Alpenhimmel

Come Spring

2010-02-05T07:19:00.005+01:00

"Come, gentle Spring! ethereal Mildness! Come!"

from The Seasons. Spring. by James Thomson

16"x20" fabric and paper collage on stretched canvas

Gelatin print acrylic on muslin with hand embroidery,

vintage ephemera, transferred postcard, vintage lace

and buttons, machine and hand stitching on vintage linen

Echoes

2010-02-01T13:15:00.005+01:00

"How cruelly sweet are the echoes that start

When memory plays an old tune on the heart!"

from Old Dobbin by Eliza Cook

8"x8" fabric and paper collage on canvas board.

Postcard from 1913, wood block print on muslin

with hand embroidery, vintage lace and trims,

silk and paper flowers, vintage train ticket,

vintage buttons, all stitched to fabric.

We, the Memories

2010-01-28T10:18:00.004+01:00

"... we, the memories, stand here for ourselves alone."

from the poem Edith Conant by Edgar Lee Masters

A small stitched fiber and paper collage I worked on before the holidays. I don't recall how this photo found its way to me. It's not from my own family but from someone's forgotten history.

More Studies

2009-06-29T09:07:00.009+02:00

I've been working up more of these small studies - small stitched mixed-media collages incorporating wood block prints, paper ephemera, lace, fabric and other small embellishments. I want to see where they lead; see how the elements work and play together; see how I like their natural simplicity before moving this into a larger series of work.

Many thanks to all who have been sending me encouraging words. As timid as I am about putting my work out into the world it is very comforting to receive such heartening praise. I hope to share some of my larger works very soon.

Welcoming Summer...

2009-06-22T08:07:00.007+02:00

with a new series of work.

Fabric and paper painted with vintage wood blocks,

Bits of lace and ephemera

All stitched together in petite vignettes.

Finding My Voice

2009-06-16T05:27:00.006+02:00

With these small studies I'm working towards finding my own voice again.

When I was in seventh grade I had to take choir in school. I didn't particularly like singing but if I had to sing in choir I wanted to sing Alto. I loved the deep, soft folds that Alto voices added to a piece of music and I wanted to be part of that. No, no, said the teacher, we already have plenty of Altos. I need you to sing Soprano. So I did, but I wasn't good and I didn't enjoy it.

Finding my own voice now means finding a comfortable range that produces a lovely harmony. Even if there are already plenty of Altos.

p.s. For those who asked, the lake in the banner is located along the Austrian border with Germany, deep in the Alps. And yes, I once lived very near there. {sigh}

Use those talents you have

2009-06-05T05:44:00.004+02:00

I've had this hanging in my studio ever since I finished it a couple of weeks ago. It has been a lovely reminder to me and I'm now inspired to move ahead. There is so much more to come.

Projects, New and Old

2009-05-14T05:03:00.004+02:00

Since moving into my new studio I've been pulling out and organizing older unfinished projects, trying to gather all their materials together so that they can be completed.

Here's a quilt started about a year ago, needing some attention to get it finished.

But somehow, with each unfinished project I pull out, I'm more inspired to start a new one than to finish the old one. How does that happen?

Already I have something new started on the design wall.

A Perfect Place

2009-04-26T16:29:00.003+02:00

When I posted photos of my new studio I mentioned the small courtyard beyond the glass doors. Well, Herr Himmel was kind enough to take some beautiful pictures of the courtyard for me. It really is the perfect place to sit and enjoy Kaffee und Kuchen in the afternoon while taking a break from the creating.

And, thanks to the support I've been getting in regards to my drawing, I will show you a drawing of the courtyard very soon. I am taking to heart all the advice I get and I will practice, practice, practice.

Drawing like a child again

2009-04-22T05:57:00.008+02:00

I am one of those people who have always said, "I can't draw." And it has always shown in whatever I have tried to draw. Certainly, I believe that my attempts were influenced by my attitude, so when I believed that I couldn't draw, I was right, I couldn't.

Changing this attitude after half a lifetime is something I have been wanting to do. Not drawing has affected a great deal of my creative efforts, and not in a good way. There are so many creative ideas I have that would really benefit if I would just pick up a pencil, pen, crayon, or lipstick and draw with them! So, this has been one of my personal challenges this year - to not say, "I can't draw." Instead, I would like to embrace the concept of "This is how I draw." I want to try to recover that quality children have of just doing. It may not be the greatest technique or style, but it will be my technique and my style.

This pencil drawing will be continued...

