I can't believe that March is almost over and that we've been in the new place more than 3 full months!

What's worse, though, is that in those 3 full months I've created basically nothing. 

Wait - that's not exactly true - I did create some cute valentines on stretched canvas for Michael and my parents - something they can take out year to year and display. 

They are cute but.... I'm feeling pretty creative-challenged.

I've bought stuff to make some projects, but I never seem to get to actually making them.  I could blame being sick, but that's pretty lame.

I'm very frustrated with myself - I have this great place and tons of room to work and yet I'm not creating!   Most lackluster artist ever!

In January, I used Shutterfly to make a hardbound book of my honey's photographs and some of his writings - it was an early Valentine's present but I also wanted him to have a way to display his art in a different way.

After listening to myself whine above (and after receiving a 50% off coupon) I decided to do the same for myself.  It was a bit of a process - I didn't have photographs of all my work, so I had to handle that plus you can do a lot of editing in Shutterfly.... but I finished the book and am waiting for it to be printed and shipped.

I hope it comes out as awesome as Mike's book did!

I recently re-encountered a friend from long ago and was delighted to learn she, too has become a fabric artist - you can find a link to her website on the referrals page - just look for Carrie Shoup!

She and I have been emailing a lot this week and in the course of our discussions (such as emails are) we talked about our love of fabrics and the things we create from them.  It was through these discussions that I got inspiration for my next piece.  Of course that set off a flurry of fabric purchases (thank goodness I can get fat quarters on ebay and Etsy!) and some other tidbits that I was inspired to purchase.  The crazy thing about my pieces is that while I know what the inspiration is (or who), and I have the materials in hand, I have no idea until I a building the piece how it will turn out and while that used to bother me, I'm starting to appreciate the process.

I don't want to say too much about the piece yet, but here is a sneak peek! 

One technique I picked up a few years ago was the hang & view test.  Once I have a piece all pinned together, I like to hang it up and look at it until I feel the design is set.  This works great because anytime something bothers me about the piece, I can take it down, reconstruct it and hang it back up.  As I write this post, I have already reconstructed it once! 
I also have to mention another great tool - Pinterest!  I have found a wealth of new embroidery stitches to try, a kaleidoscope of colors to consider and oh such pretty fabrics to drool over!  I am hoping to try some of those new stitches on this piece.
I plan to post some additional 'in progress' photos on this piece - I hope you like them!

Creating wall hangings was the start of my 'artistic career' (so to speak).  I create them for a specific person/group of people; they contain images and textures that reflect the individual person/people. Some of these pieces have been incredibly easy to create; others have been excruciating - not because I didn't want to do it or hated the subject matter - but because I agonized over each piece of fabric, each charm, each placement. I wanted it just right and I wanted the subject(s) reflected by the piece to feel good about my interpretation.

Over on my road trip blog, I recently made a post about Michael. We have known each other for 21 years and have had more ups and downs then a Dorney Park roller coaster but back in 2009,  I felt very strongly that I needed to create a piece about him.  We weren't actually a part of each other's lives at that time, but it was a project my heart really wanted to do so I got to work.  I gathered all kinds of fabric and utilized some new techniques (such as printing photos onto adhesive backed fabric). I even went into my 'Michael memory box' and pulled out some really special treasures that I felt should be a part of the piece. 

But when it was time to put the piece together - I just couldn't - my emotions just made it impossible to put something together that looked half decent.  So I packed it away and hoped I would feel up to the challenge of finishing it at a later time.

Fast forward 5 years to a completely different emotionally complicated now - but a now that was inspiring me to complete this piece.  A big part of it was that although he has given me the gift of his photographs (go see here) on more then one occasion,  I hadn't every gifted him with any of my original artwork. So after he arrived in Chicago, I spent a solid 4 days and finished the piece.

I'm not going to share every intimate detail here about what everything means, some stories are left for telling by someone else.  But I did want to point out some of the bits that you might find interesting or special.

