Twelve Things to Not Do Before Christmas

1. Start cleaning out your mother in laws house so you can put it on the market.

2. Ask your husband what he wants for Christmas. They never want anything until it's the wrong gift.

3. Loan your vacuum cleaner to your daughter in law that lives in San Antonio

4. Have your husband ask you what you want for Christmas.

5. Wait until next week to shop.

6. Have eight grand children of very different ages to buy for.

7. Ask your husband to help you get the house clean for the holidays.

8. Have no idea what you are cooking.

9. Fall and hurt yourself.

10. Be more interested in your art than the holidays.

11. Gain weight...the amount will not be revealed.

12. Experience weather in the upper 70 degrees F. It just doesn't fill me with Christmas cheer.

Coulda, Should, Woulda

I could have been posting to my blog daily but not! After Houston, got the studio and office in order. Shipped out all the orders to customers and then the paper work started. Purchasing tickets for Road2Ca, rapid emails to Australia and general "ugh" office work.
I coulda been in the studio painting, quilting, whatever but not! I was so exhausted after Houston that I have been sitting eating bon bons, reading and watching really bad t.v.
I woulda been more careful getting out of the bathtub but had placed my wet wash cloth on the side of the tub and fell very hard on my right side....eeoow! So I am wounded, tried quilting but even that hurts.
Last but not least I am green with envy over the work Mel is producing while I am still contemplating where I am going from here. All that said I'm back...couldn't get rid of me that easy.
I would post some pictures but my computer has suddenly decided not to recognize the usb cable on my camera...will it never end. This must be resolved immediately but frankly, I am enjoying the time off with sweet Ronnie with no deadlines looming and being a lazy bum. You should try it occasionally, it is good for the body and the soul.
Miss you all...be back soon.

A Few Views of Our Journey

First our booth for festival. We could set up today after 4 p.m. so while I was teaching until 5 p.m. Christy was hauling in stuff for the booth. As soon as I got out of class, I dashed down to the booth and we finished by 7 p.m. Not bad, right?
Of course, we had to include our home away from home and two lovely pictures of us after a long market and a long day.
The winners were announced tonight but because we had to get the booth done, I have nothing to report.
Tomorrow will be the worst day of the week. I have to teach until 5 p.m. and then dash to the booth to work preview from 5 until 10m p.m. Ugh! Thursday will be better since all we have to do is work the booth. Also daughter in law Kelly is arriving Thursday night to help Christy work the booth Friday while I teach an all day design class. Kisses to both of them for all the help.
We had a decent market and keeping our fingers crossed for festival. Come by and say hi if you have the chance. We got to keep the same space for festival...booth 250...so we didn't have to move out just re-configure for more stuff. We are only slightly dingy at this point..will keep you posted as the week progresses.

The rest of the class

Take note of the cute Halloween socks and the gorgeous lady wearing them was my class angel. The ladies worked hard on two basic reverse applique samples....as single leaf, and a vein line in a large tropical leaf. We had a great time.

Tomorrow is an all day class on surface design.
Great fun playing with paint and other cool stuf.


 

Working Hard on Reverse Applique

First day teaching...more pictures to follow. 

As promised, the Swain production company

We did it! The newest dvd is edited, burned and packaged....thanks to the help of two of my gorgeous daughters-in-law. First the Beautiful Kelly hard at work editing took time to smile for the camera. This was probably about 1 a.m. and I am not sure what day it was.
Thought I would throw in a picture of Sea Stones so you can see that I do still know how to quilt. This is a detail of the central panel of a tryptich. Who knows when the other two will even see a needle.
Next is Christy with her back to us placing all the orders for tables, drapes, electricity and phone lines for our booth.....remember 250...come see us if for no other reason than to see Christy's sweet face and gorgeous hair.
The rest of the pictures are what my office looked like while we were packing and what it looks like now that we are done. We decided on a fall theme for color. Don't ya just love those lime green and orange containers? We are using leaf garlands....big surprise, no?....to wrap the poles...and yes, they are fire-proof. Sheesh!
The big funny looking machine is my new HP laser printer. Yes, I managed to burn up my faithful Cannon i960 printing all the inserts for the dvds. Sad day...it was a great printer and had really worked hard for me. However, you should see the difference in the color between the ink jet and the laser. Knocked me out...the laser is a thing of beauty. Of course, it uses toner instead of ink...to the tune of $70 a cartridge. Yep, you read that correctly but I can't wait to print some of my photography series on it.
My thanks to all of you for your thoughtful insights on my social commentary post. Please, if you have a chance go to Mel's blog and read her thoughts on the post. I couldn't agree with her more. At this point in my life and career, I want to make the work that is meaningful to me.....actually I have always felt that way but got caught up in building a body of work that would afford me the privilege of having the career. Now like Melody, I am off to new territory...unknown but undeniable. Hopefully, after Houston I will have time to tackle some of the quilting I need to do. Lots of unfinished tops just waiting to be layered. Can we call off the holidays in lieu of quilting? 

