Redefined

What's on the board?

Here's a better picture of Posted, the "bulletin board" in my solo exhibit. It looks so real that many people walked right past it, not realizing it was part of the exhibit. Even when they were standing close to it and I told them it was a quilt, bending the bottom upwards to show how flexible it was and how you could see the stitching on the back, some still asked if I used real cork to make it. Nope, it's all made from fabric.

I used a combination of thumb tacks, straight pins and push pins to hold the items onto the board. To protect the wall behind it, I covered the points with pierced earring backs. I am sooooo clever!

The real bulletin board for the university's art department had some pictures of art that had been cut out from magazines, so I added a picture that I had cut from a magazine, too. You can see "Alien Invasion" by one of my favorite artists, Pam RuBert, right under the Art Dept. sign.

The lime green poster in the lower left is the gallery's schedule for the 2008-2009 school year. If you look closely, you can see an arrow to my name, with the handwritten words "Is she related to Mary Werner, the gallery director?" and underneath, "No". This was my way to answer the obvious question, for people who know Mary.

The Art Dept. sign is attached with Velcro to make it removable. The next time I use the bulletin board, I can change the sign to suit the situation. Just to the right of it, I placed a fly (glued to a thumb tack) that looks like it's crawling across the surface of the cork. There are also a lot of extra tacks and pins in the board, to make it look like it's being well-used. You'll also see a fortune from a Chinese fortune cookie and some comic strips from my home bulletin board.

The white papers are fake notices. One is a "Roommate Wanted" sign, one supposedly has course additions for the Fall semester and the other is a For Sale sign for an Gauguin ($37 million OBO/ Moving out of state).

If you have been following my blog for a while, you may remember my blog contest. The three prizes are the blue hand dyed scarf, the artwork in the black oval mat and the round, red, beaded pin just above the scarf. These prizes will be sent to the winners when the exhibit is over.

The mystery is solved!

We have our final winner! Terry Grant correctly guessed that the two words at the top of the bulletin board say "Art Department". I started making the sign for it today and you can see it in the picture, but it isn't finished yet.

The whole project looks pretty boring right now because the only colorful thing on the board is the scarf in the Lost and Found section. It should only get better from now on, as everything else that I plan to attach is going to pop with color. It's better to use "boring" as a backdrop if you plan to have a lot of color in the artwork.

Congratulations to Karen Stiehl Osborn, Jeri Riggs and Terry Grant, the winners of my contest, and thanks to all of you for participating!

Posted and Evolved

Wow, I thought it would be easy to guess the words at the top of the board. Some of the commenters are on the right track with one word or the other, but no one has put it all together yet. Here is the next big clue: most art quilters have never have been around a board like this on a regular basis. Even fewer traditional quilters have been around one.

It may seem like I'm giving up on this project because I've dragged Evolved out of the unfinished project pile again, but that is not the case. It dawned on me that the bulletin board needed to grow over time. It won't go on display until August and  I'm sure that I'll think of many items to post on it before then. Rather than forcing the idea, I'm going to tack items to the board as I think of them. The contest will be wide open until the third question, "What are the two words at the top of the bulletin board?" is answered.

In the meantime, I will post pictures of Evolved to show you how it stands right now. The machine quilting is almost completed, but I will still need to trim and bind the edges, then heavily embellish the pictures. Please remember this is a work in progress.

Here is the Big Bang, the first part of the timeline. It's located on the left end of the 18 foot long quilt. I plan to bead and decorate the surface even more after the binding is on. As with all these pictures, the quilt is 12" high.

Here's the next section to the right. It shows the formation of the galaxies and the beginning of the planets. I'll continue to post pictures two at a time until I've covered the entire quilt. Remember that you can click on the images to see a larger version.

By the way, a small atom portrayed as part of the planet at the lower right corner of this picture is now part of my elbow. I thought you might notice the resemblance.

General update on various and sundry things

I'm surprised that no one has guessed the two words that will be at the top of the board. I can tell you right now that it has nothing to do with zoos or animals, other than their mention in the last bulletin board item I posted on my blog (which is something of a pun, considering the artwork's name). I suggest reading the last two bulletin board items again. They have major clues in them. If these two flyers are found together on the same board, where would it likely be located? It would be read by people with similar interestes and I acually passed by two boards just like them on Friday evening. No, they weren't in grocery stores, because I'm far too lazy to shop that much, even for food.

