Rose Hughes and her long sensuous curves....

Like a Raven, Rose Hughes hoards and admires shiny embellishments, adding them in just the right spot to her quilts. You can discern her quilts from her readily recognizable style that features long sensuous curves and layers and layers of fabric forming an unforgettable fantasy landscape. She's provided several photos. Her Ebb n'flow: Eventide, pictured first; Ebb n'flow: Mesas, next; Ebb n'flow: Hills, next; and then a comparison between her California Live Oak and an older version of an oak in her Never Stand Alone which was made in 2004. All other quilts pictured here were made in 2009. Now here is Rose in her own words!   

by Rose Hughes:
Do you find quilting?

Or does quilting find you?

In my high-school and college days I spent many hours studying textiles, playing with dyes and stitching of all sorts, but then I went off to work in the banking industry. Years went by, my corporate life changed, grew and expanded, and I spent my time making ATM/POS networking come to life. A very interesting time, I may add, made all the better one trip to Seattle where I discovered quilts. From that point on I was consciously hooked on fabric, and it wasn’t long before quilting became a lifeline during corporate travel.

For a number of years after that I learned ‘the craft’, bought my first sewing machine, (hubby knew it was serious when the darkroom came down and the sewing machine went up), and took classes from some wonderful teachers. It took me a while, but while learning traditional quilting, it struck me, “I’m not a very good pattern follower… I really just want to do my own thing.”

Off I went, and almost as soon as I set out to do my own thing, I discovered that a big part of that includes curves, long-sensuous curves, tight circles and everything in between. The other part of what I love is adding sparkle and dimension to the fabric surface. Appliqué, the traditional answer, never was my favorite thing to do, and this realization caused a bit of a stumbling block, but not for long.

Taking bits of what I learned along the way I set out to try and come up with an easy way to create my curves. The journey began, and after many quilts along this path my Fast-Piece Appliqué™ construction method was born.

My book, Dream Landscape: Artful Quilts with Fast-Piece Appliqué™, published in 2008, by Martingale, gave me the biggest opportunity to share this method with everyone. Sharing methods, and of course THE FABRIC, how we choose it and how we use it, is one of my favorite things about being a quilt artist. I like to encourage people to use fabric to share their own ideas and view of the world. The paths we all take after that lead to our ah-hah moments and even some oh-no moments are the ones I find most enlightening.

My own ah-hah and oh-no moments have led to large collections of fabric (of course), but also yarn and beads. All having found a welcome home in my studio. Couldn’t live without them…. So many possibilities! Opportunities!

The journey continues and I’ve been working on my second book, also with Martingale, called Exploring Embellishments.

In it I talk about fabricating our own shiny, fun objects out of all sorts of materials. Some of my favorites at the moment are wool roving, air-dry clay and of course fabric. This book is due June 2010, but these self-created embellishments have been finding their way onto my quilts for years. (There’s a bit of sneak peak to be found about the wool gems in the Feb/March issue of Quilting Arts. Wahoo!)

So does one find quilting, or does quilting find you? One never really can tell, but the journey along the way is one I love to travel and share.

p.s. there’s lots more sharing happening in 2010 through my newly added FaceBook FanPage, and of course my RavenSpeak Quilts blog…

Eye Candy on the Internet

What an innovative idea.  Cath Kidston, a stitcher, fabric designer, etc. etc. etc. kind of like the Karen Neuberg of the United Kingdom has put together a new book of simple projects. What makes this unique and excites me is her inclusion of  a length of a unique fabric specially printed for the book. She adds handles, a label and button -- materials to use to make the bag pictured on the front of her book. What an excellent promotion idea. I'm not sure the book is available in the U.S. But I'm more excited about including fabric and notions with a book so someone purchasing the book can make the project!

November 10th is the 234th Anniversary of the U.S. Marine Corps and it is also the last day of the Smackdown to raise funds for Alzheimer's Quilt Initiative. The only connection is the date, that I know of. Well, perhaps they both deliver a 'smackdown.'

But I like to add a bit of trivia and factoids to the site. The marine's first battle was of course against the British during the American Revolution and at that time -- get this -- there were 234 marines! For more interesting Marine trivia, check out my Suite 101 article.

