10 Great Gifts for Artists

Speaking as one, here's what I think any artist would love to get as a gift this holiday season (from big ticket to stocking stuffers). 

1. A handwritten letter that specifically and deliberately tells me what you like, enjoy, appreciate and find interesting about my work. We so often feel like our work is out there in a vacuum. We would love to know what you like about it, what it makes you feel like. I know these things are hard to put into words, but putting them into the words you can really would make us happy!

2. Scratch materials -- what do you see in my studio that gets used over and over? Maybe (for any textile artist, any way) a terrific new set of scissors, even a coupon for scissor sharpening or a sewing machine cleaning would be very appreciated gifts. Quality watercolor pads are expensive and always welcome for the water media painter. A gallon of gel medium or tar gel might make the heart of any mixed media artist happy. If all else fails, a gift certificate from one of the online art stores or fabric stores could be just the ticket. Check out Jerry's Artorama, Dick Blick, Dharma Trading Company, or Pro-Chem.

3. If the artist on your lists likes blank books, just some really functional ones like the black bound ones from any art or book store will do. Different sizes are fun to have.

 4. At the top end of the gift bestowing standard, (if your artist doesn't already have one) a new iPad tablet. Whooo Hoooo! Or if your artist already has one, how about an iTunes gift card for those apps that just need testing out. Another idea would be an iPad workshop for said iPad-owning artist -- there are some online ones, and (modestly, I say) I am teaching one here at El Cielo March 1-3.

5. Speaking of workshops, another welcome gift might be a gift certificate for travel or lodging to be used at a workshop or conference, or a workshop or conference fee paid in advance. The Surface Design Association conference will be held in San Antonio in June, a great gift to give any fiber, mixed media or textile artist on your list. For an event less directly art related, but inspirational for any artist, see if there is a TEDX event scheduled in your community and offer your artist the means to attend (there might be a fee, parking, babysitting, whatever it takes).

6. At the other end of the supply spectrum from a supply something used everyday, how about giving a luxury, unusual, international or unusual material that you think your artist could use in her or his work. Some treats that I've seen online lately:

Shizen papers -- handmade papers from Asia and elsewhere -- (lots of arts stores online carry these)

7. Something inspiring. For example, an art book of one of your artist's favorite artist. A big beautiful picture/photo book of something your artist includes in his or her work (fruit, flowers, landscapes, shells). A book about creativity, such as my own THE MISSING ALPHABET (yes, for parents, but it's a great book for those of us looking for artist dates for our inner artist kid)  Inspired, How creative people think, work and find inspiration, or The Art of Looking Sideways:

8. Travel. Travel is inspiring to most, if not all, artists. Maybe its just an overnight to a nearby city with an art exhibit worth seeing, or a weekend to a nearby spot of natural beauty -- or an extravagant gift of India or Italy. Be sure to package the gift with an appropriate postcards, set of travel tools (book, watercolor or sketch tools, guidebook or tickets!). 

9. A gift certificate for your artist to make a hard-cover book of his or her art  using iPhoto, Blurb or Lulu, or another of the online publish-on-demand sources. You can specify hard cover or soft, size, type of paper (choose the upgrade for better art reproduction).

10. With caution I suggest, A studio clean-up partnership-- just make a little coupon offering your services for a weekend clean-a-thon, and throw in some new storage containers, plastic boxes, filing ideas or other support for an organized workspace. You'll know whether your artist would welcome or reject such a gift -- some of us like our messy ways, others would love some help putting things into order (even if chaos was just around the next corner!) For additional inspiration, add a subscription to Studios, the Interweave Press publication that showcases wonderful artist studios of all kinds, sizes and shapes.

Do you have idea? Post them in the comments section and we'll see how many of us get the gift we really want this holiday season!

India Inspired Pillow

http://www.craftsy.com/classes

I hope to offer a class on Craftsy one of these days (you can help get me there by reccommending me as a teacher send an email to courses@craftsy.com). I demo'ed a couple of two hour sessions during the Houston International Quilt Festival and liked their professional attitudes and have enjoyed checking out the website. (Jane Dunnewold teaches a dye class there, too.)

