A Few More Padfolios

With Masks complete, I've returned to padfolios. I had a request for the Rich Rust Oak Leaves after it had sold and I thought I might have a bit more of that fabric. But the nature of hand-dyes of this kind means one really can't duplicate an item. So I am doing my best to come close, plus provide the customer with a second choice in a similar but not as red of a rust. I've kept the quilting the same and plan to do the same scalloping of the flap edge. The lining and pockets will be the same on the "close" cover, but isn't right for the other one; its lining will be different.

And as long as I am making two - why not a few more? While searching for more rust, I found a luscious burgundy fabric in my inherited collection from my late friend. Not as highly textured as the fabrics in the first batch but just the right size to cut two covers, and I could not resist. I remembered a leaf cluster I'd picked up and pressed last fall with the idea of using it as a resist for art journaling (laying it on the page and spraying paint over it all to leave a negative image, not caring about getting paint on the leaves). I don't know what kind of tree it came off of, but it spoke to me. I got it out now and found the size workable for the padfolio. Because of the thin stem connecting the leaves, I couldn't make a freezer paper template, but found it easy to trace around it with soapstone (you may need to click on the photo for a larger view to see the markings). The variegated King Tut thread looked to have the burgundy and pink highlights I was seeing in the fabric, and I wanted the look to be subtle.

Front cover of Burgundy Leaves

Design on top of flap continues onto the back

This is another fabric that is causing me fits getting an accurate depiction of its color but this is fairly close, as is the way the thread shows up on it. In_Love!

Of course, now the stash must be dug through again for appropriate linings and pockets. This pic is from round one. The next day, I had additional thoughts and more fabric came out. Today I pretty much finalized the pairings (although still dithering a bit about the pockets on one), cut them to size and am ready to start fusing them into place.

 

I also cut another cover from the deep purple with blue highlights fabric - actually have quite a bit of that so had left out the buttons and Perle cotton with the idea of making up at least one more right away. But this time there looks to be lots more of the brighter purple showing through. The lining I used on the first one doesn't quite work so I've pulled out the batiks again, finding that the ones rejected for the first one are going to look beautiful on this one. It still needs quilting, and I'm still trying to think of a different way to quilt it other than the diagonal lines, so I've set it aside until I finish these first four that are ready for the final steps. 

Masks - In The Nick of Time

Masks: We All Wear Them, Especially With Family - 26" w x 31" l    Sheila Mahanke Barnes ©2016

Masks is truly done now, complete with dangles, sleeve and label! And no sooner did I get those dangles on than I got notice of the exhibit I knew was coming that I wanted to have it ready for. Actually, the hanging date is about a month earlier than I anticipated so it is a good feeling to be ahead of the game rather than under pressure, racing to meet a deadline. I could get used to this!

This quilt has always been about mystery, from the moment I unfolded the cloth I'd applied paint to and saw images that spoke to me of tribal masks...

...to the use of quilting lines, and then beads, that followed the suggestions of eyes and noses and hats...

...to a voice (certainly not mine) that kept insisting I add cross-stitches across the eyes of one mask and the mouth of the other, implying some deeper meaning in stitching them closed...

 
...and the idea of adding squares printed with images of family members' eyes, the prying and sometimes disapproving eyes that make us want to don our masks...

The beading proceeded in much the same way, the bare skeleton of a plan evolving as mysteriously as every other step on the quilt. Realizing I didn't begin to have enough beads on hand and the very first store popping up on a google search having these unusual African trade beads so perfect for my needs. Realizing I had a large decorative button stashed away for use on a bag that would make the perfect focal point for one of the hats.

I'd been collecting antler buttons for as long as I'd had Masks on my mind, because I was seeing faces in them too. Now it was time to see if they would play with where Masks had progressed...and they did, filling in some open areas and adding to the theme.

I'd also bought some wood beads with Masks in mind - the color, the feel - I was sure they could be used on it. They became the finishing touch, the dangles along the bottom that lent balance to the piece and made the final statement toward the African Tribal theme. And I mustn't forget that edge finish, the decision to leave the soft frayed edges exposed and secure them with more cross stitches. Through every step of this quilt, it has been telling me things and I've done my best to listen. Some things I understood; others I'm still pondering. A few I fought for what I later realized were poor reasons and there were revelations in the process.

