Esparta Fiber Arts Blog

We are starting to settle in, but I have not had a lot of creative time. I know it will happen! Patience is a virtue and I will need to really work on being patient.
We have not yet had our stuff arrive from the United States and that is where all of my art and quilting gear is located. So soon… I need to make some covers for the iPhones so they do not get trashed in our bags. I will be hand stitching everything right now, so it will take time! New directions to explore.
Have fun, and thank you for your patience!
Mathea

Part of the reason, other than I am lazy and forget to update, that I haven’t written is that we have been in the process of relocating to New Zealand. Well, we have finally arrived and have an internet connection. So this post is not particularly art related, but it will ultimately affect the art I do.

We will be writing a blog about our adventures here:

http://www.espartafiberarts.com/kiwiblog

have fun, we sure will,

mathea

So I had seen these cool little pieces of art… ATC or Artist Trading Cards and they were pretty neat. I had contemplated trying to make some and never sort of found the energy to actually make any and really wasn’t sure how to go about doing it… Well, now I have more of a clue.

I joined an ATC group called Arts In The Cards and I am having a great time. The group is small, and one of the group hosts the challenge… I joined in for the “Typography” and “Trash Talkin’ the Mailman” challenges and am now addicted to these fun little art pieces. Our newest is “Creative Combos”… hmmm, I have to work on it a bit, but I have some ideas.

I have some random atc’s that I made as well… I figured I would upload some of the pictures as they are colorful and fun. Please check out the blog for Arts In The Cards as there are some truly talented and adventurous women in the group!

have fun, I usually do!

mathea

Happy New Year! Hopefully, I will be a better blogger this year. We will see.

It has been busy and not as much has been happening on the art front, so there has been a dearth of material and time to write about it. I am still working on my sketchbook project which needs to be submitted in a couple of weeks, no 10 days to the Brooklyn Art Library so it can go on tour with the rest of the sketchbooks.

My book is pretty random and goes by the title of “It will be fun, I swear.” I used pencil, crayons, colored pencils and mixed media to fill the pages… I will try to get photos of it soon.

I have also been working on a more traditional quilt project. My mother in law’s Christmas gift. It is almost there, so photos will be forthcoming.

I have some photos of my Quilt National quilt. This did not get accepted into the show, which is ok by me… because I am changing it a bit. But here are some of the process photos…

have fun,

mathea

Well, in my last post I had mentioned that I would be heading to a regional SAQA event and made some “Juice Pack” bags…

So, let’s see… The SAQA event rocked! I was only able to attend one day, but what a wonderful day it was. I met all sorts of different artists from the New England area and wow! What a creative bunch. It was inspiring to see how differently we all think and work. I taught a class in using ink, pastels and pencils on fabric. Since that is the mode I work in most of the time it was a more natural class to teach.

This was only the second time I had taught the class. My first group was a group of more traditional quilters and it was a totally different experience. They were awesome as well but they definitely had a different approach than the SAQA gals. The class was a really adventuresome group. They were not afraid to try anything, which is the best way to learn. I did not have a set project and if any one had needed a drawing to trace, I had them. But the girls just went with trying everything and everyone made interesting fabric. Fun! What a great group and really supportive. Wow!

I was very lucky to be able to sit in on Wen Redmond’s “Themalfax” class. That was really interesting. I definitely learned some new stuff and now I understand what people are saying when they have used that technique! Someday when my little guy is not so curious, I will think about using it on some of my pieces…

I missed out on a few of the classes on Saturday… Margaret Sheehan taught a mono printing class, Valerie Poitier taught a perspectives class, and Rosalita Feero taught a “parfait” dyeing class… All of them sounded awesome and everyone really enjoyed themselves. I am envious…next time I will get to take more classes! There is soooo much to learn. I missed all of the classes on Sunday. Sarah Carpenter did a class on framing your quilts and Beth Berman did a class on stamps. Next time…

A huge thank you to Beth Berman & Sarah Carpenter for hosting this event! So well done ladies, and thank you again for providing such a comfortable, well planned event.

I have tried to include everyone’s blog or website linked to their name as it really helps demonstrate the diversity of work. If I have missed putting a link to your name, email me and I will update this post.

The show and tell was phenomenal, holy moly what a talented crew! You just had to be there!

Back to the whole SAQA thing… They have an auction running right now with some of the most delicious eye candy out there. Again, it really reflects a diverse group of people and such different takes on what textile art can be. Here is the link to the SAQA auction and a link to all about SAQA. Please support the arts!

