beaded art quilts Archives - Buttons&Beads&Quilts!

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An All-Over Background for Embellished Art Quilts – Yikes!

January 25, 2016 / Nancy Smeltzer / No comments

Art Quilt “Fiesta” showing background fabric before embellishing

When I was leaving my home and studio in Maryland 1 1/2 years ago, I wanted to try some new ideas as I cut out 3 pieces to sew. I had no idea how long it would take to resettle and have access to my supplies again, so I basted the pieces together, sewed on the major ribbons, buttons,and large beads, and gathered up the small beads and other materials needed to finish these quilts. To make things a little more interesting, I decided to try some all-over patterned backgrounds as I love making embellished art quilts. Maybe I’ll re-think that idea of “all-over” next time.

I had found the perfect background fabric with gold and darker pumpkin stripes, which to me suggested streamers and suggested the theme, “Fiesta”. I had also found some iron-on appliques that matched the twisted nature of the background (see the red and purple fat streamer in the left of the above photo.) However, I’m never one to leave a blank area uncovered for long, so the few streamers of metal gold beads, as seen above, were just too bare. I know, when in doubt, add more beads!

Bigger gold beads used to portray laughter

I got tired of sewing on the same size gold beads, was running out of them, couldn’t find any locally, and an exhibition entry deadline was looming. (Ah, the pressures on an artist!) I then thought to simulate laughter at this fiesta I was creating by sewing on larger gold beads, which I had more of and which filled up the area quicker. I was really kicking myself for choosing this all-over background fabric at this point. I didn’t HAVE to embellish the whole thing, but being obsessive, well… and since I don’t bead/quilt on a frame, the fabric gets wrinkled unless it’s heavily beaded and quilted.

Background fabric entirely filled with yellow and gold beads.

Here’s a photo of where I had beaded in a small section without too many of the insights that I spoke about above. The yellow stripes were embellished with a yellow bead that fortunately I had enough of to finish the entire top, as I won’t be able to replace it. That’s one of the problems of working with buttons and beads is that you fall in love with one, use it for a few years, and then it stops being made…sigh! When I truly get to become queen, such things won’t happen. I’ll have an endless supply of my favorite supplies.

What insights have you learned when working with the materials that you use in your media. Don’t make us start from scratch and re-invent the wheel!

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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.

Fiesta – A Happy Art Quilt

September 3, 2015 / Nancy Smeltzer / 2 comments

The art quilt “Fiesta” basted to bead & quilt

Nancy Smeltzer, MFA

How I remember those frantic days of September, 2014 as I was packing up my studio in Maryland getting ready to move to North Carolina. I had no idea how long it would take to sell my house; there weren’t a lot of walk-throughs. Not knowing when I would see my supplies again, I cut out 3 art quilts to last for the unknown duration. I sewed the big buttons, beads, appliques and ribbons at night while the days were frantically spent supervising treasures going into storage boxes, or being donated. “Fiesta”, the piece you see on the left, was one of the three, and its bright sunny disposition made me smile through all of those frantic days as my studio of 30 years disappeared from sight. Would the buttons and beads that were disappearing into boxes ever reappear at the other end of the move?

Detail of art quilt “Fiesta” basted together

I had been collecting the fabrics and ribbons for this quilt for awhile. Usually, materials that were being auditioned for a new art quilt would pile up in my studio for awhile until they reached a critical mass and then fall over onto the floor. This time, there was the urgency of having to cut out and baste 3 quilts quickly, so I grabbed this pile of fabrics that had been waiting for awhile. Going across the upper left hand corner is an orange and aqua woven ribbon that is quite striking. I of course had great good fun in playing with aqua buttons and crow beads sewn in lines around it. There are also multi-colored ribbons that cross across the center of this photo and an orange ribbon with yellow polka dots in the lower right. The yellow and while stripes are from a fabric that I cut in rectangles to help suggest awnings in my imaginary town square.

Another detail of the art quilt “Fiesta”

This shot is taken a little farther back and you can see some of the circles that suggest balloons? pinwheels? fireworks? After all, it’s a fiesta, so there are lots of possibilities for noise and sparkles. I often use circular shapes in fabrics and lace to repeat the round shapes of the buttons. While I will use other shapes in buttons, I like round ones the best. I find that other shapes are often hard to get to stay seated where I want them to be. The background fabric is a gold with a darker gold swirl on it that ties the whole composition together (more about it in the next posting). Now that I’m looking at this photo, I’m noticing how much the white lace circles (ones with the holes in them) and the white circles in the magenta pinwheels compete with each other. I’m wondering if there’s too much white. As I write this, the quilt is much farther along, but I’ll have to go and look to see how they turn out once they’re beaded. Oh, to learn to see the way the camera does!

What images do you find that you repeat over and over in your work? Do they have a particular meaning, or do they just “wander on in”?

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.

