Bamboo needles

Being a native Californian doesn’t give you a great understanding of what a snow bird is.  That is,  until this week at Quilting at the Lake at Lake Havasu in Arizona where lots of snow birds congregate during the winter months.

My adventure started with the typical trip preparation that starts days before my ventures. The folding of patterns, cutting fabrics and checking supplies, packing my bags and, of course, preparing a project to work on just in case of delays or boredom.   I learned that trick back in my flight attendant days.  Always carry a applique, cross-stitch or knitting project to help pass the time. There is nothing worse that being stuck for 12-24 hours in an airport with nothing to do unless it's 12-24 hours without any food.  I've done that, too.

It’s a quick trip to the airport and a quick 1 hour and 20 minute flight to Las Vegas.  Then I will be taking the shuttle bus to the Lake.  OK, I did notice the bus trip out to Havasu is 2 ½ to 3 hours but I have my book, iPhone and knitting to keep me busy. This is why you need to read the small print before you sign the contract.

Then my fun begins. As I sit down in my seat and buckle up for take off I reach for my knitting. I am working on this sweater that is made up of domino squares in 20 different colors but when I reach in my bag to pull out my knitting, I find that I have lost one of my size 3 bamboo needles. In a panic, I start digging through my bag and OMG, I have lost it.  Great!  My leg starts to shake, my eyes start to twitch. What am I going to do without a project?!   I try to stay calm and close my eyes, breathe slowly, I tell myself.   My eyes stay closed and BOOM, I am asleep until my snoring jerks me awake.  I wipe the drool from my chin as we touch down in Vegas.

Las Vegas is not one of my favorite places. I have been going there since I was 18 and yes, it has changed a lot over the years. Or has it?  It’s still sleazy, loud, and turns the most wholesome of people into raging idiots.  And believe me, I know raging idiots when I see them.

So the thought of sitting in Vegas for 3 hours without something to do was very frustrating. I retrieved my 3 large bags and tried to find someplace to sit that didn’t have loud speakers overhead announcing the next show on the strip.  Then I had an idea. What if I found a place to keep my bags and hopped a taxi to the closest Michael's craft store to pick up new knitting needles?   I asked the girls at Southwest where to store my bags and they asked if I had taken them of the carousel?  Yes, I had.  Well, then they couldn't help me. What if I throw my bags back onto the carousel, will you then put them in storage?  Well yes, but you already told us you picked them up, so no!

The 3 hours goes by so slowly.  At last it is 5pm, time for my shuttle pick up. I wheel my bag to the van and hop in the bus only to find the bus is full so I sit in the passenger seat up front, across from the driver.  I'm getting settled when the bus driver tells me I have to move to the back because a handicapped person has reserved that seat so to the back I go.  There are 3 rows of seats and 2 people in every seat. Then the driver announces we are picking up 4 more people.  Someone asks When we will get to Lake Havasu?  He says about 9 pm.  I do the math...I thought it was only 2 ½ - 3 hours and now we're at 4.  And here is where the fun really begins.  He tells us he has to make a few stops.  Like 5 more and Lake Havasu is the last. I feel sick.  I haven’t had anything to eat.  I reach for the bag of broken chips I bought at the last minute, just in case.

First stop, the Terrible's Hotel and Casino around the corner, to pick up 1 person. Then to Searchlight (1 person), then we stop at the Riverside Casino in Laughlin, Nevada for a 20 minute potty break.

Here I think I can get something to eat but the line at the snack bar is 25 people deep and moving very slowly. I will never make it. So back on the bus and on to Bullhead City where we drop off the guy from Searchlight and pick up some kid at the very dark and seedy place where the burned out sign says,  Ray's Boat Repair and below it says Greyhound Bus Stop.  At Ray's, 2 men try to bribe their way on to the van.

Then on to Needles where we drop off the handicapped woman at a quickie mart.   It 8:45pm and we have 2 more hours to go. This whole time I am seated between 2 large men on a seriously too small bench seat holding my bag on my lap because the is no room on the floor.

I try to close my eyes and sleep the rest of the trip but the road is bumpy and windy and I don’t want to fall on the guys next to me. Oh, I found out later on the trip home that the bumpy road part was when we crossed back into California for a few miles. That explains the crappy road.

