Joy in Front Window

Yesterday, I clipped some pictures from the A Work of Heart blog just to wet your whistle. I went to their studio on a CQFA outing Sunday. Because I got lost, I arrived there late, but was able to catch up quickly. I  had a great time. Great doesn’t even being to describe it; I had such a fantastic time that I can’t wait to go back. In fact, I’d like to go today.

Studio Outside

This unassuming strip mall storefront does not even begin to give a hint as to the creativity oozing throughout the inside. The little touches (pink door, geraniums, glimpses of the magic inside) trying to escape underneath the doors to the outside.

Inside Possibilities

The above picture represents the supplies from which I could choose. Andrea, the owner, teacher, and calm goddess of creativity was so generous about allows us to use anything we wanted. How many times have you heard “Use whatever you want” ? Not often enough. While I didn’t partake of her generosity to excess, I liked having the possibility. A lot of my creativity swirls around, and intersects with possibility.

Workspace, End of the Day

As you may have read, I have been struggling with the concept of art journaling on and off for awhile. My past idesa surrounding art journaling/visual journaling was to explore a different technique that might bring new life and additional inspiration to my quiltmaking. No amount of self motivation could help me overcome the mess and move forward with my desire to make some art journals on my own. CQFA did one field trip and when Terri proposed this one, I thought it sounded great. The great thing about going somewhere to do something new is:

1. Someone else provides all the supplies
2. Someone else teaches you to use the supplies and helps you to be successful
3. You can leave when you are finished
4. You don’t have to learn the tips and tricks the hard way.

For me, this was a great opportunity. I decided to try to make some backgrounds in a journal (70lb+ watercolor paper or above, please) rather than making painted pieces of  ‘art’.  I also thought it would be a good opportunity to explore the layering that has been rumbling around in my head for awhile. There was a lot of paint involved in this activity as well as ink, water, glue, gesso and lots of other supplies that I don’t normally use.

Messy Hands

I am not afraid to get messy in someone else’s space as my hands show. I still have some bits of purple paint in my cuticles. TMI???

One thing I learned is that there is a certain synergy between wet and dry with which I needed to experiment.

Pink Sparkly Pages

Not all of my pages came out well – or my definition of well prior to the class – however, I am trying to learn that there is a certain beauty in the imperfect. I like my points to match and my fabrics to go together, so there is a learning curve.

Blue Pages Stuck and Ripped

Andrea gave us about 5 or 6 techniques to try and those seemed like a good way to get my feet wet. I did them over and over, trying to learn the boundaries. It has been a long time since I painted, and paint has very different qualities than fabric!

Credit Card Plaid

The above page came out really well. I put drops of Golden (brand) paint on the page and then swiped a credit card over it. Not all of my credit card pages were that successful. This was a very wet technique and a number of them stuck together and were “ruined,” or need more layers added.

Stencil Page

As the day wore on, I found my sea legs and began pushing the boundaries a little bit. The above photo shows a page I created using a stencil on a gessoed page. Later I put more paint (or ink, maybe) lightly over it. I didn’t realize that the stencil would make such a nice effect. the inks I used had a bit of sparkle to them, an effect I liked. It was a pleasant surprise.

Stamped Page

The Os on this page are one of the stamps that I made with some foam that was part of our kit. Below is the cover I made for my journal, which I did by gessoing the cover, letting it dry and then rubbing my painted paper towel over a stencil.

Journal Cover

There were so many possibilities that I didn’t try, which is why I need to go back. One of my thoughts now that the journal pages are dry and I can leaf through them is “what next?” for this journal. Do I write in it, using the decorated pages as wonderful backgrounds for my regular journal work? Should I designate it as a creativity journal where I just paste or draw my ideas in it? I don’t know yet. Whatever I decide to do, it  will be a pleasant journal to use.