Category: Beaded Art Quilts / Tags: art quilts. art quilt blogs, beaded art quilts, contemporary art quilts, embellished art quilts. Nancy Smeltzer

Beaded Art Quilts in the Sky – “Sky Map”

October 30, 2014 / Nancy Smeltzer / No comments

Full View – Sky Map

Nancy Smeltzer, MFA

Once in awhile, I get to see pieces that I sold before I knew much about photography and so didn’t have a record of the piece. That’s the case with a recent re-connection with Dr. Lisa Gordon, who introduced me to a whole new world of healing. This beaded art quilt that she bought was actually visionary art, as it’s based on a dream that I had while visiting Sweden. In the summer, Stockholm only has about 3 hours of darkness.I awoke at 3 am, looked out the window at the sparkling harbor, and then went back to sleep.

I’m fortunate that I have vivid dreams in color, and in this dream, the sky was faceted with sparkling mirrors and lines. The quality of the light that far north is much more silvery than what I’m used to here in the Mid-Atlantic of the States where light is more golden. I immediately jumped up and made a very rough sketch of the image that I had seen, which wasn’t really necessary. as I can still see what I saw that night as vividly as it was way back then.

Detail (1) of Sky Map

This first detail shot shows some of the rich diverse materials I used in the making of this art quilt. There’s a large shi-sha mirror bordered in gold near the middle of the pic. On top of it as a star piece that I baked from friendly plastic. While the gold edges were still warm, I pressed a glass cabochon into the middle to make another shiny effect. There is a metal button that is criss-crossed with lines below the shi-sha mirror, and to the right of that is a bent waffle looking shape that I have no idea where I found it, but I wish that I had more of them. Finally, there is gold mesh stitched flat on the background to repeat the images of crossing lines that catch stars.

Detail (2) of Sky Map

In this next shot, you can see a swirled iron-on applique. Perhaps that could be a new galaxy forming out there in space? While iron-on appliques always have a glue on the back that is supposed to be heat set when ironed, I’ve scorched some, and had some fall off. Therefore, I always sew them on to make sure they’ll stay, even though it’s hard to stitch through the glue. In the middle right is a silvery leaf earring, whose outward swirls suggested to me that energy could be emanating from a central force. Scattered throughout are flat rondelles with a finish that’s know as aurora borealis. While the beads are still being made, I can’t find them with the shiny AB finish anymore. Bead manufacturers bring out new lines and stop making some, usually the ones that I really like.

Detail (3) of Sky Map

In the center of this shot is another gold colored iron-on applique. This one however, is in a square with the lines that circle round and round filled in with background material. However, in contrast, just beneath it, is another of those bent waffle forms made out of gold colored metal. (I love to repeat patterns in different ways across the surface of one of my art quilts). In the middle left is a “spider” looking pin, which I intended to be a starburst. To fasten it to the surface there’s a glass bead that I sewed in the middle to be a stopper to keep that swirled pin fastened down.

This piece was created in 1997, and the owner bought it before it right after it was finished, so I hadn’t seen it in quite awhile. I was surprised at how big it was (41.5″T x 39″W or 105.5 cm T x 99 cm W), as the pieces that I’m doing these days are much smaller and manageable. (Those things get heavy once you start adding on all of those buttons and beads!) I was pleased to get a chance to photograph it for my records, as it was one of my favorites and can still remember the night when the sky was faceted with lines and mirrors of light.

Do you have a favorite dream that you’ve translated into a piece of art? What was it like creating that art and do you feel that the piece turned out?

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.

Category: Beaded Art Quilts / Tags: art quilt blogs, art quilts, beaded art quilts, Nancy Smeltzer, visionary art

Leaves All Around – Art Quilt Embellishments

October 23, 2014 / Nancy Smeltzer / No comments

Enameled metal teal and white leaf

Nancy Smeltzer, MFA

Here on the East Coast of the States, the leaves are starting to turn and fall. I thought I would show you how I’ve used some costume jewelry leaves as art quilt embellishments.

For some reason, leaves seem to be a popular shape for use in jewelry. In this detail shot, you can see a teal and white enameled metal leaf. I love the way that the teal color fades out to white, just as real leaves lose their color in the Fall. On a live leaf, the color usually remains next to the midrib, just as in this metal pin. The gold midrib and edges of the leaf pick up gold motifs scattered nearby, tying the composition together.

Gold metal leaf pin

In this second pin, all in gold, the leaves have beautifully curled edges. There are faint outlines of tiny veins in the larger sections of the leaf, while the larger veins are hidden in the folds. Perhaps this was meant to be a maple leaf, but it’s hard to tell as the shape is rather distorted. This is true, however, in nature, as few leaves, even on the same tree are exactly alike. This pin was one of my mother’s that I got after she died, and I don’t know when or on what she wore it. The glass “cathedral window” button in the lower rights seems to light up the leaf, and I like the way they look next to each other.

