contemporary art quilts Archives - Page 2 of 18

Tag Archive for contemporary art quilts

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!

Here’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.

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.

Category: Art Quilt Techniques / Tags: art quilt blogs, art quilt creation techniques, art quilts, contemporary art quilts, Nancy Smeltzer, unfinished art objects

“Words, Words, Words” – a Small Beaded Art Quilt

March 14, 2013 / Nancy Smeltzer / 8 comments

Nancy Smeltzer. MFA

Every so often, it’s nice to work on a small scale, as my larger art quilts can take a month to complete. Here is the beginning of a small beaded piece, “Words, Words, Words”. When it’s completed, it will only measure 8″ square (20.5cm square), and is destined to be submitted for consideration for a Reader’s Challenge from the magazine, “Quilting Arts”. This particular contest that the magazine is holding is called “Text Me“. The theme is about using words as a decorative motif, so that’s what I did. I printed “words” on fabric that could be run through my ink jet printer, using different font styles and sizes.

As with all of these small art quilts that I make, I don’t have the luxury of spreading materials out over lots of surface area. Before I get started, I always pull out enough materials to make several quilts, as I like to have choices as to what to include. Even with a larger piece, there are always embellishments left over that I didn’t get to include, but those left over materials scream at me even more so with the creation if these small pieces. “So, why did you haul me out if you weren’t going to use me?” they seem to complain!

Here’s the fabric, fresh out of the printer, after the backing paper has been washed off and the back of the fabric ironed to set the ink. When I was composing the image on Photoshop Elements, I thought the contrast between the white lettered ‘Words” had more contrast against the two yellow background blocks, but that’s not true here on the fabric. The letters in the magenta “Words” are probably too small to put beads on, which I didn’t notice when I was looking at the image on my computer screen in PSE. That’s a shame because I have some perfectly color matched size 10 seed beads to sew on them. The last black “Words” at the very bottom is also probably too thin to sew on. If I had more time, I would have re-done the fonts, but since the photos to “Quilting Arts” are due the end of the month, I’ll just have to make some compromises as I make my little quilt. That’s one reason what art classes are so important for all kids, as it teaches them creative problem solving skills. Unfortunately, here in the States, far too many art budgets are cut and many children are deprived of that aspect of their education.

What are some skills that you have learned from your art experiences that you might not have learned otherwise. For me, besides the fun of doing the work, art is just fundamental to my well-being, as it feeds my soul. How about you?

For some other exciting ideas on art quilts, check out this blog…

http://ninamariesayre.blogspot.com/

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: Sources of Inspiration & Stories Behind the Art Quilts / Tags: art quilt blogs, art quilts, beaded art quilts, contemporary art quilts, embellished with buttons and beads, Nancy Smeltzer

“In the Silvery Depths – Art as Therapy

March 12, 2013 / Nancy Smeltzer / 4 comments

"In the Silvery Depths" - an art quilt in progress Nancy Smeltzer, MFA

This piece was begun many years ago when I was going through so much emotional strife that I had to be out of work from teaching for awhile. I had completed the piece “Beneath the Waves” which had a lot of golden light in it. This new piece was to be more about how I imagined the sea bottom would look as it sloped further and further into the depths, and the quality of the light would change from gold to silver. However, my emotional state was such that it was hard for me to look at what appeared as harsh, glaring light and the confusion of all of the embellishments I had piled on the surface of this art quilt. (…and you know it’s crowded, if I think that there’s too much stuff!) So, as a metaphor of me taking my life back and having some control of what was going on, I cut the quilt top into five sections and sewed “plain”. lavender strips in between the wider embellished strips.

You have no idea how hard it was for me to make that first cut. I had spent quite a lot of time at that point, and given my emotional state, I could have really ruined the piece. However, I’m pleased to report that I was able to stitch the panels back together and create a piece that I like. It’s rather big for the art quilts that I do now, measuring 44″W x 41 “T ( 112 cm W x 104 cm T). All that’s left to complete it is the hand quilting in the lavender scallops in the panels that are the “plain” areas. In the detail photo above, you can see the teal colored embroidery floss that I used to connect the panels together. By using great big “X”s, I wanted to show that I was putting my life back together, but maybe not so elegantly.

