One more quilt for the charter school

Here is the last quilt for the charter school. I just finished it up tonight and will be able to get it back to them before their school year ends. It was a wonderful experiance and the kids were just great. I hope to return to the school next year for another project.

More Student Work

These two pieces were done by a local charter school. I worked with the 6th grade (60 kids, 3 quilts and only 24 hours to complete them!) They are fairly large, around 3.5 ft by 6ft. The top quilt was done in the science class and they did the universe. Whole cloth background with fabric paint and plantes that are on patches. the white "universes" dont show up very well, they are made of angelica fibers. there are lots of beads and sparkly things on this piece. The bottom piece had the theme of "green village" and the kids were encouraged to use recycled materials. the little trees are made of fabric and newspaper. I just adore this piece.

Student Work

I have been very busy working, just not on my own stuff. Now that summer is here I hope to return to working on my personal work. For now, I have some wonderful work some of my students have done in the last couple months. These are from a local Elementary school where I ran an afterschool art program. The kids were age 10-12. The assignment was to do a face. They had a great time making these, a little crazy with the fabric paint! Over all it was a very successful class and I hope to run a few more next year.

Still working

Another day in the studio. I'm triing really hard to keep my self up and working. It is difficult when I see all the mess in my house that needs to be cleaned to keep focased at quilting. Here is the quilt that i have been working on. The top is nearly done and soon i will be able to quilt it. I really like the quilting process and love working on the machine. I also am looking forward to embellishing this piece. Let me know what you think!

Gallery Show

Hi all, I'm staying busy, it is still too wet, cold and frozen to work outside. This is not always a bad thing, i dont have to feel guilty that I am quilting instead of working on the house. One of my journal quilts will be at a gallery in Somerville, MA. Looks like about 27 artists from all over the USA and sevareal artists from outside of the USA. Here is the promo photo. This is my second "art" show this year.

Finally back in the Studio

After stalling and triing to get that creative spark back, i finally got back in the studio. Well not really in the studio, it's still too cold up in the attic to work, so I have taken over the kitchen, living room and library. I'm sure my family will be glad when it warms up and I head back upstairs. I finished up a UFO that had been kicking around. I made it nearly 10 years ago and it is very traditional. It was a gift for my mother-in-law and when she passed away, it came back to me. I didnt quilt anything back then, just tied it. so i untied it and finally quilted it. It is a bit wonky, but at least it is done. So now ive started 3 new quilts.

The first is another in the skull/x-ray series and I am not sure where it is going yet.

The second is another x-ray series, these are brain scans of a friend of mine. It needs more.

The thirds is from my religious series and is very unfinished. the background will be a varity of fabrics done like stained glass. not sure where it will go after that. Yes, i have a small spark of an idea, and it has to develop as i go. I dont make patterns, i dont stick to ones if by chance i did. I work very spontanious, which is why when the creative ideas are not flowing, iI come to a dead stop. Ill post the continuous progress on these. I have two models coming over this weekend for a photo shoot (ok not models, kids from the neighborhood). Model sounds so much more impressive. So i will then start my full body quilt. More and more ideas coming on fast. hopefully i can get them out before i start to crash again. Nothing is better then a little manic energy before the depressing crash!

Another way to stall

Well, I have a ton of things to sew, and I can't seem to get to it. So I have started working on necklaces again. Started to sort out the boxes of beads AGAIN. I have told myself that tonight, when the kids get to bed, that i WILL SEW SOMETHING. Quilting Arts Magazine is having a challange to make a 5 x 5 quilt out of recycled materials. They are not due for a while, i might try to get myself to make one or two a week (not only using recycled materials) just to try to get me back in the swing of things. I did manage a few sketches, and with the news of the return of the journal quilt project, Im finally getting some ideas. So Ill get off the computer and back up to the studio........ after i finish sorting beads......