I look up at the clock on the dashboard and its 9:45pm. Then I start to think there has to be a better way to make a living than this. Then I am ashamed of myself as I remember  my sister's commute every day, 2 hours in bumper to bumper traffic to beautiful downtown Compton, Ca. to feed her family.  And my Husband who has worked in the hood of Sacramento for 15 years to give Matt and I this great house and send our only son to college. How can I be such a whiner?

We finally arrive 10:09 pm. That makes 5 hours if you are counting. Not including the 3 in the airport.  But I am finally here. I made it without a project.  Amazing.

Now for the good part. It was one of the most enjoyable retreat /quilt camps I have taught at.  The students where great, the directors of the camp were wonderful, the rooms comfortable and quiet, the food tasty and the view fantastic.  From my classroom, we had a breathtaking view of the famous London Bridge. I had a wonderful time.  I hope I get asked back. So the trip was little long but if it hadn't happened I wouldn't have anything to write about.  The girls even got me new knitting needles for the trip home.  Now for the snow birds.  They have the best of both worlds. They get to enjoy their home in Canada or the states in the summer and spring and winter in the desert when it is at its most beautiful.  The trip back was a lot shorter and the new driver said it should not have taken 5 hours the first time.

In the morning light we could watch as the sun came over the desert mountains and how breathtaking the view from the van was.  So, if you are a snow bird and looking for something fun to do in January, 2013, try Quilting at the Lake in Lake Havasu, AZ. It’s worth it. But you may want to rent a car. Or take a different bus line.

I Love To Paint

 Painting on fabric has been a fun distraction over the holidays. It’s much quicker than cutting little pieces of fabric to do the same thing.  And it’s so much easier to quilt.  The thought has been, why don’t I choose to do this form of art quilting?  

I don't really  know?   I like both processes. The mixing of the paint to get just the right color is so thrilling and  wonderful. Plus, I love the smell of paint in the studio. It's a little sweeter than burnt fusible web.

Then there is the process. The process of pushing one's self to something more challenging.  Trying something new and harder. I love mastering something hard and difficult that I have never tried before.  Can I make this work, is the statement that is always running through my head.  Like right now I am trying to teach myself how to knit dominoes. Not going so good at the moment.

Every artist has there own motivating factor. The thing that sparks them to create.  It could be having to capture a moment in time or work through feelings like love, grief or worries.  Mine is all of the above.  But the strongest factor is: Can I?!  Can I do with fabric and scissors what I can do with a paint and brush?

So here is what I finished over the last week. It was fun to paint again.  But when it was all done there was kind of a let down.  Don’t know why yet.  This came out very easy and natural.

So back to my fabric and my scissors I go?  Not sure.  But I do have a new understanding of the medium of paint on fabric and the potential of what the future might bring. 

One thing I do know, never say never! 

Inspiration can come at any time and on any subject and using any medium.  I have been longing to paint since I got home from teaching at the Hudson River Valley Art Retreat on Dec 10, but Christmas has kinda got in the way.  But after doing a little Internet Christmas shopping (So grateful for the Internet!) I finally found the time, before my son came home, to just play.

  Yes, this is painting. Not just painting, but painting on fabric.  I thought you would like to see the process over the next few days or weeks, as the case might be.

 I am supposed to be taking down the Christmas tree today, but color and paint are calling to me. 

  I started just randomly painting a simple design on white fabric.  The fabric is taped it to an extra cutting mate with duck tape. Love the duck tape. Keeps it taught while I paint.

What about trying a bamboo design?  I really like the way this is turning out. I think I need one more design? So back to the studio. 

Maybe the Christmas tree will come down tomorrow?

And then the wind blew

 6 Reasons Why You Don’t Take Your Husband to a Quilt Show.

1.  I know, it’s obvious. They cramp your shopping style. Even though mine was very understanding, it just wasn’t the same.

2. They don’t speak the language. Quarter-inch, half-square triangle and fat quarter all get them confused.

3. They can’t keep up.  They want to linger too long in a both figuring out how that is done. They ask too many questions and most of the time it’s How much does that cost?

