Two Classes this Week

Last Saturday I had the opportunity to take a class on "How to Photograph Quilts" sponsored by SAQA and taught by a nice young man named Luke Mulks who has been a photographer for C&T Publications where he gained a lot of knowledge and experience. This was his first class and he went to great lengths to make it a success. I learned that for $75 to $500 I could equip myself for a home studio that I lack the space to accommodate. I did get some ideas about doing what I have been a little differently. Luke provided a 26 page handout which I will be happy to share, answered my ever present tech questions, and offered to respond to future questions we have. He is a generous and enthusiastic teacher. From what I learned, I would think it would make sense for a group of quilters to share the cost of lighting set ups and either find a place to use and work as a group, photographing several peoples quilts on the same day, or allow people to pass the equipment around, figuring out their own setup. Their would also be the possibility of hiring Luke to photograph several of our quilts on the same day, either locally or at his place in San Ramon.

My other class was a SCVQA class with Sylvia Pippen, in Sashiko and hand applique. Another person generous with her knowledge, she manifests the "Aloha Spirit" of her Hawaiian home, even inviting us to come to the Big Island for workshops she teaches at her house. I'm sure that would be inspiring and a great vacation! My reason for taking the class was to learn her hand applique technique which seemed more precise than the Nancy Brown method I learned in a SCVQA workshop last fall. Sylvia uses a Mylar template material and heavy starch to get the edges of the appliques turned under, then glue bastes them in place. Since her love of floral designs enables her to use pattern pieces multiple times, the Mylar is very practical. Larger applique pieces where only the edges need to be starched might be doable with the Katie P. M. "tracing paper spray glued to poster board" method. The Sashiko is lovely but I think it takes a lot of practice to get the stitches precise and even. The traditional is white on indigo but I was reminded that I have painted the white thread in the past and liked the effect. I did learn the proper way to do it and it is a good portable "lap" project.

New Year, New Approach

My first artistic venture for the year was a trip to San Francisco to the Impressionists exhibit at the De Young Museum. While waiting for our entry to the exhibition we treated ourselves to the paintings which "live there" year round.



My favorites are always the landscapes of the 18th and 19th centuries, those which predate color photography or photography at all. The incredible detail captured by the artists, as well as the way light is always the 'star', move me. Having tried to paint a rose which seemed to be moving to open, I am in awe of those who caught a shadow moving across a plain, or an arching rainbow. Plein Air painting in the discomfort of wind, bugs, and heat or cold is even more challenging. Some painters couched their landscapes with metaphor, symbolism, or mythology, such as one with a man clinging to the side of a cliff. He turned out to be Prometheus awaiting the eagle to pluck out his liver. My companion dubbed him the "sunbather". The painting would have been magnificent without him, though I suppose he did provide a focal point.



Inside the Impressionist traveling exhibit, were works by Van Gogh, Cezanne, Monet, Seurat, Gaugan, and a few others. Not all of the paintings were what I would term "impressionistic" but were apparently of that period. I was reminded of my first exposure to these artists in college Art History class. My instructor was showing a still life by Cezanne and pointed out the inconsistencies in perspective of the different objects in the painting. I've never been a fan of the still life, and at 18 was not appreciative of a picture of mundane objects which appeared to be painted by someone who "didn't even know how to do perspective correctly." The professor explained that an artist has to know the rules in order to break them and that what made Cezanne so remarkable was that he had taken those unremarkable items and by breaking the rules of perspective and disturbing the 'eye' of the observer, he had made them almost vibrate with life. His 'still' life was not at all still. It made me look at a lot of art differently. It doesn't mean I always like things which defy convention, but I do try to look at them from different 'Perspectives'

Notions and Tips

As one who enjoys gadgets and nifty tricks for using them, I frequently use my store coupons to try new ones. But when I picked out the three I use most, I found that they came from other sources.

My orange wood stick, yes, Mom did show me how to use it on my cuticles, came from the drug store. It's the best stiletto ever! I like the ones that have a pointy end and a beveled end so they work for poking fabric under the machine and for making small creases on a turned under edge. I've also used it to 'select' on the touch screen of my computerized machine. Since it's wood, it's a little safer if it gets itself too close to the needle. And since it's cheap, if it rolls under the machine table and hides until it gets found (or not found) by the vacuum, it's no biggie.

