Three Maasai Men Getting Quilted

The latest paintings done in ink on fabric are from photographs we took in Africa. They are fairly large so I wanted to quilt the faces, but needed to have a great deal of control. 

I was afraid to start. Someone suggested that I print a copy on fabric on the printer. Then I could play on this copy rather than play on the good piece. So that is what I did!

These copies are lighter than the originals, so some of my thread colours may have to change, but it was great practice for the lines. I did the quilting on these using my domestic machine. I can quilt slower and with more precision on my Pfaff rather than the Gammill long arm. 

With a bit more confidence I began the quilting on two of the originals. I used darker colours as the ink was darker than the photocopied samples. I used Invisifil by Wonderful, which is a very fine thread, with a very fine microtex needle. I am pleased with the results so far. 

Painting Pieces are Getting Completed

This winter I took a week long painting using ink on fabric class with Patt Blair. I painted (inked) a lot of pieces. I had been hesitating on how to quilt them. I finally took the plunge. 

The first completed portrait is of Nolan playing in the gravel at the Frank Lloyd Wright house,Talliessen West, in Arizona. This was the first piece that I painted. Later I pieced a perspective boarder that creates the feeling that we are looking in at Nolan from a great distance. I quilted him on the long arm. 

Jane Sassaman Lecture at CQA

Under the Influence was the title of Jane Sassaman's presentation. Jane is a designer by training and a quilt artist and fabric designer. She began quilting in 1980. One of her quilts, Willow, is said to be one of the 100 best quilts in the USA. 

Jane spoke about her early influences in art - OpArt with hard edges, solid colours and graphic designs; colourists like Joseph Albers who studied how colours play off each other; pre Raphaelites who were at the beginning stages of believing that art expresses who you are. 

OpArt sample

Colourists and their theories. 

Willow by Jane Sassaman. 

Fabric designed by Jane based on a plant from her garden. 

A quilt designed based on a dandelion leaf. 

Jane working in her studio. 

Mary Pal Invitational Piece

Some artists are invited to send a piece to CQA just to be exhibited. Mary Pal, an amazing Canadian quilt artist, and the teacher of a two day class at the show, had an amazing piece. 

Mary's work is done primarily using cheese cloth. Yes, the horse is done in white and coloured cheese cloth. She Also used hand altered silk organza, the background is painted with Neo Colours, and silk screened with images. Amazing!!

Detail of horses tail. 

Detail of coloured cheesecloth. 

Detail of hoof. 

Mary Pal Class. Day Two

On the second day we chose an animal to recreate using the cheesecloth technique taught to us by Mary.  ( I chose an alpaca as it reminded me of Lisa's alpacas that I usually help with on shearing day. This year I missed shearing as I am in Toronto!)

We began by transferring the image on to  duralar, a strong plastic that can withstand heat a light cutting. I had four values - black (no cheesecloth), light white (one layer of cheesecloth), medium white (2 layers of cheesecloth) and bright white (3 layers of cheesecloth).

For my alpaca template I used a red sharpie marker to indicate bright white areas, blue sharpie to indicate black areas and some fine lines to show the areas of light and medium light values. Now my alpaca template looked like a possessed demon!!

After placing another sheet of duralar over my sharpie marker drawing (to keep the sharpie ink from bleeding) I began to layer the white cheesecloth and fix it down with glue. This is very time consuming. I didn't get nearly done!!  Lots of work yet to do. 

Alpaca photocopy with sharpie marketed template beside. 

Partway through the process I slid a black sheet under to see the effect of my work. 

As far as I got. Lots more to do. 

Mary and I say goodbye. 

Mary Pal Class at CQA. Day One

Day One of the Mary Pal class we learned her techniques by following a provided landscape design. 

First we made a textural tree using glue and cheesecloth. As the tree dried we painted a couple of different backgrounds. 

Later we peeled the plastic away from our textured tree and used monofilament thread to invisibly stitch the tree and some grasses to the background. 

Mary demos gluing cheesecloth on the duralar. 

Val gluing her last few pieces of cheesecloth on for her textured tree. 

Mary demoing Neo Colour crayons. Note that they go on very light but spring to life once the water is added. 

First swipe of a wet paintbrush. 

Sky is wet and will bleed to make a batik like effect. 

My crayoned background dry. 

Background after painting with water. 

Various trees drying. 

My tree mounted on my background fabric. 

International Gathering of the Guilds

Every evening was full at the CQA conference. Friday night was the International Gathering of the Guilds. Featured guest speaker was Pat Rafferty from Limerick Ireland. She is an amazing artist in her own right who also works at male prisons to give inmates an opportunity to explore fibre art. Very interesting story!!

After viewing some Show and Tell quilts from attendees we heard Kim Caskey speak about Dear Jane Quilts. These quilts have become very popular. They are based on a quilt originally made in 1886 by Jane Stickley and rediscovered at a museum by Barbara who sat in the museum for two weeks to draft templates to all 200 plus blocks in the quilt, of which she then made a book. 

Since that time groups have enjoyed recreating these quilts. Here are photos of some Dear Jane Quilts. 

FAN exhibit at CQA

Fibre Arts Network has a display called 'Canadiana' showing at the Canadian Quilt Association show in Toronto. This show is finishing up its two year run soon. Gorgeous art pieces depicting various areas of Canada. 

Also, the Beaconsfield Quilters guild show, called Cascade of Colours, is in this area. 

Other Winners at CQA 2016

Orange Grove by Krista Hennebury of North Vancouver. 

Circular Thinking by Terry Aske from New Westminster BC. 

My Three Boys by Kim Mullen of Ottawa. 

The Surveyers Nightmare by Jaynie Himsl of Weyburn Sask. 

The River Valley Beckons by Birdie McLean of Edmonton. 

Sisters by Ilene Atkins of Kitchener ON. 

Listen Softly by Catherine Ugrin of Winnipeg. 

Eyes of the Wise by Coreen Zerr of Nanaimo BC. 

Enigmatic Story by Paula Jolly  (holding her quilt up in this photo) of Mossbank Saskatchewan. 

On Silent Wing by Patricia Dance of Port Alberni BC. 

New Life by Hilary Rice of Stirlibg ON.