Still Creating

Hello Everyone and no I haven't forgotten the blog, it's just been a very busy summer! My husband loves Barbeque and BBQ contest. (I'll link to earlier post about this later when I figure out how) and we are very involved in the contest for KCBS a Barbeque organization that runs contest. We've been to New Jersey twice and Maryland twice as well as Chicago earlier in the year. All of that was flying and on a very tight and sometimes delayed schedule. Now we're back to working the North and South Carolina areas so hopefully it won't be quite so bad. Anyway back in the spring I took a workshop with my local quilt guild with Susan Sorrell and it was fantastic! That was class in person with lots of great friends. It's hand embroidery and sewing and brings me back to my roots as far as fiber art is concerned. I first learned to sew by doing it all by hand at my grandmother's lap. I think of her often as I stitch now. It's also what I did alot while in High School during the '70's. It was the fiber art of the time. Now I'm able to use these skills again to create a little art. I'm working on one piece that I carry with me to these BBQ contest and work on in my spare time. I've also taking an online class from this same instructor and it's on making little felt pins. Very quick and satisfying gratification. So if you'd like to work on these yourself check out Susan Sorrell's site at Creative Chick Studios She's a very sweet and supportive instructor and an awesome artist! Did I mention this is an online class? Love online classes!

Here are some of my pins as they progress: (Please excuse the photography skills, it's late and I was just trying to hurry up and get something posted for the online class.)

Now I'm going to add beads and things. We'll see how that goes from here. Hopefully since they're small they may actually get finished!

She Did It!

Our daughter, Elise McClure, just finished her Master of Arts in Educational Media from Appalachian State Unv. in Boone, NC and we celebrated! This is a degree that focuses on using technology in the classroom and Elise is certainly doing that! This was a great area for her to study! It's been a long couple of years, wrestling with technology that sometimes decides not to cooperate at the very second it's needed and meeting countless academic deadlines, but it's finished and she's done! Yay! She teaches Kindergarten and now with all of these added technology skills these kids will really be starting off to a great future!

Here are a few picture highlights from our week-end of celebration!

Graduates receiving a Masters Degree don't flip a tassel, instead they get "hooded." Here she is getting ready to receive her hood.
This is one happy graduate! We're so thankful the College of Education hood color was a nice blue color! Some were, brown, dull green, tan, pink, etc. (She would have liked the pink, but not the music degree required to get that color.)
The back of the hood shows the school colors of Gold and Black.
My husband and I are so happy and very proud of her! While thankfully we didn't have a monetary investment this time around, we did support her all the way!
And the rest of her cheering squad at the Graduation Ceremony, Elise's husband, Josh and Morgan Shupe. Morgan was a member of Elise's very first Kindergarten class and they have grown very close over the last 6 years. We all had a great time and certainly lots of fun marking this milestone in our daughter's life!

Doodle Embroidery Piece

I took a workshop with Susan Sorrell this past Friday. It was lots of fun, but the results are slow! It's lots of handwork and with my hands that means a good deal of pain too. So I have to pace myself. But I'm having fun. Out of respect for the teacher (who has online classes as well) I won't be able to completely explain the process. But here is my first step completed, outlining my elements. Whew that's basically done, but new elements can be added as I see fit. The back ground fabric is some I made from another workshop. I thought I'd do something else with it, so I cut it up in four pieces, then I rearranged them and sewed them back together. That was an extra step I perhaps didn't need, but I don't think it hurts the piece too much. (Please forgive the rather wonky photo, it's late and I'm tired.) Next I'll be adding more stitches of various types and eventually perhaps some beads. I'm looking forward to that step! You may asking yourself, "What is it suppose to be?" It's just a doodle design, no labels, just shapes and placement. So I'm just trying to document the transformation as I go. Stay tuned.

Instant Art Quilt

I take lots of online art and quilting classes and the most recent one was with Ellen Lindner. She's a fantastic instructor and definitely did a great job with feedback and helpful information. While her methods really do produce very instant results, for me it took about two months because I have other activities that I'm involved in besides quilting and art.

So here is my quilt and currently it remains untitled. I am not good at coming up with titles, but I would like to come up with one soon so I can get the label made and sewn on. So I am taking suggestions and the person with the winning title will receive an art postcard or small piece of fiber art. Please leave comments and you can suggestion more than one title! I'll choose the one I think fits the piece and send you a customized little piece of art from the leftover fabric from this piece.

Sketchbook Challenge - Opposites

The Sketchbook Theme for the month of February was Opposites. I say "was" because today is the last day of the month and as usual I'm waiting until the very last minute to post. I'm really giving thought to my procrastination habits. I actually did the sketch way back on February 16th, but I think because of my lack of security in my sketches I wait until the deadline to post. It's not a good thing, and really creates a road block for myself. Oh well, I eventually get past it and keep moving forward eventually.

