"How Does Your Garden Grow?"

"April Love"(4"x6")

I hope the saying “better late than never” applies to this piece, because it was supposed to be my entry for the April postcard challenge theme, “How Does Your Garden Grow?”  It’s now almost June, and the garden should be in full bloom; however, my little art piece, much like my 
backyard garden, grew v-e-r-r-r-y slowly.

I used a method that Jill Buckley has written about on her blog – I scanned a black-and-white sketch onto pre-treated commercial fabric and then colored in the design with Tsukineko ink pens.  I added some machine quilting and French knots, and the edge is satin-stitched with 40-weight rayon thread.

This method brought me back to kindergarten days – I love coloring, and now that I’m a big girl, I can even stay inside the lines (most of the time).  I can’t wait to try this again.

Diane

Of Fiber Art and The Bare Necessities

"Just A Doodle: #12"

Not long ago, I emailed my dear friend and fellow blogger, Jill Buckley, to whine a little.  I was lamenting the fact that the routines of life were interfering with my ability to make art quilts as often as I’d like to; I can’t seem to figure out how to get everything else done, like laundry and dishes and cleaning and exercising and grocery shopping and buying underwear (a hateful task), not to mention spending quality time with hubby, who does so many of the mundane tasks around here and who is feeling a bit neglected lately.  
“What am I doing wrong?” I asked Jill.

I received a beautiful and thoughtful email in return; Jill wrote:

“I guess you have to ask yourself what YOU want to be doing.  Are you happy with the amount of artwork you are currently producing?  Why do you create?”

Jill told me that she spent many years working incredibly long hours being excessively productive, and that now she is content “just letting it happen.  Did I accomplish much today?  No, not really, but I did play a little, and some new ideas are bouncing around in my noggin.  One day they will leap out and become something for real.”

So I DID ask myself what I want to be doing, and the answer came back that, although I’d love to be producing more fiber art, this is my life right now, and I need to embrace it.  Being a woman of a certain age and having found my passion only recently, I think I’m afraid something will take it all away.

Therefore, starting today, I am adopting The Buckley Mantra: Play each day, one at a time, and celebrate that which emerges.  Do something related to fiber art, even if it’s only fondling the fabric.  My best stuff will probably happen when I’m relaxed and playful (Jill’s words).  Every day that I can stitch or draw or paint is a good day, and I am a lucky girl.

And I have clean underwear.

Diane

I'm Finally Playing With A Full Deck!

Sylvia Thomas, one of the wonderful people at the American Quilter’s Society office in Paducah, sent me an email a while ago, requesting permission for AQS to use images of two of my latest quilts on their promotional items.  I was over the moon, to put it mildly, and last week I received these items in the mail: a deck of playing cards with details of “Pieces of Dreams” on the box and on the backs of the cards, and luggage tags with a detail of “Color My World” on the front.  What a thrill!

The cards and tags were offered for sale at the AQS shows in Lancaster and Paducah, and, although the tags are currently sold out, the decks of cards are still available; please contact AQS directly if you’re interested.  I’m thinking these will make great stocking stuffers at Christmas, if I can wait that long.

Diane

My Fifteen Minutes of Fame

Actually, it’s closer to three, but I’m still tickled about it.
A little over a year ago, I joined “Art-N-Soul,” a local organization created by artist and entrepreneur Janet Tanguay, whose purpose is to support and promote area artists in all media.  Janet has recently developed a project entitled “Art-N-Soul Inc. TV,” where the experts at Cotton Hill Studios in Colonie, NY, produce a video of an artist in his or her studio and publish it on YouTube.  Janet asked me if I felt adventurous enough to be the first artist to be taped, and I was delighted.

It was a great experience from beginning to end; Janet and I prepared questions for the taping; the extremely professional crew from Cotton Hill “scouted” my studio to determine if the location would be suitable; and the taping took about 4 hours.

I’ve included the first 3 minutes of the video above; the complete version can be seen here, if you’ve got a little more time to view it.  Janet and the people from Cotton Hill did such a wonderful job of making me feel comfortable throughout the entire process – I can’t thank them enough.

“I’m ready for my close-up, Mr. DeMille.”


Diane

Art de Cure -- A Great Cause!

If you live in the New York Capital District area, and you like great art, and you love supporting a terrific cause, then you’ll want to come to the Art de Cure Gala on Friday evening, April 16, from 6PM to 10 PM.  This fantastic multi-media event will be held at The Endocrine Group, Suite 300, of the Washington Center Medical Arts Building, located at 1365 Washington Avenue in Albany.  Enjoy an evening of wine tasting, great food, entertainment, and both silent and live art auctions, with proceeds to benefit the American Diabetes Association. The event will also serve to kick off the opening of the Art de Cure Gallery, a permanent space housed at The Endocrine Group, where new art shows will be held three times a year and portions of the proceeds will be donated to the ADA.

Pictured above is “Feather Play II,” shown in one of my earlier posts, which will be part of the silent auction during the gala.  

 If you're interested in purchasing this piece, with a portion of the sale given to the ADA, just contact me at: 

Diane@DEsignedByDianeEvans.com
 If you’d like to attend the gala, please call (518) 482-1795 for more information.  It promises to be an exciting evening – please join us for the fun!

Diane

The Pen Is Mightier Than The Needle

I’ve heard it said by People Who Are Experts In These Matters that, if you want to get better at your art, you should learn from the best.  For me, that means turning to my library of copyright-free books and sketching.

Several weeks ago, I was sidelined by a sinus infection (nasty little bugger), and the only thing I felt like doing was drawing – I couldn’t even bring myself to sit at the sewing machine for five minutes.  So I pulled out two of my favorite design sources: “Floral Patterns,” by Pepin van Roojen, and “4000 Flower & Plant Motifs,” by Graham Leslie McCallum. 

I copied motifs and embellished them with my own details and generally tried to make myself feel as though I was producing some art from the snuggly comfort of my bed.

And, by gosh, between blowing my nose and using the neti pot, I had fun.  My plan is to turn some of these drawings into postcards – after all, the real fun is in adding the COLOR.

Diane

I've Been Tagged!

I was fortunate this past week to have been tagged with a blogging award from Diane Wright, whose blog (click here) is wonderful.  Thank you, Diane!

Now, here are the rules for this award:

1)  Thank the person who gave you this award.

2)  Share 7 things about yourself.

3)  Pass the award along to 5 bloggers who you have recently discovered and you think are fantastic!

4)  Contact the bloggers you’ve picked and let them know about the award.

I’m tagging the following bloggers to be fellow recipients of this award (click on their names to reach their blog):

Jill Buckley

Terri Cohen

Loreen Leedy

Victoria Gertenbach

Pat Spillane

So, here are Seven Things About Myself:

1)  I consider red a neutral color.

2)  I love deciphering CryptoQuips (coded phrases) in our daily newspaper.

3)  I always wanted to be a rock star; the closest I’ve come is cantoring at my church on weekends.

4)  I’m so reluctant to cut into my fabrics that many of them are sun-faded from being on the shelf too long.  I am working to overcome this.

5)  I backpacked through Europe when I was 21.

6)  I am a HUGE fan of “House, M.D.” and “The Good Wife.”

7)  I have a T-shirt that says, “Does Anal Retentive Have a Hyphen?” (It was a gift.)

Hope everyone has a terrific week – may the muse be with you.

Diane