4. They have trouble with a crowd. 

5. They have to eat at a certain time.

6. They want to take a shower when you are trying to do your hair. 

6 Reasons to Take Your Husband to a Quilt Show

1.     He can bring more books and patterns in his suitcases when he arrives and you can fill his bags back up with goodies you bought when you go home.

2.     He can carry your heavy bags back and forth to classes without getting tired.

3.      The girls like to talk to him and they like him. He even got some delicious pound cake from my Teacher’s Pet. Yummy!

4.     He pays for everything.

5.     When you have forgotten some important supplies for your class he goes back to the hotel and gets them for you.

6.     Best of all, he can talk you down off the ledge when you have had a bad day.

Bad day, you say?  Yes, I did have a class from hell. I don’t very often get a class like this but once in a while Satan gives me his best shot and this was it.  Really, it was just one student that forgot that others where sitting around her.  I think she got this confused with a private class and that there weren’t 26 other people wanting to learn, too.  Of course, she sat in the front row where she could debate me on every point I made.  She didn’t like me or my technique.  She made it clear that she only does traditional quilts. Why she was there I still don’t know.   I had a waiting list 2 times over.  It’s sad to say she took a spot from someone that really did want to do my class.

 At lunch Joe came and got me and she drilled him also. He told me at lunch She is a husband stealer (whatever that means).  But the fun was just beginning when I returned back from lunch.  She had already packed up her bags and was sitting there with a disturbed look on her face.  I hadn't even put my purse down when she and her friend started in on me.  I think the question was What is the big deal with having to look at color when making your quilts?  Why can’t we do this? and Why can’t we do that? and When are you getting to this? Most of which I had already covered.   I told her it looks like you are getting ready to leave and I didn't want to stop her, but you have been drilling me since I got back from lunch and when I start the class we will be covering your question.  She got up and so did her friend.  They left then another friend left. One friend stayed for the whole class. 

This selfish person made 26 people, including myself, uncomfortable and she didn't even care.   I just kept thinking how horrible it would be to be married to her or be her child.  I said a prayer for them.

That night I read the class comments and, of course, only hers and her friend’s were not complementary. What do you mean you don’t like my stupid stories?   So, Joe helped ease my angry thoughts of buying a gun (again) by taking me out to dinner.

So the next morning I am ready to go, thinking that nothing can be as bad as that class. I start to look forward to the day’s Zinnia class.  I put on my cute little silk dress and beaded sandals.  I am having a great hair day. You know you’re doing well when your hair is looking hot!  I get through the café, getting my bran muffin and coffee.   The bellboy helps me with my rolling bags that weight a ton.  He tells me that he has placed them outside where the bus stop is. I give him a tip and notice that no one is waiting for the bus outside. I ask why and they say it’s too cold and windy. Great, I am wearing a light weight dress.  Oh well, I will be inside all day.  So I wait there inside the café with the other eager quilters.

Then the bus arrives and the door opens with a bang and the wind is howling like a hurricane!  As I walk out and reach for my rolling bags, trying to hold onto my muffin and coffee, I feel a gust of wind swirl between my legs and grab the back of my dress and whip it over my head like a burka.  Just for good measure, it blows my slip up, too. I drop my muffin and push my coffee at some girl I don’t even know.  My arms go flailing like a helicopter as I try to get control over my flying skirt.  In the back of me, the people begin to make noises like Oh, noooooo.  As they try to walk past me to get on the bus, I again grab the back of my dress as the wind then flips the front of my dress up over my head (again). I am trying to wrap the skirt around my legs to get some control over the situation but there is clearly no hope in sight.  I am standing there with my dress over my head and my new Spanx in full view for all to see.   I finally get my dress under control and look around quickly to see that everyone is on the bus except me and there is nobody around to laugh but one man leaning against the wall with a puzzled look on his face.  That could have been MUCH worse, I think, as I climb the steps of the bus, trying to compose myself.  Then I reach the bus platform and notice the bus is full of quilters going to the show and they all saw my dress mishap and are roaring with laughter.  In the second row is a very lovely lady trying to hide her giggles with her hands as I walk past.  All I could say, standing there with my hair frizzed out, holding my dress with my name tag and faculty ribbon on is Now, just stop that as I plopped down in my seat.  

