Tag Archive for wine inspired art

“Dance of the Zinfandels” – an Unfinished Homage

February 12, 2013 / / No comments

Unfinished contemporary art quilt top, "Dance of the Zinfandels"My last piece to date in the Wines of the World Series, “Dance of the Zindfandels” is actually an unfinished embellished top. Most of my art quilts are beaded as I go along when I sew the three layers (top, batting, and backing) together. This piece, however, had the top completed first. Right now, it measures about 70″ W X 44 ” T (178cm W x 112 cm T). Allowing for about 2″ shrinkage when it’s quilted and the ends evened out, it will still be one of my largest pieces ever when it’s completed. To quilt something this big, it will have to go on a quilting frame, which will take up a large part pf the family room, so the top awaits a commission to motivate me to haul out the quilting frame and baste the rest of the quilt together. I can see why there were “quilting bees” when it came time to quilt a piece that was meant for a bed. It’s just too much fabric to manage by myself unless a pay check is motivating me!

Detail of contemporary art quilt top, "Dance of the Zinfandels"In the lower middle of this detail shot, you can see the main dancers for which this piece is named. They are a male and female pair of costume jewelery pins, and I put them close enough together so that they could hold hands as they twirl across the surface of the piece. For me, good red Zinfandels are a party wine and I love to serve it with BBQ ribs. Since such parties often go long into the night, there are a number of stars for my dancers to dance under. Along the bottom of the photo, you can also see some of the grape cluster buttons that I collected. Other buttons with purple centers help to give a “grape” look to the display.

Detail of contemporary art quilt top, "Dance of the Zinfandels"“Lushness” is one of the descriptive terms I would use for a red Zinfandel, and “big and bold” is another. I think that the detail photo shows how I tried to incorporate those feelings with my use of buttons, appliques, and beads. If you’ve been reading these blogs for awhile, then you’ve heard me say before “Why settle for a couple hundred buttons and beads, when several thousand will make a MUCH bigger statement!” I think that I’ve accomplished impact with this piece, if only because of its sheer size and weight. It’s very hard to hang it on a study coat hanger and have it stay as it awaits its time to be finished,as the beads make it very slippery.

Collecting wine was a passion that my former husband and I shared, so I had lots of opportunities to share good wine with like-minded souls. I don’t have as many friends now that drink, so my mid-sized cellar is winding down. Still, there are a few friends with whom I still share the delights of good food, wine, and art, so while I may not dance as much as I used to, my heart still has many memories that cause me to still smile.

 What are your favorite themes for your art work? How are you able to incorporate them into your everyday life? Are there secret dreams that you wish that you could include in your work, but haven’t chosen to express yet?

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 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 Series of Mine / Tags: , , , , , , , ,

“Fruit of the Vine” – an Art Quilt Celebrating Wine

August 30, 2012 / / No comments

A beaded, contemporary art quilt, "Fruit of the Vine"Of all of my art quilts based on wine, “Fruit of the Vine” is probably the most opulent. At 40” W x 35.5” T x 2” D ( 101.5cm W x 90.5cm T x 5cm D), this piece is filled with the lushness of a vineyard at harvest time. That’s when the vines are at their most werdant. While no self-respecting vineyard master would ever let the foliage get this exuberant, as there’s a strict ratio of leaves to grape clusters in order to get the best wine, as an artist, I can fill my vines with grapes, flowers, and have striped trellises under always sunny skies, if I choose.

As with many of the other art quilts that I’ve done in this series of “Wines of the World”, I’ve used rubbery plastic grape clusters that have held up well over the years. If you don’t squeeze them too hard, they actually have a bit of the feel of real grapes. The size is rather close to real wine grapes, too, as thye generally are smaller than the table grapes that you’d find in the grocery store.

Detail of contemporary art quilt, :Fruit of the Vine", based on wines of the worldIn this detail shot, you can see some of the lavish silk flowers that I used in the surface design. There are also a number of small, rolled  ribbon roses, which including the leaves, measure about 1/2″ or 1.25 cm across. They can be found in small packages in many craft stores here in the States, but I buy them in bulk on eBay from stores in Hong Kong. In the lower left, there’s a folded ribbon flower of black and white stripes with a black and white button center. I’ve written in the past about what a big influence Candace Kling’s ribbon work was on my art quilts at the time, and this piece is no exception.

