My Art Heart

Vacations

This summer I'm headed here -

 

but NEXT summer, I'm headed here -

 

I tell you, tears came to my eyes when I saw this photo of Santorini, Greece. And that's just one of the places I (and maybe you) will be going. The way I figure it, if you set aside $5-10 everyday, between now and the day of departure, you should have more than enough to have a grand time. What are you willing to give up in order to see the following places? or better yet, what are you will to create and sell?

The First Ever Art & Soul Cruise, August 7-14, 2010
7 Night Greek Isles And Turkey Cruise

Departure Port: Venice, Italy 
Ports of Call: Venice, Italy; Dubrovnik, Croatia; Kusadasi (Ephesus), Turkey; Santorini, Greece; Corfu, Greece; Venice, Italy

Instructors: Lesley Riley & Linda & Opie O'Brien

Info will be available on the Art & Soul website by July 15. I'm not trying to sell this to you. it's just that I just found out and I'm so utterly amazed that I am going and I really, really want to share this experience with you.

I head for the Atlantic Ocean tomorrow for 2 weeks. I know I will have a fantastic time, but I'll be dreaming of the Adriatic & Aegean Seas.....sigh.....the color.......

till I return....

An Artful Journey

An Artful Journey is a 3-day retreat I am teaching at in February 2010. It is a retreat in the truest sense, located at a unique, pueblo-styled center situated on 67 acres among the redwoods in the Santa Cruz Mountains of Los Gatos, CA. Six teachers, yet you pick one (can you do it?), just one, to spend 3 relaxing, creative and inspiring days with. A time to really do something in depth, to go beyond, go deeper, find meaning.

 I'm telling you this now because registration begins July 15th at noon, and if the Day Journey retreats that organizer Cindy O'Leary has been organizing are any predictor, it is sure to fill fast.

I'll be teaching my new class, Image + Text = Textiles, set to debut at the end of July in Idyllwild, CA at Idyllwild Arts. There are a couple of spaces left in that class but it too is filling fast with last minute sign-ups.  Enrollment has double in the last month! I hope that is a sign that things are getting better. Or maybe it is just because we know that art nourishes the soul.

Image + Text = Textile

Images and photographs, text as design, as line, as poetry. They hook and reel us in, to art, to books, to life. This class is an exploration of image and text as it applies to surface design – primarily, but not limited to quilts and fabric collage. (All the techniques covered can be used on paper and canvas). Over this three day class, you will have the opportunity to explore over 12 methods of direct application and transferring of both image and text to fabric. Techniques include: inkjet transfers, thermofax screening, resists, masking, scratching and bottle writing. We will explore the use of image and text as patterning, backgrounds, accents, focal points and story. Individual attention will be given to each student with an emphasis on combining techniques to create eye-catching design and stunning works of art.

Will #20 Please Step Forward?

Here are your random numbers: 20 Timestamp: 2009-06-26 20:53:23 UTC

#20? That's Michele, Textile Traveler. Congratulations! After reading your blog, it sounds like you could use a little cheering up. 

 

Today is fast coming to an end with nothing to show for it and this weekend I'll be babysitting 2-year old (this past Monday), Julia, so no art time for this grandma. But who can resist that smile. Here she is with 3 of  her cousins at her birthday party.

But I did make more headway on the new website. It's going to be so wonderful and I am very excited to have something fresh and new to offer.  I could tweak and fiddle and hem and haw forever, but since it is now 6 months overdue, it's time to just "GIT "er DONE." And no, I'm not actually doing all the work, although there is no content unless I provide it. The wiz behind it all is Gloria Hansen of Gloderworks  - not just a web wiz, but an award winning quilter. We're probably about 2 weeks or so away from going live - I hope. Like I said, I have to provide  all the content and it often takes a backseat to all the other things going on here.

But as a teaser, let me leave you with my new logo~

Welcome Back, Lesley Riley

Attempt #2, which will be shorter because the art awaits. I have a longer post going but tried to add another photo and the program froze up on me. So this is the abbreviated, less poetic version.

I've been busy. Mostly day to day routine stuff caring for family and home. I did manage to get away for a blissful week to take Carol Soderlund's dye class at Pro Chemical & Dye in Fall River, MA.  It was the most amazing class. The perfect blend of art and science. I LOVED it.

  

 

We worked as teams to dye over 1000 (yes, 1000) colors. Then we worked on our own to create a swatch book of the colors - aka THE BOOK, or The Bible. Now I can, with confidence, duplicate any color in that book, and then some. Wait till you see what effect this has on my art....as soon as I get time to work on it. I am so excited.

 

The bonus end to the trip was a visit to the Artgirlz. Tracy has a beautiful home with lush gardens, chickens, bees and a studio to die for. In fact, their studio was just featured in the current issue of  Studios magazine, so check it out. It was the perfect way to end a perfect week. 

Next on the agenda is to try and create more studio time both here and at the beach. I'm soon off to the beach for our 2 week family vacation beginning July 4th (fireworks over the ocean!) Then, at the end of July on to idyllic Idyllwild Arts for a creative weekend teaching my new class, Image + Text = Textile. At the end of August I'm teaching the same class at the Fabrications Retreat in Michigan. Organizer Cathy Arnett has just instituted a fantastic economic stimulus package that will practically get you free tuition for a week of class. Check out the website for more info.

