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!!