I'm preparing this quilt sandwich for an artist retreat this coming weekend at a place in the Texas hill country. In addition to talks and discussions, there is supposed to be time to do art, so I thought I'd better have something in hand. Apparently all kinds of artists attend these. It will be a new experience to hang out with actors, musicians, painters, etc. to discuss creative process--or whatever the group leaders want us to discuss--or whatever tangent the group wants to follow. I suspect it will be somewhat like corralling cats. This is a nice time of year for a drive west, as we're having clear sunny days and cool nights and the purple muhly grass is in bloom. Texas doesn't get a lot of fall color most years but sometimes water conditions and temperature change bring on a change.
Just finished edge-stitching Kakishibu Iris II, and I've done the outline stitching on the third piece. This piece of damask is entirely brownish, with darker streaks and some blotches of black and yellow. I don't recall just how we did this, but I think it was pleated and basted when we applied the persimmon juice, then sprinkled with iron solution and (maybe) lemon juice while still damp. the colors are very nice, and there are lots of the woven iris blooms on it. The colors don't show quite as vividly in this photo as in the real fabric, but you can get the idea. Because the brown is the only dominant color, the iris blooms will all be in bronze tones. Fortunately, this gave me an excuse to visit Texas Art Supply to buy some more fabric paints, as well as to order more wonderful painted threads. I enjoyed a really delightful weekend. Met with my art quilt group on Friday, then stayed overnight to avoid the drive back to Eagle Lake. On Saturday I met granddaughter Cathy in Houston and attended a brewery open house where Chase Hamblin played and sang. Then Mediterranean food for lunch with Cathy, she went on to work, and I headed to Texas Art Supply--a thoroughly dangerous and tempting place. In the evening I attended the opening of Interwoven V, a fiber art exhibition at 18 Hands Gallery, where I had two pieces on display. It's a small gallery with a lot of ceramics as well as the fiber art; many of the artists came to the opening. My friend Beth brought her family--three kids ages 5-11--who were very interested in the work. It was fun to have children in the crowd, though we were a bit nervous because of the ceramics on shelves. So many schools have dropped any art instruction because of finances and emphasis on testing, resulting in a real hunger for art that is only fed if family makes the effort. We need to get some of that accessibility back. These threads from Laura Wasilowski's Artfabrik are quite thin (#12 perle cotton), so the colors don't look so bright when they're stitched. They have such great names--candy corn, chocolate squash, brass tacks, honey, rhubarb, wild rice--that it's easy to order more than I intended (and then go and have lunch).
I'm preparing this quilt sandwich for an artist retreat this coming weekend at a place in the Texas hill country. In addition to talks and discussions, there is supposed to be time to do art, so I thought I'd better have something in hand. Apparently all kinds of artists attend these. It will be a new experience to hang out with actors, musicians, painters, etc. to discuss creative process--or whatever the group leaders want us to discuss--or whatever tangent the group wants to follow. I suspect it will be somewhat like corralling cats. This is a nice time of year for a drive west, as we're having clear sunny days and cool nights and the purple muhly grass is in bloom. Texas doesn't get a lot of fall color most years but sometimes water conditions and temperature change bring on a change.
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AuthorBobbe Shapiro Nolan, Fiber Artist in Eagle Lake, TX. Trying to learn to call the sewing room my studio, and myself an artist. I retired after 15 years in hospice nursing--so now I have the time!. Archives
July 2021
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