And last but not least, I'm nearing completion (I think) of my new website. That's the other thing that's been eating up my time. That and the new business TAP .  I'll soon have an announcement of a new product too - so much to do! I was warned that this little business could take away from my art time. It does, but it's also fun to share the magic with others.

Now if you have read this far, good news for you! I am having a giveaway! Leave a comment and you are entered to win a copy of the latest issue of Cloth Paper Scissors magazine PLUS a fat quarter of my very own hand-dyed fabric! Drawing will be Friday June 26 at 4 pm EST. How's that for summer fun!

Bad Blogger Checking In

 

I know it has been a long, long time since my last post. I have just joined BBA - Bad Bloggers Anonymous. it's not that I don't care. I really have just been very, very, busy. Growing a business is as time intensive as growing a family. Sometimes I wonder why I take so much on, but i guess as a mother of six, i'm just used to the constant pressure, multi-tasking, merry-go-round that is my life.

One of the things that took some of my time away from blogging here, is that I was writing my post for my Guest Blogger appearance on the Subversive Stitchers blog. So in lieu of writing a much overdue entry here, please go visit me over there. I promise I'll be back within a day or two with lots to tell.

Collage Mania Starts Today

COLLAGE MANIA - Virginia Spiegal's Fiberart For A Cause Fundraising for the American Cancer Society is alive and running. For an $80 donation today, you can choose from one of my  2 Fragments or another of the over 350 donated pieces of gorgeous of fiber and/or collage art. Donation amount drops to $40 tomorrow. Find my two Fragments are on Page 21. Hurry, before your favorite disappears - it ends on Thursday. All donations are 100% tax deductible.

 

Nevermind

 

SORRY! That offer was only good for subscribers.
But you can still sneak a peak in your local book, craft or even some grocery stores.

Right now you can read my Quilting Arts article on TAP (Transfer Artist Paper) , 'Tapping Into Image Transfers' online for FREE! (And of course you can read the rest of the magazine too.)

Quilting Arts and her sister publication, Cloth Paper Scissors magazine, are the FIRST to offer digital subscriptions and to introduce them, they are offering open access to the current issue right now. So check it out  - HERE . Hurry, it won't last for long.

An Antidote to Tax Day

 
I hope we all find what we are looking for.
(Kathryn, Easter Egg hunt)

First the business portion of the post: From Random.org - Here are your random numbers: 16
That's Randi Nervig . Congrats Randi on winning the latest issue of  Studios magazine.

Thank you all for sharing your studios with me, no matter how humble. Truth be told, I think the majority of us work wherever we can. It's like a home. A home is not the house, the walls, the building. A home is wherever your heart is. And so it is for a studio.  A studio is wherever you create. And creating can be done anywhere, anytime.  It's about the passion, not the place.

Now, for the antidote to Tax Day. I am sure many of you have already seen this youTube. I think it's one that will circulate all over the world like wildfire. But it is particularly appropriate for you and me, because it is about a woman "of a certain age" following her dream. The minute I saw it I was reminded of George Eliot's quote, "It's never to late to be who you might have been." And in case you do not know, George Eliot was a woman - Mary Ann Evans.

You have to click here to watch it because YouTube has disabled embedding, so please go watch it. I promise you will not be sorry.

One Giveaway Ends, Another Begins

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers: 19
Timestamp: 2009-04-06 23:14:44 UTC

And that mean Lyn Wolf Jackson is the winner! Did I ever mention Jackson is my maiden name? No relation to Lyn though. My family tree never branched as far as Montana. We all stayed right here on the east coast where we landed back in the 1600s.

I have some family news to share and then I'll on with the business of the next giveaway. They're so fun to do...

I'm going to be a grandma again. My daughter Sara is expecting #2 in November. We all agree a boy would be nice this time around, but we'll take whatever we can get.

But before that happens, daughter #2, Samatha is getting married in September. Another wedding to plan. We've known this was coming for a while but they just couldn't settle on a date (these young couples nowadays!) They have the place (Woodlawn, a MD eastern shore family home circa 1681 - his family, not ours), the rings, and the daughter (Riley).  I can't wait to visit Woodlawn. I think there will be many great photos waiting to be taken. It's run down just enough to be fantastic.

   

On to the giveaway - a copy of the latest Studios magazine. I have an article in the current spring issue. No, it's not a fancy new studio, nor one of the ever-so-charming ones tucked inside this issue. It's about decluttering your fabric stash. If you want to see my new bedroom studio, that thrill is available to anyone in their online extras. Yes, still working on the bed, but the new layout is so much more efficient. I'll even throw in some fabric from my stash, it's still way to large and this is a good opportunity to whittle it down some more.

A comment will get you into the running, but this time I want to know WHERE IS YOUR STUDIO? Any answer, real or imaginary will suffice... Giveaway ends Saturday (4/11/09) at noon.

REMINDER! Join me Wednesday night in the Fiskateers Chatroom at 7:30 EST. Maybe win some scissors or a Lutradur book too... 

TAP & Quilting Arts Giveaway - No Foolin

 

This is no April Fool joke. To celebrate my article, Tapping into Image Transfers, in the latest issue Quilting Arts magazine, leave a comment and you are entered to win both the current issue of Quilting Arts AND a package of TAP, my Transfer Artist Paper. The drawing will be Monday, April 6th @ 7 pm EST. No foolin'.  (Isn't cover girl Cynthia St. Charles quilt gorgeous?)