Museum Fiber Show, Mixed Media, and Sunday Meditation

Experimenting, playing with fiber, paper, beads, who knows what I'll create on any given day...

"Heron Whispers to the Moon" Mixed Media 8.25"x10.5"

Museum Fiber Show
This piece will be included in the upcoming show below. Be sure to add it to your calendar as it promises to be full of fibery goodness and wonderful creations from our guild members.

2011 Pacific Northwest Needlearts Guild Show
October 12 - December 31

Edmonds Historical Museum
118 5th Avenue North, Edmonds, WA

(425) 774-0900

Hours
Wed - Fri: 1 - 4 p.m.
Sat: 10 am - 2 pm
Sun: 1 - 4 pm

Sunday Meditation
It is a quiet day as I tend to tasks needing to be done, the cat is napping, my spouse is away for the day. The wind has been rushing and howling all day despite a partly sunny, partly cloudy threatening storm kind of day. Fall is definitely here, the leaves are beginning to turn and dance in the wind doing a ballet in the air. Nature makes my heart sing on a day like today...

"Let us be silent, that we may hear the whispers of the gods."

Fiber Art, Snow Geese, and Sketches

Enjoying nature, shapes, lines and colors.....Snow Geese
We headed north to LaConner on Friday to the Skagit Valley farming area to see if we could spot some snow geese or eagles. There were thousands of snow geese! And I counted 12 eagles. As always, I carry my sketchbook, and captured a quick sense of the shapes. Lately I am paying more attention to shapes in my paintings and perhaps these will end up more refined in paintings to come.
As far as the eye could see, white covered the farmer's fields. They did look like snow, and up close, lovely swan shapes with black tipped wings, honking madly. We were lucky to see this entire flock raise up as one, flooding the sky with beating wings, turning on a dime altogether, like one massive organism changing directions, here, then there, and turning back around and landing again.Fiber Art
I have been focusing on birds the last year. Two weeks ago I worked on a fiber/paper stitching project. Here is a close-up portion of it. It incorporates fabric, my sketch of a heron transferred to fabric, embroidery stitching, tea bag paper, beading and more. I'm not done with it yet, it's an experiment but I'm liking the mix of textures and the pale muted colors, different for me.We visited the La Conner Quilt Museum again. There's a wonderful exhibit of contemporary hand stitched items which I would post pictures of, but they weren't allowed. However, there were also some outstanding examples of crazy quilts from the 1800's, with their amazing quantity of handstitching on every one.
And a final quick sketch - from the turret window of the museum looking across the street.
Taking time for nature, art, sketching, stitching with good company, what could be more satisfying...

Ballet Costumes, Beading and This N'That

Behind the exquisite shiny things and airy beauty are the talented hands of the creators...
Costuming
Our sewing guild was privileged to have a presentation from the talented Larae Hascall, the Costume Shop Manager for our Pacific Northwest Ballet here in Seattle. She brought some gorgeous costumes and head adornments and necklaces created by her shop for the dancers. I was particularly fascinated by this presentation as I know my French GGrandmother was a costume designer/maker for the Lyon ballets many years ago... so this was a taste of history of what she may have been doing, could I only have been there to see! Now I know I must see if I can find some historical pictures of the Lyon Ballet.
A great deal of creativity goes into costume prep - there is actually the sketching and designing to fit the production, the pattern designing/developing, making a mock-up muslin, fitting and adjustments, and deciding on fabrics, dyes, and more for finishing the entire look. And, add to that, making sure that the costume can withstand the rigors of many performances by the dancers, making sure that they can be easily and quickly put on and off for different scenes. I learned that many of the costumes are made in separate pieces - that is, the sleeves not actually sewn to the bodice, nor the bodice to the skirt, so they can move more easily on the dancers and be removed so quickly. The costumes she brought had wonderful detailing done by hand and with machine embroidery techniques.

Here is a lovely ballerina headpiece.
And here is another, and a necklace, all specially handmade by the designers in the costume shop.
We also enjoyed looking through Larae's actual design/sketch books, detailing the beginnings for many of PNB show costumes and choices for fabrics, detailing. I know I will have a much greater appreciation for the behind the scenes work the next time I go to a ballet, opera or theatre production...

Beading
I have been very busy at so many things lately, and I'm happy to have finished the project below, more peyote beading, a bracelet and earrings for my mother's birthday.

Here is another set, this one was for my sister's birthday earlier this summer. I'm very pleased to say I designed the earrings myself in both cases. The one below was especially challenging to bead, as it was not in a somewhat straight line as is the bracelet.

