A wedding . . . but quilt-related!

My son, Max, married his sweetheart Brandi on Nov. 22 in Sisters, OR.  My friend Betty came from Delaware for the event, and I was extremely thankful for all of her help.  While I was busy making a burlap banner for the rehearsal dinner,

 

Betty filled little burlap bags with candies, then closed them with velvet ribbons to match the wedding color:  aqua.

Then I went back to finishing up the guest book.

     with pretty paper on the inside cover

Wait . . . back to the book.  Did you notice the color?  and the burlap? 

 
 And last, but just as important, is the wedding quilt, all laid out and getting stitched together.  What color?

And here's the happy couple:

Makes me so happy!

"Blue Note" wins award!

Deb and I each entered three pieces in a new juried textile show in Coos Bay, OR called "In
Stitches" and all of our pieces were accepted.

I was unable to attend the show, but heard that there was a nice turnout for it at Pacific Park Gallery.  The day after the Nov. 16 artists' reception, I learned that my quilt "Blue Note" won "Honorary Mention."  What a thrill!

"Blue Note" by Joanna Price, 2013

The show is open until mid-January 2015.

[Post note]  The January 2014 issue of the Coos Bay's Bay Area Artists' Association newsletter featured a review (p. 4) on the show, "Fantastic fiber arts at Pacific Park Gallery."  In the article, author Graham Wickham mentioned, among others, two of the pieces contributed by Deb and myself:

"A very imaginative work, 'Passion Flower,' by Deborah Sorem, is photo-manipulated with applique and is very painterly in its approach, " he wrote.

"Finally, I was taken with a very engaging piece, 'Summer Village of My Dreams,' by Joanna Price. It is done in an intentionally folk/primitive style with great skill and feeling and life.  It has the air of a Klee or a Chagall without being maudlin or overly whimsical."

That made my heart sing!  (And he was pretty close; Hundterwasser was my inspiration for that piece!)

Emotions Challenge, Unveiled

I'd like to share some of the results from our Emotions Challenge.

One of the things that brings Deb joy are her grandchildren.  Here, in her very first portrait quilt, is her granddaughter Cora's first grade smile:

 "1st Grade Smile" by Deb

Isn't this incredible for her first portrait quilt?  I think it's amazing.  Of course, she had an amazing subject!

My piece for this challenge allowed me to plunge into my luscious stash of greens. As I explained in a previous post, the inspiration for this work was a spring evening, when the world outside my window was awash in shades of green, intersected by dark lines (reflecting tree trunks and branches), and bits of color scattered throughout (for wildflowers).

"Alive in the World" by Joanna

My improvisationally-pieced "Alive in the World" also reflects the emotion of joy, and the way  I feel in the spring, when everything comes alive again and all is green, green, green!

Detail, "Alive in the World"

Photos of other finished pieces will be added as they trickle in.  Before I can show you Erika's gorgeous piece in its entirety, I'll have to take more photos in better light.  The detail shot below doesn't do justice to the colors she used, but you can get an idea of what's to come:

Detail shot of Erika's piece

Stay tuned for more!

"Cut Loose" and On the Right Path

I'm adding just one new class to my lineup for the fall session at Greenbaum's Quilted Forest.  I absolutely LOVED working on this piece, which started from just playing around with some fabrics I selected from my stash.  I made several units, then put it away for about a month or so.

When I decided to teach a class based on Rayna Gillman's book Create Your Own Free-Form Quilts, I realized I could build on what I'd already started and turn that into my class sample.  I began adding more units and including some of the techniques from this book, then put them on the design wall to audition.  It need more cohesiveness, so I continued sewing, slashing, inserting, and auditioning:

Auditioning units

Once I was satisfied, I quilted it by machine and named it Cut Loose.  I wanted the quilting to add another subtle layer, so I ignored the pieced units and stitched in imaginary "units, similar to Lisa Call's grid style.

"Cut Loose," finished

Here are some detail shots that show the quilting:

"Cut Loose" detail A

"Cut Loose" detail B

"Cut Loose" detail C

 

 

The title, Cut Loose, has a double meaning.  1)  Cut loose, as in "she didn't measure up to our standards, so we cut her loose."  Sometimes, being cut loose is exactly what's called for, and results in a new-found freedom, heightened creativity, and a better appreciation of one's own worth.  2) Cut loose, as in the process used to construct this quilt.  All rules were cast aside, and I skipped any preliminary planning in favor of working more freely.   I enjoyed all phases of this quilt's construction, and have plenty of new ideas for working in this style.  I think I'm on the right path!

"Emotions" Challenge

Our group's latest venture is the Emotions Challenge, where we'll each design and create a quilt that evokes or expresses an emotion.

Personally, I've had so many highs and lows this year that choosing one emotion to express was difficult, but in the end I decided to focus on the positive.  My quilt (working title: Alive in the World) is about the feeling or emotion I get when spring has sprung, and everything is green and vibrant and alive.  I'm just not sure I can name the emotion associated with this feeling!

The inspiration for this project:  I was looking out the window from across the room and had a view of green, green, green, with some dark lines through it and small spots of color.  I need new glasses, but what I was actually seeing was green grass, cherry and apple trees (green leaves, flower blossoms and very dark trunks and branches), and wildflowers across the street.

