Finally a Day in My Studio

Today is suppose to be my day in the studio. I'll let you know how it turns out because it is also Mark's birthday and he wants to set up an area to photograph his chocolates (to start setting up the online store for Life By Chocolates.)

I'll have to accept some of the blame for not spending more time in my studio because I've been having a serious "Jones-ing" for yarn. First I had to finish the gifts I was making (socks for Zeke and Mark) and then I finished a sweater for me.



(Good models are so hard to find, so I had to crop off the head. LOL)

This sweater is made from a Jo Sharp pattern (Sommerset) with RYC Soft Lux yarn (recommended by Adina). It is wonderfully soft and nice to work with AND because Webs Yarn now has it on sale I had to finish the sweater to see if I liked it enough to buy more for another!

But now I'm trying to stop myself from buying more yarn because I know I have enough to keep me busy for the rest of the year, but so many sales and so many fabulous fibers. Somebody slap my hands before I click through to the Webs site again!

Well hopefully my day in the studio will take my mind off of the yarn! I'm planning on finishing off some lingering projects and then I start putting together my teaching plan for my first workshop! I'm teaching a 3-day workshop at Hudson River Valley Art Workshops in Dec. 4 - 7, 2008. We'll working postcard-sized, exploring various materials and elements of design. Plus, as an added bonus the studio will be open to the public so that people can stop by to see the work and purchase it for holiday gift giving. I'm really excited about this workshop - should be lots of fun!

Frosty the Pumpkins

Here is the picture of the frosted pumpkins that I tried to put up early. Unfortunately, they no longer look so fairy-tale-ish. They are turning to mush and I'll have to get a big shovel to transport them to the forest compost heap.

I have nothing new to show for myself, as I have not been in my studio for about a month. I have the sleeve and label to sew on the Dwelling piece and then I'll have to figure out what I'm doing next. I've printed out the information about several calls for entry, but I may just ignore them and let my muse lead me where it will.

Is WordPress the Next Step

There is a discussion going on on QuiltArt about the relative merits of the various blogging options. If I had had the time, I would have chimed in and said that I've been using Blogger for about 2 years and haven't had any trouble with it. But then what happens when I try to add a picture to this post -- Error Message. Sheesh. And yesterday, there was a point when the pictures in previous posts weren't showing up. Double Sheesh.

So no pictures for you this time. I was just going to post a picture of the frost on the pumpkins. I had heard of this happening to pumpkins but had never actually seen a frosted pumpkin -- they are very cool. The entire pumpkins was frosted. It sparkled in the early morning light. Looked like something you'd see in a fairy tale.

I had no pictures of the Dwelling piece that I finished on Saturday because as usual, I forgot to bring the camera with me to my studio. Camera on the first floor -- studio on the 3rd floor. And on my studio day, I dare not show my face outside of my studio or be in danger of being dragged into some other "5 minutes" task that takes the rest of the day.

Laura Cater-Woods is teaching at here this week. It is always wonderful to have Laura here. She is like a breath of fresh air - always makes you feel upbeat and eager.

I love it here, even when the driveway and all of the walkways are like blocks of ice! I was out this morning at 6:30 am sprinkling snow melt on all of the walkways and luckily our snow plow and salt service arrived in time to prevent my having to salt a path across the driveway from the Carriage house to the Main Inn. I love how everything is crunchy and sparkling, and my Yak-Traks did a good job of keeping me from slipping.

I'm returning to California on Friday. My daughter is graduating from the Monterey Institute with a Masters Degree in International Security and Conflict Resolution. I am so proud of her. She is amazing. We will be in CA for just 5 days but it be enough time to have Christmas as Adina's house, dinner with friends, a mother-daughter day out, and a celebratory dinner at the French Laundry in Yountville.

Gaffitti

Wow. Two posts in one month. It must mean the workshop season is winding down and I actually have a moment or two to do something other than work!

Carol Taylor is starting her second of two workshops today. Seeing her work and watching what they are doing in her workshop sure makes me itch to get in my studio to start strip piecing!



But what did I do with my couple hours of studio time -- cleaned my studio! This is one of my favorite procrastination techniques (besides knitting). But sometimes the studio just really needs it - stuff gets everywhere in stacks and stacks until you can barely move without upsetting a stack.

Just two more weeks to go before I can move my studio to the Carriage House studio for the winter! I'll be able to stay out there until the end of February. It will be wonderful to have so much space.

