A Break from COVID-19 and the Art Quilt

Things are getting worse instead of better. There are still new cases of the virus springing up and more deaths while we stubborn people figure out what it means to social distance and stay home. We now have a State of Emergency in the City of Toronto and that means all non-essential businesses must close. I still have hope that cases will wane and we will get back to normal at some point.

In the meantime, I have so much I want to do art-wise that I am secretly reveling in the fact that I have to stay home. I continue to work on my art quilt but I wanted to blog about something different. I've been missing the grand kids. This year for the grand kids, I made them portrait birthday cards. I thought it would be cool for them to keep a portrait of what they looked like on their birthdays this past year.

Staying Positive

Since my blog last week, Ontario, Canada has declared a state of emergency. Borders are closed between us and the United States as well as restaurants, bars, theatres, and sports venues. Grocery stores and banks remain open for now. Many people are working from home.

I have been spending lovely time in my studio and since I work from home, I continue to do that, only going out to visit the bank and go for walks.

I'm 18 hours into my art quilt and it is starting slowly.

Finished pattern

First section sewn together

Using lots of calming greens

From a distance all these funny shaped bits of fabric will blend together to bring out a beautiful landscape......hopefully.

Virtuality Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic

We are now experiencing a pandemic called COVID-19. This thing is spreading crazy fast and cancellations are happening all over the world in a bid to slow it down. Our SAQA MoSAiQA Toronto Conference which was supposed to happen this upcoming week has been cancelled, however, the show "Colour With a U" at Homer Watson House and Gallery and "Colour With a U Too" at RiverBrink are up and running and so far the museums are still open for viewing. We have postponed the official opening of Colour With a U to April 25, 2020. SAQA is working feverishly to give us a virtual conference.

We have seen sporting events, schools, local fundraisers, March Break Programs all cancelled and several museums are closed. People are being advised to stay out of large social gatherings. We are also being advised to self-quarantine if we have traveled or come in contact with an infected person.

If you are stuck at home during this thing, here are some links to virtual art galleries and museums to help keep you positive and panic-free. We will get through this thing, but do what you can. Follow instructions about quarantines and hand washing, and maybe share your toilet paper with your neighbour. What is that toilet paper hoarding all about anyway!?

Stay safe and healthy, friends and be patient.

https://collections.textilemuseum.ca/  Textile Museum - Toronto


https://www.travelandleisure.com/attractions/museums-galleries/museums-with-virtual-tours?fbclid=IwAR0hh3giBbIuMFcctqUCxhKSfPgAIiiITYHBG0g_fFZlZE6xSp0yXTorUqc


I have spent 8.5 hours working out my design and pattern for this latest art quilt so I am actually looking forward to having more home time to get some serious work done on this piece.

See my progress below.

this is the 4 X 6 inch fabric card of the scene

This will be approximately 24 x 36 inches

Art Quilt Beginnings - Again

So after blogging about my block last week, I continued to look for something that spoke to me as far as an art quilt project.

In the fall last year my brother sent me a photos from his moose hunting trip which was waaaay up north somewhere. I used one of his photos to make him a fabric card for his birthday to commemorate this trip in which he bagged a moose! Apparently, he really liked the card and wondered if I could do this in a larger format. So my brain wheels started turning. Since it was taken in the fall there are many different colours in the photo which I could enhance in an art quilt. It also has a lot of different texture because it is rocky, boggy, brushy type of country. I could enhance the texture with yarn and other things. I was hooked. I got out the photo of the card and the original photo and started working.

I enlarged a line drawing of my design to about 24" X 36". The foreground is brushy, rocky, textured shrubs of various colours which fades into middle ground. the background is a line of  evergreen trees with some colourful deciduous trees behind them peaking through. I especially liked the tallest trees as they cut into the blue sky filled with white puffy clouds.

Covering the design with freezer paper on which I will plot my pattern of various fabrics and sewing sequence instructions.

Dividing the design for sewing.

Choosing fabric, keeping in mind colour and value. As I plot the pattern, I am sure I will add more fabric.

My swatch and symbol guide which helps me know which fabric goes where.

Art Frustration

I seem to be in a bit of an art block. Even with a list of goals, right now, I've lost my direction, or mojo, or muse. I'm not entirely sure why. I have been continuing to sketch and work on pieces of larger projects but what I really want to do is start another art quilt.