A Small Discourse on Art as Social Commentary

While Kelly is working her fingers to the bone editing the newest dvd, I am watching for takes two and three and thinking. Oh, boy, here she goes again. Lately there has been quite a bit of discussion that as quilt artist we aren't making strong enough statements regarding the state of our society. While I agree that art imitates life, etc., I take umbrage with this you must do a certain kind of work to be doing work of value. As I see it every piece is social commentary because it is coming from a place inside of you that is seeking to make meaning in our world. The piece doesn't have to be an in your face statement but can be subtle and still contain very deep meaning.
For example, Claire Fenton's work about Katrina is breathtaking, yet subtle and is an obvious social commentary. However, it is also a personal expression of the effects this ordeal has had on her and the beautiful state she lives in. Even if you did not know it was about the devastation of the hurricane, you would be moved by this work.
Now let's look at Rayna Gillman's work with the antique photographs...some might be from her family; others she collects from various sources. Is this a political statement? Only Rayna can answer that but it certainly is a social commentary. Rayna is revealing something to us about herself....what she is drawn to, what memories effect her, how the imagery expresses something within her emotional, spiritual nature.
On the other hand, take a few minutes to look at Melody's new stack quilts. No politics as far as I can tell. I am open to being corrected on this, Mel. However, the composition and color are spectacular. Each piece stands alone as well as in the series. Is it socially relevant? Absolutely...anytime an artist reveals something from that inner core it is a gift to us all.
So enough with the we have to be socially aware, political artists for our work to have meaning.
Making meaning comes in all shapes and sizes....and quite often it is in the viewer's eye not the artist's eye. We have to make the work that feeds our soul regardless of what the imagery is....carry on digging deep into that external place where you know beauty resides.

Packaging the last crate of dvd's, but have no idea what I am going to wear since I haven't had time to tackle the closet......and then, of course, there will be the shoe dilemna. We have already assessed that everything will not fit into my Nissan Altima...drat....so we are renting a mini-van. How far have I fallen in the cute car department? I will be constantly looking for teen-age boys to carry to baseball practice. Will post some pictures of La Casa Swain as a manufacturing company when everything is done. Until then....who's big idea was this?

A Short Treatise on Design

While admitting I have fallen of the wagon on daily blogging, that doesn't mean that I have stoped contemplating what we do as artist. My last several classes have been design classes which have left me gobsmacked at the amazing work done by quiltmakers who think they have no talent.
Why is this happening? First, as an instructor I see myself as a facilitor, guiding you to where you want to go and what you want to create. No longer do I teach from patterns unless it is a strict technique class......even then we aren't making "Gabrielle Swain" quilts. We are just learning the techniques I use in my work. My goal is to give you the confidence to try even if you don't succeed the first time; to encourage you to experiment so you can find the happy accident or learn what not to do the next time; and last to give as succinct as possible a road map to follow for future work.
Having said all that here is my standard approach to teaching design and my own work:

1. It is more important what you leave out than what you put in. Think about it we can't use every technique we know or every beautiful fabric we own in a single quilt.....so focus and simplify.

2. Anything asymmetrical or on the diagonal is strong than straight lines. Angles create visual tension and thereby visual interest.....which is what we are all after, keeping the viewing at the quilt longer.