This N'That
I realized how many things I was trying to do and somehow got a little stressed this week. We put away blueberries, corn and other fresh harvest in our freezer in the last couple of weeks. We tried to go blackberry picking, but alas, there did not seem to be a good season for them this year, very strange. Summer is definitely long gone and the gray days are here til probably April or May, except for the occasional blessing of sun.

I visited a dear friend this week who had knee replacement surgery. So I worked and completed an art piece for her (will post later), as well as a mini-art kit to play with while she recovers. And I have been attending to off and on sick kitty who is 15 and feeling his years, but ok for now.

I'm committed for the invitational miniature show again at the Kaewyn Gallery in Bothell, and will have 6 paintings there starting in December. In addition, I have been languishing as an Associate member in one painting association for quite a long time, and decided I would finally go through the jurying process to become a full member. For this, I must have 5 paintings the last week of this month. And I will be added to their website too.

Many other things going on, plans for major trips, some new directions and some old. PC frustrations, I know it's time to replace the desktop as it seems to crank more slowly. But I'm happy to say I persevered through downloading several different softwares for converting to/playing MP3s, and learned how to download to 2 different units, a Sony and an I-Shuffle. I do believe the I-Shuffle is super... tiny, lightweight, one purpose-play music, minimal button/dials... perfect I think, for my mother to handle.

So, as I was preparing this somewhat lengthy post, I was listening to some New Age angelic kind of music, so very soothing... A good way to write, wind down, and come to the end of another Sunday.

Namaste

Abstractions, Seascape Painting, and a Quilted Fiber Gift

Sometimes within the chaos, churning, and turnings of our lives, messages emerge from the deep ready to be received...

"Messages from the Deep" #1, a series - copyright Delorse Lovelady

Abstractions
Happily, I have been painting regularly again and must have a dozen or so abstractions finished or in process since Oct. All in acrylic, mixed media, a new direction for me, as I have been doing watercolors for years. Such different properties of the paint and how it can be used... I see lots more experimenting with texture and, of course, color, and have several series in mind to pursue while I experiment with the acrylics and mixed media.... Of course, I won't abandon watercolor totally, as I always like to play with a variety of media.

Although I've done a few abstractions here or there, this too is fairly new territory for me, and exciting to explore. Abstraction fits with my view that there is much that is ambiguous in the world, not what it seems, not totally definable. And that is the subject of the painting above. Another seascape, I love to paint them, but a different quality than the watercolors of the past (look at the one in my sidebar!).... I entered two paintings this week in a local show, and am in the process of preparing six more for the annual small works and miniature show I participate in.

A Quilted Gift
A friend in one of my sewing circles learned she has cancer, and thankfully her news about recovery is very good. Another friend Sharon, thought up this quilt project and sewed together the quilt squares that we all made for her as a comfort gift. I thought it came out lovely and it was much appreciated.

Photoshop Pix, Witches, Road Trip Doll, Figurative Handstitching, Funky Fiber Stuffies

Fall colors, last of the local veggie/fruit summer harvest, crispy weather, and a witch who wasn't paying attention!
Pumpkins and Photoshop
Above are a couple of pumpkin pictures from our local Yakima Fruits & Veggie Market, only one more week, then the harvest is gone and they switch totally to pumpkins and Christmas trees. The scarecrows on either side were pix I took in Jacksonville, OR, then, "developed" in Photoshop. There are endless possibilities on PS, I have so many more tools to try out...

Witch Way did she go?
I am loving these witch pictures. We were passing through Astoria, OR on our way home from Ashland and the Oregon coast (more on than in another post), and I noticed EVERY street light pole had one of these characters on it.... I took one threw the windshield as my husband drove, then he pulled over and took another better one. SO, happy halloween to you! Be sure to buckle up and fly in the right direction without any brew...
Fibery Fun
Aside from painting and trips, I have been having fibery fun too...
Top row:
1) & 2) Two self designed handstitched "softies" or "stuffies" from a sewing circle challenge
3) Silk beads made in a recent class
4) Dyed fabric & free motion applique technique from machine embroidery group
Bottom row:
1) & 2) Front and back of my recent self designed road trip doll - we went to Ashland Shakespeare Festival plus a side trip to Lava Beds -- so it looks rather theatrical and has lava sewn in the belly.
3) Figurative handstitching/collaged piece with close-up below from a recent class
4) Twin needle technique from machine embroidery group

These were fun and some were challenging, and some are easy things to do in the evening if I'm not journaling, while watching Survivor or Project Runway, yes, I like those reality shows....

Experiments: Needlefelting, Needlepunching and Handstitching

How can anyone ever be bored when there is so much to see or play at? No matter what art medium is your favorite, playing with other mediums and experimenting can spur your creative flow and give you new ideas...