Here is another piece I created for the Deconstruction/Reconstruction exhibit. It is called Graffiti and is made from Spanish rice sacks. I use acrylic paint on the sacks and then stitch it with Aurifil 12wt thread (which makes a nice thick line). When taking the train into NYC I enjoy checking out all the graffiti that you see along the way. So this is my interpretation of graffiti. I used the "traditional" paint, but then used thread as a "quilter's graffiti."



This my current project for the California Fiber Artist's Dwellings collection. It is at the phase where I'm about ready to start stitching, but I still have a few more details to ad - like the yellow dashed line for the roads between the rows of houses.



Fall is finally here and the leaves are falling! Fall is a beautiful time of year up here. The weather is perfect - not too hot and not too cold.

New Blog Title

I changed the title of my blog from "Crazy By Design - Day By Day" because who am I kidding . . . I'll never have the time to blog daily! I consider myself very lucky to blog quarterly. So now it is "Artist Interrupted" as that is how I feel my life is at the moment -- constant interruptions from whatever I'm doing.

Last Saturday when it was suppose to be my day to work in my studio, I don't think I was ever in there for more than half an hour before I would be called downstairs for some reason or another other. We had a lot of inn guest checking in that day, and while Mark is suppose to be handling this, he always picks Saturday as the day to do chocolates - a task that often cannot be interrupted without bad results. So guests are arriving and Mark is no where to be seen and he can't hear them from the kitchen. This means that because I happen to be the one seen first I'm suddenly pulled into checking in the flow of guests and showing them to their rooms and helping with luggage, and then while I'm down there I may as well take care of the dogs and make coffee, etc. Sigh.

Well, enough of my whining.

This week is our Retreat week and we have a wonderful mix of fiber artists and painters. I think the painters are getting a real kick out of watching what the fiber artists are creating. Kris Moss and Patti Turi are the fiber artists. They are doing really cool stuff. I'll have to take some pictures today.

But what have I been doing, you ask. Well, I'm working on my Dwellings piece and a lecture that I'm giving next week at the Bethlhem Art Association. It will just be a slide show lecture, but I want to show pictures of the Dwellings piece in process. I hope I have the time to get the process finished!

Below is an image of one of the pieces I did for the Recycled exhibit with CFA. It is titled Fashion Crossroads. It is made with old suit swatches and strips from one of Mark's shirts.

New Fiber Art in August

I finally got around to prepping a couple of photos of my recent work and that is only because we had a few days between workshops! I'm usually so busy during workshops that I barely have time to work on any of my own fiber art, let alone blog about it.

This is a picture of my very latest. It is called Rabbits in the Grass and it is going to be displayed in an exhibit by the California Fiber Artists at the Pacific International Quilt Festival this October. It's so funny that while I lived in California I never had a quilt in this show, but now I'm in it quite frequently.



Here is another one that is going to the PQIF exhibit. It is called Oh, Sunny Day III.



I have a folder of other pictures prepared for this blog, but I think I'll hold on to them for the next time I post, in case I don't have much to say -- like this time.

Finally Some Light on the Situation

I finally have the start to a reasonable set up for taking pictures of my work. I followed the recommendations of Holly Knott, who has a great little write up on her website about photographing your art quilts. I still have to play with the set up a bit because there doesn't seem to be enough light with just the trumpet bulbs (maybe I need more than two).

So yesterday I took a bunch of photos of both my new work and some of the older work for which I never had good photos.

Here is a nice detail shot of Angry Rabbit.



I'll post more pictures later because some of my new work is on the way to its new home and I don't want to spoil the surprize for those receiving them, and also some I may submit for exhibitions and I need to read the rules before showing them in public!

Katie Pasquini Masopust

I just had the pleasure of watching and listening to Katie's slide lecture about her career as a quilt artist. I am just in awe. I took a workshop from Katie way back in 1993 (or there about) when I was just starting with art quilting. I still use the techniques I learned in this class today in some of my work.

But seeing the progression of her work and learning that she still uses the same basic construction techniques as she has always used makes me think why do I worry about keeping up with everything that is new in fiber art? Why do I make myself crazy trying to master all of these techniques when I already have quite a few in my repertoire that I am happy with?

I'm thinking I should be spending more time learning color, composition, and creativity (the title of Katie's workshop here).

