My Kind of Town!

So there we are in Chicago, "Our Kind of Town" stuck at a Quilt show. I'm in heaven because these are my people. But my sweet husband has had enough of me winning awards and looking at quilts. So on Saturday we ditched and went into the City. Joe figured out our route with the hotel's concierge and off we walked to the Metro, taking the blue line. As we approached the platform to wait for the train, I hear a "Melinda!". Oh, no, we've been caught ditching the show. No, it was just my friend, Mary Kerry, from California, another quilt artist. The last time we ran into each other was in Morro Bay at a quilt shop.
Mary and Joe on the Metro. Is he holding my purse again?


We walked to the Navy Pier. You can't leave Chicago without having a hot dog. We stopped at this place called Billy Goat Grill for a dog and by chance it just happens to be the place made famous by John Belushi and Dan Aykryod on Saturday Night Live. "Cheezborger, cheezborger, chips, chips, no Coke - Pepsi."
Then we where on the search for Bob Newhart's apartment. Joe informed we have now been to all of Bob Newhart's television home towns. How exciting for us.

This sculpture is at Millennium Park. What a beautiful park. Its called the Bean. Can you find us in the reflection?

Spring Has Sprung!

Today is the first day that I really feel that spring has arrived in Northern California. Beside all the sneezing that is going on in my house. My roses are full of blooms and the pollen is falling by the bucket load.
Today I am working on a new floral bouquet quilt. I hope to enter it in Houston this fall. I was taking picture of it and realized that this would make a beautiful new header for my blog. So welcome to the new look.
There is a new magazine or should I say it is really like a book. It's called the Artful Blogger. It's really cool with great ideas and writing from other blogger. The one I liked the best was an artist that said " I'm not much of a writer so here are my pictures." I can relate to that. I love to write. It's just time consuming because I can't spell. I have to re check the words about 10 times before I post and still I get it wrong. The other day I was writing up a flyer for my up coming retreat in Tahoe and put down lesion instead of lessons. So for that retreat you can have 4 days of Lesions for only $600. Such a deal!!!



I have this little pillow on my bed. I made it about 7 years ago. It's my design but somebody gave me this anonymous saying. I turned it into a cross stitch pillow so I would never forget these very true words. Here they are:

Dear Lord,
So far today I have done all right. I haven't gossiped, haven't lost my temper, haven't been greedy,nasty, selfish or over indulgence. I am very Thankful of that. But Lord in a few minute I going to get out of bed and from then on I'm going to need a lot of help!

Splendor In the Grass truly is splendid!

I just bought the most beautiful purple rose on a recent trip to Southern California. The girls, my mom sister and nieces’, went on an outing to Rogers Garden in Newport Beach last month. The roses where all blooming and there she was, the most perfect color of purple rose I have ever seen. Thanks god that I had driven down this time, because I was not leaving without that rose. I picked the bush that had lots of little buds ready to bloom. When I got home this Sunday from IQA Chicago Show, they were all in bloom. I have never seen a rose this color. I know she will have to be a quilt someday, just like I knew that Splendor in the Grass needed to be created. It’s funny to see your creation (quilts) win awards. When I was making Splendor in the Grass, I never thought about what will happen after it was done. It just had to be created in cloth. I get a little artistically obsessed.

I took a picture of 3 red day lilies at Bushnell’s garden center in Granite Bay. They have a beautiful day lily farm in the back. I always miss the blooming season but this day I hit gold! And I just happened to have my camera with me. For 3 months I longed to make this quilt but I was on a dead line to finish my first book, Cutting Garden Quilts. I place the picture up on my computer and starred at that picture of 3 months. Every day I longed to be up in the studio. But, I was learning how to be creative with words instead. When I would hit a blank wall with the book writing, I would look at my beautiful lilies picture, get inspired and continue the writing process. My reward for completing the book was that I could finely make the quilt.

