Garden Flags

I frequently contemplate the meaning of home in my work.  Often, it manifests itself in the form of nests.  Nests, though a practical element in the life cycle of birds, has a deeper meaning for me.
I decided to make a set of flags about the ideas of safety, nurturing, and security.  Although they were intended for my garden I'm not certain I can bear putting them outside!

In the case of each piece I screened the same bird/nest image on the red silk 

and directly under it onto the canvas.

I screen printed some sale tags and tied them onto the bottom of each piece.

Each flag was sewn onto a length of cotton trim.

Flags are a great way to "work small".  They can be playful, fun, or contain a deeper meaning.  The choice is up to you.  I am making some additional pieces to hang in the garden.  I hope the birds approve!

Here's a sneak peek at a few more....

Stencil Blog Hop today!

Today I'm playing around with a few things to showcase  Andrew Borloz Crossed Rounds & Squares Stencil L159.

All the shapes on this large stencil are great for a wide variety of applications.  I am working on watercolor paper with a variety of paint opacities to build layers.

I placed two pieces of watercolor paper under the stencil and lightly misted

over the surface with acrylic ink

I like the varying degrees of coverage I got.

Since there is still quite a bit of ink sitting on the surface of the stencil,

I placed it over another paper that has several layers of acrylic paint.

You may notice that I used Wendy Aikin's Waterway stencil as part of this design.

Using a paper towel I rubbed the stencil to displace the ink onto the paper underneath.

The result is a faint mark that ghosts the more opaque ones made with the same stencil.

Cool!

Because I like to vary the scale of the dominant shapes on a piece,

I hand-painted partial circles across the surface.

I used a brush and quickly painted several squares on this piece.

Next, I will work back into the larger shapes with a bright opaque yellow.

Thank you for stopping by!  Please visit the other Creative Team members to get more ideas!

Below are links:

StencilGirl Talk

Marjie Kemper

Kirsten Reed

Sami Harding

Corrine Gilman

Janet Joehlin

Linda Kittmer

Carolyn Dube

Paula Phillips

Mary C. Nasser

Maria McGuire

A Few Summer This & Thats...

Here's a big surprise:  it is hot outside!  I love this San Antonio heat, and that was brought home to me after a recent weekend in Washington DC where the humidity rivaled the temperature.  I love the bright colors of summer in my garden.

Bizzi is my constant companion, inside and outside.

Even the dried Texas Red Yucca seed pods are lovely.

This guy has been hanging around the construction site.

My little gouache set.

Painting the summer berries!

"Not Fade Away: Sharing Stories In The Digital Age"

Executive director Amy Milne & board member Michele Muska

This post is a bit of a recap about a wonderful event that occurred Saturday, July 20th, in Herndon, VA.  The Quilt Alliance mission is to document the stories of quilts and the people who make them.  As the world of technology shifts we are carried along with it.  Some methods of documentation are as relevant today as they were 200 years ago.  How can we integrate the new digital technology, be it images or audio/video files, and preserve information?  These were the questions that were discussed in the day-long conference.  

Along with Michele Muska, my friend and fellow Quilt Alliance board member, I facilitated a workshop on quilt labels.  

The amazing Allie Aller discusses the story behind her quilt,

and creates a custom label during our first workshop

Michele Muska shows our group quilt that will be 

donated to the International Quilt Association silent auction.

Jannekin Smucker gives the keynote lecture:

"Quilt Stories:  Storied Quilts"

Luana Rubin interviews Jinny Beyer for 

Quilters: Save Our Stories

Our workshop participants enjoyed creating 

custom labels with textile paint, stencils, and Pentel Gel Roller Fabric pens!

Finally, students observed a demonstration of Story Patches by Stkr.it

It was fun to demonstrate how simple this product is to use.  

I'm writing a review of this product for an upcoming Quilting Arts issue!

