On the Shoot

On location at Jane Dunnewold's studio with Ricky and Alex.

Jane Dunnewold in the AM.

Bonnie Hughes in the PM. 

All on the Texas tour of The Quilt Show.  

Bonnie K. Hughes scrap quilts take center stage

One Image into Many

Here's one iPad design that was printed with Spoonflower, then over printed with a thermofax of another iPad designed image.

​Then here's what happened when I used it as a source image with Megaphoto.

Megaphoto is an almost unbelievable app, and as you can see I generated a whole new set of images. Next step: more Spoonflower uploads, so I will have a interestingly related set of fabrics! I could spend all my time and all my money, I'm afraid!

Art App of the week

Waterlogue is a really amazing watercolor filter app. Frankly, it makes me give up on any ambition I ever had to master watercolors--that good.

Not to say your job as an artist is done completely for you. You need to really think about carefully composing those photos that you use as source images. In fact, it's an interesting app to use just to check your compositional skills!

The only feature of this app that was a little mysterious to me was how to save a completed image. Various save and send functions, including saving to your camera roll, are accessed by clicking on the heart icon.​

More iPad Artful ImAginings

just fooling around...

a set of self portraits. 

but I think they capture different aspects of my personality, don't you?

On the road

i'm stitching myself down the highway. On my way to Waco to see family. Greyhound, this time!

I spent today in the studio, before heading to the bus station, working on one of a series of fairly small art quilts based on my walk in Spain two summers ago.  This is a very different environment than the one that inspired this art, but there's something about the communal nature of a bus ride that reminds me of the Camino de Santiago. It, too, is a place of connection and journey. It, too, has a sense of democracy that we often miss in our little separate capsules of automobile.

Besides providing a nice stretch of time for handwork, I've seen a beautiful sunset tonight that I probably wouldn't have even noticed if I were driving on the madness of Highway 35. 

It's dark now, and there's something really mysterious and magical about riding on the bus through the night. The bus is full, mostly workers, and families, old and young, A capsule of chatter and silence, sleepers and and gazers. I think I'm the only stitcher. And that's come to an end, too. It's just a little too dark to thread a needle!

Say Si! Handwriting on the Wall

I've donated this piece to Say Si, a wonderful youth art education program here in San Antonio. You can have a chance to bid on it during their  exhibit and auction. Maybe you'd like to make a bid? The piece is called Handwriting, and was printed and stitched in 2011. I like the play of letters and secret handprints in the pieced quilted surface.

I know that many artists today struggle with the question of donating work, feeling that it impacts their reputation and pricing negatively. I , too, get really tired of being asked for donations from organizations that I don't even belong to -- or otherwise have any connection to. Those, I courteously refuse. I also no longer donate to a couple of organizations who never acknowledged a previous donation.

I  do donate to a few art-related organizations, and trust that those who purchase art at such events appreciate my work and are willing to pay what is possible and reasonable. Not every collector has bottomless pockets (well, none really do..) and donations from artists not only help a good cause, but also allow young collectors to get their start. As a former employee of several non-profit organizations, I know how difficult it is to  make the payroll, and fundraisers, well-done, are one of the only income sources that can go toward operating expenses. And, as a productive artist, I would rather have my art on someone's wall than gathering dust on a shelf in my studio. Some organizations, like Celebration Circle, also give a portion of the purchase price back to the artist -- that's admirable, too. And for Celebration Circle, particularly, it makes abundant sense, since the organization is focused on the spiritual connection of art and artists -- its Altar show each late summer is anticipated by many.

When asked for donations, I sometimes offer a service, a workshop discount or a scholarship -- those donations are less tied to my work and more to my business as a teacher. What do you think? Who do you donate to? And what?

iPad-Designed Fabric from Spoonflower

I've been working with fabrics that I designed on the iPad and had printed at Spoonflower. Here's some work in progress. We'll be practicing  this process, from start to finish (you'll have to wait for the cloth to be printed and shipped back!) at a March workshop at El Cielo. Dates are March 7-9, workshop fee $185. For more info, send me an email...

The photo above shows a fused iPad-designed rosette on a flour paste resisted and dyed background, with overprinted iPad-designed thermofax. This fabric will be on a table at the FASA Runway show this spring -- a door prize for the lucky ticket holder.

Below are some details from fabrics printed by Spoonflower from my designs created using Paper by 53. The last image shows a thermofax overprint.

