Art quilts – Page 14

In person

gallery shot of solarworship — “Solar Worship” [Osprey Wing] hangs alongside the artwork of Marilyn and Sharon in the Paper-Canvas-Cloth exhibit at Campbell House. (“Solar Worship” was inspired by a photo by Brady Beck

This morning I went to the Campbell House galleries to visit our exhibit Paper, Canvas, Cloth. It was a beautiful morning and I haven’t seen the exhibit since the reception almost 2 weeks ago. Today, I took a lot of pictures from every angle and it gave me chills that this is real.

Today reminded me that I’m on a journey that’s continually evolving. Each step I make I can look back and see how much I’ve learned. I can also see how much I’ve grown.

Sometimes it’s embarrassing talking about yourself, because you may sound too boastful. But if I don’t tell you (a stranger or friend) that I have an art exhibit down the road…you probably would never get to see it. I’ve put a lot of time and energy into this and it means alot to me to share it with you. I hope you enjoy these snapshots and if you have the opportunity, please, come see it in person.

Join me for:

“Paper, Canvas, Cloth”
November 4 – December 17, 2016
Campbell House Galleries, Southern Pines, NC
featuring the work of
Sharon Ferguson, Marilyn Vendemia, & Nanette S. Zeller

Kindness and no regrets

And the count-down is on. A week from Friday my exhibit opens at Campbell House Galleries. This week I’m wrapping up the final details: framing the last few pieces, installing new hanging slats to the large pieces, and adding labels to the newer pieces. Once this is completed, I will be photographing all the quilts.

This has been a very interesting process for me. I’ve always said that I love to learn…I thrive on learning… and I’ve learned a lot about myself this year. Preparing for this exhibit has reminded me to keep moving forward. I know I will continue to grow as an artist and I’ve already thought of ways to improve some things. Yet, there are a number of things I still haven’t figured out. Therefore, I will continue to learn and that’s what makes everything so enjoyable for me.

Any free time I’ve had this summer was devoted to studio time. So I didn’t have time for some of the opportunities I’ve been considering. Once this exhibit is hung, I will take a short break to re-energize, then I’ll be tackling the many ideas I have in my head. What I’ve learned during this process is to always keep moving forward. Sometimes that can be as simple as just putting one foot then the other. Moving forward also requires having the strength to only look back with kindness and no regrets.

Join me for:

“Paper, Canvas, Cloth”
November 4 – December 17, 2016
Campbell House Galleries, Southern Pines, NC
featuring the work of
Sharon Ferguson, Marilyn Vendemia, & Nanette S. Zeller

Save the Bees

I’ve mentioned before that my artistic voice is nature inspired-art which frequently carries an environmental message. Last week I completed a new piece which definitely fits this concept. A few weeks ago I read an article which reported that in early October (2016) seven bee species in Hawaii had been listed as endangered by the US Fish and Wildlife Service.

This topic concerns me…a lot! Back in September, millions of bees were killed in an attempt to control the mosquito population (and spread of the Zika virus). For many years, there’s been concern about the survival of bees. We need these pollinator species in order to grown food. Yeah…the demise of bees concerns me.

So in response to the USFWS news, I created a new art piece entitled “Bee-Taken.” I thought you might find it interesting to read how I created it.

I start by using Adobe Illustrator to create illustrations or line drawings of my imagery. Once I have the drawings, I can resize them to fit my requirements for the finished piece. What’s great about this process is I’m building a library of illustrations which I can reuse for future projects.

When I’m making my art quilt, I use the line drawing as a template to cut out the fabric pieces. In this case, I decided to make the bee out of wool felt. Using a light box or window, I traced the pattern elements (body, head, legs, etc) onto freezer paper. Then, I ironed the freezer paper to the right side of the wool and cut out the parts following the lines on the freezer paper template.

