Summoning the Wind on Off the Wall Friday

 I really think it's important to feed your inner creative soul.  I know that sounds "artsy", but it's true.  I think after preaching this so much at home, my husband has finally gotten it.  That's why I wasn't shocked when he dragged me out to the Erie Museum to see the latest exhibit, Summoning the Wind, by Qian Li.  

The Erie Art Museum was never this powerhouse in the art world.  Lately, though, I can see that it's upping its game bringing in some really nice exhibits as well as developing its own.  Qian Li, who was born in China, educated there and in Massachusetts, and teaches at Cleveland State University.  Her work which includes mixed media, print making, painting and video has been shown all over the world.  She also does installation art, which was very evident in the exhibit in Erie.  The exhibit wasn't large nor was it earth shattering, but it was very impactful.  I love mindful art because it proves that pieces don't need to be showy or provocative to be good.  

The medallion is gorgeous but look how the reflection becomes part of the exhibit

Although the exhibit included an interesting, animated video as well as an interactive piece, what I liked most was the mixed media and surface design installation.  The gallery was set up in a rectangular formation with paper compositions running along one side, silk screens running along the other and a lovely medallion showcased at the base. I found the artist's statements to be thoughtful and genuine which was a refreshing change to the pompous rubbish I usually read.  But really the pieces spoke for themselves.  

I loved the play of light in the pieces.  She played with transparency though out and it was so interesting.  My husband and I were talking about how we both like the silk screen side best.  He thought the little compositions were interesting and as a whole they look amazing.  I liked how light played even more into these pieces since you could see through them and light surrounded them instead of just landing on the surface.  

And then there was the idea of moving from warm to cool .... like the day does. Just gorgeous.

Like I said - not loud - not shocking - mindful and thought provoking.  

Again, I would encourage you to seek out local art or take a ride to a near by museum.  We put off our trip to see Buffalo's Albright-Knox Art Muesum till November because they are bringing in a new fiber art's exhibit then - I can't wait!!

So What Have You Been UP to Creatively?

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Another Idea on Off the Wall Friday

 

Anybody who has been paying attention would know that the last 6 months, I've been a bit obsessed with my new job.  Let me just say that Customer Service is not for the weak at heart...but...if you love your product and you love working with people, it can be really fun.  Not to mention throw in a nice work environment and a touch of technology and its really is fun.

That all said, my creative side is slowly but surely coming back to life.  I've had this idea baking in the back of my brain for two weeks no.  Has that ever happened to you?  You get an idea, and it just sits there and grows little by little while you're doing other things?  

Well, here is my story of the day...

Another passion this summer is my return to thrift clothing...a little because it's good for the environment...a little because it's cost effective...and a lot of it is the thrill of the hunt.  Last month, I was looking for long sleeve shirts when I spotted a rack of linens.... Where this was on the end....

 

Pretty, right?  Folded up I had no idea what it was but it felt like a polyester/cotton blend with a good hand (not too slinky).  For $2.40 where could I go wrong.   I actually thought it would make a nice skirt.   Then it sat on my shelf all folded up, just waiting for weeks.  I swear, I had no idea it was a tablecloth till I opened it up to take the picture! Then I went to our fair and I was lamenting how boring the quilt offerings were.  Plus, nightly I would look on Instagram where there are some really great upcycling and Re-making going on and it gave me the bug to give that flowerily fabric new life.  

The print made me think of a card that has been sitting on my studio wall for a couple of years just waiting.  It's a pretty card but I thought it would be a better art quilt.  I never wanted to copy the card exactly but just let it inspire me into piece with the same kind of feel.  Which got me thinking....

What happened if I put the two together?

I was hoping to have a sketch done by tonight, but I've been too brain dead.    I'm quite sure my boss told me twice this week, I better slow down and maybe this is what he means.  Apparently, there is more to the world than USA made Pliers.  

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No You Don't Suck on Off the Wall Friday

 

Okay, since I've had a big day that started at about 3:45 am...I'll make this short and sweet.  You do not suck.  You only think you suck, but trust me, you don't.  