So, as I set up my classroom before the students arrived, I remembered the day before and that difficult girl and gave a little thanks that she is not in my class today!  

At lunch I share the story with Joe who keeps asking me, with glee in his eyes, You mean like Marylyn Monroe?   It was nothing like Marylyn Monroe.  It was definitely Melinda Bula.  

Ice Dying

Have you ever had a day where you were supposed to be doing something important, like work, and you just couldn't seem to get to it?  Welcome to my world.  Being self-employed is a hard discipline and I have worked my butt off this last year.  I guess being responsible and on task finally took its toll on me.  So I had a  ditch day yesterday. I did something just for fun.

I made some beautiful fabrics and thought you might like to see how I did it.  This is called Ice Dying! If you live in the north or east you call it Snow Dying.  But here in California it’s done the good old fashioned way, using your ice maker.  Thank you, Kenmore!

I had read about snow dying and loved the effects but in California snow is a little hard to come by for most of us.  Plus, it is a seasonal craft, at best. But where there is a will, there is a way.  First, I  Googled Ice Dying and there it was. I found the instructions on this cool web site.  I soaked my fabrics in a soda ash bath for 20 minutes.  She suggests 30.  OK, I don't have patience, either.

I folded and twisted the fabric, than laid it on a wire rack in a plastic tub.  It's a good idea to elevate the rack a couple of inches.  I used little bowls under the rack for that.  Then, I layered ice cubes on top of the fabrics. The key is not to reach into the ice maker with hands full of dye on your fingers. This could be a toxic problem for the family later.  I then sprinkled the ice with 3 colors of dye.  About a teaspoon or 2 of each color.  I think I overdid the first yard.

Then I covered the tub and let the ice melt in the sun for about 12 hours, not the 24 suggested.  This is California and it was 89 today in October. I rinsed it in the sink and washed it the washer and here it is.  A work or art on a yard of fabric. I did 4 different color combinations and now my mind is spinning with what to do with these luscious fabrics. What would you do with these?  Joe calls the one below Tequila Sunrise.

Now the fun is over. I have to go back to work.  Houston is in 2 weeks!

Luminosity

Luminosity.

That's the word for today.   I Googled the word to find out what it really means. All kinds of meanings came up like:

if you are a star, What is the luminosity of an antares?

Antares or Alpha Scorpii is a red supergiant star of spectral type M1.5 Iab. It is about 65,000 times more luminous than our sun.   This is not actually what I was looking for.

Then I found,


What is the opposite of luminosity?  


Dullness-the state of being dull.

OK, I am getting closer.  Then good old Webster’s pulled it out for me.

 Definition of LUMINOSITY:

1 a : the quality or state of being luminous   b : something luminous

2 a : the relative quantity of light   b : relative brightness of something  Getting closer.

3 : the relative quantity of radiation emitted by a celestial source (as a star) . Oh great, back to space again!

So I will show you what luminosity is in art /quilting.

This quilt is called Grass Widows by Mary Kay Price form Portland, OR.  Mary took a 5 day retreat with me last year at Empty Spools Seminars, where she began this beautiful quilt. I am pleased to announce that she just won first place(!) with this quilt at the AQS Knoxville Show.  I am so proud.  This is a very talented woman that has won other awards for her wonderful quilts. She probably could have done this without taking a class with me. But I am thrilled that she started it in my class and I could watch her develop this and add my two cents here and there.

Mary Kay working on her quilt.

The key to this wonderful piece is in the luminosity that she captured with just the right fabrics. In her inspiration photo the sun was shining thought the thin skin of the petals.  She captured it perfectly.

Quilts can look brilliant when they are created using luminous colors. They can even be made to look as though they possess an inner light. For centuries artists have developed particular techniques for creating luminosity in their art. We can do the same thing in a quilt. When these techniques are applied, colors appear to be pure. They will reflect sunlight or other light in such a way that it seems as though the light is emanating from the artwork.

How do you show luminosity in your quilts?   You need to find fabrics colors in their purest form possible. Also, you should avoid using fabrics that have a black in them and minimize your use of earth tones and focus on fabric colors that have a primary color base with white. 

