Voices

“…gradually you come under the right influences, picking and choosing, and being selective, and then maybe your voice is the combination of 6 or 8 other voices that you have managed to blend in such a way that nobody can recognize your sources. You can learn intimacy from Whitman, you can learn the dash from Emily Dickinson…you can pick a little bit from every writer and you combine them. This allows you to be authentic. That’s one of the paradoxes of the writing life: that the way to originality is through imitation.”

- Billy Collins, at the White House’s Poetry Workshop

I've heard this put so many ways, this thing about how you find your own style and voice, and have suffered through many a discussion about copying and stealing from other artists. Collins, however, puts it in such a gentle way, this reality of being human and how it forms you into the unique person that inquiry and thought leads you to be. We do not live in a bubble; we cannot help but take on the bits and pieces we encounter daily.


I've also read so many interviews with artists espousing who their greatest influences were. I wonder if there's something wrong with me because I can't narrow my own field of influence to a couple of famous artists Or perhaps it's just because I have no formal art training. Because I come out of a traditional quilting background, my influences, when I think about it, can be found there - the precision borne of an innovative technique learned from Judy Mathieson, classic and restrained (yet also exuberant at times) quilting designs from my machine quilting mentor Diane Gaudynski, the quiet sophistication of Erika Carter's timeless designs. The rest of what influences my voice comes straight from nature, I think. The colors I use, the designs I choose, the texture I try to emulate...I think I bypass artists and go directly to the source.


That is not to say I don't study the great artists (and even the not so great) - I do. And so there may be dozens of voices subconsciously whispering in my head and being synthesized into my own without my being aware. I've often said that I am a sponge, absorbing information, some quite esoteric, and moving on to the next. Occasionally I'll make a connection between two seemingly unrelated bits and find that the best. Often I'll have an aha moment when information gathered over a long period of time suddenly makes sense, comes together to do more than just rattle around in my hazy memory. That too is exciting.


Perhaps that's why I've been picking up things on my walks and bring them home rather than just observe, absorb and move on. Things like feathers. I wouldn't say that I collect feathers, but my studio might tell a different story. My bulletin board has half a dozen feathers adorning it, from the one found on vacation that exhibited iridescence I had just learned about, to the red-spined one resting on my windshield after a walk along the city beach, to this rather large and ruffly one I spotted near the barn the other day. I rarely ever know what I will do with these things that catch my eye, intrigue me and beg to be brought home, but I've learned to trust that eventually I will. A veritable chorus of voices and influences continually at my beck and call.

Voices

Here's the other piece I finished this week, based on a challenge from Margaret to make a quilt based on my choice of Chinese poem. It is approximately 22w by 19h. I've decided to call it "Voices" and it is inspired by this translation:

Deer Park Hermitage
Through the deep woods, the slanting sunlight
Casts motley patterns on the jade green mosses.
No glimpse of man in this lonely mountain.
Yet faint voices drift on the air.

Click on any picture to see the details better in larger versions.

Published!

Now now, don't get too excited. I'm referring to the beautiful book Sacred Threads has published which includes all the quilts in this year's exhibit. Still, this is the first time I've been included, or rather my quilts, in any kind of book. And I do know artists who choose exhibits to enter based on whether or not they publish an exhibit catalog. It's something they want to be able to put on their resume. Me - not so much. But it's still a thrill.

And I couldn't be more pleased. Look! There's Bubble Prayers featured on the leading page to the section on Grief.

And my quilts are the first one's in that section. It takes away some of my disappointment in not being included in the traveling exhibit. The layout is pleasing and the photos I supplied printed true to color and in focus. I was really sweating that.  It tells me I can trust I'm seeing the rest of the quilts in this book just as they were in the exhibit. And at over 300 pages, I have hours of enjoyment ahead of me as I take in the variety of expressions and read their accompanying stories. If you are interested in purchasing your own copy, just follow this link.

I also sprung for a thumbdrive of the audio tour - why not? I'd recorded a little extra myself and am curious to hear the other artists' voices and the additional things they wanted to share. However, I was really puzzled when I pulled what looked like a credit or gift card from the box. Wondering if my lack of smart phone would mean I'd have no way to play it. I certainly couldn't think of anything I had on hand that might work.

It took me forever to realize that the little black rectangle on the back actually rotates out to be inserted into an SD card drive. Whew! I'm not as technically out of it as I thought.