OK, back to the Smackdown. Four of the top quilt artists have pitted their creations against each other to see who can raise the most money for this charity, the brain child of Ami Simms. Who do you think will come out the big winner -- other than the charity? Here's one of the entrants -- Hollis Chatelain's Fading

Also on the Internet fascinating artists and their art jumped out and me. I just have to show you what I found.

With permission from a few of those artists, I'm compiling a little sampling of what I've found so far this week. And, it is only Tuesday!

Let me start out with fun art by Peter Anton, pictured here with a few of his sculptures.

Peter explains his art this way:

Artist Statement and Philosophy:  In my sculptures I like to alter and overstate foods to give them new meanings. I have an innate reverence for the things we eat. Food brings people together and there is no better way to celebrate life. Through the use of humor, scale, irony, and intensity in my forms, the foods we take for granted become aesthetically pleasing and seductive in atypical ways. I like to create art that can lure, charm, tease, disarm and surprise. My sculptures put viewers in a vulnerable state so that I can communicate with their inner selves in a more honest and direct way. I activate the hunger people have for the things that give them pleasure and force them to surrender. The sensual nature of the works stimulates basic human needs and desires that generate cravings and passion.

A comment on his work comes from an essay by Gerhard Charles Rump, art critic:

His works aren't meant to be modern moral subjects. Which means, again, that they are about seduction, showing us, how easy it is to seduce us, because, given the right enticement, we follow the call so willingly. But some of Anton's works show signs of consumption: Of ice creams, for instance, bits have been bitten off. This is a sign of human presence, the human consumer taking the part of the Old Masters' snails. And it also shows that eating candy is an all too short, a fleeting moment of joy Peter Anton tries to capture and hold for eternity. And that has always been a function of art, too.

On Peter's site he also takes visitors on a tour of his studio -- ohhhh my. Not only does the candy sculptures whet my appetite, but I'm drooling over that studio! (see a photo above of Peter Anton in his studio with what will become a chocolate covered cherry!)

You may have noticed that I have a weakness for crazy quilts. I'm actually working on a Christmas wall hanging featuring crazy quilts and one of my prized possessions that was made by my grandmother's mother is a life history crazy quilt. But neither of these efforts can compare to Sharon b's work!

A visit to Stitchin Fingers, and I found Sharon b. She is a most generous quilt artist and master embroiderer (is that the right moniker?) -- whatever it is called, she's fabulous! On her Pintangle (love that name) blog, she shares videos and how-tos and has amassed a great deal of helpful information.

Here Sharon b has taken crazy quilt to a new combination of traditional pattern and crazy piecing. She has based this quilt on diamond shaped crazy quilt blocks. And well, it is absolutely stunning!

Don't believe me, look at the detail photo here!
There are more photos on her website, too. She also teaches and one of these days she says she will guest blog here for us. I can't wait!!!

Don't forget that there are absolutely gorgeous and innovative crazy quilts at the Alliance for Art Quilts site yet this week. The sale is on! Don't miss it! I have a link to it in the right column -- see Pamela Allen's donation.

Also while at Stitchin Fingers, I found Kay Scheidt. Her work is diverse and beautifully made. Her choice of colors seems inspired and her meticulous stitching and attention to detail really sets her work apart. She has a fun and honest blog with the cool name "out of the basement" which showcases some of her work and many of her interests, travels and loves. She explains the name of her blog -- "because that's where my work and my blog originates. It's a bit of a joke in the family how much time I'm down there." Time well spent!


Pictured here is her Treehugger quilt to the left and her Not Quite Dream Time quilt to the right. I just love her choice of colors!







If you're looking for a small but memorable gift for a fellow stitcher or a soon to be stitcher such as a granddaughter perhaps, this Tea Flower Pincushion is just the item. The directions are easy to follow and available (free) at The Object Project. This was brought to my attention by BellaOnline.

One suggestion I would add is to stuff the 'cushion' with wool batting or wool fabric scraps cut into tiny pieces. Wool is so much easier to stick a pin into than the usual stuffing materials and can even clean and sharpen the pins and needles a bit. Of course you could use sand, as in an emery bag, but there's the spill and leak factor that I would want to avoid. This project may be the closest I have come to successful origami.

