Fun with Old Family Photos
My mom’s birthday is coming up, so I recruited the help of my brothers and cousin for a little party. So my cousin Debbie sent me old photo albums, and Chris scanned a lot of old slides… and I put together a cartoon birthday invitation using Comic Life by plasq. I love this program! It’s so fun to use, it makes funny cartoon noises when you delete things or stretch your...
Read MoreTokyo Towers
I know for my online Japan Journal, I should probably first show you the pretty photos of snow-covered ancient pine trees in Nikko, but I have to start with the funky stuff first – because it’s my nature, and also I have a project deadline approaching, lol. Always ready to have a project in pocket, I was happy to have something for my brain to gnaw on during this recent trip to Japan...
Read MoreKnitting and Vintage Labels
What is it about snow that makes me want to knit?? Honestly, I don’t think about it for a year, then when the snow flakes start to fly, I’m digging around in the closet looking for some old project to resurrect. I guess I started this scarf one or two years ago. It’s a way to use up all your odds and ends by knitting a scarf on the long side on circular knitting needles. Just...
Read MoreTraveling Watercolors and Vintage Paintboxes
Here’s a fun little project using watercolor paints. I bought a traveler’s water color set last year made by Winsor & Newton. The paints are good, but I hated the box — it was all plastic, too fat, and yet there was no real room inside for anything but the half-paint pans, which although were form fitted in more plastic, still always stuck to the lid when I opened the...
Read MoreCover for a Gratitude Journal
Here’s a quickie project that was fun to make. I had a small quilt that I liked, but never finished. So I cut my favorite part out — the swoopy loop stitching — backed it with two pieces of fabric and zig-zagged around the edges. Inside it has a pencil pocket, ribbon page marker and an office calendar that I’m using for this year’s gratitude journal. My friend...
Read MoreHelp for high waters
It’s hard to take a photo of your own ankles. I finally did this one by sitting down on the floor. Do they still call them high-waters? These aren’t capris, just petites with an extra P which also means cold ankles in winter. December brought lots of painting deadlines, but also the realization that my paint pants were too short. So I found some vintage ribbon in a box and sewed it...
Read MoreIt’s all about energy
Lately it seems that the word-making part of my brain has gone on early holiday. Or maybe it’s honing so many short tweets has hampered my ability to string together a paragraph. Oh well, less words, more room for photos? Not really true on the web, but here’s the photos: View of my studio as I was working on the Wish You Were Hair series of quilts. These are quilt tops pinned to...
Read More“Quilts – Art with a Q” at the Fries Museum
 Quilting the ice is what I was most worried about. I finally decided that I that I wanted a swirly, skatey pattern, and was thinking about how ice skates leave those white scratches in the ice that get covered over and over. What was that term that Jason Pollen used for layers and layers of drawing marks made on top of each other, like on an old chalkboard menu where yesterday’s image...
Read MoreLittle swatches
Usually I think that once the quilt top has been designed and cut out and pieced together, it’s all downhill. Not in a bad way, but a sort of you-did-the-work-and-climbed-the-hill-and-now-you’re-on-top-and-ready-to-sail-down-on-your-sled/bike/snowboard-squealing-weeee kind of downhill. Mostly it’s like that, mostly it’s easy, fun and satisfying. But there are usually a...
Read MoreHow to be in two places at once
The editor at the last book I submitted photos to complained that my photos were not good enough, so I’ve been working on my photography. Something cool I learned this week was how to use the auto-timer on the camera. So I can set up the camera on the tripod, then run around to get in the picture. This photo probably give you a better sense of what it’s like to work on one of these...
Read MoreWelcome to my art adventure blog!
I'm an artist who makes humorous quilts and drawings and shares a studio in an old peanut butter factory with my husband who is also an artist and sculptor. You can also see more of my art at PamRuBert.com