Here is my Opposite Themed sketch - Life and Death. I think that's the ulitimate opposite and one that everyone must face. I love the scripture that I've highlighted on the sketch and really take it as one of my life verses. God very clearly lays it out there for us. He gives us a multiple choice question and then in such wonderful God fashion He goes ahead and gives us the answer! CHOOSE LIFE! God's desire is that we would all have life and specifically eternal life!

I've lost several spiritual elders to physical death in recent years, but the wonderful good news is that because they all believed in Jesus Christ and that He is the Son of God, they chose life and I have the wonderful hope that we will all be reunited someday very soon!

It's not too late to participate in the Sketchbook Challenge. Go to the button on the right side of my blog and click it to find out about the details. You say you're not an artist. Um... check out the entries and you'll see that drawing is not a requirement.

So "get busy living or get busy dying." Shawshank Redemption Movie

Caught with His Hand in the Cookie Jar (Tin)

So when it gets unusually quiet while I'm typing a very important work related email and my granddaughter is occupied with her one cartoon of the day I got suspicious! uh, worried! And as I thought, my grandson had helped himself to the cookies that I had specifically told him "no, you can not have them until after lunch!"

For the record. After I told him no again and explained he was not to eat cookies before lunch again. He did drop the cookie he had in his hand back into the tin. At least he didn't finish eating it.

Then I told him that he'd have to sit in time out and he went to the nearest corner. Evidently he's an experienced time out sitter. But we relocated to the appointed step at my house and he voluntarily faced the wall.


One minute for each year of age according to Super Nanny I think is what she said and he sat there very still for 2 whole minutes. So his lesson was learned for the moment. At least he didn't head back into the kitchen for more cookies. And my lip is bleeding from biting it so hard to keep from smiling and laughing. I could barely make it through the episode in tack without cracking up! It was just so adorable, his expression at being caught, his dropping that cookie back into the tin, and then marching himself off to time out. We've recoverd and as I post this he's upstairs dumping the soft foam letters off the side of the stairs. Bye for now, we're off to another adventure!

Sketching on Location Lesson Two

This is week two of the Sketching on Location class through Joggles. Jane LaFazio is our instructor and she is fantastic! Rather than being overly critical about my piece, I decided to critique the experience and piece listing what I liked or didn't like about it.

I went to our local Panera Bread store and it was really dark for me. I chose a place with as much light as possible, but that cast funny shadows on the subject that I wasn't use to. Also I was under a time limit because I was due to meet friends for dinner in about an hour and half or so. That's plenty of time for most, but for me, no, not enough time. Or at the time I felt a tad rushed. On the other hand, having a time limit did force me to get something down on paper as quickly as possible. I tend to delay and busy myself with prep work in an effort to not face the daunting task at hand. Maybe when I gain confidence in myself I'll jump in faster.

Also I was a bit distracted by three teenage girls at a nearby table. My, is it really that bad socially in high school, who said what to him, what he thought, what she said, etc... oh wait I know many adult conversations that sound very similar!

Ok so back to the sketch. I think my subject matter was a bit difficult. Maybe I bit off more than I can chew (pun intended!) I chose a Cinnamon Raisin Bread Apple muffin thing. Very irregularly shaped. It smelled really good, but was a bit disappointing in the taste department. Too dry and dull. But anyway. I liked the way the label on the cup of Hot Chocolate came out. I am very nervous about doing logos and/or print on art, but I surprised myself. I left it as my location label for that sketch. Then I liked the cup and lid as well.

I did not like the muffin itself. Our instructor strongly urges us to sketch and paint from real objects rather than pictures. After I looked at the picture that I took, I realize that I should have sketched the overall shape of the muffin itself as a whole rather than tackling each bump and crevice of the muffin. Also I had a hard time with the shadows of those bumps and such. Again, I should have squinted and tried to get an overall sketch. Also I didn't like the way the right side of the plate turned out. The left side was pretty good, but it was about the time I was working on that when the time suddenly ran out. (I had set an alarm on my phone, but when it went off, I did't recognize the sound. I got a call from my husband trying to find me.) Anyway, I didn't get a chance to sketch the rightside as carefully at the left. That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it!
I was disappointed with the icing. I tried to leave the paper white in those areas, but it was too flat and just didn't work. Then I tried to color it a bit and the adjacent colors bled into the areas. Oh well.... Well I guess that's enough analysis for now.

The original muffin and hot chocolate.


My rendering. (Note: This is ink and watercolor on 5x7 white hot press watercolor paper)


Ok, so I just keep telling myself, it's just a sketch, don't stress!

