Bass Ackwards

Well I am finally back in my studio and able to focus. I've planned a new body of work and have spent a few weeks researching and beginning to play with the new processes and techniques.

A couple of years ago I came across a book called "Art is where the foam is". You can get it at http://www.foamiswheretheartis.com/. I was fascinated by the immediacy of print making using foam meat packing trays. I can draw directly on them with a pen or pencil and then print using acrylic paints or water soluable printing inks.

Here are three of the prints I made using this technique. The first is a drawing of basil plants in my garden. BTW- since I am no longer doing art festivals- Whoa! ... I am once again able to spend time in my garden as well as my studio. I had forgotten how much I enjoyed working in my garden. The second drawing is of pepper plants and the third are poppies.
I also did some blocks that are just texture- I didn't photograph them this time.

This is the quilt top assembled. I used discharge as well as paints and inks. I have no idea yet where this is going. But I have to make tracks cuz I have a show deadline on the 7th of July in which I need to have three good pieces of my new series. Yikes!!!!

It is called "Bass Ackwards" because the sashing, which is usually fairly quiet and used to tie together somewhat different blocks is, instead, the jazzy part.

I'll be back in my stdio tomoor for hte next step- whatever it is. Tonight we'll have guests for dinner in the garden and I better get to the store.

pure gold

This quilt is one of 4 that I did last summer for the Creamery exhibition in Springfield, MO. It now resides on the wall at Barnes Jewish Hospital with its companion pieces- silver, copper and bronze. The center medallion of this piece was done with tyvek. First I painted it; then stitched a filagree pattern; then hit it with a heat gun. ZAP! Later I combined the medallion with blocks made from silk- mostly dupionis. After pieceing I applied foil using a stamp I made and foiling glue. Then I applied foil using heat.

Today I have been in my studio working on 2 commissions that seem to be taking longer than they should. One required just the right dyeing combination to get the foundation correct- it is a larger version of "1st of November". After 4 tries I finally got the color right and have begun the printing process using fresh tree leaves. I actually had to wait a few weeks because we had a really late hard freeze here and the trees had to start over. I understand the oaks probably won't produce acorns this year. There is going to be some very hungry deer come fall.

The other piece was one where I was using a water soluable stabilizer in order to do the stitchery I wanted. While I was out of town there was a small ceiling leak....onto my piece. GRRRRRR!. So I had to soak the whole thing in a tub of water and let it air dry. Hopefully there will be no spot from the earlier wetting. It had all just shrunk up and turned hard. Yucko mucko.

For the first time in 6 years I am able to spend time during the summer in my garden. I'm thoroughly enjoying the poppies and we should have a grand crop of tomaotes all summer. I planted 4 different ones in big tubs. and I finally replanted my basil after losing the first crop. I can't imagine summer without basil.

I'm thrilled to be back in my studio. I am chomping at the bit to try some new stuff but can't quite seem to get started. How frustrating!

Getting back to normal

This is an "in progress" photo of one of the quilts I did as a commission last fall. I have all the layers down but have not cut the blocks into quadrants.

This week has been kinda unreal. Since my last post, my father, who I mentioned had had a stroke on Apr. 22ND has died. His memorial service was on the 7Th. The last while has been a time of re-orienting for myself as well as my mother. Thankfully, he went pretty quickly, considering the damage the stroke did. We are healing and moving forward- bit by bit.

Good news came last week when I got a call from Kim Ritter. Unfortunately for her, her son is having some tough health problems and she opted to step down from her upcoming workshop at the Studio Art Quilt Associates national convention. Her topic was going to be "How to go professional without tripping over your feet." In her stead I have been asked to teach it. Wow! I am SO honored!

So for the last week I've been re-working the workshop I taught in February at the Springfield Visual Arts Alliance. I'm trying to figure out how much I can cover in 50 minutes and still sound knowledgeable. I'll be teaching it 4 times...and getting to go to the Quilt National opening as well. There is much synchonicity going on here. The only reason I was able to help Kim out was because I had cancelled all my shows (due to Dad's health) and the weekend was free.