So the day I put my last word on the page, sealed the envelope and return from the UPS store. I grabbed my scissors and started this quilt. I work on it nonstop for about 8-9 hours a day. Joe brought home a lot of take out. i finished the quilt top in 7 days. The thread work took another 5 days. Then I was done. I was overwhelmed and I fell on my knees and cried. I knew it did not come from me but from God. It just flew out of me. Like a exploding volcano. My finger tips where on fire. I knew then that I had had one of those rare artist moments that may never happen again. It still makes me cry. But it happened, that is why it is so sweet to have won “Best of Show” with this quilt. Not because I had any intention on winning anything, but that this quilt was meant to be in the world. It’s also nice to know that I am not the only person that thought it was special.

Summer Rose

I am working on a new pattern. Just in time for spring. Its called Summer Rose and I am in the process of adding beads that look like dew drops and other fun embellishments.
This is going to be a great quilt class to teach. It comes with a color chart, of course. And I am pretty sure you can turn it into what every color of rose you like.
I have just been asked to teach at Road to California in January 2010. It looks like it will be 2 classes, one on Saturday and one on Sunday. One class will be this new Rose. I will also be doing a luncheon Fashion Show which will be fun. I may even have some new outfits to show.
Summer Rose will be available soon, So keep checking my web site shop.
www.melindabula.com

Visiting the Old West in La Veta, Colorado

I wake up most days and can’t believe I do this for a living. No, not misspelling words on my blog but being able to create every day. Although the business of creating is an art form in itself, I think its called marketing out in the real world.
I find it almost as challenging and fulfilling as painting with colorful fabrics and threads, but not really.
This month has been filled with new adventures that started off with a trip to beautiful Santa Barbara, Ca. I drove down in one day, did my lecture that night. The next day it was an all day class. The girls made beautiful flowers. After class at 3:30 I drove home. “Why the rush?”, you say. I was flying out the next day to La Veta, Colorado via Denver. I rented a car and again drove 3 hours south of Denver to La Veta, almost to the New Mexico border.
You see so much from the front seat of your car.if you are looking. The mountains where full of snow and the landscapes color palate was so beautiful in shades of blue, taupe, sage with hints of pink and lavender.
Again, I started taking pictures from the car.

I pulled into La Veta about 2:00 pm. The town was more than small. If you blinked you'd drive right past it. It was like driving into the old west. Only my trusty steed was a Nissan. Where were Gary Cooper and John Wayne?
And there it was, the Ricky Tims Studio in the middle of town. I parked the car (Lightning) and followed 2 of the local town folk through the front door of the studio. I had no idea what I was doing.

It was surreal. I went from the old west to The Quilt Show out on the prairie in the blink of an eye.
They were just starting to shoot the next show. The audience was in place, about 50 people and I could see Ricky and Alex through the all the lights, cables and cameramen.
Someone said "Hello, Melinda” and it was Judith Baker Montano. WOW.
They got me a seat in a section called the "Queen's Box". Which I loved.
I looked around and there was Esterita Austin getting ready to shot her segment. Carol Doaks had just finished. And there was Joanie Zeire Poole, award winning heirloom quilter. They where interviewing Jan Krentz via satellite. I couldn’t believe I was there. Somebody pinch me.
If you are not a member of The Quilt Show you need to join. This is just the beginning of exciting things happening on Web TV. Plus you get to see my segment in a few months. So stay tuned - there is more to come.

