What Remains of Winter

Since winter still doesn't seem to be over here, I offer you another piece in my "Memories of Winter" series.

And while I'm still in semi-hibernation, I'm working on some tutorials to share. I am trying to decide between video or still photos.  Aside from the same old drama that most people have of not liking the sound of my own voice, I wonder which way is easier for people to learn from.  I'm looking at videos now of things I know nothing about and then reading about the same thing to see which I like to learn from. I actually think I like a combination of both - the video because the narrative can sometimes clear things up, but the still photos, when done well, can provide more specific details. Perhaps a hybrid tutorial is the best.

Looking Forward

“If winter comes, can spring be far behind?”
― Percy Bysshe Shelley, Ode to the West Wind 

Remembering Lake Como

Lost and Found

Moving house often means that things get lost. Packed into a box marked "Garage Tools" go all sorts of unrelated items that may now sit in a corner of a garage, basement or attic space until they are moved again.

But sometimes, moving house means finding things.  Wonderful surprises that had been packed away in a box full of unfinished projects.  

These pieces are gelatin monoprints, collage stitched with papers, buttons and trims. 

The next step in the process is to hand stitch the leaf elements. 

Linda Germain has a wonderful blog, Printmaking Without A Press,  with everything you could ever want to know about Gelatin Monoprinting. Check it out. 

Goodbyes Are Not Forever

This fiber art wall hanging was inspired by an antique postcard of this darling alpine couple and the poem:

"Goodbyes are not forever.
Goodbyes are not the end.
They simply mean I'll miss you
Until we meet again."

 Written by an unknown author, these words have certainly resonated with me as I'm sure they would with anyone who has had to move away from dear friends and loved ones.

I designed my Quiltchens (German slang for small art quilts) around the inspiration of Old World Europe where I lived for most of my life. The colors and patterns of old tapestries, the textures of crumbling buildings, and strong cultural traditions that have all survived the centuries find a place in each one of these small works of art.

"Goodbyes Are Not Forever"

12"x15" - image transfer, vintage fabrics, paper, buttons


Purchase here

Settling In

A new nest
Surrounded by such beauty
By the things that make me happy
Nature and all of its offspring -
Trees, birds, creatures of the wood
All here to sing me to wakefulness
To a new day full of promise.

Come Spring

"Come, gentle Spring! ethereal Mildness! Come!"

from The Seasons. Spring. by James Thomson

16"x20" fabric and paper collage on stretched canvas

Gelatin print acrylic on muslin with hand embroidery,

vintage ephemera, transferred postcard, vintage lace

and buttons, machine and hand stitching on vintage linen

Echoes

"How cruelly sweet are the echoes that start

When memory plays an old tune on the heart!"

from Old Dobbin by Eliza Cook

8"x8" fabric and paper collage on canvas board.

Postcard from 1913, wood block print on muslin

with hand embroidery, vintage lace and trims,

silk and paper flowers, vintage train ticket,

vintage buttons, all stitched to fabric.

We, the Memories

"... we, the memories, stand here for ourselves alone."

from the poem Edith Conant by Edgar Lee Masters

A small stitched fiber and paper collage I worked on before the holidays. I don't recall how this photo found its way to me. It's not from my own family but from someone's forgotten history.

More Studies

I've been working up more of these small studies - small stitched mixed-media collages incorporating wood block prints, paper ephemera, lace, fabric and other small embellishments. I want to see where they lead; see how the elements work and play together; see how I like their natural simplicity before moving this into a larger series of work.

Many thanks to all who have been sending me encouraging words. As timid as I am about putting my work out into the world it is very comforting to receive such heartening praise. I hope to share some of my larger works very soon.

Welcoming Summer...

with a new series of work.


Fabric and paper painted with vintage wood blocks,

Bits of lace and ephemera

All stitched together in petite vignettes.

Finding My Voice

With these small studies I'm working towards finding my own voice again.

When I was in seventh grade I had to take choir in school. I didn't particularly like singing but if I had to sing in choir I wanted to sing Alto. I loved the deep, soft folds that Alto voices added to a piece of music and I wanted to be part of that. No, no, said the teacher, we already have plenty of Altos. I need you to sing Soprano. So I did, but I wasn't good and I didn't enjoy it.

Finding my own voice now means finding a comfortable range that produces a lovely harmony. Even if there are already plenty of Altos.

p.s. For those who asked, the lake in the banner is located along the Austrian border with Germany, deep in the Alps. And yes, I once lived very near there. {sigh}

Use those talents you have

I've had this hanging in my studio ever since I finished it a couple of weeks ago. It has been a lovely reminder to me and I'm now inspired to move ahead. There is so much more to come.

Projects, New and Old

Since moving into my new studio I've been pulling out and organizing older unfinished projects, trying to gather all their materials together so that they can be completed.

Here's a quilt started about a year ago, needing some attention to get it finished.

But somehow, with each unfinished project I pull out, I'm more inspired to start a new one than to finish the old one. How does that happen?

