Creating...

but not exactly what I expected. I'm spending today in the gallery, and now that I've got the exhibit how I want it, complete with labels, I'm working on... well...not what I intended to work on. I intended to work on the image above, a piece of Evolon that has been transfer dyed in four layers (or was it five...I forget). But somehow the little box with the correct foot for my old Bernina (which lives here part time) has disappeared in the chaos which is the Gallery's art supplies, so instead, I'm writing some instructions for a pattern. I rarely make pieces that lend themselves to patterns, or instructions, and in truth, this will be a pattern with a difference. It will tell you how to make a particular wall hanging...but it will also give you lots of control over the size and look of the piece, too. Mind you, I've never actually used a pattern, so maybe that's what all patterns do? If so, better tell me now before I make an idiot of myself...

The piece I'm writing the pattern for is called 'Autumn Rain'. I originally made it with hand dyes, but I am writing the pattern for commercial fabrics as well as hand dyes...so we'll see how that works today. I'll pop a picture of it up on the next blog, along with some images of the show.

Workshop Wonders

Just in case you were wondering what it was we get up to on a Tuesday night at the Gallery, here are some images of a recent show of student work. So far this year, we've tried a wide variety of things, from paste papers and nature printing through to altered books. We've even moved into basic 3D, as you can see from the Funky Chicken plaque (isn't it fab?). And that's just with the grown ups! The kids made the wonderful altered shoes you can see in one of the images; the adults haven't quite picked up the courage to do that yet, but I suspect it's only a matter of time!

At the moment, we're working with photographs, using a favourite photo as inspiration to produce different kinds of work. I don't know about you, but I take huge amounts of images, but often they are left on the disc to moulder as I collect even more... So we're working this month on just how to use those images. I'll share some images at the end of the exercise...though that might be some time in the future; we're finding more and more inspiration in the smallest of details.

Next week at the Gallery, my friend Jill and I are hanging a textile exhibition, entitled 'Textile Alternatives'. As well as our own work, we'll be showing a wide range of work, some of which stretches the boundaries of our understanding of what 'textile' means. I hope we'll see some of you there... it opens on Saturday 24 October, and runs til the following Saturday. Open 9.30am to5pm Monday to Saturday, closed on Sundays. Check out the Gallery web page for location and more details.

And talking about Alternatives, as we were... I've given up the ownership of the Alternative Quilt List on Yahoogroups, and delivered it into the competent and caring hands of my friend and fellow artist Dijanne Cevaal. I hope it continues to grow and change. I have been very busy of late (you may have noticed a greater paucity of posts than usual around here), and feel that it's time for me to hand over the reins. Good luck, Dij!

ps There are a number of the snow leopard t shirts left over; if you would like to buy one, drop me an email. They are very low cost, and all proceeds go the the Snow Leopard Trust.

Plus Ca Change...

...plus c'est la meme chose... I don't quite think this was the intention behind the quotation, but in a way, it's very fitting. Voici the French version of Lovely Lutradur, 'Ravissant Lutradur'. Doesn't it look great? It is, of course, the same book, just translated and presented slightly differently, but it does the same thing as the old one, honest!! I hope our Francophone readers really enjoy it.

I'm working today on the final draft of Exquisite Evolon, before sending it to the designer. It seems to have taken forever, but I do hope the wait will have been worth it for everyone who has expressed an interest in this new book. I'm hoping it will be ready to take with me to Harrogate, so fingers crossed!

I've really been busy, recently, much of it the admin work behind the business; putting together a quote for the school which is interested in a textile project next year, for instance. That involves a six foot long Evolon snake... watch this space! I've also been saving the Snow Leopard, one tshirt at a time... when I find my camera I'll upload a shot or two of the tshirts we are selling at the gallery; every single penny goes to the charity. They are for sale during the exhibition of students work at the gallery this week; work from adults and kids, from altered shoes through paintings to collage and altered books. Everyone has been having fun, and it took the show for some of us to realise just how good the work is. Congratulations to everyone on their success and their hard work!

Professional Procrastination

Never put off til tomorrow what you can put off til next week... no, that's not right, is it? But lots of people put things off indefinitely, and I can be numbered amongst them, sometimes... Usually, I'm waiting for 'the right time'. That special, elusive 'right' time, when I'll a. feel like it b. have everything available c. want to do it d. know I can do it e. have the time to do it....and I'm sure there are lots of other things that have to be in place before I can do whatever it is.

Now, if what I'm trying to do is something unpleasant, you could perhaps see the point in putting it off. But often, what I'm aiming to do is, in fact, what I WANT to be doing...or so I say, anyway. So what's wrong with that picture? I don't let anything get in between me and a bar of chocolate (my friends and colleagues will confirm that). So why would I let things get in the way of making art? Sometimes it's to do with not being ready. I have an idea for the new Quilters Guild Contemporary Quilt Group challenge, for instance. It's part of a much larger idea I have about scars, erosion and things breaking through to the surface from the depths. I've been playing with this for a while, working with marks and images in between the writing of the books. Sitting here, now, thinking about it, that series has been ready to make for a while. I've just been doing other things, like writing, and the Paid Job, and Festival of Quilts. All of those things are great fun, and a good way to spend my time. However, and it's a big however, it doesn't get the art made.

