Thoughts & news
Check out the Aug/Sept 2019 issue of Quilting Arts!
The Art Cloth Network is featured in the Artist Profile section of the current issue of Quilting Arts (Aug/Sept 2019). Better still, an image of my quilt (Interplay #1) is the full page opener to the article! I don’t often get this kind of exposure, so I’m thrilled to say the least.
The issue is on news stands now in case you’re already a subscriber or happen to be perusing your local magazine rack. See the links at the end of this post for information about ordering print and digital copies.
Many thanks to Barbara James and Deborah Weir from ACN for working to get this opportunity for our group, to Cate Coulacos Prato for her excellent article, and to the Quilting Arts editorial team for a taking and interest and giving us such lovely coverage.
Print copies of the Aug/Sept issue are available at:
The digital copy is available at:
Special thanks to Quilting Arts for granting permission to reproduce the images included in this blog post.
Sharpening the Saw, or Barn Time
It’s been years since I first read Steven Covey’s book, “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.” At the time I found it refreshing and inspirational. It’s back in my reading queue, and I’m curious to see how it’s stood up to the passing of more than a few years. I mention this book because I’ve always remembered that Habit 7 is “Sharpen the Saw.”
Let’s say you have a wonderful saw that cuts perfectly. Maybe it’s one of those beautiful, precise Japanese ryobas. If you spend all of your time sawing things and never take time out to clean and sharpen it, the saw will gradually become rusty and dull, and eventually useless. So too with humans—and I’m going to go further and say artists in particular. We all need to allow time for rejuvenation, growth, learning, and connection with both other people and nature. This week I had some of all of those things at the Crow Timber Frame Barn in Baltimore, OH.
The Barn is a study center for art quilting and other related media and methods (e.g., textile surface design, dye methods, and foundational art skills like 2D design and color theory). I’ve been here many times over the last decade, and it’s become a touch point in my life for learning and renewal. It’s that way for many people. and it’s evolved into a sort of community. Coming back is a little like a family reunion.
This week I had the wonderful experience of participating in an intense 5-day painting and collage workshop with Deborah Griffing. We drew, painted, screen printed, and collaged; we experimented with new materials, and I got some hands-on experience with oil-based media. It was fantastic. The things that I created are all workshop exercises, but they’re exciting nonetheless. Everything is a departure from the way that I’m currently working and from the marks I’m currently producing. I’m taking home new experiences and new ideas, but it all needs to simmer around in my head for awhile before I can really see if or how it will change my work. But—and it’s a big but—it was just good to break out and try new things; to exercise different parts of my artistic brain.
The piece in the photo above measures 9 x 12”. It’s ink, cold wax, oil pastel, and water color on clay board. The lines are engraved into the clay surface. It’s time consuming, but so satisfying. It also taught me about the value of spending even more time developing the surface of a composition. A few more of my workshop pieces appear below. Click any of the images to page through larger images in a gallery. They’re a mixture of works on paper, board, and yupo (a plastic “paper”) using a who range of media and technique.
A major milestone: QUILT NATIONAL 2019!
Outward Movement #1 (2018)
I have some exciting news to share. This week I reached what feels like a major milestone. One of my art quilts, “Outward Movement #1,” was accepted into Quilt National 2019. Quilt National is a biennial quilt show that attracts entries from all across the world. It’s among the top tier of art quilt shows, and it’s been a stretch goal of mine for several years. This is my first acceptance after a number of attempts. To say that I’m thrilled and honored is an understatement. Over the moon is a little more accurate. When I read the acceptance email I had one of those gasping/laughing/crying moments. Let this be a lesson not to read email at stop lights. I told a few people right away, but have been keeping this to myself for a couple of days, just letting it roll around in my head and heart while I remember the great teachers, mentors, and colleagues who’ve helped me learn and grow. Thank you all.
You can see more images of the quilt and read more details in my portfolio.
This quilt was created using the hybrid manual/digital techniques that I’ve been writing and talking about for the last couple of years.