Viaggio – Another Unfinished Object of an Art Quilt that fell Victim to Divorce

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERANancy Smeltzer, MFA

I have written about several of my own and others’ UFOs (Unfinished Objects), but here’s one of mine that fell victim to my divorce. One thing that my ex and I did well together was travel, and this rather large art quilt top, 73″ or 185.5cm W X 45″ or 115 cm T) was originally intended to portray many of the places around the world that we had visited. I carried it with me on our last big trip together, to Italy, in 1998, and worked on some of the hand embroidery in my lap whenever I had a flat surface to work on. I had a small drawing board that I carried for that purpose, and would work in train stations while sitting on my suitcase, or in airport waiting areas while getting ready to board a plane.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAThis detail shot shows a typical scene when my ex and I used to travel together. We’d be lost and he wouldn’t stop the car to ask for directions. I got that he didn’t like asking someone else for help, but he wouldn’t stop so I could get out and ask. This was in the days before GPS systems, but near the end of the marriage, he did get one of the early tracking systems that worked on with a satellite detecting device on the windshield that was then attached to a laptop computer, all powered by the cigarette lighter. It was state of the art at the time, and probably saved the marriage for longer than it should have as there were fewer arguments over which way to go next.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAIn the center of this detail shot is a pin of a British double decker bus. It’s a reminder of a trip to Hong Kong when we were caught in a monsoonal trough that translated into 22″ ( 56cm) of rain in two days. The streets of the mainland were closed due to the high water and the only vehicles allowed to drive were these buses that were leaving wakes of water behind them when they went by. When we had been in Hong Kong the week before, I kept finding little rosettes of canvas on the ground, like the one to the upper left of the bus pin. I love picking up “treasures” up off the street to use on my work, but couldn’t figure out what these little circles of fabric were. Finally, it hit me. They were the covers on the tips of umbrellas where the circle of the umbrella meets the tip, covering up the hole so that rain won’t come on. I was rather proud of my archeological sleuthing.

“Viaggio”, which is Italian for voyages, was intended to be displayed above the sofa in our living room and would be a great conversation starter for dinner parties. Instead it ended up tucked away in the recesses of my studio after we separated. The quilt top is just about finished, and buttons and beads would be added when it gets quilted. Anybody out there interested in having a map of this quilter’s travels in your home?

To see other great blogs about textile art, go to …. http://ninamariesayre.blogspot.com/

 I’m still looking for well-lit full and detail shots of your unfinished textile object for consideration to be included in this blog. Send me some photos and tell me a little about the story behind your UFO to info@fiberfantasies.com  

Why not leave a comment as to your thoughts on this posting. Please take a minute, fill out the form below or by clicking on the “comments/no comments link” at the top of the posting, and then share your ideas with the rest of us. We all grow when we share our thoughts and impressions, so why not join our growing community of those who appreciate art quilts and textile arts. We’d love to hear from you!… and PLEASE tell like minded souls about this blog! The more readers and contributors, the more I write because encouragement helps the words flow!

You can see more of my art work on my web site at www.fiberfantasies.com (be patient as it loads; it’s worth it), my spiritual healing work at www.transitionportals.com and can find me on Google + , Facebook (for Transition Portals) Facebook (for Fiber Fantasies),  and Twitter.

To find out how to buy my art work, please check out “How to Buy my Art Work” in the “Pages” section to the right of this blog.

Learning to Sew in the Girl Scouts

FIN - Sash - FullNancy Smeltzer, MFA

A lot of my sewing skills I learned in the Girl Scouts, and you can see from my sash, I earned a lot of merit badges. The troop I belonged to was an arts troup, and many of my badges were from textile skills, such as embroidery, knitting, basketry, dressmaking, and other related domestic talents that women were supposed to have. In school, I belonged to Future Homemakers of America, where we made aprons and learned to cook simple things. I liked Scouting better, as there were badges to reflect your accomplishments. There wasn’t a quilting or beading merit badge in my scouting experiences, but I’m sure I would have done one if there had been. I went over and beyond the requirements in whatever I attempted.