In addition to the wonderful conference we were thrilled to be in the same location as the newly-opened Sacred Threads exhibition.  The quilts in this collection were very moving.  Maggie Weiss' quilt, entitled "Loss", brought me to tears.  If you have an opportunity to visit the Sacred Threads exhibition, which will travel nationally, be sure to see it!

Quilters Take Manhattan Tickets On Sale Now

Please visit the Quilt Alliance website to sign up and to read all the details!

My good friend, Hollis Chatelain, is the keynote speaker for this amazing event. 

View some of her amazing work here.

I am the proud owner of two giclee prints of her quilts:

Also at the main event at the Fashion Institute of Technology:

Go Tell It at the Quilt Show! Interviews with Semper Tedium

Semper Tedium, left to right: Amy Orr, Katherine Knauer, Paula Nadelstern, Robin Schwalb. Photo credit: John Woodin.

The tongue-in-cheek phrase Semper Tedium celebrates the ritualistic act of creation for its own sake. Paula Nadelstern, Katherine Knauer, Amy Orr and Robin Schwalb meet twice a year for cherished artist retreats which reinforce their shared dedication to integrity of construction and pursuit of unique personal visions, in spite of societal pressure to work faster and produce more. 

Each of these 4 lauded artists will celebrate some of her work and talk about how this type of "slow craft" philosophy affects her technique and the final product. 

Go Tell It at the Quilt Show! is a new Alliance project designed to capture the stories of quilts where quiltmakers and quilt lovers gather. The protocol for Go Tell It! is brief and personal: one person talking about one quilt in front of one video camera for three minutes, recording the most essential and compelling details of the quilt according to the "teller." Documenting, preserving and sharing these stories online via video is another way the Quilt Alliance provides education and inspiration to today's quilt lovers and tomorrow's historians and genealogists.

We are excited to present live Go Tell It! interviews with the members of Semper Tedium at this year's event.

There are so many add-on events this year!  I can't wait!  I will be offering a fun little workshop called "Random Acts of Stripping" at the fabulous City Quilter shop in the heart of Manhattan.  One hundred percent of the proceeds from the workshop will go to the Quilt Alliance to support the mission of the organization.

Here is the info about my workshop:

Random Acts of Stripping with Leslie Tucker Jenison
Friday, September 27, 11:30 am-2:30 pm, at The City Quilter
Tickets: $50 per person. Limited to 12 students.

  

Take strip-piecing to a new destination in this fun and productive workshop. Using jellyroll pre-cuts and/or your own cut strips learn a different way to create large pieced shapes. Each student will have a unique set of pieced blocks of varying sizes to use in a quilt. These shapes may be joined together or used with large negative space for a very modern look.

Students should bring:
Pre-cut strips of fabric (prints and solids that are compatable) Bring the equivalent of 1 jellyroll.
4-6 fat quarters or a layer cake set of solid cuts (these do not have to be the same color but should be compatable with the prints in the).
*Note: I'll be working with solid strips and print fat quarters, which is my preference. Either is fine, but it is good to have a combo of prints and solids that coordinate!
Machine thread
Fabric scissors
Nippers

This is where all three of the event-related workshops will be.

City Quilter is awesome!!

Two other workshops will be offered by my good friends:  the fantastic Frances Holliday Alford and the ever-gorgeous Mark Lipinski!  Check the Quilt Alliance website for all the details and links to sign up. Don't hesitate because many of these events sell out quickly!!  See you there!

Announcing.....

I am THRILLED to announce that I have been invited to be part of the Stencil Girl Creative Design Team!  As part of this creative group we will be posting regular tutorials and doing blog hops which will feature the wonderful Stencil Girl products.  When you participate you can be eligible to win all sorts of great goodies, so please play along!

One of the things I truly appreciate, as an artist, is that Stencil Girl is an angel company:  you can use their stencils in work that you sell.

We are going to have a LOT of fun in the coming months, so stop by often and join in the fun.  I am finding new ways to use these stencils and I am anxious to my ideas with you.  Please stop by their website and check out all the "funtastic" things they have to offer.