Dear followers and readers

I am sorry for the lack of posts over the past few days but I have been sick with the swine flu.  I will be back on to continue my posts when I am well enough to do so!

quilt challenge-52 cards in a year

Week 11

This week I am carrying on the retro theme again.   These pieces are an exploration for a bigger piece of work that I am making.  The flower has been used for today's inspiration.  The quilting pattern is the suns rays.

This piece is made from card and stitching.

The brown and red makes a strong statement and really fits in with the retro theme.

Budgeting for art and craft work

It is getting harder and harder to make the pennies stretch and when I have to choose between Groceries or art I will always choose the groceries. How can I still do my art in this present economic situation.

Over the next few weeks I am going to present different ways to save money in art work. I have found a few great practical and easy ideas on how to do this. For the third week of our journey I am going to look at ways to save on costs in .........


Education

• Read,  read , read.......Go to the library.  Read as much as you can.
• Buy books that teach techniques or take you through a series of workshops or lessons.
• Find an artist who would be willing to mentor you.  This could even be done long distance thanks to the Internet.
• Form a art group so you can learn from and teach each other.
• Experiment with objects and equipment you already have.  I couldn't get or afford many different surface design equipment used by many artists overseas so i used children's art equipment instead and have learned to use them through trial and error.
• Read articles on line
• Find magazines that teach contemporary techniques.  Ie the quilting arts magazines.
• Research other art form other countries online or in books.
• Go to exhibitions.  Sketch and take photos of others work and analyse their work.
• Get others artists in your field to critique your work.  Learn from their critique.
• Enter Art/quilt competitions.  For small fees good critique can be given on your work.
• Take opportunities to go to workshops/lessons/lectures.  Sometimes these can be given for free or for a nominal cost if you belong to a art association.
• Belong to an association  that supports your type of art work.
• Visit museums

photography-using a frame

A photo often has more impact if it has a frame.  Think about an assignment from when you were a child.  Without a frame it often looked incomplete and unfinished but as soon as a frame was added,  even a simple line,  the project suddenly looked complete. 

The same applies to a good photo.  There are a few ways to do this.  You could use a man made structures ie and building,  a window, an arbour or natural structures ie. a tree,  leaves etc.  Using frames when composing a photo blocks other parts of the image taken and draws attention to the subject.

In this first photo the tunnel has been used to create the frame on the 2 subjects walking towards the light.

Trees are used for the frame on this picture.  The viewer wants to know what is going on around the photo it is intriguing to the eye.

Trees and foliage again create the frame.  It frames the subject which is the marvelous view of the beach.

In this photo of the cliff are used loosely as a frame.  It draws the viewers eye down the river to what might be around the corner.

The climbing ropes make a great frame for a portrait.

In this photo a window in a telephone box makes the frame

Using a frame helps the viewer see where the photos taken and gives the photo some context.  It can help create depth and layers.  It draws the eye to look at the focal point of the shot.

  So the next time you take your camera out consider using a frame for a simple but stunning composition idea.

quilt challenge-52 cards in a year

Week 10

I am carrying on the retro theme and experimenting with more ideas to include in an upcoming quilt entry. 

The inspiration for this piece came from the long straight shapes of the tree trunks in the bush and of the round seed pods hanging from the branches.

I used card and then machine stitched this piece. 

Keeping the colours and shapes simple and strong in the design makes the pieces have that retro feel. 

quilt challenge-52 cards in a year

Week 9

The theme in an upcoming exhibition I am entering is going to be retro.  So I thought I would play with some designs that I might add on to this piece of work.  I took simple shapes in nature and simplified them more to make retro inspired cards.

The first card in this series in inspired by the centres of flowers.  

I have made this piece from card and then stitched it on the machine.

The colours are inspired from old clothing and home decor colours from the 70's.

Quilting achievement-How entertaining entry.

I have had a wee bit of a break due to sickness.  Hopefully the immune system is stronger for it and ready for the productive art work in progress. 

While I was sick I received the latest issue if the Quilting arts magazine Aug/Sept 2010.   This issue is beautiful .  There are many inspirational articles to get the creative juices flowing. 

But the highlight for me was that, an entry I sent to the magazine for the challenge 'How entertaining', was published.  My art was given a full page (page 75). 

It was a wonderful privilege to see my

art work in print.

Here is the link to view this piece.

http://www.quiltingarts.com/media/p/21067.aspx