While cleaning out one of the closets after my mother’s death, a nephew found a notebook I had made of different kinds of leaves for a tree merit badge. I was rather proud that it was quite thick, well documented, and had withstood the test of about 50 years time. Even then, I put a LOT of effort into my endeavors, so I guess that it’s no surprise that I would pour hours into my art work later in life.

86-Nancy & Libby as Girl ScoutsHere is a picture taken in the early 60s of me in my Girl Scout uniform (on the left) and my sister on the right in her Brownie uniform. Notice the prim and proper gloves I was wearing, which at that time, we still wore downtown when we went shopping. I inherited quite a collection of dress gloves, from day length like these, to luncheon, which went to the mid-forearm and a few opera length, which go over the elbow. I remember when I went off to college, I had co-ordinating gloves and a hat for each dressy outfit. The girl’s college that I went to required them for Sunday lunch.

Meanwhile, it was my mother who drove me around town to get all of the fabric I needed for my projects, take me to knitting lessons, and the countless other places so that I could earn all of those merit badges. We lived out in the country, so it was often quite a drive to go and get supplies.Fortunately, I was one of those people who got right on an assignment, so I don’t think that there were too many last minute runs for materials. I imagine that my mother would tell a different story.

It was fun looking back at my old Girl Scout sash and to think of the hours that I poured into collecting merit badges. I think that some important skills such as finishing a project that you’ve started, and setting priorities to get something completed by a deadline were learned. I certainly apply those skills these days in getting a piece ready for a show or a magazine submission. Thanks, Mama, for getting me involved in the Girl Scouts.

 What early training to you feel contributed to what you do now? Is there someone to thank for helping make those early lessons possible?

Why not leave a comment as to your thoughts on this posting. Please take a minute, fill out the form below or by clicking on the “comments/no comments link” at the top of the posting, and then share your ideas with the rest of us. We all grow when we share our thoughts and impressions, so why not join our growing community of those who appreciate art quilts and textile arts. We’d love to hear from you!… and PLEASE tell like minded souls about this blog! The more readers and contributors, the more I write because encouragement helps the words flow!

You can see more of my art work on my web site at www.fiberfantasies.com (be patient as it loads; it’s worth it), my spiritual healing work at www.transitionportals.com and can find me on Google + , Facebook (for Transition Portals) Facebook (for Fiber Fantasies),  and Twitter.

To find out how to buy my art work, please check out “How to Buy my Art Work” in the “Pages” section to the right of this blog.

A Eulogy for my Mother

Nancy, age 3 & her MotherNancy Smeltzer, MFA

This is the eulogy that I read today at my Mother’s funeral. What a hard piece of writing to do as I wanted to say so much, yet keep it short. I’m rather proud of what I wrote

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On behalf of my mother’s family, I want to thank all of the people who have shown her kindness over the years. We knew that she had a lot of friends, but didn’t realize how blessed she was with how many people knew and  loved and “Miss Milly”. I also want to thank all of the families that were part of her and for all that you’ve done for her over the years and the love that you showed her.

My reflections are those of a daughter looking back on the 62 years she was my mother.  Growing up, I don’t remember when she didn’t tell me several times a day how special I was and how loved and wanted l was. It would get to the point where as a teenager, I would push her away and say “Mom, knock it off!” as only that age group can do. It wasn’t until later in life that I began to realize that not everyone’s childhood was filled with love like that. As a result, it made it very easy for me to love others as I went on through life.

My mother often said that she only ever wanted to be a wife and a mother, and she certainly accomplished that. The sacrifices she made for her family were countless. Dance lessons, driving us around to sell Girl Scout cookies and baseball practice are just some of the daily tasks she took on willingly before there was even the concept of a soccer mom. She did without so that her children would be able to do the things that she thought were important for us and spoke to the values she wanted for us to have.

She taught me how to keep a house, as she was very proud of her own. In fact, she was proud of every new thing that she got. “I’m proud of the new woodpile”;…… “I’m proud of the new air conditioner”… I think you get the picture. Having grown up during the Great Depression, she never met a sale she didn’t like, and my brother, his wife, and I have been cleaning out some of her vast treasures this past year. She had a lot of treasures, having lived in the same house for over 50 years.