Detail of contemporary art quilt, :Fruit of the Vine" based on wines of the worldThere are both dark purple and green grapes shown in this detail shot, and they would be grown in separate parts of a real vineyard as they have different horticultural needs. This “fact” however, does not need to apply in my fabric version. Scattered throughout this shot are a number of five petaled silver looking flowers which are actually mirror buttons. They are one of those amazing finds that I acquired in some wonderful place and of course, have no idea how to get any more. I believe they’re antique, and since they’re glass, they do break, as I’ve lost a petal or two in folding and moving quilts about that contained them. They’re an excellent example of if you like a material or embellishment. buy as many as you can afford, as the source will probably not be around later. While i’ve found some plastic mirrored glass flowers, they don’t have the richness of these glass ones.

Wines and art are a natural pairing for me in my personal life, and I have a few good friends with which I can share them both. I’ve had the good fortune of crafting a life based on all of the arts and the luxury to promote them. I hope that you, too, can find time to gift yourself with whatever you see as “the good life” and share it with your friends.

What is the “good life” for you? Is it a regular part of your everyday existence, or only for special occasions? 

Why not leave a comment as to your thoughts on this posting. Please take a minute, fill out the form 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!

You can see more of my art work on my web site at www.fiberfantasies.com and can find me on Google + , Facebook,  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: Wines of the World Series / Tags: , , , , , , ,

“Dreams of Pinot Noir” – Another Art Quilt in the “Wines of the World” Series

August 21, 2012 / / No comments

With this contemporary art quilt, “Dreams of Pinot Noir”, I’m continuing my blogs about my series that I’ve done on Wines of the World. Packed into its relatively small space, (36.5” sq or 93 cm sq), are lots of subtle details. Good pinot noirs are known for their elegant, velvety textures and are described as being of “leather and lace”, so that’s the look that I was going for as I began this piece.

The image for this quilt came to me as a whole image in a dream. I have some of the coolest dreams, and this one was while I was dozing on a bus during a tour of the Burgundian wineries. The section of road that we were on was overhung by trees, so that the sunlight was flashing on and off as we drove under the shade of one tree, moved out into an open area, and then were in the shade again. In that halfway state between consciousness and deep sleep, I could see behind my closed eyelids, the lights flashing on and off. All of a sudden, I “saw” the image of this quilt, which looks pretty much the way that I saw it in my dreams.

Detail of the contemporary art quilt based on wine, "Dreams of Pinot Noir"In this detail, you can see some of the folded ribbon flowers that I was making at the time, with the burgundy one in the middle right with a button center being the largest of the the ones in this scene. Directly above it, to its left, is an antique crocheted button with a seed bead center that probably graced a coat at some point in the past. In the middle are some of the tri-colored grapes that I embroidered with floss. The large leaves are sort of rubbery and have a mildewed look to them. I found them by accident in the silk flower section of a local crafts store. They were exactly the effect that I needed to duplicate the aging grape leaves that I “saw” in  my dream. In the lower left is a white lace grape motif that I again found by accident, this time in a fabric store that I have been going to since I was a child, Mary Jo’s Cloth Store, which is now in Gastonia, NC, USA. (I used to play under the tables while my mother picked out the fabrics for my dresses for the upcoming school year.)

Detail of the contemporary art quilt based on wine, "Dreams of Pinot Noir"I think that you can get a sense of the wealth of materials that I have in my studio by looking at this detail shot. In the center is a black, embroidered button that I got from M&J Trimming in New York City, USA. That amazing place is a “candy store” for ribbons, buttons, and all kinds of trims, with a patient staff that will pull down materials from the top shelves for you to drool over. Below it to the left, and to the right are some of the costume jewelery pieces that I find at thrift stores, yard sales, and of course, on eBay. My rule of thumb is to look for pieces like necklaces or bracelets, count the number of individual elements that can be cut apart, and divide that number into the total price to get a cost/unit. Over the years, (and countless purchases), I have a sense of what can be found out there in the supply stores and how much they cost. Jewelry pieces, however, can give an individual look to an art quilt, as you usually won’t be able to get more of that piece. However,sometimes things can be bought in a limited supply, as the black beaded applique in the lower left. Those were sold as individual pieces to be added to clothing, but were only made for one season. So, when I find an item like that, which I feel like I’ll use again, I buy as many as I can find. Hence, the well filled shelves in my studio,

Pinot Noirs are some of my favorite wines, and I am fortunate to have a large number from Williams Selyems from Sonoma Valley, California, USA, which have graced many of my dinner parties. While the image that inspired this art quilt came originally from an experience in France, good pinots are being crafted in many parts of the world now, especially in California and Oregon in the USA. The paring of good food, wine, and art has been a part of most of my adulthood, as one flows into the other for me, and all are part of a life dedicated to creative endeavors of all kinds.