I promised Hilary pictures and a little explanation on how I did those dangles. I'd considered a decorative thread or jute that could be knotted and frayed at the last bead, but worried about that thickness causing problems at the other end and that it might be too thick for some of the beads. Also, worried about strength as a dangle feels more vulnerable - wouldn't want it giving way. So I reverted back to my standard Nymo beading thread. I hesitate to show my method as I'm thinking it may be unorthodox, but by stringing each dangle separately off the quilt, I felt I'd have more flexibility when it came to getting the arrangement and spacing right. That's run the thread through the beads and then back through to the top. The last bead becomes the stop holding the others on the thread and by coming back through the first bead from the opposite direction, it became the stop at the top. I knotted the thread ends over the top bead to secure the string of beads, leaving generous tails for attaching to the quilt.

It was a bit fiddly, but I was glad I opted for this method. The dangles ended up about an inch and a half apart - a little far for traveling the thread from one dangle to the next, had I tried doing them right on the quilt, and again, should a thread fail, more than one dangle would have been involved. I took a stitch through the backing edge, through the bead and back through the backing, pulling it up snug, then did the same with the other tail going in the opposite direction. I let the dangle hang down and tied a square knot that snugged up at the top of the bead, then traveled the tails away from the edge before securing with a beading knot. Good thing I never plan to enter this in a show that judges the back of the quilt as well as the front!

Granted, that red bead at the top doesn't show from the front as it is hidden by the fringe of the top, but I'm ok with that. I did consider sewing the dangles on top with them starting in the cross-stitching but decided that would make it look added on as opposed to integrated.

Oh, I cannot express how pleased I am with the outcome of this quilt. It's hanging in the living room at the moment, and I can't think of another thing it needs, nor something I should have done differently. There were frustrating moments when I didn't know how to proceed, others when the path was clear, and always the sense to stay open and seeking for whatever it needed to grow from a simple idea to a complex whole. How long does it take to make a quilt? As long as it needs to feel complete.         

A Word, Please

That dark cloud can't hide the sun forever. Light will prevail!

I'm late in sharing my resolution word for the year, partly because I've been considering two choices, words that came to my attention in a way that essentially paired them. Both strong ideas, both worthy of propelling me forward into the kind of year I'd like to live. So I have been trying them on, trying them out, and I really must settle. My word for the year will be LIGHT.

You see, last fall I became more appalled and depressed by the day at the hatred and negativity spewing everywhere I looked on social media and in the news and especially from people professing to be religious. Engaging by writing comments of my own meant to express an alternate opinion or correct inaccuracies merely showed me people didn't care to hear any other view or facts that didn't align with what they believed to be true. It didn't appear I was making a difference as responses were mostly "I'm right, you're wrong...and stupid too" (which frustrated and depressed me even more) plus it was eating up a lot of my time.

Then mid-December, I received an e-mail that affected me profoundly, presenting a possible positive and useful way out of the quagmire. It said that we are the Light of the world, the very stuff of God, and that forgiveness is our function. Not forgiveness as in something wrong happened and then trying to fix it but instead as seeing the absolute perfect innocence of every person including ourselves, no matter what happens. Not our job to fix, just to recognize what is the essence of us all when we get past all the bluster and insecurities. Simple yet challenging, don't you think? 

I really liked this idea of being the light of the world and doing a quick check of my thoughts and actions before putting them out there. As my fingers light on the keyboard, I stop and think, will this comment send light into the world? As my thoughts turn negative toward a person's actions or beliefs, I try to simply forgive rather than lash out. Trying this has already helped to calm me down and make me feel less hopeless about some of the awful things going on in our world today. I can also spread light through my art and light through my blog. Light! It's such a positive thing!!!

But light can refer to something else, as I was reminded by a sketch on MulticoloredSnippets. Go take a look at Nadia's response to the prompt of light for a class she is taking. Look at that sun! Look at her admonition to "Lighten Up With Laughter". Boy is that what I need to hear! I can get so serious about my art, to the point of taking the joy out of it for me and possibly taking the light out of it for others. I'm sure I could use some forgiveness in the studio too but Nadia pretty much convinced me. LIGHT needs to be my resolution word for 2016.

Spiritual light, emotional light, the light of knowledge shed with each new thing I explore, I will do my best to keep it shining throughout the year. Light always prevails over darkness. I'll keep in mind Forgiveness too - it need be of both others and of myself, no matter how we stumble this year. In all I do, I'll try to remember not to react when any negativity presents itself, but rather to respond with light.