Commission work in progress, with Spoonflower-printed fabrics and hand-dyed and printed pieces.

Thermofax over SPoonflower printed fabric.

Youth visions for a better world

Central American Youth Ambassadors

 ...cut, paste, look, investigate and move at the Witte Museum in San Antonio...

to be continued over the next 5 days.

Fearless Sketching

What will it take for you to start drawing just your own way? My artist friend Sarah Jones and I have a few ideas -- and our tried-and-true workshop has worked for others (and for me, the draw phobic collage artist). If you would like to take a journey into your own way of capturing what you see with hands-on skill practice, permission-granted exploration and the company of peers who will journey with you to line on paper, join us for Fearless Sketching this April 4-6, 2014 at El Cielo Studio here in the Texas hill Country. (The weather we have ordered is to be wild-flower and sun filled.)

WORKSHOP DESCRIPTION:

https://susie-monday.squarespace.com/#/workshops/

FEARLESS SKETCHING - APRIL 4-6 (optional Fri. night potluck)

Whether you consider yourself a talented amateur, a pro artist or artist wannabee, you may have a secret lurker within who disparages your drawing skills. This workshop will be your first step to banishing that inner critic. We’ll have a no-fear zone with drawing exercises guaranteed to improve your skill, but most of all, guaranteed to banish big fear. Artist Sarah Ann Jones will be co-teaching with Susie. 

Limited spaces, as usual, are available, as each of these special events is designed for a maximum of seven participants.

LOCATION:

El Cielo is located 45 minutes north of San Antonio on the very top of a very big hill in Pipe Creek, Texas, just off of Highway 16.  The cantilevered porch overlooks a pristine valley where five hills meet.  There are decks, screened in porches and a hot tub too! And a pool for fearless swimmers.

COST:

The cost for the workshop is $185.  Accommodations for the entire weekend are additional.  As usual, first come, first choice on accommodations -- there are three private bedrooms which can be shared with a friend,  ($30 for both nights) and a comfy couch, (free) as well as the sleeping porch (also free) and a cot sized bed and private bath in the studio ($20). The meals are great, the company inspiring and the views spectacular and the hot tub is ready to go!

RESERVATIONS:

You can hold your spot with a $25 reservation fee (which is fully refundable up to two weeks in advance).  

To reserve, send an email to Susie at susiemonday@gmail.com to let her know you are coming, indicate your preference in accommodations and let her know your $25 check is in the mail.  (She will email you back to confirm that she has a spot).

Metaphors on Aging: On the Road

 Just in from SAQA:

"Metaphors on Aging" (after a wonderful reception in both the UK and South Africa) will be traveling to the International Quilt Festival in Chicago and to Quilt! Knit! Stitch in Portland, Oregon.  The Original Sewing and Quilting Expo is eagerly anticipating sharing it with their expected 92,000 visitors when it tours their 11 venues beginning in September.  

Here's a little about the history of this piece:

Wnen my dad died in 2011, I spent about 6 months working on a series of quilts, initiated by work in an on-line course on "Working in a Series" taught by artist Lisa Call.

This one came in 2013, when I developed a large stencil based on one of the previous art quilts, in response to the exhibit call for SAQA's project.

I ironed the freezer paper stencil onto a large piece of recycled damask table cloth, then screen-printed the mermaid image using a combination of tempera paint and acrylic paint because I could not get the intense blue matt color I was looking for with acrylic alone. (Who knows if it will fade? So far, not) The image of my Sirena, an alter ego for myself, is filled with milagros (miracle charms) that refer to the gifts that my father gave me in life -- love of work with hands, words, fishing lines, star-gazing, geology...

The border fabric is an over dyed piece of vintage curtain brocade, so the entire piece is on "aged" fabric! I added the prayer flag as a note to the  role prayer and faith play as we age, and the eagle embroideries were cut from a damaged piece of Oaxacan embroidery -- a nod to the bravery we must have as we age.

The work was fused, then machine free-motion quilted, then filled with hand-stitch.

If you are near any of the 11 venues, I hope you will visit and send me pics! The piece is for sale for $1,800.

