Color Theory Class

Saturday, while Frank was dealing with illegally placed dumpsters and sewer backing up in the tub/showers, I was taking a Color Theory class!  I had way more fun than he did, for sure.

Sally Gordon has studied color and art history for a lot of years.  She set up an interactive class for about 13 of us CFAL (Contemporary Fiber Artists of Louisiana) members.


Our class packet included a wonderful little color wheel that has windows for determining what a color looks like if you add yellow, black, grey, blue and red.

Really cool instrument.







We started with the pages of white, black and grey and some color chips.  Without regard for composition, we played with how the color reacted when placed on each of the backgrounds.

I guess I have done this before but it was very revealing how the colors receded or came forward.  I have always liked black more than white as a background/sashing color.  To my eye, it makes the colors pop forward, and I like the effect.

Sally said that painters have it easy, they can mix the color they want.  As fiber/fabric artists we have to buy the color we want or create it in an dye vat.  Which we all know is not an exact science.  While shopping is fun, we still might not be able to find the exact color we need if the shop keeper did not order it!







Bebe made neat little marks on her papers.


I threw color on the paper like a wild woman.

We played with gouache colors on watercolor paper and made (I ATTEMPTED to make) color, hue and shade as well as neutrals.

I was really good at making neutrals and browns!














She taught us a secret to adding color effects to our quilt subjects.

She also brought in how the painters of the past dealt with shading and creating light effects.

I can say, I learned a lot about that...…..and if you see my work sheet, you will see I need a LOT of help yet!

Thanks, Sally!

Exciting Phone Call

I had a really exciting phone call from a friend of mine.  Mary curates the Denham Springs Art Council and has exhibited across several states through her work with CFAL.  CFAL is the Contemporary Fiber Artists of Louisiana.

She wanted to know if I was interested in being part of a 6 woman exhibit.  Well, hell yeah!  Is the Pope Catholic?  Does a bear......well, you know.

I don't have al the details just yet, but I will let you know.

I was definitely over the moon!

I can put some pieces I already have in the show, but I wanted to make a few more anyway for the February presentation I am doing in North Louisiana.  (Well, aren't I the popular girl this year, huh?)  Next thing you know, QuiltCon will be calling me to make me an offer I can't refuse!

Nothing like putting pressure on yourself, right?  What is life, if not lived at top speed.

So I have been wanting to do this picture of Frank in Nova Scotia.


I may add the lighthouse at Peggy's Cove to give him something to look at.  Although he was just staring out into the beauty of that vast ocean.

I will have to go back into my notes and see what the name was.  We had visited Valerie and Len while we were up there, but I don't remember whether it was before this or after this.

This is how far I got tonight.




I am having some trouble with his hair.  You really don't see his hair in the photos, but I think he needs something in the fabric one.

I tried two different versions, one of which required me to cut out an ear.  THAT was fun.

Another interesting thing is that I always forget that the fabric image will com out reversed from the photo unless you trace the back of the copy with a dark pen.

So here I was, lecture girl, all surprised that he is looking right rather than left.

And seeing him in the red jacket, I think I need to thin him down a bit.  His jacket makes him look like Arnold Schwarzenegger -- Muscle Man Frank.

I printed out that photo of Peggy's Cover that will fit dimensionally.

So I have some fabrics from Stonehenge that will be prefect for the rocks and water and grasses along his feet.

I am stoked......about everything.


Which is good because we have the Court Case coming up on Friday.  I am testifying for CAAWS hoping to win a judgment.  We had the meeting with the attorney this morning and feel pretty confident about our facts going in.  I am no stranger to the Courthouse with CAAWS.  Usually it is for some cruelty or animal dumping sleezebag.

Oh well, I will work on as much as I can in the next few months to get ready for show and lectures.

Art Girl Extraordinaire needs her beauty rest!

Wasting Precious Quilt Time

Well, not really I guess.  But I am waiting for the guy to call me from the Fencing Company to give me a quote for new fences at CAAWS.  I called 5 companies and only 2 have contacted me during the week.  One has met me, quoted the job and answered my questions.  The other has been difficult to pin down and meet with.  The other three I guess don't need business.

I made tea. We go through a lot of sweet tea here in the South. But I sweeten mine with stevia.