3. Work with intention...know where you want to go before you get there. Have you ever made a quilt that did not turn out as you had expected? Usually, we find a fabric and let it guide us. I work exactly the opposite, I work a design until it says exactly what I want it to and then find the fabric that will give me that effect. I call this having a road map...it doesn't prevent spontaniety since you can stop anywhere on the road for gas, food or whatever. However, without the road map you far less likely to reach your destination than you will if you have the map.

4. Finally, if design is the bones that hold the piece together, then compositon is the relationship between the bones, i.e. which bone goes where and last, but never least, color is the flesh placed over the bones that allow us to see the structure of the design and composition.

We can all do these simple steps and still find surprises along the way. Give it a try and see if it works for you. The greatest gift you can give yourself is the find a way to work in series. It doesn't have to be the same quilt over and over in a different colorway......but this is a perfectly viable series. Think of how many times Monet painted Chartes.....in the rain, sun, at night, on a cloudy day...you get the picture. The other way to approach a series is to find a subject matter that intrigues you a ride that horse until it drops. To use myself as an example, I have been making leaf quilts since 1994. I am currently working on a quilt called "The Last Leaf," which I just learned is the title of an O Henry story. The story goes a woman knew she would die when the last leaf fell from the tree outside her window. To keep her alive a friend daily went out and painted leaves so they appeared as if they were still on the tree. Of course, in the famous O Henry style of ending, the painter ended up dying of pneumonia since he painted in rain, snow, etc. Now this quilt has even deeper meaning to me. Lesson: could you find a story that would inspire a quilt and from that develop a series?

Back to subject matter as series, two of my most recent students were microbiologists. They are fascinated as what they see in the lab. One jumped right in designing cell structures; the other was trying to work on leaves and flowers since everyone else in the class was doing so. She had already shown a spectacular quilt of single cell structure. Immediately, noticing that she was struggling, I gently went to her and asked why she was working against her own desires. She is in love with what she sees in her work....this is what she should be translating into art. I got a big smile and a thank you and she was off and running on a spectacular design.

Working in series allows you to fully explore an image from every possible perspective. You can work on more than one series at a time......and like chewing gum when you get all the sweetness out of one series or subject matter, move on to something else that interests you. Each series will feed energy into the other. You will have strengthened your design skills and your desire to experiment.

To close this conversation that I have with myself all the time and am now sharing with you, I leave you with these parting words: "Just because you can do it doesn't mean you should." In other words spend more time with the design trying some of the suggestions I mentioned instead of trying to get all the techniques and fabrics in this single piece; there will be othere quilts and more fabric....see what happens to you internally and externally to the work when you enter the studio eager with the possibility of the day. Remember simplicity is elegance.

Back to packaging dvd's...hope to see some of you or at least your quilts in Houston.

Finally Home

I walk into the living room only to discover boxes and boxes of jewel cases waiting to be packaged for market and festival. As you can see, Ronnie has carefully stacked with them with some help from Charles so he is hidden by said boxes. Just when I was ready to get back to quilting....what a concept....instead I go into production mode.
As you can see one whole shelf of packaged dvd's is already crated for Houston. The lower shelf is burned dvd's ready for packaging. You gotta love that black shelf on the green wall... what gorgeous contrast and what a major league job. My drop dead date to have everything finished is 21 October. I would prefer the 17th but that might be pushing it some. I just need a few days to get my clothes ready and the automobile packed. We get to move into our market booth on the 26th of October...then have to tear down and set up for festival. The good news is Quilts, Inc. was so good to me this year. I have the booth for both market and festival....250...so drop and say "Hi!" if you make it the celebration.

Last but never least, just to show you what retirement can do to a very tired man...it turns them into a very happy man. Ronnie is growing his winter pelt so his beard is longer than in previous pictures.....but look at that smile. Retirement is good and believe it or not, I am enjoying every minute of being with sweet Ronnie. Live long with love and peace. 

