A Peek Inside My Sketchbook

I've been plugging away at my latest quilt, "Wind Beneath My Wings," and the progress is steady and slow, so I don't have any exciting pictures to share yet.  In the meantime, I've been playing in my sketchbook and taking a new watercolor class from Alisa Burke -- loving every minute of it.  If you're interested, you can join in anytime -- here's the link.

I thought I'd share more of my experiments with you -- some were hits and some were misses, and just being able to put that last part in writing is a big step forward for me, since I usually agonize over the things I've made that didn't please me (and then I throw them out).  So here's to the Likes and Dislikes and the learning that came with each of them.

(I folded a piece of tracing paper into eighths, drew a design on one-eighth of the page, and then traced it by reflecting it around a point onto the journal page; it was colored in with paints and markers.  There may be a future quilt hiding in here . . .)

(My effort at limiting the palette to two colors -- this was difficult for a person whose motto has always been: "If you can't decide what color to wear, wear 'em all.")

(Filling the page and learning to add depth to the image)

(Just plain having fun)

As always, thanks for sharing this journey with me -- it's really great to know you're out there. 

Diane

  

It's A Spring Cleaning Sale!

"Masquerade" 20" x 20" © Diane Evans (Private Collection)

Granted, it IS a little late in coming, considering that it's almost summer; however, I seem to be a little late in getting many things off the ground this year.  Anyway, I cleaned out all the quilting and design books that I realized I was no longer using, and I thought I'd offer them to you, dear readers, at really great prices.  Just click on the page title above, "Books For Sale!", and see if anything strikes your fancy.  These books are in great condition -- many look brand new.  Browse, and then treat yourself -- there's a "Pay Now" button installed for your convenience on the page.


Diane

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