Archive for the ‘process’ Category

time enough…

Tuesday, August 24th, 2010

Tuesday. There’s still a lot of packing to do for the upcoming workshops but most of the organizing is done. I still have a couple of days to focus. My time has been given to the studio, finishing up some things, preparing work to ship, making treats for the participants at Fabrications and Textile Evolution.

Another in the “Little Rooms” series has sold and will ship tomorrow. That work seems to resonate with people.

“little rooms: talking to myself”

“little rooms: telling stories”

The series began as a way of processing a difficult time but transformed into somethings else. I thought it would be used up by now but more pieces keep coming along. Even the newest studio work (the “mapping memory” mixed media pieces) is closely related to the little rooms. Everything flows.

in the garden:

The black hollyhocks finally bloomed! I want more more more, with white and the palest pink variations all mixed in the beds, set off by those wonderful deep reds that have done so well this year… it’s time for planning and keeping track again. hollly hocks are such an old fashioned flower. They remind me of my grandmother’s gardens.

Four O’Clocks are blooming in pots and along the foundation in the front. These are wonderful color as the light changes . With our shade patterns these days, they bloom most of the day.

Later this fall, if time permits , I can plot out color for next year, actually design what I want to see and when.  20 years ago, when I began gardening in this space, I did exactly that but life changes,  gets busy. Many Springs and Autumns have seen me away from home and garden. Things go wild, volunteers take over, plants live out their cycles and the mini climates change over a decade or so. This year will be a good opportunity to catch up – assuming the weather holds and I don’t get obsessed by the studio work.

on the wall

Wednesday, August 11th, 2010

work on these pieces continues.

This one is put away until it decides if it is done, or if it wants painting over. There are two other panels the same size: 32″h x 20″w.

working title: mapping memory

detail

This little piece may be a component in the next panel, or perhaps finished out as a stand alone;

It needs more layers, more beads…

Materials include; various papers, including 300# watercolor paper, rice paper and tea bag paper;  glass and stone beads, mystery fabric, mono-prints, painted silk  and cotton bat. Acrylic inks and paints. Mounted on Peltex and stitched.

in the studio

Sunday, July 25th, 2010

For the past several days I have been creating raw materials using my “fusion technique” (in search of a name.)

First, the wall, with everything pinned up.

below:  Two out of three panels, each 32″ h x 20″ w.

Some culling of units and some organizing of space is beginning to take place here.

Two close views.Materials include: painted silk chiffon,  tea bag paper, filter cloth, paper, scraps, mystery fabric, hand dyed cottons, exposed batting and more. Text is going in with the ink jet printer, found text and hand script.

and a third.  In this one, Egg tempera has been added along with stitch, leaves, various layers of translucent materials.

The piece is beginning to make itself known to me. I can see where the space wants to be divided, how edges will be handled and more. What is unclear is the amount of embroidery that will go in and how. Found object? Probably. There’s a bowl beginning to fill… it’s an interesting process and is reminding me of the work on the “little rooms” series.

Lots of layering of image, thought, memory. we’ll see what happens next, eh?

late june

Thursday, June 24th, 2010

In my little corner of the world, the peonies finally bloomed!

With changing light/shade patterns in my back garden it’s never certain they will get enough sun.

Yesterday was spent rearranging and cleaning the office. Decades worth of paperwork is being shredded. Along the way, some reminders are emerging. I have been conducting business as an artist, on a professional level, for more than 30 years; have been teaching in the world of fibers, on a national level, for over 14 years (have lots more years than that of more mainstream teaching);  and have a consistent record of professional markers. It’s interesting to have these things brought to my attention in unexpected ways. Most often I get up and do my work, live my life and do not think too much about the overall pattern. I seldom talk about any of this but it is my life.

The Quilt Show has begun airing. One unexpected side effect is that people met in the past are dropping notes! That is a wonderful treat.

Other news? The “lesson” for TQS’s website is finished and in their hands. Don’t know when it will post.

The process of making an object and documenting each step visually as well as in       written form is an exercise in careful thinking. It does not come easily for me, but it’s done!

The next “lesson” will be on presentation options. That step will come more easily now that the template and work pattern is established, the tripod located and set-up determined.

Billings continues to deal with the aftermath of Sunday’s tornado. We were lucky in so many ways but for those whose property was in the path, well, it was devastating. Damage from hail, damage from the high winds, and horrible damage from flooding. If the area gets qualified for FEMA funding (based on total value of losses), perhaps that will help property owners recover. Le’s keep our fingers crossed.

p.s. if you have my website in your bookmarks, you might want to hit “reload” or “refresh”. there have been some formatting changes made.

acrylic mediums

Friday, March 5th, 2010

Here’s the hotlink to the pages on acrylic mediums.

http://www.cater-woods.com/weblog/?page_id=904

It’s a start. hope it helps.

happiness is…

Wednesday, February 24th, 2010

happiness is a dry sidewalk!

ice is melting, February almost gone, robins showing up and…

new work is in process!

this is what it looked like yesterday, before it was cut it up, before going back into it with darker areas.

today the piece looks very different but there are  no new photos. maybe this weekend?