After the intensity of the last few weeks I am thrilled to have the chance to re-connect with many firends who will be at the conference as well as get a jolt of inspiration always prevalent at Quilt National. Plus it will be a large boost on my resume' for teaching on a national level.
I am realising that there seems to be a niche I might be able to fill in the teaching market.

After I finish the 2 commissions that have been interrupted by my dad's scene, I am really looking forward to playing with collagraphs. I have had an interest in printmaking for a while. My personal fascination has been with printing on fabric. I saw work done recently using plexiglass and cardboard and printed onto watercolor paper. The process is so freeing. I'll think it'll first turn up on my backs and as I develop the techniques you may find them on the fronts-- or as the quilt itself in framed work. Since I don't have any shows scheduled I'll be able to focus on it sooner than I might have previously.

You two who have commissions outstanding- I'm on it!

Museum of Geometric and MADI Art- Dallas

What a glorious experience I had in Dallas at my museum opening!
My work hung with 2 glass artists- Jim Bowman and Mary Lynn Devereux.
It was quite a posh affair with valet parking, bartenders, waiters and patrons.
The wall colors were quite a surprise. My Cobalt Kisses/ Tangerine Hugs looked spectacular on that cobalt wall.


I NEVER would have envisioned hanging "Matter of Perspective" on a baby pink wall but it was perfect! That piece sold- by the way! Yippee!
Even that funky green wall and the gray wall were very complimentary to my work.
These flowers were sent via UPS! My parents and husband sent them.
These were sent by Brad and Kitty Smith and added a glorious fragrance to the air!
Here's some friends from years ago that showed up. Even more were there but the photos taken were by others and I don't have the images. We are all getting much older but I think looking so much wiser and happy.

On a sadder note- As I was getting ready to drive home from Dallas my husband called to tell me my Dad wasn't looking so good. An hour later he told me they were taking him to the ER. Then he was airlifted to Springfield where he remains. He had a hemorrhagic stroke. At first it didn't seem terribly severe. Yesterday that changed and we are in the "wait and see" mode without much encouragement for his getting better. We expect to have a better idea of his prognosis after this weekend. Your prayers are welcomed.

Show schedules

Last weekend I did my first art show of the year at Queeny Park in St. Louis. Fortunately it was an indoor show--because the weather got downright NASTY!

I have been extraordinarily fortunate this spring to have developed some new wonderful friendships. They are all artists--which is no surprise to me. By definition, I think most artists are optimists and generally happy people. That's the kind of people I like to hang with.
Sour pusses can hang elsewhere! That is also one of the perks of doing the shows is being surrounded by these happy people.

At Queeny I was awarded third place in the 2-D category. It was accompanied by a nice check. I am really anticipating the joy of spending one of these award checks on something for myself. In the meantime it counts as income and pays my rent. But something about that just isn't right! I am NOT, however, complaining!

The photo above is one of four pieces in my Elements and Monu-metals series. This one is "Gold". The others are "Silver", "Copper" and "Bronze". They are hanging at Barnes Jewish Hospital in St. Louis. I hear they look great. My agent set this up and I am delighted! The center block is done with Tyvek- painted, then stitched to a foundation, then blasted with a heat gun. There is something almost primal about watching the Tyvek melt away when the heat hits it. I also applied gold foil as the last step--as well as to the other blocks. The crosses are made with a stamp I created using lucite and those plastic tile spacing thingies. I made several stamps in different sizes.

I thought you might want to know where I'll be showing my work in the next couple of months. So here's my schedule:

• April 20-July25th MADI Museum Dallas- exhibition
• April 27-29 St. Charles Spring Art Walk-St. Charles, MO
• May 4-6 Walnut Street Festival- Springfield, MO
• May 11-13 Laumeier Sculpture Park Art Show-St. Louis, MO
• May 17-20 Tulsa Mayfest- Tulsa, OK
• June 2-3 57th St. Art Festival- Chicago, IL
• July 7-8 Oak Brook Invitational- Oak Brook, IL (Chicago)

I'm still deciding just how many shows I'll do this year. With Mom and Dad now a part of our household I am finding that being away for more than a day or two is tough on my husband- Bless his soul! As much as I love doing the shows- and I do--the time has come to cut down on some "road time."

