Workshop with Sidnee Snell

I first learned of Portland textile artist Sidnee Snell through an episode of OPB's Oregon Art Beat, and became a huge fan of her art.  When I read that Rogue Modern Quilt Guild in Ashland was offering a one-day class taught by Sidnee, I signed up right away.

Sidnee's technique, which she calls foundation applique, is based on a photograph, usually digitally manipulated, then broken down into a sort of paint-by-numbers pattern, but in this case, it's more like applique-by-numbers. She gave us each a still-life photo featuring a cup and saucer with a spoon, and the corresponding pattern enlarged to about 16" x 20". We each began constructing our own version of  the still life, using our own fabrics along with Sidnee's enormous pile of hand-dyed fabrics, which she brought specifically for us to use.  (I've never met a more generous instructor!)

Here's the photo we worked from:

Photo courtesy of Sidnee Snell

 And my version of her image:

Cup & saucer, not yet quilted

In my opinion, one of the most appealing characteristics of Sidnee's work is her quilting, and the magical way she adds texture and movement to her art.  (If you haven't clicked on the links above to see her work, please go back and do so.  It's a real treat!)  I can only hope to come close to emulating what she does.

But I have to put this project aside for now and finish up some other things.  I'll update this post with a photo of the quilted and finished cup & saucer when it's done.  I was really fortunate to get to take this class, as I later learned that Sidnee doesn't usually teach.  Lucky for me to catch her after this guild was able to convince her to come to Ashland and share her techniques.  And to make  the weekend even better, we stayed with long-time friends Louise (Louie) and Rob in Ashland, whom we don't see often enough.

Crosscurrents: Day 3

Day 3:  still designing and constructing units.  I should be starting to consider how these will all fit together, but I feel like I still need to construct one or two more units (and maybe a few mini-ones) before putting them all together. 
We crossed the halfway point of the workshop today (Day 3), and everyone's work is amazing..Here's a quick look at my progress thus far . . . no more words; I need to sleep!

Day 3:  everything constructed thus far

A remake of my first unit from Day One

Day 3:  A line of vertical tucks with surprise color bits

Tomorrow is Day 4.  It's going to be a good one!  After our class, Jean (Wells) has invited all of us to her house for dinner, followed by "show and tell."  Then at 8pm, it's the season premiere of Oregon Art Beat.   Half of this episode is a feature  story about Jean and her contributions to the quilting world.  I can say that I was there at the film shoot (along with other members of our Intuitive Color and Design Group) and had the privilege of participating!

"Crosscurrents" Workshop with Rosalie Dace: Day One

I feel so fortunate to be taking the 5-day Crosscurrents design workshop with S. African art quilter, Rosalie Dace.  What an incredible teacher!  The workshop is at the Stitchin' Post in Sisters, OR.  In the weeks leading up to this workshop, our assignment was to pay special attention to the shapes x and +, which have intersecting lines, and collect images of these shapes.

My design wall: Day one

Day One was all about PLAYING, EXPERIMENTING,
and trying out different ways of designing with intersecting lines. Tomorrow we'll begin our actual design compositions, but Day One was all about exploring.


   
 Rosalie brought a wonderful selection of images that featured intersecting lines.  I sketched a few ideas from them, but went back to a previous little sketch in my design journal.  Here's how it looks now that I've interpreted it in fabric:

My first piece.  (Ignore the dark line on the right; I don't have a photo-editing program on this laptop!)

Exploring that idea further, I had a good start on my next piece.   Then Rosalie came around and asked the magical question   " . . . what if . . .?"  She gave me that extra little push that I needed, resulting in this piece:

Designing in layers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 I knew about "what if . . .?" but now realize I hadn't been asking it enough when designing art quilts.



 I began one more composition before quitting time.  It's not finished yet, but here's where I left off:

3rd design, still in progress.

I'm very excited for Day 2!  And something special happens Thursday evening -- Jean Wells, who's also in this class, has invited all of us to her house for dinner that evening.  Then at 8pm, it's time for Oregon Art Beat's season premiere (Ore. Public Broadcasting); one of the two featured stories is the one about Jean, filmed this past July!  I was privileged to be at the filming as one of her "students" working through the critique process.  It will be so much fun to see the results of that day's filming, done in the classroom and at her home studio!

Filming of an Oregon Art Beat Episode

Jean Wells during filming for "Oregon Art Beat"

OPB's (Oregon Public Broadcasting) show Oregon Art Beat will feature a story this coming Fall on Jean Wells Keenan:  quilt artist, educator, designer, author, shop owner, founder of the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show, and recent inductee into the Quilters Hall of Fame in Indiana.

I'm in another quilt group with Jean, along with three other Fiberexplorations members.  We call it the ICD (Intuitive Color & Design) group.  Half of the members are from Salem, and half from the Sisters/Bend area.  The group came together after its members took Jean's Intuitive Color & Design class, Levels I and II (each class met monthly at her shop, the Stitchin' Post, in Sisters).   After working together for 10 months, all of us wanted to continue meeting and working together, as did Jean, so we're continuing our exploration of intuitive quilting, along with improving our critiquing skills.

So when Jean got the call about  Oregon Art Beat, she decided to invite the ICD group to participate.  Because teaching is one of the key activities that keeps her inspired and "fills the creative well," as Jean says, it was important to include that as part of her story.   When we met at her shop on July 19 for filming, we each brought an unfinished project to be critiqued.

When it was my turn, I went to my project on the wall and began explaining what I was planning .  In her very skillful way, Jean led the discussion that centered on the elements of design, and others chimed in with remarks and suggestions.  It seemed like a normal ICD group session, as long as I ignored the huge camera lens positioned a mere 6" inches from my face, and the hand-held mike poised above my head.   The 3-person crew included one of my favorite OPB personalities, Katrina Sarson (love her voice!)

Me, during the critique of my piece (Jean looks on)

Jean did a great job, of course, and never missed a beat.  After more than 2 hours of filming, she treated us to lunch while she and the OPB crew moved on to her home studio (with its incredible view of the Cascades). There, they filmed the second part of the story:  We'll have to stay tuned to OPB this Fall to see what transpired!