Friday, August 16, 2013

Off the Wall Friday on Location at Arrowmont


Greetings from the Arrowmont School of Arts and Craft Library  - which is amazing btw!  I mean - where else can you find a library that has all the best art books, latest magazines, great tech AND comfy leather couches??

Well you all know that I love you, if I stopped working tonight so I can get this post in just under the wire.  Its been a long day, starting with me getting ready to dye fabric at 7 am and continued to work throughout the day.  The last two days, I've been finishing up the Circles quilt (its almost totally quilted now) and starting my next composition.

My work space - half dyeing - half sewing - Look at the lovely light!

Elizabeth has kept us super busy. (big surprise)    This class is basically 1/3 designing, 1/3 hand
Doesn't she look great?!
dyeing and 1/3 sewing.  Plus, she's so easy going that you can do any mixture of the three.  I did manage to do a bunch of hand dyeing.  I found a new color I love - Chino!!  I did a 8 step gradation in it and am planning to do a monochromoic piece in it soon.  I also had to redye a few cups today since I forgot to put in soda ash yesterday.  Sighhhh - menofog!!  So I left myself a note to that idiot proofed the process.

I chose for my next piece  -  our second exercise.  Something about it reminded me of the praise ladies with its curves.  I thought that's exactly how they would be if they were abstracted.  Then that thought process lead me to the palette of the praise ladies - so I repeated that.  I did have a hand full of those colors with me but proceeded to dye up a bunch more since I would need a lot of darks for this composition.  With a little brainstorming from Elizabeth, I chose a nice cool grey for the light background.  "Neutrals are so important to a piece" . (I would try to do my best Elizabeth impersonation but my English/Georgia accent is terrible!)


The exercise - brown is the medium values 



With the patterns finished up on Wednesday, all I had to do today was start piecing.  Now I distinctly
Doesn't it look like Easter threw up?
remember telling Elizabeth that I wasn't going to do any intricate piecing - that I was going to stick to bigger shapes.  Obviously - I was wrong.  I have no idea how it got so out of hand!  I only have 3 more pieces to get done and then I can start sewing it all down!  So glad we have till 3 to work tomorrow before "Grand Rounds"

Now that I've made you all jealous. . . . .

PS.  If you'd like to take this type of class - Elizabeth is teaching in Cape Cod this October - here is the Info -

 Dyeing to Design on Cape Cod
October 14-18, 2013
call Linda: 508-477-0057, 800-537-5191


What have you been up creatively???

13 comments:

Glen QuiltSwissy said...

Oh my, it looks so wonderful. And we are so jealous. How's the finger?

Anonymous said...

It looks wonderful. And I am jealous, wish I had been there.
I have EB's book and am looking forward to continue studying it during winter.

Nina Marie said...

My finger is fine - nothing like giving a little blood toward the cause! grin! Really what the problem was - was that - I hadn't been sewing with my sewing machine table attached and my finger slipped in with doing the circles - silly me! Plus I was tired because after a good night's rest I had much more control in my FMQing! But the little pierce marks on my finger sure does make a great conversation piece at dinner - LOL

The Inside Stori said...

I've taught at Siever's School of Fiber Arts on Washington Island, WI for years...love the week long teaching opportunity....great for both student and instructor. The Arrowmont facilities look fabulous....and it sure appears that you are being very productive.

quilthexle said...

Please imagine me GREEN with envy - very green ;-)) That place looks just like heaven to me - thanks for sharing !

quiltedfabricart said...

Omg! When I die, Im asking God to send me to this place! Looks like heaven and to enjoy with other like minded artists - who could ask for more? So glad you are enjoying and thank you for taking the time to share what your working on. Is chino sort of a tan color like the pants?

Margaret said...

"Thou shalt not covet thy colleague's sojourn to wonderful art schools."

(Repeat ad infinitum!)

Amy @ Amy's FMQ Adventures said...

Looks like a fabulous place/class/time! Good for you!

LOL, menofog! Thanks for giving me the name of my next phase of life, right after mommy-brain.

Shannon said...

I'm now dying to take an Elizabeth Barton class. It looks absolutely wonderful. The designing and dyeing in particular. Your new piece is great too- I agree that the movement is reminiscent of the praising ladies. Can't wait to see it finished!

Norma Schlager said...

It looks like you 're having way too much fun! I love what you're doing and I especially like the blue monochromatic one you did yesterday.

Linda A. Miller said...

What a terrific experience for you! Thanks for sharing it with us.

MulticoloredPieces said...

I agree with all of the above--so enjoyable to read about your experience at Arrowmont.
best, nadia

Mary Keasler said...

Hey, Nina! What fun to have you as a " next door neighbor" at Arrowmont. You made some wonderful creations in spite of that needle through the finger incident. Looking forward to seeing what you do next!