Compositional Conversations

Just a quick note to say that my portion of the Compositional Conversations has been posted on the group's blog: http://studio24-7.blogspot.com/2009/10/compositional-conversation-stage-nine.html?showComment=1255965935522#c817773486993471689

Feel free to add your comments. The piece passes from artist to artist, each one having it for a week to work on. The goal is not to resolve the composition, but to converse figuratively, artistically and mentally with the piece as you receive it. Enjoy!

Busy is good, right?

Color me! Artist as Quiltmaker entrant Susan Shie brings smiles and happiness everywhere she goes. She added this to the back of her entry envelope.

My busy week began last Saturday in Oberlin, Ohio. I arrived at the Firelands Association for the Visual Arts to meet the Artist as Quiltmaker XIV juror, Carolyn Mazloomi, and the generous volunteers who came to help me, the curator, with the image jury for the exhibition.

Some of the Artist as Quiltmaker XIV entries, organized for the Image Jury.

After a nice lunch with my friend and colleague Mary Ann Tipple, I drove home, showered and dressed for a fun evening out at my local arts facility, BayArts. A local writer friend, Kristen Hampshire, hosted a book signing in the gallery of the art center, and my husband's band, Back Bay (aka 'The Lads') performed. There was a great crowd, as Kristen signed several of her books, and people crowded into the gallery to hear the music and talk. I have never seen so many local writers in one room at one time. What a blast!

Kristen (center) with a fan, and her editor from Quarry Books, Mary Ann (left)

After the show, recording artist Cletus Black stopped by the house to drink some beer and gab with us. It was fun getting to know him better, and, for me, to learn more about being an artist from a singer/songwriter's viewpoint. I have learned over the years that the creative process is the same in many ways, only differing somewhat as the approach takes on different guises. If an artist is a songwriter, musician, actor, poet, writer or visual artist, there is a common experience to be shared. Creative inspiration is universal, yet simultaneously unique to the creator. We stayed up talking way too late. I was invited to join Cletus on Tuesday, when Back Bay went into the recording studio to add some kick-ass guitar and back up vocals for his new album.

Sunday morning, I slept in, and aaahhh, what a luxurious indulgence. I worked on getting the Artist as Quiltmaker jury notification letters prepared, and drank way too many cups of coffee. I like to respond to the artists who enter the show as soon as possible, so that they can either enter their work into another show, or prepare to ship it to FAVA for the Object Jury in November, when the juror selects the final work that will be exhibited next May, and awards the prize money.

On Monday, I began to prepare for my contribution to an artist's group project, Compositional Conversations. This is a cool project started by my colleague Terry Jarrard Dimond. I have blogged about this project before, and encourage you to check out Terry's link to see more. I have now sent the piece to the next artist, and will be writing more about my thought processes concerning this collaborative project later this week.

Back Bay at the Dave's studio (center); David Speaker and Chris Pritchard discuss the microphone set-up with Dave.

Tuesday evening finally arrived, and it promised to be a fun night. I was not disappointed. Chris added a cool rhythm guitar track, then he and David laid down vocal tracks to Cletus' song Drew Us Kings. The album will probably be out in the spring.

Cletus arrived, and he and I sat in the upstairs "crow's nest" listening to the vocal tracks, and talking about art.

Dave's cool board...

Since this was the first time I had been in a recording studio, I was fascinated by every aspect of it. The digital technology is simply amazing. Study and talent in special combinations are required for all: the artists recording, playing music, and singing, and the engineering on the board. Oh, and Dave is also an amazing musician with a great ear!

After David needed to take off to take his dogs home, Cletus invited Chris to stay. He recorded a demo of his version of another of Cletus' songs, Road to Nowhere, from his Down Those Tracks cd. Of the thirty plus years I have been lucky enough to be surrounded by Chris' music, this little demo recording, with his heartfelt vocals and simple acoustic guitar, is one of my all-time favorites. Not to mention, it's a fabulous song, with lyrics that will bring tears to your eyes.

The Taylor or the Fender? The Taylor or the Fender? Chris and Dave test out guitar sounds to see which one will be right for the recording. Just like visual artists, using the right tools for the desired effect is crucial.

After Road to Nowhere, Dave recorded while Cletus and Chris played a rousing Cletus Black version of Kansas City. By the time they were done, it was after midnight (the hour, not the song!), and we had stayed up past out bedtime again. What a fun night!

Did I mention it was only Tuesday? More of the busy week's events to come. Happy October!

More Experiments and Preparing for The Artist as Quiltmaker IV

Unopened piles of entries for The Artist as Quiltmaker IV

This week, my role as curator of The Artist as Quiltmaker exhibition kicked into high gear. The second oldest, longest running venue for viewing art quilts in the world, this exhibition was conceived of in 1979 by quilt historian Ricky Clark. She had gone to see the very first Quilt National in Athens, Ohio, and was inspired by what she saw. As one of a group of people working to create an arts center in Oberlin, Ohio, Ricky knew immediately that she wanted to create a high quality exhibition that would occur in the off-years of Quilt National. Thus, both the Firelands Association for the Visual Arts (FAVA) and The Artist as Quiltmaker were born, and the first exhibition opened in 1981. Since that time, every year a major art quilt exhibition is on view in Ohio.

