I’ve been keeping quite busy lately. I’m trying to paint my art supply room ( I hate painting) as it needs cleaning out and organizing very badly. I decided if I was going to rip it apart, I should paint it too - it is all white and y’all know how I feel about the absence of color - Ack!! Notice how I completely passed over the most disturbing part of that last sentence? A whole room that is just art supplies - very scary! So, by dribbles and drabs, I’ve been working on that. I also taught a new sock class recently which had to be written and was all about the options of toes; sock toes, it was fun!

And I’ve just started another of my Toe-Up, Two at a Time on One Needle Socks class. In fact, sock knitting must be hot because one filled up so I schedule another immediately following it and it’s full too. Cool beans!

But I’m also taking an online art class with Laura Cater-Woods. It’s called Idea to Image and it’s also an artist coaching group therapy class Laura is brilliant and has really helped me clear some cobwebs in my brain.

So, I’ve just started a new piece. I’ve decided to be brave and let you see the steps I’ve done so far. First, I want to keep this as non-objective as possible for a piece that actually has objects (I just learned a new term “non-objective art” is art with no recognizable objects in it; abstract). So, I’m trying to represent the theme of the work with just color - well, so far. Think — grape vine on a stucco wall. First blush at my idea was a water color.

Then, I added a sharp black, fine line to see if i like the contrast with soft color. I do.

Then I got out my fabric (silk noil). I decided that I’m a chicken and put in a few resist lines to represent the grape vine idea. The resist is Elmer’s Blue Gel School Glue - it works very well for this.

A better look at the resist.

Then I played with color!

It’s a bit more yellow than I planned but this is only the first layer of color. Since this is a wall piece, I don’t have to worry about how many layers I add and the fabric getting a stiff hand. If this was garment fabric, I would be very concerned but - I can explore this concept without that consideration.

Off to play some more!

Deb H

Beethoven Meets the Moody Blues by Deborah Harowitz © 2007

Since we are on the subject of history… and I cannot show you what I’m currently working on (it’s all gifts), I will show you the quilt I finished last summer that is now traveling in an exhibit.

The exhibit is the Michigan Quilt Artists Invitational annual show. Each year a new theme is chosen and Michigan quilt artists are invited to create an art quilt based on the theme. The resulting quilts are curated into an exhibit that spends two years traveling different venues, from art galleries to public libraries to hospital lobbies, all over the state of Michigan. The 2007 exhibit with the theme of The Art of Music, opened in the Gallery of the Greater Flint Arts Council on October 5, 2007. It is currently at the Ann Arbor Public Library and will travel until fall of 2009. Click here to see it’s travel schedule. I was delighted to receive an invitation to participate, 2007 being my first year. I entered a quilt that was inspired by one of my favorite pieces of classical music (I love classical for when I ‘m designing, it helps me think), The Moonlight Sonata by Ludwig van Beethoven. I started with a vague image in my head of moonlight on water. I hand dyed, in indigo blues, a silk noil. I silk screened sections of the sheet music on it and Beethoven’s name. I then stamped music notes on as well. The overall look was subtle and I was pleased. Using hand dyed fabrics of cotton sateen and silk, and a commercial block print I assembled a vague landscape. To add contrast and emphasize the theme I added a keyboard, wandering into the stars. The overall tone of the piece is very mellow. That, and it’s color scheme; predominately blues, gave the quilt it’s full name: Beethoven Meets the Moody Blues. I apologize for the quality of the photo. It was before I got my new camera and the old one just didn’t do justice to fibers or colors. Since the quilt is off on it’s own adventure, I can’t re-shoot it. The finished quilt is 20″ x 24″ and is machine stitched, machine quilted, hand beaded, hand embroidered, and finished with a “pillow case” backing with no additional binding. As usual, I finished it late the night before it went into the mail. I just had enough time to snap a daylight photo and off it went. If felt a little like sending the kid off to college, just not as expensive ;o)