Mixed Media Mashup

Art Quilts Maine 2017 Challenge, Mixed Media Mashup, is currently on tour in Maine! A dozen quilts developed in response to the challenge statement join another eight small portraits created by AQM artists. The parameters for Mixed Media Mashup were to incorporate two or more visual art media including painting, collage, photography or embellishments in a quilt that measured at least 100" in perimeter.

Several artists participated in the "portrait challenge", working to create a human portrait in a small format. Each portrait had to include a piece of dark red fabric. See if you can find the red fabric in each of the portraits pictured below! (Hint: bottom row center, the red fabric is used for a book cover.)

The exhibit is at Kimball St Studios in Lewiston through mid-November. It moves to the Portland Public Library for December and January. Or catch the show in Farmington this March and April.

Portrait Challenge Art Quilts Maine 2017

Student Work

Lisa's Tree 2017

Lisa sent me a picture of her tree, begun in the "Tree Bits and Thread Paint" workshop recently! She added a bush to one side, and quilted the background with small circles, which was a great choice from my perspective, as my favorite part of her tree is the red fabric with colorful circles that appears in three or four locations.

Class trees ranged from the more realistic to fantasy, with curls and curves a la Dr Seuss. Placing tree bits took much of the day, but as the trees took shape class participants began to see the possibilities. It's fun and relaxing, playing with fabric in such a low-stress way. Watch for the class to be scheduled again later this year!

Road Trip!

Dana Thank You

Great road trip with a friend last week. Dana proposed driving to Amherst, Mass to see a quilt show. Obviously the right words to get me out of the studio! While Dana is not a quilter, the show featured two artists she knew well, a mother and daughter, both named Valerie. Valerie (the elder, at 92!) quilts while her daughter is a watercolor artist. Their show was hung in a space with lots of natural light and great seating. We spent hours talking about fabric, art and design techniques. The work was colorful and varied, with some lovely fabric landscapes. Valerie's story mirrors mine in another way--she grew up in Iran! Born in Russia, she emigrated to Tabriz then attended high school in Tehran, where she met and married an American serviceman, moving to the US in 1947! I moved to Iran in 1960, returning to the US in 1973. Small world. I wanted to make Dana a thank you card for suggesting the day's adventure and handling all the details. Knowing she spends lots of time at the beach, I pulled fabrics to create a beach scene, cut wavy lines for the ocean and sand dunes and layered them on batting. The sky was a real find--a piece of light blue with white flowers that were just abstract enough to suggest clouds and sun. A handful of shells and beads added a bit of focus. Hope she likes it! Below, two pieces from the show--love the similar color palette!

Try Something New!

I downloaded a video by Esterita Austin called "Dynamic Fabric Art Portraits." I've linked to a short video preview. The technique was intriguing and I wanted to give it a try . . . sometime. Lucky for me, Art Quilts Maine members Jane and Pam issued a challenge in October to create a 12" x 14" portrait. Finished pieces were to be revealed in February. What a perfect opportunity to experiment with Esterita Austin's technique! Her portraits begin with a piece of hand dyed fabric.

Fabric used for Face

By means of judicious cutting, the entire face is constructed from that single piece of fabric. I was amazed at the way the features came together! Part two of her technique involves using tiny amounts of light and dark paint to add a few highlights and shadows. A thin line defines the eyes, a little white paint highlights the bridge of the nose, but there is minimal manipulation other than choosing how and where to cut the fabric. Speaking of which, my fabric looked rather ratty after I cut it all apart--you must be willing to sacrifice your piece of fabric to the portrait! Having created the face from one piece of fabric, I decided to use only one other piece to finish. I found this great, colorful elephant print in my stash and began cutting it apart into separate elements.

Fabric used for Frame

Jane gave us each a piece of red fabric to incorporate in our portraits, which I did though I defy you to find it! There are 6 or 8 pieces of the dark red fabric tucked in with the elephants and plants surrounding the face. This was really fun to do and I learned several tricks to use in future portraits, my current obsession! Here's my finished piece--still working on a name--any ideas?

Portrait 2017

Loose Threads

Time to do a little catching up. I have been busy in the studio, finishing up a few projects and clearing the decks to begin something new, while debating whether to schedule a new class. 

