Summertime Scavenger Hunt 2013 - signs

I've been on the road on and off over the last few weeks ... 

and of course,

with camera in hand 

found some fun, funny and interesting signs....

To see more images from other bloggers, click here!

Sunfest 2013

Last week I was in sunny downtown London... Ontario that is. Sunfest. Ah yes... a wonderful place to be if you're a music lover. What kind of music you ask.. all kinds... Salsa from Puerto Rico to Cumbia from Columbia and Reggae to brass from Rumania --- and let's not forget the jazz stage. Yummy.

Normally at an event like this I would take tons of photos, but I just didn't have it in me. I had badly twisted my ankle and broken a toe so moving back and forth thru crowds of 200,000 or more seemed like a recipe for disaster. None the less, I met some wonderful folks, saw some old friends, soaked up some glorious sun and did I mention the music?? OMG.. it was so wonderful.

Here's a short video of the sights and sounds from my week at Sunfest:

So again, you may be wondering... how the heck does this relate to recycling! Well never fear, I found some treasures to add to the recycle fabric pile. Let's see what I can do with these:

Those negative voices and a new friend...

It's funny how the Universe works. Someone I have worked with for over a decade left for another job. I was not happy... one, to lose contact with someone I had grown close to and two, not looking forward to breaking in a new business contact. 

Well, in the infinite wisdom of the Universe, my new contact has the same history as me; the mom that demanded a perfection that could never be attained no matter how many ways I tried. I loved my mom and she loved me. I know that....and she was so fab in so many ways, but her need to demand perfection in me was really just a means of ignoring her own issues. Sometimes it was really challenging and always effected (or stifled)  my creativity...

Well, I think we, my new friend and I that is.... we were brought together to help each other overcome these voices in our heads...either the voices of others and/or our own negative scripts that have played over and over for years and years. I am clearly farther along in the process, but can always use another person on my side.... and hopefully thru my experiences she will overcome her voices much more quickly than I did.... at least that's what I hope for her. Too much time can pass otherwise, then the challenge seems unattainable.

Don't you find it amazing that when we most need something, it seems to end up right in front of us... in one way or another... well it's true... just look...

Summertime Scavenger Hunt - July 4th pride

I think these photos speak for themselves....

This is a bonus item for hunt: A person wearing an outfit (or item of clothing) that symbolizes your country - check!

To check out all of the photos, click this link >photographic scavenger hunt

Random thought for today

I wasn't sure what I was getting into when I started this blog... didn't know what direction it would take or if I'd even want to do for any length of time. And I don't blog regularly either, tho I do try. Sometimes, time is a challenge in itself.

Well, I am so happy that I ventured into this new territory because I have 'met' some great folks along the way, learned lots of new things, gotten some positive feedback on my work, made some treasured friendships, tried some new creative techniques and challenged myself in ways I never thought I would or could.... so it's not true at all... you CAN teach an old dog new tricks. 

I'm living proof!

While working on my own and fiddling around on the Internet, I've stumbled across too many really cool blogs in the late night hours. There are way too many to list, but here are a handful that draw me in (in complete random order):

http://artsyville.blogspot.com/

http://jessicasporn.blogspot.com/

http://nathaliesstudio.com/

http://gallorganico.blogspot.com/

http://artatag.wordpress.com

thearthousestudio.blogspot.com

http://www.carlenetaylorsimmons.com

http://manonpopjes-manonpopjes.blogspot.com

http://ilove2paint.blogspot.com/

http://www.ihanna.nu

Please check out the blogs listed above and if you have a blog that you just love to visit regularly, please post it in the comment section so we can all visit it as well.

Did you say 'Scavenger Hunt!'

I stumbled across a really cool blog one day, Gallo Organico.

After investigating it, I found a post about an online summertime photographic scavenger hunt that was just getting started. I love to take pix and was intrigued, so of course I'm going to participate!

