fibrejournal

Saturday, June 23, 2012

Open House at Queen Elizabeth Park Art Centre

Here I am with my group, Oakville Fibre Arts, at Queen Elizabeth Park Arts Centre in Oakville. It was Open House on April 24th and we had at least 6,000 visitors and cake for all! Sorry my posting is so late. I am standing front of my postcard piece called The Message.

Here is Sherry showing a young visitor how to do embroidery on the group fibre arts project.

Marda is sitting at our display talking to another fibre artist, a knitter.

Leslie, our president welcomes people as they come into the Fibre room. We have a fairly large room with a small dye room. We occupy the room every Thursday from 9:30 - 3:30. The room is used by the Weavers, Knitters, Sewers' Forum, and Spinners at other times.

A Knitted Project made by Cathy

Second Art Quilt Classes Finished

ATCs made at Art Quilt Class

Just finished teaching 6 classes at the Milton Centre for the Arts on Wednesday. I had a delightfully small class of 3! We explored fabric collage with mixed media for the 6 weeks. My three students were repeat students having completed my October 2011 offering. The only suggestion made was that we need more classes from 6 - 8 weeks.

As a final project we exchanged ATCs with each other using our new techniques and surfaces, such as mixed media patchwork, tissue paper cloth, lutradur, tyvek, photo transfer foil, angelina ... I enjoyed it as much as the students.

Next edition of Art Quilt class starts October 9th at MCA.

Milton Centre for the Arts

Row 1: made by Sue, Tess and Tess

Row 2: Tess, Donna and Sharon

Row 3: Donna, Sharon, Sue

Row 4: Sharon, Donna Sue

Monday, April 2, 2012

Time to Get Blogging

At the Ontario Juried Show with my award winning art quilt, "Masks"

"Masks" Best Individual Small Quilt

I have continued to ignore my blog. Today I read a fellow artist, Elaine Quehl's blog and I was motivated to write. Today I read and subscribed to Elaine Quehl's blog. What a busy artist she is; teaching, presenting, showing her work in a variety of shows and selling her hand-dyed fabrics! It makes my head spin. I first met Elaine when we both won awards at the Ontario Juried Show several years ago. We have both taken different roads with our art that's for sure. She is a highly successful and internationally recognized teacher. I am much more regionally recognized artist. I take a lot of pleasure in teaching to a few select groups and writing articles about my art for publication. I do alot of volunteer work for my guilds and art groups. I take time to learn new skills and mix my media up. Friends are the biggest reason I have not taken a high road. I make time to do art with them and share what I have learned. Besides, I am getting older and energy is at a premium. Retirement gives you lots of time but I use some of that time for napping!

Until next time!

Sunday, February 26, 2012

Art from Cedar Key, Florida

Making Art in Cedar Key!
Hello friends, As many of you know I am in Florida on Vacation. Only a few days left before we leave for home. I need to get home and prepare and send off an entry to Cloth Paper Scissors' new publication " Pages". here is some of the art I have been making while in Cedar Key.

This is a small quiltie that I made for my friend Jane. This is her and Glyn's cottage on Palmetto Drive. That's Evie sitting by the mailbox.

For Valentine's day I made these little hearts as gifts for my friends. You may recognize them from the Stitch magazine.

Below are my watercolour paintings made for the Sketchbook Challenge, " Close Up".

A close up of a potted plant on our screened in deck over looking Goose Cove.

A Hibiscus plant in front of the cottage.

A small bowl found in the cottage was a challenging subject for a watercolour.

Close up views of a shell.

Close up views of a Live Oak leaf and acorns.

Close up of a hibiscus leaf.

And finally a close up photo of a talking parrot inside the Suwannee Valley Quilt Shoppe.

www.suwanneeshops.com

For the time I have spend here in Florida, I have been printing on fabric using my paintings for inspiration. I am using Janet Edmonds book, From Print to Stitch as my resource. this is such an excellent book! I have been busy visiting a couple of Quilt shops, JoAnn's Fabrics and ordering online! JoAnn's online shopping is incredible, I hope they deliver to Canada!

Until next time, sooner than later, I hope!

Saturday, December 31, 2011

Happy New Year!

It has been a very busy year and I have neglected my blog since September! So sorry ! My New Year's intention will be to keep up my blog. It really started with a new computer. I am still trying to navigate around my picture files. And then I got very busy teaching classes, entering shows and so on. I do a lot of volunteering which takes some time. I am the editor of my embroidery group's newsletter, membership coordinator for my fine arts group and I will be a communication person for another fibre group. I did give up some groups but I still have little time for house cleaning! :>)
Above and below is a highlight for me for 2011. My little house was published in Cloth Paper Scissors! There it is with the little green roof and orange door. This kind of collage and embroidery is really my style!

Here I am at a Mixed media workshop I helped run for the Fine Arts Society of Milton.

This my collage piece that is being critiqued by my instructor, Jill Segal.

I also taught an adult class at the new art centre in October called Art Quilt.

Below are three of my students, Sharon, Shelia and Annie.

Mary was the also in my class and I enjoyed introducing her to fibre art.

My other class was at the Canadian Embroiderers' Guild Guelph. I was teaching The Book of Stitches from the Jan Messent book on Celtic, Viking and Anglo Saxon Embroidery. This is 92 year old Dorothy who put the rest of us to shame with her creativity and work ethic. Her book of stitches was completed at the end of six weeks. Ellen, a retired teacher enjoyed the class as well.

Barbara Lee, below, created a very beautiful accordion book!

I taught a children's art class at the Milton Centre for the Arts for 10 weeks. ( once a week ) We had a delightful art show of all student's art work at the Holcim Gallery in December.

Whew, it was a chaotic season! Did I mention I taught at my friend's Open Studio, did Studio Tour with the best sales ever and fitted in a few supply teaching days? I did make a bit of art in the evenings watching television to sell at the AM Gallery. I continued to do the Sketchbook challenge each month, even if it was only one sketch or collage.

Its two hours into the New Year and I will not be making New Year's Resolutions. I will work at addressing my intentions for 2012 which will include my passion for all things fibre and stitch and mixed media.