I put the final touches on the mermaid batik print, "Enchanted Oro Bay". This was such a fun piece to work on--threadwork, beading, quilting, glitter! At the very end I made the decision to quilt her skin, and what a difference that made.  I am so happy with the result that I plan to do the same for the three Fates depicted on "Working the Thread of Life" when they return from their Maine tour. That quilt, along with others from  Art Quilts Maine is held over at Kimball St Studios through November! I'll be collecting them after Thanksgiving, as the challenge pieces move on to the Portland Public Library for December and January. I do hope you have an opportunity to see the show at Kimball St--it is more extensive than the Challenge Tour. 

The piece below was begun in Dianne Hire's workshop this summer. We spent a day making curved pieced blocks, with free-hand cutting and easy stitching. If you ever have the opportunity to take a class with her do so--Dianne puts on a really fun workshop. I put the finished blocks together while at Friendship and decided to depart from Diane's style of bold colors set off by black and white. I happened to have a large floral print on hand, which became a bold border for the muted blocks. Here is a shot of the top before quilting.

What's on my design wall now? In a further exploration of human figures, I decided to take on a portrait quilt. I am building "Layla" right on the enlarged photograph. Learning as I go, this piece is all about value and shape. I can't tell where it will end, or what decisions I may make along the way. For now, it is coming along an hour or two at a time. 

Time in the studio is great. Absorbing, challenging, sometimes surprising. Whatever your passion, I hope you find time to pursue it--whether an hour or two at a time or all day every day!

Lady of Oro Bay

Sketching

I'm liking Oro Bay as the location. Oro means gold in Spanish and finding this batik was like finding treasure. (See my earlier post here) Many sketches later, I finally committed to quilting the moon this weekend.

Clouds scuttle across the sky in white rayon thread, while the moon is filled in with bubbles and straight lines done in a pale green silk. This has been a fun piece to work on! Soon as I figure out how to quilt the sky, the quiltingt will be done and I can move on to embellishments--and I do plan to embellish! I realized that I have no plan for how to finish the piece--some sections of the print go right up to the edge of the fabric and may pose a problem. I'll tackle that later. For now, I'm really happy with the weekend's work. Here's a shot:

Stitching

What I'm Stitching

While I wish I had a picture of this piece before I started thread painting, I thought I'd share the work in progress now, and post another picture when it is completed. I'm still thinking about a name--Anderson Island Mermaid? Dawn over Oro Bay? Nisqually Reach?

I acquired this beautiful batik while visiting friends on Anderson Island in Washington state. They had a large box of fabrics from a man whose quilting wife had passed away and generously suggested I take what I liked. Who can refuse an offer like that! In the collection was this batik piece, about 30"x 35", of a mermaid silhouetted against the sunrise (or moon? or sunset?) Regardless, it was too lovely to leave in a box of unclaimed fabric!

I admired her for some time, thinking about how to enhance the batik. I started thread-painting her hair, ultimately adding eight colors of thread over the dark batik base. My threads ranged from a variegated golden brown to dark purple. It was so much fun to thread paint such a large area! I then added scales to her tail, using turquoise, green, purple and yellow thread. The shelf she sits on was a solid dark blue, the same color as her hair and tail. I used my bag of 'tree bits' to add a wash of colors, with variegated thread holding the tiny bits of fabric trapped beneath a layer of tulle. I layered the main elements over a scrap of polyester batting for loft, then sandwiched the whole with batting and backing. Next step is to quilt the background--the sun (or moon) sky and water, and decide how to finish the piece for hanging. I am still debating further embellishments in the form of glitter, sequins or beads.

Got a suggestion for a name or further embellishment? Let me know!  Here is a glimpse:

Mermaid in progress--Rana O'Connor 2016

Honu Takes Off

Honu at Maine Quilts
Rana O'Connor 2014

Whirlwind month with lots of quilting activities and opportunities--Yea! Honu debuted at Maine Quilts and earned a ribbon. Judges comments included, "excellent choice of fabrics and placement to create stream of light." "Subtle seaweed design is well placed and well done." There were also some negatives, but we won't dwell on those! Honu is on his way to Manchester for World Quilt Show - New England XII where he will hang alongside quilts from Japan, the UK, Australia, South Africa and more. It is my favorite show, and of course we are going to spend a day lost in wonder.