1. IQF -- Chicago, Illinois (June 19-21, 2014)

2. Quilt! Knit! Stitch! -- Portland, Oregon (August 14-16, 2014)

3. Fons & Porter Love of Quilting Expo -- Atlanta, Georgia (September 11-13, 2014)
4. Original Sewing & Quilting Expo -- Fredericksburg, Virginia (October 2-4, 2014)
5. Original Sewing & Quilting Expo -- Overland Park, Kansas (October 9-11, 2014)

6. Original Sewing & Quilting Expo -- Fort Worth, Texas (October 16-18, 2014)

7. Original Sewing & Quilting Expo -- Tinley Park, Illinois (November 10-22, 2014)

8. Original Sewing & Quilting Expo -- Lakeland, Florida (March 2015)

9. Original Sewing & Quilting Expo -- Schaumburg, Illinois (March 2015)

10. Original Sewing & Quilting Expo -- Cleveland, Ohio (April 2015)

11. Original Sewing & Quilting Expo -- Worcester, Massachusetts (April 2015)

12. Original Sewing & Quilting Expo -- Raleigh, North Carolina (June 2015)

13. Original Sewing & Quilting Expo -- Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (August 2015)

Summer Art Camp... HELP NEEDED

I am surveying my newsletter and blog readers concerning a potential workshop this summer in the Manzano Mountains of New Mexico (about 1 hour south of Albuquerque). I have the opportunity to present a creativity/inspired by nature workshop at wonderful Camp Capilla, on the slopes of the mountains of Manzano Mountains State Park.

Before I get too far down the road, I'd love to know if there is interest enough to pursue this project , given its cost and the planning involved. [I'm counting on you to send me feedback!](mailto:susiemonday@gmail.com)

The content: With the incredible beauty of the mountains, the pines, the desert below and a field trip to the archeological ruins nearby, participants would spend four days in creative design, collection and recording their nature-inspired ideas. We'll make a simple hand-bound journal to compile the experience, too. And, if you wish to bring other media for work on your own, that's fine too.  I will include a couple of sessions on using  some iPad apps, in order to use the tablet as an art tool in this process. We would practice some fearless sketching, some color and design exercises and spend time sharing as artists. This will really be a creativity art camp -- and some great artists are already signing up!

As I currently envision it, the workshop would include 4 workshop days with arrival and departure on the days before and after (so supper one day and breakfast the next would be included with meals on the 4 workshop days (except for one meal at a local place in the village). Number of students would be limited to 10. We could provide pickup and delivery to the Albuquerque airport for $20 per person. Or you would be welcome to drive to the site and have your own car available.

Participants would need to bring basic supplies like a sketchbook, markers,watercolor, maybe collage papers, and iPad, if used. Participants would also need to bring their own bed  linens and towels (washer is available).

Meals: We’ll cook on-site, sharing duties, with all provisions included, and one or two meals out at a local cafe. Judith Rigler (my cousin and camp co-owner with Eric Rigler) will also include some New Mexico cooking classes for those interested. They will also sponsor a campfire each evening with so’mores! BYO for wine or other adult beverages.

Lodging is in 5 mini cabins [1 or 2 persons] on fold-down cot-type bedding, with large dorm-style bathrooms a very short walk away. Limited bedrooms also available in Main Cabin, with shared bathroom, as well as in the Barn, (where the bathrooms are located). 
RV, mobile home spaces available with dumping station on property. 
Tent or car camping would also be an option for those who wish.

Dates: week of July 7 or week of July 14 (exact days to come) -- 4 days workshop plus arrival meal, departure breakfast. "Fix your own" sandwiches available each day. Let me know if you are interested, which dates work best for you.


COST: Since this is a trial run for what I’d like to make an annual event (and because the owners are generously donating the space) the fee is a real deal! $200 to $300 per participant depending on housing.
$125 for non-participating spouse, partner or friend sharing a room.

So, any ideas?

Please send me feedback, especially if you think you might be interested in coming:
What dates work best?
Would you want to include or exclude weekend days?
Would you be driving or flying in for the workshop?
What kind of accommodations would you be happy with?
Is this a topic of interest or would something else be more fun?

Beachy

Winter. Water. sky. Sound.

Moo Music and More

Just for fun. I love my Moo cards and today, Moo sent me a great link to a little musical holiday cheer. 

Here's the link for some funky fun.

Quotes Illustrated

Lesley Riley has published a new book, Quotes Illustrated, combining quotations and illustrations-- a great journey that combines two of her great loves. I have a page in the book, with a quote by Lesley! I made two versions of this same quotation this past summer and she selected one for the book, the other now hangs on the wall of my new little cabin in the city.