If you’ve ever been in her house, you know of her extensive collection of books. It started when her mother would have a box of books delivered from one of the downtown department stores for $5. We all three children had our own library cards when we were little, and were expected to finish out the summer reading program each year.  To her credit, she never censored what we read, and we were exposed to the breadth of knowledge that was to be had in the 60s and 70s.

She taught me to “Do things right. If you’re going to do something, then do it right!”, she would say. So, she taught me to use good materials when I sew, and not to stop on one of my pieces of art work until “it looked right.” She was very proud of the framed art quilt that I gave her for Christmas and it hung across from her bed in the nursing home. The last good conversation that I had with her over the phone two weeks ago, I reminded her that all she had to do, when she was ready, was to go through the window square in the art quilt, and the column of Light was on the other side that she could use it to cross over. I taught her a prayer to say when she looked at it, and could hear her voice relax over the phone. Her last words were….”I’m so proud of you.” My brother and sister-in-law who were with her that next to the last morning, when she was still lucid, said that she kept saying, “I have to look at the picture; I have to look at the picture!”. I’m glad that it gave her something to focus on at the end which was my intent.

We picked out the dress she wanted to be buried in at back at Christmas, but it had short sleeves, and she didn’t want her “old lady arms to show”. I promised I would make her a stole she could be buried in and showed her the fabric only three weeks ago. She loved it, but wanted some beading on it. I agreed and went back home, thinking I would have more time to work on it. 20 yards of hemming later and one side of buttons and beads finished, she has something really pretty to wear to dance around on the floors of heaven.

One of Mama’s favorite comments was “Everything is going to turn out all right”. She would say this even sometimes when I don’t think she had a clue as to how things would evolve, but she would plunge forward anyway. Another she got from her mother… “Keep your thinking straight” which for her meant that don’t get distracted from your goals or be led astray by the unimportant.

The day she died, as I sat by her bedside, still sewing on the shawl, many of the staff came in to see her. They all talked about how proud she was of all 3 of her children. She told them many times that we were her proudest accomplishments. Well, I’m proud of you, Mama, and honored to be your daughter. When she found out only a week before she died that she had pancreatic cancer, she said on the phone that she was tired of fighting, and then said, “I fought a good fight” almost asking me if I thought that she had done so, too. Yes, you did Mama. You fought a good fight and died with a smile on your face, holding the hand of a minister, and your heart filled with the Love of the Lord. May you rest in peace, or dance in heaven, or whatever suits you, because this is your time now. We love you so much, Mama as we turn you over to the Lord!

Heaven Has Another Angel – The Shawl I Made for my Mother to be Buried In

Bottom edge of Funeral Shawl I Made for my MotherNancy Smeltzer. MFA

Yesterday, my Mother, Milly , died from pancreatic cancer. She had only been diagnosed a week before, and very quickly went downhill, having decided she wanted to be with my father who died back in 1959. Back at Christmas, she had me go through her closets to find the dress she wanted to be buried in. She loved that dress, but it had short sleeves, and she didn’t want her old lady arms to show, so I told her I would make her a shawl to cover her arms.

I showed her the brocade fabric two weeks ago, which she loved, but she wanted some beading on it. I came back home and started in on it, only to get sick from the virus that had been going around the nursing home. I worked on the shawl as I could, but only got one edge finished. However, I’m sure that the funeral directors will be able to drape her other arm so that no one will know that the other edge didn’t get much done.

I made the piece quite long, 7′ or 2.3 m, and with all of the ribbon edging that I put down the vertical sides, I hemmed over 20 yards or about 7 meters of yardage. The short edges, that were intended to cover her arms, have an iron-on flower applique that I sewed along the bottom edge. Next came turquoise glass buttons from Czechoslovakia, alternating with dyed shell rondelle beads.

Brocade fabric used for my mother's funeral shawlHere is a close-up of the brocade fabric I used. It has a sweet series of tendrils along with tiny flowers scattered throughout. I did mostly seed beads for the stems and flowers, with a few flat aqua glass rodelles with an AB finish to emphasize the aqua glass beads. The shawl is quit elegant, and I’m proud to have given my mother this last present. I know that she and my Dad went dancing in heaven that night and she had great, good fun twirling around heaven in it.