Meanwhile, Art Quilts Maine had an exhibit at the Center for Maine Craft the month of July. Remember Chairs? They both sold, along with about two dozen Quiltini Pins! Guess I will be making more pins for future exhibits.

Speaking of which, I got a call from Maine Fiber Arts asking if 'Mom and Auntie Jean Play Gin' was available for an exhibit this fall at USM's Glickman Library. Mom will miss it, but she is happy to lend it. The dates are September 2 (my brother's birthday) to December 20 (my birthday.) Must be some symbolism in that! 

Classes are coming up, too. I'm teaching in Trenton August 22 and 23, at Sewing by the Sea. It's a technique class on turning photos into quilted wall hangings. Much like 'Honu' or 'Mom and Auntie Jean' in theory. The class is full and she is starting a wait list! That's exciting. Two classes are scheduled at Sew Portland this fall--the ever popular 'Beginning Free Motion Quilting', and a more advanced 'Thread Play' class. Participants will be given a piece of bold flower print fabric which they can cover with thread, both on the surface and as quilting. Kathy, who owns both stores, posted this video of me volunteering at her booth at Maine Quilts. I'm thread-painting the class sample, see?

A little R&R comes my way after the Trenton class with a long weekend's quilt retreat in Friendship. Ahh. Ocean, morning walks, afternoon kayaking, and all the quilting and sewing we care to do, with no interruptions. Can't wait.

Center for Maine Craft

Alison and I met at the Center for Maine Craft located in the West Gardiner service plaza to hang the Art Quilts Maine exhibit. The Center is a high-traffic location--anyone travelling past Augusta goes right by, and a steady stream of people are in and out of the service plaza. Many take a break from their travels to enjoy (and maybe purchase) Maine crafts. The exhibit runs through July 31. The collection reappears later this year at Kimball St Studios in Lewiston, for the month of November. 

Quiltinis
Rana O'Connor

Six artists contributed to this collection. In addition to a few wall pieces (you can see my two Chairs on the back wall, for instance) I brought along a box full of Quiltini pins,a smaller item I developed and quickly got addicted to making earlier this year. Each pin is crafted from bits of quilted fabric sealed with a satin stitch. Then the fun begins! Embellishments include beads, glitter, stamps, rhinestones, paint and found objects.

Old Fort Johnson

What a lovely day we had at Old Fort Johnson near Amsterdam, NY on Saturday! We started the day with quilt historian Kris Driessen, who brought many antique quilts to illustrate her discussion of dating and appraising quilts. She was very informative, talking about various fabrics a historian looks for to help date a quilt, such as double pink, or turkey red, and sharing some little known facts that we New England quilters take for granted. For example, quilts designed for four poster beds are an east coast phenomenon--western families did not have four poster beds, so that unique shape is unknown to them. Likewise, shirting fabrics were commonly brought home as cut-aways from shirt factories and mills found mostly in New England. The best part? Kris allowed us to pass her quilts and tops around to handle and examine the fabrics, note the stitching, admire the rich colors. After a grand picnic on the lawn (it was a gorgeous day and one of the women brought a to-die-for chocolate cake) we reassembled for my trunk show. I brought a baker's dozen art quilts--including the unfinished Honu. Like Kris, I enjoy letting others handle my quilts and discuss details of technique and style choices. We worked our way from Back Bay Winter, completed in 2006, to the present. I brought some of my Quiltini Pins--you can see my post on them here. Once I got started making them I found it hard to stop--I get more ideas as I work. I think I've made nearly 100 so far. They were a hit at the gift store!

Progress?

Friendship, Maine 2013

Deadline looming so I should get going on the major construction bits still to be completed. I think I am finally done fiddling with the photos. Here is the original photo, and the print on fabric, embellished with thread, colored pencil and glitter. For all the time I put into enhancing this photo, I hope the finished piece is dramatic enough without going over the top. I don't think I am in danger of going over the top though--my issue is generally too much attention to details that no one but me ever notices! The flowers are thread-painted. Foliage, chairs, even the water and sky are hand colored with Prismacolor pencils. I added glitter to the water to mimic the effect of sunlight bouncing off the surface--it is blinding in person, standing on the shore squinting at the water--I'd love that effect to come through. If I can get this quilted this weekend, I think I have a shot at finishing the binding, label and hanging sleeve before the June meeting. Onward!

