FRAMED WORK FOR SALE

It's catching......it seems everyone I know is reorganizing their studios or doing some sort of spring cleaning......  So, not to be left behind, I have added a few more pieces to my 'shop' to find forever homes for the work.  

These aren't your colors??  Visit here and scroll through the list to see the wide range of wall pieces I currently have for sale.

 INFLUENCES 11" x 14"  © 2011

AVAILABLE HERE

Artist screen printed linen fabric, coin & bead embellished, hand embroidered. Framed.

ONE WITH NATURE  21" x 17"   © 2011

AVAILABLE - CLICK HERE

Felted wool,machine stitching, embellished with found objects and beads, leaf stamping.  Framed. 

NATURE'S WAY COMPLETED

The snow storm has kept me inside and my fingers flying!

 The fuchsia agate has now been stitched to the felted wool background and further embellished with tiny stones and glass leaf drops. I decided the background could use some additional texture with hand embroidery and a few more beads...the results are below.

NATURE'S HAND  9" X 10"  © 2013

Felted wool, hand embroidered, bead embellished agate
Available here

Detail

FUN WITH AGATES

WELL....DANG.....we are having another snow storm.....this one is a biggie and my only hope is that we don't lose power or I really will turn into the wicked witch of our mountain valley.

Good thing I have some projects started to keep my fingers busy.....

 I purchased a whole bunch of agate slices and am smitten.  Combining a stone with felted wool complements both mediums.  I began by auditioning shapes for this small piece. Finished size will be about 12" x 14".

Besides stabilizing the felt, I've added some machine stitching to provide a firmer surface that will hold up to the weight of not only the agate but the beads as well. 

Detail of the peyote bead cage stitching in progress

Check back tomorrow....hopefully I'll have more to share....

SERIOUSLY!?!?!

Are you kidding me?  It's March....and it's been snowing horizontally for what seems like 3 days.  Coming home last night from another Bluegrass concert....well, dang....we barely made it up the mountain!

So....I'm declaring today a 'snow day'.....and will hibernate in the studio...hoping to get some projects prepared so I have some evening hand sewing for the next week or so. 

BANKSY LIVES ON....

In 2011, the 14 member fiber group (PTA - Professional Textile Artists) I belong to launched their most successful and inspiring 'challenge' to date.  I blogged about it back then but now I want to provide some updates.  

We were each to select a 2-dimensional artist, living or dead that inspired us.  Then we were to create our own version of their work.  This grouping of wall quilts is now known as the "Inspired By" exhibit.  It is currently on display at Quilt Fest of New Jersey lX - World Quilt Festivals.  Next, it will move onto the Denver National Quilt Festival Vlll in May.

A recent article in the Smithsonian Magazine about my chosen artist, Banksy, was brought to my attention by PTA member Lynne Harrill.  This guy is sooooo fascinating.  You may want to take the time to learn more about him here and more here.

He's a street artist from the UK who has gained international fame in the form of graffiti....and beyond.  The next two photos are of his work.  Click any of the following to enlarge.

 -Bethlehem - taken 2005 by Markus Ortner - permission to upload under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike license.....

- Shop Until You Drop, Mayfair, London - 2012 photo by QuentinUK -  permission to upload under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike license.....

Our "Inspired By" exhibit is hung with the signage above and below to aid the viewer with an understanding about the various artists who have inspired each of us.

This is my piece......             WASH DAY 30" X 24"  

DANCING SPOOLS

We are now getting the winter that we hoped passed us by.  It's been snowing on and off for the last several days up here in the mountains.  Not terribly much accumulation BUT....since it warms up enough during the day, it melts off the roads, only to turn into ice as the temperatures drop again.  So, I've been sticking close to home. 

I wish I could say projects are flying out the studio but since we also have company this weekend (which required cooking & cleaning preparations)...that's not happening!  So....what to post here today???

My friend Kate sent me this short video link.....clever and fun to watch. So grab a cup of coffee and enjoy!

WET FELTING

After two cancellations due to bad weather, the Fiber Junkies finally met for a day of wet felting.

 A friend had a display of small felted balls, topped with acorn caps that we all admired....  So for most of January, during the morning 'forced march' with 'the husband', I started collecting acorn caps.

 We pooled our wool roving.....and placed prepared bowls of hot soapy water on terry towels, then set to work.

 It was more difficult to make the balls small enough to fit into the caps then you can imagine!

 .....But with restraint......we got the knack of using small amounts of fiber.

Cute, no???