Onward to Des Moines

FirstI must say a thank you and give big hugs to Fern, Lynn, Sandy, Julie and all of students in Des Moines. What an incredibel trip. They wined, dined and treated my like a old friemd. I will always remember this trip as on of my favorites.
Better yet, they did incredibe design work but stupid me forgot my camera the day of critique. Way to go Gabrielle! I am hoping they will send me jpegs of their work when they finish.
To top it all of the weather was beautiful while it was 90 degrees Farenheit in Texas. A beautiful Indian Summer this girl really needed. 

Hoping you haven't forgotten me?

I have spent much of the last month in the Heartland teaching and of course, working on dvd's for market. However, I couldn't resist posting pictures from my visit to Lawrence, Kansas and Des Moines, Iowa. These are incredible guilds. I feel so spoiled by them I may never be good for anything ever again.
Some of the ladies in Lawence had never designed before but were skilled far beyond their expectations. You will see the amazing work they produced from these pictures.
Fabric selection was imperative for each design and often required the help of a neighbor. Deep in discussion always adds to the process of design and fellowship.
Aren't these some of the most exciting flowers ever? See you can do it.....you just have to give yourself the time. Most of us are working from the fabric letting us inspire us. I work and teach my students to work from the design first and then move to the fabric. When you work in this way, you always have a road map to guide you to exactly where you want to go. 

I have a good excuse for being such a bad blogger

Take a look at this poor dear. This is man asleep with a bowl of gold fish crackers and the remote control in his hands. This is the look of a man who needs to retire......so the big news that I couldn't reveal in my last post is he did just that.
We talked with our broker, set up a payout schedule and wrote the resignation letter. Out of appreciation his boss gave him two weeks paid vacation so his official date of retirement will be 25 September. However, he hasn't been back to work since 11 Sept and won't have to go back for any reason. Congratulations to a well earned rest, sweetheart. You have been our rock all these years providing for us in so many ways. Enjoy! Celebrate!but most of all get some sleep.

On the artistic side, I thought I would share with you how to prepare your backing fabric. This is the quilt I will be working on in the newest DVD. Busby just felt that the addition of fur would be a perfect design element to catch in the stitches. Notice although he looks like road kill, he is also asleep. Is there something going on in my house that I am missing?
Last but definately the best are the shelves son Charles constructed for the office so we can organize the DVD production better. Here comes the excuse.....we have been filming, I had to make the top and baste for filming....and there was a teaching gig involved somewhere in there.
Along with my inescapable insomnia, I am just darn tired.
Now the real work begins, we have to prepare for market and festival.....and I am teaching 3 days....no one ever said I was intelligent. I am leaving tomorrow for Lawerence, KS...home on Wed..more filming on Thursday...off again on Mon for DesMoines for a week...and then back to package DVD's for sale at festival. Oh yeah, I forgot editing the last DVD and burning copies of it
to have at market and festival. Poor excuses as they might be I just haven't taken the time to sit down and blog. Forgive my absence please. I am not making any promises about being a good blogger again at least until after Houston....but I will try to check in from time to time.
There are so many of us now I cannot believe how the ring has grown.....but I do check in with my favorites now and then.
Personally, I think Sonji is a shoe-in for Quilt National....unless they do that body of work bs....but for my money her piece is amazing. I managed to finish two constructions for my entries. They won't get it...occasionally I feel as if I should just send them a bi-annual donation and be done with it; instead of working my fingers to the bone with cable ties. Don't you all agree that would be so much easier? I will miss my letter from Hillary especially her personal "I love your work....and so wish it was here" or some other kind words hand written so you would know she really was thinking of you. We have lost a great supporter of our work and an amazing woman.
Signing off for now...actually happy with my retired husband but remember it hasn't been a month yet. I am sure there will be more to this story as time passes. 

Time...how long did it take you?

Today's news is filled with the research scientist/doctor whose work has produced a way to intoduce a virus into white cells that makes them recognize certain types of cancer and attack it. He has a team, of course, but it was his creative, critical thinking that started the project. They have only worked on limited test subjects, fifteen if I remember correctly. Only two of the patients responded successfully to the treatment but that was two years ago and they have greatly refined the process. The future is looking bright for results in a variety of cancers. The doctor is the most optomistic man I have ever seen.