So, what do I really want? At the moment, I want to finish the Evolon book, which is so nearly done that it hurts, to send away all the orders I've had for the completed book over the last few days (thank you all!) and to call the bank for information that I need to complete my tax form. And oh, yes, I want to make art. So, today and tomorrow, I have the time I need to clear my feet, fulfil those orders, meet with the art teacher at the school to discuss a potential project, nip to the doctor's to collect my happy pills (always important!). I'll also run a workshop on Tuesday night, and hopefully go to my friend Jill's opening (it's her MA finals show, and I don't want to miss it). I might even manage to shoehorn a haircut into Tuesday pm... And then I have three days at work. And then it's the weekend, and I have four whole days to focus on the art and the book.

Procrastination is fine, if you've got the time for it. I don't. So I have focussed on the essentials, my commitments in the short term, and I've decided how to tackle them. Many of these things are just a phonecall away. That takes five minutes from a whole day. The post office will take an hour, so will the school visit. But that's still a lot of time to get moving on what needs to be done. I'll be able to sit down with the Evolon manuscript and see exactly where I am with it, and scope out how I'm going to finish it in the next week or so. I've done enough worrying about fixing it; now it's time to fix it. Deep breath, and on it goes.

I talk about procrastination at some length in the Creative Focus book. It doesn't get a chapter to itself, though; it isn't that important. We just make it important in our heads. A bit of planning and a lot of focus gets us to where we want to be, and quickly, too. And I might just get a small bar of chocolate to reward myself with after all that work...I am on a diet, after all! But the main reward for this kind of planning is the feeling you get afterwards, that you have achieved everything you needed to, and the time ahead is now clear to get on with what you really want to do.

ps You know you're not making enough art when you can't find a new photo for a blog post... this one is 'Sun God', one of the projects in the upcoming Evolon book, a rust dyed and stamped piece of Evolon, ready for stitch.

At Last...

I've managed to put Lovely Lutradur The Book up onto my other blog, complete with Paypal buttons. It takes a while to get everything just so... so here's hoping I haven't missed any errors. I've included an extract from the book, which explains why Dijanne and I love this fabric so much; I hope you'll find it interesting. Just click on the red link above to check it out.

I'm finding that The Day Job doesn't just take time; it takes a lot of energy, too, so I'm trying to cut back in places; deciding what to cut back on is challenging, I'm finding. I recently bought a jigsaw to alter, having conveniently forgotten that altered stuff is one of the areas I'm withdrawing from... I dare say I'll remember given time! I've got a textile exhibition to work towards in late October, too, so it'll need to take precedence for now.

That said, I have an appointment with a Primary School to discuss a possible textile art project for next year. I think it would be great fun to work with kids, and give them possibly their first taste of working in textiles. I have some ideas already; the project will be based around the Rainbow Serpent, an Aboriginal creation story. It'll be interesting to see what the teachers think. Wish me luck!

At last...

...here they are, in glorious technicolour. Lovely Lutradur and Finding Your Creative Focus had their respective debuts at Festival Of Quilts, and now they're popping up for sale on my other blog
Or at least, Finding Focus is there, Lovely Lutradur will appear later on today, or possibly tomorrow. I've been catching up with my admin work today, sending some books away, some CDs too. Self employed persons don't get Bank Holidays, and neither do those of us who work Wednesday to Friday (aww...). Now all that remains is for me to finish the Exquisite Evolon book, which is in the process of having its gallery put to rights, and I'll have that with me at the Knitting and Stitching Show at Harrogate. Hurrah!

I had a great time at Festival of Quilts, particularly teaching. I love teaching, and everyone in the classes rose to the occasion, and seemed to go away happy, and with some lovely work in process, too. For once, I managed not to buy much at all in the way of supplies, but then, I was really busy... and finally, on Sunday, managed to make the book with Lutradur XL that I'd been promising I'd make all week... For those of you wondering what Lutradur XL is, it's a heavy weight lutradur, which, as well as being interesting to work with in its own right, is a wonderful substitute for Pelmet Vilene. I prefer it, in fact, as it doesn't give off fluff in the sewing machine, and it takes colour much better than Pelmet Vilene, particularly line. So...some experiments with that, maybe even a new book... watch this space!

Tomorrow is gallery day, which is always fun. I usually take hand work to do, but might just play with my sewing machine, for fun. There's a piece of Evolon which I transfer dyed which is just begging to be stitched... And then, I have the workshop in the evening, which we've transferred from the Wednesday night, as I now work three days a week, and was finding it too tiring to zoom around at work all day and then zoom around in the gallery in the evening. We are meant to be working on Beautiful Backgrounds, but last week's class on designing and making dolls was very well received, and the people who attended want to make more dolls. So we might end up with two classes running simultaneously... stranger things have happened. At least I'm flexible...

Finally....

there is a light at the end of the tunnel, and it isn't an oncoming train! The image here is the front cover of my new book, my first solo effort, 'Finding Your Creative Focus'. Didn't Terry do a great job? I got the proof image at the weekend, and the book, along with Lovely Lutradur, should be completely printed and ready to go to FOQ by Friday this week. It's really exciting!!! And Lovely Lutradur is to come out in French in September, at the Carrefour in Alsace. That's exciting, too; my lutradur quilts are in France as we speak, being photographed for this new edition.

Creative work, other than the ongoing work on the Evolon book, is at a standstill, pretty much, as I prepare for the classes that I'll be teaching at Festival of Quilts. Preparing packs always takes more time than you would think, and I like to have handouts ready for everything I teach. The classes I'm teaching at FOQ are new, so that means working things out from scratch, trying to make them the best that I can, and fun for the participants, too. I'm looking forward to getting back to normal, with the Evolon book finished, the workshops completed and a chance to get back into the shed!