Already I have something new started on the design wall.

A Perfect Place

When I posted photos of my new studio I mentioned the small courtyard beyond the glass doors. Well, Herr Himmel was kind enough to take some beautiful pictures of the courtyard for me. It really is the perfect place to sit and enjoy Kaffee und Kuchen in the afternoon while taking a break from the creating.




And, thanks to the support I've been getting in regards to my drawing, I will show you a drawing of the courtyard very soon. I am taking to heart all the advice I get and I will practice, practice, practice.

Drawing like a child again

I am one of those people who have always said, "I can't draw." And it has always shown in whatever I have tried to draw. Certainly, I believe that my attempts were influenced by my attitude, so when I believed that I couldn't draw, I was right, I couldn't.



Changing this attitude after half a lifetime is something I have been wanting to do. Not drawing has affected a great deal of my creative efforts, and not in a good way. There are so many creative ideas I have that would really benefit if I would just pick up a pencil, pen, crayon, or lipstick and draw with them! So, this has been one of my personal challenges this year - to not say, "I can't draw." Instead, I would like to embrace the concept of "This is how I draw." I want to try to recover that quality children have of just doing. It may not be the greatest technique or style, but it will be my technique and my style.



This pencil drawing will be continued...

A New Studio, A New Direction

As promised, I'm pleased to post photos of my new studio, completely organized following our recent house move. The spring cleaning that accompanied this project was very beneficial. All over Blogland I've been seeing others doing the same - reevaluating priorities in the studio and the subsequent purge that follows. Before this most recent move, I'd been collecting all sorts of arts and craft supplies, just in case, someday, I might need those supplies to create something wonderful, and ended up with too many boxes of too many things that really were just taking up valuable space.

So, you remember that when I started my new studio space looked something like this

Going in too many directions without a central focus, I didn't even know where to begin. I've changed that. I've really taken a good hard look at all the things cluttering up my studio and in so doing have been able to put my finger on what direction I really want to go. All those bits and pieces that haven't been put to any useful purpose in years are now going, going, gone. And I've ended up with something more like this

I truly do love order, despite my slobbish tendencies.

I also love the view out the new studio windows. Although just a small courtyard, it really gives me a wonderful, warm feeling. And on a sunny day, I have a small table and chairs to sit and enjoy a break from my studio work.

I did buy some new pieces of furniture but not everything is new. And I kept much of the organizational supplies that I already had (i.e. storage boxes). What I tried to do though, when it came to the storage boxes, was to maintain some symmetry with them. I didn't like boxes of every shape and size just scattered about the room.

And by really editing the supplies that I knew I wanted to keep for specific needs my shelves don't feel overcrowded now.

Three of Ikea's Aneboda dressers (two back to back and one at the end) fit my former work surface perfectly and were much cheaper than buying a brand new work island. And the storage they provide is more than I could have hoped for with any other type of island.

And even with all the purging I managed to keep some of my favorite collectibles to display in the studio.

If you've got photos of your own studio to share, please feel free to leave a link in the comments.

Spring Cleaning Challenge

Well, the gauntlet's been thrown down. I and a very special person have made the challenge to each other to have our over-cluttered, box-filled, less-than-picture-perfect studios in ship-shape within 30 days. I (if I want to be smug about it) have the excuse of just having made a major house move. This could be positive or negative, depending on how you want to look at it. It is, however, a perfect time to do some major purging. And I want my studio to be a clean, welcoming place for me to go to each day to work. Who doesn't?

This is not exactly the kind of picture one would find in Studios magazine, or Where Women Create, now is it? No, this is not where I want to find joy in creating each day. This is a place I want to escape from each day! But just you wait, in 30 days this ugly duckling will be a beautiful swan, ready and waiting to be everything a studio should be.

Want to join the challenge? Then do it! If your studio, sewing room, creative space is not too bad but you do have that one closet that no one is supposed to open... then accept the challenge to make it right. Spring clean it!

On 18 April 2009, I will show my before and after pictures. And I'm pretty certain that this very special person who has made this challenge with me will also have her before and after pictures to share with you.

If you want to share your own room make-overs, feel free to leave a comment with links to your before pictures here. On 18 April you can share the amazing progress you have made in your own personal creative space. Let's get cleaning!

Discovering

Unpacking, finding places for familiar things, and making discoveries of things that have been hidden for awhile. I ran across some "old work" today which holds many hints to my future direction.

A Quiltchen that I made about 5 years ago. I thought about re-working it but changed my mind. I'd like to leave it as is so that I can remember where I was in my work back then, and so that I will be reminded that I don't have to make the same mistakes twice.

Joy

One of the really nice things about being separated from your earthly possessions for an extended length of time is the joy you feel when you get to unpack them again.

Part of my toy sewing machine collection.

Which, even while the rest of them were still packed snugly away, grew by one.

This one is French. That's about all I know about it though. Can anyone tell me anything else about it?