I have spent weeks looking at photos and trying to decide what I want that art quilt to look like. I decide on something, start a watercolour painting of it and lose interest. None of the subjects I've chosen make my heart sing. I have learned that if I am not into a subject, it's not going to be successful so I abandon them. I'm not sure that is the right way to deal with it.

Perhaps I should power through. Look at the subject from a different perspective or change the composition, colours, values. Ask myself what made me choose that photo in the first place and capitalize on that.

A few weeks ago, I thought I had found what I wanted to do.

This was the photo, I had selected.

This is the watercolour I started of it. I didn't finish the painting because I felt it lacked something. I thought I chose the photo for the scenery so I left out the canoes. Perhaps the canoes are what make the scene interesting. I also think I need to tweek the colours; they're a bit boring.

This is another photo I selected to do. I thought the purple mountains looked nice against the fields and trees in the foreground. 

This is the painting I started and then put away because I felt it was also boring.

I looked at it some more today and decided not to try to paint every tree but just put down colour and value. I darkened the mountains and the sky and gave the foreground more dimension. Perhaps I'll put in some complimentary colours such as reds in the foreground and maybe some yellow in the sky. I'm starting to feel it again. I'm also thinking about how I will piece and quilt it. I may be able to thread paint the trees and other details. I have to remind myself that when it is done with fabric, the art quilt is always more vibrant than the painting I do. We will see if this develops into something.

Well, this was therapeutic. Thanks for listening. Hopefully that is the end of my block.

LOVE: A Valentine Blog

In Hebrew and Greek, the languages the Bible was originally written in, there are many different words used for LOVE. These words express everything from sexual desire to intimate friendships. Often all those words for LOVE are narrowed down to three: EROS, romantic, passionate LOVE; PHILEO, the LOVE of great friends and siblings; AGAPE, parental, self-sacrificing LOVE that seeks the welfare of others.

All of these LOVEs were created by God and should be present in our lives in the proper circumstances.

EROS is necessary and appropriate within the security of marriage. It is a special LOVE reserved for marriage and the one you have committed the rest of your life to. If this LOVE is shared with anyone other than your spouse, you have misused it and will inevitably have to bear the consequence of that. The Song of Songs is a book of the Bible often skipped over but it is a good resource that shows us how EROS can benefit our marriages.

PHILEO, is also found in marriage and is the LOVE that binds friendships and is committed to others. This LOVE can manifest itself in powerful emotions, both positive and negative.  It is a LOVE that is easily hurt if it is not returned in the way we need it to be returned. However, it can also be a powerful motivation to stand by a good friend or family member going through a hard time. It is not unusual for this LOVE to change, grow weaker or stronger over time, whether minutes or years. This shows us that LOVE is not simple, but powerful and often difficult and complicated.

AGAPE is basically Christian LOVE. It is a self-sacrificing LOVE and is pictured in God's LOVE for the world through Christ. I Corinthians 13 speaks of this LOVE and it should be evident in all our relationships even those with complete strangers. It is putting someone else's good before your own. I was once challenged to use the above passage in Corinthians to guide me in a relationship I was struggling with. It made me aware of my wrong attitudes and selfishness and led me to concentrate less on my own wants and perceived needs and more on those of the other person. The amazing thing is when we try to meet the needs of another, God shows us He can also meet our needs or make us realize our needs weren't as important as we thought they were.

God has placed people in our lives to enrich us. Relationships are important and worth working at. How can we enrich another person's life with our LOVE for them?

"Back Country" Accepted into Juried Show

What a thrill this week when I received an email congratulating me on my latest art quilt's acceptance into the Juried Show at the International SAQA (Studio Art Quilts Associates)  Conference MoSAiQA held here in Toronto this March!

The show is called "Colour with a U" and the exhibition will be held at the Homer Watson House and Gallery in Kitchener, ON from March 13 to May 31, 2020. 36 works were chosen from 173 entries.
 https://www.homerwatson.on.ca/

The opening reception will be held on Saturday, March 21 from 1 - 3 pm. I am hoping to be there along with several other artists.

This exhibition will then be touring across Canada until March 2023.

Along with this show there is a sister show called "Colour with a U too" being held at RiverBrink Art Museum in Niagara on The Lake which runs from March 15 - September 5, 2020. http://riverbrink.org