Mea culpa, but I don't have another "clue" bulletin item to show you this time. I promise to have one in my next blog entry.

I spent several days this past week putting together an exhibit proposal. The Surface Design Association has a textile conference every two years in Kansas City, Missouri and many of the galleries there host fiber art exhibits in conjunction with it. KC is only about a 3-1/2 hour drive from me, which is practically next door by Midwest terms, or spitting distance if you're a really good spitter. I know that many talented artists from all over the world will be throwing their hats into the ring for exhibits too, but it's always worth trying. You never know when the Magic Exhibit Fairy is going to bless you and I figured I would get the experience of applying, at the very least.

Sigh, I was hoping for a repeat, but I didn't get into Quilt Visions this year. I had entered Laced, Dispensed and Prepackaged. Maybe that bodes well for getting into Quilt National in some finely-tuned karmic balance. As it turns out, I was recently invited to exhibit a piece or two in a show in Texas, and it must be part of that Twilight Zone karmic thing. This was the third invitational exhibit that contacted me within three weeks. I normally get about one every couple of years.

I had a short discussion with the Steckline Gallery director about a piece I wanted to put in my solo show. It might be considered a controversial work in Kansas, so I wanted to clear it with her first. I started this project ten years ago and haven't finished it yet, but I think this is going to be the proper time. It is an 18-foot long by 12 inches high timeline of the universe, from the Big Bang to current times. It is named Evolved and if I don't finish it in the near future, I am going to have to add a foot or two onto the end to compensate for all the extra time I took to make it. Of course, I have friends who predict the end of the world will happen if I ever finish this, because it's been a work in progress for such a long time.

What you are seeing in the picture is the section right after the Big Bang, where galaxies and planets are forming. Right now, this is quilted, but I still need to bind the edges and then embellish the surface. My experience with making Portable Picnic made me realize that my old "picture quilt" skills were worthy of resurrection, if not on a fulltime basis.

Speaking of Portable Picnic, it will be coming home in the next week or so and I will need to do something with it since the tableware will be going home to my collaborators. My current plan is to make some new table items myself and rename the work Picnicked. Yes, it's spelled with a "k". I looked it up.

What does it say? - You'll get it this time

If this hint doesn't produce a winner, I don't know what will. Here's another item for the bulletin board. If you click on the picture, you'll see a larger image so you can read it.

Remember, I'm looking for the two words that will be at the top of the board, that will explain everything that is pinned on it. The first person who guesses those two words by leaving a comment on this blog wins the final prize.

Today, I attached several "lost and found" items to the board, including a keyring and a lone earring I made. I also attached Jeri's prize, but I'm not going to tell her what it is yet.

Once someone guesses the words at the top, I can start posting some more colorful items. Thank goodness, because this whole brown and white thing is extremely depressing. Right now, I need a healthy jolt of rich, saturated color injected directly into my veins to boost my energy again. I understand that lime green is always a reliable choice, but for a quicker pick-me-up, a little fire engine red can work wonders.

What does it say?

No one has guessed the two words at the top of the bulletin board yet. Hint- the two words indicate the place where the bulletin board is located and the kind of people who would be posting on the board. Another hint- the next flyer I created, which is partially entitled "Changes and Additions" mentions chimps, elephants and small children. What do these have in common?

In case you were wondering, the piece of paper I showed in my last post does not represent the type of prizes I will be giving out to the winners. I promise that the prizes will be a lot more valuable than that! In fact, I will be making small works of art to give away. You won't be disappointed.

Do I have a picture to show you today? I guess not. Maybe tomorrow I'll make something and show you, now that the laundry is done.

We have the first two winners!

Karen Stiehl Osborn from Nebraska, USA is the winner of the first prize. She correctly guessed that I was making a cork bulletin board. I know Karen from the Kansas Art Quilters group and we are on the board of directors together. I couldn't be more pleased that she is the first winner. Her prize will be one of the bulletin board items I create for this project. I will display the corkboard as part of my solo exhibit next August/September, then send the prizes to the three winners.

Jeri Riggs from New York, USA is the winner of the second prize. She correctly guessed that the name for this artwork will be Posted. I met Jeri through art quilting, but she happens to live just a few blocks from the house in which I grew up and she goes past it nearly every day. She is also one of the neatest people I know and a very dear friend, so I'm glad she won the second prize. Yay, Jeri!