Once I had all the wool body parts, I laid out my design on my background fabric. Then, I stitched around the pieces to hold them in place. After all the body parts were secured, I began thread painting. Using wild zig-zag stitching in coordinating thread colors, I created the fuzzy feel of the bee. I used a similar technique to apply tulle (commonly found in wedding veils and tutus) onto the bee to create the transparent wings. Fabric is very 2-dimensional and I really don’t like using it by itself, so I strive to create texture and 3-d effects. The photos shows the difference of before and after thread painting.

This piece accurately represents my vision. When you look at it, you don’t see a shouting statement and I don’t want there to be. However, I frequently do want there to be underlying statement in my art. In this case it says, “Save the Bees.”

Join me for:

“Paper, Canvas, Cloth”
November 4 – December 17, 2016
Campbell House Galleries, Southern Pines, NC
featuring the work of
Sharon Ferguson, Marilyn Vendemia, & Nanette S. Zeller

Where this road takes me

Four weeks from now, I will be hanging a show at the Arts Council of Moore County’s Campbell House Galleries. The exhibit entitled “Paper, Canvas, Cloth” features my work and that of 2 of my friends. We have known each other many years and we each have very different styles. Sharon who paints and draws is a classical realist. Marilyn paints in oils with a tonalist style. I am mixed-media art quilter. Although very different styles, I know our art will look good together because we share similar themes and color palettes.

This is a pivoting point for me. I’ve been in art exhibits before. I’ve been a featured artist in several local art galleries. But, I’ve never been in an art gallery show where I am featured with just 2 other artists who aren’t art quilters. It will be interesting to see how people view this exhibit. Will they consider what I do as art?

Because this exhibit is pivotal point for me, it makes me ask what’s next? What is the long range goal? Some decisions will be based on the reception I get in November, but more so, it is about what I plan to do personally to move forward.

Working to prepare for this show next month has given me time to process my feelings about what’s next. I know that there are exhibiting opportunities that I plan to apply for at the end of the year. I know I have a solo gallery show scheduled 2 years from now. But I also know I’m going to have let it all play out, because part of the challenge is affording to create the art.

When you exhibit, you have to hoard your work so you have enough to hang on the walls. If you’re hoarding, you can’t sell your work unless the owner is willing to give it back to you during the exhibit dates. But then, some galleries want all or a significant portion of your work for sale. Some exhibits want to keep your work for several years. There has to be a balance of making enough to sell and making enough to exhibit. I’m considering ways to streamline my processes, so I can make things faster.

What others have done is seek teaching and publishing opportunities. This is something I’m seriously considering. But, teaching and publishing also takes time away from making; another balancing act. For now my goal is to get this show hung, then use November and December to re-group and set the stage for what’s next. My plan is to start 2017 with boots to the ground, running. We’ll see where this road takes me.

Join me for:

“Paper, Canvas, Cloth”
November 4 – December 17, 2016
Campbell House Galleries, Southern Pines, NC
featuring the work of
Sharon Ferguson, Marilyn Vendemia, & Nanette S. Zeller

One quilt at a time

I often refer to my life as a journey. I know I keep moving forward. I keep changing. And, I definitely keep experiencing new things. As I’ve been working on my art this past few months, I feel like everything I’ve ever done is coming full circle. Well, actually it’s a spiral or mobeius. My life starts on one end and I keep coming back to the same intersection. In reality, I’m slightly misaligned from the last time I crossed that point. There’s too much that has happened, so I am someone different than the last time I was here.

But why does it feel like I’ve gone full circle?

When I was a small child, I played outside a lot. I loved discovering new things. I picked flowers, dug in the dirt, played with earthworms and hugged a few trees. I loved animals. I used to have a slip of paper that I wrote in grade school which read “When I grow up I want to be a conservationist.” I have no idea how I knew that word, maybe it was from the countless hours I spent reading Ranger Rick magazine. I pursued that dream for many years and eventually earned a Master’s degree in wildlife biology.

Then life happened. I needed to work and found gainful employment in IT at the peak of the dot.com era. When that bubble burst, I started exploring art and found employment editing books. During these years, I almost completely walked away from my childhood interest of conservation. My art “sometimes” had environmental components, but it never had a real meaning. I just made things because I wanted to make them.

