Gold Lotus

Self Publishing
I wanted to keep everyone up to date about where I'm at with my Gold Lotus oracle deck. I have submitted my manuscript to Balboa Press to go through the assessment process for my book that supports the oracle deck. I'm up to the editing assessment and it all feels a bit overwhelming. Since yesterday I have decided to break it down into smaller parts. My assessment suggests I need more content as it is a bit short. I'm learning a lot in this process. Wow. The self publishing mine field. I'll get there.
The oracle deck and booklet is being printed now and I might be lucky to hear something very soon about when it will arrive. I'm supper excited to see it in the Real. Ha!
The Chinese have a week off for Chinese New Year so not sure if it will be ready before that.

Gotye' Dyed Fabrics

An interesting fabric order- Fabrics for a Goyte' album cover inspired wall quilt. I had a lot of fun putting together a graduated dye lot for Inca Turton. Inca made this wall quilt with fabrics I dyed for her and some solids from her stash.


Looks Fantastic.

Caloundra Quilt Show

Had a great weekend at the Caloundra Quilt Show. Lots to see and caught up with some lovely ladies.
New York Taxi Cushion.

Festival of quilts

I am overwhelmed that another of my quilts has been accepted into the Houston quilt show. It is in the Festival Of Quilts, this years theme is Tradition.  My title is "Breaking Tradition" and I worked around the theme of my spiritual journey from being bought up catholic and how my pathways went in different directions - some good and some not so good, to come to where I am today on the path of life.
I have memories of my grandfather who was a bit fanatical about going to church every Sunday and we were lined up and off we would go rain, hail or shine.  Although he was good to me and my siblings he had a funny way of saying what you should and shouldn't do and then he would be caught out doing something he had said you shouldn't do.  Although born in Australia he had a strong Irish heritage and loved to sing and play the accordion.
 The main colours are lime green and red violet. I dyed most of the fabric to go in it. I think there was only one piece of commercial fabric in it.  In this section it is judged around the first week of September.  It is one of 22 quilts in this section and will tour through the USA for two years.  I will post some photos when the judging is over.

Tactile Architecture

City Ink
My entry into the Tactile Architecture section at Houston International Quilt Show has been accepted.  I was thrilled to get the email on Thursday.  The images were photos I took from South Bank in Brisbane, I distorted the view then photo shopped the images to give an ink outline. I had Fiona Jackson from Fiona Jackson Designs print the finished images on her amazing printer.   I wanted to keep the monochromatic style with the background so I mono printed and stenciled the grey, black and silver paint.  I quilted the images and the background is small squares and rectangles.  I used pink square and rectangle sequins to enhance the windows and the water in the foreground.  I love the way the mirror windows in some of the buildings reflect and I used this as my inspiration to make this quilt. 

Mixed media backgrounds

Thought I would share with you some of the techniques I have been exploring. I have been playing with water colour paper and using gesso to cover the paper. Use an old store card to spread it.  While it is wet press some stencils into the gesso. I also used cotton reels, mesh, scribbled with an old pen outer, scrunched up glad wrap and anything you think makes a mark.  When it is dry, you can use a wash of colour in a light buff or similar. When it is nearly dry use another colour and on a scrap piece of paper and swipe random strips of paint and scribble or put in some finger marks and place onto your background and remove. Continue until there is no paint left.  Repeat. You can use the mesh again to make marks with paint.
I also use water solvable crayons to highlight the marks made previously. Scrape off any areas with your card or damp cloth. This will work well on canvas also. I continue then with college and use inks to enhance areas for shadow.

Ariadne

 
















Sent away my small art quilt "Ariadne" to Cincinnati show. It has been selected for the "celebrate spring" exhibition which will tour through until Houston at the end of the year.
When I'm not doing quilts I have been doing some college and mixed media. I will post some photos when I work how to upload from my ipad.

Quilters newsletter

I was pretty excited to see my copy arrive in the mail.  My quilt is on page 21 with fifteen other quilts from Houston.  I also received an email to say my spring quilt "Ariadne"has been selected for the Cincinnati show which is in June and it might travel with the other shows. I just got it posted today.

Quilters newsletter

Got really excited to hear that Quilters Newsletter are going to put my quilt into the February/March issue 2013. So I can't wait to see it.

51 Shades of Blue

I finished and entered this quilt into the victorian quilt guild for the small art quilt section but it didn't make it. I was really happy with the way it turned out and I like the order and chaos that I was wanting to create. Mum is in a rehab place where she is getting help with balance and motor skills. She is happy and looks forward to going out. She has a few more weeks in here.

