For the last month, I’ve been crocheting without a plan – what a joy! First I made striped panels just to see what the colors would look like together. Those pieces turned into two small bags. Then a free book on Amazon Prime got my attention: Beyond the Square. So far I’m stuck on Motif #1 – I’ve made 6 …
It’s been months since I’ve had a quilt on my wall. Very excited to get back to my creative routine! I started these blocks more than 5 years ago, as an exercise in the book, “Quilter’s Playtime: Games with Fabrics” by Dianne S. Hire. If templates and precision aren’t your thing, this book has lots of ideas to get you …
My sewing machine is out for service. 🙁 So I had to find another project. I’m making a journal to keep memories from the Florida Keys. So far, I cut an old collage in half for the covers and have cut down several large sheets of “saving it for something special” paper for the insides. Now to make the binding, …
Since Zentangle appeared on the scene, there has been a heathy debate around the practice of doodling. Lots of people aimlessly make pencil marks on paper while otherwise occupied – in a meeting, on the phone, etc. Many of us call that doodling. Some people do considerably more with their pen in the margins. If one makes a detailed drawing …
Look what was in my mailbox today! (This is why I love http://Paperbackswap.com…little treats mixed in with the bills and the ads.) The book that came today is Kokoro no Te: Handmade Treasures from the Heart. The author, Kumiko Sudo, never disappoints. Unlike her other books about large quilts, this title features smaller projects like bags and pincushions. Even the end papers …
I’ve always loved reading and books. Libraries and big box bookstores like Barnes & Noble excite me…I can spend time there indefinitely. I learn well with written instructions. Arts/Crafts books and magazines have helped me try many new things. Over the years, my bookshelves filled, then overflowed with creative inspiration. Now, one wall of my office is devoted to my …
I recently learned about this painting when reading The Lady in Gold, an account of the artist Gustav Klimt and the era in Vienna when he painted, as well as the resulting history of the painting when it was among the many artworks stolen from Jewish families during WWII.
This line of thinking is influenced by a passage in this book, The Identity of an Artist by Daniel Grant (page 138): “Within a self-imposed solitude, most artists claim that the first construction, even before the work itself, is the identity that will create the art. The persona or vision is really what the art is about and, within this identity, the artists …