Around the World Blog Hop

Gee- this was supposed to have been posted in mid-October!  I got it all ready, then forgot to take it out of draft.  So here you go, better late than never I guess.

I've been invited by Gina of Clay and Fiber to participate in a world wide blog hop.  Gina is a very talented artist living in Florida, who has a unique style combining her love of fiber and clay.  Take a look at this post to get an idea of just how talented she is.  I've gotten to know Gina through the cyber group Tangled Textiles that I have been part of for several years now- if my computer records are accurate, we did our first challenge in June 2011.  Gina always has a fresh take on our challenges- and I know how lovely her clay work is, since I own some!

And now, on to the hop---

What quilting/sewing thing am I working on?

I have two projects going on now.  One, that is close to being done, was inspired by a piece of black fabric that I folded, then discharged twice- once in bleach, and once in Thiox.  I finished the machine quilting this weekend, and now have to finish the hand stitching.

 

My other 'in  progress' piece is the next challenge for Tangled Textiles.  There was no set theme, just the requirement to document the process.  I immediately knew I wanted to create a piece using the indigo fabrics I'd dyed a couple of months ago.  Many of my quilts start with my hand dyed and printed fabric.  Right now, I'm just playing with the fabric, laying out some ideas to see how they look.  I will probably resort to the sketchbook at some point, but I'm not there yet.  Don't these blues and white just sing together?

And, just for good measure- I'm knitting some small Christmas presents.  Handwork really does soothe the soul.

2. How does my work differ from others of its genre?

Hmm, I'm not sure I can say it does differ in any significant way.  I'd say my work is characterized by my love of hand dyed fabric, fairly minimalist design, strong use of color, and a growing love of including handwork in the pieces.  Those attributes certainly are not unique to me, but I hope in my growth as an artist that I am finding my own voice that makes it stand out as mine.

3. Why do I write/create what I do?

I can't imagine not creating, for a number of reasons.  I grew up sewing, knitting- it was just part of our lives.  It's played a bigger role at some stages than others, but it has never not been there for me.  After I got my master's degree, I started working in a field that is emotionally draining.  My fiber art has been a place of refuge from that.  It is also the polar opposite of my professional work in other ways:  it is something I create totally on my own, I am solely responsible for the outcome, good or bad, and I have a tangible object that I have created at the end of the process.  Those who say that quilting (or knitting, or painting, or writing) is cheaper than therapy know what they are talking about.  It has certainly been my therapy through some difficult times, and provides me joy in the not-so-difficult times.


Ten years ago I was eager to try any technique I could learn, and had a growing stash of embellishments and fabrics.  Over the years I have decided that the only way for me to grow is to set limits- limits on what I can use, limits on the techniques I learn, even limit the classes I take.  I've always loved clean, simple design, and loved to piece- so my more recent work reflects that.  I'd also say that I am influenced by nature, but try to abstract what I see and feel rather than try to recreate a realistic picture of it.

I started writing my blog in 2005, after we moved.  It was initially a way to journal my creative journey, and turned into a way to connect with other artists around the world.  I must admit that sometimes my motivation to write waxes and wanes, depending on what is going on- but I've not left it fallow for more than a month or so.

4. How does my writing/creative process work?

My fiber work generally starts with the fabric.  A piece of hand dye may inspire some ideas in my head, and I'll just start playing with the fabric.  I'm a firm believer in therapy sewing, and having strip sets ready to go when the muse wants to play.  I rarely draw my ideas out ahead of time.  I seem to work better when the fabric and I are having a conversation, and it tells me what it wants to be.

As for the writing- I do set limits there, because there are parts of my life that I either am not able or do not want to post on the world wide web.  It really has become a way to keep an ongoing journal of my fiber art (and other avocations), a way for me to better understand my own process.

All that being said, here's a sampling of some of my work . . . 

 

 I don't have three bloggers to point you to, but I would like to point you in the direction of one artist whose work I love. Lisa Flowers Ross is an artist living in Boise- I love her clean, simple design esthetic. In addition to be very involved in the art community in Boise, she has created art for some very unusual places- like, traffic boxes!  And, she is a featured artist in a gallery in Ketchum this month, with a couple of new pieces that I found stunning.  So give her blog a visit!

I love long weekends!!

I've had five days to play in the studio- doing both fiber and soap- oh, and a new addiction that goes hand in glove with the soaping.  But first to fiber.

I got Reclamation (or whatever it ends up being named, I'm not sure yet) faced.  I still have a sleeve and label to add, but those are no-brainer tasks I can do during the week after work.  I am happy with it- but it is still talking, and telling me it needs more!  I keep seeing metal on it, so I think I will have to walk the aisles at Home Depot to see if any inspiration strikes.  Do they make copper washers?  I doubt it, but what I keep seeing are copper circles.