I finally got the art quilt finished and Mum is still in hospital. She is slowly recovering. She seems happier and I am still amazed that this quilt was about my relationship with her and her depression and she got sick during the making of this quilt. More photos to come. I will wait to see if it has been accepted.

About Four weeks ago I started an art quilt for the Victorian Guild and I wanted to do something on my relationship with my mother.  My mum has had a long history with depression and my earliest memory is when I was about 9 years old and I came out for breakfast and my Dad was cooking.  My Dad never cooked and I thought this was so odd.  Years later I realized that mum had been admitted to hospital and Dad was in charge of feeding my sister, baby brother and I, till my grandmother came to look after us.
As I started into this quilt I was recalling some of the recent time with mum who is now 73 and has a complicated health history.  I was choosing colours and as it is my quilt I found it hard not to pick the ones that she likes and having to remind myself that this is for me.
This is the start of the quilt that I will need to finish in the next 4 to 5 weeks.  Last Thursday just by coincidence mum was admitted to hospital with a urinary tract infection and it has played havoc with her meds and she is in a bad way.  She has been transferred to the psy ward to help stabilize her.

Peace

I sketched a series of drawings of Dana while she was doing her homework. She paused a few times and I saw a difference in her facial expression and captured it as I sketched. The result was very interesting and I enjoyed the process. I wanted to put it into a quilt and started with a hand dyed apricot fabric and thought I could paint it straight onto that piece but I didn't like the way it was going so I painted onto a white cotton and cut it out and appliquied it onto the main piece. I used intense pencils and crayons to achieve the colour in the flowers and hand dyed the lace. I made flowers out of organzia for her head. I enjoyed doing this art quilt.

Houston quilt show

I just got notified that one of my quilts got in. "cockatoo's in flight". Yahooooo. I'm pretty excited. It is one of 33 selected.  It is a hand painted coloured fabric, free machining and appliquied.  The quilting on the light blue is the fire, the yellow is water, the red is rocks and the dark blue is representing the wind, stars by the millions and on the right the lighting and storms we experience in Australia.  I was inspired by a photo I took on the way to Alice Springs.  This is taken west of Camooweal in Nth West Queensland.  I added the barbed wire.

Entries for Art Show

Just entered 3 mixed media art into the Lions art competition.  Judging this week and they are in the show pavilion if you go you can vote for your favourite.

Houston Quilt Festival

What a busy couple of days and an invitation from Houston Quilt Fevtival to submit 2 quilts for a special section. I am thinking what will I put in. There is not theme. I am honored to just be invited. Here goes.

Cloth paper scissors finalist

I was so excited when I received my cloth paper scissors in the mail. On page 35 was my Paris Memories and a short bio. I didn't know which piece was going to be photographed so it was great to see it in there. I can't wait to get started on my next project. I have done my sketches for the environment exhibition and now the kids are the focus with holidays and school soon. We are having a few days away so I will take my pencils and paper. Oh, and can't forget the camera.

Workshop Day

Samples of Ice dyed fabrics

Ice Dyeing

We had a great day. Cecily,Di,Margaret and myself had some fun getting into a few different things. We started off with some sun dyeing and Cecily was in the theme for the weed exhibition. Our Textile group has an exhibition next year for weeds.

Margarets Ice dyed fabric

So with some beautiful colours and really interesting designs we played with some resists- rice flour, mashed potato and flour. Before lunch we did some ice dyeing with cubes and I was amazed at the slow rate the ice melted with the heavy plastic over it. I am still rinsing mine off. The afternoon saw us making metal papers for college and art quilts. They were still damp when we finished and yet to have the ink on top. They looked great. The ice dyeing steps are in the latest Quilting Art Mag. Thanks Girls for a great day.

Resist and painted

fabric

Artisan of the Year Finalist 2012

Hi Everyone, How exciting!!! I have been chosen as one of 5 finalists in the Cloth Paper Scissors Artisan of the Year 2012. I am shocked and honoured to be in it. Now to get my pieces to the States to be judged for the final. The 3 pieces are Paris Memories, Lilly Pond and Poppies. They are on other blogs

Mermaid Beauty

I have been creating my Mermaid for a long time and I think she should go on the blog even though she isn't finished. She is hand painted on bleached calico. Quilted by Esther Strelan on her long arm quilter. I have embellished the tail with large aqua sequins and the fin is small aqua sequins. Beads in her hair and beading on the wrist. I have a long way to go but its a start. She is 2 1/2 meters long and 1.50wide.