"Childhood Memories" Collage

Not long ago I received some TAP artist transfer paper from C&T Publishing Company, along with some flowered tissue paper.  I made them a sample product that I have not shown yet on my blog.  In addition, I began several other projects using the TAP.  On this one, I transferred the image of my great-niece, Hunter, directly to a canvas artist's board.  This was the only transfer that did not come out perfect- there were some areas that looked a little scratchy.  Perhaps if I had continued to iron....

Anyway, with the image of the little girl in the center, I added tissue paper, napkins, and magazine cutouts to surround her.  I added some text and drawing with a black Sharpie, and some 3-D flowers with rhinestones that I cut out of a birthday card.  There are various symbols such as the clock to denote the passage of time, the tree with the words  "Home is where your story begins,"  and a little Bible reference, "For with God, nothing shall be impossible,"  Luke 1:37.  This was a fun project and will be a birthday gift.

Birthday Celebration

This was my husband, Charlie, sixty-one years ago. No, he is not old enough to be in a museum.

I am fortunate to have loved and been loved by him for two-thirds of his life.

Here is a collage that I made him for his birthday tomorrow. Lots of things that represent the mountains that we love.

I am still pretty new at mixed media, but this was really fun to put together. I used a 9" x 12" canvas panel. There was exactly one frame in that size at Michael's, sort of a narrow shadowbox deal. I had to shave off some of the sides to get it to fit in the frame.

Tonight, Quilt Royalty is coming to the Capital Quilters' Guild. Sharon Schamber will be our guest speaker. I took a class from Sharon at MQX in 2007. She was very generous in allowing us to touch and photograph her quilts up close. Even the one that later won the $100,000 quilt contest.

I should be staying home tonight to pack, but I'm going to guild. Tomorrow morning, we leave for the beach for several days with friends and family. It is supposed to be in the seventies. Can't wait!

It was wonderful to be in the North Carolina mountains for the long Fourth of July weekend. Good weather, good friends, good food, good drinks, good mountain river float. It was a much smaller group than normal, since one of my nephews and his wife are expecting a baby any day. My sister's whole family stayed home to wait for the baby, who is still not here. But one of their good friends gave birth on Thursday, so congratulations go out to Amy and Mike. Mike gave us the gift of his electrician expertise on wiring the cabin two years ago. I think little Shelby may be getting a home-made gift from me!

When we arrived at the cabin, I was thrilled that some nasturtium seeds that I planted among the plastic flowers in our window boxes had bloomed and were trailing. I watered them ASAP. Little did I know, there was a nest of baby wrens in one of the boxes, hiding under the foliage.

I did not drown them, but Mama Wren was mighty glad when we left and she could feed her babies without so many people close at hand. We had our son Dave, his wife Emily, and four of their college friends all staying at our place.

I put some more perennials out where our driveway forms a switchback coming up the hill. the ferns and rhododendron are gratis from Mother Nature.

Inside, I hung up one of my Collage Mania pieces that were recently framed. I decided to leave it in the horizontal orientation. It is next to my little kitchen sink area.

We had not one, but two days of floating down the New River on tubes. It is so much fun, and what a bonus to see some of the most beautiful picture-perfect postcard scenery as we drifted. One of our college friends and his son joined us on the float on Saturday.

The past few years, we have experienced thunderstorms and even hail last year by the time we reached our pick-up point. This year, no rain at all until all the fun was over and it was time to leave on Sunday. It makes it easier to leave when it is raining. Even in the rain, I hate to see it go.

Framed Collages...and an Artful Dress

Back in May, I purchased two collages from the Collage Mania sponsored by Fiber Art For a Cause. Today I got them back from the framers. Wow, wow, wow!

Rayons de Soleil de Printemps (Spring Rays of Sunshine) by Roxanne Stoner

This one has a frame that resembles bamboo, but has a metallic gleam. What really sets off this piece is the deep green matte. I have never framed one of my quilts or pieces of fiber art before. The framer stitched the collage on top of the matte, and it is all protected in glass. She admitted to pricking her finger on one of the porcupine quills in the cape.

The next is Fluttering, by Annette Rogers. The gleam on this frame brings out the gleam of the materials in the leaves. However, I did not notice until I got home that they installed the wire hanger for horizontal display rather than vertical. I will look at it this way awhile and see if I want to change it.

Now for the Artful Dress. Some may call it an Awful Dress. Some may call it sculpture. The creator calls it Moist Mother Earth. Since I have an Etsy shop, I subscribe to their newsfeeds. This dress in The Faerie Market shop was featured and it is amazing! I have not used the picture due to copyright issues, but you need to check it out. Then check out some of her other hats and scarves! Not to mention her other sculptured dress, Perelandra. I wonder what Project Runway would think of this designer!

By the way, I checked out my Etsy store, and all my items were missing. What???

It seems that they let your listings expire without warning. I was able to retrieve them, so I did not have to start all over on the lengthy listing process.

Listings expire in four months, FYI.