So it seemed essential to actually take a class on their platform and to see how it worked. The lessons here are all video, with supporting print materials -- though I admit, I just went by the video and had no problem with the pillow project I tried. The class was taught by Carol Ann Waugh, Slash and Stitch, and she was great -- easy to follow, not boring, but certainly thorough. I just plowed through in one day with the class, though all the Craftsy courses are taken when and where and on your own schedule. The class commentary and questions to the instructor seem to be easy -- though it definitely must mean quite an ongoing commitment to the class by the teacher, since students start at any time and work at their own pace. Here's my project. I think I'll make more for Christmas gifts if I can work in the time. This pillow took me about 6 hours, but I think the next one will go more quickly as I learned some tricks from the first time through -- like, don't use slippery fabric for your bottom layer! And for less stitching, use more print or patterned fabric on that bottom layer, too. 

Source: India Inspired Pillow via Susiemonday on Craftsy

Anyhow, if you like to sew, quilt or make art with fabric, I reccommend Craftsy -- and this course was great!

PS Here I am at the Quilt Festival doing a stamp-making demo at the Craftsty area in the Food Court.

 

 Photo by Lesley Riley

More about The Missing Alphabet

Our book for parents is birthed and we are selling quite well -- would love to make an even bigger splash out there is in the world, so if you know of anyone who might want to feature it on a blog or review site targeted at parents, creative thinkers or others who are interested in supporting the NEXT generation of creative thinkers, leave me a comment or send a message via the contact box on the sidebar. This is the book that distills the information and ideas that have informed much of my career as an arts educator -- frankly, the ideas and activities in it are fun for all ages, including adults looking for opportunities to awaken (or reawaken) their creative thinking and "noticing" skills.

Of course, I hope you'll consider it as gift giveing time rolls around. It's a spendid, helpful, interesting and important read, if I do say so myself! For parents and for artists of all ages. 

You can from Amazon or B&N, both electronic and paperback versions are available.

Here's a bit more about the book, from the website at http://www.themissingalphabet.com:

What is the best way to equip our children for the unknowns of the future?

It is impossible to know what the world will be like, or what our children’s career choices will be when they are grown. The scale of change, largely driven by technology, is unprecedented in human history. And it is change itself, this reordering, this inventing of the new world that will occupy our children’s future.

We have entered a time that calls for innovation across the board. This call is already echoing through all fields. The child’s counterpart to innovation is creative thinking, and creativity is our children’s next essential literacy.

The future will belong to children with innovative minds. But where will they get the thinking skills that build effective innovators? Unfortunately, most schools are focused elsewhere. The Missing Alphabet is a practical guide that helps parents solve these problems.

This team of education experts has drawn on decades of applied research in creativity, individuality, play, and media to craft an engaging guide for parents who understand that creative thinking skills are no longer a luxury, but a necessity for success in the new, grown-up world of work.

Pattern Play

Tile Deck patterns are amazing and beautiful!

Certainly this is one obvious strong suit for most textile artists: PATTERN. Pattern, to me, is the visual rhythm that moves me around a textile, or through the story within a piece of art. I posted a short blog on our new and wow, so cool, MISSING ALPHABET site -- and thought I would expand and make a more textile related post here, as well. 

I've been exploring pattern TOOLs in the world of apps, in anticipation of my next iPad workshops (one in Alaska in January and one here at El Cielo March 1-3). I admit to a combination of looking at referals when I see them (that's where Tile Deck came from -- an online magazine article by Jane Davila in the last issue of IN STITCH) and also just in random app store surfing using interesting search terms. It's become my latest recreation, such so that I think I may have to make a firm budget line item for app store purchases!

Here are the apps I have downloaded recently. Some of them are really easy right off the bat, others take a little bit of learning curve. If you want the blow-by-blow (and fiber art specific applications for the art that these apps help you make) sign up for the March workshop soon. It's filling up fast!

TileDeck -- the best of the lot and an amazing tool for making repeating patterns, then changing them around with mirroring and flipping functions. This one is definitely worth paying for.

Playing around with Stencils

Kaleidoverse -- one of many digital kaleidoscope tools out there, and one that I like most

Doodle Dandy -- particularly easy for little kids to use, but with plenty of sophisticated controls

überdoodle -- an app version of the spirograph, with gears, pen sizes, and other variables to play with. The free version offered enough for me to start with, but there's a paid one with more variable options included.

Amacolor -- another kaleidoscope that makes black line patterns to color in -- the black line patterns will be great for thermofaxes.

Amacolor kaleidoscope design

Stencils -- Make multiples with predrawn stencil shapes for interesting art applications, alter and overlap them, use the letters and numbers for textured designs using the different brushes.

Yes, you are invited.

OK, this is kind of ridiculous, I know. I have done nothing on this blog except ask you to stuff for a few weeks now. So, this is my life, lovely. Busy. And full of flat out get it done.