By using the right colors and values in your fabric selection you can create that glow.  If you look at the middle flower below,  can see how she has broken down each section of that one petal into veins of changing values?  She got her color-values as close as she could to what she was seeing in her picture.  She also brought a lot of fabric to class to choose from.  Those fabrics were her paint pallet.   

She also had study her pictures for days, even months, before she came to class. That’s what artists do. They spend time studying their subject matter, which is a fancy way of saying they look at their pictures.   Mary had done that and the information was subconsciously in her brain before she even got to class.  It was so exciting to watch her work through the problem solving.  Art is problem solving.  It just doesn't always flow magically from the fingerer tips but is purposely stored in the right place, waiting to be accessed.  The project is analyzed, worked and reworked until you have it just right. Sometimes the analyzing takes just a split second and sometimes it takes days of thinking.  But if it is taking too many days you may have to decide if it's fear that is stopping you or a creative block.  In my experience, 9 times out of 10 fear is the culprit.  That is when it’s good to have someone else's creative feedback.   That is why retreats are great when working out our problems or pushing yourself in a new direction. The safe, creative environment is like a different world compared to being alone at home. Plus, more can be accomplished because no one is there asking What's for Dinner? or  Are you going to stay in there all night? or my new favorite, Hey, I'm out of underwear. You get the picture.  

That is why I love to be invited to teach at retreats all over the country and now, the world. I am going to Australia in 2012.

 Student's work that, unfortunately, I can't remember her name...I am looking for it.

This is another student’s work and she is also capturing that luminosity in her California Poppies. Photography is her hobby and she is quite good at it. She shot this on the ground under the flower so the sun reflects brightly through the petals.  So cool.

My early work of clematis with that glow.

My friend, Christine Barnes, has written two great books on using color and luminosity in your quilts.  They are Quilter’s Color Club and Color: the Quilter's Guide.  You may want to check them out.

If you would like to join me for a 4 or 5 day retreat I have added a calendar box on the side of this blog. There are many great venues coming up in the next year all over the country, even a 2013 Alaskan Cruise.

My next creative art retreat is in upstate New York at the Hudson River Valley Art Retreat  coming this December. I can’t wait.

Hope to see you there and work with you on your next great masterpiece.

Being True to Your Art

Monet in Pasadena

Growth as an artist has never come with gentle ease. It has always come with an in-your-face wave of frustration that make me change direction. I am facing that right now. It’s time. I have felt it coming on, but was so busy with traveling and teaching that it was easy to overlook the obvious.

I just got back from a week in the Hill Country of Texas or, for you non-Texans, San Antonio. It's a beautiful part of the state looks like El Dorado Hills in places, except for the humidity and cowboys.  I received an email when I got there from a friend asking me if I got a call from Houston IQA? Surely, she wrote, those 2 quilts got an award.  No I haven’t, I wrote back, is this the week? Then one of the girls in the guild I was lecturing at said she had seen my quilts on my blog and that I must have gotten a call.  No, I didn’t. I went to the next guild and was asked the same thing again. Your quilts are amazing and you didn’t get a call? No, I didn’t get a call! The call. The call?



...and Our Flag was Still There

I didn’t get a call. Yes, it was a little disappointing. It has made me stop and think about my art. But then I realized, with a big exclamation point, that I am doing art, not quilting. There is a big difference. And I am teaching art, not quilting and I am showing my art in my lecture, not my quilting. That my art has even been in these shows is a fluke. The quilting world is one of the first venues that recognized my art work. When I had my first gallery show it was me and a watercolorist together as equals, 2 artists creating flowers. 

Maybe I have outgrown my viewing field. It has been a wonderful and safe place, but maybe it doesn’t fit any more. The quilting world is changing and so am I. That is the way it’s supposed to be as a growing artist. Change hurts and is uncomfortable. Do you remember, as a child, having growing pains in your legs? I had those really bad as a tall girl. I am having them again and I am feeling the pain and that pain is making me reassess my path.