Here is my first offering, # 13 (a fence) ~

Below is a list of photos to come....
1. Open air market
2. Theater for performing arts (not a movie theater)
3. City Hall, Capitol or other similar civic building
4. Airplane
5. A sunset
6. Someone or something taking a nap
7. A sign that is intentionally or unintentionally funny
8. A tower
9. A photo with someone or something that is clearly out of place or doesn't belong
10. A bench that is outside
11. An animal in a zoo, aquarium, nature preserve, etc.
12. A cloud in the shape of something (please specify what you see)
13. A fence
14. A stained glass object or a mosaic
15. A fire truck or police car
16. A windmill
17. Candle(s)
18. Your local pub/bar, coffee house or tea shop
19. A fisherman
20. A dinosaur
21. A photograph of you with an artistic tool or craft supply (you cannot substitute for this item)
Bonus/substitute items:
A person wearing an outfit (or item of clothing) that symbolizes your country
A sundial

To check out all of the photos, click this link >  photographic scavenger hunt

The AAW Caroline (Heidelberg-esque) Project...

So the school year is done, the kids are gone... even the art installations have been removed. Here's another look at the work in progress......
 

...... and the end result for the four groups.

Below is a long shot of the front of the school with

the art installations.

The kids really responded well to this project and ran with the opportunity to create art in a new and unexpected way. 

I think the expression on this young ladies face says it all...

Can't wait to see what the 3D class does with it next year....

Craftsy Classes - Memorial Day Sale

This Memorial Day weekend, 

join Craftsy in honoring the brave men and women

who have served in the US Armed Forces. 

For every class sold this weekend,  

Craftsy will donate a portion of the proceeds

to benefit a veterans' organization. 

Select classes will be on sale up to 60% off! 

Have all the classes you want? 

Consider gifting a class to your favorite service member!

The Craftsy Memorial Day sale ends at midnight May 27th. 

Click this link to the Craftsy Memorial Day Sale 

Gelli print 'mop cloths'

I've been dyeing fabric now for a good number of years. I love it. There are a lot of dyers that keep records, use precise measurements and get predictable outcomes. Not me. I tried it. Didn't like it. It took all of the fun out.... besides, I really like the serendipitous nature of dyeing without measuring. Opening every bundle at the end of the process is like opening a  lot of little gifts. 

When I dye, I always, always have bits of fabric handy to sop up any spills.. or clean brushes, what ever.... I work pretty clean, but even I still have a spill now and then. So the 'mop cloth' is always there, ready and waiting. A lot of times the mop cloths looks so cool that I use them in projects!

With my gelli plate printing yesterday, I tried to use some fabric for cleaning brushes, brayers and stencils but it was not as effective as paper... so now I have some painted paper pieces for projects too!

 Here are just a few paper 'mop cloths' from yesterdays session:

Of course, had to try it again while gelli printing today.

I like the throw-away, 'clean up cloth' paper as much as the actual pieces I've been working on.... This a great distraction but way too much fun to stop!

Gelli plate, stencils and paint... oh my!

This past weekend was fairly uneventful. Did some things around the house.. and had somewhere to go for a hot minute. On the way home I hit a garage sale or two. No shock. I managed to find some treasures as any good self respecting junker would do. One was a somewhat dirty wad of canvas ...

Today I just needed to do something creative. It's been a long long time and I'm itching.. So I turned to the lump of fabric that had been tossed onto a dining room chair. Here's a photo of a small hunk of canvas cut from the larger wad after a spin in the washer and dryer.....

 

...then a rather quick meet & greet with an iron, gellli plate, stencils and paint, I ended up with this:

 

 These 2 are close ups:

I need (or want) to add more layers, colors and contrast. I think this is a good start for my first attempt at using Gelli Plates... What fun!

Now, it's back to business.....

Heidelberg-esque Project

I went to the high school today to see how the Caroline Project was coming along. You may have seen the post about our field trip.... 

A few weeks back we took some of our kids to the Heidelberg Project in Detroit to expose them to 'found object art'. The kids had a great time and some super ideas for creating their own installations on the school property. They were broken up into teams. Each team had to 'find' their own bits and pieces to create their work.