"And Darkness Has Not Overcome It" - SMB 2003

These are my previous resolution words:

2008 - Freedom

2009 - Calm

2010 - Focus

2011 - Refocus

2012 - Balance & Harmony

2013 - Perseverance

2014 - Explore

2015 - Fearless

 

I Like What I See...

Hanging on the design wall since November, waiting for me to decide if it needed anything else, Masks has never looked finished to me. It is not anywhere near a standard size and looked squat. That dark edge on the right asked for something to help integrate it. The dangling bead idea never left my mind. Today, I started working with the wooden beads and leftover trade beads still on the work table.

Yes - exactly what it needs. I like the way the different beads are working together, how the darkness of the wood ones echoes the dark color along that one side. The dangles continue the tribal feel of the piece, move the eye down and visually as well as actually elongates it, gives it a balance it didn't have without them. Masks wasn't done. But it will be soon.

Quotations To Ponder

The quotations are piling up - ones resonating or provoking thought that I think worth sharing. Most of these are coming off of Austin Kleon's Tumblr - a constant source of thoughts about art and the making of it - I highly recommend it if you are not already a follower. Let's begin with this:

“As an artist, you make your work and you push it out into the ether. People are free to react however they want. Whether that means they buy a print from you, or print it out themselves, or even adapt it into their own work. I’ve friends who rail against every perceived slight on their copyrighted style, and it brings them nothing but misery and constant frustration. They see imitation and parody as a price you pay for doing good work. It’s not a price you pay. It’s a reward you’ve earned. You were lucky enough to making something with which people connected, and it got a reaction. You can’t police what that reaction is.” (emphasis mine)

- Olly Moss ( @ollymoss ), reacting to posters parodying his work

I'm not here to argue the pros and cons of copyright infringement although I do understand its importance in the grand scheme of things. But for me, who is not trying to make a living with my art, and who knows how much borrowing has always gone on in the art world, I rather like loosening that grip we try to keep on our "things & ideas" with this more uplifting idea of imitation being a reward that you've earned. Yes, I have to admit, there's a bit of flattery involved when I discover someone wants to emulate something I've done. (Austin says in his book, though "Imitation is not flattery - it's transformation that is flattery, taking the things you've stolen and turning it into your own thing.") More flattering still when they think to give me credit. Always gratifying when there's a reaction.

Somewhat akin, here is a portion of a Robert Genn letter that speaks to the benefit of putting your work out there.

"A kind of karma takes place when a work of art goes out the door. Even as a gift to a friend or for charitable purposes, finding a home outside the workshop or studio completes the circle. The artist can rationalize that while the work is still his or her very own, it has a more illustrious future on someone else’s wall. It marches out to create good will, win friends, influence people. When a work hangs in a gallery or some other space, even a virtual space, it begins its true life. At least it’s on its way from orphanhood to finding a home and a family. We artists have to realize that our work is our principle currency, a source of joy, and the bringer of a lot of the good in our lives."

Hold what you create too closely, for fear of it being stolen in some way, and you lose a major reason for creating in the first place.

This one speaks to the feeling I often get that I have very little to do with what's going on as I move through my day, that I am NOT in control of my senses!

“I don’t invent. It’s not about my signature. It’s something about perception. My eye picks up things in nature… It has to hit me as something I haven’t seen before, and that gets harder as I get older. But I’m not searching for something. I just find it. The idea has to come to me. I find myself in nature—the roof of a building or a shadow, something that has the magic of life, fragments I can take out and build on…. I have trained my eye to play with images. My eye is like a dictator for me. I don’t understand it, but it rules me. And it always surprises me.”

- Ellsworth Kelly

I was surprised at how closely this describes how I've been operating the last 10 or 15 years. My eye really has become a dictator.

This next one comes out of a sort of fun post about Marie Condo, the "tidy up queen" that some swear by and others hate. Austin finds things to agree and disagree with as well as quotations to provoke additional thought about some of her methods. Boy, did this one ring true for me:

"My friend John Unger had a good take on balancing tidyness and messiness in the studio: My rule is— keep your tools very organized so you can find them. Let the materials cross pollinate in a mess. Some pieces of art I made were utter happenstance where a couple items came together in a pile and the piece was mostly done. But if you can’t lay your hands right on the tool you need, you can blow a day (or your enthusiasm/inspiration) seeking it."

