What Me Make Art!

Now the awful truth is out. You have for time and all eternity the reason why I am not in the studio. The first photograph is the editing section. We have a computer solely dedicated to editing....which is the only way to go as far as I can tell. Avid Liquid is a huge program and requires 400 mg every 30 second to save the work you have done. Yep, you read that correctly. Amazing huh?
So this has been my trail by fire....learning how to edit, getting the look I want and then trying to get the blasted thing to burn. Marvin, my tech guy, has been so patient with me and is still working on the problem. At this point I am going to win. This machine will not defeat me but it sure is beating me about the head and shoulders.
This baby is my office computer. As you can see there are stacks of paper work to get through but you will be surprised. Since I can't edit at the moment, I actually gutted it up and sloughed through all the paper and several emails. There is a light at the end of this tunnel.....even though I still feel like a slave to the machine. Hopefully, clearing out some of the clutter will help my chi or re- align my stars.
Now to the saddest of tales...could you work in this? Yes, this is my studio. Only recognizable by the quilt on the design wall. When Thom moved home from Waco, the studio got co-opted as a storage space. Now if I was a good person, I would be quilting on all the pieces I have layered up....still numbering in the single digits only up to 5.
But noooooo, never let it be said that I can multi-task to this point. In my old age I can only do two things at the same time and have them done well. So taking my own advice, I am waiting until all the other tasks are squared away so I can give the quilting line my full attention.

I have said before that I think we all to often short change the quilt when it comes to the line work that the quilting stitch creates. Line work is one of the strongest elements in design and can make or break a quilt. For my money, we should be contemplating the quilting line as we design the piece since it will have such a profound effect on the finished piece. After all, it is like a drawn line that attracts attention and gives makes certain areas advance while causing others to recede. Whenever I start a new piece, I always think I have just the right design, get about an 18" square quilted and slap myself on the forehead with the "What was I thinking?" I take it all out and start again knowing what should be there...but I had to see the incorrect line work before the right design came to me. Sounds like an operator problem to me....which is my story of the past two months...operator error on all fronts.
To wrap this tome up, never short change your quilts when it comes to the line work. My usual modus operandi is to put the quilt on the design wall as it is now and let it rest. Look at it from different angles...see how the light hits one area or another...basically allow the piece to tell me what it needs.
However, this studio is in need of rescue...guess I could take up playing the guitar since there is one in the case awaiting....that'll be the day....ooohh, great title for a song but I think it has already been used. Off to tackle more of the computer disasters.....stay tuned...a resolution has to come soon.