I loved doing the hand embroidery.  I have a smaller piece of this fabric left that has more gray in it- I'm thinking of doing something similar, but doing the quilting in gray instead of the gold, and seeing what it does.  I think I have some gray fabric I auditioned for a border, also.  Something to play with this winter.

I also worked on my Tangled Textiles piece- but if you want to see that, you'll need to head over to the TT blog.

I got the last of my Christmas soaping done this weekend.  The Christmas colored soaps turned out well, just need a little cleaning up after they've cured a month or so.  I am getting better at this swirling business!!

 The Christmas soaps are scented with a blend of Champagne and pomegranate fragrance oils, and the bottom one with Champagne and ginger fragrance oils.  They smell heavenly!
 

The lavender swirl soap is scented with lavender, coriander and eucalyptus essential oils.  I'd used the coriander blended with other essential oils before, and not been happy with the result.  With the lavender, it is fantastic.

And, I felted some of my older soaps that were still perfectly usable but had lost most of their scent.  I finally got the hang of using the really nice Merino wool to felt after a couple of failures.  The trick is to lay down lots of very thin layers of fiber- I think I did about six.  With a coarser wool, I was only doing three layers, and it worked. With the Merino wool, not so much. The top one is done with a variegated roving I got in Grand Junction this summer- it made some lovely soaps, all very different!

And, this weekend I used my tall and skinny mold I made last weekend for the first time.  I made another rendition of my Rose Clay and Charcoal soap, this time with a dandelion zebra swirl.  I will be trying this again!

The soap at the top of the picture is upside-down- but I like the way the swirl looks from that perspective.  It reminds me of a mountain with the moon rising behind it.  I think I'm going to play with that technique again, and see what I can do with that image.  And, I am very happy with my tall and skinny mold!
 
I worked on my labels and packaging- I do have some orders for soap for Christmas!  If you can't tell, I really am enjoying this.

Saturday Marly and I tried something new- we made lotion.  I only needed to get a couple of ingredients, since I already had the oils from soaping.  It was so easy- it took longer to measure and heat the ingredients than it did to make.  And the lotion is fantastic!  We scented it with lavender and coriander, like the soap.  I will be doing more of this, and never buying commercial lotion again!

But tomorrow it's back to work, at least for a couple of days. Then I'll be back in the studio, quilting my TT piece.  Hopefully I can get that done next weekend!

Whoosh- Where Did October Go?

I cannot believe it has been a month since I posted.  It is not for lack of things going on here, there has been lots.  I try to cram so much into my weekends, I am spending less and less time on the computer.

I got started on my November piece for Tangled Textiles- but to see that, you'll need to wander over to the Tangled Textiles blog.  We are posting our process for this challenge- and since I don't do a lot of sketching, this has been a bit of a challenge for me.  I am happy with the progress I made this weekend.

And I have been soaping like mad, trying to get stuff done in time for Christmas.  I figure this is the last weekend I can soap and be sure they are ready.  I am really happy with what I've done!

 Top soap is Barefoot in the Sunshine, scented with green guava and pineapple and peach fragrance oils.  The second is unscented goat's milk soap.

 Turquoise and cocoa soap, designed for a particular bathroom.

 Color Block soap, colored with all natural colorants- annatto, alkanet, cocoa powder, and green clay.  It's scented with eucalyptus and lime essential oils

 Green clay and Salt bars, scented with eucalyptus essential oil

 Secret swirl soap, unscented (the batter moved too fast!)

 Pumpkin Beer soap

 Red Clay and Charcoal soap

 Rose clay and charcoal soap

The combination of chemistry and artistry just fascinates me- it has many of the same elements that fabric dyeing does.  And, like fabric, I have a product I can use when all is done!!  I have gotten really hooked on using hand crafted soap, I don't think I will ever go back to a commercial product when making this is so easy and fun.  Next is lotion making- I now have all the supplies!  Think of all the money I could NOT spend at VS, or BBS, or the BS.

I have some older soaps that I will be felting, since they have lost much of their scent but are still very usable.  The felted soaps went over really well when I sold at the quilt festival over the summer, and I figure it is an easy way to use soaps that might otherwise go to waste.

This weekend I made my last three batches before Christmas-

Christmas soap, scented with Champagne and ginger fragrance oils, and

another small Christmas soap, scented with champagne and pomegranate fragrance oils, and lavender swirl soap, scented with lavender, coriander, and eucalyptus essential oils.  Those won't come out of the molds until Tuesday- I can't wait to see how the swirls look!


So that is how I split my time now- fiber and soap.  Either way, it is feeding my muse!