Thank you letter & picture of antique quilt on my repro version

Although this is my first time to be published in a book, I have been published in a magazine a long time ago. This was back when I was making traditional and repro quilts and collecting antique ones. I was commissioned to make a copy of an antique Forbidden Fruit Tree quilt for an historic building in Wisconsin. Their budget only covered materials; good cause or not, I was not willing to donate all of my time for such a labor-intensive project. It was with great reluctance that the owner of the quilt with whom I was negotiating agreed to let me have the antique quilt as partial payment. Its value was not equal to my labor costs but it meant a great deal to me to add it to my collection. And my name and info about the reproduction got posted along with the quilt.

This really was a major undertaking, figuring out how the original quilt was constructed and making my own pattern sized to their specifications. The block itself is a complicated one and it was a challenge to convert the hand quilted design to machine quilting. I wanted to share all this so I submitted pictures and my story to Traditional Quiltworks magazine, thinking it might make it into the Letters from Readers section. Instead, they wanted to feature it and me along with a pattern. I'm still pretty pleased and proud about that. Look! The antique quilt made it on the cover.

And look again! Both antique and reproduction are shown with the pattern (you better believe it's a three thimble difficulty rating) and a small photo of me! My 15 minutes of fame... Click on the pic and any others for a larger view.

You can't see it in these photos, but looking at this diagram from the magazine pattern instructions, I am reminded of one of the things that made me want to own this quilt and that made reproducing it a challenge: as the magazine states "an extraordinary setting." I'm so happy that this antique quilt also got its 15 minutes of fame. Wonder how many quilters actually gave this a go or at least made a single block as those brave enough to sign up for my class did? It makes a lovely pillow cover - one I still get out each Christmas.

Thanks for suffering through my sharing of my several experiences of 15 minutes of fame. How about you? What brief rise to prominence have you had in you quilting career that makes you beam with pride?

Voices from the Closet...Again

While waiting for the beads to arrive (got notice they are one their way!), I've decided to finish up some padfolios. I have 5 covers (there are two of the moose one) that were printed out (gulp!) years ago, extras that I didn't need at the time but knew could be used later. Well, later is now as I have a couple of people showing interest in purchasing some for gifts. They already bought the two I had on hand and have been patiently waiting for me to feel up to making more. I think I'm up for it as there are so few decisions to be made - I'd even set aside linings to go with each - and most of what needs doing is sit-down work which suits my energy levels these days. Today the Peltex got fused to them so I can proceed with some "quilting".

Hood River Fun

I'm back and still unpacking from the Hood River trip. This time I drove, and there were those windmills along the Columbia Gorge that so fascinated me on my last trip down this way. Gotta do something textile-oriented with those images.


The "Fiber Art Now" exhibit was one of the best I've seen and definitely worth the drive to see. The exhibit runs through May 2nd so still plenty of time to see it. In the meantime, here's a sampling of some of the fiber art on display, taken quickly so may not be the best representation of the real thing. My friend, Judi, took a different direction in subject matter for this show, creating some whimsy with her mermaids and fairy quilts.


Here's another fairy quilt, larger than the others. For perspective, the fairy is about 12 inches high. Click on this or any picture for a larger version to enjoy the detail.


I was quite excited to see Trisha Hassler's metal and fiber work in person. I first ran across her in the book Speaking in Cloth: 6 Quilters, 6 Voices from the Coos Art Museum exhibit of the same name. I could tell from the photos that her work demanded to be seen in real life and I was not disappointed. This is truly layered work, and the cutouts in the metal add a unique dimension to her work. There were several of her pieces I'd love to take home with me, but alas, not that much discretionary money in the budget.


Patricia Spark is a feltmaker, weaver, printmaker and glass beadmaker. Here are two of her felted works which I really liked. Felting is one of those things that I appreciate when done well (which these are) but have no desire to do myself. That one on the left could have come home with me too.


Rhonda Harris is a long-time Hood River resident who works a bit more traditional/contemporary in her quilting. She loves color and I found her work for this show quite striking. I was disappointed that my photos didn't capture the saturation of the colors in her fabrics. This is her beachballs series, and if you click on the picture and study the fabric, you will see why she named them that.


This is part of her series using Aboriginal designed fabrics. Framing these larger pieces really set her work apart.


More from the Aboriginal series.


I was delighted that my Internet friend and challenge partner, June, came up from Portland for the show. If I look a little tired there, well, I was as it had been a busy day. We stayed at the same motel, and I invited her and her husband, plus Judi, over to my room afterward for a little show and tell. I thought all of them would enjoy seeing some of the pieces I've done for our challenge close up. And enticing them with a bottle of wine didn't hurt.