Stormy Seas

Winter at the beach is so mysterious. I love it. My beach experiences have always been on the Pacific Coast or Hawaii. I don't really know the east coast shoreline but I hope to visit someday. I just spent the last 5 days teaching in Pacific Grove, CA at Empty Spools Seminars. Wow, what a place. It’s held at the Asilomar conference grounds right next to Pebble Beach.
During this stay a rainy storm blew in and dampened the grounds and all of us. That doesn’t stop quilters one bit. In fact, it made the smells stronger and sweeter and the colors where brighter. In my class I am trying to get the students to look closely at colors and values in just one flower petal at a time. It can be very challenging. So the rain was an added blessing. The waves at the beach where breaking at least 6 feet high at times. Then the sun would peek through the storm clouds and let a little ray of light shine onto the front of a breaking wave as it crested. The wave would glow with a deep turquoise blue green, edged in white froth. I couldn't wait to plant my bare feet in the cool wet sand and squish it between my toes. Which I did while taking pictures of the stormy sea. I see a wave quilt in my future.
My room was so sweet - it even had a romantic fireplace. Too bad I was alone. But I was there to teach and encourage although I was having a secret romantic interlude with the ocean. Don't tell my husband!
With each teaching venue I try to push up the ante for myself in developing my teaching style. This time I became the “Queen of the PowerPoint.” Each day I could show the students visually what I was talking about. The first day was finding your inspirational photo. Second day was how to paint with fabric. On the third day, I taught how to use color and value to create realism. The fourth day they got a break. My girls did tease me about "where is our PowerPoint?" But that night I had a surprise for them. It was my turn to do a short presentation to a very artsy crowd of about 300. They had 3-4 teachers present each night and I was the last to present. By the last day, I knew the crowd was getting very wary of one more presentation. I seem to always be last and I wanted to do something that reflected me and my art. It had to be dramatic and memorable but short, no more than 9 minutes. So, in true Melinda style a great idea came 3 days before I left for the retreat. I had a dream about this PowerPoint presentation. Even the song I used was in the dream. I was very nervous about the timing but my friend, Dawn, helped me along the way. I have found out that I like working with this new computer techno stuff. It’s just a new art medium. So I have put up the presentation on YouTube for you to view and enjoy.

Next time I do this I will try and dream up my PowerPoint at least a week before I leave. NOT

Folsom Quilt and Fiber Show

This weekend is the Folsom Quilt Show in Folsom, California. It just happens to be my home guild and, yes, it is near the prison that Johnny Cash wrote and sang about. But this is one of the best local quilt shows I have ever been to and I am not just saying that because I am a member. There is so much talent in this group it is amazing. It is a funny and encouraging group of women and you just can't help but have fun there.
Here are some of the wonderful award winning quilts.
This first one is by is Judy Danes . Watch for her in the future as she will have a new book out in March on her thread painting that is to die for.
The second quilt is by Patty Berghamp who is a fabulous appliquer. This quilt is so perfectly stitched and would look wonderful in my studio.
The third quilt took my breath away the minute I saw it. WOW! It was made by Dee .
The last picture is of our fearless leader, Karla Delner, who found a friend who was being smuggled in the back of a baby stroller to see the quilts. You can see she has a firm hand when showing him the door.
Got to go now and take more picture today. Stay tuned for more.

Phoenix

Phoenix is so beautiful this time of year. Not only is the sky a perfect blue but the temperature is just right at 70 degrees. I was invited to teach at Quilting In The Desert in Phoenix. Right away I noticed, I do not have any idea how to travel with piles quilts and supplies. You would think that all those years as a fight attendant would have taught me something more than just how to serve drinks in turbulence. But I was there with my designer luggage, a stylish leopard print that I thought at the time was the cutest luggage ever. My traveling life has differently changed from a sweet week in Hawaii to down and dirty, business travel. Its hard for me think of these teaching trips as business because I love to do this so much. So I am now in search for the biggest, toughest and lightest(tired of paying for the extra weight) suit cases I can find. Not only did the handle break off my bags but the side's ripped.
As I watched the other very seasoned teachers fly into town. It was pretty obvious that I was the new girl on the circuit.
Paula Nadelstern was sporting 2 large vessels that she got in New York's garment district. Katie P M was wheeling in some well seasoned hard sided red and blue monsters. Pam Holland was quite chic with her red hard sided carry on with red patten leather Birkenstocks and a matching red purse. I see that this packing thing is an art form all on it's own.

I did met some wonderful people at this retreat. Very creative and sweet. We laughed a lot. I have been invited back for next January which I look forward to. Next time I fly to Phoenix I will take the right luggage and spend more time in the airport because they have one of the best art exhibit in a airport that I have seen so far. Even there freeway art is fabulous. So if you are ever going to Phoenix take the right luggage and spend time looking around, it's quilt a treat.