When I put together my first solo exhibit, pulling out lots of old work to go with new pieces, I noticed a trend that became the theme of the show: one thing leads to another. I've always known that scraps left from one project often sparked the idea for the next, and that many of my fabric pairings leading to a full formed idea were the result of them accidentally ending up next to each other. So yes - a bit of a mess can be a really good thing for the creative mind. But when it extends to your basic tools - rulers, markers, cutters, etc. - you really do need to stay organized. Hate to admit how many times I've blown my studio time trying to track some small thing down and yes, feel my enthusiasm fade away. You can read the entire post here.

This last one speaks to my misconception about needing to stick to one thing. I'd read so many things discouraging "serious" artists from branching out into different mediums or styles if they wanted to build a clientele, among other things. Also that idea of jack of all trades, master of none has played on my mind. Stop dabbling and focus, I'd chide myself. Stop working on things having nothing to do with textiles - or art for that matter. But that really isn't very good advice, as Austin points out at the end of the post.

"The thing is, you can cut off a couple passions and only focus on one, but after a while, you’ll start to feel phantom limb pain. I spent my teenage years obsessed with songwriting and playing in bands, but then I decided I needed to focus on *just* writing, so I spent half a decade hardly playing any music at all. The phantom pain got worse and worse. Luckily, about six months ago I started playing in a garage band with my friends every Sunday. Now, I’m starting to feel whole again. And the crazy thing is that rather than the music taking away from the art, it find it interacting with the art and making it better–new synapses firing, new connections being made, etc.

So, yeah, it’s a lesson I constantly have to re-learn: don’t discard. Keep all your pieces in play."

Fortunately, I'm learning to keep the guilt thoughts at bay, having gained more understanding of how all our activities are inter-related and benefit each other, if we only let them. Read the post here, where there is a wonderful selection from Steven Tomlinson talk at TEDxAustin in 2010.

 

  

Blog-Following Changes

Amanda over at View From Our Hill blog alerted me to an issue that I think applies to some of my followers. A change is taking effect on Monday for certain users of Google Friend Connect. I'll admit I don't fully understand it, but I have noticed a drop of about 3 followers on my sidebar where it currently allows  you to "join this site with Google Friend Connect". I long ago quit adding to blogs through this sidebar method when it forced me to use this friend connect thing. Blogger discontinued its reader I was using to follow blogs anyway and I made the decision not to add any Google joining to my already confusing array of social media. Instead, I looked at the most popular feed readers online and was relieved when someone took on the look and functioning of Bloggers reader under the name of The Old Reader. I love it and recommend it to anyone looking for a one-stop site to keep track of all the blogs you follow. You can follow up to 100 blogs for free! You can easily import your list of sites from your current system. It hardly ever nags and doesn't pester you with e-mails like one reader I know. I'm such a fan.

At any rate, I fear those who have dropped off my list might not know, and that they would not be alerted to new posts of mine. So in the interest of spreading the information for you to decipher yourself, here is the announcement:

An update on Google Friend Connect

Posted: December 21, 2015

  

In 2011, we announced the retirement of Google Friend Connect for all non-Blogger sites. We made an exception for Blogger to give readers an easy way to follow blogs using a variety of accounts. Yet over time, we’ve seen that most people sign into Friend Connect with a Google Account. So, in an effort to streamline, in the next few weeks we’ll be making some changes that will eventually require readers to have a Google Account to sign into Friend Connect and follow blogs.

As part of this plan, starting the week of January 11, we’ll remove the ability for people with Twitter, Yahoo, Orkut or other OpenId providers to sign in to Google Friend Connect and follow blogs. At the same time, we’ll remove non-Google Account profiles so you may see a decrease in your blog follower count.

We encourage you to tell affected readers (perhaps via a blog post), that if they use a non-Google Account to follow your blog, they need to sign up for a Google Account, and re-follow your blog. With a Google Account, they’ll get blogs added to their Reading List, making it easier for them to see the latest posts and activity of the blogs they follow.

We know how important followers are to all bloggers, but we believe this change will improve the experience for both you and your readers.

Posted by Michael Goddard, Software Engineer

The Last of the Nine

Before I could put the finishing touches on this last padfolio of my group of nine, it sold! In fact 5 of the 9 have new homes, and I've been asked to make one similar to the first to sell. Goodness - that's getting the old year wrapped up on a high note and the new year off to a great start.