To the point, John King on CNN asked how long he had been working on this research? A familiar question, no? His reply was thirty years.....basically his entire career. What an amazing human being...we are blessed that he is on the planet.

I vow to never complain about how long anything is taking. I vow to spend as much time on each piece as it needs and not short change it just for a show or a sale. And from now on I will delight in being asked "How long did it take you to make that quilt?" Although at my advanced age, remembering might be a problem.

Excellent answers ladies to the why do you make art....I think we are all coming from the same inner place just expressing it in different ways, both verbal and visual.

Tonight I am going to pop a cork in honor of time and all the magic it can produce.

Still Here

Didn't think you were going to get rid of me that easy. Sorry about so long between posts but we have been filming the last DVD for this year. I will never wear that dress again. Of course, I had to invest in "Deception" cosmetics that have nanoprisms (don't even go there) that hide your wrinkles by reflecting light off the prisms. Sucker....but I must admit it does a pretty good job.
Obviously, no art going on but the good news is that I had to baste a quilt for the DVD....so now I have two quilts ready to stitch on...and that would be in my spare time.

There is one good thing about menopausal insonmia...you get caught up on all your paper work. Of course, you are so dingy you have no idea what you did. Must answer emails that I have been putting off. Trust me I have read them and will answer soon. We were going to finish tomorrow but with the Labor Day weekend looks like it will be Tues. before the last day of shooting. Like you guys even care....see insomnia and blogging don't mix.

Since I am nattering anyway, let's talk about something weird. Okay here goes...can you answer why you make art? For me it is an obsession being the obsessive compulsive type. It is an inner drive and question that must always be answered. Hey, that was pretty good. The reason I make art is because it is a question that must always be answered. That's my story and I am sticking to it. As a matter of fact, I think that is my new artist statement...short, sweet and to the point.

Not much else to report...oh, forgot important news. The latest issue of Quilters Home has an article title "The Women of Blogland." Fun article and several of us from the ring are mentioned. Check it out...the article is very positive, funny and true to our personalities.

Sweet Ronnie is on vacation for two weeks but stay posted for a major announcement regarding our lives. Shhhh! Can't tell yet....you will all be on pins and needles...pun intended.

Okay off to try and read some of those emails but if I answer remember I am in a state of disarray.

Trying to Keep the Studio Clean

Since we are shooting the last DVD of the year, I can't get to the studio...drat and blast. It is clean now and I don't want to have to re-arrange everything just so I can work. However, I need to do something creative so Photoshop to the rescue.
These are a continuation of my living in an urban environment surrounded by a rural environments only minutes away.
The first photo is from the Blue Angels show. This is the plane that Ronnie was on when he was in the Navy. I took two separate images of the plane, superimposed them and then played around with the layers. It was his Father's Day
present from me and it was a big hit.

The second photo is a rock face from all the bedrock we have in our area. You can't dig three feet without hitting rock....and occasionally they are quite large. This has great potential for another of my Earth Strata series. All I have to do is find the "Sweet Spot" and transfer it on the overhead projector. Not like I don't have any quilts to work on or deadlines to meet. Hey, we can't stop the juices when they are flowing.....some day the well will need replenishing and these designs will be there waiting.
The last photo is for my son, Charles, who is a model railroader. I did dink around with the color and layers in the sky but not much else.
He loved it...that's all that matters...but there is a quilt in here as well. The painted peltex would be perfect for a trestle construction or a laying track construction.
See what happens when you just open yourself to the possibilities of anything as design.

I see from the comments Teri has taken to the dangerous life of photographing while driving....you go girl. Keep me posted of what you get from this exercise....can't wait to see what you come up with.
Off to eat a nice big slab of beef....have been doing the veggies and juice thing for about a week and I need protein. Ah! I can smell it now.

Just a thought

In the eating hall, a stuffed parrot hung from the ceiling, and from its golden beak dangled a card that read, "We are in training to be nobody special." I had often repeated this to myself, working against my need for achievement and recognition, and the discontent that could engender. "I am in training to be nobody special." Saying the words in my mind, I felt how they redirected me from a certain seductive struggle and excitement and disease, into a more stable focus: forget what others think of you, forget the future goal of achievement; arrive instead in this body/mind, attending to this present moment. This is is the whole of practice.

