Summer SUNsation!

Some wonderful fiber art awaits you at the Broadway Art Center as part of the Colonie Art League's Summer SUNsation Exhibition. Over twenty-five colorful and diverse wall quilts will be on display in the newly constructed BACk Room of the Center, located in the Arcade Building at 488 Broadway in downtown Albany. The show has already opened and extends through October 18th, but be sure to visit early and often, as the pieces in the exhibit may rotate in and out during the ten weeks of the show.

Pictured here are four of my small wall quilts which are included in the exhibit (clockwise from upper left: "Aspenglow," "Deux Danseuses," "Cycles: Harlequin," and "Kodachrome;" click on each image for a closer look). If you can't make it to the Art Center and would like to purchase any of these pieces, please contact me at Diane@DEsignedByDianeEvans.com and I'll send you the details on reserving the quilt of your choice.

I hope you'll be able to see the show in person; in addition to the fiber arts exhibit, dozens of art works in all mediums, including oil paintings, watercolors, and photography, will be on display, and all items may be purchased. And you'll definitely want to visit on August 7th, the evening of Albany's First Friday -- there will be a reception at the Art Center from 5 - 9 PM. Hope to see you there!

"May I Have The Envelope, Please?"

"Wallflowers: #5"

There’s nothing that quite compares to the feeling of opening that letter from the gallery or the quilt show and finding out that one of your pieces was accepted. I was thrilled to learn that one of my small wall quilts, “Wallflowers: #5,” was juried into the 2009 National Small Art Quilt Works Exhibition at The Main Street Gallery in Groton, NY, a contemporary fine arts venue in a quaint little village located near Ithaca.

The gallery’s web site gives this description of the annual event:

"Small contemporary art quilts are meant to hang on the wall. This quilt form functions like a canvas, and the color and texture of the fabric are like the paint, allowing for free expression. In keeping with the spirit of the art quilt, the exhibition's range of style, technique and content are diverse.

"Thirty-four fiber artists from across the United States have been selected by jurors Eugenia Barnes, professional quilt maker, teacher, lecturer, and appraiser (Marcellus, NY), and Roger Smith, painter, sculptor, educator, and Director of The Main Street Gallery."

As you can imagine, I feel honored to have one of my pieces included in this venue with the works of many wonderful fiber artists, and I’m hoping to take the trip westward to view the exhibit in person.

Thank you, as always, for reading my blog and for your wonderfully supportive comments – you never fail to lift my spirits.

The Dancing Tree

Isn't this postcard an absolute delight?! It's designed and made by art quilter Frieda Anderson, and I purchased it through her web site. I'm so excited to own an original "wall quilt" from this very talented artist (she also writes a terrific blog).

She has used hand-dyed cotton for the background and hand-dyed silk charmeuse behind the tree. The piece is embellished with delicate machine quilting and hand-worked French knots, and it positively shimmers in the light.

Frieda wrote a lovely note on the back of the card, saying that she hoped The Dancing Tree would "swirl around your studio and bring you joy." It has indeed done that, and more -- it has brought me inspiration, and I'm anxious to try some of her techniques on a piece of my own.

I continue to meet the most incredibly talented people along my art-quilting journey -- I can't wait to see what (or who) is around the corner.

What's Your Personal Vision For Your Art Career?

Cycles: Masquerade

(private collection)

"Life is a journey; take your dreams along."

One year from now, do you see your art quilts hanging in a gallery or published in a book?

Can you envision yourself as having developed significantly as an artist from where you are today?

These are the questions that helped to introduce members of Studio Art Quilts Associates to the Visioning Project, the brain-child of SAQA's new president, Lisa Chipetine. The program is best described as a public commitment of each participating artist to achieve a specific goal.

Those of us involved in the project have stated our personal visions on the SAQA University Wiki space; some goals are very specific (obtaining gallery representation; curating an exhibit) while others are more developmental (building a cohesive body of work; becoming a known personality through participation in national shows).

My personal goal is to obtain a commission for a large wall quilt through my website. Lisa is structuring a monthly mentorship program to help us achieve our goals, and she has already offered me numerous suggestions as steps towards making my dream a reality. I'll keep you posted on my progress -- I'm looking forward to the journey.

Please share your own artistic vision with me. Go ahead -- be brave -- put it out there. It's like we say with the New York lottery: "Hey, you never know."

I Confess: I'm Hooked!

A few years ago, I took a workshop from quilt artist Carol Taylor and learned her techniques for appliquéd patchwork and perfectly couched spirals. She calls the class “Arc-i-Textures” because of the circular nature of the quilting and the variety of elegant fabrics, nubby yarns, and shimmering ribbons used to create it. During the workshop, Carol warned us that making these small wall quilts could become addictive, and she was right: I’ve made over a dozen of them, and, each time I finish one, my mind starts putting together new color combinations for the next one.

I use the word “Cycles” to refer to my own interpretations of this technique, and each one has its own title. The piece pictured above is called “Embers,” and the client who will be receiving it, interior designer Sharon Einbinder of Windows, Walls, and More, chose the colors. It’s inspired me to start another one soon – I guess these little quilts really are like pistachio nuts: you can’t stop at one -- or a dozen.

Thank you for reading and commenting on my blog – I hope your week is filled with inspiration.

A Day To Dye For!

Here's a recipe for a perfect day:

1)  Start with:  6 friends and fellow fiber artists

2)  Add:  several yummy colors of Procion MX dyes

               3)  Stir in:   2 dozen (or more) yards of PFD fabric

4)  Sprinkle liberally with imagination and spontaneous creativity

5)  Bring everything together in the lush, serene acreage surrounding Pat Spillane's home

The result?  Yards and yards of colorful fabric and a whole lotta fun (laughter is a natural by-product of the process).

Pat Spillane (read her blog here), Kris Gregson Moss (check out her website), and Patti Turi (an expert with her camera)

Here I am, stirring my "cauldrons" . . .

Karen Sturtevant and one of her creations

We measured and poured, dipped and stirred, sprayed and drizzled; we congratulated ourselves on our successes and learned from our goofs.  And we laughed -- a lot.

Barbara Vanselow (she offers amazing hand-made dolls on her website)

I wore my hand-dyed socks (a gift from a friend) just for the occasion.

Here are my results from immersion dyeing a gradation of blues (they were supposed to be shades of periwinkle, but I learned that fuchsia is not a very stable dye color and washes out very easily). 

So I have a question for any of my readers who have done some dyeing of their own: I used 2 tablespoons of Cobalt Blue and 3/4 teaspoon of Fuchsia.  What combination should I use to get that nice shade of blue-violet?                

How Lucky Can You Get??!!

I am absolutely thrilled!  I won the latest giveaway from Terri Cohen's blog, Quilternity's Place, and just look at the prize: Seven (count 'em!) half-yard cuts of the most luscious fabrics I've ever seen!  And they're even more beautiful in person.  Thank you for offering such a generous gift, Terri -- I was so excited when I found out I'd won that my fingers wouldn't type my thank-you note!  If you haven't discovered Terri's blog, you must visit it -- she also runs an on-line fabric shop titled From Here To Quilternity, and both the blog and the web site are feasts for the eyes.  And be sure to look up her posts on knitting chevron scarves -- I am now officially hooked, and it's hard to put the needles down.

So now, dear readers, I invite your input -- I have so many ideas of what I would like to create with these magnificent fabrics and I can't decide.  They're such eye candy that I'm reluctant to cut into them -- right now, I have them displayed on my table like precious jewels.  What would you create??