As in most things, the internet is a blessing and a curse.  It brings us together as "makers".  It helps us connect and finally we feel like we fit in.  It's like we're with a tribe that understands why we take $300 in fabric, spend hours cutting it all up, only to take hours to sew it all back together. You get me and I get you.  It's wonderful.  

Until it's not. With the internet comes a plethora of images to gaze upon.  Every "maker" loves to take their best work, photograph it in its best light, then digitally edit so it looks even better. This is what they post on Facebook, Instagram and gasp! Twitter.   Most never show you the flaws and especially the failures.

It leaves you feeling that you can't ever make something that amazing, so why even try?  I mean you suck, right?!  

No, you do not suck.  You only think you suck, but - I repeat - trust me you don't.  

So, stop reading this and go sew - your work is amazing!

Lecture over ...What Have You Been Up to Creatively?

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Zink's Fabric on Off the Wall Friday

 So, this week I was blessed enough to spend a couple of days in Amish country, Holmes County, Ohio.  Since it's only a couple hours away, it's become a favorite when we need a quick getaway.  Plus, summer is hanging on nicely with 2 weeks now of sunny weather in low 80's.  Anybody who's ever lived on a Great Lake knows what a blessing that is.  What does one do in Holmes County?  Well mostly shop,
browse, explore, chat.  It's quiet and fun.  

The best part of it  - at least for me that is - is that there are several quilt shops in the area.  Now, I do take pity on my poor husband and don't drag him to all of them.  This trip I just asked to shop at Zink's Fabric

Outlet.  The thing about Zink's is that you're never quite sure what you are going to find there.  In the past, I haven't had much luck with finding quality quilt cotton but have found some AMAZING garment fabric that had great potential in art quilts.  Plus, they have decorator fabric, trims, notions, some thread and a big bin of discount patterns.  If it relates to sewing, you'll find it there.

This trip though there was a TON of quilt fabric.  They definitely have added more.  Plus, I saw some lines that I'm not seeing so much in the quilt shops like Benartrex and P&B and Marcus Brothers.  All bolts were $5-$8 a yard.  There was something for everyone's taste, but I was looking for the different.  With my fabric collection full of nice basics, I was on the hunt of interesting patterns. And I wasn't disappointed.  Here is what I found:

Cool huh?!  I have a rule that I can't buy fabric without buying a stripe, yellow, red, dark, light  - I did come home with a little of all of those...buttttt.... these patterns were what my stash has been craving.  I've been itchin' to do some improve piecing and a good pattern will make a world of difference in adding interest. Besides these, I brought home this huge bag of decorator fabric scraps for $5.  I have a collection going and I thought I would add these to it - plus it seems to be you should be able to cut them up to hook rugs too.  

One last thing...for all you panel sewers....Zinks has the largest collection of Panels I've ever seen.  I mean like hundreds large.  I'm not one for panels but seeing them all hung out like that and so many - well let's just say it got me thinking.  I saw this one Christmas panel with a 60's flair that caught my eye.  It reminded me that I've been wanting to make a big Advent Calendar wall hanging ... something a bit different than the normal Manger based ones.  Since the panel also had a matching set of blocks panels I thought it would be perfect.   I have a good idea of what I'm going to do with it but I'll keep it under wraps until I start it.

So What is Your favorite Get-Away Fabric Shop?  Do Share...I'm always looking for suggestions.

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Just some thoughts during Fair Week on Off the Wall Friday

Albion, PA has the 3rd oldest carousel in the country

First, I want to thank everyone for their kind comments and welcome back. I truly can't believe that while I was gone, blogger has FINALLY made it possible to reply back to comments (which I will do more now that I realize I can!)   That only took 15 years!  

Also thank you so much for the encouragement as I dip my toe into the world of rug hooking.  I'm going to take Margaret's advice (which is always good) and  do some research using some of the great rug hookers online including Deanne Fitzpatrick.  I wish I could thank all the quilters over the years that posted free information that really enhanced my quilting education.  

Honestly, I don't foresee myself becoming this great rug hooker.  I just really think it's a good idea that while you are on your creative journey you don't stay too much in your own lane.  Inspiration lies everywhere and if you change lanes you never quite know where the road will go.  Anyway, thanks for coming along for the ride. 

