Affinity For Improv and Love of the Line

I am exploring some new territory in my recent work.  This is one of those intervals that may appear to be coming out of nowhere, but in reality, this has been on my "list" for some time.

It started last spring when I went to study at the Crow Timberframe Barn with Carol Soderlund.  I got to do two things at once that I had been dreaming of and it was a great experience.  It started me on a path I have been thinking about since the late 80s:  studying with Nancy Crow.

The reaction I get is usually something like this:  "I don't understand. Why are you doing this?  This doesn't seem like a place your work is going...." and on.  Yes, I get that people don't see it as a natural progression of the work I was doing two years ago.  I'm quite fine with that.  This exercise has multiple goals:
To study with an artist whose work I admire a great deal.  
I want her to challenge my point of view.
I expect it to be difficult.
I expect to struggle, and probably to fail multiple times.
My goal is not to make work that resembles Nancy's, rather, it is to see what is possible by adding the information she gives me to my own aesthetic.

I can't wait to see what shakes out of all this!

One revelation:  free-cutting fabric selvedge to selvedge with a rotary cutter to expose the gestural line in cloth.  This really excites me!  I feel so close to drawing when I do this:  I'm pulling the rotary tool toward me versus the traditional method ofpushing it away.  No ruler!  It allows more control and  is deeply satisfying.

I created this quilt which is my curator's piece for the soon-to-be "Affinity" exhibition (for Dinner At Eight Artists in Houston at the International Quilt Festival) using this free-form method of construction and I'm pretty happy with the results.  All the quilts in the exhibition will be 40 inches square.

With the exception of some of the black and gray, the rest of this fabric was hand-dyed by me.

I enjoyed the process of free-motion quilting this piece on my Bernina 750QE.

I hope many of you will be at the International Quilt Market & Festival this fall in Houston, TX.  Please look me up!  I'll be there!  

Looking Back at 2014, Part 2

Happy New Year!  I'm hitting some of the things that happened in 2014.  It was a crazy-busy year with more travel and events (mostly good) than I have ever packed into a single year.  Here is the second part of the year....

Throughout the year I guest-blogged for Stencil Girl products.

I love all the amazing ways I can use their exceptional stencils in my work!

June:

Tim and I traveled back to Europe for Art Basel.

"Tim's Vermeer" was a featured film at the festival.

An amazing Gerhard Richter show at Foundation Beyeler.

If you ever find yourself in Basel, Switzerland, you must go to this museum.

We also took in a Paul Chan exhibit.  He is Iris Karp's nephew!

I love trains!  I convinced my husband to take an adventure with me into the Alps on

the Bernina Express!  It just seemed right, don't you think?

We boarded this great observation car and had it all to ourselves.

The train is a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Take the trip if you ever have the chance.

We ended up in the small Italian town of Tirano, 

where we spent the night.

It is so breathtaking these pics seem fake.

What a great adventure!

Late June/early July:

I was honored to be present for the birth of these identical twins

in Los Angeles just a few days after I returned from Switzerland.

These girls held hands in the delivery room!

We had babies closer to home:  this is our great-niece.

Later, I bumped into this wild animal, er, I mean Mark Lipinski!

We both serve on the board of the Quilt Alliance.

Here I am with a rare "blow-out"  Straight hair?  Only for a few minutes...

August:

Back to Europe!  This time for the Festival of Quilts in Birmingham UK.

I was honored to have a quilt in the Art Quilt Masters category.

Tim accompanied me.  His first quilt show.  Ever.

We traveled into London as Tim had a business meeting.

I tagged along and went my own way, as I was anxious to see the Matisse Cut-Outs

exhibition at the Tate Modern.  Amazing!

I turned 60!

What do you think of my new crown, made for me by Jamie Fingal?

My curator's piece for "Whats For Dinner?", entitled "local flavor".

Inspired by my trips to London, I created "Matisse and the New London Skyline"

My amazing "Bizzi At the Bernina" birthday cake!

The creation of a dry creek bed through my garden...

September:

A trip to Cleveland to tape episodes of Quilting Arts TV.

On to New York for Quilters Take Manhattan.  We filled every seat.

Two of my favorite women:  Melly Testa and Yvonne Porcella

late September/early October:

Then we went back to Italy!  We met Jeannie and Mike Moore in Tuscany.

I love all the old surface textures.

Beautiful tomatoes on the vine.

Grapes.

I came back to Texas and met Ringo Starr prior to the All Star Band concert.

Then, I traveled back to Ohio and took a week-long workshop with Nancy Crow.

Here is a work-in-progress.

Then, on to Quilt Market!

Jamie and I pose in front of "Selfie" by Kristin LaFlamme

We ran into our friend, Marie Bostwick!

November:

And, after almost 2 weeks of work and play, we returned to San Antonio.

Breakfast outdoors!

Tim and I traveled to Puebla Mexico to another conference,

where I met Piper Kerman, author of "Orange Is The New Black".

December:

In early December the Modern Quilt Guild had our holiday party and gift exchange.

I am the fortunate new owner of this beauty by Allison Chambers.

And a photo booth at the Newtek party.

There were extreme highs and deep losses in my life this year.

Tim and I lost family members so there was profound sadness mixed into all these bits.

It was a crazy, creative year.  

Let's hear it for the year ahead!  A very Happy New Year to you all.  

What does the new year hold in store for you?   Do you have artistic goals?  I would love to hear about them.  Drop me a line!  xo Leslie

Come Join Me In Houston at the International Quilt Festival!

I have two fun all-day workshops scheduled this fall at the International Quilt Festival in Houston, Texas, and I hope to see you in one or both of them!!
First, I will be co-teaching a rollicking workshop called "Painting With A Twist & Shout" along with Jamie Fingal.  This workshop is for anyone who loves the idea of painting is intimidated by the blank canvas.  We collaborate as a group to create amazing paintings on large pieces of unstretched canvas, and then we (gasp!) cut them up to make some very cool mixed media items in the afternoon.   You just won't believe how much fun it is!  This workshop is from 9-5 on Friday,  October 31st (wooooo, it's on Halloween!).  Workshop #512 on the schedule, which is now LIVE so you can enroll!Check out some of the images below:

Morning:  collaborative painting!

Afternoon:  create all sorts of cool things with your painted canvas sections!

Saturday Workshop:  "Fifty Shades of Groovy:  A Modern Quilting Workshop"!  This workshop (#719) runs on Saturday, November 1st, from 9-5.  We will construction a contemporary panel from your own set of fabric squares and a selection of gray solids.  Please see the workshop listed on the IQA Website for more information.  Most students leave the workshop with the panel constructed and we spend time discussing the use of negative space and placement of the constructed panel.  Students are amazed with their results and how different each participants' work turns out.  

Examples below:

details of "Thoroughly Mondrian Millie"...

this is a portion of the negative space surrounding the pieced "panel".

This quilting workshop is for any level of quilt maker.  The only prerequisite is to have a basic knowledge of using a sewing machine and rotary cutter.