Sometimes life is like that, and we who are lucky enough to work at what we love get the benefit. I have been a bit crazy, stitching my way into a solo show, getting ready for quilt festival, trying to think about next year with that half an ear on the future. NOTHING, NOTHING,  has been done exactly the way I'd wish it to be.. but it's done (or nearly). I hope to post a link to an online gallery here in the next couple of weeks. If you can't make the opening but want to see the show, call or email me and I'll make arrangements to meet you at Don and Jacob's for lunch sometime before it all comes down in January. There will also be a couple of other parties and special events there over the holiday season.

The solo show opens on Sunday, and you are invited.

Tomorrow and Monday I prepare for the festival workshops and demos. Saturday a dear friend has asked me to "do" a special workshop with him, for a birthday gift of creativity. The book is out. The website launched.

http://www.themissingalphabet.com/

You can order here on Amazon (Kindle version, too).

Please, if you have any desire for this book -- great for kids and parents and grandparents, order it soon, so Amazon reorders! On such, books are made and lost. We have spent money, lots of time and it's kind of a legacy thing for me and my co-authors. You won't regret the purchase -this is the real thing with lots of great ideas for getting kids off to a creative thinking start.Save & Close

Newsletter -- Summarizing it all!

In case you are not on my subscribers list for newsletters, you can read and download the latest issue with this link. (This is an earlier version, on the design wall, of one of the pieces in the Hill Country exhibit)>

Shaping Symbols into Art Quilts

Would you like to transform some surface design fun into a small art quilt? In just one day, at my Wednesday Quilt Festival workshop (#330 in the catalog), you'll take a journey from shape to quilt composition -- with original fabrics, fused and ready to stitch. The date is October 31, 2013, starting at 9, lunch 12-2, finishing at 5.

I'm offering a full day and full of fun with these ideas: Master design skills with free-form patterns, cut-paper shapes, and original stamps as you explore personal imagery and iconic symbols. Learn to simplify photos for original quilts, printing and more using a computer or iPad, and also just by hand-and-eye. One of your designs will be made into a thermofax screen and mailed to you later. You'll layout a small quilt, with critique and assistance, with lots of custom fabrics on hand from my stash to use for your project.

The advance workshop registration for Festival is over, but there is lots of room in this one if you want to register onsite. Just go to the George Brown Convention Center in Houston. The workshop fee is $65 for the full day event! Plus the supply fee of $25 for printer inks, copier paper and card stock, erasers, craft foam, mounting block, textile inks, thermofax mailed to student after Festival. 

More info about Festival this year:

International Quilt Festival Houston 2012

November 1-4, 2012
George R. Brown Convention Center
Houston, Texas

Hours:
Wed., Oct 31 (Preview Night): 7-10 p.m. 
Thurs., Nov. 1-Sat., Nov. 3: 10 a.m.-7 p.m.
Sun., Nov. 4: 10 a.m.-4 p.m. 

Ticket prices:
$12 daily adult
$9 seniors & students
Children 10 and under free.
$12 Preview Night (includes one free additional day)
$42 Full Show Pass (includes Preview Night)

The pre-enrollment deadline was Friday, September 28th. Onsite enrollment will be available to sign up for classes, lectures & events. The onsite enrollment hours are as follows:

Sunday, October 28 3:00pm - 6:00pm
Monday, October 29 7:30am – 6:30pm
Tuesday, October 30 7:30am – 5:30pm
Wednesday, October 31 7:30am – 8:30pm
Thursday, November 1 7:30am - 5:30pm
Friday, November 2 7:30am – 6:30pm
Saturday, November 3 7:30am – 3:30pm
Sunday, November 4 8:30am – 10:00am

Opening at Bismarck

 

Well attended. Beautifully hung. Diverse works. Hope you can see it soon. 

See more about the show at this link from the gallery: http://www.bismarckartgallery.com/fiber-artists-of-san-antonio/

Shape, Shapely and Shaped

Today at my Southwest School of Art class on Finding Your Artist Path, we will be looking at and thinking about and working with SHAPE and CONTRAST. Here are a few of the notes, some things to think about as you go about your creative work today!

SHAPE
A shape is a self contained defined area of geometric or organic form. A positive shape in a painting automatically creates a negative shape.

