It's My "Blog-iversary"

I began this blog on March 1, 2009.
Lately, I've been a bit lax in writing and I hope to return my focus to posting more frequently.  I love to write and yet I allow other things to get priority of my time.  At the beginning of the year I vowed to do a couple of new things to add to my studio practice:  a daily spot of time for meditation, writing in a journal "app" each day, and I began an online "strength training" course along with a close friend.   My friend isn't a practicing artist but this course is designate to have a broader scope than simply art-making.  It is really about establishing some daily and weekly habits to improve focus and a depth of meaning in daily life.  This course, called "Creative Strength Training", is facilitated by Jane Dunnewold and her daughter, Zenna Duke.  *Enrollment is still open until 4/1/17 FYI.  So far, so good.

I have had a busy start to the year and (gasp) the first quarter is about to wind down.  January was spent teaching at Craft Napa at the second annual event, work on my 2nd line of fabric for RJR, and finally a week-long independent study at Jane's studio.  This particular week has become such an important component of each year for me.  So much work I make is inspired by the independent study!  I celebrated year # 15 in January.
February I continued my work on fabric line #2, and took a break to travel to Savannah for the first time for QuiltCon.  I met a friend there and we rented an airbnb right downtown.   Wandering around this charming town was such fun and the show was great!

 Everyone loved "Bling", by Katherine Jones from Tasmania 

It was really fun to spot "Boulder Field", by Kathy York!

She created this beauty from Urban Artifacts fabric and RJR's lovely solids for 

Quilt Market 2016.

I loved walking around in Savannah.  What a beautiful city!  The best part of it was discovering all the small "squares" scattered throughout the city.  I loved stumbling onto them and was delighted to see how much people enjoyed using them.

Yikes!  They were steep, too!

Okay, I'll try...!

Old headstones.  I guess they move them to this wall after they topple on their site? 

I dunno.

The Spanish Moss!

I loved getting a feel for this beautiful city.  Afterward, I drove up the coastline to stay with a friend on Wrightsville Beach for a few days.  

In addition to walking in the sand every day we dyed a bunch of fabric!

...and witnessed several breath-taking sunsets!

March brought a tight focus on finishing up my samples for my second line of fabrics for RJR.

I thought a little visit to RJR might be good.  It also gave me the opportunity to visit friends and relatives in the Los Angeles area.

Lunch and shopping with Jamie

Here is the RJR warehouse.

Spotted:  bundles of Urban Artifacts fat quarters!!

I visited my wonderful aunt.

I got to feed Tank, the Desert Tortoise.

The first time I did this I was 10 years old.

the beautiful texture of a palm tree.

A train ride from Anaheim up to Sierra Madre through LA 

brought me to another friend's house.

I was lucky enough to be designated an honorary grandmother to 

several beautiful little girls.  I was doubly-honored to read this one her 

bedtime story.

I got a tour of her pre-school.

Since it was St. Patrick's day they had several leprechaun "traps" set!

We spent the afternoon exploring the American Gallery & the Chinese/Japanese gardens at the Huntington Library & Gardens.  What a beautiful place (my 2nd time there) and so close to my friends' house!

Protea in bloom

An enormous Calder that I had forgotten about...

One of my favorite painters, Mary Cassatt.

I have a "thing" for lotus pods..

Look at the beautiful paved patio.

A California Juniper bonsai.

I wonder if this is what the ghost trees near Point Lobos are?

I arrived home to this copy of Quilting Arts in which I am the 

author of the "Last Word".

If you have the opportunity to read it I would love to know what you think.

and now it is spring!  The time has changed.

What does springtime bring for you?

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!  

A Peek Back at 2014, Part One

I love to reflect on some of the highlights of the year and this one has been a doosey (is that a word?).
So, let's go....

January...

New Years Day... making pizza in the wood oven despite it still being a construction site.

A beautiful wedding on 1/5 in Los Angeles.

Working on a quilt for a show deadline.

To Palm Springs for the film festival.   My friends Jeannie and Mike Moore joined us.

The annual independent study at Art Cloth Studios in mid-January.

making a mess to make.....

this bundle of yummy.

February......

Valentine's Day at the Dorchester Hotel in London.

 Prepping for the BAFTA Awards ceremony

Big Night.

We lost.

Still a big night.

I taped The Quilt Show, with Ricky Tims and Alex Anderson.

They did a road trip through Texas and we taped at the home of 

a dear friend of mine.  Such fun!

Constructed another improvisational quilt.

This one is called "Thoroughly Mondrian Millie"

The work continues on the outdoor kitchen....

March:

I traveled to Fort Smith, Arkansas, to teach a workshop and give a lecture

at the Bell Point Quilt Guild

April:

Finished constructing two large quilt tops and backs at the 

spring annual retreat of the San Antonio Modern Quilt Guild.  Yay!

 I made a two-sided hexi quilt out of my friend Melly Testa's new fabric 

line called "Meadowlark" by Windham.  Such gorgeous fabric!

I did a lot of Kantha-style stitching on sheers.  

Unfortunately, I lost this piece from my luggage in an airport.

May:

In May I flew to San Diego to take a workshop with Cas Holmes,

a mixed media artist from the UK.  She is the author of "The Found Object".

I am a great admirer of her work.

I left San Diego and flew up to Monterey, California, and met Tim.

He was a speaker at the eg. conference.

I got to meet Amy Tan!

Afterward we rented a convertible and meandered down Highway One.

I have taken this road trip numerous times but never with Tim.

It is one of my favorite places on earth.

...and the work continues

toward the end of May I traveled to the Crow Timberframe barn in Ohio to 

study with Carol Soderlund.  Two weeks of intensive dye study.  Great.

Carol is a gem.  A wonderful teacher and human.

Color Color Color!

Week 2 was all about neutrals.  

In early June I traveled to Fort Collins Colorado to tape a couple of episodes of

The Mixed Media Workshop with Julie Fei-Fan Balzer and Jenn Mason.

We had a blast!

June:

Mid-June brought a show opening in San Antonio that I was honored to be a part of.

The second half of the year is to follow!

I