The Blogger's Quilt Festival Is On!

"Autumn In New York"  17" by 14"  ©2009  Diane Evans

It’s that time of year when Amy of Amy’s Creative Side begins her Blogger’s Quilt Festival.  This event is always so much fun – we all have the chance to view each other's favorite pieces and to share the stories behind our creations.

This time around, I'm sharing a special favorite; it's entitled "Autumn In New York," and it makes me happy to think of this art quilt because it's in the collection of a very special family.

There's a tree in our neighborhood that produces spherical pods each fall; it always reminds me of an illustration from a Dr. Seuss story.  I have seen paintings where the artist used round daubs of paint to represent leaves, and I wanted to achieve that same effect in fabric.

So I began cutting out circles from scraps of fusible hand-dyed fabrics, and I discovered it was a very meditative process (I was much better at this than when I tried sitting still and chanting "ohm" . . .).  I fused the circles to a beautiful piece of fabric from Caryl Fallert's Gradations line for Benartex, and I quilted the whole piece with Madeira and Sulky 40-weight rayon thread.

The entire effect is reminiscent of our view of the Helderberg Mountains as we drive to the apple orchards each October for cider doughnuts (this is making me hungry . . .).

Hope you enjoy the Festival, and, thank you, Amy, for providing us an opportunity to attend this virtual quilt show and enjoy each others' work!

Diane

More "Sketchbook Delight" . . .

I am continually captivated by the inspiration that has poured forth from Alisa Burke's online class, "Sketchbook Delight."  Here's a peek inside my journal:

More fantasy flowers emerged after an evening of play . . .

The watercolor page above was inspired by a haunting ballad titled "When October Goes."  Its origin was a set of unfinished lyrics written by renowned lyricist Johnny Mercer and given to Barry Manilow after Mercer's death.  Mercer's widow hoped that Manilow could develop these lyrics into a complete song, and he did so in 1984.

Alisa also posted a wonderful tutorial on her blog, showing us how to create butterflies using pages from old books as the foundation.  My dear friend and talented artist, Joanna Monroe, had given me a stack of pages from a very old math book (what else??), and if you look very closely, you can see polynomial equations peeking out from behind these creatures . . .

And maybe, just maybe, spring is finally here . . .


Diane

A Tribute To My Father

 On February 21, my dearly beloved dad passed away at the wonderful age of 88.  Even so, his passing was quite unexpected; we called him our Energizer Bunny -- he always seemed to bounce back from each new malady that befell him as he grew older.  He was very much like the late Will Rogers: He never met a man he didn't like, and everyone who knew him adored him.

We went through the requisite emptying of his apartment at the senior living facility where he spent his last few years, and we brought home many of his things, including several boxes of facial tissue he had stashed away (he was always afraid he'd run out).  I became intrigued by a rendering of irises on one of the boxes; because they're such tall flowers, they were drawn winding their way around three sides of the container.  So I tried my hand at depicting them the way I thought they should look, using watercolor paints and black and white pens, and this picture poured forth.  

I'd like to think that love guided me through the process; I know that love was the inspiration.

We're going to miss you, Dad.

Love, 

Diane

"Wind Beneath My Wings"

Alisa Burke’s fabulous Sketchbook Delight class has inspired me to try designing my latest quilt with the help of watercolors.  My usual modus operandi involves scanning a pencil sketch of my design into the computer and then auditioning different color palettes using Photoshop Elements.  This time, I drew the design on heavy paper and used Sakura Koi watercolors and a paintbrush – risky business for me, since I was pretty much committed to my color choices each time the brush hit the paper.

The theme for this art quilt came from our two latest challenges in ARTAA, my fiber art group: “Bugs” and “Kites.”  In a never-ending effort to complete my projects before the deadlines, I decided to combine the two themes into one.

I had already chosen the background fabric, so I did my best to mimic its color gradation with the paints.  White and gold marking pens added the elements that I planned to incorporate with thread.

The cartoon of the design was copied onto acetate, and my trusty overhead projector was used to enlarge the acetate drawing to its full size on newsprint. 

Here’s the quilt in progress; I always grow more excited at this stage, because I love the task of choosing the fabric that will do my bidding. I also know that the machine embroidery portion of the show is coming soon, and I’ll share more photos as I travel through that phase.  As always, thank you all for joining in the creative journey with me.

