Goodbye Tree

This large red oak has been leaning on my studio for several years.

The big window was beginning to shatter and the plaster has been popping of around the door. I was time for it to go. Sigh...

I'm going to miss it next summer.

Goodbye tree.

Fundraiser for TAG

The Arts Guild of Denton (TAG) presents their Annual Auction this Saturday night. 

The silent auction begins at 6:00 p.m., followed by the live auction at 8:15 p.m. 

Local artists were asked to create a 12x12" Denton-themed work of art. 

I can't wait to see all of the pieces in one location.

A photo of the beautiful produce at the Denton County Farmers Market was the starting place for my Denton-themed quilt. I digitally manipulated the colors in the photograph and printed it on fabric with my inkjet printer. I thread-painted the image with my home sewing machine to add shading and texture. 

I also donated two purses that I Zentangled with markers.

On this one I used silver Sharpie on black vinyl. 

On this one I used white Sharpie on green leather.

The Arts Guild is an independent organization dedicated to the promotion and development of the arts in Denton as the fundraising/volunteer support arm of the Greater Denton Arts Council. 

For more information about the event click here.

I hope to see you on Saturday.

Rusty earns a new Teddy Bear

I'm just home from attending the International Quilt Festival in Houston, Texas. I'm so honored to have my miniature art quilt "Rusty's New Teddy Bear" chosen as John Flynn's judges choice award.

I met Mr. Flynn and thanked him in person. 

Thank you to our furry friends Bonnie and Bonkers and their generous humans for allowing us to stay in their home during Festival.

Happy Halloween

My 4th Bloggiversary is this Saturday so I think it's time to post again.

It's been a while since I posted. I worked part time for one of my clients for 12 weeks while their graphic designer was off on maternity leave. I really enjoyed getting to know the rest of the office staff. Being out of my office for half of each day put my art on the back burner. I hope to spend some  time on my quilts before the holiday season gears up.

We attended our neighborhood Halloween party as the Queen of Hearts and the Mad Hatter.

The party was hosted by a couple of pirates...

with assistance from their friends...

and their daughter and son-in-law, aka vampire and Abraham Lincoln.

Rusty is ready for the trick-or-treaters.

I must thank Rusty for being the subject of my quilt,
"Rusty's New Teddy Bear."

The quilt won John Flynn's Judge's Choice Award at the International Quilt Festival in Houston this weekend. You can see all the winners here.

 I think Rusty deserves another new teddy bear, don't you?

Thank you Mr. Flynn. I'm honored to be chosen.

SCRAP Challenge

12x12"

My local art bee issued a challenge for the August meeting.

The Rules
1. The piece must measure 12" x 12" and hang on the wall.

2. At least 50% (preferably more) of the front must be made with supplies from SCRAP.

3. The spending limit at SCRAP is $5.00.

If you don't know about SCRAP, it's a non profit thrift store for artists near downtown Denton.  Here is a link, which also gives directions.  http://scrappdx.org/about/scrap-denton/

I found a colorful piece of fabric. I think it's polyester so I wanted to do something that didn't require a hot iron. (I've accidentally melted a piece or two when it snuck into an art quilt.)

I wanted to try to attach ShiSha mirrors like I'd seen at my Twisted Stitchers group.

There are some really bad ShiSha mirror tutorials out there, but I managed to figure it out. I'm still trying to think of a name.

Denton-Themed Quilt

I was asked to make 12x12" artwork for The Arts Guild (TAG) annual fundraising auction. The theme had to be about Denton. I decided to make a quilt with an image from the Denton County Farmer's Market. I manipulated two photos I took one Saturday morning and printed it on fabric with my inkjet printer. I thread painted the quilt on my home sewing machine.

It will be auctioned on November 10, 2012 at the Center for Visual Arts.

Permanent Markers and Rubbing Alcohol

In May, Becky did a demo on how to "dye" fabric with permanent marker and rubbing alcohol.

We used this book by Sherrill Kahn, Magic with Markers for inspiration.

 before - permanent marker drawn on white fabric ironed to freezer paper

after being sprayed with alcohol

 before

after

 Carol's hands before

Grace's hands after

my hands before

my hands after and quilted

This was a lot of fun and very quick to get pretty results.

Photos by Carol Mo, Nelda J (thank you!) and me.

Orange Flower

Here's a mini I just finished using a print I made with a deconstructed silk screen last year. 

"Orange Flower" 14.5 x 19"

Dye Retreat 2012

I spent a week in June dying fabric with friends in East Texas. 

It's an annual event that began 39 years ago. You can read the history details here.

One of my goals was to dye a sky background for a motorcycle portrait I've been working on.

I pleated a piece of muslin and laid it in a wallpaper tray under 

the clothesline to catch the dripping dye.

I wish I had used sateen.

Another goal was to dye some shirts, baby clothes and baby blankets for gifts.

I borrowed Becky's bag of toy balls and tried my hand at dying a piece of flannel for a baby blanket.

Here's the dry flannel.

Among other things, Kathi drew with thickened dye on linen, 

and painted this large piece of sateen on the floor...

 Linda experimented with some shibori on Kaufman's new Radiance fabric (a silk/cotton blend)...

and Jill played with some deconstructed silk screening and 

made test pieces of all 10 of Dharma's new 2012 dyes.

Several friends visited during the week and Smokey the cat supervised.

I had a great time.

I still need to make room for my pile of new fabric.

Dishcharge with Dishwasher Liquid

A friend gave me four shirts to play with during my annual fabric-dying workshop next week. Unfortunately they are 50/50 Cotton/Poly. I don't like the results I get when dying cotton/poly so I thought I would play with some discharge ideas.

I put some cheap dishwasher liquid in a hair color applicator bottle. The cheap stuff seems to contain more bleach than the better dishwasher liquid.

 - wet Dishwasher Liquid -

I doodled on a couple of shirts and put them in the sun to dry.

I found it hard to rise out the dried liquid so after a while, I gave up and threw them in the washing machine with a couple of beach towels.

 - Washed and dried shirts -

I'm happy with the result. The black went to a heathered grey with a little brown around some of the edges and the magenta bleached to pale pink. Neither one smells like bleach.