More Graffiti and a doodle

Let's start with the doodle. This week's prompt word is Home and since it is Baseball season I thought I would do........ home plate.

I promised I would show how my piece "Graffiti" evolved. ( see earlier posts)
I began with a fairly simple idea. I wanted to use text to create an interesting design but also have a message.

My first task was to figure out not only what I wanted to say, but also how to do lettering that had a graffiti "feel" but still be legible to the viewer.

I played in my sketchbooks until I thought I had something usable. I drew one section and photographed it, I printed 2 versions.......one the right way around and the other mirror imaged. By printing 6 of each of these, cutting and taping them together.....I was then able to see the secondary designs that developed.

So here are some photos of the progression............Click on any of the images to get a better view.

The piece of fabric you see on the table started out as plain off white cotton. I used Setacolour paint to colour the background on which I would do all of the pen and brush work. It is almost a lime green in the centre and works it's way from there through yellows and into oranges.

Here you see the very early stage of the pen work on the fabric.

I plan to continue to show more of this in coming posts.

Off The Wall

I attended yesterday's opening reception for The 2010 Grand National Quilt Show.
Not only was it a wonderful afternoon spent gazing at some incredible fiber art but I also had the opportunity to speak with so many fabulous artists who were on hand.

This show has no funding and the members of the organizing committee are all hard working, dedicated, volunteers without whom this show would not be a reality. In the face of several challenges they have once again presented yet another impressive,"must see" exhibition.

Awards are made possible thanks only to incredibly generous sponsors such as The Toyota Motor Manufacturing Company, and Janome Canada (who is awarding a Janome machine to this year's "Award of Excellence" winner as chosen by the judges and at the close of the show they will award an Elna Machine (division of Janome) to the viewers choice winner

In addition to The Grand Prize, and Award of Excellence there are 2 Curators Choice awards, a new award for "Innovation" and honourable mention. Additional sponsors are The Waterloo County Quilters Guild, Triangle Sewing Centre, Creative Sisters ,Greenwood Quiltery and A Needle Pulling Thread Magazine
I certainly hope I have not forgotten anyone.

As one of the award recipients I really want to express a huge thank you to everyone involved, I am thrilled and deeply honoured. It is amazing just to have a piece in the exhibit.
and yes "Grafiti" earned a Curators Choice Award..........did I mention I am thrilled????
The photo above, was taken during the awards presentation........the room was so full, many guests have spilled out into the foyer and other gallery rooms

Okay so in my last post I told you that I would be showing you how Graffiti evolved. I told you it had a message and asked if you could decipher it...............so for now I will show you the message.
Here is a close up of one of the 12 sections. Can you read it from the center out? below is a diagram that spells it out for you.

The idea was to have a piece that at first glance simply appeared to be an interesting, somewhat abstract design, but intriguing enough to draw the viewer in for a closer look.
Graffiti is likely one of the most controversial of all art forms and while yes technically it is vandalism when done without the property owners permission................In many cases it is also undeniably ART.

So I promise in my next post you will see Graffiti's skeleton.


..........and check this out. The Quilt Rat is being featured on this site as her "Blog of the Week" Thank you Carol......gotta love the quilt blogging community!

Presenting.........Graffiti

The 2010 Grand National Quilt show opened today. This year's theme is "Off the Wall"

I am thrilled to say that my piece titled, "Graffiti" was accepted into this juried show and I am really looking forward to attending the opening reception being held tomorrow afternoon at Homer Watson House & Gallery in Kitchener. Maybe I'll get to meet a few of you there.
The show runs until June 13th so if you are in the area, I do hope you'll get a chance to attend.

I have always been inspired by some of the remarkable graffiti I see, so this piece is making a statement.....well asking a question really.

I am not sure if you will be able to decipher what it is saying from this photo but just let me tell you that this quilt design is made up almost entirely of lettering, there are 12 sections or "pies" with every other one being mirror imaged that repeat the message, it reads from the center out. This piece is a whole cloth, hand drawn and painted quilt.
Can you tell what it says? I'll explain more in my next post

I really enjoyed quilting this one so click on this photo for a bit of a closer look at the stitching.

In the next few posts I will be showing how this piece progressed from start to finish so I hope you will want to follow along.

Packing a Quilt and a Doodle

My entry for this year's Grand National Quilt Show, themed, "Off the Wall" has been accepted ( I am very excited!!!) and I will need to deliver it within the next few days.
Whenever I send a quilt off to a show, there are a few things I always do. First, I never want to fold them, so I need to find a way to ship them either rolled or lying flat. In this case, the quilt can be rolled and it fits nicely into a large "draftsman's" tube.
Every quilt I send has a cotton bag made specifically for it with a label sewn onto it baring the quilt's name, along with my name & address. Any hanging rods that travel with the piece also have my name and the title of the quilt written on them and of course, I need to include any required paperwork that will accompany the piece. Finally, I placed a shipping label with my name, address and telephone number on the tube as well as the outer packaging, which was made using a large plastic garment bag so I won't have to worry about it if the weather is not all that great the day it is shipped.....I plan deliver it in person but I will need to have it shipped back and I know that the organizers of the show will return this quilt using the same packing materials it arrived in.

This week's prompt word is Branch.
On a Lilly-of the-valley, each bell hangs from it's own branch off the main stem