Deirdre sent me the link to this entry in Susan Shie’s blog. The post is all about the process of making one of her pieces. I was riveted reading the detail which she includes in her post.

clipped from susanshie.blogspot.com Start of “Savannah: The Two of Cups”

Process is something that has been on my mind as I have worked on the Tarts. I used to be only focused on the end product. I found it to be very unsatisfying, because the end product had a short-lived shelf life. What do you do with a finished product? Put in the bed, hang it on the wall and …. There is nothing after that. I would be finished with the piece. There isn’t much more interaction with a finished piece.

It occurred to me at some point that the process was what was important. I have, since then, tried to focus on the process. I wrote about it in blog post on March 14, 2009 and also mentioned process on January 1, 2009 in the 2008 UFO Report.

In focusing on the process, I try to work on what I am working on right at that moment fully and completely. I try not to think ahead to the next step or the next project. This was brought home to me in a big way as I worked on the Tarts. That project required my absolute full and undivided attention. Any time I thought “oh this will be fine” meant trouble and I would end up ripping something out. The lesson was, however, that Lorraine Torrence’s advice about making visual decisions visually was correct. I knew it was, but the Tarts hammered the mantra into my mind.

One of the other things I realized about process is that while I work on something, I am completely engaged with it. I feel the fabric in my hand. I feed the thread into the machine or hand sewing needle, feeling it with my fingers. I am close to the fabric and the project supplies.

Susan Shie’s post goes through her process in minute detail. It would bore me if I had heard it before, but I haven’t. I find everyone’s process to be different and, often, fascinating.

The other thing about process is that a process does not necessarily stay within the bounds of a specific project. A process can continue to another project once I have finished with a piece. Susan talks about making her Kitchen Tarot deck, which is a multi piece project. She is making a quilt for each of the many Tarot cards in a deck. I really admire someone who can commit to such a large project. Her pieces aren’t small either. She has committed to the process.

The Word of the Day for Labor Day, September 7, 2009 was Reverence. My immediate reaction was a sinking heart and steeling myself for a lecture. The reverence that the author talked about was multi-faceted and had nothing to do with a harangue about organized religion. The passage talked about reverence for a process and reverence for materials.

“Everything that we do should be imbued with reverence and so one would think that we should begin with this concept. But no. Reverence only comes with experience and care.”

and

“In our own small way, we must create and bring order to our lives each day. We must be responsible, and at the same time express the wonder of all we know as human.”

and

“The stately determination to make something worthy of the materials and the moment is reverence.”

I think that by engaging in a process, we gain experience. The more time I spend working on pieces the more experience I gain. I also think that being appreciative of the materials and what they are contributing to the process helps me work better.

It seems to me that reverence is part of a process.

In the process of writing this post, I became much more interested in Susan’s work, classes, blog etc. Perhaps there is a class with her in my future?

If you didn’t see the Cost Plus ad in the Sunday newspaper yesterday, go take a look. They are getting ready for spring and it is a very cheerful ad. They even have a grouping of Adirondack chairs that looks like my banner. Guess they’ve been trawling the web for ideas.

Journal from Annie Smith

Recently, I received an email from Annie Smith, yes, podcasting Annie Smith. In better times, I left a few comments on her website and also gave a donation. She contacted me, because she felt bad for not responding to my comments. I try to respond to comments on my blog, but it isn’t always possible and I certainly don’t expect any other blog authors to respond to my prattling. Still, she contacted me and wanted to send me something, because she hadn’t responded. I told her it wasn’t necessary, but she sent me the journal above anyway. As I have mentioned, I write in a journal nearly every day. While this is not the style of journal I normally use, it might be nice to try something different. Regardless it was very thoughtful.

Failure!

