Lost and Found

I am having so much trouble with my new Photoshop Elements software. It will not allow me to save changes to a photo. In this case I cropped out the background
and I keep getting a message that says the change was unable to be saved--perhaps not enough disc space. Well, I have a huge capacity desktop, so I know
I have plenty of disc space. Yet each time I attempt to edit and save, I get the same photo with busy-ness in the background.
Oh well..."Lost and Found: Legend of the Red-Tailed Hawk" is a tribute to the Santa Ynez Valley. The hawks fly over the studio every day. This hawk photo was
printed on linen, and appliqued with interfacing behind it to give it dimension. The "found" feather was scanned onto silk organza. Monoliths were hand painted.

Mountains, sky were free-motion quilted. The petroglyphs, which we find here in the Valley, are indicative of the length of time the hawks have ruled the Valley.

"Science as Art"



This piece is called "Science as Art".  I have become increasingly concerned, and more than a little angry, that funding for art programs in the public school system is gradually being eliminated--many times in favor of sports.  This is my statement that art and science can co-exist.  Neither should be forfeited in any balanced educational system--and certainly sports should not be favored over development of mind and talent. The background of this piece is hand painted in copper metallic paint.  The mathmatical formulas, which represent science, are hand painted, and the 50's style "art" blocks are screen-printed. The piece is free-motion quilted.  This piece will be shown as part of my Art and Science series in a solo exhibition in the spring.

   

SAQA Auction update

The piece that I donated for the Studio Art Quilt benefit auction sold before it reached the bottom price in our reverse auction fundraiser. One of my dear friends instructed me to purchase it on her behalf if she had not yet returned from her European vacation. She is happy and I am thrilled! I have my eye on several pieces that I want for myself. I am waiting for the prices to decline, but one always risks not getting their favorite pieces because many times someone else is willing to pay more. Many of my friends have pieces in the auction, and I love all their work. I will be attending a workshop in Tahoe in November with Jane Dunnewold, who is remarkable. In the meantime I am working on a large ( for me) piece that represents the investment life I came from. It has a wry 50's retro feel, but is also impressionistic in it's form. I will post a photo as I get near it's completion.

"Two Umbrellas"

I am currently enhancing my studio with additional work surface space, and have not been working on new projects. I have also been spending a great deal of time on the internet, pre-ordering supplies to complete my required supply list for Art Quilt Tahoe, this fall.  I will be attending the workshop taught by Jane Dunnewold who is a remarkable artist.  In the meantime, I thought I would post a photo of this work, which has not previously been shown here on the blog.  This piece, entitled "Two Umbrellas" was done from a photograph that I took of my husband in the tulip gardens outside Amsterdam.  He had stepped out onto the stepping stones in the lake, in order to dry our umbrellas after some rains.  This is one of my favorite pieces, and will never be offered for sale. But the process inspired me to do other pieces using a similar technique.  Hope you enjoy it! 

Studio Art Quilt Associates Auction Donation

This is a smaller version of the piece I created last fall entitled Chaos 2010.  Chaos II is being donated to SAQA for the annual fund-raising auction.  All pieces donated are ~12" X 12".  Last year SAQA raised over $50,000 through the member art auction!

This is a close-up of the quilted wave. It took a long, long time
to free-motion quilt because it could not be quilted with continuous stitching.

SERENITY III
This piece was recently finished. The quilting is rather intricate, with the wave at the
bottom left corner reminiscent of Hokusai or Hiroshige. The large "moon" and "gateway" are hand-dyed fabrics, and over-painted with copper metallic. The background is composed of commercial batiks. The binding changes color with the background color, and three of the sides have stepped borders. The shape is actually very well squared, even thought it doesn't appear to be in my photograph. I will try to post a good close-up of the stitching.

Delta IV Heavy Rocket Launch

This is a digression from studio news; however, Thursday's launch was very exciting.  The Delta IV Heavy is the largest rocket ever to be launched from the west coast, carrying a top secret spy satellite payload.  Robert and I drove to Vandenberg AFB, or at least as close as we could get, to watch the launch.  The rocket rising silently above the hills was such a beautiful sight!  We didn't hear the roar until about 10 seconds after we saw the rocket.  There were hundreds of cars parked along the main and side roads; and when the rocket came over the foothills everyone watching started screaming and applauding the sight.  It was a really something to behold.