Stylized gold metal pin

This last leaf pin is another that was my mother’s. It’s rather stylized, and seems to focus more on the veins of a leaf than on a whole leaf. It could be a conifer, or a branch from a tree that has needles, but the ribs seem too big to be from that kind of tree. I do like the spaces in it, because it allows you to see some of the fabric below (which was also from a blouse of my mother’s). A gold wreath off to the far right I use a lot, as they’re the circles from my signature “bead”, a hummingbird. The wreaths are the circles that the birds go through to attach the two ends of a necklace, but since the bird toggle has a shank, I use it as a button. (Wait for the link to load if it’s slow).

These costume jewelry pins usually have a pin that fits into a circle at the other end. When you rotate the circle, the pin stays locked in place on an outfit. However, because these art quilts get folded and unfolded a lot, the pins come undone if I don’t do the following. I thread the connecting pin up through the three layers of the quilt and put it in the circle and spin it. I then take small pliers and crimp the circle so that it can never be opened again. Then I stitch up and around each end of pin several times, securing it on to the surface of the quilt.

Leaves have been a popular adornment, from the laurel leaf wreaths given to winners of athletic events in ancient Greece to the present day as part of wedding tiaras and tattoos. Even though modern man is often pretty detached from daily contact with nature, leaf designs can help connect us with our ancient roots.

Do you have a favorite natural objects and how have you used them in your work?

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.

Category: Materials for art quilts / Tags: art quilt blogs, art quilt embellishments, art quilts, beaded art quilts, Nancy Smeltzer

Button Embellishments on Other Objects

October 12, 2014 / Nancy Smeltzer / No comments

Woven ball with buttons and shells glued to it

Nancy Smeltzer, MFA

It’s not just art quilts that I embellish with buttons. My ex-husband used to say that if it sat still long enough, it would get covered in buttons. This photo shows a woven rattan ball that I glued shells on one side so it could stand up. (Shells count for embellishments if I can get a hole through it). Then, covering the top, I glued buttons in the same color theme and voila, a button ball. I don’t have it anymore, as it was part of the downsizing process as I move, so I don’t remember who got it. It’s about 5″ or 13 cm in diameter, and was always being picked up by guests as they’d ask, “What’s this?”, so I hope the new owner appreciates it.

Gold rose hairpiece with buttons

Back in the 80s, in the days of “big hair”, my ex and I would go to a number of black tie balls. I always made hair pieces to go with each outfit, and this one went with a black brocade jacket. My hair was a lot more blonde then, so the sheer gold ribbon sparkled well. The small gold roses (1.5″ or 4 cm) came from a button and bead shop in New York City. Here was one time where I did buy a lifetime supply of an embellishment, as it’s VERY hard to get a needle through the woven wire petals on the rose. It’s better to glue them, which I hate to do onto a quilt, as the glue starts to leach out after awhile. Here, on this hair piece, it didn’t matter, but if they were going on an art quilt, I would first glue them to small circles of felt. Then the felt could be sewn to the fabric and would serve as a barrier between the glue and the decorative top of the quilt.

Detail of bathroom wall

This last photo shows a detail of a mural that I did on the wall of a big soaking tub in my house. The wall is about 10′ wide and 8′ tall (9.2 m wide x 7.4 m tall). It took 3 days to nail and glue all of those buttons and wooden medallions on the wall, and I needed to see my chiropractor afterwards as I was reaching above me head a lot of the time. The painted part is of a scene in Tuscany and the buttons could be interpreted as rocks, or flowers, of whatever the viewer wishes to imagine. I hope the new owners of the house like it, because of the love I put in it, and it will also be very hard to remove without redoing the entire wall. However, my bathroom wall is amateur hour when it gets compared to the Shell Grotto on Bella Isola, Lake Maggiore in Italy. You can follow the link to see the rooms that are entirely covered in seashells and small pebbles. (Also Google “Bella Isola” to see more images). The palace was built by an Italian duke dedicated to his bride, and as you sail out to the island, it does look like a wedding cake perched on a hill. The shell rooms are in the bottom of the palace, and were completed by his sons, as they took over 100 years to complete. They gave a cool refuge from the summer heat, and since that’s when I visited them, they were indeed noticeably cooler than the upstairs rooms. Now, that’s got me thinking of a whole room full of buttons in my new place. I just hope that it wouldn’t take 100 years to complete.

What other objects have you embellished with unusual materials in your art medium?

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.

Category: Materials for art quilts / Tags: art quilt blogs, art quilts, beaded art quilts, button embellishments, Nancy Smeltzer

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Buttons&Beads&Quilts!

Tag Archive for beaded art quilts

An All-Over Background for Embellished Art Quilts – Yikes!

Fiesta – A Happy Art Quilt

Beaded Art Quilts in the Sky – “Sky Map”

Leaves All Around – Art Quilt Embellishments

Button Embellishments on Other Objects

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