My wrist is only allowing short spurts in the studio but that’s enough for right now.

new on the website

Friday, February 19th, 2010

new on gallery 4, a few pieces from “the little rooms” series. (several others have found new homes already!)

These have been awhile in the making, have undergone a few variations but here they are. A different point of view from my abstract landscapes, they are based in dreaming and in transforming the unknown, and slightly scary, into positives.

They combine pieced hand dyed strips and other cottons, fused sheers, lots of machine work, hand work and all sorts of beads, found objects and written notes.

the year is winding down

Monday, December 28th, 2009

December 28. I am already writing “january” and “2010″. This past year has presented many challenges and much heartbreak. There have been roses and bright spots amongs the thorns and clouds – it is all an opportunity for growth, eh? My regular end of year, beginning of the next assessments got shelved in 2008 and 2009 due to all the emotional demands of lives in transition. Essentially the goal was to get through it all.

This year the reassessment process began shortly after Thanksgiving. It is slow going as I try to look at life clearly.

On my list of things to change:

greater studio discipline. This means more time for the studio work and less spent on line. Now that my head is clearing this will be easier. Still to do: create more clear space by sifting, sorting and clearing out things no longer appropo to my work.

more time and energy for self-care: Over the last few years much of my emotional energy has gone toward family in stress, to grieving and to coping with multiple layers of loss. This has depleted my reserves and now it is time to pay attention: improve my diet, walk more, continue with therapies for my back and neck (still damaged from the car wreck in late April), and take more time for play.

Working smarter, not more or harder; Consolidating where it can be done: streamlining the teaching schedule, being more disciplined about the on-line work and doing a better job of keeping up with writing obligations. Letting each aspect of my professional life feed the others.

The word that underlines all of this for me is “mindfulness”. When mindfulness is part of my daily life, inspiration and wonder are ever-present. This informs the creative work, makes me a better teacher and allows me to offer more at every layer of my life.

As always, having a seamless life is important to me. Compartmentalization is handy for lists and schedules but not a good tool for a person who operates in a global rather than linear manner.

There are specific intentions in each of the areas of my life and perhaps there will be a time and place for discussing them. Or maybe the blog will bevccome an arena for keeping on track with moving through the year. We’ll see.

Meanwhile I wish for you a peaceful transition into the new year, good health, and time enough for the parts of your life that are most important to you.

December 1, already?

Tuesday, December 1st, 2009

It is snowing and the dogs are happy. They love frolicking in the white wet stuff and don’t care about slippery surfaces, both have nice water proof coats… it’s a good day to be a dog. grin.

As for me, I am staying in, putting together another edition of the little book without a name (it needs a name! anyone have a suggestion?) and in general, updating stuff here and there. The office is a mess and I want to finish quilting the panel for the Alzheimer’s Names Quilt later today. It would be nice to have that done ahead of schedule.

Studio Walls:

Mine are constructed of Celotex, an insulation board with a high R value, it has foil on one side and is black on the other.

The foil and R rating make it possible to pin a piece up and iron it without melting the board. I believe the retail on this stuff is /was around $12 for a 4′ x 8′ panel. It is very light weight and can be cut to size with a utility knife.

One of my work walls is screwed into a light weight lath across permanent built-in book shelves. When we want access to those shelves, it is a simple thing to take the work wall down, and replace it as needed.

The other work wall sits in a set of L brackets (top and bottom) across a very narrow wall. This makes it possible to slide the wall out of position to access a storage area behind it.

I also have a small piece (3′x’4′) that is useful for small works, can be transported or easily stored.

To make a portable wall, we have cut the boards to size and doubled them, adhering the edges with duct tape, then covering the work side with flannel.

Some years ago I had a large commission and no place to work on it. Michael made me a folding wall, using the doubled celotex and creating the joints with duct tape – that worked very well. The wall could be folded up when not in use, and it unfolded to give me the breadth I needed.

Pink styrofoam may be more easily obtained if you live in a mild climate, it would work, but will melt if heat is applied. You could probably get around this (if it matters to you) by applying some aluminum foil on the surface before putting a piece of felt or whatever on it.

There are other boards available, but they may be too heavy for pinning into and easily transporting. Look at your local home improvement center, ask questions, see what is available.

A less desirable alternative (IMO), is using foam core. It does have the advantage of being easily procured and it is light weight but it is not sturdy, and can be expensive if you want a larger work surface.

HTH.

what day is it???

Monday, November 9th, 2009

Monday.

and  not a gov’t holiday as near as I can tell. Sunny but chill. A lot of yard and garden clean-up was accomplished yesterday but no bulbs planted yet. Must get that done this week.

I am frustrated with my electronics. Cannot seem to get things formatted and printed properly.

Maybe it’s time to get back into studio where at least the materials and repetitive hand work are their  own reward.

On the “store page” of my website: new materials and leftovers.

More to come in the next few days.

Meanwhile the proposal for the Textile Reference Book goes well. It is a slow process. We are, of course, up against the slump of the economy.

Who would buy such a big book? and so on… I am optimistic. I feel that we need this book, that the Textile/Fiber Arts are morphing slightly but not going away, that more and more people are entering the field daily. So, I persist…

of to the north room…