-Sandy Boucher, "Hidden Spring" Copyright Wisdom Publications 2001. Reprinted from "Daily Wisdom: 365 Buddhist Inspirations," edited by Josh Bartok, with permission of Wisdom Publications, 199 Elm St., Somerville MA 02144 U.S.A, www.wisdompubs.org.

Haven't worked in the studio for a few days Ronnie had two days off so we vacationed.....bad when you work for yourself. But I do have a surprise in the works. Some the miminal quilts I have been working on are about meditation on time. One of my favorite subjects since it is so artifical...and after all that is what we are creating artifice.....see dictionary for all the words associated with art. Please let's don't discuss what is and what isn't?
To the point, there are some time pieces coming.
Other good news is after 29 August, Ronnie is going to be on two weeks vacation....ah! someone to burn, label and package DVD's so I can have plenty of hours in the studio.....little does he suspect.

All Tied Up

Sorry about the arty angle shot but it is hanging on a wall in our hall.....but it is finished. Now I just have put velcro on the back so it will hang correctly. It actually is quite fragile but with the velcro will hold it perfectly is shape on the wall.

The velcro hanging is a method I highly recommed for art quilts. Even if they are regular quilts, not open like this. I make a sleeve attach one side of the velcro to the sleeve and then with small finishing nails attach the other side of the velcro to the wall. Oops, left out the step where I stitch the sleeve to the quilt. You get the idea....and I guarantee it holds the quilt nice and flat against the wall. Unfortunately with this piece I will have to used sticky back velcro. Keep your fingers crossed it adheres well to the watercolor canvas.
What do we have here. A blank canvas...empty design walls. This will never do. Gotta get something up there quick. Exciting to be finished and eager to get back to some of the tops I had started earlier before "the lost month."

Spent some time reading through your blogs tonight. What great work you have been doing and loved reading how your lives have been going. However, what caught my eye were some posts on reviews, critiques and criticism. Oh no, I can hear you saying, here she goes. Well, you are correct.
I worked too long in the theatre to know a review is one persons opinion...and mostly, they are trying to make themselves look good. Ya
know how intelligent they are and how they can evaluate better than you as the arbitrator of what is good. The are worth the paper they are printed on....not that some aren't truly a viable evaluation of whatever the reviewer was seeing.
It just isn't that important to me. You have to become your own best critic. Sure I make some less successful pieces....but I know that already...no one needs to tell me. They stare back at me every time I see the piece.....but I hold to the concept that some pieces are experimental and some are finished and successful....just keep on working. Turning visual into verbal is a difficult task. You really need to see the work yourself to get the best review. Of couse, taste comes into play. While all reviews try to be objective, it is darn near impossible. You can't just cut out that part of your brain but overall they do their best. Guess I am just too old to give a hoot. I am doing what I am doing....and only what I want to do. If someone else likes it, hooray; if not, so what. Yes, I know we have fragile egos as artist because we are putting so much of ourselves into the work. Just remember you aren't what you do and keep that ego at bay. View your work with fresh eyes....not the eyes of the maker but the eyes of a viewer. Off that soap box.
As to critique and criticism.....I always learn more from the critiques of others work since I have nothing invested in the piece. Criticism is an entirely different animal. Criticism comes from the world of writing....especially essays...and has absolutely nothing to do with evaluating a piece of work. Get it....example: On the Separation from Nature, an essay by whoever. That would be a criticism....not a critique. This may feel like we are talking semantics but there is truly a difference.
Shutting up before I get into real trouble....gotta get something on those blank walls. 

Ready when you are C.B.