The picture is of my favorite airport art “Samson” by Artist Brian Goggin. Its here at the Sacramento airport down at Southwests baggage claim. Which is really not that comforting while waiting for your bags to arrive.

January Baby

I don’t know why I hate the cold so much. I was born in January, I am supposedly a winter baby. But I do dislike the cold.
Yesterday I called my mom to wish her a happy birthday. It was 80 degrees in Southern Cal. They had all the windows open and were trying to let the breeze in. I instantly had a childhood memory and remembered the smell of that warm southern California air in winter. The skies are really blue and you can see the snow capped mountains up at Big Bear. If you stood on the roof of their house I bet you could see to the beach that is only 10 miles away. I remember as a teenager we would ditch school on days like this and go down to the beach. No one would be there and for miles you would see nothing but white sand. In the summer these same beaches were so full with sweaty bodies you couldn’t find a place to lay your beach towel.

I just got a call from The Quilt Show's producer, Angel. I’m going to be on their show later this year. I am doing my taping for the show in March. First thing she asked me was "what is the temperature there?" I said “what?” she said it was 14 degrees in Chicago and snowing. She needed to live vicariously through me for just a moment. Aren’t you in California? What a baby I am. It will warm up to a nice 60 degrees today here in Northern California. Maybe even 63. So OK! I may be a winter baby, my birthday is coming soon, which I would like to forget. And I hate the cold. I still can’t figure that one out. I’m pretty sure the lesson here is about learning to be content with where you are who you are and at how old you are going to be.
I have added some pictures of my January garden and the colors are quite beautiful. You couldn’t get these colors if it was hot. And I wouldn’t have the wisdom I have if I weren’t another year older.

It’s a New Year!

It’s a New Year. I am so grateful for the chance to live another year doing what I love. To create.
2009 is going to be a year of travel, teaching and trying new techniques. I am off to Phoenix at the end of the month for Quilting In the Desert. Then back to Asilomar in February for Empty Spools Seminars.

I truly love to teach and the art of teaching is everchanging and constantly pushing me in new directions. I recently had a student not sure she wanted to take my class. She wasn’t sure she wanted to do flowers or raw edge appliqué and she wants to work in black and white. I know, why is she taking my class? It made me think. As an artist why do we take classes? Ask yourself that. Why did Mary Cassette hang out with Monet? Why did Van Gogh hang with Gauguin? Think about it!

Could it be to learn?

How can you learn when you come to a class wanting to do your own thing? How can you grow as an artist if you don’t want to glean something from the teacher and those around you? I don’t get it. When you stop learning you might as well just die. You know it all. How sad it that?

Art is a never ending process. It’s not who finishes what or what awards you receive. Creativity is playing, making mistakes, trying new ways and solving the problems. It is never about finishing. Because there is always something new to figure out. Completing a project is your reward for solving the creative problems. Then you take what you learn from that project and move on to the next, one hopefully more challenging and difficult.

I have been playing around with computer art for the last few months, trying digital fabric printing and manipulation. It has been great fun and challenging. I love my computer, it is such a great artist’s tool. My husband had no idea what he was doing when he taught me how to work the computer years ago and now I am just as nerdy as him, except when it crashes. Then my sweet man gets the frantic wife call from me at work. Picture him sitting in his PG&E truck working in the hood, giving me tech support over the phone. He is still the top nerd.
Here is my first computer art piece. It’s called “A Boy and His Yace”.

My son’s security blanket was a lace placemat we had gotten as a wedding present. He went through all 4 placemats before the age of 4. That’s one a year. I added the last bits of the lace I had saved to the quilt. He is 3 in this picture and very serious. The beads around his body are little sayings that he said as a child. The numbers in the background represent his love of numbers at an early age (he was doing math at 3). The butterflies are him leaving the nest and spreading his wings.

So this year let’s try to learn from those around us and try new things and see what happens along the way.

God bless you in the New Year.