst kind on stage in front of her professors, the university president (a Jesuit), her boyfriend, and future in-laws? (I’m not telling.)

Yours Truly was responsible for designing and creating the trivia game board and accessories, and I made it entirely out of fabric. I silk screened the categories onto the wedges, cut and fused coordinating fabrics to the base, and then thread sketched with black thread. Many thanks to managing editor Helen Gregory for binding! Here’s what it looked like:

In order to pull this off, I consulted heavily with my Quilting Arts co-workers and extended network of arty friends from Make It University!™. We thought the felted eggs from ArtGirlz would make hilarious game pieces for each of the families. (Get it? Eggs for offspring? I’m so deep.)

We hot glued toothpicks on the felt eggs for feet, and I altered photos of each family to place on top.  For game play, when someone correctly answers a question, another felt shape is added to the egg, so I needed to make sure I had enough felted pieces for all six categories.

Two days before the big event I realized I was short on felted supplies and left a rather panicked voicemail for the Art Girlz. Tracy called back and said, “Never fear, Pokey! The Art Girlz Rescue Squad is here for you!” They kindly over-nighted other felted bits to complete the game board, and thanks to the haunting yet up-tempo tunes of Radiohead's “In Rainbows,” I finished everything a little before 2:00 AM Saturday morning.

The evening went off without a hitch and it was a night none of us will soon forget. Mission accomplished. All of us at Quilting Arts are indebted to them. (Quilting Arts would never have happened if they didn’t give me space to launch a magazine.) And on a more personal note, I thank them for welcoming a kooky girl from California into the clan.

Some pictures:

Here’s to you, Dot and Dick...

Cheers!

*A special thanks to our neighbors at Make It University!, Expressly Yours Embellishments for getting the personalized mugs together so quickly!

Great Finds

I love snowmen, particularly ones who get into the spirit of the holidays, and this one's complete with his very own party hat!

Isn't he cute? Sue Pelletier, a local Massachusetts artist dropped him off at Quilting Arts last week as a gift. Sue outfitted this little guy with a vintage tin pastry tip (the kind that decorates cakes) for his hat. His body consists of a glass jar lightly dusted with glitter spray and filled with baubles, his neck adorned with vintage letters (CPS) and a lei made of tinsel. We found out about Sue when she emailed us a submission earlier this fall for whimsical houses assemblages (which will be featured in the January/February issue of Cloth Paper Scissors––a peak at her opening spread is below). Sue is what we call in editorial land, a Great Find.

Speaking of great finds, I purchased something a couple of weeks ago on eBay for my renovated studio and I needed to pick the item up personally––near New York City. Since I had to make the three-hour trek to NYC, why not make a night of it? (As they say, when in Rome...)

First stop was Rockefeller Plaza to see the improved, eco-friendly Christmas tree.

Where we took a geeky picture...

And then I left John at the ESPN Zone to watch the B.C./ Virginia Tech game so I could hightail it to... you guessed it...Tinsel Trading.

Oh my Gosh...

I mean...oh my Gosh!

Card catalogs filled with buttons and beads in every drawer, towering walls jammed with trims, cords, fringes, and velvet leaves, every nook and cranny adorned with trinkets of art, tea-dyed tags, packages of vintage metallic threads from France, among other finds. I had less than 45 minutes before closing time, and with a racing pulse, I tried to make sensible purchases, but it was tough going. (I can't imagine what would have happened if I actually had an entire afternoon to explore this place.)

Later, we strolled through the Holiday Shops at Bryant Park, where handmade gifts from around the world were on display. (Being this was Bryant Park I had my eyes peeled for a Tim Gunn sighting, but no such luck.) The place was packed with mosaic glass furniture, hand-dyed silk scarves, knitted gloves of alpaca fibers, blown glass and soldered jewelry, hand-stitched leather satchels...you name it.

 

This was what I went to New York for in the first place:

I can't wait to get her all dolled up for my studio. Speaking of which, I'm in pitching mode and have a number of fabrics and books I'll be giving away. If interested in a holiday treat, check back soon as I'll be running a little holiday contest on the blog. (Hint: I'll be interested in seeing any handmade gifts you've been making this season.)

 

 

Alex Anderson Interview

Something I forgot to mention...

A few weeks ago while in Minneapolis for Quilt Market, Alex Anderson stopped by our booth to see if I’d like to be interviewed for her new Podcast feature on her website.  Before I could answer, my husband, John responded, “She’d love to! Where and when?”

“Let’s schedule it for tomorrow,” Alex said, and gave me her hotel room number, which I scribbled on a stickie. Then she looked at me with her big baby blues and added, “In the meantime think about what you’d like to discuss.”

Ack! I was stumped. I hightailed it to my hotel room and emailed my office, “What the heck do I have to talk about?”