I actually spent most of my time making more faux river rocks....to replace the ones our dog 'Sooty' ate, as reported here.  After a few more sessions, I hope to have enough to create a new display which will be position out of reach from the ever hungry black lab!

MID-ATLANTIC WORKSHOP REPORT

Saturday was the final day of workshops for most of us instructors.  The evening concluded with 'Show and Tell".....where every teacher declared 'they had THE BEST students.  Oh no....they were so wrong.... I definitely had the best, most cooperative students.

Learning beading techniques in my workshops is fairly straight forward.  My hands are under a camera....projected to a large screen which allows students a close up view of the needle/thread/bead path.  The steps of each technique are broken down & thoroughly explained.....and they can be repeated as needed.

The only issue that sometimes slows down a student is vision!  Cheater glasses and a good bright light are a beader's best friend....  I'm guessing sales of eyeglasses will go up in the next few days.

My final day workshop's focus was the peyote stitch.

 "Agate" 7.5" x 5.5" by Mary Stori 2013

The focal point of this tiny resist dyed felted quilt is an agate...attached using Delica beads and the peyote stitch.

 Here's a round agate attached in a similar manner and further embellished with bead loops on the outside edge.  Click on photo for a larger image.

We began the day by learning the basics of the stitch by attaching flat mirrors and then embellishing them.

 After getting comfortable with the stitching pattern, students attached an agate and had fun embellishing it as well.

 These are all worked on Woolfelt (tm) which had been stabilized to reduce distortion.

 Aren't these great??

 Hummm.....some gals got a bit silly by late in the day....

 I'll bet you want to reach out and touch this....come on....I know you do.....

The simple addition of some 'branched fringe' (a technique found in several of my beading books) helps elevates the beauty of the agate.  I'm just sorry I didn't get a shot of every student's work.  

Girls you made me proud........and I know you all surprised yourselves too. Beading on fiber can be so impressive but not as difficult as it looks....... as you now know.  Thanks to all my students for playing with me for 3 days.

FAVORITES FROM MID-ATLANTIC QUILT FESTIVAL

A perk I enjoyed at the Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival this year was arriving in plenty of time to get a sneak preview of the show.  The quilts were fantastic and inspiring.  Embellishments seemed to be featured on more and more quilts!

Whether they are embellished or not.....I had some favorites....hopefully you'll enjoy them as well.

"Spirit" by Georgia Spalding Pierce - Seattle WA

 The quilting was very well executed and totally perfect for the design.

 Each motif was designed with great care.

 "Coleus Up Close" by Sue Colozzi - Reading, MA

This piece was so visually appealing, you'd have sworn it was real.

"Jet Trails #9" by Marcia DeCamp - Palmyra, NY

This perfectly balanced design, both in color and scale of pattern stood out in the crowd!

 "Bellagio Afternoon" by Diana L. Campbell - Allentown, PA
I loved this piece.....you felt as if you were in Italy just looking at it.

The intricate details such as this silk ribbon embroidery were outstanding!

 "Held Together By a Thread" by Susan Lenz - Columbia, SC
This wall quilt was part of the SAQA "I'm Not Crazy" exhibit.  I'm a big Susan Lenz fan. Her recycling/repurposing is always done with skill and excellent taste.

Detail -  How many of us would have totally discarded such a tattered quilt?  Susan turned it into a new form of art to be appreciated by a new generation.

ON THE ROAD

As I feared, blogging during my time at the Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival turned out to be impossible.  So....here's a wrap up of some of the highlights.

My trip began with a drive to Asheville to meet up with Judy Simmons and Linda Cantrell....both of whom were also teaching at the conference.  Stuffing Judy's car with all the needs of 3 teachers was quite a feat....I'm not sure we could have added a single item more.  This is the view from a side door.

.....and THIS IS the view from the back hatch.  Another layer of 'stuff' and Judy wouldn't have been able to see out the back window!

So.....after 7 1/2 hours of driving & non-stop chatter.....we arrived at the hotel where documenting of this trip continued....as Linda is doing here.

 Taking a photo of what you might wonder??  Well...that's myself on the left and Judy on the right as we were trying to convince Linda to push our cart toward the elevator so we could go back down to the car to pick up another load of luggage.

Instead, I pushed Linda!

 Happily, we were assigned rooms next to each other.  As I unpacked....a knock echoed on my door.  Here came the girls with the cutest slippers.....being on our feet all day teaching requires comfy evening foot wear.

 Adorable, no??

Ever wonder what a quilt show floor looks like during set up?  Piles of merchandise await busy vendors attention!

Tomorrow I'll share some of the fabulous quilts in the competition.....