Virginia A. Spiegel

Once December comes, I’m always looking for peppy things to make me happy (and the winter seem shorter).  I came in to my studio yesterday and noticed all the cheerful blue.

Do you like my “Blue Moo?”  Really it’s a WittFitt “chair.”  I found my “Blue Moo” after seeing an article in the local paper about schools using these “chairs.”  If you are like me, sitting and sewing for hours on end (even with breaks) just kills my legs.  This seems to be an excellent solution.  I have absolutely no affiliation with WittFitt, but love the product and their customer service.

Notice the rolled art quilt (Boundary Waters 51) with the blue backing.  It’s rolled because it is my entry to a hush-hush juried invitational.  I hope to finish it up early in 2010 and MOVE ON.

This is not Photoshopped in any way.  The sun came up through the clouds and snow this morning and the world was pink.  I went out later in the normal white world and it was a photographer’s dream.  Shoveling, not so much.

Wild at the Edges:  Inspiration from a Creative Life evolved by keeping in mind the kind of book I like to take to bed with me (maybe with a glass of wine or a mug of hot chocolate) and peruse as the spirit moves me.

You will find encouraging thoughts about life and art, hidden treasures of poems, close-up photos of art and nature and, last, but not least, a very personal view of the driving forces behind my creative life.

Preview Wild at the Edges here.

25% of all profits from this book will be donated to the American Cancer Society through Fiberart For A Cause.  Fiberart For A Cause has donated more than $190,000 to the American Cancer Society.

I bet you have been wondering what I have been doing lately.  I have been focused on FOUR, and only four, things:

1.  Stitch until I can stitch no more

I am putting so much stitching on my three new big pieces that I actually had to learn to run the foot control with either foot to give myself a break.  I’m thread crazed at the moment.  I’m working in a total junkyard since I moved to Studio B while we are having some work done on the back of the house by Studio A.  I will say that cramped and cluttered don’t seem to bother me when I am under a deadline.

2.  Curating Sightlines Invitational for SAQA

What a joy !  I have spent hours upon hours visiting website and blogs of the 166 artists who sent in Requests For Consideration for this Studio Art Quilt Associate’s exhibit.  I have studied every artist’s materials four times already; the invited artists will be announced August 31.  This innovative exhibit will feature 14 invited artists who will create five to eight artworks on the theme of their choice. There are specific specs for some of the artworks, but each artist will have a ten foot wide by 7 foot high panel for his/her artwork. It is an innovative concept inspired by this exhibition by tACTile, an Australian group of textile artists.

The exhibition premiers at International Quilt Festival in Houston in 2011 and travels to the International Quilt Festivals in Chicago and Long Beach. A Sense of Direction: Sightlines will also be available for travel.

3.  Prepping for the Boundary Waters

Trip fourteen and it still takes some thinking to squish everything my sister and I need into three fifty-pound packs.  I am spending a fair amount of time prepping and drying all our veggies.  Then I will package all our meals.  A labor of love as you can buy stuff to eat, but, hey, I like to know what I’m eating.  Plus in the Boundary Waters you can eat whatever you want because it’s paddle, portage, paddle, portage.  So my general plan is healthy stuff followed by chocolate, chocolate, chocolate. I’m only partially kidding about that.

4.  Getting in shape for the Boundary Waters

Three fifty-pound packs.  Two of those have my name on them (literally, as I have all the straps just the way I like them) as Nancy carries the canoe over on the first trip.  Since I broke my sternum I need to train more seriously as it takes FOREVER for all those muscles and whatever else pinged off to become strong.  It is so worth it, but if I could sustain being in shape year round I wouldn’t have to work so hard now.

So I’m a little busy for the next couple of months, but I will be checking in periodically. Enjoy life!  I am.

After having stored the boxes for a couple of months behind our sofa, I finally made room for and put together this Ikea shelf unit in my studio.  It’s perfect!  I have all the fabric I painted in Texas out where I can see it.  I’m inspired by the color and life it brings to my studio.

I also now have room for some of my art books, Boundary Waters journals, and other important items. And, yes, I try to have fresh flowers from my garden in the studio as much as I can.

Great Expectations Creativity Center – My painting studio. 

Ok, I’ll be honest.  I really didn’t think transforming 200 yards of white fabric would be that much work. Fun, but not too hard to do considering I had the whole month of February. But, really, what WAS I thinking?

Step 1:  Fabric Prep 
I had 200 yards of 60″ wide Kona PFD bleach white cotton fabric shipped directly to Texas.  It came on two rolls:  one 164 yards and one 36 yards.  So I tackled the big roll first.  Just de-rolling it was interesting.  I finally put it on the plastic-covered floor, braced it against a table leg and pulled until my arms were tired.  Then I tore that length off and repeated (ad infinitum).  Then I took each length and tore it down the center to make 30″ wide pieces as that width fit perfectly on my painting table.  This process made so much lint that I took the whole operation outside.  And who wouldn’t want to do it outside with this view?

I covered the little table with plastic, made a pile and measure off an arm’s length, snipped and ripped.  I ended up with approximately 400 one-yard pieces of fabric, all about 30″ wide.  Here is a SMALL portion ready to be painted:

Step 2:  Trained Monkey Phase
I like to put down a base coat of paint before adding additional surface work. Usually I use a brayer about 90% of the time for this layer (fast!) and sponge brushes for the rest.  But either the fabric or paint had technical issues (I’m thinking the paint formulation changed a bit or the paint was exposed to too much cold during shipping) and so brayer painting didn’t work.  Off to the only local shopping venue (a big box we will not name) where I perused the paint department and bought a painting sponge-type thing with a handle. Problem solved.  Here’s a selection of Layer 1 fabric laid out on plastic to dry:

I actually kept quite a few fabrics from this first layer of paint phase as I have so few “solids” to work with usually:

Three multi-colored fabrics, but still Layer 1.

Mostly Layer 1 fabrics with a few notable exceptions.

Unusual for me – very light fabrics.  

Once Layer 1 was done, I repaired to my very spiffy ironing area to heat set the paint.   Pam, the ranch manager, had Hollis and JR move a padded ironing table outside  so I could iron whenever I wanted with lots of fresh air to combat any fumes from heating the paint.  Technically, ironing isn’t required before adding another layer, but I like to see what I have and think about what each piece might need.  

Again, who wouldn’t want to do this outside with this view?  The birds (hawks, bluebirds, mockingbirds, swallows, turkey vultures, chickadees, cardinals, etc.) kept boredom at bay as I ironed away on my 200 yards

Notice primo accessory – cup of java.

Tomorrow:  The Fun Stuff that comes after the Trained Monkey Phase – screenprint, stamp, paint, repeat.
Part 3 on Thursday will be just stacks and stacks of fabric for you to enjoy.  
Then I will wrap up residency week on Friday with some photos of Open Studio Day and the beauty of Texas.