• There is a photo of Michael and his dog, Molly on a hike - that is a photo printed on adhesive backed fabric (as is the tiny photo of the two of us together)
  
• There are license plates from the 3 states where he has lived/is living - Illinois, New Mexico and Pennsylvania.  These are all cut from fabric printed with license places from each state. (If anyone has any of this laying about that they aren't using - I'd be happy to take it off your hands!)
• When we first met - he had a grey '88 Grand Prix - I LOVED THAT CAR! I honed my driving skills driving cross country in "Esmeralda".  It had over 205,000 miles on it when it was finally dragged off to the junk yard (kicking & screaming, I'd like to think). There is actually a name plate from the car sewn onto the piece along with my car keys....2 very special items that are difficult to part with but add so much meaning to the finished artwork. The name plate was yanked off the car and came away in 3 sections so isn't in the best condition - it took a lot of thread to anchor it securely.

A close-up of the name plate & car keys....

This piece really was a labor of love and I'm pretty pleased with the final result. The finished piece is one of the largest I've done - approximately 22 inches x 34 inches (give or take a few inches each way) and while that doesn't sound large, trying to get into the middle of piece that large to do the embroidery while maneuvering around lots of pins can be a challenge.  But I'm pleased to say I managed not to bleed on it and it looks rather nice, I think.

I have tried to sign every piece I make but I usually just write on the back with a sharpie (unlike my mom who carefully embroiders her name, date & the recipient on the back of each of her creations! so gorgeous!) but this time I used the 'print on adhesive backed fabric thing' and stuck it to the back.  Of course the sharpie still made an appearance because I had to edit the label.

Yesterday, I carefully packed up the piece and sent it to him in Chicago.  No one else has seen it yet - I wanted him to be the first.  I won't publish this post until after he sees it - just because, you know? Art usually speaks when the body can't.

I am somewhat ashamed to admit it but in the last few months I have been completely un-creative. I could blame it on my new job or the holidays or the lovely snow we have gotten 3 times in the last week, but those would all be lousy excuses.
I have come to a sort of crisis of artistic nature and it goes sort of like this...
Most of the time I make pieces that are specific to a person - I make it and give it as a gift. But I have also created pieces for the pure joy of creating (which is wonderful) but then it becomes a matter of 'what do to with it...'. I have tried selling items (that was a bust) and very little wall space so the dilemma becomes - why create pieces of they are going to pile up in a corner and go unseen? Is it a waste to invest time, effort and the cost of supplies for such an endeavor?  The same goes for photography - what is the use of taking tons of photos if all they will do is languish in some folder on my computer?
I'm not sure if it is the time of year for this sort of introspection or what but I believe that I will continue to be un-creative until I've found an answer to these questions. 
In the meantime - enjoy the snow photo - which believe it or not is NOT a black & white photo - it is full color. This was how it looked as it was snowing. Weird.

I have often been asked how I got started doing artwork and believe it or not, it is a simple and yet complicated answer.

It started with my Mom - a very creative person, she influenced me in so many ways but a key item was she that taught me and a few of my siblings to embroider when we were quite young (and later taught me to sew).  My Dad also had a part in this, too - he and my mom were farmers - and growing up a farm kid means growing up outside - where one is immersed with color, texture, smells - all things that I have drawn upon for my creations.

I took art classes in school and while I can draw, sort-of, it isn't a strong skill for me.  I have dabbled with oils, acrylics, watercolor and some wood carving/print making.

I can't remember why exactly I got started but one day I got the idea for doing a wall hanging with a Halloween theme - and the rest is history!  (there is a photo of the piece in the artwork section).  Since then, I have completed about 60 different works including 2 queen size quilts, many wall hangings, several shadow box pieces, altered books and a host of collages on painted canvas. 

My main inspiration are the people I know and love - I usually create pieces specifically for a person that reflects who they are, what they like to do and how I feel about them.  Here is an example - a piece I created for Laura Jaye Hale - artist, student, music lover, etc.

This piece is a fabric, paper and notions collage on painted canvas utilizing copious amounts of Mod Podge. (I really ought to buy stock in that company).

Once I collect all the things I want to include on a piece, I lay everything out and then stand back and look at it for a while, minutes to days depending.  I fuss with the design until it is just right and then I get started.  Sometimes they come together quickly and beautifully, and other times, they take forever but ultimately, they come out just right and hopefully, delight the person who was the inspiration.