Beauty from ashes

One of my postcard lists' owner/moderator's condo burned last week and she lost everything but the clothes on her back. That would be devastating for anyone, but for those of us who sew, quilt or "make art" we have our stash of fabrics, papers, paints and other necessities for our creations. Then there are the collections of postcards received from exchanges with individuals all over the world.

My card for Phyllis is made from recycled wool clothing and includes random embroidery stitches. For me, art can make beauty of chaos - beauty from ashes. My wish and prayer is for Phyllis to have a speedy recovery from this chaos and that she will find beauty in the process.

Coffee Cuff

My daughter's coworker drew a quick sketch for her during a break. My daughter wanted to make her a coffee cup cuff as a "thank you." I've been making them since I read the article in QuiltingArts magazine, Winter 2006. She chose the fabrics and did some stamping, I did the sewing, including reproducing her drawing with free motion embroidery on the back side of the cuff. The drawing had lots of small details, which I found impossible to do well (especially since I couldn't see even under the free motion foot). The embroidery is actually in that bright green, but it didn't show up well, so I changed it to white in Photoshop so it could be seen.

Future Postcards

This heart will be stitched to the canvas and will receive some thread embellishment. At some point, it will be cut into 6 postcards. Each postcard will then be embellished separately to become a unique piece of artwork before being mailed to the recipients on my exchange list. The background is a natural colored canvas and the heart is a maroon cotton with metallic pink flowers (a "must have" fabric once I laid eyes on it!).

Felt Time

Love using old, recycled wool sweaters! I had such a good time back in August with my felt hearts... It is the texture of the felt juxaposed with smooth embroidery floss, button or beads. And I like handwork, when I can find the time.

More Neocolor Experimenting

Like Edison, I sometimes have to appreciate my experiments for what they teach me about what doesn't work. I wondered about other liquids instead of water to manipulate my Neocolors. Alcohol inks don't work - at least not on watercolor paper. So, I resorted to a damp sponge and the results were some blending and some light background color. Another day, another lesson learned.

French Final

My daughter and her friend had to give a cooking demonstration in French for their final exam. Here they are making Quiche Lorraine. I posted it online because we're never sure if the teacher's computer will load the movies she takes on the thumb drive. The school blocks YouTube and other video sites, so posting it on my blog made it accessible as a back up. I've decided to leave it on, just in case her friends want to see it. (BTW they got a PERFECT score!)

More Polymer Clay Hearts

I wanted to experiment more with the process I used on my recent polymer clay heart recently. So, I made 3 smaller ones (about 1 1/4"). I still need to epoxy the wire loops to the center top of each one.

Catching Up!

I have been making a few hearts, but hadn't had time to get them online. My intermittent scanner was working last night, so I got them scanned!



I decided to experiment with my Neocolors a little bit. I drew a quick heart and made some designs and blocks of color on watercolor paper. I then misted the entire page and enjoyed watching the colors bleed and run. There were a few dry spots, so I sprayed again. Areas that were already wet blew with the force of the spray and made some interesting designs.



Using my Neocolors on watercolor paper again, I decided to dip the Neocolors into a bit of water before drawing. I love the intense colors! The only drawback is not being able to predict when the intense wet color would dry out and return to the waxy color (which colors only the high points of the texture of the paper). I wonder if this would be as pretty on fabric. I'll have to play more.



After working every spare moment of the weekend, my first day back to work was still focused on completing the basketball tournament program. However, I had a long-standing meeting for 3 hours in the evening, then I went back to school. So, I had to be creative in making a heart! I used the scraps from the name tag sticker and made a heart on my folder.



I was re-inspired this morning by an old Carol Duvall episode where they made polymer clay pendants. This isn't the exact technique, but I conditioned red polymer clay, textured it with a rubber stamp and cut a heart shape. I placed the red heart on a piece of black clay for backing, then cut strips of the black to make an edge. After baking, I used burnt umber acrylic paint to fill in the crevices, then brushed a few colors of mica powder on top. I should have put the mica powder on before baking to make it more permanent. Next time..

Constructed Heart #30

The heart may not be "constructed," but the frame was. I have always enjoyed batik and have wanted to try gutta resist art since I first saw it on an episode of Carol Duvall. I finally bought some for myself and here is my first attempt.

Though I was pretty sure I had no breaks in the gutta, there are many areas of bleeding. Also, as it dried, the lines disappeared making it hard to see where to put the dye. Also, I wished I had a different variety of colors. However, despite its imperfections, I am quite satisfied with my first gutta resist dyed piece. (It is just over 20" square).

Constructed Heart #29

A Leftover Heart.
Wanting something quick and not wanting to delve into my emotions tonight, I decided to collage a bunch of stuff sitting around my desk. I started with a purchased wooden heart, added some craft foil I'd been playing with (the rounded shapes were made with my new dap tool - here's a picture). I had saved the used tissue paper just for this type of purpose. There are some metallic paper towel pieces from dabbing off paint before dry brushing and a straight pin I found on my table. I've included the painted contact paper used as resist in Hearts # 27 and 28 and snippets of some of my threads from my jar (I put my thread clippings in a jar when I sew). It looked very messy and jumbled, so I topped it off with a dusting of my new gold mica powder (that was NOT a leftover).

Constructed Heart #28

I used the same techniques as yesterday to deal with another emotional day. What were the odds? The last day of school before vacation brought news of a student's sister perishing in a crash on an icy road. The first day back to school brought news a sister of another student has life-threatening injuries from a crash on an icy road. Lightning can strike twice! But for me, the love of Christ staves off the darkness of despair we may be tempted to feel. Through Christ I can face any difficulty. No, these accidents didn't involve my family or loved ones, but I do get emotional with all events in my "community." My prayers are with the families and for a miracle for my student's sister today.

Constructed Heart #27

Actually, it is more painted than constructed, but since this is what I made today it will have to do! This is Lesson 1 for my Celebrate Your Creative Self group. We used contact paper as a "resist" to maintain areas of white. I painted my designs with metallic Lumiere acrylics (blue, purple and teal), the dry brushed gold metallic over the top. I like the colors and textures of the paint.


The white is a bit stark for my taste, but I have some fabulous contact paper scraps to play with!

Constructed Heart #26

More packing tape and metallic paint. Wanted something different than a hanging heart, so covered the lid of a plain heart box.

I've had some fun this week, foraging for fabric. (I've been debating over whether it was "hunting" or "gathering." I've decided that foraging is a better term.) I love to hit the thrift shops to find stuff for my art. This week one store had bins and racks of fabric that were just 49¢ each. I got some great wool (including red and deep purple) and some awesome buttons. Yesterday I got another vintage scarf - with cafe chairs all over it. I also got a suede jacket to cut up - after just reading an article on making metallic painted baby moccasins. Another 49¢ find was a gold silk pants/shirt set. Can't wait to play with dyes and make a scarf. Do you forage, too?