My director/cinematographer is always avoiding the camera. Today I thought I would document some of what a day in the life of fliming was like. Actually, the ready when you are C.B. referring to Cecil B. DeMille applies to my boss. His name is Christopher Benjamin. Wonder if the initials are what makes him so good at this.
He arrived starving a went immediately to the kitchen since our catering service never seems to show up.
It is a sad day when the director has to make his own sandwich. Never fear, Mom made his favorite tenderloin for dinner so he was well rewarded.
Setting up the camera and lights. Please note the messy corner has somehow moved to the other side of the room. This will not be included in the DVD.
An even more detailed shot of disaster. Thom was home from school for a week. Poor thing had to sleep on the sofa since I have taken over one bedroom for an office and the other for my studio. The bedding so nicely folded and falling off the chair was Thom's contribution to the disaster.
We finished shooting two segments so I am feeling good. We may shoot after Chris gets off work tomorrow but if we have to wait until the weekend it will still give us plenty of time. This disc is a single so editing should be lots easier than with the double disc.
And, since I have the best editor ever my tension level is fairly low on the anxiety meter. You should see her at the computer...she can really make it sing.....along with being an incredible graphic designer.....the very multi-talented Kelly.
Tomorrow morning I begin cable tying the construction. Would work some tonight...8 p.m. CDT but I am sticking to my be good to myself policy. 

Over and Out

This is the final iteration of Building Bridges. It has gone through multiple changes and thanks for all your suggestions. Y'all have the best eye for seeing what needs to be done. When you are so close to a piece, occasionally you lose perspective. I was so determined to have it look like the original sketch that I lost sight of the need for it to look open and at the same time strong....like it could hold weight. The arc slipped off the top bar last night but they will be connected.....not just hanging loose as it is in the photo. Now the fun begins constructing it with the cable ties. The good news is I have enough pieces left over for a third construction.
However, it gets to rest, at least for a while today. We are filming the first segment on the last DVD to be released this year. My director son Chris relishes bossing his mom around but the work he does is worth it. Just kinda cute the shoe being on the other foot. I can only imagine how many costume changes we will go through since I have gained almost ten, count 'em, all ten lbs. since we shot last. My lazy you know what has to get back on that rowing machine or I won't be able to fit into any of my clothes......which won't be good at Houston. I'm not sure the world is ready for nude quiltmaking.....and I would never subject anyone to the horror of it all.
Off to put on tons of make-up....yuck. 

Joanne's Suggestion

 

Great minds, etc

Joanne suggested this orientation with the smaller circle added at the bottom left for balance. Didn't get to do any work on it today but got to sit on my favorite twins, Cyrus and Collin, Craig and Kelly's baby boys. Braggin' grandmas are the worst but they have to be the most darling little ones on the planet.
So whadda you think about this orientation? I am consider slicing a small half circle out of the arc. Not as thin as the strips but enough to give it some breathing room. The weekend will tell the tale. Gotta film one day for the last DVD of this year.....hand quilting, design and speciality threads. After that out come the cable ties since I only have until the 20th to finish the construction.....while burning DVD's for market and festival, printing case inserts and packaging. Ooops here I go again. No I promise to only do so much each day.
Val....thanks for the Bon Jovi....absolutely perfect for the moment...will get an email out to you soon.
Mel....hope you read my comment....keep on doing as I know you will, exactly what you are doing.
I need to email so many of you....promise to try to get at least one a day out.

One Last View

Changed the orientation, went back to the original line work, fused the circle and now feel as if it's getting closer. However, I think it needs another smaller circle in the bottom right to balance the weight of the top left circle.
Promise you won' have to put up with this process again until all is resolved...but honestly, it looks better this way to me.
Egads, the first view could have been the best. Oh well, just leaves more pieces for another construction. Need to look at it for awhile before making another change. Comments appreciated.

New View

Lest you fall in love....ha!...with the first layout. At midnight it struck me that what was missing was struts....the circle is still missing that will tie it all together but I have to FUSE it to the water color canvas before I can cut it out.
Also thought I would include a couple of close-ups of the paint on the Pelltex. These are going to be a pain to ship but, then, I only have to worry about that if they get into shows. Another day Scarlet.
Off to bed, doctor's orders, already stayed up too late but when the muse calls. Let's see what tomorrow brings. I am already think of a different orientation.
Breaking News Flash: At 6:23 a.m. CDT, I see nothing but an umbrella or a kite in this composition. This will never do.....back to the drawing board. The first composition had more potential. With the addition of the triangle and circle, it will probably be the best....sheesh what was I thinking.