I’ve realized the environmental theme has been more evident in my art these last few years. I have a story in my head & heart that I want to share. I mentally visualize the things that mean so much to me. I remember the forests, the plants, and the birds. I think of the earth as a whole and how we’re destroying it. I want you to see the beauty. I am back in my youth, full circle almost, but with a different age and understanding of the complexities of it all. I’m picking flowers and dreaming big about how I will save the world one quilt at a time.

Join me for:

“Paper, Canvas, Cloth”
November 4 – December 17, 2016
Campbell House Galleries, Southern Pines, NC
featuring the work of
Sharon Ferguson, Marilyn Vendemia, & Nanette S. Zeller

Mental lists

Things are plugging along here. I finished quilting the Osprey wing. I just need to trim it down and finish the binding/edge treatment. I’ve decided that finishing this quilt is something that could wait for the last minute, so I’ve begun a new piece.

This new quilt is going to be a companion piece to a one I made a couple years ago. Similar idea and color palette, something more whimsical than I have been working; a giant tulip! It should be fun to work on.

As I’m building my collection, my mind is definitely processing what comes next. As I posted last week, I’ve been accepted for a solo show at Page-Walker Arts & History Center in Cary, September 2018. I know this gallery well, so my mind is thinking what sort of artwork groupings I should have. What is great about having 2 years to work on this, is that I could create pieces specifically for the walls of this gallery space. So many possibilities.

I’m also thinking about what comes next. I can’t allow 2018 to be the only exhibit opportunity in my future. I have so many ideas and I’m looking forward to pursuing them. Just 7 more weeks and “Paper, Canvas, Cloth” will be hanging at the Campbell House in Southern Pines. Once that is up, I’ll start focusing on all my mental lists.

Join me for:

“Paper, Canvas, Cloth”
November 4 – December 17, 2016
Campbell House Galleries, Southern Pines, NC
featuring the work of
Sharon Ferguson, Marilyn Vendemia, & Nanette S. Zeller

“Knock, knock, … who’s there?”

I finished “Knock, Knock” last week. Well almost, I need to hand-stitch the facing and hanging sleeve to the back of the quilt. And, it may need a little dab of paint, here and there to add highlights. I’m holding off showing the finished pieces until I get closer to the exhibit in November, but I’m happy to show off some sneak peeks.

If you look at the pictures, it may become obvious why this quilt took so long to complete. It’s final size is 32.5″ x 42.5″. I couldn’t have done this intense quilting on my domestic sewing machine. My workhorse machine for the last few years only has a 7″ opening to pass my fabrics through as I sew. Thanks to the grant I received from the Arts Council of Fayetteville/Cumberland County I was able to purchase a machine with a 16″ opening which allows me to quilt larger pieces. I’m very happy that I took the initiative to apply for this grant and also very honored to have had the support of so many people while I was working on it.

So, why am I calling this piece “Knock, Knock”? The focal point of this quilt is the ivory-billed woodpecker (you can see its outline in the blue backing fabric and the small flying-version in the stitched detail photos). Many of you know of the pileated woodpecker. Well, the ivory-billed is the widely believed-extinct, bigger cousin of the pileated. The ivory-billed loved bottomland hardwood forests of the southeastern United States. These mature-virgin forests have been greatly diminished from aggressive timber harvest. It’s unlikely that there’s any place large enough that this large bird could survive, but with reported sightings in Arkansas in 2005, there is hope.

Some are still looking for this majestic avian species. For those willing to have hope, they will continue to wander the southeastern swamps listening for a distinct “knock, knock” of the ivory-billed woodpecker as it taps on a tree to call for others of his kind. It all reminds me of the child-like game…”knock, knock, … who’s there?”

Learn by doing

I’m almost finished with “Knock, Knock” the swamp quilt.

The last few days I’ve been doing a lot of heavy quilting. There’s no going back now. I have a couple more hours of quilting to do on it…then it’s time for cutting it down to size and putting a facing on it (finishing the edges). Barring any unforeseen circumstances, I think I should have that completed today. I can’t believe I’m finally saying that! Yee Haw.