Well, in any case the group of people in this workshop are having a blast and I wish I were a participant! I definitely recommend a workshop with Katie, no matter where she is teaching. But she will be back at the Hudson River Valley Art Workshops in the Fall of 2009! We'll be posting pictures of this current workshop on our inn blog, probably early next week.

Too Late For a Sunny Day

My first invitational and I blew it. I was invited to submit a piece for jurying to the Sky's the Limit exhibit which will be shown at the Houston Festival this year and I missed the deadline. Such a bummer. Usually I'm the queen of just slipping in at the last moment, but with the preparations for vending at the Chicago International Quilt Festival and the on going workshops, I just was not able to complete the piece I had planned. Oh, so I did actually get the originally planned piece quilted in time, but then 2 days to go and I realized that the piece was lifeless - blah, just no pazazz.


Oh, well. I did finish it yesterday, though, and now I'm happy with it. I'll just have to look for another venue to show it. I'll post pictures after I get the edging on and find a wall large enough to hang it and take pictures.


This picture is of a smaller version of quilt. I had several other deadlines to meet and decided a series would work. The series is called Oh, Sunny Day and this piece is on its way to Finland for a California Fiber Artist exhibit. I like this arrangement in this small piece (20" x 18") but in the large piece I as making for the invitational, it just wasn't right. I have another small piece still in the works.



This small piece, Flight, was created as a thank you gift to the sponsor of the CFA exhibit that was held at the Huntsville, AL Museum of Art recently. It references the two pieces that I had in that exhibit.



Here is another recently completed piece that I call Alpha. Represents another missed deadline! I think I should stick to making the pieces and then looking for venues. That way I avoid getting depressed about missing deadlines.



We have a workshop checking in today. Katie Pasquini Masopust is the instructor. I took a workshop from Katie over 10 years ago and loved it. I still use the techniques she taught and the piece I started in the workshop was one of the first large pieces I sold. I'd post a picture, but this was back in the ice age, before digital camera and I'd have to search out the original photograph and scan it. (One of those "someday" projects.)

Winter Wonderland - Finally!

It is finally snowing here in Greenville, NY! I just love the snow. It is suppose to snow most of the day. This morning it looks like there is at least 5 or so inches of fresh fluffy stuff. When it gets lighter (it is still early in the morning as I write this) I'll go take pictures to post.

I don't have any new pics to post of fiber art. We just finished our first workshop here at the inn and as always, I hardly have time to sit for a cuppa Joe during a workshop, let alone work on any fiber art. I was too tired to even knit. I'd get out my knitting in the evening while watching a movie, and I'd be too tired to even open my sachel. Oh well.

But our next workshop is not until March 4 - with Susan Ogilvie, a wonderful teacher from the Seattle, WA area -- so I supposedly have some time to work on my projects. Of course, my to do list for the inn/workshops is still long, but I'll have to block out some time in the studio.

But in the meantime I'll procrastinate with a fun little "survey" that I found on Melody Johnson's blog, in honor of Valentines Day. I'm a sucker for making lists.

Two By Two

Two names you go by:
-- Kim and Mom (by Adina only!)

Two parts of your heritage:
Spanish (Cuban) and English

Two things that scare you:
-- My mother is such a worrier, that in rebellion, I have blocked all negative/scary thoughts from my mind. I can't think of anything I'm scared of. ;-)

Two things that make you really happy:
-- working in my fiber art studio and watching our puppies play.

Two everyday essentials:
-- my morning latte and reading my email

Two things you are wearing right now:
-- a ratty old Meadowood sweatshirt and an even rattier pair of addidas sweatpants. (I am not fit for public viewing in the mornings!)

Two of your favorite current bands/artist:
-- Dean Martin and the Dixie Chicks

Two things you want in a relationship (other than love):
-- Trust and independance

Two truths:
-- I'm a listener rather than a talker and I love my life as an innkeeper and art workshop director.

Two favorite hobbies:
-- knitting and gardening

Two things you have to do this week:
-- work on fiber art committments and get our information to our accountants

Two stores you shop at:
-- Sam's Club and Lowes (not that these are my favorites by any means, but they are the ones I frequent the most in this business)

Two shows you like to watch:
-- I don't really watch much live TV and when I do it is usually the shows that Mark chooses. I'm just there for the knitting. But he likes to watch Top Chef and Comedy Central. Mostly we watch movies on DVD.

Two things you'd buy if money were no object:
-- A mountain ranch in Montana with forests, creeks, meadows and plenty of wildlife and an apartment in Vienna.