Needle-Felted WIP's

Here are some new pics of what I have been working on during the few hours of time in the mornings before I report to work.

This is the first project from the Trash to Treasure fabric from the Creative Challenge. I took the largest piece, quilted it to a piece of muslin with dark green and bright pink threads, and folded it to make a clutch-style purse. The flap is kind of funky and wavy. The lining is a fuchsia-colored moire fabric. Right now the flap is just pinned down until I decide what type of closure to use. I also left openings for a strap, but am undecided about whether or not I want one.

Then, I was messing around with my BabyLock Embellisher, and tried to create a fabric with similar colors as the Trash Bag fabric, but not as crunchy in texture! This piece has only a piece of commercial cotton as the base. It is a beautiful painterly-looking fabric with gold metallic dots. I have added silk fibers and some rainbow organza that I stamped with turquoise metallic paint. I also added some Angelina and yarns. I wet-felted the piece, then zapped with a heat gun. I am loving the look of this.

The last piece is needle-punched to a piece of soft cotton batting. I covered it with some orange hand-dyed fabric, and just added some silk, organza, sari ribbon, organza, and other bits of fabric. This may become a postcard background.

Finally, I received the first of the two Collage Mania pieces I purchased in the mail yesterday. Fluttering is even more beautiful in person. Please visit Annette Rogers' website to be blown away by her talent in painting and fiber art. We have had a nice e-mail correspondence, during which I found out she lives in Raleigh and also has a house in the North Carolina mountains not far from our place.

Collages for a Cause

Fiberart For a Cause has been raising money for cancer through donations of quilts and other fiber art that is donated by talented, generous artists. Virginia Spiegel is the driving force behind this effort, which to date has earned an astounding $170,000 for the American Cancer Society.

I started thinking about the many friends and relatives I have lost to cancer. My mother, my grandfather, my mother-in-law, one brother-in-law who was only twenty, two cousins, two friends named Pam, other colleagues... More happily, I also have many friends and relatives who are cancer survivors.

This year I decided to support Fiberart For a Cause with the purchase of two collages. I was so excited to find out that I have now acquired these works of art.

Rayons de Soleil de Printemps

(Spring Rays of Sunshine)

Roxane Stoner

10" x 8"

In honor of my mother in law, Gaylene Stoner.

I could not stop looking at this piece when I was browsing through the beautiful offerings. I love the colors, the facial images within the sun, the primitive and wild-looking sun worshiper, that fabulous button or bead behind the hand, and the tumble of colorful fibers. I looked at the artist's blog, and found out that she is a Frenchwoman who lives in Alaska. Perhaps that explains even more the joyous welcoming of the warmth of springtime!

Fluttering

Annette Rogers

10" x 8"

This piece appealed to me first of all because of the depiction of oak leaves falling to the forest floor. I love the layering of fibers in the background, and I expect that in person, this quilt may have a bit of a translucent glow. I am wondering what the leaves are made of...possibly painted Lutradur? A nice addition to our mountain cabin, or perhaps my new golden beige kitchen here at home.

Collage Mania continues until 5:00 CDT today.

May Flowers

Last night, wild thunderstorms raged through the Raleigh area, with twisters touching down nearby. We spent the worst part of the storm happily cocooned in a private dining room at Bloomsbury Bistro in the Hayes Barton area of Raleigh. The lights flickered off once, but our dinner was not disturbed. I was sitting next to one of my husband's clients, who is a local artist specializing in oil portraits. She all but applauded as each course was presented in its artistic and appetizing garnishing. My favorite was an asparagus vichyssoise with raspberry coulis. MMMMN!

Today, everything is golden in the sun and sparkling with raindrops on the foliage. Here is a little tour of what's in bloom in my yard:


Huge rhododendron bush on north side of front porch

old-fashioned roses growing along back deck

Double-file viburnum, also on north side of front porch

Towering mock orange bush in sunny front yard

On another note, I put in bids to purchase a couple of collages on the Collage Mania site. If I win the bidding on any of my choices, I will post them tomorrow!

Fabric Postcard- Sort of...

Midnight Garden, 4" x 6", 2009

Here is my first project completed from the online Creative Challenge...a postcard I have titled "Midnight Garden." It has a base of a black trash bag covered with strips of colored plastic bags. All that is covered with a rainbow organza and needle-punched together. Then, I have stitched, beaded, and embroidered a bit. The gold flower centers are Ferrero-Rocher candy wrappers. The sparkling flowers and petals are glitter glue. The border has a purple silk ribbon and a strip of the same organza trapped between several colors of shiny threads.

Today is Opening Day of Collage Mania, a chance to bid on a piece of art to raise money for cancer research. There are thirty-six pages of eye candy to drool over at the Fiberart For A Cause page. On the first day of bidding, you can win the piece you select with an $80.00 donation. On the second day, the price drops to $40.00- but it might not be available any more!

Of course, my very favorite one is featured at the top of Virginia Spiegel's blog, so it will probably be snapped up immediately! It features a coneflower with pastel colors and a quotation about art.