Inspiration Tuesday: Dots

Dot Dishes
Dot Dishes

I saw these great dishes at Cliff’s Variety yesterday. I noticed they are by Jackie Shapiro. I don’t know if it is the same Jackie Shapiro that designed the Botanical Pop fabric by Baum Textiles/Windham Hill Fabrics. BTW, I still want some of that turquoise dot that was part of the collection! Anyone who finds 4-6 yards of this fabric will get, at least, a tote bag. Of course, I will pay your costs and shipping for the fabric as well.

French Bull Brand
French Bull Brand

I don’t want a whole set of these dishes, but some bowls might be nice.

Auxilliary Creativity

Yesterday, I went to CreateIt Studio for a glass fusing session. CreateIt is a place that does pottery painting, but you can also create mosaics and fused glass pieces. They won’t be doing the mosaics in their new location, so go now if you want to make one. I am sorely tempted, let me tell you. I have wanted to make a mosaic for years.

I have been to the pottery painting places and they are really fun. When I saw the glass fusing that Bonnie, the granddaughter of one of the CQFAers, did, I HAD to try it. A group of us from CQFA went and tried it, thanks to Dolores who pinned me down for a date. Thanks, Dolores!

True to form, I didn’t hem and haw, just got down to work. I really did the project quickly and simply, so I was done way before anyone else.

The fused glass technique is really easy. Basically, you place bits of colored glass down on another piece of glass in a pleasing manner and are done. I think part of the reason I was done so fast is because I already had an idea in mind. The others didn’t and had to play around a bit. I think I feel more comfortable and successful if I have an idea in mind when trying something new. I think I might loosen up a bit if I tried this more than once.

Fused Glass Trivet, August 2009
Fused Glass Trivet, August 2009

My first job was in a stained glass store, where I learned to make leaded glass windows. As a result I am not afraid of glass, but have a healthy respect for the sharp edges. As with quiltmaking, the glass cutting tools have GREATLY improved, so I just nipped and cut quickly and was done. The gluing down of the pieces, which was done to keep them in place until the firing process, was the most time consuming.

After finishing the trivet, I wasn’t really ready to leave. I decided to add to my casual serveware collection by painting a piece of pottery as well. You might remember the pieces I made in January at Color Me Mine.

Oval Serving Bowl, August 2009
Oval Serving Bowl, August 2009

I am thinking salsa and guacamole would work well in this piece.

Dolores' Abstract
Dolores' Abstract

I wanted those long, red, roundish pieces but Dolores took them all. I am not bitter, don’t worry. There weren’t enough of them anyway. I love the small bits that Dolores put in between the squares on the border.

Reva's Butterfly
Reva's Butterfly

Reva was the first one to use the cut outs. I followed her lead when I found the spiral and it was the right color.

Jaye's Spiral & Diane's Water
Jaye's Spiral & Diane's Water

Diane’s piece looks like her silk paintings.

rue Manuel Dining Room

A few days ago, I pointed out Suzanne Cabrera’s blog to you. Here is a watercolor from one of the artists, Casey Toussaint, Suzanne highlighted in her blog. I really enjoy art of ordinary things and this watercolor of the dining room fits. I have been trying to do that with my creative prompt responses and think I am getting better. I have a lot of practice sketches to make before I get to this level, but I’ll get there.
Casey Toussaint Dining Room
Casey Toussaint Dining Room

Another Catch Up Saturday

My brain is full, so this is going to be another catch up kind of post.

1. Bonnie McCaffrey – Bonnie did an vidcast interview with Paula Nadelstern around Paula’s exhibit at the American Folk Art Museum in New York City. The devil part of my brain is plotting ways to get to see that exhibit before it closes on September 13. A visit doesn’t seem likely from where I am sitting, though you never know and hopes springs eternal, but there is a catalog, Paula Nadelstern’s Kaleidoscope Quilts, which is a must have on my list. I like Paula’s two previous books. They spoke to the smart quiltmaker in me.