2011 Sketchbook Challenge

Here's my sketch for January's Theme: Highly Prized

It's done on 5x7 hotpress watercolor paper with ink and watercolor. I think it got a bit overworked with the watercolor. I actually drew it at the beginning of the month and then let it age a bit as I thought about using watercolors to color it a bit. I liked it without the watercolor and ink, but when I scanned it in to post on the internet challenge it didn't show up very well. So that's when I decided to use the ink and paint. Oh well, live and learn. I keep trying to remind myself that it's for practice and it's only a journal entry, not a masterpiece for a museum or anything! Got to put things into perspective! Click the button on the right - Sketchbook Challenge for details and more information on that. You can join us at anytime and if you post on the flickr site which is open to everyone you are eligible for a drawing for prizes. Who doesn't like prizes! And you don't have to participate every month, just do what you can. Oh and it doesn't have to be an actual sketch, it could be a collage, or even a little quilt I guess. Whatever works for you.

So here is my sketch for this month:

New Online Sketching Class

I'm taking two online classes right now. One is a Quilt class and I'll show that when it's complete. Since it's a process class I don't feel comfortable about showing progress shots. The other is through Joggles and it's Sketch and Watercolor On Location. Jane LaFazio is our instructor once again and she's the best! Her comments are so instructive! I highly recommend her if you have the chance and she is teaching lots of classes this semester on Joggles so go on over and check them out! Let me know if you sign up for one, we might be in class together!

While we will be going out on location to sketch and use watercolors, our first lesson was from our own desk or in my case kitchen table. We were told to sketch our keys. I also had a old rusty key and included that as well. My times were much simpler back then! But then if we didn't have the internet I wouldn't be able to take this online class! So I'm thankful for the technology we have!

The picture was scanned in a little crooked, but it's late and I'm tired! Also my arm jarred a bit and I messed up on some of the lettering, then I tried to fix it and have learned that I should just leave it alone next time. If I had more time I might try to do the whole thing over, but then I might just redo the journal box and glue a piece over that one, but it's only a journal page not a masterpiece for the wall to be displayed. I need to stick to the objective, practice sketching and using watercolors!

Our Newest Sewing Project

And Why I don't get a whole lot of art done!

But I love it soooo much!

My granddaughter and I love to look at "fabric" magazines, which are usually Quilting Arts or some other Interweave Publication. In one of the magazines she pointed out all the many things we could make ourselves and one of those things was a skirt. The skirt in the magazine was worn by an adult and it was more of a denim type, A line skirt. But when we went to the fabric store, she decided that the pink shiny type was more her style. The girl loves sparkly fabrics and that's fine with me. So we designed this skirt together and she helped me sew it. She sits on my lap with her hands on top of my hands and we sew. Eventually when her feet can touch the floor, which isn't long, she's very tall, she'll do the sewing herself!

Of course the color is pink! Is there any other color for a 4 year old girl? Actually she was thinking of yellow or blue and I think that's because her other favorite princesses wear those colors. But she finally settled on the pink. We started with Taffata (but I found a much cheaper similar polyester type fabric) and organiza (I think that's what it was.)


This is a close-up view of the bottom of the skirt. After it was finished, she decided that it really wanted lace along the bottom. I tried to talk her out of it, but what's a grandmother to do. Over the week-end, I went back to the fabric store and found a sparkly lace and some ribbon for a waist sash. After the lace was sewn on, she said, "Now see Grandma, I told you that the lace would make it look better!" She was right! And you may be able to see that the pink underlay has a rather large hem so that it can be adjusted as she grows, which is very quickly these days!

She already had the shiny glittery silver shoes that we both thought were perfect for the outfit! She thinks she has a white shirt that she will put with it and definitely intends to wear the outfit on her next "Daddy Date" with her Dad which will be when it gets a bit warmer. I told her Daddy (my son) that he's going to need to dress up for that date! I hope her Mom takes plenty of pictures!

Stay tuned, we've got lots and lots of projects on the list, so we're sure to stay very busy! I think stuffed birdies are coming soon. Or a journal cover, or stuffed bears, or, or, or.......

Gifts

My word for 2011 is "Gifts." As I started seeing other folks post their words for 2011 I started thinking back on my word for 2010. It was "Present." I intended that to mean that I was going to live in the moment, be present and really focus on what's going on at the time rather than being so concerned about many things going on around me. Well as 2010 proceeded, I think I really loss focus of my word and my intentions. So with that my new word this year is Gifts. I want to focus on the gifts that God as given me in my life, my family, my friends, my relationship with God. And also my gifts that I have to offer, the talents and abilities that God has blessed me with.

Happy New Year!

I hope the New Year is a blessed one for everyone! I'm going to try to participate in the Sketchbook Challenge. Several artist are officially participating on the website. Each artist will announce a theme or whatever to work from and then everyone who is participating will create somthing (mostly in Sketchbooks, but perhaps individual pieces that will later be grouped together or something) based on that chosen topic or theme. Here's the link on the sidebar to the right just in case you want more information and perhaps want to follow along too! I've never been very consistant at keeping a journal so we'll have to see how this goes. I know there will be lots of wonderful things to see and learn along the way! Our first theme is January 1, 2011 So Happy Creative New Year to everyone!