Okay, maybe it wasn't the smartest thing to start blogging the week before our fair.   Our fair takes over town one week every year.  Businesses close, school closes early and the traffic in front of my house is insane. Add to that, that the weather is picture perfect this year and I'm sure you get the idea.  At our house we look at it as one last chance to chat with neighbors and friends before the snow flies plus give some  $$$ to all the local non-profits that set up tables.

One thing I noticed was the HUGE decrease of entries in the Homemaking Building.  At one time, there would be so many quilts, they could barely fit them all in more less open them to show.  There would be walls of embroidery, needlework, and cross stich.  Plus a nice selection of yarn work and sewing. 

My Entries from 2011

 I know that hobbies come in and out of fashion, but the entries have decreased across the board.  The funny thing is that it's not that way in the other buildings....just homemaking.  It makes you wonder why.

I asked the question on our community Facebook page and the consensus was that people did not like the online pre-registration that was put in place (at least 5 years ago - so it's not new).  I'm not sure if that's the only reason but it was definitely the one people pointed to the most.  Next year, I'm going to make it a point to remind people of deadlines and offer to help people register.  We have a great little local library and it would be a great place to do that.  

Oh and btw....the beer and wine making categories have grown...shocker!

What is happening in your community's fairs?  Are the Homemaking Entries down or up?  What's popular?

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New Beginnings on Off the Wall Friday

The Fiber Art Studio, John C. Campbell's Folk School

 I want to thank everyone for the grace you've shown me as I took the summer off from blogging.  One thing I have learned after having a blog for 15 years is that blogging seems to go in cycles and it's not a bad thing to just go with the flow.  I actually thought of stopping.  Most of my favorite bloggers have.  I get why though.  After so many posts there isn't a ton to say.  My husband talked me out of it.  He reminded me that this blog isn't just about posting interesting content (although I do try - honest!).  It's served as a journal of my creative life  - the good - the bad - and - the ugly.

Also, I'm the kinda person that can only seem to have one big mission at a time.  This summer, I was

acclimating to a my new job and helping my team get back on track.  Let me tell you...after working for my last company for 12 years and from home for the last 7, the change was a lot.  Just working in an office environment after being gone since...let me see...1993 was a lot.  Funny though, as much as things change, things still seem to stay the same.  I've learned that career changes can be exhausting and very fun.  Fun at any time is great, but at work it's especially refreshing.

Soooo thank you!

But on to new beginnings!  The biggest news is that I signed up for next year's vacation which will be our anniversary week in May.  We are going to John C. Campbell's Folk School where I'll be taking Rug Hooking and my husband is going to learn about bee keeping.   We can't wait.  FINALLY the two classes that we both really wanted to take fell on the same week.

From the JCC Website!

Learning how to traditionally hook a rug has been on my bucket list since I was 25.  At the time I was an environmental engineer who went around and did all sorts of safety work.  One day, I was assigned to do air testing at a senior center about 4 hrs south of my house.  There I met a senior lady who came every week to work on her hook rugs in the rec room.  She was kind enough to teach me all the basics about hooking a rug and then let me hook with her.  I was totally fascinated.  The idea that you could recycle wool clothes, cut them into strips and make them into the rugs was amazing.   I was never so sorry to see my 4 hr air test come to an end, but I promised myself that I would some day get back to really learning the art.  Not much after, I got a quilting book by mistake and was off on another mission.  Still rug hooking has been waiting for me to try it out again.  

The fascinating thing about rug hooking though is that it's a great partner with both traditional and art quilting.  It's all hand work but I can easily use all my design skills to create my own designs.  Plus  - go figure - you can dye wool just like you can dye cotton and silk. Now I don't think I'm going to drop quilting to become a hooker - do they call them that?  Well you know what I mean.  

Everyone has a bucket list and with me looking at 60, it's time I started on mine.  

It's funny how new things can get your creative juices flowing again right?

That's what's new with me...

What Have You've Been Up to Creatively?

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Off the Wall Friday

 So What Have You Been Up to Creatively?

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