There is one more prize to be won. There will be two words of text on the top of this bulletin board (the "title") and you need to guess what they are. The picture shown here should be a real giveaway. The first person who can get their comment posted telling me the two correct words will win the third prize.

I haven't decided yet if this bulletin board item will be made from fabric or if it will stay paper, as shown here, but this is the first draft of how it's going to look.

Good luck!

What is it? - Now you should be able to tell

Since my last post, I covered the raw edge of the quilted piece with binding and did most of the work on the second piece, which looks like wood. I still want to do some more quilting on the newer piece.

OK (drum roll please), here's the giveaway I told you about. I roughly pinned the two pieces to my design wall so you can see how they will look together. The first person to guess what this represents will win my first prize. Leave your guesses as comments on this blog entry. Good luck!

What is it? - Part 3

The quilting is finished! I trimmed the edges and pinned it to my design wall for the picture. It's square, but my camera shot isn't. This quilt now measures 43" wide x 28-1/2" high and I will not be changing the surface anymore, so this is the way this part will look.

I'm also going to include a closeup picture so you can see how closely this is quilted. I used many shades of brown and used up over 20 spools of thread. I think I have now gone officially insane.

The next step will probably be the part that will give you the clue you need to figure it out. I have been loving all your guesses so far! They range all over the place, but they are all intriguing. I promise that this project will start looking a little more interesting soon.

Big Hint of the Day
This is meant to imitate a natural material that we all have somewhere in our home, often in many unseen places.

Keep guessing!

What is it? - Part 2

I'll admit it. It's going to take 2-3 more days to finish the quilting on the mystery artwork, so you may not hear from me till I'm done with that stage. Everything still looks like it did yesterday, so I didn't post a new picture for you today. To make up for that, here's a gratuitous picture of an untitled and unexhibited piece I made about 6 months ago. It's never been seen before outside of my studio.

Big Hint about the Mystery Project
I decided to trim the edges, but otherwise leave it as one piece. I also decided not to paint over the top, as it already looks perfect. In fact, it's eerily like the stuff it's supposed to be representing, even from close up.

I already started creating some other parts for this mystery artwork, three of which will become the prizes in this contest. You haven't seen them yet because you'd figure out the mystery too soon. I'm going to make you wait, yes I am.

The next step that I do after the quilting will be the real giveaway.

What is it?

I'm still quilting the same piece. If you click on the picture, a larger image will be displayed, where you can see the texture being created by the stitching. I'm hoping to be done with this tomorrow, but I've been saying that for the last three days.

Recently, I've developed the tendency to obsessively quilt my work and this piece is no exception. I'm not really crazy, I'm just a bad quilter. I figure that the best way to hide my mistakes is to hide them in millions of other stitches. It works for me.

I can't begin to tell you how many spools of thread I have already emptied while quilting this piece. I've probably used up at least 15 so far.

Win an original artwork!

I started my next project, but it was stalled for a few days because my sewing machine was in the shop. Heaven help me, I had no more excuses, so I cleaned the toilets. No wonder I quilt, if that's the alternative.

The Contest

I am announcing a contest open to everyone who doesn't already know the answers (and I know who you are). The first blog reader who correctly gives the right answers to each question wins a piece of this artwork. It will be mailed to you, postage paid, around the end of September, as I intend to exhibit this artwork as part of my solo show.

There are three questions and the correct answer to each one wins a prize (one prize per person). Leave your guesses as comments on this blog, so they are time-stamped. I will continue to post pictures of this project as it progresses. You can guess the answer to any of the questions at any time.

The Questions

1. What will the quilt be when it is completed?
2. What is the name for this artwork?
3. There will be some text incorporated into this project. What will it say?

The Big Hints

To give you an idea of what you are looking at, I painted a fabric with brown acrylic paints, dark streaks and all. I used that fabric (whole cloth) as the quilt top, with layers of Thermore batting and black wool felt as the middle, then used black Kona fabric as the backing. I am stitching it heavily with brown thread. In the picture, this quilting is partially finished. When the quilting is done, I may paint over the entire top again, changing the color.

Remember, I use quilted forms as if they are raw material in my artwork, so what do you think this is going to be? At the very least, I'll be trimming the edges clean, but do you think I will cut it up and use it in something wild and crazy or will I keep it the general size and shape it is?

Leave your guesses on the comments!