Friendship, Maine photo on fabric

Threadpainting the Day Away

Threadpainted Letters

Memorial Day Weekend was quieter than expected. We cancelled our BBQ because my husband came down with a nasty cold so we were hanging out at home. Which suited me well enough, as it gave me time to make progress on the challenge quilt. Here is a shot of the background.

I probably figured out the most tedious way possible to get words on this background. About half way through I thought, "most people are going to look at this and assume I used an embroidery machine to make the letters." But no. I went super old school. Printed words on tracing paper, cut and arranged them on the background. Held the paper in place with a little spray glue (the same 505 I use to baste my quilts) and outlined each word free motion, then tore away the paper, filled in each letter with variegated thread, then on to the next word. And, because I didn't have enough of the variegated thread I started with, I bought a second, slightly different thread, and randomly changed threads at various points along the way.

My first thought was that I wanted the words to be truly in the background. I layered the quilt with batting and backing before starting the letters. About a third of the way through I decided I'd rather have the letters not sink in so far. So, I separated the batting and backing and pinned it out of the way, pinned a tear away stabilizer behind the quilt top and went back to work, outlining and filing in each word. I would not normally switch techniques like that mid-quilt. I wonder how noticeable it will be in the final analysis? Whether it turns out to be horribly noticeable, neutral, or a brilliant design decision won't matter though. If it is a challenge, I decided I must be unafraid to experiment.

In the spirit of this piece, that started with a title and dimensions and has taken shape as I've gone along, I still have several technical issues to solve before it will be complete. I wish I could say it was going to be magical when it gets done, but this one has its own ideas!

Calico Quilt Show

Fabric pins by Rana O'Connor

I'm a member of a guild chapter, Calico Quilters. The group has a show every other year, exhibiting members' work and raising money for chapter activities. This year's show is on April 26 and 27 at the Rowe School in Yarmouth. In addition to the quilt display--which is in itself worth the drive--there are vendors, a raffle table with handmade table-top items, like place mats and table runners, and a sale table for all things quilt related. Somehow I got the idea to make fabric pins. Like miniature art quilts.

I picked up a book on Inchie Quilts--little, one-inch square bits of fabric, thread, batting and beads. Inspired, I set to work, trying out fabrics. One inch square is pretty small, for a pin. One piece of fabric had motifs I wanted to use. My pins ended up somewhere between 1.5 and 3 inches in size. Quilted, embellished with beads, baubles and paint, edged with a tight zig-zag stitch in various colors. Although I work assembly-line style, it takes roughly 30 minutes per pin. I've got 25 done. Enough to fill a little basket for the sale table. I'm hoping that will do!

Stop by Rowe School and see the quilts--I hope to have two of mine on display, and am volunteering as a white glove lady on the 27th, which will give me a chance to enjoy everyone's work.

Yarmouth Art Festival

Venezia-Rana O'Connor-2012

The Yarmouth Art Festival begins Wednesday, October 16 and runs through the Saturday, October19, at St. Bartholomew's Episcopal Church, 396 Gilman Road in Yarmouth. Out of 350 entries, the jurors selected 163 pieces, and I am fortunate to have had 3 of my pieces juried into this show. This is my second year exhibiting at this festival. It is a wonderful space, bright and airy. I am looking forward to attending the artists' reception on Thursday evening, from 5:30 to 8:00.  Admission to the show is free, so it is definitely worth a drive, on a beautiful fall day, to see the work of 75 Maine artists and who knows--maybe even find a piece you must purchase! Proceeds support community service programs such as the food pantry, so it is win-win for everyone. Hope to see you there!

Quilt photos at: Picasa

Thread Paint Sample

Next step for Honu is to layer with batting--I considered trapunto but I want to try out wool batting which I believe will give me enough dimension without adding trapunto. It's a gamble, I know! The local stores don't carry wool batting. I could order it online, but since I plan to attend a quilt show next weekend I am hoping to shop there. So, Honu is on hold for a bit. Meanwhile, I did a quick thread-paint example to test my plan for the workshop I will be teaching at our guild this fall. I found great fabric with decent-sized bugs and butterflies printed on it at the guild 'closet clean-out'. I thought the bugs would make great bases to learn thread painting. I usually thread paint after fusing an applique or image to the background. Here I added a tear-away stabilizer, then started stitching in the style of Christine Fries-Ureel, who taught an excellent workshop on the topic. Great way to use up lots of thread! Can you see the little bit of bling on his body?