A New Studio, A New Direction

2009-04-18T08:28:00.021+02:00

As promised, I'm pleased to post photos of my new studio, completely organized following our recent house move. The spring cleaning that accompanied this project was very beneficial. All over Blogland I've been seeing others doing the same - reevaluating priorities in the studio and the subsequent purge that follows. Before this most recent move, I'd been collecting all sorts of arts and craft supplies, just in case, someday, I might need those supplies to create something wonderful, and ended up with too many boxes of too many things that really were just taking up valuable space.

So, you remember that when I started my new studio space looked something like this

Going in too many directions without a central focus, I didn't even know where to begin. I've changed that. I've really taken a good hard look at all the things cluttering up my studio and in so doing have been able to put my finger on what direction I really want to go. All those bits and pieces that haven't been put to any useful purpose in years are now going, going, gone. And I've ended up with something more like this

I truly do love order, despite my slobbish tendencies.

I also love the view out the new studio windows. Although just a small courtyard, it really gives me a wonderful, warm feeling. And on a sunny day, I have a small table and chairs to sit and enjoy a break from my studio work.

I did buy some new pieces of furniture but not everything is new. And I kept much of the organizational supplies that I already had (i.e. storage boxes). What I tried to do though, when it came to the storage boxes, was to maintain some symmetry with them. I didn't like boxes of every shape and size just scattered about the room.

And by really editing the supplies that I knew I wanted to keep for specific needs my shelves don't feel overcrowded now.

Three of Ikea's Aneboda dressers (two back to back and one at the end) fit my former work surface perfectly and were much cheaper than buying a brand new work island. And the storage they provide is more than I could have hoped for with any other type of island.

And even with all the purging I managed to keep some of my favorite collectibles to display in the studio.

If you've got photos of your own studio to share, please feel free to leave a link in the comments.

Spring Cleaning Challenge

2009-03-18T09:18:00.004+01:00

Well, the gauntlet's been thrown down. I and a very special person have made the challenge to each other to have our over-cluttered, box-filled, less-than-picture-perfect studios in ship-shape within 30 days. I (if I want to be smug about it) have the excuse of just having made a major house move. This could be positive or negative, depending on how you want to look at it. It is, however, a perfect time to do some major purging. And I want my studio to be a clean, welcoming place for me to go to each day to work. Who doesn't?

This is not exactly the kind of picture one would find in Studios magazine, or Where Women Create, now is it? No, this is not where I want to find joy in creating each day. This is a place I want to escape from each day! But just you wait, in 30 days this ugly duckling will be a beautiful swan, ready and waiting to be everything a studio should be.

Want to join the challenge? Then do it! If your studio, sewing room, creative space is not too bad but you do have that one closet that no one is supposed to open... then accept the challenge to make it right. Spring clean it!

On 18 April 2009, I will show my before and after pictures. And I'm pretty certain that this very special person who has made this challenge with me will also have her before and after pictures to share with you.

If you want to share your own room make-overs, feel free to leave a comment with links to your before pictures here. On 18 April you can share the amazing progress you have made in your own personal creative space. Let's get cleaning!

Discovering

2009-03-17T14:49:00.009+01:00

Unpacking, finding places for familiar things, and making discoveries of things that have been hidden for awhile. I ran across some "old work" today which holds many hints to my future direction.

A Quiltchen that I made about 5 years ago. I thought about re-working it but changed my mind. I'd like to leave it as is so that I can remember where I was in my work back then, and so that I will be reminded that I don't have to make the same mistakes twice.

Joy

2009-03-13T11:14:00.007+01:00

One of the really nice things about being separated from your earthly possessions for an extended length of time is the joy you feel when you get to unpack them again.

Part of my toy sewing machine collection.

Which, even while the rest of them were still packed snugly away, grew by one.

This one is French. That's about all I know about it though. Can anyone tell me anything else about it?

Order from Chaos

2009-03-03T07:28:00.009+01:00

Slowly...

little...
by little...

order is emerging...

from all the chaos.

I hope you will bear with me through it all until we get to the other side.

Offline

2008-12-02T11:11:00.003+01:00

I'm sorry. I know you came here hoping for some delightful creative inspiration from Europe, however, due to technical difficulties, I will be offline for a few weeks. But please come back and check on an update later.

Making Fabric Paper

2008-11-07T13:19:00.010+01:00

This summer I had the privilege of meeting and learning from one of my favorite artists, Beryl Taylor. In her workshops, she so graciously teaches her technique for making Fabric Paper as described in her delicious book, Mixed Media Explorations.