What present have you been meaning to give to someone you love? What’ keeping you from doing so while you still have time?

Why not leave a comment as to your thoughts on this posting. Please take a minute, fill out the form below or by clicking on the “comments/no comments link” at the top of the posting, and then share your ideas with the rest of us. We all grow when we share our thoughts and impressions, so why not join our growing community of those who appreciate art quilts and textile arts. We’d love to hear from you!… and PLEASE tell like minded souls about this blog! The more readers and contributors, the more I write because encouragement helps the words flow!

You can see more of my art work on my web site at www.fiberfantasies.com (be patient as it loads; it’s worth it), my spiritual healing work at www.transitionportals.com and can find me on Google + , Facebook (for Transition Portals) Facebook (for Fiber Fantasies),  and Twitter.

To find out how to buy my art work, please check out “How to Buy my Art Work” in the “Pages” section to the right of this blog.

“Shady Sadie” – Another Unfinished Object

Shady Sadie - an Unfinshed Art Quilt by NIna-Marie SayreNancy Smeltzer, MFA

Photos provided by the artist, Nina-Marie Sayre

When I put out a call recently for anyone who had photos of unfinished objects(UFOs), my new friend over the Internet, Nina-Marie Sayre was one of the first to send in photos and information. Her blog is well written and has a huge number of followers. On Friday’s she has a feature where you can post a blog that you’ve published the previous week, so my art quilting world is quickly expanding.

Her is a photo of the full view of “Shady Sadie”, one of Nina-Marie’s UFOs. She had quite a lots of comments on her own blog regarding suggestions from others as to how she could finish the piece. Many of the comments were about why the one extended arm was so long. Nina-Marie had started the piece at a quilt conference, and loves using women as subjects in her work. She’s “not above abstracting her (Sadie) either. I want the piece to have a little mystery and texture.” So there you are from the artist’s mouth; this woman is supposed to have a very long arm!

Detail of back of Sadie's headHere’s a close-up of Sadie’s back and head. One possibility that Nina-Marie proposed in an early correspondence with her was to tattoo Sadie’s back and add some embellishments. While I don’t personally have any tats, I’m all for embellishments of any kind, so that got my attention. An interesting tattoo could certainly add to the air of mystery that Nina-Marie said she was looking for.

Block Detail of Background-  "Shady Sadie"In this background photo, you can see some of the fun that Nina-Marie had in composing the blocks that make up the majority of the quilt. She used silk backed with a thin fusible material so that it wouldn’t ravel. I said that she was brave to use silk, and Nina-Marie said it wasn’t too hard to use with the backing. When asked about her use of that exotic material for quilting, she did say that she only uses a little, as it’s expensive and it (silk) ”seems to have only one level of saturation – a lot!”

Nina-Marie had some great advice when I asked for her suggestions as to what to do with UFOs. “Don’t be afraid to cut it apart.” (I’ve done that one before.) “Don’t settle for just ‘OK’ .” (I try not to do that one.) However, one of her final nuggets of advice was “Don’t be afraid to give away a UFO that you don’t have any intention of finishing.” O-O-Oh! I need to work on this one, as I could use some room in my studio.

 I’ve asked this before, but will ask again… how do you handle your UFOs? Also, I’m always looking for well-lit photos and information on your UFOs, so send them to me at info@fiberfantasies.com I’d love to feature you in an upcoming blog.

Why not leave a comment as to your thoughts on this posting. Please take a minute, fill out the form below or by clicking on the “comments/no comments link” at the top of the posting, and then share your ideas with the rest of us. We all grow when we share our thoughts and impressions, so why not join our growing community of those who appreciate art quilts and textile arts. We’d love to hear from you!… and PLEASE tell like minded souls about this blog! The more readers and contributors, the more I write because encouragement helps the words flow!

You can see more of my art work on my web site at www.fiberfantasies.com (be patient as it loads; it’s worth it), my spiritual healing work at www.transitionportals.com and can find me on Google + , Facebook (for Transition Portals) Facebook (for Fiber Fantasies),  and Twitter.

To find out how to buy my art work, please check out “How to Buy my Art Work” in the “Pages” section to the right of this blog.

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2013-05-25 08:31:16