Here are various playful fiber experiments, small projects where I was trying out new methods or some different techniques. I would say needlefelting, needlepunching, and handstitching seem to create a rhythm that is quite relaxing and satisfying. These are things easily done in the evening hours with a good lamp and strong reading glasses (magnifiers).

Needlefelting requires a special sharp barbed needle that you use to prod and poke wool roving or yarns into the shapes and designs that you want. I have learned that wool hairs actually have barbs, so any poking or agitating (such as with wet felting) will begin the "felt" process where the fibers begin to get enmeshed and stick together. Needlefelting is done over a thick piece of foam to avoid poking yourself. I had done several flat pieces in the past, but recently went with friends to a class where we all focused on making whatever 3 dimensional animals we wanted (the middle grouping is the class photo). Getting dimension is all about creating a rectangle, triangle, ball, or other shape over which you sculpt whatever you desire to make. I am most pleased with the cat which I patterned after my own little tuxedo you can barely see in the background of one of the photos. You can see my initial beginnings of him in the class photo on the far right - all white and not much face. It takes patience to get small details the way I want them to look. Eyes, mouth and nose require small lines and only a very few hairs of fiber. It will be interesting to try out other dimensional shapes.

I enjoy handstitching now and then, and last year was in a sewing group that self-taught ourselves different stitches from a particular embroidery book. I'm thinking about a goal of going through an entire stitch book trying out each stitch in various ways. The small stitched heart sampler was started to practice applique, couching and French knots - one night at one of the "hooker's" (rug) meetings I attend regularly.

This is a friendly group of very talented women that share conversation and hooking (rugs, dolls, wall hangings, pillows). Now I haven't really taken to hooking, but I did start a small crow wall hanging (designed by a friend) and will show it later when finished. Instead I got interested in needlepunching, what I'd call "micro-hooking" because the effect or technique is similar, the results are just a lot smaller. Having seen examples at a rug show last year, I just had to try it. Here are two examples that I finished - they are commercial pattern kits from a fabric/craft store, however, I wanted to just try the technique to see if I'd like it. I do, so I have in mind to experiment with making a pattern using my own images.

Mosaic of Paintings

Playing around with Photoshop again , today I taught myself how to do a mosaic using some of my 4x4 mixed media paintings. Three of these ("Happy Houses) are still available at the Kaewyn gallery, as they decided to keep them a while after the recent miniatures show since they had gotten lots of positive comments on them. Photoshop is full of wonderful possibilities, but can appear overwhelming if you have never tried it. I self taught myself - one tool at a time, experimenting to see what it would do, and I am still learning. Delighted with my mosaic, I know I will do more, perhaps with photos.

This is another tassel I started today, but I wound more yarn on than I would like, I wanted a thinner tassel. So I will do what my friend did and cut it in half, and finish off in a different way, so I will have 2 tassels, perfect for using when I restring some brass bells that I have.

Sometimes you start something thinking you know where you are going, but end up somewhere else.

And I finished up another small fiber experiment, namely a miniature book with doodles, images and favorite quotes. All this while I was inspired watching Obama on this historic day.

Experiments with Fiber

Satisfaction of one's curiosity is one of the greatest sources of happiness in life. Linus Pauling

As with any art medium playing with fiber and threads and yarn can be so satisfying as raw materials, scraps or forgotten stash transform into something anew. It takes that sense of exploring to push towards trying something unknown. For some the bigger risk is "messing up" that piece of material or yarn, but is it really ever "messed up", or just on the way to becoming something better, kind of like us.

There are several circles of women artists that I play in. Recently in the Needlearts Guild, we decided to learn how to make tassels, so found whatever yarns we had on hand. Quite amazing what can be done with scrap yarns, maybe even some thought to be "ugly" yarns and with inspiring companions. Our circle brought to life a lovely array of colorful tassels.
There is a beauty in the ugly one, if only ones eyes are open to seeing it, reclaiming it.
And a couple of weeks ago, inspired by Jude who has a wide circle of women artists, via her web blog, I experimented on scrap heavy cotton and muslin, doodling with permanent and non-permanent markers, then adding different stitches to my 9 patches on the square, and dampening with a used wet teabag. Interesting effects that bear more exploring.... Here are two of my patches as I prepared to stitch them with French knots and running stitches. See Jude's examples here and be inspired to experiment too: http://spiritcloth.typepad.com/spirit_cloth/doodle_wednesday/page/2/
What shall I do with these squares? I am not sure yet, but I have ideas..... Stitching and fabric lend themselves to such wonderful texture, something I miss when doing traditional watercolors.