QSDS

I had applied and received a grant from our regional Arts Council and now, I am off in to Columbus, Ohio and Quilt Surface Design Symposium to take 7-day dyeing workshop with Carol Soderlund. I am quite excited about it and think it will really be a huge help in getting exactly the colors of fabrics and threads I want for my work and my "Offerings" in particular. I will keep you posted!

New book

I had a good surprise in the mail today and received the new book by Lark Books called "Creative Quilting wih Beads". My quilt "Un autre monde" is featured in the gallery. It is always so rewarding to see one's work in a book.

"Un autre monde", general view and detail

Progress on new piece

After feeling doubts and uncertainty, I have finally been able to put the parts of my new "Offering" together. After that, I was not sure on how to finish it and what to do for a stand. Unfortunately, or may be fortunately, I have been working on other things with a deadline so for the past 2 weeks, I have not been able to do much stitching. It is frustrating but it is also possibly a good thing because it gave my brain time to ponder the problem and come up with a solution. I think I have it...now I just need to implement it!

Here are the images of what I have done so far. The rubber band closure is obviously not a permanent thing!

challenge

My fiber art group Focus (http://www.focusfabricart.com/) and 2 other regional fiber art groups decided to work on a common challenge and exhibit it as a group in a gallery in Seneca, SC, in September 2008. The link between each piece is a "river" or line made of the same blue fabric. The small quilts will be hung around the gallery so that the river elements connect. I think it will really be a very neat exhibit.

At first (a number of years ago) I was intrigued and really taken with the idea of challenges. However, I am finishing my piece and as I worked on it, and actually when I worked on previous challenges, I realized that this type of activity is not for me. I know that some people thrive in working within given parameters. In my case, I find they stifle my creativity and I have seldom, if ever, been satisfied with what I designed for a challenge. I do not experience them as a way to push the boundaries and learn something new and I also feel they take time and energy away from the work I really want to do. And even though I make them with as much care and attention to quality and details as any other work, I feel dissatisfied and somewhat frustrated. I assume I cannot bring myself to do commission work for the same reasons.

As I had mentioned in an earlier post, it is really interesting to see how creative minds work, what makes them tick and what frustrates them. And in the end, I think it is important for each one of us to become aware of how we work, what allows us to grow and what will boost our creativity and, based on this awareness, decide what we want to participate or not participate in.

More than just cloth

What other fabric has more connected symbolism, emotional value and meaning than a flag?Whether we are very patriotic or not, conscious of it or not, the flag of our native nation carries a special meaning within each one of us. When a flag is used to drape the coffin of a soldier killed in action, the fabric serves as a final embrace, a final affirmation of belonging and becomes a precious relic. It is the last connection a parent or a spouse has with their loved one and that flag becomes a sacred object.

A soldier who belonged to the same unit as my husband and my son in Afghanistan (South Carolina 281th) was killed during an attack and his funeral with military honors took place two days ago. I cannot even begin to imagine what his parents and wife are feeling and, as a wife and mother myself, my heart goes out to them. Seeing how the American flag shrouded his coffin, how carefully and ceremoniously it was folded by his fellow soldiers and presented to his wife brought even more strongly to my consciousness what an important role cloth in different forms plays in our lives on a much more complex level than just to keep us warm or protect us.

Even though I did not know any of the soldiers killed during this past year my son and husband were away, each time I felt so, so deeply sad for them and for their families. Being present at the memorial service two days ago made me want more than ever to put all my heart in every stitch I make in the hope that the fabric or object I create will at some point bring comfort or happiness to someone.

Doubts

Today is one of those days where it seems that all I have are pieces and parts of a project with no idea how to put them together so that they work and enough stress in general that my mind is blank. A day of discouragement, when I know it is actually better that I do not touch my work because most likely I would mess things up. So better wait until tomorrow, which is another day and hopefully a more positive one.

See the bits and pieces?

I am sure you have days like that. What do you do on these days?

Salon de la Courtepointe 2008, Montreal

I just came back from teaching at the Salon de la Courtepointe in Montreal. It was my first trip to Canada and I enjoyed it very much. The quilt exhibit was quite beautiful and people very friendly. I was surprised by the number of large hand-quilted quilts. Most of the quilts, both hand- and machine made, were exquisitely done. The executive committee member in charge of the faculty was so nice to take me around the city and it was wonderful to see very new buildings next to old stone ones. Some of the architecture, both modern and older, was quite interesting and beautiful and would certainly be an inspiration for work in textiles.

We also visited the Oratorium Saint Joseph, which houses a large collection of nativities created by artists from around the world. From an aesthetic standpoint, it was fascinating to see how artists in countries from parts of the world as different as Central or South America, Asia, Europe, etc. took advantage of the material available to them and how they interpreted the same moment in the history of Christianity.

One last note, I really enjoyed being in a country where I was surrounded by English as well as French speaking people.

The photos are of some decorative elements sculpted on the fronts of some of the buildings in the old part of downtown Montreal.