Now for my little Juice Pack bags… I had seen some either on line or at one of the “green living” type stores… Traditionally, they are unlined and zig-zagged together. I am not as keen on this. So my son and his teachers have collected a bunch of the Capri Sun’s or Kool Aid Jammers or Back to Nature organics juice packs and given them to me. I sliced the bottoms and washed them out, dried them and then stitched them onto a base of fusible fleece and muslin. Then I cut out a matching or un-matching liner and used webbed cotton handle material for the straps. The little size takes 16 juice packs and the larger size takes 30 and has pockets. And these are the results… They are bright and cheery. Now I should probably cost them out and see if I could charge enough to cover materials and raise money for the school.

have fun, I sure am,

mathea

It has taken me a while to get to this update… I finally finished “Dock Ropes #6″ at the eleventh hour and then managed to dump black paint water on it. After about 5 or 10 minutes of frenzied swearing, I got over it and stayed up til 4 am trying to move the color around and dry the darn thing so it could go to the show. I spent the better part of the morning trying to dry it out with the iron… my son took photos of me walking on the quilt which I will include in this post.

For all  hard work and serious quantity of frustration toward the end, I did not expect to receive any commendation at Maine Quilts. I was hugely surprised and largely speechless when I discovered a blue ribbon on it… Really…total shock, even almost 2 months later, I still cannot believe it. Thank you to the judges for their kind words and constructive criticism. The judges for the show were Mary Derry, Sue Nickels, and Mary Walter.

I also managed to finish my Quilt National 2011 entry by the skin of my teeth. That has a no publish clause, so I will not include photos of the piece. But it is similar yet different from the current series that I am working in. There is still rope involved and it is called “Dock Ropes #8 ‘Rope of Life”"… I am please with the way the piece turned out, but I could not get it to photograph the way that I would like it to. I suspect my camera just was not up to the job.

On the other creative front, I finished a couple of cute bags made from “Capri Sun” juice packs that my son insists on collecting. They are really easy to make and a fun way to recycle.

Other art news… There is a regional SAQA retreat this weekend and I am privileged to be teaching one of the workshops. It is my “Inks, pastels & pencils on fabric” class. It should be a good time. I am looking forward to meeting many of these folks as most of them I have only met online!

The other bit of really super art news is that the SAQA Auction for 2010 starts next week!!! Yay! SAQA stands for Studio Art Quilt Associates and it is an organization that helps promote art, fiber art in particular, and network artists with business and education opportunities. They help people like me become better and more educated artists… So if you have time and some $ please support this really worthy cause! Even though I am a relative unknown, I have donated a piece to the cause as have many other incredibly fabulous internationally known artists. It is humbling to be in such great company! The works are 12″X12″ and they are all very extraordinary and very individual, as usual, I am having trouble narrowing down my favorites. Here is a link to the SAQA newsflash. And here is a link to the SAQA Auction Pages, so you will be able to peruse the awesome pieces of art!

Thank you for reading such a windy post! Here are some more pictures of the Dock Ropes stuff and the bags… Yes, my hair is purple. Manic Panic “Purple Haze” to be exact.

have fun,

mathea

I have been working (at least in my head) on this piece for some months. I had not had time to work on it until school let out. So finally, it has gotten beyond the tea stained piece of fabric I started out with. This piece is approximately 12″x12″ and is for the SAQA Auction. This raises money for Studio Art Quilt Associates (SAQA) which helps artists who have a fiber art focus. This group is really diverse and provides a lot of support and inspiration for those of us whom are newer in the field.

I did a series of photos of this piece to document my process. Much like “guys in the band” (yes, I am still working on them) this is a similar process… although not on as large a scale and I did not use resist for this piece at all… I just freehand painted and then had at it with the sewing machine. It was a fun piece to do and nice to be able to finish in just a few days.

Information on the auction and the pieces that have already been sent in can be viewed here SAQA website. Here are the photos of this piece… “Dock Ropes #7″.

Dock Ropes # 7 in process

Dock Ropes #7 in process 1

Dock ropes #7 in process 2

Dock Ropes #7 in process 3

Dock ropes #7 full view finished

Dock Ropes #7 back stitch detail

Dock Ropes #7 detail 1

Dock Ropes #7 detail 2

The other piece that I recently finished was for Quilt Art’s  “Quinceañero” challenge. It was a ton of fun and meant to celebrate QuiltArt’s 15th year. I have only been a member for 4 or 5 years now, but I have learned quite a bit from various list members.