Part of the reason I wanted to use a cord wrap for the closure is because I did so little quilting on this one, leaving that center section devoid of any design I'd worry about covering up and in need of a little interest.

I'd decided to just thread the decorative yarn through the flap, leaving a loop on top to pull the ends through - I believe it is called a lark's head knot. Uninspired but would get the job done since I had no buttons that would do. My mind was still working on the problem though, doing a mental inventory of larger beads I might have in my bead stash. I was so sure I had nothing suitable that I didn't even look through the little boxes holding that sort of thing. However, as I was finishing up, my randomly roving eyes stopped on a small plastic bag sitting at the end of the table. It had several things in it that I'd set aside for a specific project, all in the rust and brown color family - a decorative pin, some leaf beads, chenille thread, brown Nymo beading thread (which was why the bag was out - needed that color of thread for Masks). I picked it up, wondering about the leaf beads, but instead spotted these beautiful glass beads. I slipped one on the yarn, snugged it up to the lark's head knot and liked what I saw.

 An overhand knot keeps it from slipping down the cord.

I wrapped the cord around, under at the bead and then pulled it back to the right to secure under the cord. I added a few beads to the end, securing them in place with more overhand knots. There are actually two colors of these beads, and only 4 of each. They were a gift from a quilting friend back in Wisconsin who knew how much I loved these colors, but confided she stopped at eight once she noticed how expensive they were! I don't know if I'll ever make that other project, or if I do, if I would use what I squirreled away in that little bag, so I have no qualms about these beautiful and perfect beads ending up on this padfolio instead.

 

Hello 2016

This has been my view from my upstairs office/guest room for a few days - brilliant sunshine on snowy mountains! A great way to start the new year.

And when pulling back the blinds from my studio window, I am greeted by icicles!

There's been some finishing up going on. Those ear warmers are done with only a few yards of yarn to spare. I used a matching vintage button from my grandmother's/mother's collection for the closure at the back. It is about 4 inches wide and fits perfectly. The wool yarn with that textured stitch makes them very warm.

And four of the remaining 5 padfolios now have closures and are ready to go. This group has been about buttons and decorative yarn or Perle cotton cords. It's the problem I've been trying to solve with the elastic, how to thread it through a button to hold things in place, but with the elastic, I didn't want loose ends. With the yarn, I can thread it through and knot it (which creates a slight gap for the yarn end once it wraps around the padfolio and then the button to secure it), then pull the ends through the flap and knot once more to secure it. 

Teal maple leaves w/green lining - front

Teal maple leaves w/green lining - back

Teal maple leaves w/hand-dyed lining, batik pockets

Teal maple leaves w/batik lining - front

Teal maple leaves w/batik lining - back

Teal maple leaves w/batik lining, hand-dyed pockets

I might not have bothered with buttons on these teal maple leaves, except that I found such perfectly matching vintage buttons (the same as on the ear warmers) and yarn. I am so very pleased with these.

Muted pink - front

Muted pink - back

Muted pink w/commercial cotton lining, hand-dyed pockets

This one might have been ok with a Velcro closure but I only have black or tan on hand and couldn't bear using either. Plus it just needed more. I searched for the right color of purple button (one left over from my clothing construction days) and was excited to find a yarn that closely matched the dark parts of the pattern as well as the satin stitching thread.

Deep purple w/blue accents - front

Deep purple w/blue accents - back

Deep purple w/blue accents - hand-dyed lining, batik pockets

This one would have easily got along with some black Velcro or a magnet but it is so plain along the flap that I wanted a bit more. There are purple undertones in the hand-dye of both the cover and the lining, that the royal blue of the satin stitching thread worked better with than any of the purple threads I had on hand. I found a vintage button in my stash that was that same blue but didn't have an appropriate yarn or decorative thread that was working. Suddenly, I remembered my Perle cotton stash and was delighted to find this heretofore unused perfect blue. This one wraps twice around the padfolio before taking a turn around the button and tucking under the wrap.

That leaves the yellow and orange maple leaves one. I'd been dithering over using Velcro or doing the button/yarn closure. Very seduced by the way that yarn looked, not happy with my choice of red buttons. And the point of the leaf on the flap is right at dead center where a button would go. Was having trouble living with covering up any part of that leaf. I did come up with a solution which I am still working on so you will have to wait.

While putting the final touches on these, I started the tidying up that comes at the end of a project. Now there's a good feeling, clearing the clutter in preparation for the next round of inspiration. A good way to start the year.