A selection of quilts from Quilt National ’13 is showing at the Ohio Arts Council’s Riffe Gallery in Columbus, Ohio, from January 30 through April 13, 2014 — including my quilt, Seattle: Wish You Were Here. For her January 31 gallery talk at Riffe Gallery, the director of Quilt National Kathleen Dawson, asked participating artists about their process. Here … Read More
A while back I wrote a post about collecting old wooden spools. Why does any collector collect? I don’t know the answer to that — I just know that because thread is now sold on plastic spools, they aren’t making any more wooden spools. So I save them and sometimes reuse them. Sometimes they inspire … Read More
After hearing the phrase “Keep Your Head in the Game” at a meeting, I spent the weekend thinking about what it meant to me. I suppose it’s probably a sports term, but the phrase reminded me how I’m sure that my subconscious mind can work on creative projects, event when my body can’t. This list … Read More
Or perhaps I should have said, Preoccupied with Octopi. This is the second of two blog posts about making a big quilt featuring PaMdora and an octopus. The first one is Occupied by Octopi, part one. Part Two While I’m working on a drawing of my idea, I am also going through my collection of … Read More
On a street corner outside a noisy concert, a friend pulled out her phone to make a call. I was shocked to see the front of her phone was shattered, yet she was still using it. When I asked, she started screaming at me. “It’s just so easy to use this one. I have a … Read More
Kerry wrote me, “my friends and I took a brief online course with Jane LaFazio…about sketching/watercoloring in public…we did just fine…most probably because there is safety in numbers…your recent sketches have all been in situations where you were known…do you feel more pressure when sketching around people who know you vs people who have no … Read More
Celebrating Labor Day by working with my hands today. Sometimes I wish I had extra hands, but these won’t really be much help. While up in Columbia, I was interested to watch a documentary on giant squid research with my mom, except for the fact that the scientists who had never seen one (because they … Read More
Had to get the antique irons out for this one. Some patterns that I draw are either so big, or the dimensions are such that the drawing is always slipping off my work table. So I found that these old irons are perfect for weighing down the edges — and they have nice handles to … Read More
Kimonos have always fascinated me and influenced my work. Not as a piece of clothing, but as a form of expression. If you look at kimonos both in real life and art (such as Japanese wood block prints), they are often a combination of sophisticated and sometimes surprising choices of contrasting patterns and color. I’m … Read More
Luckily I have a great technical support team. Russ is my main got-your-back guy. He coaxed the big printer into producing a pattern for my next quilt even though it was reluctant and wanted to only produce bits and pieces. Mochi handles the panting, drooling, and waiting very well. Meanwhile, I cleaned my studio. Previously … Read More