AEDM - Day 17

Today I went to my stitching group - wonderful friends who are working on all sorts of hand-stitched projects. I brought along this wool appliqué wall hanging which I had cut down and want to make into a pillow. I ripped out some border stitching to try to get as much width as possible.

I'll decide tomorrow whether it is really worth being used as a pillow. It is all hand stitched and would be something a bit different at my holiday fair table. I should probably keep it simple and just go for it!

I also fiddled with my paper lace angel design from two days ago. She will show up here again in the next few days!

Wishing everyone a wonderful Friday!!

My Heart's Desire

Ever since I was a little girl, I've wanted to be an artist. It truly was my heart's desire and I wasted many years thinking it could never be so. Recently, while talking with an artist friend, I was telling her about the intense time I had just gone through,making fiber art pictures for a show I was about to be part of. For several weeks I had immersed myself in making art and it was exhilarating. The show was wonderful, I sold some pictures, and it felt good to have accomplished a goal. 

As I spoke with my friend, I had one of those "aha!" moments we all have now and then. It dawned on me that this art-making, this drawing, this designing, this sewing, this creating is my passion. I knew that I loved it, but I suddenly realized what a gift it is to have such an avid interest that brings so much pleasure, right at my fingertips. So that must mean, I am after all, an artist. Aha!!

This is one of the pieces I had in the show. It has a wet felted and needle felted background.

I used needle felting and hand embroidery, plus a few beads, for embellishment.

I then sewed it on to white linen, edged the picture with some yarn trim,

and stretched it over a piece of mat board and backed it with felt.

I have a few more pictures from the exhibit to share later. Meanwhile, 

thanks for being patient with my long absences from this blog, and thank you for stopping by!

Have a wonderful week! 

Felting Away

Yesterday I got in a groove and worked on some needle felting.

I had already wet felted a base of sky, clouds and grass, which I then

placed on white wool and needle felted everything together, adding shading and details.

The felting gives such a dreamy effect and now I have to figure out

how to present it for the show. Frame? Glass? Wall Hanging?

To be determined!

This second piece (photo taken on a sunny surface) is one I've

been tinkering with for a while. The background and trees are fabric,

the foreground is felt. I have to figure out whether I like it today, or else 

let it go and move on to something else. As usual, a deadline is spurring me on 

to be very productive. Show is November 1 and I have much to do!

Fortunately, I'm in "the zone" and love doing it!

Hope your week is off to a good start!

What I Did in July, and Happy August!

July was a good month, and I kept fairly busy with creative projects throughout those steamy days.

I created three fictional portraits and one (the last) of my neighbor Carolyn. Each was introduced with a little story attached. I get very involved with my cast of characters. Maybe they need to interact? I enjoy seeing them side by side, although Blogger didn't make it very easy to arrange them like this. Anyway….

I find myself drawing sketches of people all the time now. They seem to develop on their own as my pencil moves along, and sometimes I'm inspired by people I see, or even people I know. These are terrible photos, but you get the idea. Even the inside covers of my crossword book aren't safe!!

Also, I've been taking a class in paper mache, which has been pure fun. The instructor, Amy, is the same teacher our group has had for the last three classes I've taken, and we have more fun than you can imagine. Did I say "fun" twice? Well, it certainly is! This is a little lady I'm working on...

Amy has several birds, and they come along with her (one at a time), which adds to the high spirited atmosphere of the group. Here are good buddies Boncuk and Zaza. Aren't they sweet?

Here is Hapi, who flaunted his beautiful red under-wings for me, but I didn't get a good picture.

And Cairo, who has visited us a few times, with his brilliant green feathers.

Everyone in the class is making something different. AnnMarie opted for a large fish!!

Barbara is doing a pretty cat...

Andrea is making a large sculpture, and these cute little kitties are part of it.

And Rosalie is making, well, a giant eggplant!!

In July, I also had a chance to go to a knit and crochet show in New Hampshire.

I neither knit nor crochet, but I was in search of wool roving and found some beautiful stuff!

I've been both wet felting and needle felting, and these are pieces I'm still working on.

I'm not a gardener, but love flowers, and these were a lovely gift from a friend.

And, finally, I've had some beautiful blossoms on my hydrangea bush and enjoy them so much.

Thanks for stopping by to read my little saga.

I hope that you are having a wonderful summer!!

HAPPY AUGUST!!

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!

An Upcoming Show

I've been working on some fiber artwork for an event, which is coming all too soon!

I finished up these two pieces, which were also in a recent show for our Arts Collaborative...

"Anne"  machine stitching, applique, colored pencil

"Meditation"  fiber, painted fabric, needle felting, hand embroidery, natural fibers

and I even had them professionally framed for the upcoming show!

I have several more pieces in progress and will share them soon,

Have a wonderful weekend!!

The Evolution of a Picture

Sometimes I begin a fiber picture, get off to a good start, and then  lose interest because I'm not sure where to go with it. Last November I began this one, inspired by some textured fabrics with beautiful frayed edges. I layered them against a hand painted, cotton fabric sky. I knew that I wanted the foreground to move forward, so I tried some suede-like fabric, folded over a thin batting. 

In early February this year, I found the picture in a pile of fabric and gave it another look. This time, I used a green print cotton fabric, once again trying to create volume by gathering it a bit, and added a bit of wool roving in the background to suggest foliage.

Yesterday, I came across this piece again, once again neglected and unfinished - poor thing!! I set to work, attaching a piece of wool to the bottom and pulled out the wool roving I've been collecting for ages. I wanted it to build up the depth of the foreground and add interest and balance to the piece, so I spent some time needle felting with hues of green and raspberry. 

Of course, a little beading always helps to add contrasting sparkle! The weather is so gray today, I took two different photos of the piece in different lights. There is a hint of lilac in the sky, but it's hard to capture in a photo.

I'm so happy I went with the wool roving and love the texture it provided.

Speaking of gray weather, we finally had a bit of snow last night and today. Here's the view from my porch!

Hope your day is going well!

Hearts All Around - Little Pins

Yesterday I felted some little heart pins, using dark red felt as a base for the wool roving. This is such a relaxing thing to do, just as long as I pay attention and don't stab myself with the felting needle! Today I added buttons from my stash and pin backs. These will make cute little Valentine's gifts!

Snow forecast for tomorrow!

Went to the grocery store today, along with everyone else in the area!

Hoping for little accumulation!

Time will tell!