The backstory for this art quilt:

The "painting" on the wall is a Joan Miró work that I photographed at the Fundacio Miro in Barcelona last summer. I have always loved the work of Miró, his shape vocabulary and rather light-hearted surrealism. The museum was wonderful, and the more so, because Miro established it not only as a place to showcase his work, but as an ongoing support for contemporary Spanish artists, exhibiting new bold work and interesting retrospectives. The center also has a great interactive web education site.

I used my hand shape and a simplified silhouette of a face looking at the art to complete the composition. I first made the black-and-white (primarily) version, then repeated it in the oranges -- I like the first one, but wanted to see how it would work in more vivid colors.

I am eagerly waiting for my artist contributor copy to arrive this week. The version in the book was gifted to a friend and collector. And a copy of the book will follow!

QUOTES ILLUSTRATED by Lesley Riley is a timeless source of inspiration and motivation. Through the diverse and eclectic work of over 90 artists, familiar and some not-yet-discovered quotes are brought to life.

It's an eye-opening experience to see how these talented artists interpret modern and age-old wisdom. To quote Georgia O'Keefe,"Art is not what you see,
 but what you make others see." And therein lies the magic of this book - it expands your awareness, so that you see, not only with new eyes, but come to understand how art can illustrate and illuminate more than words alone can express.

100 quotes were carefully chosen by Lesley to create a positive book that moves the reader to take action on their dreams. If the quotes alone don't do the trick, the artwork certainly will. Artists were free to interpret their quote in their own way, with their medium of choice.

The black-and-white version.

Life History of an Art Quilt

This art quilt, recently on display at Galley Nord in San Antonio at the FASA annual exhibit, just sold! It feels like such a privilege to have my work find a new home, kind of like seeing a child leave home in a minor kind of way. This piece took shape on my design table this summer in the midst of terrible drought -- all the garden was dying, even with regular watering. The heat was fierce, all the world seemed to be coming to a dusty end. So, this piece, Prayer for Rain: Pond, a visual plea for relief from a serious female being rising from water lilies.

As with much of my other work, this piece began with an inkling of an idea, a stack of fabrics and then, cutting, fusing and quilting. 

This piece was awarded a prize in the FASA exhibit for the best use of surface design techniques by the judge, with the gift from the Surface Design Association for a year's membership. The piece does have a wide variety of surface design treatments: screen printing, layered stitched overlay, hand and machine embroidery, shibori, even a cyanotype fabric for the sky. I did some of the work, and used found fabric for other additions (notably the cyanotype, a gift from my friend Mary Ann Johnson; and the frayed and torn turtle mole reverse embroidery from an anonymous Cuna Indian maker from Panama. I love using different found fabrics -- and it certainly gives me justification for hours spent wandering around thrift stores!

Click through this gallery below to see more details and gallery shots.

In and Out of the Studio, On and Off the iPad

Learning the craft of using the new Squarespace interface for blogs and websites is taking me an embarrassing amount of time. I am not sure if its old-fashioned, to-be-expected resistance to change (my old site was just fine, thank you), or if it's my slower than molasses line-of-sight internet service out here in the country, or if it's just being thick. You, if you are out there reading, will be the beneficiaries today of some experimenting and trying out of the new Squarespace editing features.

And, along the way, I'll share work I have been doing in and out of the studio, on and off the iPad, around and about the sewing machine and more. 

Yea! First task accomplished. Here are  three GALLERIES of photos. Click on the image you see (on top) and scroll through a collection of images. It happens automatically, the third has the thumbnails below, so you can preview the gallery. ON my laptop, and with my slow internet, I found it imperative to export the photos from iPhoto to the desktop, before uploading them. To upload only a couple of photos at a time, and to be patient! (In case you are trying to figure out Squarespace, you find the thumbnail option in the Gallery DESIGN option tab.)

More iPad: MegaPhoto

Here's my iPad art app of the week: MegaPhoto. (Well, its an irregular weekly recommendation -- trying to get more regular!)

MegaPhoto is a fast and fun spin-off on the built-in Photo Booth -- with a lot more options and wonderful variations to be had. I discover this app on www.ipadartroom.com, one of my new favorite iPad art sites. The writer, an Australian educator named Cathy Hunt,  has one of the more imaginative and creative approaches to using the iPad -- with an emphasis on "work flows". A work flow outlines the use of several iPad apps (and even non-tech at processes) in sequence in order to make something that no one process could create.

Megaphoto uses one of your photos from the camera roll, or a new shot, as its basis and then works its magic instantly. On many of the special effects, you snap the exact image, as it changes, so there is always a bit of improvisation involved. Below are a few more of my shots and some from Cindy's website here.