I went back to the show floor and polled vendors nearby, “Hi. You don’t know me, but Alex Anderson wants to interview me. What should I talk about?”

That night in my hotel room bed with a soundly sleeping husband to my right, I stared helplessly and wide-eyed at the ceiling. “What do I know that someone else might be mildly interested in besides my Chico's obsession?"

The next morning, twenty minutes before the scheduled interview, Kim DeCoste, assistant director for the education division for Quilts, Inc. stopped by our booth to chat. “What would people want to know?” I asked him.

He looked at me a bit dubiously as if I was asking the most obvious of questions and said in his charming Houston drawl, “Well, people probably want to know how and why you started the magazine, where you get your inspiration, and how you find artists.”

Huh. Interesting. I suppose I believe that all of you can get inside my head and you know these answers already (or that you may not be interested in them in the first place).

Ten minutes prior to meeting with Alex, John took me squarely by the shoulders and said, “Just promise me one thing: Don’t swear, okay?” (A teeny, eensy fault I have from watching too many “Sopranos” episodes.)

As I walked from the convention center to Alex’s room, I went over my script in my head of all of the intelligent, insightful comments I would make. I’d dazzle people with my knowledge of the quilting and publishing worlds. I’d inspire newbies to pick up needle and thread. I’d be confident. Hip.  Funny!

I arrived at the hotel, pulled the crumbled up stickie with her hotel room number from my pocket, and jauntily stepped into the elevator to punch for the 21st floor---only to realize there was no 21st floor. I’d written the room number down incorrectly. Wiping the sweat from my brow, I pushed the hold button on the elevator  (much to the annoyance of fellow elevator riders) while I quickly tried to think how I could have screwed this up.  I took the gamble that I might have transposed the first two numbers and punched for the 12th floor. Fortunately I was right, and arrived at Alex’s room on time (albeit a little rattled).

Door ajar, and with a holler, “Come in, Pokey!” Alex was quick to put me at ease. If you’ve never met Alex before, she’s utterly down to earth. No airs about her and very funny. Before we got started with the interview, we reminisced about “Simply Quilts”, good books on creativity, discussed her upcoming Mediterranean cruise, and talked all things girlie (that’s code for skin care).

This interview is very relaxed. I’m afraid I didn’t say anything terribly witty, but it was fun nonetheless, and hopefully it’ll give you a little insight into my job.

And I didn’t swear.

 

Alex Anderson Interview

Enjoy. (Scroll down to Episode #21)

A Word on the Journal Quilt Project

I've held such hope to enter the Journal Quilt Project since it's inception in 2003. I'm not alone. Every January the activity on the Quilt Art list surges as people like me who've never formally entered a show, are excited at the thought of having their work shown publicly and among such worthy, artistic company.  Even though I often sit on the other side of the fence as an editor, I've desperately wanted to play, too.

Every year I've signed up, and every year, I've backed out. Usually it's a time factor—as co-owner of a business with a demanding traveling and publishing schedule, my job requires me to come into the office nearly every day, including weekends. It's difficult for me to find several quality hours at a time to create unless I'm whisked away at a retreat.

But if I'm to be totally honest with myself, I'd also admit that when push came to shove, and those quilts were due, huge waves of fear would envelope me, and any little bit of artwork I might have stitched suddenly morphed into an embarrassment of gargantuan proportion. With frustration and a sense of self-defeat, I'd angrily wiped any tears from my face, shove those works in progress into a drawer, and mutter to myself that perhaps next year, I'd see the project through.

Once again, this past January I was adamant and eager to join the project. I have so many things going on in my life personally and professionally, I needed to journal them with needle and stitch. I spent many long nights in my studio in January working on my first quilt, and I'm proud to say I actually completed it. However, once February came, I was spending long, long hours at work, and when the first two quilts were due the end of the month, I pulled the same act as I've done previous years: I notified the Powers At Be that I needed to back out.

But fate intervened––I was speaking with Vicki from Quilts Inc. last week and she mentioned the deadline was extended to the end of March. Was this a sign from some sympathetic soul above? Perhaps, and I'm listening. I'm going to try my best to make sure I break old, defeatist, and silly behaviors and see this through!

My point with all this blithering is that I am so impressed by the courage every artist has shown to participate in the Journal Quilt Project. As many of you know, Karey Bresenhan is writing a book on the journal quilts and Quilting Arts LLC is publishing it. Originally there were plans to include 250 of the journal quilts, but after Karey viewed thousands of them (literally), she made an excellent case to us as to why there would need to be at least 350. Whether your work was chosen for the book or not, all of you have my deepest admiration and respect. I marvel that you've accomplished such an amazing feat by sharing so much of yourselves and your art.

My heartfelt congratulations…