Since it was such a nice warm and sunny day, I thought it was a perfect day to take some 'in progress' pix. You can see that they're making pretty good progress. Each team still has some interesting pieces to add along with paints and other treasures... but here's where they are at the moment:

I can't wait to see this project finished! Sadly for me, some of these great kids are graduating in a few weeks. They have been fun to spend time with and get to know. I look forward to seeing what wonderful creations they come up with in the future... they are all so very talented.

 Click this link to see Heidelberg post

The Universe does it again!

I had a wonderful experience this week. I was invited to accompany a friend to attend a 'business persons meet-n-greet networking event'. I've been working with her by bouncing ideas back and forth to help her grow a new business, and just being an extra pair of eyes, ears and hands. She's a great gal, so going was a no brainer. 

When we got there it was not exactly what we thought it would be. Not a lot of people and at first glance seemed more like a very very mini trade show. We walked, looked, talked, introduced ourselves and it seemed over in a hot minute. Then as we contemplated leaving, a woman came up to me, introduced herself and started talking to me about what she does. What a gem! We found that we do similar type creative work and have walked the same path for many decades. Then her gal pals started falling in and joining the conversation. Again, I was happily amazed. What a nice and fun set of women to spend some time with. Maybe it's because we are all cynics, or maybe because we love to manipulate and mutilate fabric, I don't know, but whatever it was, we got along and quickly bonded. 

The thought of sharing ideas and techniques is invigorating. Doing it with some really awesome people makes it even better. With these chicas I can tell that there are no expectations either, no stress to perform.. just do what comes naturally, creatively speaking. So getting together, having fun and seeing what direction we all end up is the plan.. I look forward to connecting with them real soon. Thanks Universe. Good job.

Craftsy classes on Sale now too!

Happy Mother's Day!

Craftsy is honoring this special day by putting some classes on sale from

Saturday, May 11 through Monday, May 13. 

(did I mention they are up to 50% off? Well they are!)

CLICK this link to see which ones

What a great Mom's day gift

ENJOY YOUR NEW CLASS! 

Creative Quilt Backs

Making quilts. So many challenges. So many decisions. So many techniques. Quilt backs, ugh. We all have our own methods for peicing or creating the quilt back. I am always intrigued by the way other quilters tackle this challenge.

So I decided to check out this class on Craftsy.com....Creative Quilt Backs.... and it's free!

Elizabeth Hartman offers four ways to make the back using simple, basic supplies. I like that. The easier the better and more likely that I'll actually finish the quilt! That means one less UFO to add to the stack...

She demonstrates her simple methods to make the quilt backs using her easy-to-follow directions and she shows you each step of the way. You will learn things like basic quilt back math. Even if math isn't your thing, its so easy to follow... you just can't mess up.

If you've ever had trouble figuring out what to do on the back and how to figure out how much fabric you need, this class is for you. Not only will you learn to figure out your yardage, but how to match up prints for a nice unbroken patterned back as well. Elizabeth will show you how to join those wonderful large scale prints that we all love so much but don't look so great with big seam lines breaking up the patterns. You know those seams bug you. Now, no worries....

The class also offers solid ideas for contemporary designs for the back. If you've ever have a handful of extra blocks and didn't have a clue what what to do with them, you will see very quickly what big impact and importance those left over blocks or pieced strips have if used on the back.

I like Elizabeth's design process, her improvisational piecing, and the cool secondary composition she achieves with such little effort.

In the comment section some people thought that that Elizabeth's techniques are too troublesome, but there's a reason her quilts look so spectacular. Her hard work and preplanning has a big payoff. Give it a try. I think you'll be thrilled with the outcome and the compliments.

Thank you Craftsy for another fantastic and FREE class!

CLICK HERE to see all of Craftsy's great classes!

Craftsy has free classes too!

Craftsy.com has some really fantastic classes for 

sewists, quilters, and foodies.

Some are even free!

Here is one of my faves....

As I was scrolling thru the list to see what was new, I came across Quiltcon for Modern Quilters. I had no idea what it was all about but it was free so I thought I'd take a peak.

Wow. What a great class! If you don't already know them, you'll meet at least six people in the quilt world that each talk about what they do and how they do it. And, you get to see the winning quilts from the show. Fabulous!