With that in mind I am actively shopping for galleries. I am looking for a few galleries that can successfully show and sell my larger pieces. Ones that understand fiber and care about the individual artist. I want a long term relationship where there is time to build a following and large works are not a problem to sell. I only want a maximum of six nationally and none in cities where I am likely to do art festivals. I respect the marketing that a gallery does and have no interst in being competition to them. Naturally I want professionalism from them as I expect them to get it from me. No flighty chaos merchants for me, thank you!

So-- Who do you know?

With 16 national awards in the last 2 years I hope I am a good candidate for a well placed gallery. I will still have my smaller works available but not in the bigger galleries.

I figure if the universe knows what I am in search of--the right opportunities will appear.

With that in mind...

Just so you know-- My long term direction is to do large scale pieces that hang in very public spaces--like hospitals, airports, community centers, hotel lobbies, restaurants, corporate lobbies, etc. I have had a vision for many years that I want my art to affect people in a positive way. One vision I keep getting is of someone walking through an airport after returning from a family funeral. They walk past one of my artquilts and suddenly just realize they feel a bit better. They may not even know why. That is why, although I appreciate the individual collector, I am really in search of the more public client. I want to create nice effects on large numbers of people. That is my mission. Do you have a place in that mission? I hope so. Please keep your eyes open for opportunities that go that direction. I'd appreciate it, no end! If you have a referral please email me privately. susan@rebelquilter.com

As glorious as the weather has been this spring--major changes are afoot. Can you believe they are forecasting S-N-O-W? We've been enjoying our red leaf lettuce from the garden as well as dill and fennel. Time to cover up and hunker down!

Spots Dots Speckles & Freckles

I've had pedal to the metal this week trying to get this finished in time for the catalog of the MADI Museum. This is a companion piece to Yikes Stripes!

As I mentioned in my last post- all the color choices were by simply good fortune- or perhaps previous good judgement. Every fabric except the black were already in my stash. I simply made a block with every spotted, dotted, speckled or freckled fabric I had.

Because the fabrics were terribly busy when placed next to each other, I used black sashing. To quilt, I picked a point to have everything eminate from. The illusion is created that all the background is behind the spotted blocks. I used metallics and went from a very dark purple to a royal purple to a lavendar to a metallic clear ( greenish) and then a metallic charcoal. It kinda looks like there is an explosion going on behind the scenes.

Here's a detail showing the explosion point.

This is the back. Guess how I painted it! I flung paint off my brush to create spots, dots, speckles and freckles! The grid you see is the varigated thread where I quilted. There currently is no quilting on the spotted, dotted, speckled or freckled fabrics.

I am off to the Best of Missouri Hands Art Smart Conference in Jefferson City this weekend. On the way home I'll be visiting a gallery near Lake of the Ozarks that called me for a possible solo exhibition.

I really like getting calls like that! Bring them on!

Yeehaw! award and new work

Big deal award! Niche Award!

Niche Award! Yep! It happened! I won the award for the Pieced/ Quilted Category! I told you EVERYONE would know! I'm still not real sure what this award gains me other than another national award on my resume'- I am not complaining!!!!! I just know it is a big deal and I got it! This quilt is A Matter of Perspective and that is the quilt that garnered the award. Now on to my next excitement......

This quilt has grabbed me by the short hairs and won't let go. All the fabrics except the solid blacks are "Spots, Dots, Speckles and Freckles"- it's name! There is such energy and the colors are totally by accident. They were the fabrics in my stash that had spots, dots, speckles or freckles. As it turns out the colors are happy, optimistic and so retro! But with the blocks directly against each other there is just TOOO much energy. So I am taming them down JUST a tinch by adding black sashing between the blocks like this....
Aaah. Isn't this better? So far the blocks are connected into rows but they are just pinned to the design wall. I have fairly elaborate plans for both the back and the quilting. The challenge is that I have SOOO much I need to be doing like selecting the 10 images for the MADI Museum catalog, and sending 2 dozen scarves to the Arkansas History Museum and finishing that gorgeous liturgical stole and being interviewed for a magazine article. But this piece is just haunting me and won't let go. So I may miss out on some sleep here for a few days. I really want this to be in the MADI catalog- as a finished piece.

But I haven't quit dancing the happy dance! Quick! Once around the cutting table -Yeehaw!