I wanted a sturdier tote bag to carry around. I decided to try to make a bag out of the clear tablecloth covering type fabric (is it really fabric??). I thought it would also be cool to have a clear plastic bag even though I would have to be careful what I put in it! I felt justified on this thought during the past week when I was carrying about my soaked flower bag. As you can see from above, I haven’t, yet, been very successful completing the clear plastic tote. The problem is that I cannot sew this tablecloth fabric on my machine   . I tried it normally, but the feed dogs wouldn’t feed. I tried backing it with some slightly heavy tissue paper, figuring I could rip it off later and he machine still wouldn’t feed. I even asked at the store where I bought the fabric and they said it should be no problem. Above is a picture of me failing at sewing the clear plastic bag. Unless any of you have any brilliant ideas, I am going to buy some colorful staples and staple it together. Not sure how sturdy it will be, though, and I am concerned that the backs of staples  catching on things.

I realized that I hadn’t posted or written about the Flower tote. At least I couldn’t find any reference to it.

Flower Tote

I finished this tote at the beginning of January. It is the first tote that I have made using one different fabric for the side so the pocket fabric stands out. I am pleased with that way of highlighting the ‘main’ fabric. It is a pretty easy way to do so. Basically, I cut the same numbers of fabrics out of two different fabrics as normal. Then I used one side piece in the flower print for an inside piece and one blue side piece for the outside side piece that gets the pocket attached to it.

Flower Tote detail

From the City Quilter Newsletter: “If you or any friends will be in New York City the weekend of March 21/22, I thought you’d like to know of a wonderful quilt show put on by the major Manhattan guild, Empire Quilters. It is entitled Urban Inspirations, and takes place at the the Fashion Institute of Technology, a major teaching institution, which is just around the corner from us.” If you would like to subscribe to the City Quilter newsletter, email them at: info@cityquilter.com I can’t attend this year, but would love to see photos you take from the show.

In response to the Excitement creative prompt

Despite the fact that this is supposed to be visual, I find myself wanting to tell a story with the pictures I am drawing. Actually, I am telling a story; I just don’t know where the story is going right now.

I am thinking of trying a thin Sharpie next time.

I have never been to a film festival that I can remember (my parents took us to a lot of strange and culturally significant places), but I went to the San Francisco Film Festival last night to see the 1000 Journals film. It made me really excited to go and to see an indie film.

I am so lame about celebrities, never knowing who they are and who is sleeping with whom, but at the film festival I felt how other people must feel about TV and movie stars. The director, Andrea Kreuzhage and Someguy were both there. After the movie, there was a Q&A and people asked thoughtful and good questions. Of course, everyone wanted to know where the journals are, but people also asked about whether they kept journals (both do to some extent), the exhibit that Someguy is working on getting together.

Today I went out and bought the book. I haven’t read it yet, of course, but I glanced through it and am already more excited than I was.

There is something about this project that is so great. First of all journals are close to my heart. It isn’t just that I have been stumbling along trying make visual journals for the past little while, but I have kept a journal since high school. They can be really powerful and helpful. It means a lot to me have somewhere that I can just blather on about the stupidities and irritations as well as the triumphs of daily life without worrying about my handwriting, grammar or vocabulary and spelling.

I was excited to be at the movie and see the celebs, because it is a collaborative project that Someguy started in his living room. Someguy works. He is just a regular guy. He looked the same *at* the movie as he did *in* the movie. No tux or entourage. It shows that one person can REALLY touch other people’s lives. It is inspiring. It also showed that people are really creative and can take a project and help. It also showed that people cared about the journals and the project. You can see a lot of other footage about the project on YouTube, including interviews with Someguy (above with Andrea Kreuzhage) and Andrea Kreuzhage.

I think people just want to be part of something greater than themselves.

Towards the end of the Q&A, a woman stood up and said she had one of the journals! She said she had had it, I think, since 2003. She had been giving it to people, but it had continually returned to her. As soon as people started leaving I jumped up and asked Someguy if I could have it. Sadly, someone had beat me to it! She, kindly, offered to send it to me when she was done, so I gave her my address. Life happens so we will see if I ever get one.

Here are some photos from the event.
This is Erin with journal #270 right after she told Someguy that she had the journal to give back to him.

Andrea and Erin with journal #270.Someguy, Erin and Andrea.

Someone was there with a Flat Stanley and wanted to take a picture of Stanley with Someguy and a journal.