Folsom City Gallery

As an artist you are competing with yourself all the time. I am always trying to create something better with each piece I make. I have never let competition with other quilters interfere with my art. I found that doing that robs me of my creativety. Are you just running for the prize, or the next best work of art?  In the quilting world you are competing not only with other wonderful quilters, but also with the next best sewing machine, the greatest wonder thread, the next fabulous technique that comes with 6 new products we all have to have and so on. It really isn’t conducive to pure creativity.  I have tried to protect myself from that. I might have slipped a little.

First gallery show at  Shelburne Museum in Vermont

So let's grow and go for it. I discover wonderful things about myself with every quilt I make. I am stretched, tested and pushed by these works. I am attached to them because of what I discovered about myself while creating them. I don’t need an award to know they are good and meaningful.

My art on the same grounds as Mary Cassatt. Wow!

I fell into the trap we all need to avoid.  Did I want to value my art and self by what awards I received (or didn't) or by what a judge said?  Absolutely not.  Remember that the critics did not like Van Gogh's brush strokes.  He turned out OK.

These 2 quilts where made because they had to come out as they where monumental points in my life, not for others to judge my stitching. That's the difference between art and quilting. It is disappointing to not have won anything but I will get over it.  And I have.  I teach this all the time and now I have to remember my own advice: You lose part of your creativity when you make a piece of art for a show or competition. Be true to the art and make it because you have to, for you!  I am proud to say I did that with these 2 art quilts.

I read an artist blog called The Painter Keys by Robert Glenn;  Today he had quotes from artist Harley Brown that reminded me of what is important in my art.

3 of my favorite qoutes from Harley Brown:
Look for and make your opportunities happen; they are not going to come rushing up to your doorstep. But sometimes they'll be looking you right in the face.

If art takes up much of the artist's time, then it makes sense that she/he be 'lost' in the euphoria of creating. Isn't that one of our ultimate purposes in life?

Without underestimating the value of talent, it's not the most important attribute you need to become a successful artist. It's not even second. More important than talent is desire. 

I couldn't have said it better.

Today's Garden

Today's garden was soft and quiet. The light was just perfect to snap these wonderful shots. Its going to be 100 degrees today and looks like it could rain but right now there is a cool breeze blowing. We have the doors open and the air feels so fresh.

My 8 little pumpkins are almost ready to pick. You can tell that fall is around the corner. Makes me feel like Martha Stewart.  It's fun to hear the neighbors say with suprise, as they walk by,  Look - she has pumpkins!  I have promised a pumpkin to each of the 4 little kids that live next door.  They are so cute. I hope the Great Pumpkin comes this year - I will be here waiting in my patch.

My garden has always been an inspiring retreat. It's not perfect by any means but the beauty of things growing seems to keep me grounded.  I can't help but see God's hand in every corner.  I am so grateful for this little yellow house.

This is the time of year I start to think about my next creation.  I wander throught the garden almost every day before I go to the studio.  I study my photos and look for something that moves me.  Today, the reflection in the bird bath caught my eye and those big creamy roses.

The moring glories are overtaking the climbing rose bushes. You can hardy walk throught the garden gate without them wrapping around you, too.  Soon this hardy vine will die back to nothing come winter. 

Then, next summer, they will return to overtake the yard again. I did a quilt in 2005 of this vine dominating the fence. Its called Afternoon Glory because the flowers turn a different color in the afternoon - they are light blue in the moring and lavender in the afternoon.

We have 2 bird feeders. These little finches let me walk right up to them and snap there picture. Joe has all the birds and turkeys in our yard named and trained.

Yes, I said turkeys!  Do you think it's time for me to get Joe another dog?  This is Tom.  He actually calls to Joe for his food.  Yes, Tom has trained Joe.

Tomorrow is the anniversary of 9/11 and I wanted to remember it in my garden, next to nature. Our world changed that day forever. Even living on the west coast our family was very much affected.  My only son is now a Marine. He was 14 that day. We all seemed to change our priorities. We need to remember how precious our country is and how what we value can be taken away in an instant.

This moring in the peace of the garden, I prayed for the famlies in my neighborhood, in our country and the world.  And I prayed for young men and women whose lives and futures where forever changed that day .

Like most people, I get caught up in this busy world of hustle and bustle, too, but let's us never forget 9/11 and remember to give thanks in the peace of our gardens.  And if you don't have your own garden, please come and use mine.