My Daily Puzzle

In January I joined the 2010 Three Creative Studios Challenge. The first theme was the word PUZZLE.

Now what to do.I started thinking about all of the roles we play on a daily basis and how do we choose what to be. We play so many roles, some of them not our own choosing, they just come along.

Using the same profile I tried to represent two ways of being, two contrasting roles, hoping that we won't lose who we really are in the process.

MY DAILY PUZZLE

detail one

detail two

This has been much fun and stretched me a little. It was an opportune time to go in another direction and play. A quilt with a message, I think that will be my overall ambition in this process.There will be a theme to work on every two months and it will be fun to see what comes next. You can see all entries at

www.threecreativestudios.com

Classes coming up.

In getting ready for our guild meeting this a.m. I thought that it would be fine to post my classes here.They are very open ended and I arrange date and time with the students of each group. Classes are booked one a week from April to the end of November. I am a woossy driver and don't think that others should suffer like I did. Too many years of white knuckle drives to school when you couldn't see past your nose driving in the snow.

Below is my ever popular Three Daisy Class. Great for beginners and those with advanced sewing skills. Can be done with free motion , a small zigzag stitch of a satin stitch. It's up to you.

The Tapestry piece is a large quilt, not too hard but lots of work due to it's size. The best way to get a bang for your buck is to have four half day sessions with time off in between for homework.
My latest way of using up scraps has been described in a previous post. "Scrapworks" includes book covers and jewelry in one day. All the projects start out the same way.
My little cat of course. You design your own background and the rest is like paint by number. Again the project can be free motioned or satin stitched or zigzag stitched.
Due to economic times my prices are on a sliding scale.The more who come up to 6 the cheaper it is per person. From 1 student =$50 to 6 students = $25 each.

For me it's not so much about the money as sharing what I learn.Plus if they come here , I don't have to drive.( what a selfish reason is that?)

Another week

Another week of playing , making work and entering pieces into the jury process. Once I get the hang of getting my pics ready for certain specifications I might as do a whole bunch. After a few months pass I usually have to learn this process all over again. My pics are much better since David taught me how to shoot them, the colour is more true to the piece. Below is a closeup of the "Water Brings Life" piece to show you how the bobbin work looks. I love the instant shot of colour you get with these Wonderfil threads. I do love them.

Then last summer some quilting friends dropped by from Manitoba and Saskatchewan and left me some fab fibre jewelry.Playing with this idea led me in this direction. Judy Morningstar made the fab turquoise piece and that was our jumping off point.
A closeup of the circle piece. I used a wash away stabilizer to make the machine lace on the inside of the circle. Much fun.

Moving on.

I belong to a great international organization, S.A.Q.A. or Studio Art Quilts Associated. They have an amazing website where you will see lots of fabulous work.

Once a year they have a fund raiser where artists are encouraged to donate a 12 inch square which is then auctioned off. Below is my last year's contribution.

Today I am going to complete mine. I am calling it Letting Loose but don't have pics as yet. Will post when it is ready.

Yesterday I entered two pieces to a juried show in Montreal. The Winter One and the Summer One squares that are in the landscape series.

I was on a roll and also entered a couple of pieces into

The Grand National Quilt Show. The theme this year is OFF THE WALL, perfect for my quirky sensibilities.

Wallowing in Self Pity

This year I was determined to enter a few competitions and worked very hard to get it done. I was especially keen on entering the C.Q.A. Show as one of the prizes was $10,000 worth of Wonderfil Threads. I love these threads and use them extensively in my work especially in bobbin work. They are beautiful threads and lay down nicely on the fabric.

I got everything ready, sent off my CD and waited only to find out that they were all rejected.Normally I enter and take my chances. But this time I could not understand what had happened. Ten years ago my work was accepted and now !!!!! I just don't understand.

"Water Brings Life" was rejected because the design is too weak.I was so frustrated that I almost cut this up for book covers.
This Madonna was rejected because I placed it in the wrong category.
Doreen's Daisies was also rejected because it was in the wrong category.

Thanks for listening, I just needed to vent.

Oh the life of an artist.No money and no glory. I guess I've been humbled.