CONTRAST

Contrast is the juxtaposition of opposing elements eg. opposite colours on the colour wheel - red / green, blue / orange etc. Contrast in tone or value - light / dark. Contrast in direction - horizontal / vertical.
The major contrast in a painting should be located at the center of interest. Too much contrast scattered throughout a painting can destroy unity and make a work difficult to look at. Unless a feeling of chaos and confusion are what you are seeking, it is a good idea to carefully consider where to place your areas of maximum contrast.

These design elements and principles work together (as they all do!) But I think that working with shape gives the artist the perfect laboratory for investigating contrast in a very concrete direct way.

What kinds of shapes do you doodle on napkins, notecards and the item formerly known as a phone pad? What shapes show up at the tip of your pen or pencil.

Do you like clear, well defined shapes that are simple and concrete, easy-to-describe? Or amorphous, vague, or organic shapes?

Do you work with shape in a “flat” 2-D world? Graphically, all one plane? Or as three- dimensional shapes, whether you paint or sculpt them?

Where is the strongest shape contrast in your work? Do you have big shapes, little shapes and medium shapes (remember the “rule of three”)?

Do you layer shapes in your work? Are the layers close together or far apart? Can you see through them or around them? DO you show space through layering? Or light? Or size? Or all of the above?

What shapes your art practice? The time available, what’s left over after everything else, what you think you SHOULD do? What if you gave it another shape?

Try cutting NOTAN shapes as a studio shape practice for a week to develop your shape muscle. What happens?

LINKS to NOTAN:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Notan

From Jane Dunnewold 

From my blog.

Some “SHAPE” artists and their work (please add other suggestions to the comments section!):

M.C. Escher --especially his mathematical tesselation art

Lee Shiney’s CIRCLES 

Robert Motherwell 

Henry Moore -- Sculptor 

Ilsa Iviks Textile artist 

Paul Klee  

Fiber Artists of San Antonio Opening This Week

Grand opening Tuesday, October 9th  from 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm at  Bismarck Studios Contemporary Fine Art Gallery, located at 930 Proton, Suite 202, San Antonio, 78258 (near Sonterra Blvd.) Over 60 beautiful fiber works ranging from art cloth to dolls, quilts, wearable art, and more.

I have two pieces in the exhibit (selected by Ginny Eckley of Houston): Hill Country Angel and Unseen Messages. 

Bismark Studios is open Mon-Fri 10-6 and Saturdays 10-4. The show will run through October 20th.  For more information:210-314-7747, or http://www.bismarckartgallery.com/upcoming-exhibitions/     or  http://www.fiberartistsofsanantonio.org/index/index.html

David Whyte at UTSA

Coming October 23, poet and traveler David Whyte will present a lecture at UTSA.

Whyte's work has been an inspiration to some of my recent work -- some large figures on felt. I'm also interested in attending because he will be reading from and speaking about Pilgrim, his 7th book of poetry, inspired by the Camino Santiago, where we walked this summer.

If you'd like more info, check out the UTSA website, for tickets, too. See you there.

Moo Biz Cards on the Way

I love Moo cards, tiny small size business cards, but this time, I ordered the standard size. I have a url link here to share for a 10% discount, in case you need new cards, too. Yes, these are more expensive than the standard office superstore card, but you can put a different piece of art on the backs of your card -- or however many you want to use of your total order. I chose 5 different images, some from art quilts and some from iPad art!

Speaking of iPad, I have room for one more on the couch or sleeping porch (free beds and comfy, I promise) for the iPad workshop coming up October 5-7. Here's the info:

Art on the iPad 

 

If you've recently acquired an iPad, this workshop will help you take it into your world of creativity and art. I've explored dozens of sketching tools, art journaling, collage and photo apps and this workshop will take you through some hands-on work -- then into the studio to print, make thermofaxes and use what you've done on the tablet for fabric printing to use in your art quilts, mixed media or other work. If you don't have a tablet yet (and are trying to decide what or if to buy), you may still want to attend, I'll have a try-out table that one or two participants can share (yes, we are a two iPad family!).

This El Cielo workshop retreat will take place October 5-7 (optional Friday night potluck) ending about 3 pm on Sunday. The workshop fee, including most supplies, is $175. If you use the coupon below with a nonrefundable deposit of $20 before September 1, you'll save $20 on the total when you pay your total!

As usual, first come, first choice on accommodations -- there are three private bedrooms ($30 for both nights) and a couple of comfy couches (free) as well as the sleeping porch (also free)  which should be wonderful in October! The meals are great, the company inspiring and the views spectacular.