2. Kelly Rae Roberts – Kelly Rae Roberts wrote a book called  Taking Flight, which I reserved at the Library, but hasn’t come in yet. You can read about the book on her website in the book section. She is more of a painter and collage artist than quiltmaker. I took some time with her site this week (minutes here and there) and love the fresh feeling. I am trying to find the right look/feeling for ArtQuiltmaker.com so looking at the colors and embellishments on blogs is a continuing task. One of the things I like about her blog is the house tour. She shows all the nooks and crannies of her Seattle home. My mind boggles at the cleaning that must have gone on beforehand!

3. Picking out Paint – I am famous for picking out the most expensive and hardest to get item in any category regardless of how much I know about the topic or category. We have been trying to find the right shade of red for our dining room. Currently we have Lowe’s Valspar Cherry Divine, and Tibetan Red from Lowe’s Waverly Collection. The Cherry Divine is ok, but very pink and the Tibetan Red was absolutely a deal breaker, because it was much too brown. My friend Jessica talks about the ‘taupefication of America.’ My general principles of advocating cheerfulness, and Jessica’s comments make me refuse to participate in anything smacking of brown in my house. This place in the process meant a trip to Benjamin Moore yesterday where we found the perfect red, Red Statement from Pratt & Lambert. Perfect. Absolutely the right red and $60 a gallon AND it comes in only one product. No samples and you have to order the gallon from the Benjamin Moore store in the sky or somewhere and no returns. Sigh. My knack strikes, and burns, again. We checked out several other reds, most of which were in the same category as the Red Statement. We finally ended up with B.M.’s Poppy and Rapture. We’ll see. You never know, we may end up with paint that costs $60/gallon on one corner of our dining room. Doubtful, but it could happen.

4. Beefing up the CPP – I really want more people to participate in the Creative Prompt Project (CPP). I love the artwork that comes every week from the current participants, but I want more!!! I thought that some people may not have a place to post their work, so I created a Flickr group where members of the group can upload their drawings. I hope you will take the time to join and upload your photos. I have also heard that publishers troll Flickr for emerging artists.

5. Good News on the Tarts – Finally some progress on the last bit of the Tarts. As you know, I have been toying with replacing the Flying Geese with something. I have drawing some larger cups, a stack of small cups, tried some mini-cupcakes, a whole variety of things. Nothing was quite right. I felt stumped.

I lean my rulers up against the wall and rest them in the hinged area of my sewing table. This isn’t a great location when I am sewing something that pushes against them. They tend to fall behind the sewing cabinet, which means I have to haul the thing away from the wall and hope that I haven’t broken a ruler. When I was working on the latest tote bag, I had moved them to prevent this situation.

This plus the 9K being on vacation allowed me to have a virtually unobstructed view of the lower right hand corner of the Tarts.

Art Deco Cups and Coffee Pot
Art Deco Cups and Coffee Pot

Those cups jumped out at me. I pulled the block off the wall and traced the cup. The pattern is long gone. I also flipped it so the handle will be pointing right instead of left. After a bit of fiddling with lines, I put the preliminary drawing up on the wall. Perfect. It is perfect in tracing paper, so I will need to audition some fabrics. I finally feel like I am back in business with this piece.

Art Deco Cup - cropped
Art Deco Cup - cropped

6. Vicki Welsh’s Field Trips in Fiber – I made her latest FFiF list again with the latest tote bag! What a thrill. The great thing about Vicki’s list is that it is a great pointer to other fabulous quilts and fiber projects. It showcases a lot of work that I might not otherwise see. Thanks, Vicki.

7. Glass Fusing – I am a big fan of those pottery places where you can paint the cup or plate of your choice. You might remember that such an outing was what I did for my birthday. A visitor at the recent CQFA meeting talked about a place, Create It where you could not only paint pottery, but also fuse glass. A small group of us are going there tomorrow to try it out.

Creative Prompt Flickr Group

For those of you without a place to post,  and for those of you want to see all the creative prompt responses together, I have created a Flickr Group for this project. You need to join. You can do so at http://www.flickr.com/groups/aqcpp. Hope this is helpful.

Please continue to to post the deep link or URL to the comments section of the prompt. Thanks.