It was in creating a symposium to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the exhibition that I was inspired to write my book, Uncommon Threads: Ohio's Art Quilt Revolution, to outline the untold story of Ohio's role in the now worldwide art quilt movement. We are now in our 28th year, and The Artist as Quiltmaker IV exhibition that opens next spring promises to be another wonderful exhibition. This year's juror, Carolyn Mazloomi, arrives next Saturday to view the entries, and make her initial selections. I'll keep you posted!

In a brief aside, I mentioned in my last blog posting, at the end, that I would be writing next about my participation in Compositional Conversation, an artists project conceived by Terry Jarrard Dimond. I had my weeks mixed up, so will be working on the project now in my possession, and writing about it in the weeks to come. Check out the video of the project thus far, and feel free to add your comments at the link above.

As time presses in around me, I continue to experiment with my Magic Baby reversible overalls design. I finished my second prototype this week. This time I altered a pattern that had no separate bodice, so I was able to applique my desired designs directly onto the body of the overalls. For the outside, I used a brightly colored denim twill with some cotton scraps in soft colors, and for the reverse, a matching and very soft cotton knit.

Other than applying one section of the snap tape backwards, this cute prototype was fun to make. I tried a different solution for the shoulder closures than I have used for my Magic Baby Dresses, because I want to come up with a closure that will work for little boys.

Using twill tape covered with stitched ribbon, I altered the shape of the shoulder pieces, and inserted the strap into the top front. I made it long enough to loop through the back strap, added two button holes to the twill tape, and sewed four buttons in place, two on the front and two on the reverse.

I was worried that the snap tape would not reverse properly. That did not end up being my problem, backward snap tape aside. The thickness of the doubled twill tape gave good body, but there are two things I don't like about the button closure. Number one, I don't like the buttons. The whole design is so soft and cuddly, that I don't like the idea of a hard button on the inside up against a baby or toddler. Secondly, by sewing two buttons in essentially the same location, one on the outside and one on the inside, it is very hard to button the strap in place. Yes, I considered adding some space under the button by either wrapping cording to raise it off the surface, or by using a shank button. Neither of these solve the problem, and, if anything, would exacerbate the problem by making the buttons even more prominently sticking out. I could use my "soft" button idea, but two together is too think. So, for now, it's back to the drawing board.

Experiments in Construction and Composition

Magic Baby reversible overalls experiment

I am swimming in experiments. This past week, as I try to design my fall and winter etsy line, I finished up my first reversible overalls prototype. The design is very cute, with two bodices to play with and a cute crossed back strap.

I pieced one side using a recycled wide wale corduroy blouse and some fun, striped cotton upholstery left over from making pillow case edges years ago.
On the reverse, I used a decorator-weight cotton sateen in light blue, and added pockets lined with the stripe.

As cute as the design came out, there are some problems I discovered while testing out my ideas. First of all, there is no leg opening (think snap tape for babies) for ease of diaper changes. To change the design would require some simple re-drafting. Secondly, with the back bodice design including built-in crossed straps, the shoulder tabs would need to be lengthened in order for me to make them adjustable. The gathering into the bodice is adorable, but perhaps not great for a boys design, which would look better with pleats. Most importantly, viewed from the light of my non-mass-production of these for retail sale, there are too many adaptations to be made and corrected for size. I decided it will be easier to work with a different pattern design altogether, so I am preparing to try Magic Baby Reversible Overalls Prototype #2 today.

A few weeks ago, in another composition experiment, I pulled out flannel scraps left over from making Magic Baby Snuggle Blankies. I have always been frugal in most aspects of my life; needless to say, I was not going to let those exquisite scraps go to waste, especially when baby clothing requires so little fabric. My first step was to cut off any selvedges from the scraps, then rotary cut them into strips and squares, which were stacked together in a box. Piecing the strips together, I could make matching snuggly cuddly reversible jackets for the Snuggle Blankies. It was easy to add little tags of ribbon into the seams, keeping everything very soft, and snippets of trim to the fold-up cuffs. After turning the jacket right side out, I inserted a scrap of pre-gathered satin pink ruffle into the bottom edge.

Magic Baby Cuddle Jacket Prototype, front

The biggest challenge in this design, as is the case in many of my designs, is coming up with a unique closure that is also functional. For the jacket, I inserted a piece of medium gauge, round elastic into bias tape, gathered it and measured the length before inserting it in between the front and reverse jacket sections. Next, since I don't want to be buying tons of buttons, and because buttons can pop off, I created a "soft" button using ribbon blanket trim satin stitched over a cut-down cosmetic sponge, and stitched in place with an "X" of embroidery floss.

This design was fast, easy, and, in my mind, a complete success. I have the pattern worked out from NB to 4T, and plan to make jackets that also match my fall pinwale corduroy designs of my Magic Baby Dresses.

I am still working on prototypes for my "story clothes", completing a hand-quilted baby quilt in the evenings (almost done!), making new TagTalk cards, and finishing a girls dress for a friend who gave me two bags of fabric.