Dinner@8 Exhibit in Quilting Arts

This missive from Leslie Jenison and Jamie Fingal was in the mail today:

We are thrilled to announce that the "Rituals" exhibit is prominently featured in the October/November 2012 issue of Quilting Arts Magazine.  Judy Coates Perez's work graces the cover which is a win-win for both Judy and d@8!  As a prequel to the article there is a Q&A with both of us about the history of d@8 and images of our Rituals quilts.  Between these two articles there are a total of 11 art quilts from our exhibit!

The quilts in the article were hand selected by Vivika DeNegre, using the Art Call site (where you submitted your entries).  We both agree that this coverage is yet another indication that we have a knock-out exhibit.  We are very grateful for the generous coverage of our exhibit in Quilting Arts!  Congratulations to all of you and the amazing work you created for "Rituals," and to the artists whose work is featured in this issue:  Judy Coates Perez, Susan Brubaker Knapp, Jeannie Palmer Moore, Susie Monday, Loris Bogue, Barb Forrister, Gerrie Congdon, Karen Rips, and Virginia Spiegel.  It has been such an honor to be recipients of QA's generosity for three years in a row.

There is an announcement and photos on the blog http://dinnerateightartists.blogspot.com/

 

My Work on New Walls

Coming soon (in a little more than a month) consider this a "save the date" if you are in the Texas Hill Country area. I'd love to see you at the exhibit on Sunday, October 28, 2-5 pm:

You’re Invited:

Recent Work by Artist Susie Monday

Textile art created by local artist and ABC member Susie Monday will be featured in an exhibit at the Salon d’Artist, Palace Ione this fall. Hosted by Baron Don Clausewitz and Jacob Bustamante, her exhibit of art quilts and art cloth will be in the West Gallery from October 28, 2012 through January 9, 2013.

The opening reception will be from 2:00 - 5:00 in the afternoon, Sunday, October 28, with an artist’s tour of the exhibit at 3:30. Desserts, champagne, lemonade and coffee will be served, and guests will be able to enjoy tours of the Palace Ione’s other galleries and live music in the chapel. Susie will also be signing her new book, The Missing Alphabet, A Parents’ Guide to Developing Creative Thinking in Kids, released October 23, 2012 by Greenleaf Book Group.

Susie’s colorful work in fabric, stitch, dye and printed image is inspired by the stories, icons and images of the Texas Hill Country, as well as being an expression of her sense of the divine feminine spirit. She uses both artist-made textiles and recycled and repurposed ethnic fabrics and thrift store finds in richly patterned and emotionally powerful visual stories. A lifelong artist, Susie graduated from Trinity University, and has worked as a museum exhibit designer, a journalist and a creative arts specialist for International programs. These experiences, as well as her life at El Cielo Studio here in the Borderlands, inform her work and make it particularly meaningful to all of us who share this region’s riches. For more information about Susie, see http://susiemonday.squarespace.com.

Palace Ione is located at 1070 Mustang Drive, Pipe Creek, TX, 78063, near Bandera, about one hour from downtown San Antonio. Dedicated to Don’s mother Ione, two undeniable strains in the history of art in the world converge in the concept of Salon d'Artiste.

First, Salon d'Artiste is inspired by the Salon Society of Montmartre in the early 1900s -- providing a place for artists to exhibit, to discuss, to converse, to meet their supporters and to gain audience for their work. Secondly, special events and openings for invited audiences present the work of young and emerging artists and musicians, as well as the work of established artists of the region -- a unique showcase for creativity. Upstairs, apartment/studios provide living and working space for artists-, writers- and scholars-in-residence. The purpose of such an ambitious undertaking is the discovery of new talent and to provide a fit setting for existing private family collections and archives. For more information, see http://www.salon-d-artiste.com.

 Those wishing to view the exhibit at another time, can call either Susie, 210-643-2128, or Don, 830-510-4414.

On Developing a Visual "Voice"

Here's what we'll be tackling during my next course at the Southwest School of Art. I think the class is full (whoppee!) or nearly so. However, I think this is such an important facet of our work as artists. Discovering our own certain and individual voices as artists is what can take us past our own limited view of our work and in new and exciting directions.

Here's one of the handouts I'll be doling our during the first session -- you're welcome to try out the ideas on your own!

It seems to me that there are several parts to this process, and several important approaches to this self discovery process.