 Have youe ever been inspired by good food and wine while creating a work of art? How do you fit your whole lifestyle into your artistic endeavors?

Why not leave a comment as to your thoughts on this posting. Please take a minute, fill out the form 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!

You can see more of my art work on my web site at www.fiberfantasies.com and can find me on Google + , Facebook,  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: Wines of the World Series / Tags: , , , , , , , ,

“Herbs, and Grass, and Sauvignon Blanc”

August 10, 2012 / / 2 comments

When working on the theme of wines for my art quilts, some color combinations were hard to duplicate. Cabernets and pinot noirs have a rich depth of color that is hard to duplicate in red commercial fabrics, especially after they’ve been washed before use. (Red fabrics tend to fade in the wash, as the less expensive direct dyes are used for that color.) Sauvignon blancs, however, are known for their grassy, herb-like flavor, and so the pale greens and yellows that I chose, topped with a pale blue to suggest the sky, were perfect colors to denote the true nature of this particular type of wine.

I’ve spent a lot of time on vineyard tours, walking between the vines, as the winemaker explained the various qualities of a particular type of grape. No real vineyard would ever have their vines arranged in the fashion that I have in my art quilt. It would be too labor intensive to tend them when they’re not in straight rows, but as an artist I can take whatever liberties I want in the arrangement of my plants. Roses are usually planted at the ends of the row, as they’ll show black-spot sooner than the grape leaves and thus indicate it’s time for spraying. Here, in  my art quilt, yellow roses are mixed in with the vines, again because in my fabric vineyard scene, I can put them where I choose.

Detail of the contemprary art quilt, "Herbs, and Grass, and Sauvignon Blanc"“Herbs, and Grass, and Sauvignon Blanc” ( 38″W x 37.5″T or 97.75 cm W x 95.5 cm T) , created back in 1994, incorporated some machine embroidery to attach the fabric motifs, lace cut-outs, and silk flowers and leaves to the surface of the quilt. A large part of the background fabric is actually an old tablecloth, as good wine should be paired with good food. Shimmery organza was used to suggest sky and a light green quilting thread was used to hand quilt the three layers of the quilt sandwich together. Pale green, rubbery, plastic grapes were used to simulate the “greenness” quality of this type of wine, instead of the red and purple grapes that I used in “Dinner for Three on the Banks of the Cabernet“, a few posts back. This piece was done back before I used as many buttons and beads as I do now, and I was experimenting with silk ribbon flowers that I stitched and folded. You can see some of them in the lower middle of this detail shot.

Detail of contemporary art quilt, "Herbs and Grass and Sauvignon Blanc"In this second photo, you can see some of the gold colored metal stampings of grape vines that I picked up in a button store in Paris. (bright gold color, middle of the shot). To the right of it, is a small, duller gold color pin of a grape cluster with artificial pearls to simulate the grapes. In the lower left hand is a bright gold cluster of wrapped wire beads that were from some inexpensive earrings that I found in a discount store. Add them into a wine theme art quilt, and they become “grapes”. I love finding treasures like that and seeing them with new eyes, so that I can utilize them in other ways than what was their original intention. My studio is filled with jars and boxes of similar discoveries, waiting to be given a permanent home on one of my contemporary quilts.

This piece hangs for right now in my dining room, awaiting a more permanent home in somebody’s collection. It has graced many a good dinner and has taken on the energy not only of itself and me when it was created, but also the collective energy of good meals shared with friends. May all of your own work be imbued with the resonance of good food, and if it suits your inclination, good wine.

How has your own art work soaked up energy because of its location? Do you deliberately interject yourself into your work, or does it happen on its own?

Why not leave a comment as to your thoughts on this posting. Please take a minute, fill out the form 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!

You can see more of my art work on my web site at www.fiberfantasies.com and can find me on Google + , Facebook,  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: Wines of the World Series / Tags: , , , , , , , ,
 
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