The tweezers with the bent tip would have been worth buying on their own. I use them for grabbing the thread emerging from the needle when I thread (self-threading, my patootie), as well as grabbing all kinds of small pieces. But they actually came with a presser foot sold for sewing curved seams. There was also a roller thing that came in the packaged deal, sold at a show. It will be mentioned in a later post. But the tweezers are perfect for so many things that I use them every time I sew.

Also purchased at a show, was the presser foot that looks like an ant-sized tractor. It snaps on to the machine, or to an adaptor, and works a lot like a walking foot since the little tractor treads just roll over a variety of surfaces. It came with some attachments which I have not needed as much. Although pricey, it was less expensive than the Bernina walking foot. My Viking doesn't have a walking foot yet as I have used this foot for quilting and sewing layers, if I am not doing free motion. It came from Ray's and it was well worth the money I paid for it, and made it worth the gamble of other "show" impulse buys.

Part of what I enjoy about watching the sewing/quilting shows on TV is seeing new products and getting ideas for using them. Fons & Porter have a "Tips" segment and sometimes I will re watch those, even if I've seen the show before. Sometimes they bear repeating. One viewer suggested putting snacks in bowls and using a spoon so as not to get "Cheetos" orange on your quilts. Since sewing is about the only activity that takes my mind off food, I found this humorous. Another viewer had used rubbing alcohol to clean surfaces of scissors, rulers, etc. and was surprised how dirty they had gotten. If rubbing alcohol works, wouldn't vodka? I know it's more expensive, but it could be dual purpose. I've heard a glass of wine can relax one for free motion work, why not a 'nip'. Maybe I should stop watching so much Chelsea Handler.

How I Got Here

My process began over forty years ago when I “met” San Francisco for the first time. I was changing planes at SFO on a flight to Spokane, Washington. When I boarded at 8:30 that July morning, Houston was 85 degrees on the way to 95, and 95 percent humidity on the way to requiring gills. As I walked out of one terminal to enter the other, the sky was clear and blue and the 62 degree temperature enveloped my body causing a great revelation: Not everywhere was like Texas in the summer! If Old English script had unfurled across the bay saying “Thou shalt be here” I could not have gotten a clearer message. I did not belong in Texas with the oppressive climate (meteorological and otherwise), I belonged in San Francisco.

I still had a year of high school to finish and then there was college. I never really planned a move on my own. But on Christmas Eve, two and a half years later, when the young man I had been dating said, “I can’t offer you the world, but how about California, let’s get married and move to San Francisco,” I didn’t hesitate.

We married in January and left for California at Easter. I’m sure many people were surprised when I didn’t return to Texas with a baby, that being the usual reason for short engagements. What I was carrying was not a child, but a dream: the same kind which has brought generations of people to this West Coast “Promised Land”. It wasn’t the prospect of gold, or even the “Summer of Love” that called to me. It was living in a place where my hungry eyes could feast on the beauty of nature without mosquitoes the size of hummingbirds feasting on me. I found very little in Texas that was picturesque enough to be worth leaving the air conditioning. And between September and May, I could leave the Bay Area and see a lot of beautiful scenery without getting all sweaty.

Welcome to my new blog!

This is my first experience with blogging. I have seen a few, but have wondered who reads them, and why?

Mostly I will be writing about fiber art, in particular the quilted kind, or that fabricated from pieces of cloth and sewn, painted, embroidered or otherwise embellished. I haven't done weaving for years and have no current interest in the scrapbook and paper art projects done by many of my contemporaries. There are too many things higher up on my "To Do" list.

Cats will appear in my blog frequently as I have belonged to them all my life. I also love other animals, currently I belong to two golden retrievers, as well as two cats. I have considered incorporating pet hair into my work intentionally but the most constructive ways have been done by others.

One of the reasons for doing this is to share my ideas for organizing art and sewing materials. And I want to pass along my experiences with the notions and gadgets I buy with the unending stream of coupons which I feel morally obligated to use. If we don't support the stores, they will disappear!

The 'quips' in the title refers to my sense of humor and the enjoyment I experience when something I say makes someone else laugh. I have been a long time believer in the power of humor. It makes everything better: it heals, helps educate, brings people closer, and relieves anxiety. If something in my blog "tickles your funny bone," our time has been well spent.