Pure Form: I believe – and my belief is supported by more than 30 years of work with children in creative learning environments – that each of us is born with an innate preference/leaning toward a particular way of perceiving and giving form that is directly connected to what I (and my colleagues in this work) call the sensory alphabet. This vocabulary of non-verbal qualities – line, color, shape, space, light, texture, movement, sound and rhythm  -- is a way of thinking about and organizing one’s individual strengths of perception and invention. Looking at one’s preferences and natural tendencies through this lens serves as both a way to self discovery and as a bridge to understand other creative work. This vocabulary is not just an artistic one – it can hold as true to creative work in business as in design, in science as in art.  (This, by the way is what our new book, THE MISSING ALPHABET is all about.)

 Think about which  of these constructs is easiest for you to notice, to manipulate, to play with –is it pattern (rhythm) or texture or color? What did you love as a young child?  Which of these elements are most important to you in your home, your environment? What artists do you resonate to? Design exercises and experiences for yourself that feed your mind’s natural interests, or find teachers that share your sensibilities (look at their work and see what they say about it) who can provide classes that feed your perceptual strengths 

An understanding of your own creative style in terms of this vocabulary can be the starting place for finding your voice – and even help you find the best and strongest medium for work.  For example, if color is my strong suite, I might take time to do dye and discharge samples, study Albers and other colorist’s work, take photos exploring color themes, investigate watercolor and glazing, look at color as understood by chemists and physicists, etc. If movement is a strong suite, I might see how to incorporate moving elements in my textile work, take up techniques that use my body in strenuous and challenging fashion, look at how movement blurs an image and how to capture that sense with dyeing or printing, I might even want to dye fabrics and construct garments for dance performances or architectural installations with moving components.

Most of us have three or four of these strong suites that interact in interesting ways and can pose intriguing puzzles for our work. Tracking down your strongest perceptual elements is usually just a matter of paying attention to preference, to what you notice in a space, to the materials that call your name. Journaling about childhood preferences and doing detective work in your closet, your home, your memory bank can help you name your sensory strengths.

 Content and themes: Another part of personal voice has to do with content and subject matter –Many artists who are just starting out jump around from one topic to another, one genre to another and this is an important part of learning. Sooner or later though the time comes to get beyond the surface of a topic or interest, whether it is rural landscapes or flowers or political activism or portraiture. Committing to solving the same problem different ways has a real benefit In the process of finding one’s voice. How do you pick?  Start with something that holds some passion for you – something with enough personal interest that you might have a chance of making it interesting to someone else.

Sometimes the content of one’s work is directly related to “formal” interests (for example, an artist interested in rhythm, might find a study of African mudcloth patterns particularly inspiring and influential, or maybe exploring the visual idea of windows would appeal to an artist who likes spatial concepts.) For others, a theme or content is something important because of experience, story and memory – journaling can help you identify these kinds of themes.

Themes and content lead one to develop personal imagery, ways of handling materials and tools, narrative content sometimes.

Materials and media – Part of one’s voice has to do with the materials and media that are central to the form. Both experimentation and fluency play a role. Experimentation means taking the time and having the will to push a media or material beyond what you have seen others do with it. Fluency means playing with possibilities and with the borders between media, combining it with other materials and using new tools with the medium. Fluency also requires “just sticking to it” long enough to get beyond the first easy idea, and this I think is the dirty little secret behind developing facility and technical skills. A lot of artists want their first of something to be fabulous, but most of us who have stuck with it long enough know that expertise does clarify the voice. Experience with the technical handling of the media, the tools, the physical material of one’s art and craft means that the message becomes clear, the hand of the artist is consciously visible rather than intrusively visible. You’ve simply got to keep at it and the “it” has to be something you like enough to carry you over the drudge, slog and boring parts.

Creative process – Finally, the entire process that you as an artist use to come up with and bring to life original work is part of your voice. No two people have identical creative processes. Some of us need lots of incubation and collection time. We want to look at other people’s work and make sketches. Other people need to amass piles of materials to dive into with no idea of the outcome; other artists are meticulous planners, with sketches and maquettes. Some need people around, music, noise and lots of feedback; other artists require long periods of solitude and silence. The more you know about and respect your own creative process, the clearer your voice will ring.

Knowing and respecting your creative process is again a matter of paying attention, of doing personal detective work through journaling, of metacognitive investigation—ie. thinking about thinking.

Installed in the Library

If I could be a book, I'd choose to be in a library, something pithy and not too popular, but the kind of book that when someone checked me out, I'd be a surprise, something to read and savor, something to share with my friends.