Walking was  bust this morning, someone is burning stuff and the  whole area is choked with the smoke and smell.  I react to it and can't breathe for several days, so I walked briefly with Chloe and went back inside.  I am hoping that the wind picks up and clears the air so I can walk this afternoon.
Or I might have to go to Lowe's or Target or something.

While I was convincing Chloe to go back inside, I noticed my (not the crazy one) neighbor's mailbox is amazing.  I had to take some photos of it this morning.  Why is mine not like that?  Oh, well.  I will just have to steal photos of hers.  

I straightened up my desk in the Living Room.  It is always a mess it seems.  Maybe when I redo the living room this fall i can include an area for the computer.




Yesterday we got on the roof and clipped some low hanging branches from the oak tree.  It was 6 feet tall when we  planted it.  Now it hangs over the back yard like a reigning monarch!

 To give you some perspective, here is the branch in relation to the size of a dog.


In a few weeks I will be working with Mary Hettsmansperger.  Do you see the piece 6 down and in the middle?  Encapsulated Pebbles.  Amazing, right?  I love her jewelry techniques that can be used on fiber art pieces.  I have the post from my last work with here here. 


I also have some ideas for some eco-fiber journals that I think will also go into the exhibition.  More later on that.

Now I am just waiting for the fence guy (who may not call).

Letters from the Past

In my Fiber Group last night we showed our "word" themed pieces.  Mary had a special piece that enthralled us all.

Somehow she and her husband ended up with an old old house in Port Allen, just across the Mississippi River from Baton Rouge, LA.  The city was going to demolish it.

In the attic she found a stack of letters dating from the 1930's.  They are between a husband and wife talking about their life in their respective places at that point in their lives.  He must have been in the Army.   His name was Robert Scott, she called him Scotty.  Her name was Locha and she was a teacher.  They were African Americans. 

Her way of writing is lilting and poetic, his was eloquent and emotional.  And the letters are so fragile now.

She has tried to find the family, but was only able to find that one of the children ended up somewhere in California.  Meanwhile, she is a wonderful custodian of their words.

As always, you can click on the photos to make them larger.

Enjoy some words from the distant past!

The questioning artist

All artists ask the same questions -- do I do good work? Is my art something others like? Do I like my work? How can I improve? Could I have done more on this piece? Should I have done less?

Artist Stefen Baumann (Isn't he a hunk?) says all artists are ultimately skeptics asking -- do I have talent? Does my art have feeling or meaning?

He offers that these skeptical conversations create barriers between who we are and what we are capable of creating. Artists often allow these barriers to affect their confidence in their art.  We are generally our own worst critics.  Family and friends will often fall in two separate camps, those wanting to please and only saying nice things or those who just don't feel comfortable with our work and may be critical just because.  My husband is one of those latter critics.

When the answers in our own minds are negative nothing will convince us that our piece is good. Then it is time to let that piece cool. I can tell you that I have a lot of pieces "cooling" .

The aspect of questioning our talent and work doesn't need to be negative. But you knew that! How do we get there though when we, and most likely others as well, have offered negative thoughts about our work and undermined that confidence we need to have. I am part of a cybergroup who have made it clear they don't consider art quilts as quilts. When I began to experiment with that venue, it was quite a blow to see those comments written about my work.

Joining an artist's guild, outside our regular quilt guild, may be the answer. Some groups offer a contemporary slant that may be more compatible with your ultimate vision. Or one where members experiment with techniques or materials. I like being part of a fiber group where there are many varied types of art being done. The artists there tend to be less critical of "different" because they are doing "different" themselves. When visiting or joining such a group it is, of course, important to see the differences in the work of others as a joyous and exciting thing, not a negative statement of your own style and body of work.  The internet offers a lot of opportunities for experimentation.  Or form your own!  If you are looking and wondering you know there are others out there too.  Put a notice in your guild's bulletin.  Generate interest from two others and you have a group!

Set some times to meet over coffee or lunch and discuss where you want to go with your art.  What do you want to try that you just need some friends to stand beside you and give you a push?  Perhaps some fellow artists who want to step out of the "normal" state of quilting and need the synergy of others to fly beyond traditional boundaries.

So, what about you? Are you questioning your talent negatively? Do you join in with others who have different styles and openly receive their work?  Do you wish you had such a group to play with?

glen