In this last detail shot, you can see how I used repeating motifs to tie some of the composition together. In the lower left is a black wooden button incised with yellowish lines. I repeated those thick lines in the black lace motif above it by using slashes of lavender embroidery floss. There are some more of those teal colored “X”s between the embellished panel and the lavender panel, this time on the right of the photo. There are also some small black glass flowers. fastened on with five white stitches of quilting thread to again repeat those slash stitches. The black color of those glass flowers repeat the image of the black lace flower, but on a smaller scale. I like to use repeating shapes, colors, and other design motifs to give people lots of details to look at when they’re up close to my quilts.

To finish this piece will probably necessitate getting out my quilting frame, which takes up a large part of the family room. I know that this piece deserves the care put into finishing it, as it was an important part of my healing path at a pretty dark time in my life. I hope that one day it will find a good home with someone who will give it a good home and understand the courage and triumph of spirit that it took to create it.

When have you used your artistic medium to help you move through life’s woes? I know one painter who totally covered over most of the surface of one of her prior paintings, as she was starting a new life for herself. What have you done to help you move on?

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 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.

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

The Visionary Art Quilt – “Medicine Area” Finished and Being Used as a Healing Tool

March 8, 2013 / Nancy Smeltzer / No comments

Nancy Smeltzer, MFA

Creating visionary art is an interesting experience as you never know where you’ll be led along a spiritual path or what the final image will look like. When I began this beaded art quilt about a month ago, I spoke of how my new spirit guide, Brian Baker, who died in an accident in January, 2013, began to show me a much more amplified version of the Medicine Area that I had been taught when I began shamanic training around 2005. In the Lakota Sioux and Mohawk traditions, the medicine area is where one does healing work. All of the ones that I have seen have been in caves, and so it was interesting as this piece began to evolve that I realized that it was part of the Meditation Gardens series that I’ve been working on. I’ve found that when I let the work tell me how it wants to look and I surrender and follow along, that my best pieces evolve. This has certainly been the case for this piece, as it felt as if it were sewing itself, choosing where each embellishment would go in the composition.

The squashed battery that I picked up off of the street and used as embellishment in the upper left hand corner shows up well in this detail photo. The label on the outside had long since peeled away by the time that I found it, and the terminal end had been bent on its side. looking like a small face. This is actually the 2nd battery that I’ve found that appears like this; perhaps I should take some old, spent batteries and see if I can do the same thing in my driveway. I’ll have to do some research as to how much corrosive materials are in a AA battery before deliberately trying to squash them. The seed beads that I chose for the mottled gold background turned out well. They are a transparent, olive green color with an opaque amber lining, and I would never have guessed they would have worked by looking at them in the vial that they came in. Seed beads have to be seen flush against the fabric they’re going against, so I carefully spill a few out of their container and thread them on a straight pin to see if they’re going to work on the site that I’m considering for their use.

I was really pleased at how lovely this detail shot came out of the middle and bottom pools in my cave of healing. Just to the right of center is one of my beloved glass buttons from Czechoslovakia. It turns out that my favorite seller on eBay, Spirit, Inc., who probably has the best selection for these beauties in the world, lives about 15 miles from me. People always respond to these buttons and want to reach out and touch them, as they’re that compelling.

In the middle of each of the pools are some dark purple lines. These are 3mm cubes of transparent aqua glass beads on the outsides with a dark amethyst transparent interior. The height, shape, and intense color of these cubes justify the added expense because of the visual appeal and shine they add to the water.