Well. I'm getting into the Parman Branch, but it's not as a book. Thursday, the San Antonio Library Foundation and SA Public Library will dedicate a new children's area dedicated to the memory of a young girl who died at age 16 of cancer that she had fought most of her life. The young girl, Ana Macias, became the reason for gifts from family and friends and library supporters. You are invited if you're in town or near -- 5:30-7 at Parman Branch, outside Loop 1604 on Wilderness Oak off Blanco.

I was asked to make a large art quilt "tapestry" to put on the wall in the new area. Here's what I can tell you about it. I prepared this fact sheet to leave with the librarians and to give the foundation for their records:

Ana’s Nook

Art Quilt “tapestry” by Susie Monday, 2012

Commissioned by the San Antonio Public Library Foundation

Materials:  Cotton, silk, rayon, cotton blend and other textiles, wooden frame, cotton batting and sound absorbing batting, paint, dye, fusible webbing and dye. 

Techniques: Fused raw-edge appliqué with free-motion quilting and hand embroidery. Fabrics created with a variety of surface design techniques including batik, screen printing, hand-painting, dye and textile painting on both new and repurposed fabrics. The art was treated with a UV light barrier chemical to help limit fading. 

This triptych was designed especially for the gridded translucent wall of the new children’s area at Parman Branch Library. The librarian Haley Holmes and the staff of the Library Foundation wanted something that would be visually interesting to children, would help absorb sound and would include “Ana’s Nook,” in honor of the memory of Ana Macias. The design was inspired by a picture Haley had of an apple tree quilt. 

Susie took off from that seed of an idea, using the colors of the library interior and those of the new Ana’s Nook furnishings. The fanciful art quilt includes two apple trees on either side and a Spanish oak in the center and depict the trees  against a nighttime constellation of stitched names of children’s book heroes and heroines. Ana’s Nook is printed on a sign that hangs from the oak and one of the apple trees (repurposed in traditional quilt fashion from a pair of worn-out trousers) has several pockets full of leaves. A quarter moon hangs in the tree branches and moon beams sparkle a path through the piece.

Each leaf is different in color, pattern and stitching, and while some of the book hero names are easy to read, others are blended into the background, so a kind of hide-and-seek of names can engage the viewer. Hand stitching adds more pattern and texture, with large cross-stitched “x”s and Long running stitches as part of the grassy hills where the trees stand.

Susie Monday is a textile artist with more than 15 years experience in the field. Her work is featured in public and private collections across the hemisphere, and has been featured in exhibits in the U.S and internationally, including at the International Quilt Festival, Gallery Nord, the Witte Museum, and the San Antonio Public Library Gallery. She works in her home studio near Pipe Creek, El Cielo Studio, where she also teaches fiber art and creativity workshops. She is also an adjunct faculty member at the Southwest School of Art, and a Creative Learning Specialist for the International Programs Department of Alamo Colleges. Her new book, coauthored with Susan Marcus and Dr. Cynthia Herbert is coming out October 23 from Greenleaf Book Group, The Missing Alphabet, A Parents Guide to Developing Creative Thinking in Kids. Susie graduated from Trinity University in 1970.

 Here's the invitation to the event:

Update on 2012-09-23 18:00 by Susie Monday

Here's a link to a newspaper story about the dedication:

Ana Lu­cia Ma­ci­as died of bone cancer last year at age 16. Ana's Nook, a new space in the Par­man ...

Read more: Library honors girl who loved books

Houston Quilt Festival is Around the Corner

And I am one of the lightposts. Well, one of the cazillion instructors who somehow can't resist the prospect of toting too many bags and boxes around the acreage of the George Brown Convention Center, walking our feet off in the exhibits, gaping at the amazing array and approach to quiltmaking that shines in the world, and, usually. spending more money in the vendor's stalls than we make in the classroom. BUT, I wouldn't miss it for the world. And you shouldn't either. This is the Kentucky Derby equivalent of the Quilting World, and the winners are eye-inspiring and the sheer volume of things to see, do and experience make it definitely worth the trip.

If you are attending, and are looking for a class to take, please join me for fun and fabulous adventure. My work will also be on display in the RITUALS exhibition presented by Dinner@8. 

Wednesday, 9-5, Shaping Symbols into Art Quilts

Master design skills with free form patterns, cut-paper shapes and original stamps as you explore personal imagery and iconic symbols. Simplify photos for original quilts, printing and more. Thermofax screen mailed later.

