AEDM Day 30 - Fabric Sketch

I'm sad that this is the last day of Art Every Day Month!

I certainly didn't make something every day, 

but this challenge made me think about what I might create every day

and I followed up on a few of those ideas.

I felt as though I looked at my day in a different way, daydreaming

about design ideas and about trying different media,
walking around with a creative buzz going on in my head.

Many thanks to Leah for hosting AEDM, as she has done for over 10 years.

It is a great group of artists and I've enjoyed the exchange of greetings and comments.

Hope you're having a great weekend!

AEDM Day 28 - Giving Thanks

Throughout my life,

I have always had a lot to be thankful for.

Today I'm grateful for my life, my dear family, 

 my wonderful friends,

and all the blessings that surround me every day.

I wish abundant blessings for you, my blogging friends.

You make my life so much richer.

For you,

I give a heartfelt

Thank You!

AEDM Day 26 - Fused Flowers

I've missed a couple of days of AEDM, and today I was searching for a quick project to do.

I came across a box in my studio closet which reminded me of something I used to love doing...

Making cards!

These are some original cut-outs I've done, made with scraps of fused fabrics. I would have them printed on textured paper, mount the prints on cards and sell them in a craft co-op.

The box I found today contained backgrounds and vases which I had previously cut, along with "stems" and "leaves".

I used a linen background, chose some scraps of fused fabrics and started cutting.

Once petals and leaves are cut, it's almost meditative to arrange them in the fabric vase,  embroider the flower centers, iron everything down, mount it on colored card stock and glue it on a blank card.

This will make a nice note card for someone special!

Hope you're having a great day!

AEDM Day 23 - Quilt Collage Class Update

I had a great time at our class with Amy Ropple Wednesday night.

This is the drawing I'm working from.

Our next step was to trace and number all the pieces that make up the drawing on to freezer paper.

I have 80 pieces! I never thought about that when I was drawing!

After that we were to iron the pieces onto fabric and cut them out.

I never even got to that step, but will do it for 'homework',

since we have no class this coming week.

Amy brought one of her parrots, Cairo, to the class and he sat on her shoulder the entire time,

with only a couple of squawks ! Can you believe his beautiful color?

She also brought more of her own work for inspiration. 

Some of these are works in progress. This is one talented lady!!

One last thing - I began 'auditioning' some fabrics for my collage -

what do you think?

Thanks for visiting!

Have a wonderful weekend!

AEDM Day 22 - Three Days in November

I was 15 years old, in Latin class in the parochial high school I attended in Boston,

when Mother Antonia's voice announced over the loud speaker,

 that President Kennedy had been shot.

As high school girls, we idolized this handsome president, 

his beautiful wife Jackie and their adorable children.

We were frozen in disbelief, tears were shed, school was dismissed.

and we rode home on public transportation in stunned silence.

No iPhones then to call our parents, keep up with events,

divert ourselves with entertaining apps.

For the next few days we were glued to the TV, watching the continuous news coverage.

My sister on the left with her pouffy "flip",

I on the right with my curly bubble cut.

As we sobbed, we watched in awe as the dignified Mrs. Kennedy led the nation 

in honoring her slain husband.

Today's Boston Globe, with an insert replicating the front page of that historic day,

brought back a flood of memories. 

Where were you (or were you even around then?) when you heard the news?

AEDM Day 20 - Class Preparations

Last night I worked a bit more on my drawing for tonight's quilt collage class.

I decided to use poppies and alstroemelia blossoms, along with an assortment of leaves.

And I couldn't resist putting in my nosey Rosie, because she would definitely 

be tempted by those dangling leaves! I'm not sure whether I'll leave her in there. We'll see.

I enlarged my drawing to 14 inches by 18 inches, which will be my working size.

We were also advised to bring a selection of fabrics to work with,

so I went through boxes, drawers and bags and came up with a pile which

I laid out on my dining room table.

Guess who took advantage of the soft pile while I was out of the room!

You guessed it - Rosie!!!

Off to class in a while - I'll bring you up to date tomorrow!

Have a lovely evening!

AEDM Day 19 - Flower Sketches

I'm getting ready for my collage quilt class tomorrow night.