My personal piece is called “QA15″. I know it is not the most original title, but it was a ton of fun to create. I have been exploring blobby, cartoony type shapes and trying to get them more dimensional. I used my favorite method of painting with ink onto white fabric, then I used “prismacolor” pencils to add detail and shading. Really fun, but lesson learned. Wow, do you need to spray that stuff with fixative of some form… My arm was pretty grey after shading in… I also evened out the paint job with corresponding colors. I think it came out pretty cool. I need to redo the binding as it is really awful. Someday…

Here are photos of my “QA15″ piece.

QA 15 starting to pencil in

QA 15 in process

QA15 mostly painted penciled

QA15 full

QA15 detail

So I would highly recommend visiting the links to the SAQA site and Quilt Art site as they have such a great group of artists to view and I am really proud to be among them!

have fun,

mathea

Last week, my son stayed home sick from school… I think he was mainly overtired, but he does have ear issues. Anyway, I was in need of a new purse/bag as the handles of my other bag had worn to shreds. So while my son was watching a movie, I drew up the pattern for a new bag. It is based on Lazy Girl Designs “Miranda Bag”. I lost my pattern for the “Miranda” so I came up with this in its place. The quilting is not the world’s greatest, but it is functional. I did draw out the sashiko stitch pattern and stitched while my son learned how to do the stitching on his own piece of fabric. All in all, not a bad bag and it is stuffed with junk already… Picture below.

have fun,

mathea

New Bag

Ok, I really tried hard to finish this piece for IQA Houston, but that did not happen… I was moving right along and it had potential to be finished on time, but rushing probably wouldn’t have given me the better end result. I really enjoy working on Dock Ropes #6, it is colorful, nice texture and really embodies where I live. In fact, I should thank one of the local fishing persons who was picking up their child at school. I saw the truck piled high with used ropes and loved all the bright, yet worn colors all tossed around. I am pretty sure these were heavily used lines and they were being sorted to see what was still useful or what needed to be recycled. (In these parts, many of the used lines get made into door mats.)

So I tried to be creative with the progress photos this time and I created a slide show with them… There is music (“Ushas” by E.S. Posthumus: Makara album) so if you do not like sound, please either turn down or turn off your volume. The pictures end with the current state of finish… as you can see, I have more to go!

I hope to finish in the near future. Thanks for stopping by…

have fun,

mathea

click on link below to see slide show

Dock Ropes #6 progress

I realize that I am dreadful and have neglected this poor blog for far too long… It has been busy around here. I have been working at the schools, teaching skating and eventually getting burned out and a fabulous case of pneumonia. So I have not had the energy to do a ton. I am in the process of working on some smaller things.

I did manage to complete the challenge on Quilt Art for its 15th anniversary. I will not post a picture just yet as it has not been posted by them. Soon, really, I will post it… really, I will.

I also managed to finish my challenge for the Coastal Quilters, one of the local guilds I belong to. I really enjoyed this one. They gave us each a fat quarter of black and white paisley fabric and we needed to make a 9″X12″ landscape orientation quilt using the fabric prominently. I don’t often piece or use fabrics other than white unless I am making a bag or something of a non-quilt nature.

I fussy cut out a few of the paisley/bloom pieces and fused them to white fabric. Then I used Inktense pencils and made some of my squishy cartoon blobs and migrated over to ink painting then onto acrylic with fabric medium. I also used some dry gold dusty paint as well… fun. Then I shaded with Inktense pencils, Prismacolor pencils and Fabrico markers… Stitched the outlines and added a couple of detail stitches and covered the entire thing with gel medium with a glossy finish. I have to say, this was a ton of fun and it is nice to start to get to use art materials again.

I had given up for fear my kid would eat them or some such thing. The best thing is that he is curious and loves to use the paints and mediums. (granted, with really close supervision) He really enjoys art and creating things. I hope it continues!

I am also working on a project called “Dock Ropes #6″ and we will see if I manage to finish it… I need to I entered it into Maine Quilts, so I need to get my act together. I would love to get it done for the IQA: Houston deadline… that remains to be seen.

So that is it for now… Pics below of the “Trip #437″ challenge piece… some from late process through finish.

have fun,

mathea