Thursday, 2-4, Mixed Media Miscellany, Inkjet transfers with Wet Media Film demonstration

Friday Sampler, 10-noon, Stamp out Your Message, demonstration

Saturday Sampler, 10-noon,  Your Own Alphabet on Fabric, demonstration

Sunday, 9-noon  Inspiration is in the Cards

What inspires you? Create a one-of-a-kind card deck to spark creativity, take you out of your creative rut, and move you into art-making and imagination. Collage and design your way to a new studio ritual with a variety of mixed media techniques.

For more information and to register on line, see the Festival website and catalog. My events are #330, 460, 545, 735 and 806.

Want to See My Newsletter?

I am learning to use Constant Contact, finally. I am tired of never getting my mailing lists straight (as I am sure some of my mailing list victims are) and I think this will really help. I have found the process mildly, but not overly frustrating, about on par with learning any other web-based tool.

However, having written the darn thing on the site, I now have to figure out how to make a link here to the blog, and put it on as a downloadable pdf. I think this LINK may do the trick, but it's not exactly the format I am looking for (and whoever Charlotte is, thanks for letting me use your copy) However. Slowly, slowly is my advice for using any new computer aided process!

Sign up for our Email Newsletter

Look and See (and Listen)

Today is all about fun and games. Here are a few fun links for those of the visual and textural persuasion (that's you, right?)

Art Images from the Exploratorium: http://www.exploratorium.edu/imagery/art_images/index.html

Beautiful sounds from TED TALKS. Here, "Rokia Traore sings the moving "M'Bifo," accompanied on the n'goni, a lute-like Malian stringed instrument with a soulful timbre." from this TED site.

For making your own "BEAT BOX" videos: MAD PAD app for iPad and iPhone at http://www.smule.com/madpad

 

And, thanks to Valerie's recommendation, this is a great newsletter about creativity -- all phases and stages. Your can subscribe from the website here.

I found this about the site its originator from the ABOUT page:

"Because creativity, after all, is a combinatorial force. It’s our ability to tap into the mental pool of resources — ideas, insights, knowledge, inspiration — that we’ve accumulated over the years just by being present and alive and awake to the world, and to combine them in extraordinary new ways. In order for us to truly create and contribute to the world, we have to be able to connect countless dots, to cross-pollinate ideas from a wealth of disciplines, to combine and recombine these ideas and build new ideas — like LEGOs. The more of these building blocks we have, and the more diverse their shapes and colors, the more interesting our creations will become."

Here's a fun example of a book review from the site:

"In there mere three weeks since we firstfeatured the delightful 344 Questions: The Creative Person’s Do-It-Yourself Guide to Insight, Survival, and Artistic Fulfillment by ever-inventive designerStefan G. Bucher (of You Deserve a Medal and Daily Monster fame), it has quickly become the most popular book in Brain Pickings’ entire five-year history. The lovely pocket-sized gem, illustrated in Bucher’s unmistakable style, helps you flowchart your way to personal and professional happiness and figure out life’s big answers.

Let’s be clear: I want this book to be useful to you. There are many great how-to books and biographies out there, and even more gorgeous collections of current and classic work to awe and inspire. But looking at catalogs of artistic success won’t make you a better artist any more than looking at photos of healthy people will cure your cold. You’ve got to take action!” ~ Stefan G. Bucher"

Drawing fearlessly

If there is any phrase I hear from quilt artists and textile artists often, it's the "but I can't draw" lament.
So what?
I can't either, much, but that doesn't stop me from trying. And, in trying, I've found that my skills at rendering 3-d life in 2-d form has improved over the years. Because, in truth, that's what drawing is (a skill) despite the fact that some few of us come into the world gifted in line and shading. Of course, those are the ones who long, long ago in your life convinced many of us that we really were not artists, since we could not draw 1. Horses, 2. People, 3. (related to 2) Faces, 4. Anything.

I am mounting a campaign to turn the rest of us into fearless sketchers, because it is fun, Because you can capture information about the world and your ideas that can not (even with cameras) be captured any other way. And, third, we can all benefit for the careful attention to NOW that drawing promotes. Drawing is actually a very wonderful entry into meditation, as a practice it is especially valuable for those visually inclined.

My venture onto this bandwagon starts in September 7-9 with a workshop at El Cielo called Fearless Sketching, $175, Friday evening potluck (optional) through 3 pm Sunday. My friend and master of drawing Sarah Jones is scheduled to help out, but I'll be leading most of the activities with an eye on our fears and insecurities. Discover drawing as a meditative practice, as a way to capture an idea, as a reminder and as an approach to learning a new skill. And I'll also be sharing some iPad drawing tools that are fun to use, too, for those of you exploring that new media.

Email me on the contact form for more info!