Diane

"Coming Out Of The Dark"

 (I thank you all from the bottom of my heart for the many expressions of support, encouragement, and optimism you sent along after my last post.  I am blessed to have you in my life.)

Several months ago, Dawn Browning of Bee’s Fiber Art (check out her blog -- she's doing some wonderful things) posted a link to artist Alisa Burke’s blog, and that link has sent me on a soul-enlightening path along my creative journey.  I fell in love with Alisa’s incredible artistic expressions, especially her journals.  I immediately purchased the Koi Sakura watercolor paint set pictured in her article, gathered up pens and pencils similar to those she used, and sat down to follow her tutorial.  

My first attempt at depicting a seashell looked more like the top of a Dairy Queen ice cream cone; it didn’t matter to me – I was hooked on watercolors.

I then took inspiration from a greeting card I had kept, and the results tickled my heart. 

Emboldened by my tiny successes, I branched out to try my hand at fantasy flowers, using Alisa's techniques.

And then it was Christmas, and these ornaments came forth in the spirit of the season; a few Zentangles worked their way into the scene as well.

I am now finishing an online class with Alisa, called "Sketchbook Delight," and I am learning SO much and enjoying it tremendously; you can sign up for this class at any time.  Do check out her blog; her lessons and her inspiration have truly lit up my life.

Diane

When Life Gives You Lemons . . .

I always intended that the purpose of this blog would be to share with you my adventures along the journey of art quilting.  Lately, though, I've been making more lemonade than anything else, and I wanted to briefly let you know why I haven't been posting or commenting on your blogs as often as I'd like.

This past September, our son, who is a journalist, travelled to South Africa on an assignment; while there, he got into a wrestling match with an all-terrain vehicle, and the ATV came out on top.  Sean ended up with a broken arm, six fractured ribs, a broken wrist, and fluid surrounding his lung.  He IS, however, alive, and we are unspeakably grateful.  He was operated on in South Africa and came back to our home to recuperate; he also needed lung surgery in NYC and seemed to be on the mend.  

They say that, if you want to make God laugh, tell Him your plans.  It turns out that Sean's arm required MORE surgery this past week, because it hadn't knitted at all.  He's back upstate with us, and this time the recuperation is slow and extremely painful.  We're taking everything one day at a time and hoping he turns a corner soon.

On top of this, we just learned that our beloved dog, Doyle, has lymphoma; it was an especially difficult diagnosis to hear, since he's only seven years old.  We don't know how much longer he'll be with us, so we've decided to celebrate his life each day the best we can.

I feel as though I have a wonderful support group with all of you who read and comment on my blog; it is this sense of community that makes it easier for me to share my thoughts with you when life isn't so gentle.  Your thoughts, prayers, and advice are more than welcome; please know how grateful I am to you for our continued connection.

Diane

"Try to Remember . . ."

“Just A Doodle: #15”  ©2010 Diane Evans

A year ago, Alyson Stanfield offered the following advice on her Art Biz blog; I read it over recently, and it’s every bit as relevant today:

“You’ve been going at it all year.  You do.  You try.  But then, you look back at that task list and become discouraged.  Instead of thinking about what you still want to achieve, focus on acknowledging all you have done.  Take time to write down your accomplishments for the past year.”

She offered a list of questions to jump-start your thinking, such as:

(1) How did you promote your art?

(2) Who were the top ten cool or influential people you met?

(3) What did you try that was uncomfortable, but helped you grow?

(4) How did you improve your studio habits?

(5) What was the single best thing that happened to your art career this past year?

She then advised: “Be grateful for the energy you found, the people you came across, and the experiences you learned from . . . Celebrate!”

I found Alyson’s ideas to be eye-opening (the list of questions for 2010 is posted again here); she motivated me to take inventory of my plus-column for the year, and the exercise was a real boost to my self-esteem – another way of reminding me to view the glass as half full.

So here’s to 2011; may it bring us wonderful accomplishments, continued friendships, and unimagined creative artistry.  And you, dear readers, are the coolest people I’ve been fortunate to meet.

Diane

(Please share your answer to Question #5 -- it'll make us ALL feel good.)