Finally, here's my friend, Judi, with the three pieces she made for the February "Red" exhibit. More about our time together in the next post. We DID have some fun!

Another Day In Paradise

Well, at least MY idea of paradise. Friday was to be our last sunny day in the 70's before another cold front swept through bringing a week of cooler temps and rain. So it was off to the woods again to hike an unexplored trail that's been on my list for awhile. Gold Hill is directly across the lake from Sandpoint, so a hop, skip and a jump away. In fact, we sailed along it on my birthday cruise. There'd be no babbling brooks this time but the promise of a viewpoint, so I traded my sketchbook for a camera.

The drive along Bottle Bay Road was a bit harrowing - a narrow winding road without shoulders or painted center line and few guardrails with speed limits between 25 and 35 mph. I really wanted to take glances of the lake but didn't dare take my eyes off the road. The locals who live along this stretch know the road like the back of their hands and one impatient truck roared by me without a pause. It occurred to me that when I was young, most main roads were just like this one. I was very relieved to pull into the trailhead parking lot after almost 5 miles of this. I gathered all my gear and headed up the mountain, the moderate-rated trail immediately showing me this was going to be a true hike.

The trail was a steady ascent zigzagging its way up through the quiet and shadowy woods, the southern exposure getting little direct sun. For the most part it was soft packed dirt but occasionally there'd be outcroppings of rocks and exposed tree roots. The trail is rated most difficult for Mountain Bikes and I'm thinking this sort of thing along with the incline are some of the reasons why. I was hoping there'd be none on the trail this day as I'd had a near collision with a couple of kids on bikes on a different trail.

The climb would be even steeper if not for the switchbacks allowing the trail to go back and forth across the face of the hill. I would not want to be on a bike heading down and through these sharp changes in direction. But that's just me. I did actually pass two bikers on the way up, let them know with a laugh that I thought they were crazy, but they were not kids seeing how fast they could go. They were taking it slow and steady and letting me know how many of them to expect as they were fairly spaced out.

Because of the relatively moderate incline, I could usually see where the trail would cross above me and where I had just been. At one point I heard voices and looked up to see two twenty-somethings running down the trail above me, water bottles in hand. Too much energy, I told them as they passed.

I didn't do much looking or any picture taking on the way up, focused on getting up to the first observation bench which I estimated would be a little more than a mile along the trail. I haven't done this strenuous of a hike in quite a while and this was a test of my strength and stamina. I kept checking now and then to see if I could spot the lake through the trees but they were fairly dense. I'd have to wait for that viewpoint if I could make it.

And I did, with this as my reward. Darn trees. I'm sure when this resting spot was put in on the trail, these trees were not blocking the view. I've seen this at other viewpoints too, where the forest has grown up to block the view. Still, it was a pretty nice spot.

Here's a zoomed-in shot. This is looking northeast of Sandpoint where the Pack River drains into the lake forming a delta rife with wildlife.

The bench has a dedication plaque to someone I don't know. But I took courage from it's message: 'He inspired us all to stay focused on our dreams." Well, that's what I was doing here, wasn't it, fulfilling one of my dreams of exploring in the surrounding woods? While I sat taking a break, taking in the view and snapping a few pics, a  young couple arrived on their way up. I asked if he'd been up the trail before to see if I could get an idea of how much farther it was to the next bench and he said, oh yes, he'd been up the trail many times but not for quite a few years. She was quick to add that this was her first time. Couldn't help but think, ahhh young love; the boy wanted to show his girlfriend or maybe wife where he'd spent his youth. They were full of energy and headed on up the trail. I didn't feel very worn out so I decided to go on up the trail too, at least for a little bit. I've always been lured by what might be around the next corner if I just went a little bit farther. But I knew I didn't have it in me to make the next viewpoint, and checking the time knew I needed to head back down.

Now that I didn't have to expend so much energy, I could look around me more and take a few pictures. There were lots of granite boulders, some quite large, which may or may not have been left by the ice-age floods.

And because of the shadiness, most of these were covered in moss and interesting lichens.

And I was reminded again of my fascination with rock layers turned on end, a sight I grew up with in these north Idaho mountains. This one is not as extreme as many in the area.