Two wishes for 2007:
-- maximum time for blissfull activities for all family members and a successful workshop season.

More postcards

This is my latest batch of postcards.




They will probably be my last for a while because I have a backlog of art quilts that I have committed to making for more California Fiber Artist exhibits (including one in Finland!) and some other invitational exhibits.

Right now I have two pieces in the Huntsville Museum of Art in Alabama. This is a CFA exhibit. They are companion pieces for the On The Wall/Off The Wall theme

This one is titled While My Guitar.



This on is titled Song Bird Nest. The nest is made from metal guitar strings and knitted eyelash yarn.


I'm also working on my first knit project with beads. I'm making an evening tank top with a beaded edging.



I know this picture doesn't show much, but I just liked the color of the yarn and how it looked bunched in the bag.

Postcard Bonanza

I am definitely having fun with the postcards. Here are some shots of my first sets of postcards.

I call these my "Splendor in the Grass" series.


This is my "Ribbon Bow" series.


I don't really have a name for this series -- just the background is the same.



This is the only non-series piece -- at the moment.


This series is a continuation of my "Happy Hour" series.



You can see others of my "Happy Hour" series on my website.

Four-Footed Muse News

Hudson has recovered nicely from his surgery and is completely unrepentent. So sad -- I had such dreams of him becoming my studio companion, but now the studio is off limits to this fiber-mad dog. He does look quite stylish in his post-surgery collar, though.

Now I must work on turning Bree, our new puppy, into a fiber-trustworthy muse.


Bree is a Rhodesian Ridgeback and we are hoping the she is able to distract Hudson from swallowing any other non-edible items.

A Lust for Fiber was His Undoing

Hudson has taken his lust for fiber just a little to far. Last night he was rushed to the emergency animal clinic for surgery -- he had eaten a part of a stuffed toy and it got caught in his small intestine! Today, we transferred him to his regular veterinarian for a few more days of recovery before he is allowed to come home. We, of course, are using this time to rid the house of all soft chewables! Gads, that was one expense toy. (Any one interested in buying some fiber art to support the "Save Hudson From Fiber Fund". LOL)

We should have known he was destined for trouble with fibers. Above is a photo I took soon after we brought him home when he was just 8 weeks old. Now at 10 months old, he would probably have no trouble eating the ball of yarn!


I was so worried that he had eaten some fabric scraps off of my studio floor, that I was actually relieved when we found out it had been one of his stuffed toys. I'll be making my studio a dog-free zone anyway, just to be safe.

Postcard Craze

Yes, I'm a late bloomer. ;-) I have finally jumped into the fiber art postcard bandwagon and the ride is turning out to be quite a blast! Below are my first three postcards. I used leftover flower petals I had cut out for my photo display quilts and the background is leftover from Angry Rabbit. I love leftovers, or as David Walker would call them, "gifts."




I have 19 more ready for the final edging finish, and then off in the mail they go.

Sew What

Finally getting around to posting pics of projects that I finished at least several months ago.


This is me in my new sweater. It turned out a little snugger that I'd like (I've got to remember to make sure the gauge is right before knitting or else lose some weight!) but it is wearable so I'll count it as a success.


My next project was making some breakfast service napkins. Our old napkins were embrassingly frayed at the edges. I could not find any commercially produced napkins that I liked at a price we could afford, so I found this light-weight denim fabric and made my own. Mark wanted napkins that were 1 meter square like they had at the palace in Vienna -- I told him to dream on. These are 16 inch square.

I joined a art quilt postcard swap as a means to encourage myself to get into my studio at start working! We don't have any workshops until February 2007, so this is our time off and I want to get in my studio as often as possible. Having a deadline for something helps! I completed my first three postcards on Tuesday, but I have to wait for the new camera battery I just ordered to arrive before I can post pictures.

Making the postcards are a lot of fun. It is a great way to dig into the scrap bucket and use bits and pieces of this and that. I keep a wastebasket by my sewing machine and I throw in all the pieces I figure I'll never use, but might give away to someone who uses bits and pieces. Well, I'm finding lots of useful pieces in there!

Cherry and Cherries

I have not forgotten about my blog, it's just that I have so little time and so much to do! I've been trying to find easier ways to post photos. I wish there were a one click option, but I haven't found it yet. Previously I had to first download the photos from my camera into iPhoto, then exported a photo in to a folder, then opened the photo in PhotoShop so that I could resize it for the web, then uploaded the photo to blogger. Way too many steps. Now I have discovered that iPhoto will do the resizing if I fool it in to thinking I'm exporting to a web page. This is great. One step elminated.

