Thursday, February 28, 2013

Quilts from Quiltcon

Here is a modern take on quilts! A feast for the contemporary mind! Enjoy!



























































Saturday, February 23, 2013

QuiltCon--Austin!!

QUILTCON has arrived!! And we are in Austin participating in this new venture into the modern quilting world.  There was excitement buzzing as we entered Austin Conference Center.  This event is being sponsored by The Modern Quilt Guild. 

Here is a listing of the sponsors for this event



The Quiltcon catalog

Some of their platinum sponsors

Michael Miller Fabrics is at the front entrance door with their display of neon fabric line

Very comfy space to visit and enjoy the new line of fabrics

The Modern Quilt Guild booth was receiving many visitors for FAQ, purchasors of show merchandise

Oilcloth International

American Patchwork & Quilting

Robert Kaufman Fabrics

Spoonflower

Craftsy

Threadbias

In various vendor booths, you viewed their quilt creations

Moda Bake Shop

Coats & Clarks

Andover Fabrics-- check out their website for free patterns and store locations to purchase their collections.



Havels Sewing (where I purchased some cool scissors with curved blades)

Over The Top Quilting Studio was one of the local vendors

Modern Quilts Unlimited a new publication on the market for modern quilters

Yummy colors!

Marmalade Fabrics was just one of the over 50 vendors on site.  Next blog will have some photos of quilts on display.

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Houston Fiber Artists

At the monthly HAFA (Houston Association of Fiber Artists) meetings we have time for show and share. Here are a few that were shown at the last meeting.
Since it was Heart month, Ivy brought her Valentine quilt to share.  It is colorful but also she also made it a matching game--there are two hearts that are alike.


Here is Fermin's heart of hearts.  He uses crochet as his media but also other aspects of arts to create this unique hanging heart.  He has used chicken wire for the form.

Inside you can see various heart shapes, some beaded.

One fiber artists has used stitching as her method of expression and inspiration.  She designed the border with a climbing vine

These were exchange blocks--not her favorite but she took these orphan blocks and made a very attractive and appealing quilt

Here are three examples of surface design--the two on the left were made by Linda.  One in the middle used oatmeal (yes, oatmeal!) as a resist!  Of course, there are some pros and cons with this resist--Linda says 'been there, done that'--

This lovely silk wearable used painting and alcohol drops for movement on the silk-- 

And this little hanging is a 'story block' made by mother to give her 9 yr old daughter, who has a dream of owning a cupcake bakery one day.

Saturday, February 16, 2013

Design: Elements and Principles of Art

Fiber Artists are a special 'breed'! They encompass all aspects of mediums to create interesting and intriguing wearables as well as wall pieces. When does one begin to call themselves a 'Fiber Artist"? Let's begin with these fundamentals:


Elements of Art--these are building blocks used by artists to create a work of art:
  • Line (can show movement, be straight
  • Shape & Form (closed lines present 3D effect)
  • Color (reflect light, hue, value, intensity, usage and varies with culture)
  • Texture can be visual or actual
  • Space--negative, perspective, overlaps, positive
  • Value--range of light to dark; contrast
Principles of Art--ways artists use the Elements in their artwork
  • Pattern (repetition of the elements of art)
  • Emphasis (focus--main idea or what 'grabs' your attention)
  • Variety (an assortment of lines, shapes, colors and other elements of art in the art work) Variety adds detail and interest to the work
  • Unity (how the elements work together, fit together, so the art work looks complete)
  • Balance (symmetrical or asymmetrical)
  • Rhythm & Movement (a regular repetition of the elemtns of art to create a sense of rhythm and/or movement)  Does your eye move across the piece?
  • Proportion (how parts fit together to make a whole--size relations including scale, monumental, miniature, exaggeration)***
***Awesome Artists (The ABC's of Art: complied, organized and added to by M.C. Gillis)

Now, putting all those steps together, let's take a look at some Art pieces:  these come from Studio Art Quilt Association
Sharon Crary--small tapestry

CINDI HUSSAFTER THE STORM II

DENISE LABADIETRINITY CHURCH

SUSAN WEBB LEEELECTRIC BLUE



 
YAEL DAVID-COHENMASK

B. J. ADAMSBIRDS

















Repurposing!

 Still cleaning out closets; finding all sorts of interesting things I had forgotten about.  Years ago, I had spun cotton and wove on indigo...