I liked way too much to write about, but here are the highlights for me:

David Butler (Amy Butler's husband) gives away all (well, maybe just some) of his tips and tricks for shooting an ad campaign and how to make it your own. If you breath, then you know that Amy Butler has the most gorgeous designs and patterns and I personally think that her superb photography makes is all so much more appealing. David has an honest down to earth way of explaining what he does and shows photos to illustrate his point.

And not to be left out, Amy herself has a segment where she talks about her inspiration and her thought process. I was in awe of the places she's been and the beautiful photos she takes. Her thought process is interesting and just seeing where they live and work is sheer eye candy!

Have you ever heard of Jacquie Gehring? She is a hoot! She is also an emotional, sensitive, insightful, and introspective quilter who gives us a peak at her life and her journey to quilting. She comes from a family of 'makers', people that make things for utilitarian purpose as well as pleasure. She has a very sophisticated and stylized design aesthetic. Her message: Be true to yourself, make what feels right to you and honor the support you receive from others.

If you're a quilter you will be rejuvenated when you watch this class. Bonus lesson 10 will get you really geaked up just looking at quilts in a new way... maybe a more modern approach..

Awards yes, loved seeing the winning quilts. All I can say is wow....the colors, the ideas, the execution.... holy cow.... makes me want to run right over to my machine and start a new quilt (unfortunately, my UFOs put up a road block)!

I love this class! Craftsy offers the best from the best. So check them all out. There must be something that catches your eye.

CLICK HERE to see all of Craftsy's great classes!

Gelli Plate or Slacker?

Just this once I'll allow you to laugh at me and call me names. I deserve it... here's why:

I began making gelatin plates quite a few years ago. I wanted a way to create unique, crazy & cool painted fabric and paper. Then suddenly Gelli Plates came on the market and I scoffed. (I know, who uses that word any more). 

Seriously.....who could possibly be that lame. You mean to tell me that you can't just throw some gelatin in hot water and then in the fridge? Really? I don't believe you. I know you can... if you really want to.

What a slacker. You have to really be a lazy so-and-so to take the easy route and buy a ready made plate. Sheesh.

Well, I spent years of trying to juggle things in the fridge to make room for the container of giggly stuff. Most of the time my refrigerator is just too packed...not an inch of room to spare for food let alone a pan of gelatin. So, I gave in. It took me a few years to get to that point and get over the fact that I would become one of those lame-o slackers, but alas..... I am. I finally succumbed. My new Gelli Plate arrived today and I can't wait to rip into it and paint, paint, paint.

So laugh at me ... call me names ..... say rude things about me, I can't hear you anyway. I'm squealing with glee while I pull out my new Gelli Plate. Go get yours right now.... let's have painting party....

Trash or Treasure?

Ok, so we all know that I love to recycle....mainly textiles... but not exclusively. I'm a happy camper any time I'm around cast off or thrown away materials, before of after being turned into something else. I get especially excited when it's turned into some type of art.

Well, Tyree Gyton of Detroit has been doing it for decades. His Heidelberg Project is an ever changing landscape of shoes, grocery carts, doll pieces, vacuum cleaners, bent and mangled metal, cinder blocks and so much more.... all whimsically assembled to create art that gives the viewer either the giggles or pause to think about the message.

I recently spent a morning there with a local high school art class. The purpose was to expose the kids to various types of art and materials... and think about what they could create themselves. So the message is that you don't have to have big money to create art, just an imagination and some found objects.

Here is a peek at our morning.

at the beginning

not sure what to do with all those old records?

hello, hello. anyone home?

yipes. who put those shopping carts up there?

the middle of the shopping cart tree

charred beams from an abandoned house

medical folk create art & make statements too..

Detroit's in trouble...this says it all

hmmm, there's still empty space up top

do you know what time it is in the D? take that Flavor Flav

coming and going,
every sidewalk is painted with faces & crosses

So that should give you some idea of what the Heidelberg Project is and how we reuse trash in Detroit. Love it or hate it, art IS in the eye of the beholder. It will be interesting to see what the kids come up with for their own projects.

I'll keep you posted.