I tried Flickr.com, but I don't like the fact that if you click a photo on my blog you are then taken to the Flickr site and off of my blog. So forget about that option. Although, Flickr is a nifty way to have a photo album to share with friends and family.

So, anyway, here is a picture of my latest work. It is titled "Cherrys" because the image of the Dalmatian is of our former pup, Cherry and she is under a cherry tree branch. I made this piece for my daughter's birthday. I started and finished it on the same day! See what procrastination can accomplish - I waited until the last minute to decide on a gift and then had practically no time to make it - but thanks to next day delivery it made it to her doorstep on the right day!




We are finishing up our last workshop tomorrow, so hopefully I'll have more time to blog and actually develop a routine!

Blogging Neglect

Where has all the time gone? I always mean to blog more but I think my current lack of time to do much art is a big factor. I feel like every post MUST have pictures, and since I don't have a "one-click" way of adding pictures, procrastination is my middle name. I'm sure there must be an easier way and I'll have to research it in the winter when our workshop season is done.

I have been doing some work in my studio and have completed a piece that I call "Alpha" and it features screen prints of a photo that my daughter took of our previous Dalmatian. It is large so I have to wait for some good weather and my time schedule to coinside so that I can set up an area to photography the piece outside. I'm thinking for using the backside of the "icehouse" garage which gets good light and is out of the way.

I'm currently working on another piece that features more of the same photo screen printed.

My last studio day was spent making a small quilted piece to cover up the hole that Hudson ripped in one of the chairs in the second floor parlor. I used men's suit swatches that I got from Nieman Marcus. I just pieced the squares into a panel of about 15" x 20" and then quilted it with this fabulous heavy-weight thread by Aurill (or something like that) that I bought in Houston at the last festival. It adds great texture.

And speaking for the Houston Festival, I'm going again this year -- as a vendor! We decided to get a booth to promote the 2007 art quilt workshops at Hudson River Valley Art Workshops. I can't wait! Now, however, I'm scrambling to get everything organized for the booth. Thank goodness I already have hotel reservations.

Spring Has Finally Arrived . . er.. Passed?

I finally was able to set a side a day to devote in the studio (Mark agreed to be puppy wrangler for the day) and I finished the piece I had in mind as a great thing to hang on our wall to celebrate Sping. I'm a bit late, but I'm early for next Spring! This is also my first experiment with pre-fused fabric that I then cut and iron. Well, it certainly speeds up the process and I like the clean sharp edge -- makes it look almost painted on. The title is Red Bud



I also finished the Robbi Eklow pattern-based piece that I began in a class with Robbi back in March. I added buttons to all the circles. I'm calling it Blue Dots. Now I just need to find a room to hang it in.



On a bit of knitting news, I finished this Turtleneck Shell. It turned out decent enough. However, now I'm thinking it is a very impractical item of clothing. If it is cold enough for a turtleneck, why would I wear a sleeveless shell? If I were to do it over, I'd at least make it just a mock-turtleneck.



Guests are going crazy over the Crazy Ties. After several people ask to see my Crazy Ties (after seeing them on the notecards we sell), I finally hung up a display in the foyer of the inn. Not the most classy of hanging devices, but it does the job and I've been selling the ties!

Olana

I still haven't had much time to do any creating other than finish my piece for the next CFA exhibit in California. (I'll post a picture of it once the exhibit is up.)

I have, however, had the time to enjoy the places the workshop painters are going to paint. When the students order a lunch from us, I deliver it to wherever they happen to be painting that day. This past workshop taught by Elizabeth Apgar-Smith, went up to Olana. Olana is the home built by Frederick Church, a founder of the Hudson River School of Art movement. On a clear day you can see forever . . . well, at least you can see the Hudson River and the Catskill Mountains - a very impressive site.

But I was captured by things more close at hand.

First there were the Hollyhocks. (I'll have to look for this variety. The Hollyhocks I planted are still not in bloom.)

Then even more inspiring was Betsy's pastel tray - what a wonderful display of color. You can see a photo of Betsy's demo painting and the view on our inn blog.



Other good news is that I finished the fiber workshop brochure for 2007 and it has been sent off to the printers.