Here's the progress I've made:

First audition putting the units together.  I'm not sure about the darkest green piece
in the lower left.  Also, the cruciform shape is too static, too centered, too bold; too much! 

So I tried a less-structured t-shape.  Better.

Elongated the lower part of the t-shape.  Still better.

Detail of the center, which will be pieced, making each bit even smaller, like little gems.

This project is on the back burner while I work on other projects:  prayer flags for a friend's public art project, and a couple other abstract pieces. As soon as I get to see other members' challenge pieces in process, I'll include photos of those.  

Next . . . a session of deconstructed screenprinting.

Three days till Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show!

Exhilaration!

It's Friday night and I'm thinking about the weekend.  On Sun. afternoon I'm teaching Vibrant Quilt Collage  (from the book Vibrant Quilt Collage: A Spontaneous Approach to Fused Art Quilts, written by Bethan Ash).  Since I forgot to post a photo of my shop sample back in Feb., here it is:

"Exhilaration" wall-hanging, 18x24"

I really wanted it to be VIBRANT, so I pieced the background with black-and-white fabrics, then used fusible web to adhere the multicolored shapes to its surface. It was machine-quilted in softly-curved arcs, some of which overlapped.  It really was a fun and SPONTANEOUS way of working, and a nice change from how I normally design and construct a quilt.

In fact, I enjoyed it so much that other design ideas popped into my mind as I was working on this one.  Here's a second piece I've started, this time using one piece of black fabric as the background:

2nd "Vibrant" fabric collage, 12x17"

This second one's been on the back burner for awhile, percolating. When I return to it, I hope I'll know what it needs next. The only thing I'm sure of is that there will be a bit of black showing on all four edges. As of right now, though, I'm not even sure of the orientation!  It may be on its side when I'm finished . . .

A change in orientation?

Anything's possible, right?

New work

Over the past week, I experimented with the 12" x 12" format and found that I liked it.  Here's the piece I did:

"Tribute to the Elder"

"Tribute to the Elder" detail

The "Elder" being referenced is my dad.  The basis of this design was a small sketch of overlapping circles topped with a t-shape.  It was in my design sketchbook, on a page dated 10/15/13, which would've been my dad's 97th birthday (though he only lived to the age of 62).  The title is rather tongue-in-cheek and I think it would've amused him.

It was very satisfying to work in this small format, as it forced me to simplify the design, and that inspired me to want to work in a series.  I've been doing the exercises in  the book Visual Guide to Working in a Series by Elizabeth Barton (which is excellent, by the way!) as I try to narrow down my theme.  Stay tuned to see where this path takes me!

"Photo Safari" Challenge Results

Throughout last fall, each of us worked on our pieces for the "Photo Safari" challenge.  This was the challenge where we all went to Salem's Bush Park and took photos, then chose our best 12 shots and drew names to swap them with another member.  From the photo set each member received, we each had to design and create a quilt inspired by those photos.  The total of all four sides of the finished quilt had to equal between 84" and 144", allowing for a variety of sizes and configurations.

We held our March meeting at Deb's to take advantage of her large studio space and lighting set-up that's perfect for photographing textiles.  My daughter brought her friend, Cody Drago, a very talented photographer who's just starting a side business photographing textiles.

Here are the challenge quilts he photographed that night, beginning with Patty's.  I'm completely amazed at the way Cody's captured the luminosity and three-dimensionality of this piece!

"Autumn Leaves" by Patty Korn

Detail of  "Autumn Leaves" -- Wow! What a glow!

Then there's the lush greenery of Bush Park that Nancy recreated using tucks and folds.  (And I'm guessing that because she lives on a forested ridgetop, her surroundings also played a part in inspiring this naturalistic piece!):

"Woodland Nocturne" by Nancy Swanson

"Woodland Nocturne" detail

Lisa, ever the perfectionist, spent hours upon hours on the detailed stitching of her piece, both by machine and by hand:

Lisa's abstract depiction of roses (not yet titled)

Click on this next shot for an enlarged view of the intricate hand stitching in the centers of the two roses on the left:

detail of Lisa's roses

And beckoning us from a tropical isle is Maureen's beautiful poster-sized postcard from one of our previous challenges ("Letters"):

"Just Mail It" by Maureen Erhardt

"Just Mail It" detail

More photos from this challenge will be posted soon, so please visit again!   Comments are greatly appreciated.

3rd Annual FABRICATIONS: The Art of Quilting Show

Along with two other Fiberexplorations members (Deb and Erika), I was thrilled to learn that one of my quilts was accepted into the juried Fabrications: The Art of Quilting show in Bend, Ore.  This Friday evening, March 7, is the artists' reception  from 5-7 pm, coinciding with Bend's First Friday activities. This show is sponsored by the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show (SOQS).

Here are the quilts that are in the show:

Erika's "Industrial Nature"

"Industrial Nature," detail.

"Passion Flower" by Deb.

Deb's "The Voice"

"Blue Note" by Joanna

"Blue Note" detail

There will be complimentary wine and refreshments at the reception, so please stop by if you're able.  Otherwise, you can catch the show through the end of March.  The venue is Franklin Crossing, on the corner of Bond & Franklin in downtown Bend.