There were more birches and aspens mixed with the spruce, pine and cedar than I expected, one startling me with the silent drop of a single yellow leaf beside me. I was more startled that I'd missed this richly colored trunk on the way up.

And of course, if it is cool and damp there will be ferns. I didn't notice until I was reviewing my photos at home that these two are slightly different. They seemed to insist that I will sketch the simpler of the two once home and perhaps even thread sketch it. I've not really been a fern person in my textile work but for some reason, studying the symmetry in a single frond reminded me of a Zentangle design I'd liked and why not work with this?

I had dawdled quite a bit on the way down, taking much longer than I had anticipated, but finally the parking lot came into view.

And I'd be heading back down that narrow winding road, the one with the blind curve preceded with a warning sign of "road narrows" (even narrower than what I've been white knuckling???) and the bit of guardrail looking as if it's sliding down the embankment into the lake. I'm not sure I want to brave that road again just to see if I can make it farther up the hill next time. I can access the top of the trail by a different road which may not be as harrowing and will provide me with a spectacular view from the start.   

"Anything Goes" Exhibit Overview

As requested, here is the technicolor version of the "Anything Goes" art exhibit (see this post). Each artist was allowed two new pieces. In the picture above, mine are on the left: "Voices" and "Autumn Confetti." The art quilt on the right is "Serengeti" by Geri Harvill. The two art quilts pictured below are by Sue Graves. You can see I am doing very different work from these two women which was quite affirming. I have struggled so much in the past with my creative journey, feeling I had developed no distinctive style and that my work was all over the place, not to mention perhaps too much like what everyone else was doing. I've definitely developed a confidence in my work and direction this year that should carry me forward nicely in the coming months.

"Cubic Illusion" and "Off the Grid" by Sue Graves

As always, it was quite interesting to observe and hear viewer reactions to these pieces, especially since this was their first public showing. Not even any of my friends had seen them except in pictures. You may remember my struggle with Autumn Confetti, and the many suggestions people had for improving it. As in most pieces, once it was done, I could see things that could have been improved, and have been a bit lukewarm about it. So it was a pleasant surprise to hear how much the public liked it, and to have many of them point out how I brought the birch trunks alive with all the stitching (and yes, they called them birches without any prompting from me). I was a little surprised, though, when so many people thought the lichen had been crocheted. Even the one art quilter I spoke with had not heard of the threadlace technique. Idaho is isolated, but I didn't think it was THAT isolated!



But enough about me - on to the other artwork. These photos (taken in Glacier National Park and Montana respectively) are by Roopam Kakoti of Spokane, WA. He's fairly new to exhibiting and selling his work, and has become a member of Pend Orielle Arts Council on recommendation of others in the arts scene. His work was close to mine so we spent quite a bit of time talking and asking each other about technique and process. I was particularly interested to know why he chose to mat his pictures as he did and soon realized he went through the same process of choosing from what was on hand and auditioning different colors as I do with bordering and binding my quilts.


On down the second floor balcony were these spectacular photos printed on canvas by Gordon Ormesher, and this wonderful papier mache piece, "Elvira" by Leata Judd. This was perhaps my favorite piece in the exhibit. Have you not had a hair day like this?


The brick wall held a variety of paintings...


And these two humorous photos by Drew Meredith.


Down a narrow hallway, I found these two acrylic paintings by Lori Bopp. No mystery that I was drawn to them both for their rich colors and their relationship to the hand-dyed and batiked fabrics I like to use in my own work.


You might recognize the top painting from the postcard advertising the event. These two are by Sandy Pilch.


Snakes are not my thing, but please click on this picture to see the fine hand-drawn details making up the background. The artist, Brent Flint, explained that many people thought he merely generated the textured design on the computer and layered the snake over the top before printing it out. No, part of his talent is adding hand drawn details to his photos and/or the mats framing them.


Also on this level, there were two handwoven scarves by Sue Kohut. No mention of what kind of fiber she used but there was probably some alpaca in it. They were soft and inviting with lovely patterned texture.


Here is a wall of art on the main floor full of diverse mediums. This is the same space that my pieces hung in during the art quilt exhibit earlier this year.


Across from it were these wood sculptures by Will Venard.


And finally, I found myself strangely drawn to these watercolors by Rich Beber. But not so strange, I decided. Like the acrylics of Lori Bopp, these paintings reminded me of Bali batiks in my collection. On the 4th time I studied them, I spotted faces lurking in the swirls of color. I don't think it shows in the picture I took, but it gave quite a spooky feeling once I saw them.