I am an artist, so why am I spending so much time designing baby clothes? There are several answers to this question: a) I need to earn a regular income, and baby clothes sell faster than artwork b) I am a grandmother, and like making things for babies c) It's fun and challenging. Granted, I have had to put my current book project on hold, and don't have as much time in the studio to make artwork. Coming in my next blog post, though, is a challenging artists project I am part of, Compositional Conversations. Check out the link to see what it is about. I will be adding my contributions next week.

My new granddaughter, Madison, wearing her MagicBaby Cuddle Jacket.

Cleaning Out Our Attics

These are fish napkin holders. They arrived in Saturday's mail, carefully wrapped and shipped USPS Priority Mail. Inside the box was a note from a dear college friend I had seen earlier in the week. She was in town from Paris visiting her elderly parents, and they had been cleaning out the attic of their family home. The never-used fish napkin holders, gifted to her parents long ago, had sat boxed up in the attic for years, waiting to be re-gifted to someone who still uses cloth napkins. That someone would be me, the recipient of a sweet and thoughtful gesture from a friend and her elderly parents, all of whom I adore.

This entire episode reminded me that we, 'we' meaning my husband and I, my siblings, my colleagues and all my friends in their fifties, we are all in a "cleaning out the attic" stage of our lives. The attic-clearing can be literal: passing long things we've held onto over the years, but no longer need or want, to someone else.

When my children left home, out of my house went extra furniture, dishes and pots and pans. Now that they both own homes, I have a list in my mind of special family heirlooms or otherwise valuable items in my attic and closets that I have now decided they are "old enough" to value and take care of. By becoming homeowners and parents, they have attained a certain level of stability in their lives at the same time that I am in the mood to clear "things" out of my own.

My 'baby' sister and I this summer, during her visit from Italy

My entire summer has been a more metaphorical cleaning of the attic. I have been acquiring new roles, such as "grandmother of three," "college buddy now in her fifties." I have also had the pleasure of not only forging fresh relationships with new grandbabies and old college friends, but of reconnecting with high school friends on Facebook and my own siblings, all wrapped in a parentheses of the music being created within my own family unit.

At this age, relationships become even more important, as they are my fuel for being an artist. Over the past decade, I have carefully swept my attic clean of unhealthy, one-sided relationships. I find I no longer have a tolerance for being with people who have nothing to give back in return. Instead, I have focused on my family, and building new and stronger relationships with our artist friends and musicians, all of whom provide deep love and support, shared experiences, and new ideas that find their expression in a cleaned out attic, where there is room to grow.

In July my tArty friends, a local artist group, met at my house to share their new work. It ran the gamut from exciting commissions, new, mind-blowing sketchbooks, and ideas developed into artwork.
Christy's commission sketches

Jill's sketchbook drawings

Christine with work inspired by her sketchbooks

In my own work, I have spent the summer working on designs for my new line of Magic Baby clothes. They have been selling as fast as I can get them finished and photographed. Now I am gearing up for Fall and Winter, with new editions being created in soft flannel, knitted fabric and baby cord. I am also trying to work out some baby boy designs. I need to come up with something very cute and very unique, but not "girly." My 'clean attic' and supportive relationships give me the support and space to let my mind have room to think.

Please don't get the idea that my house or my work space is literally clean. Quite the opposite. In my writing studio, every shelf is covered with research materials, my manuscript pages and files, and accented with piles of finished artwork, TagTalk cards and the like decorating the floor.

In my art studio, a too-small bedroom filled with a Pier 1 dining room table converted to a work table, fabric and works in progress are everywhere. It looks like a mess, but this is how I work. I have my fabrics organized in ways that I can find just what I am searching for. My trims and notions are organized in containers and boxes that fill the space under my work table. The lighting is terrible, but this is the space I have to work in, and this is where I work. Every day.

My point in showing this to you is that the "cleaning the attic" analogy has nothing to do with literal cleaning. It has everything to do with clearing out our lives so that we can focus on our passions. For those of you who haven't found your passion yet, I suggest the technique of attic-clearing to help you make room for finding it.



Another artist group I am participating in, Compositional Conversations, was formed online by my colleague Terry Jarrard Dimond. You can check the links in my sidebar to some of the artists who are also participating and writing about the project. Terry, an amazing artist, invited 16 artists to participate in a conversation, both in writing online and responding, but also by agreeing to be recipients of an art piece begun by her with a single piece of fabric which is sent to each artist respectively to be added to, considered, and conversed with. It's an intriguing exercise for the artists, and a chance to respond to the choices other artists have made. My turn to receive the artwork-in-progress is fast approaching. Each week, as I see the pictures posted from the other participants, my heart starts to race in nervous anticipation. Clearing out my metaphorical attic has made room for these new experiences and artistic conversations.

If you regularly follow my blog, you may have noticed that I have been absent for awhile. I have been really, really busy working, and have needed to focus on that. Somehow, though, the fish napkin holders arriving in the mail following six weeks of reconnecting with old friends and loved ones got me to thinking about the past, about attics, about relationships, and about making room for what is important. I hope, perhaps, my thoughts will jog your own in the same way. Time to clean your attic.