And on a final note, a bit of quilting humor can be found here by T. McCracken.

Florida with Fabric Flair

When moving from the Midwest to Florida, I didn't think that quilt shows would change much.

Of course I also didn't expect to see birds preying on cats, sink holes swallowing houses, or little anoles serving as my signs of hope. I truly live in a Dr. Seuss world and I'm not alone in that thinking. Here's a quilt "UR Makn Me Kraze, by Norma Schaut of Merritt Island that says it all!

I went blithely to my first Cabin Fever quilt show in January 2004 and began to fall in love or at least 'like' with Florida. After a summer here I realize that cabin fever is a real thing when temperatures and humidity combine to keep most of us tied to some form of air conditioning for months on end. Yet in that first January, a month after we had arrived, I saw a glimpse of what others find so delightful in this land of sand and sunshine.

I return each year to charge up on the tropical beauty and quirky sense of humor (note the photo of the beach flip flops quilt by Josephine Steege of Orlando) and the truly Florida quilts I find at the Cabin Fever Quilt Show held around the 20th of January every year at the fairgrounds on West Colonial Drive, about 40 minutes from my home.

This year disappointed because two of the biggest names in Florida quilting circles and members of the Cabin Fever guild chose not to display any quilts -- Nancy Prince and Mary Sorensen. They are sadly missed at least by me. But others have stepped up with beautiful work to fill the gap.

Merritt Island award winning artist Diane Smith's work always draws me in. She mans a booth "FiberSmith" each year where she sells her dyes and chemicals, Angelina Fibers, SHIVA paintstiks, Tsukineko inks, her own hand dyed fabrics. Diane also offers fabric dyeing retreats, workshops and lectures. and some of her beautiful work. It was her sunset silhouette that first made me find the love of Florida. (See photo above.) She surprised me at her diversity, creating some of the most amazing geometric abstracts, too.

The Three Crafty Ladies from Sanibel Island (a beautiful area) set up shop each year and bring in their quirky Florida patterns that include an unusual network of fabric sea shells and star fish that loosely connect into a table runner. I always think of crochet when I see the way the tips of one object are loosely stitched to the next.

Another very simple pattern that always makes me smile -- a big fat fish shaped place mat. (See him to the upper left in accompanying photo.) Strip pieced and complete with one round eye, it shouts Florida! And the fabrics and colors that are pure Florida.

The quilt show is well attended, hosts a fine merchant mall, outside dining (can't do that in Ohio in January), demonstrations nonstop throughout the day and smiles all around. They also host a silent auction for small quilts the members have made and this year they opened a boutique to sell quilts that the members have for sale including a sweet Nancy Prince thread painting.

I bought a wall hanging 4x4-foot for only $35 at the boutique. And I think I'm in love! Shimmery batik fabrics, metallic thread, a beautiful use of colors and cloth. Simple but striking and made by Joyce Scarbrough of Orlando. I had admired her work in several categories throughout the show and was excited to bring home a piece of her work.

They offer a variety of displays of fabric art created throughout the year for and by special interest groups they support. And Teddy Pruett, an American Quilt Society certified appraiser was on hand to offer her wisdom to place value on family heirlooms.

Not everything is kitch or even tropical or Florida inspired of course. Many of the members from the Space Coast and on into Central Florida have taken classes through their local guilds who bring in well known teachers and many beautiful quilts result from these encounters. Many produce some exciting traditional quilts and the art of hand applique and quilting is still alive and well in Florida. Yet, they manage to capture the essence of Florida's lifestyle. I've included several photos and hope you find them as delightful as I did.

Note the use of citrus colors, makes my mouth water, in this quilt, Silver Celebration, by Mary Beth Krapil of Orlando. She made it to commemorate Cabin Fever's 25th anniversary. What a clever use of log cabin blocks.

An abundance of metallic thread and shimmering batiks made there way into several quilts. Of course nature inspires many of the Florida or tropical quilts on display. Such as "Night Birds" by Norma Schaut of Merritt Island -- photo below.

These are but a sampling of "Florida inspired" or inspiring fabric art at the Cabin Fever Show, and I haven't even touched on the art quilts....

That's for another blog!

