Painting on fabric today

Today my Yulee Stitchin' Sisters will paint on fabric and make a mini art quilt. I led this workshop a couple of weeks ago for the River City Piecemakers in Jacksonville. 

One lady was disappointed that her painting wasn't defined, was too washed out. With her permission I quilted it for demonstration. I think it is soft, and beautiful. 

My sweet daughter went as my assistant. Toward the end, she picked up a brush and made up a sunset. She is so my mini-me. 

Here's the one I demonstrated. Heavy-handed as usual. The bottom of the right cloud bothers me. I will fix that. 

The students get to chooses from 6 or 7 different photos to paint. This one has to be the easiest. The ones with a frog or bird are more challenging. 

These are painted, slightly more advanced quilts. I love this one. I take my camera to the dock quite often looking for that one great shot of an egret or heron in flight. 

Painted on duck cloth. I always shoot for realism and settle with a little whimsy, if you could call an alligator whimsical. 

Mail Call belongs to a friend, but resides with me often. I like to take him with me to lectures and workshops. 

DRAMA!

Please have patience as I learn this new posting format. I want to rearrange the photos, seem to be having some issue with that...Okay, well....DRAMA!

A few posts back I made a strange post of measurements and then another of a couple of costumes. Honestly I was just using my blog to communicate with a huge cast of people, without having to collect emails and phone numbers. I had agreed to costume the Amelia Musical Playhouse's production of The Sound Of Music. 

Now that I am able, I can share a few photos. I wish now that I had taken more shots of the many, many costumes. This is just a small slice. 

Backstage with Rolf, Frau Schmidt and others.

The Von Trapp children had their own dressing area. If you know the storyline, you know there were seven. Here we had 13! All but one (Frederic) had two children playing alternate nights. Only one of the charaters had two people that were the same size, so...in all, each set of costumes required 12 costumes! The children alone accounted for 48 costumes! 

Jessi, Rick and I going through the wig selection. None of these seemed appropriate for Maria.

This set was my favorite to make. 

Then there were 12 nuns, 13 including Maria.

It gets hot backstage! 

Another set of Von Trapp children in their marching outfits. 

Closing night was very emotional. Tears were shed. 

Not pictured at all...

Maria and her many changes

The baroness and her beautiful gowns

The captain and his wonderful, handsome suits and uniforms

The butler

Maximillion and his rather flamboyant suits

In all, a little over 100 costumes! It was fun. I am glad it's over. I had a taste of theater life. I do love my quiet studio. 

Testing....1,2,3

Well, hello there! 

I have been remiss in my blogger duties for so long, but I have a great excuse. I really do! 

My sweet hubby gave me an iPad some time back and I fell in love with using it, to the point that I rarely use my laptop. Blogging is a laptop function, not an iPad function, or so I thought, so blogging rarely occurred. When I did try, I couldn't figure out how to download pictures into my blog. I love pictures! Someone explained in very simple terms how I should fix this problem and ta-da! Here I am! 

Change

Very soon, tomorrow I think, things will change at the Olde Towne Gallery in St. Marys.

I have been there 3 months, and they have been good. I have met new people, sold a few quilts, and learned a bit about showing in a gallery.

I'll be visiting the Tree City Quilters Guild in Gainesville, FL in the next couple of weeks. There, quilters will enjoy a 'Symphony of Quilts' played with an excerpt from Marjorie Keenan Rawlings "Cross Creek". We'll be talking about and enjoying my beautiful Florida, of course!

This means I'll be bringing everything I own that remotely resembles Florida nature and wildlife.

Which means my gallery display will have to change it's outfit for the occasion.

If you haven't been to the gallery (or if you have), you should take this opportunity to go. I will be showing a different side of me...one that I am a teensy bit apprehensive about. Some pieces you have seen and some you definitely have not. It was also very difficult to price pieces that I'm not even confidant about hanging in the first place. So, I pretended that I am some well-known, hoity-toity artist that everyone who's anyone knows, and put ridiculous prices on every piece. Okay, not every one, but most of them.

If you go, I would love the feedback, good, bad or ugly.

If you don't...well, guess you'll just not get to see that side of me.
And I'll be back to normal me after September.
he, he, he.

work

I have been painting...and quilting...

not blogging.

None of the paintings nor the quilts really seem worthy of posting here.

just plugging away anyhow.

If I keep painting and quilting, eventually something nice will come out.

I'll keep you posted.

Owl

This picture has no real reason to be in this post, other than it was in my photo file and I like it. So...it's my blog and I like it, so here it is. 

 

 

I was thinking of making an owl quilt, then one of my coworkers said, "I wish you would make an owl quilt."

He's a little funky, fun owl. Here he is trying on a pair of antique buttons from my grandmother's collection.

Then, with his keen eyesight, from across the room, he spotted these little iridescent beauties, also from Grandma's sewing box.

 

I have been wanting to try this for a while. It took more guts than I thought it would.

I stapled my quilt!

I had to take a deep breath and do it.

                           Funky little owl didn't mind, but I was having heart palpitations!

After the sacrificial stapling, it was easy to pop Little Mr. Funky into this awesome frame. I found these at a flea market, this nice gentlemen was selling them for an unbelievably low price. I bought several.

I think I might be doing some more little funky forest friends for Mr. Who. That was fun.

Thank you

I have had an awesome experience for the past 5 weeks, showing my art quilts in a gallery setting. This has been mostly due to the support from friends and family. My church family showed up in force the first week and I sold about 6 quilts right away. Then I had various friends come to the gallery over the next three weeks and I sold another 6 or so.
Thank you.

If you bought a quilt. I hope you will enjoy it and it brings you peace, joy, positive energy...happiness.


If you came to visit me while I was there. The best kind of support is to see a friend walk through the door with a smile and a hug.


If you visited the gallery and mentioned me or my work to the artist on duty. The other artists, I think,  were blown away by the number of people who came in to support me, see my work, and buy my work.

Any person can make art. Some people make good art and some people make not so good art. You helped validate me as a good artist. And I thank you.