On My Way to London

I am stopping to visit family on my way to London, Ontario to teach for the Canadian Embroiderer's Guild this week. I will be teaching a new 3-day class called "Inspired by Nature, Designed by You", and I am sure there will be photos on my blog by next weekend.

 

Before leaving home, I put together a one foot square quilt for the upcoming SAQA benefit auction. I didn't have time to quilt it until yesterday, on my travelling sewing machine, at my sister's house. It is all finished and packed and will be in the mail tomorrow. The title is Cavern 1, and it is inspired by Antelope Canyon, a slot canyon in Arizona.



 

After my sister went to bed I was up late putting together a second piece for the Haliburton School of the Arts faculty exhibition at Rails End Gallery. I had fused and cut out most of the pieces before leaving home so it was a matter of putting the design together. It will get quilted when I return home. This one is called Cavern 2 and is also based on the same slot canyon, Antelope Canyon. 

While staying in Waterloo, I had a chance to see the Grand National Quilt Show at Joseph Schneider Haus Museum. It was a busy day and I ran into a number of quilters I know, so I only took a few pictures of my favorite pieces. Hope you enjoy.

 

This first quilt of poppies is by Carolynn McMillan, and she did a fantastic job capturing poppies backlit by the sun.

Another favorite is also a nature piece by Lorraine Roy. Love the whimsical circular design, and the tree theme. Sorry about the light bulb at top that puts a glare on the work.

 

This is a detail of the piece.

 

Gordana Brelih's work is always a favorite of mine!

 

Here I am with my hosta piece, Curtain Call 2.



 

London, Ontario is my first stop in my marathon teaching month of June. Coming up are Edmonton, Alberta and Salt Spring Island, British Columbia.



September Activities

During the month of September I reserved a couple of weeks for vacation to a destination that has been on my bucket list for a while. I'll be blogging about that over the next few days. But here are a few good news items I wanted to share that have happened in the last few weeks.

I'm hearing reports that the show of the Crossing Oceans Textile Artists, on the theme of Nature, was a success at at Carrefour de Patchwork Europe. My Spanish friend Cecilia Gonzales, who was teaching there, sent photos of my pieces. It is a reminder to me of how much better quilts look on a gallery wall with appropriate lighting, rather than the pipe and drape of quilt shows. Cecilia and her sister Merce do some fabulous textile work. I met them last year when I was teaching in France, and did a blog post about their work. You can view it here.  Their website is www.desedamas.com.

A blogger from the UK, named Annelize, has done a very detailed blog post about our show, with very good quality photos. 

"Encore" was juried into the Infinity Art Gallery fibre art show. Just follow that link to see all the works in the show.

I was very pleased that "Returning 2", my donation to this year's SAQA Auction, sold on day one of Section 2 of the auction, raising $750 for SAQA. The auction continues for two more weeks, so have a look at the link and consider purchasing one of these one foot squares to help raise the profile of the art quilt and support exhibitions around the world. 

After my vacation I holed up in my office for most of the week, working on the pattern for my next line of fabrics. I thought I had finished the job before I left for vacation, but when the fabric scans became available I had issues with the colour loading properly. I've learned a lot this week and am feeling just a bit more confident with Electric Quilt.

I've also spent a lot of time cutting up fabric for promotional events, give-aways, and for sale. I've already had one give-away on Facebook of the Autumn Harvest line.

I've been thinking a lot lately how much activity I am engaged in on Facebook compared to my blog. So if you are on Facebook and also a reader of my blog, please do come and friend me on Facebook.

The Fall teaching season has begun so I'll be quite busy teaching for the next two months. When I get some time I'd like to make something with this colour way of my fabric line.

Surface Design Class & SAQA Auction Piece

I will be teaching a three-day Surface Design class in November at Wabi Sabi here in Ottawa. We'll be covering Shiva Paintstiks and Foiling on Day 1, Prismacolor Artist Pencils and Caran D'Ache Newcolor 2 Water Soluble Wax Pastels on Day 2, and Tsukineko Inks and Inktense Pencils on Day 3. Three Fridays: November 14, 21 and 28, 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.  Please email me at equehl@hotmail.com for more information and registration details. The course description is below and you can view photos from my Surface Design class at the Haliburton School of the Arts two summers ago at this link.

Learn how to use many exciting surface design treatments to make original pieces of fibre art or to add depth, dimension and detail to your textile work and art quilts. You will be introduced to the properties and uses of Prismacolor Artist Pencils, Caran d'Ache Neocolor II Water Soluble Wax Pastels, Tsukineko Inks, Inktense Pencils, Shiva Paintstiks & Foils. Each morning the instructor will demonstrate ideas and methods for using products, as well as show a variety of samples.  You will have the rest of the day to experiment and create a small work with each. Many of these products are quite expensive, so this is your chance to try them all before investing in them yourself.  Workshop is limited to 8 students due to size of space, and to provide a more personalized learning environment.

By the way, here is a photo of my donation to the SAQA auction this year. While the above samples are mostly made by applying surface design products to a white piece of cotton, my auction donation is a perfect example of using these products to alter the surface of an existing design by adding shading or highlights. Most of the time I aim to build my works with fabric only, but every once and while I need a bit of enhancement to get things a little closer to my vision. There is quite a bit of work done on this piece with Prismacolor Artist Pencils. Anyone can bid on this little one foot square art quilt.

I built this design Easter weekend while visiting relatives, and finally got to shading it this week. Sometimes I wonder if I am ever going to have some significant time in the studio again?

SAQA Conference, Santa Fe and Auction

I just put the finishing touches on my one foot square auction quilt for the 2013 SAQA Benefit Auction. Although the final deadline is June 1, I wanted this finished before I head to the SAQA Conference in Santa Fe, New Mexico this week. I can't wait!

Travelling in the Southwest a few years back, I spent a day in Santa Fe and loved it. In fact it is the place I met the inspiring tree that is featured in my first tree quilt, "Standing Still", made just after I left my day job.  Here it is!

The sky was bluer than blue that February day. Below is a photo of the amazing trees I met. The online forecast for this coming week is sunny sunny sunny for Santa Fe. Did I mention sunny? Hubs will be home taking care of all feline needs.

Thought I'd share just a few pictures from my 2008 visit to Santa Fe as I anticipate the sights I will experience in the upcoming week.

Chile peppers drying on an adobe wall.

Beautiful buildings and art along Canyon Rd. (gallery row!)

Jane Sauer Gallery (formerly the famous "Thirteen Moons" Gallery) where you will always find quilted art.

Native Americans selling their wares (mostly silver jewellry) at the Palace of the Governors.

There is an awful lot of ironing awaiting me. I've just dyed another 36 meters of fabric. The pile of un-ironed fabric now stands at 91 meters. I am preparing to be a vendor at the Ottawa Valley Quilters Guild show on Mothers Day Weekend. I hope to finish some of the ironing today, but whatever doesn't get finished will surely be waiting for me when I get home!