I had already done a drawing of what I want to make - a vase of flowers -

but didn't have a warm and fuzzy feeling about what I had drawn.

Today I put more thought into what I'd like to create, 

and what kind of flowers I love.

I've always loved the simplicity of carnations and baby's breath,

but they might be a bit too simple.

I really love the drama of anemones, in rich reds and purples,

and gerbera daisies have great potential for a textural piece of fiber art.

I also like the shape of the common alstroemeria, with its graceful petals and twisted leaves.

I've decided that I want to use rich, deep reds and deep purples, with greens and golds,

so I have a bit more planning and sketching to do 

before the class!

These are purely sketches, micron pen and colored pencil over a pencil drawing.

I have to come up with a clearly outlined drawing, so I have work to do!!

Hope your day is a good one!!

AEDM Day 18 - Drawing

I feel like I'm moving in slow motion lately -

some stressful things have come to an end and I'm finally taking a breather!

Traveling, house reno, medical tests - done!!

My husband has just returned from a trip to Japan, China, Bangkok and Malaysia,

medical tests have turned out fine, renovations are completed!

Whew!!!

So here is the sketch I was working on recently,

to which I've added a few elements...

Anyone who has ever had a cat can identify with this scenario!!

I'm going to turn this into a fabric or cut paper picture - haven't decided which yet!

Hope you're having a pleasant Monday!

AEDM Day 15 - Evening's Glow

 I've been witnessing some beautiful sunsets lately,

many from my back porch.

I thought I would share some of my photos of them

as my art today. 

Hope you've had a good week!

AEDM DAY 14 - Quilt Collage Class

Last night I went to a class with a wonderful textile artist, Amy Ropple, at Create Artisan Studio.

Amy makes amazing art quilts, heavily beaded and glowing with color.

These photos don't even do them justice - they are gorgeous in person!

This is a 6 week course and last night we talked about our designs.

Because of Amy's method of making art quilts, I decided to do a vase of flowers,

a design which could make maximum use of color and beading.

I need to work on this a bit more, but we are off to a very good start!

Happy Day 14 of AEDM!!

AEDM DAY 13 - Drawing Expressions

Today I did this quick drawing, loosely based on a photo I found on the internet

I left the ink drawing with the eyes and mouth blank,

and then drew different eyes and mouths, changing the expression each time.

I plan to do a thread drawing with this, but what expression will I use? Hmmm...

I also wanted to share a couple more of my favorite quilts

from the International Quilt Festival I attended earlier this month!

Hope you've had a great day!

AEDM Day 11 - ATC Catch Up

Happy Monday!

This morning I worked on a couple of Artist Trading Cards for my friend Janice.

We've been trading for a few years, but I'm always behind in doing one every month.

This is a collage with a magazine photo, cut paper and painting.

This one is also done with cut paper and painting (and marker).

Something that makes me smile these days is the annual blooming of my mother's Christmas cactus.

I miss her a lot, but have plenty of wonderful memories and physical reminders 

of her that keep her here in my heart.

Love you, Mum.

Have a great day, everyone!

AEDM Day 9 - Dancing Cats

I've signed up for a quilting collage class beginning this coming Wednesday with Amy Ropple at Create Artisan Studio here in Wakefield, MA. I've been familiar with Amy's wonderful work for years, and I know she uses lots of beads in her work. Our assignment for the first class is to bring a design we would like to transform into a piece of artwork. My first thought was to make a picture of my cats Rosie and Angus dancing like Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. Who knows where that came from, but I figured there will be lots of opportunity to glam Rosie up and make a festive background.
Let me add that that was my first  thought! I may change my mind! What do you think?

Hope you're having a wonderful Weekend!!

AEDM Day 8 - Making Progress

Good Morning!

I've just been working on my sunset silhouette and added a few elements to it.

So far, the trees are still just fused down. I added some trim along the skyline which looks like bushes, and a wool felt foreground into which I needle felted some colored roving. 

I can see that I need to add some irregular stitching to the foliage to make it look less precise,

 mute down the bright colors in the foreground and maybe add some subtle trees in the background.

AEDM is a great place to show progress on a piece of art, without worrying about perfection.

I also want to share photos of my favorite animal quilts

from the quilt festival I recently attended in Houston.

I hope that everyone who reads this is having a great day!