I said in a previous posting that this piece I was keeping and now it has a home over the headboard of my bed. As I fall asleep, I know that it’s creating a space of safety where I can pass into the dream world and sort issues out from my day. I can also see that it will be an effective “Dream Catcher” for me, as well as an effective place for me to focus my attention when I’m working with my clients. I’ll fall asleep tonight thanking my spirit guides for guiding my hands as they were used to create this image for me and my artistic and healing work.

To find out more about my healing work and that part of my life. please visit my healing web site and blog…. www.transitionportals.com I’d also love to hear about your experiences with having a particular image, mandala, or object on which to focus when you meditate or pray.

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: Meditation Art Quilts / Tags: art quilt blogs, art quilts, art used as healing, beaded art quilts, contemporary art quilts, Nancy Smeltzer, visionary art

The Visionary Art Quilt,”Medicine Area”, Part Two

February 21, 2013 / Nancy Smeltzer / No comments

Nancy Smeltzer, MFA

This photo shows the “Medicine Area” visionary art quilt after the first day of embellishing with buttons and some beads. When compared to the previous posting about this quilt, as you can see, I sew pretty fast when I’m inspired. I solved the problem of how to deal with the large area of gold fabric at the top and in other areas of the quilt by using a transparent, gold ribbon sewn in horizontal lengths. Unfortunately, in the photo, because of the angle of the photographic lights, the ribbon appears to have a red cast, when in reality, it’s really quite gold. Not to worry, because in later photographs, you’ll see that much of the ribbon gets covered over anyway by seed beads.

As you look around the middle and lower pools, you’ll also see a lot more buttons than were in the first blog about this piece. To the lower right of the portal square, are some small square buttons. These are actually square mirrors. I’m already using this piece for my own meditations, and as my new spirit guide, Brian Baker, continues to show me more and more of this healing cave, I can see that the walls are covered with shining crystals. That’s what the square mirrors are supposed to simulate. You can also see a half circle of gold chain maille rings stiched down with purple embroidery floss around the purple outcropping on the upper left. These outlines of circles suggest the round shape of the more traditional buttons that are always included in my art quilts. I like to use repeating patterns in different sizes, colors, and whether it’s a solid or outline shape.

The square mirror buttons are much easier to see in this last detail shot. Square buttons can be hard to place, as they have to be sewn on just so and tightly, as it’s obvious when they’re crooked. Just off to the right of center, just below the middle pool, is a large bronze, curved metal feather. Another of my spirit guides uses a golden eagle as his totem animal, so that feather is to honor him. The golden steps, edged in black that lead down from each pool to the other are more visible in this photo. Obelisk like fabric motifs, surrounded by circles. were cut from a fabric from Africa, and were used to suggest the sacred quality that I feel about this piece.

This small art quilt, which is the same size as my other Meditation Art series measures 16″ x 20″ (40.5cm x 50.5cm), but is filled with many reverent sensations for me as I stitch on it night after night. When I hold it up at the end of the night at a distance to see how the work is going, I feel honored that I’m being shown the image for this piece by my spirit guides. This piece, I’m told, is for me to keep, and I certainly am glad that it’s chosen to stay with me, too.

Have you ever had pieces of art work that you just knew that you were meant to keep? How do you decide which to keep and which to sell? For me, the ones that I sell were never mine to keep from the first second that I started them. How do you make your decisions?

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: Meditation Art Quilts / Tags: art quilt blogs, art quilts, beaded art quilts, contemporary art quilts, Nancy Smeltzer, quilts embellished with buttons and beads, visionary art

« Older Entries Recent Entries »

Buttons&Beads&Quilts!

Tag Archive for contemporary art quilts

“Shady Sadie” – Another Unfinished Object

“Words, Words, Words” – a Small Beaded Art Quilt

“In the Silvery Depths – Art as Therapy

The Visionary Art Quilt – “Medicine Area” Finished and Being Used as a Healing Tool

The Visionary Art Quilt,”Medicine Area”, Part Two

Join my Mailing List and receive a FREE PDF!

Categories

Blogroll

Blogs I Like

Media Sources

Supply Sources