Life In August

I’m such a slacker on this blog!  I really didn’t have much of anything interesting to report.  I have been getting ready to teach and vend, so have not been making any art, that’s for sure.  I have some new products to sell and the class I taught last weekend was machine quilting.  What’s there to say about that?

I do have a sample that I quilted with my Featherweight machine.  That might be interesting to see.

A complaint I have about stitching this way on the Featherweight, and it may be a problem unique only to mine and not to other machines, is that when the needle goes down in the hole a second time, a pretty noticeable knot appears (at least with black thread on white cloth).  But I made the sample to show my class that it is possible to do this on a Featherweight.

I love Kathy Sandbach’s books on machine quilting.  The one I used for the class was Show Me How To Machine Quilt.  She has developed a method of creating unique continuous line designs in stitch for quilts with diagrams showing how to start and continue. It’s a great book especially if you are looking to go beyond stippling and other filler designs. I have some left over from the class.  They are $16.95 plus shipping.  They are not up on the website yet.

Another piece of news:  I now have Rayna Gillman’s book for sale on my website!  See here.

Well, I guess that’s all for today…hopefully it won’t be so long between posts this time!

Seeing…Where It All Begins

I have been reading Betty Edwards’ book, Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain, as I have mentioned in previous posts. She says that learning to draw is not so much about drawing, but about seeing. She writes extensively about how to turn off the left brain dominance and make a shift to the right brain creative mode. The exercises in the book are there to help make this happen. I find it interesting how one can start to “see” things even when they are not expecting it.

For instance, my husband and I made a trip home for the 4th of July. I was talking on the phone when he pulled into the parking lot of the Dairy Queen in McLeansboro. I thought he had to use the restroom and he never said anything to me as he exited the car. While I was waiting, I began to “see” the side of a building in front of me. I think my mind made the shift to the right brain. Wow! There were some awesome markings. I got my camera out and started snapping pictures. I found watermarks and pitmarks on the building. I just kept shooting anything I thought I might find interesting, because you just never know.

Here are the markings that caught my attention:

This building with the blue doors also intrigued me, so I took a few pics of it too.

I think it’s time to get a new Thermofax screen order ready. I am loving buildings.

For most of my adult life, I have been a bit of a photography bug. Perhaps that’s why I went to x-ray school…to take pictures! But I’ve traded all that in now for a more artistic and interesting picture-taking experience. I love my digital camera.

Tuesday This ‘N That…

The holiday is over.  I didn’t get to do my usual ritual since we left town to go visit with families.  My usual 4th of July celebration consists of reading an old American history book and remembering the sacrifices of those who rebelled against an oppressive government, so that a new way of life, a new freedom of expression and of living, could be established in our country, the United States.  I marvel at their bravery and wonder, if called upon, could I do the same?  Considering the history of our country is something I feel I need to do at least once a year, and usually my husband is working on the holiday, so that affords me the time to do it.

But this year we went home, since my sister was coming in from Texas.  We spent a day with his family and a day with mine before driving home on Saturday evening.  I took some things to work on and think about and my sketchbook, in case there were any idle moments.  I have been reading the book by Betty Edwards, Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain and had not really tried any of the exercises yet.  So, on Friday night, I set my mother-in-law’s salt and pepper shakers in front of me and proceeded to do some almost blind  contour drawing.  I  see the possibilities of using these drawings for abstract work.  I highly recommend this book.

Today I have been outside in my “wet studio” (patio) screening and stamping silk scarves with dye paint for a different look.  I am planning and looking forward to a productive week!

New Reading Material…

I ordered some back issues of the Surface Design Journal.  Yummmmmm………  They arrived very quickly.  You can order back issues here.

New Books…

I’ve been reading! A few weeks ago I ordered some new art books. Art Against the Odds, From Slave Quilts to Prison Paintings by Susan Goldman Rubin is an interesting short study (actually I think it’s a children’s book) of the work of artists in concentrations camps and the Japanese internment camps in WWII, quilts made by slaves, and art made by patients battling mental illness. It is very interesting. I also purchased Betty Edwards’ Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain, so far quite stimulating. In her book, she mentions another book called The Right Way to Draw by Kimon Nicolaides, which I also happened to order at the same time. I haven’t read it yet. Yesterday I was at the dentist’s office with Betty’s book while I was waiting. I was reading her description of what happens when the right brain is dominant and the left brain is turned off…wow, that’s exactly what it’s like in what I call “the zone”! I know you all know what that is!