A few tips:

Get back to the main "control panel" of effects by clicking on the four-pane "window" icon.  Adjust everything from video recording, source, etc. with the  settings panel, accessed by clicking the little gear icon. There are 12 panels of effects -- scroll through with a finger swipe. With from rear to front camera with the camera icon. Record video with the little camera icon (all icons show up on the bottom of the screen).

 I started with this travel photo and first used NoteShelf tools to draw on top of the image. Then taking this image into MegaPhoto, I tried a variety of effects, and snapped photos as I went. I cropped the image with editing tools in the built in iPad editor.

The original (or similar) photo from my trip out west this past summer. Taken with the iPad camera.

There is even a clever "your art here" filter.

Earth Matters at the Smithsonian

El Anasui's ALA

Recently, on a business trip to Washington, D.C., I spent a short few hours mining the riches of the Smithsonian Institution, one of my favorite places on the planet. Of all the exhibits I saw, the most impressive was at the African Art Museum (and its grounds). The exhibit, titled Earth Matters, was a collage of art, ancient to contemporary, indigenous to digital, exploring the theme of the title.  The exhibit prohibited most photos, but here are some from the outside installations ( Ididn't see any prohibitions there). If you have a chance, see this wonderful, provocative and inspirational collection. At the Smithsonian until January 5.

More at http://africa.si.edu/exhibits/earthmatters/

Have iPad, will Travel

Drawing by Cynthia Mitchell using Paper by 53

Chrome Ball drawing by Susie

Tablets ready? Are you actually using your iPad to make art yet? I am, not only for journaling and sketching and keeping records, but for actually making designs that I'm using in my work. This intriguing technology not only has potential in my art business, my journaling and sketching, but as well, for any artist who works in surface design and or mixed media. And after my recent workshops in Houston at the quilt Festival, I also know it has great potential for those doing traditional quilt designs as well, with more apps such as Quilt Wizard coming online every day.

Many of the apps now available offer trial free versions, and with just small investments you can apply great special effects using your own photos to make designs, patterns, direct prints or digital files to send to a printer such as Spoonflower.

First, a report on the daylong iPad Adventure and the 3-hour iPad workshops that I led at the Houston International Quilt Festival at the beginning of the month. Both of these workshops were part of the artist development track put together by my coach Lesley Riley. And she reports that similar workshops will be on tap next year at the IQ Festival as well. Both iPad sections that I offered filled, almost instantly. The daylong workshop had enough inquiries that it could have filled more than two times, so I'm guaranteed an opportunity to teach it again next year. I know this response has a lot more to do with the popularity of the tablet, then with people knowing a lot about me and how I approach the iPad as another creative tool in the toolbox. Nevertheless, it's exciting and flattering, and I can't wait to teach more! I have gotten a couple of inquiries from conference presenters and quilt and fiber art groups for workshops, already -- if you are interested, send me the details and I'll get back to you. Since I don't travel often, my out-of-town dates available fill up quickly!

I do have a daylong version of the iPad adventure coming up the Monday after Thanksgiving and it's filled to capacity. Your next opportunity is to sign up for a San Antonio event is February (or March.) How about a great Christmas present to yourself?

Intro to iPads for Art 

Feb. 8,  $85, repeats March 22 

Launching the studio season at our new "cabin in the city" at 539 Senisa Street, near Bandera and St. Cloud. 

In this workshop, you’ll discover what to do beyond games, books and email on that tablet, with a sampling of the best art, design and journaling apps, selected and edited by Susie. And, of course, hands-on practice. Use one tablet-created original design for a themorfax screen to take home for printing. Although designed specifically for iPad, most of the apps are also available in Android versions. $85. (Price of apps -- 99 cents to $8 -- not included, but optional for purchase). 

And, for the next lesson, a more in depth overnight retreat out at Pipe Creek.

FROM TABLET TO FABRIC, MARCH 7-9

(optional Fri. night potluck) 

Take iPad (or other tablet) design, drawing and painting skills from zero to printed fabric. We’ll survey the options in apps, spend lots of time with hands-on tablet art-making and finish up by preparing and up- loading art to make your own fabric through a digital printing service (price of printing ad apps not included). $185

The art work in this post was made using some of the apps I introduce, with as much hands-on time as the day affords. These were all really quick studies made during the workshops in Houston.