Today, although I don't have my book or my class notes with me, I attempted to duplicate her methods with my limited resources. My improvisation is far from the beautiful work that Beryl produces but for my purposes, I feel that it was a success. However, I must recommend getting her book and taking her workshop so that you get the full benefit of learning the technique the right way from the master.

For my improvisation, I started with an unused bedsheet, a discarded book, a bottle of glue and my newly hand-carved stamps.

The first step was to tear the sheet into workable pieces. I made each piece roughly 9" x 12".

Then, working with small torn bits of the paper I selected (in this case, the discarded book pages, but I also made a few sheets with images torn from magazines as well), I adhered them to the fabric with a mixture of diluted glue, making sure to get the paper bonded well with the fabric.

Once the paper and sheet were dry and truly bonded together they were ready to be stamped, painted, decorated and used in a future project.

I stamped this sheet with one of my newly hand-carved stamps. I can now take this, what once was paper, and stitch it just like fabric into my next fabric project.

Flea Market Finds

2008-11-06T10:14:00.007+01:00

It's good being back in Flea Market Heaven, where any given week you can find a flea market somewhere within an hour's drive.

This one last Sunday was only 5 minutes away and yielded a few lovely treasures to add to the collections.

With the weather getting cooler many markets are now being moved indoors but they're still out there if you know where to look.

Decorating Papers

2008-11-04T15:43:00.006+01:00

While still waiting for art supplies (oh yes, and the furniture too) to cross the ocean, I played with my newly carved stamps today.

I just crumpled white paper and brushed a light coat of ink across the surface and then printed on it.

It's really kind of fun to play with simple supplies. I do hope I remember to take time for some of these simple projects in the future.

Creative Spirits - Today and Yesterday

2008-11-02T13:29:00.012+01:00

Thursday was the opening of Kreativ-Welt in Wiesbaden. This fantastic craft and hobby fair was packed full of wonderful inspiration, new product demonstrations, creative projects and, of course, lots and lots of things to buy.

I loved the exhibitions of the various Quilters' Guilds, learning new techniques from different vendors, and just seeing all the great fabrics and supplies. But I had to resist. There was so much that I wanted but I had to keep reminding myself that I have so much stuff on its way to its new home here.

One of the things I love about being back in this area is the abundance of castles. We are nearly surrounded by castles within a 30 km radius. Even on a cloudy autumn day I love exploring one more castle. I'm always touched by the spirit of the people who once made them their home and am always reminded of a simpler life. A life filled with the necessity of everyday, which, if we look closely, are some of the same creative endeavors we seek to learn and preserve in our world today.

Natural Translations

2008-10-29T12:58:00.007+01:00

This past spring I had the rare opportunity to attend a workshop by L.K. Ludwig where she shared her insights and techniques for working with elements from nature in our artwork and art journals. I learned some fun new skills (like carving my own rubber stamps) as well as some amazing techniques that I never would have tried on my own but was so happy to have learned.

One of the most important things I learned from her workshop though, was to look at elements of nature with imagination. To learn to see those everyday bits and pieces that the earth gives us as either artistic embellishments or as subjects of their own work of art. This mushroom cap found lying on the forest floor among autumn's newly made bed of leaves inspires me to create. I don't know what yet, but I am imagining translating this noble mushroom with handmade paper, woven linen, fibers, and yes, some of those same autumn leaves, all coming together to create a piece of art worthy of nature's gifts that we take for granted everyday.

Simple Creativity

2008-10-28T06:35:00.001+01:00

Due to the recent move I've been without my art supplies for approximately 7 weeks now. The fingers were gettin' really itchy to do something creative. So, my wonderful Herr Himmel found the nearest arts and crafts store and brought me home a block of rubber, an exacto knife and a box of bandaids. Simple, bare bones creativity. I've had great fun creating new hand-carved stamps. Since I haven't needed the bandaids for their intended purpose, I'm considering stamping images on them and using them as envelope seals.

Autumn in the Odenwald

2008-10-27T14:17:00.007+01:00

Snuggled deep in the Odenwald, the autumn days are getting cooler and shorter. Rich with natural beauty and full of wonderful historic villages, the Odenwald has much to offer us as we explore this new part of the country.

The village of Michelstadt should not be missed with its charming Fachwerk buildings and historic town hall. Walking through the streets in the early morning, you know that you are a part of its history. Its past, its present and its future.

Returned

2008-10-26T13:18:00.000+01:00

After an 18-month hiatus in California we've returned to Europe. New adventures are on the horizon.