More quilts at: Slideshow Album

Round Robin

Have you ever done a round robin exchange? I have not, so this year I was challenged to join our guild's Round Robin Border Exchange. I made a center block--see photos--and will hand it off to another quilter to add a border. That quilter passes it on to someone else until there are 3 borders added, then it will come back to me. Meanwhile, I will work on 3 other quilts, adding a border to each. Confusing? You should see the schematic for passing quilts! But I am assured it all works and it is fun and challenging. I am concerned that my block may be too detailed--I've seen appliqued center blocks before but not like mine, and that it might be too thick. In order to secure all the tiny scraps on this block, I thread painted the whole thing to the muslin backing. On a positive note, it has been fun so far--I had a great time making this block, and it gave me a chance to try out Susan Carlson's collage technique. Plus I really like how it came out, so it will be fun to see it in May when it has border 1, border 2, and border 3 added on! Can't wait to see the block I will be adding a first border to--I'll be getting it Monday!

Quilt gallery and quilts for sale at: http://community.webshots.com/user/roconnorquilts

Random Mention

I opened my e-newsletter from Maine Fiberarts today and got a nice surprise! A detail photo from my quilt, "Being Alive is the Magic" was featured in the header. I know the photos are random, but it was still great fun to see it! If you have not had the opportunity to check out Maine Fiberarts, you must take a minute to do so:
http://www.mainefiberarts.org/

Should you find yourself in Topsham, be sure to stop by their building at 13 Main Street. They always have a fiber art exhibit on display, and you can pick up a copy of the Maine Fiberarts Tour Map while you are there.

Quilt gallery and quilts for sale at: http://community.webshots.com/user/roconnorquilts

VOTE Online for Bali Bloom

I entered an online quilt contest! The theme this week is quilts with flowers. Of course I thought of Bali Bloom, with that one big pink hibiscus flower and sparkly beads. Take a minute between Friday morning and midnite Sunday to head over to the Quilting Gallery and vote for your favorite flower quilt. It is all in fun.

On another front, the Art Quilts Maine travelling quilt show, Inspiration Transformation opened at Devanny Doak and Garrett Booksellers this week with some great publicity. There were stories in the Sun Journal and the Daily Bulldog, and an article is in the works for Publishers Weekly Children's Bookshelf, an online newsletter about the children's book business. You may recall the 16 quilts in this travelling show were inspired by favorite children's books. It is awesome to be a part of this talented group of artists.   

Quilt gallery and quilts for sale at: http://community.webshots.com/user/roconnorquilts

Elements Added

Worked on a few new elements for the picture-quilt. I hadn't planned to include the overhead lamp, but decided it would be good to have that light source, so I gave them a Tiffany lamp. I liked that it brought some color to the composition as well. There is a scrap of tulle over part of it--one possibility to avoid stitching down every small piece. Bit of a side road--12 to 15 hours in and threadpainting awaits. Worked on arms as well, so they look a little less like Weebles, and strung some beads for a necklace. I've been wondering if I can find a miniature deck of cards or if I will be making fabric cards for them to hold. Any opinions?

Quilt gallery and quilts for sale at: http://community.webshots.com/user/roconnorquilts

Finishing Up

I think we can call the Barbara Olson workshop quilt done as well. I went back (after completely quilting it) and added more purple vine quilting to the border, and quilted within the petals, mostly just on along the vein to make the trapunto pouf a bit more. Enough on that one!

McAuley Angel is ready for embellishing. I have some great silk vines and a few bead-y ideas. I do love the paint and glitter on her wings, but am still not sure about this one.

Finally, we went fabric shopping for a baby quilt for our friends who own a gaming shop/bookstore. Hubby drew up the design. The fish blocks are done. Time to get to work on the body. It is going to be a Wild Thing!







Quilt gallery and quilts for sale at: http://community.webshots.com/user/roconnorquilts