It’s kind of crazy working in textile arts, be it sewing, knitting, embroidery, or whatever. We have to work so close to our creations. We see things differently at the 10-12″ view of our work than when we do at the actual viewing distance (about 3-4 feet or more).

When I was quilting this piece, I decided on the thread colors of the swampy water and how close I wanted to make each quilted line. I set to work quilting the lines back and forth. I felt good about it. Midway along I put the piece on my design wall and thought “oh my.” I probably didn’t need to get the lines that close and the thread colors blend more closely to the fabric than I thought they would. Seeing it hang on the wall, I’m still very please with the results…so that’s a good thing. It just made me realize I probably put more work into it than necessary.

What I’ve “re-learned,” is that close up details (or even mistakes for that matter) frequently aren’t noticeable from a distance. We need to give ourselves a break from being critical about what we see up close, because it may not be noticeable at 3 feet away. Step away from your work every now and then. Don’t sweat the small stuff and learn by doing.

Trust me, it’s big

I feel like I’m moving like molasses in January. I have been putting a lot of hours into the quilt hanging on my design wall, titled “Knock, Knock. Who’s There?” This quilt is huge, that’s half my battle. When I make a quilt I usually create the background fabric much larger than I need it. That’s why I can’t tell you how big it will be. I’m guessing somewhere around 40″ wide x 60″ tall.

The other aspect of what I’m doing … that takes time … is all the layering. I create one layer, work to get it right and then it’s time for the next layer. What I posted last week was 2 layers, I made the trees and added some shading. The shading was done with Shiva Paintsticks (which is oil paint in stick form). It takes a 24 hours for the paint to cure and become permanent.

This week, I added some tulle to create the waterline on the trees and some highlights to the swampy water. Today I securely stitched down the trees and tulle to my batting layer. This took a few hours. The birds are yet another layer to this quilt, because I had to stitch down the trees before I could add them. Last week I made the birds and today they are now glued forever to the quilt.

Progress? yes. Molasses in January? Most definitely.

I’m getting closer to the part I enjoy most, the machine quilting and thread painting. I have to add some more details to this monster (more layers) and then it will be ready for the long arm machine. Yay, it’s getting there! Just in baby steps. Once the quilting is finished I’ll be able to cut it down to size and let you know how big it really is. Right now trust me, it’s big.

Good karma following along with me

I’ve been in my studio a lot the last week. I’m trying to create a regular work habit. I’m under pressure to get some new pieces finished for an upcoming show in November, so there’s no time to waste. I’ve put priorities in place and that’s helping me keep focused. I’m seeing results and that’s helping me be motivated.

My art is comprised of a lot of phases. It’s never as easy as saying, well let me throw this together. I get an idea and know what I want it to look like, but how it gets there is always process. For example, the piece that is currently on my design wall is pretty large. I’m working on a forest scene. I could slap some fabric down and have you imagine that they are trees, but I want it to be more realistic. I need to work on the shading. I have lots of options. That’s were things get interesting and challenging.

I never choose the same option. On the parakeet quilt I just finished, I used colored pencils for shading. I love working with them, but had a couple glitches I didn’t expect. Fortunately, I was able to recover from the issues and I’m happy with the final outcome. The glitches do put me in a panic, because they could turn into a irreversible catastrophe.

The current piece I’m working on also needs some shading. Because of it’s size, I decided to use Shiva paintstiks and a stenciling technique to add depth. On this too, I stumbled with a few glitches, but in the end I’m good with it. Another catastrophe diverted.

Of course there’s more to this quilt than just a couple of grey trees. In the foreground of the photo, you’ll see a paper cutout that I used to find the right proportions for an ivory-billed woodpecker who is going to play in these woods. Layer upon layer, the design forms. Each step, I get to choose the options to create what I envision. But with each step, I’m also at risk of another irreversible catastrophe. It is harder to recover from these on larger pieces, there are a lot of hours invested in what you see. There’s a lot more hours ahead. After each layer, I pat myself on my back and get ready to move forward. I’m ready to move forward on this piece…and looking to good karma following along with me.