March already!

I have been taking a Photoshop class at the local community college, and our most recent assignment was to create a magazine ad for a product, real or imagined. Of course, there were required elements to use, such as scanning, using a gradient, etc.

So I scanned one of my marbled silk scarves to use as the background, and went from there. The class critique was today. I listened carefully to the input from the teacher and my classmates, came home and modified my piece; I agree their suggestions were improvements.

So here it is: I think it's rather nice. And all true! I wonder when I'll have time to make more of those fabulous scarves?

The Ticking Clock

Since November I have been involved in a wonderful project--a theatrical piece created by a local author and teacher at Mendocino College. Jody Gehrman got a grant and interviewed (with help) over 100 women about their biological clocks and choices in child-bearing (or not), and she created a play, a series of vignettes, monologues using the interviews as source material.

Not only was I interviewed for the project, but I auditioned and got a part--I played Edna, a 66-year-old mother-in-law who thinks her artsy daughter-in-law should provide her with a grandchild. Not MY story, but I was able to get into the role, with the very supportive help of our director, Rose Bell. The cast included veteran actresses and complete novices; it was a thrill for me to meet so many wonderful women.

Our performances (only 2, sorry to say) were last weekend, and were very successful. It is hoped that the play will be picked up by other theater groups. So if you see this piece being offered in your community, don't pass it up.

And now my feet are almost back on the ground. Back to the sewing room, and classes at the college. I'm enrolled in Photoshop, Life Drawing, and Feldenkrais (awareness through movement). That should keep me busy, don't you think?

for my daughter

Out running errands late this afternoon, I saw this sky, and had to take a photo, inspired by my younger daughter's love of clouds. Pretty spectacular.

Busy

I haven't been doing much drawing or painting, but I have been busy. Yep. More baby quilts. Well, maybe I haven't talked about baby quilts here, but in the last year and a half I have made 5 baby quilts. The one pictured here is by far the most colorful, and is right up there with unique and creative, too. It actually started its life as the beginning of an "art" quilt. I had put it away, and while looking for something else found it (oh, the joys of being not-so-tidy) and thought, "Not art quilt. Nope. But maybe for a baby?" It's about a yard square, and it was a gift for a friend of mine who became a grandmother for the first time. I didn't dye the fabric, but I did everything else on this quilt. Design, sewing, quilting. I've had the chance to do more longarm quilting; in fact I even took a class from one of the local experts. Fun fun fun.

The trouble with baby quilts is they go away. But they are small enough to get finished. And now I can start something new. I hear my nephew and his wife are expecting...

And for next semester, I have signed up for Photoshop. I am going to learn how to do all those things. And print them on fabric maybe, and make them into quilts. I'm having fun. Life is good.

Don't Faint

Those of you who have believed in me, when I said I would post the quilt once I finished the binding--here it is. Not the best quilt, not the best photo, but hey, it's my first! Let me hasten to say that I did NOT do the piecing, nor choose the colors. As I may have said before, we who volunteer to rescue these unfinished projects had applied a rather impolite pejorative title to it while we were working on it. Many of us now feel that the *duckling has become almost a swan! Quilting makes a BIG difference. I've included a closeup shot of a small section so you can see the lovely meandering pattern I free-handed. I love to pat myself on the back.

Revisited

As I promised last time (my goodness, only a few days ago!) here is the inked version of the watercolor postcard I did in Montgomery Woods. I didn't apply the ink to the original watercolor, but used the printout I did onto watercolor paper cut to fit the printer. I printed the image 2-up, so I actually have another to play with. So here are the details: first I added ink lines with an EF point fountain pen, and Noodler's black ink. Then I got out the watercolor pencils and did some additional defining of shadowy areas. I think it's a lot more interesting than the plain watercolor, and still has a sketchy feel.

I like the idea of doing more of this kind of "mixed media" stuff. On another note, I had the opportunity yesterday to learn how and to operate a longarm quilting machine, working on a charity quilt some friends and I put together. What fun! And so fast compared to doing the quilting on a regular sewing machine! I am very pleased with the result, and with myself. As soon as the binding is on it, I'll take a picture and post it. That will take longer than the actual quilting!

Continued progress

By which I mean that I am continuing to do creative things some of the time in my life. Last week I visited my sister and we sewed together; she worked on a lovely corduroy jacket for herself, I put together some bags (purses, if you will) from donated unfinished quilt projects for the local Senior Center to sell at a craft boutique. The creative part for me is using up what others didn't finish then discarded, making something totally new.

The weekend before that one of my daughters came to visit, and we went to nearby Montgomery Woods, a redwood grove, for a sort of a hike. She took photos, I painted a little watercolor (postcard size--4x6 inches), here posted. After scanning it, I printed it out onto watercolor paper, and now my plan is to do some ink work on it. I'll post the results of that effort soon.