The Sunshine State Quilters Guild offers a list of quilts you could possibly win in the state of Florida this year. Visit their website and see what events are planned in the Sunshine State and what quilts are being raffled, including the Cabin Fever raffle quilt (which I hope to win!).

Crazy Art

Must one be crazy? Mentally ill? Sick? To see the world with an odd tilt or from an unexpected perspective? I certainly hope not. Although, maybe it helps.

To the left is a painting of the Pantheon & Luxembourg Gardens (1944) by Zelda Fitzgerald, wife of F. Scott Fitzgerald. She marched to her own beat, sought out risks, fought the established moral rules and barriers and battled mental illness her entire, short, life. In 1947 she died in a fire in the mental health institute where she was a patient. But she left behind a delightful collection of her art. Art that makes one look at things from a different angle. Allows artists to make their worlds tilt and whirl, allows still life to move and gives viewers more than one perspective at the same time.

According to an article "Mental Illness and Female Artists" by A.M. Ludwig, University of Kentucky: "The high rates of certain emotional disorders in female writers suggested a direct relationship between creativity and psychopathology. But the relationship was not necessarily a simple one. As the results of the predictive analysis indicated, familial and environmental factors also appeared to play an important role."

Some call this association between mental illness and creativity the "Sylvia Plath Effect." We think of Virginia Woolf, Vincent Van Gogh, and composer Robert Schumann. Poets seem to be most at risk of being mentally ill, suicidal -- thus the Sylvia Plath reference. But whose to say that writing poetry didn't keep Sylvia sane and alive longer than if she had never picked up a pen?

Terms like outsider art, alternative art, seems to reference artists who are a tad off plumb. Art created by insane asylum patients Raw or Brut Art of the 1920s drew much attention partly due to Dr. Walter Morganthaler's book Geisteskranker als Künstler (A Psychiatric Patient as Artist) on Adolph Wolfli. The book introduced Wolfli to the art world. (His Wölfli's Irren-Anstalt Band-Hain, 1910 is shown to the left).

"Morgenthaler's book was revolutionary in many ways as it was not simply a clinical study but argued that a person with a severe mental illness could be a serious artist and had the ability to make important contributions to the development of art."

Today, Outsider or Alternative Art may seem a little crazy but by no means does it signify that the artist is certifiably insane, crazy, suffering any mental disease whatsoever. You could draw your own conclusions perhaps -- but then who is to say what or who is normal? Deborah Eve Alastra's Fisherman (right) is considered Outsider Art, but does it comment on her state of mind? Today we have loosened up the boundaries of 'normal' and 'sane' and allow ourselves to experiment, take risks, 'raise the bar,' move the goal line' or whatever you want to call coloring outside of the lines. We trust our own sanity enough to explore the depths of our minds and emotions and subconscious. We put the results out there for others to see, learn and grow. And often to simply admire. So I say, "Go a little crazy with your art! It's healthy."

When we create our fabric art -- are we reproducing the things we see around us or inside of us? Jeff W. Lichtman, Professor of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Harvard University, has won an art award while finding a way to map the brain through florescence. He has named the technique for staining cells and then fluorescing them as 'brainbow' -- a rainbow of the brain kind of concept.

You can listen to an audio recording of a Science Friday program where Dr. Lichtman discusses the process.

Not only is this a beautiful process, it could also be a useful tool in untangling the problems that motor neuron diseases cause in the human brain and cells. For years the researchers have been able to follow one nerve connection, for example, but everything was stained the same color so following multiple connections became difficult. With this multi-colored approach, the entire structure can be seen in its individual parts via colorization.

So the next time you close your eyes and visualize some strange terrain to incorporate into your next fabric creation -- think about it -- are you seeing something external or truly internal structure. Perhaps there is a corollary between what we see in the world and what is inside of us as well.

Art for Autism

Autism is a brain development disorder that affects social interaction, communication and behavior and occurs in children age three and younger. The rate of autism has risen dramatically, but research has not come up with a cause or a cure.

Artist Claudine Intner offers her art in an effort to raise funds for autism research.

She explained, "During the month of October, I am having an online exhibition and fundraiser for autism. The project, called Art Now for Autism, includes the work of 26 artists including fiber, photography, mixed media, painting, etc. Money raised will go to Autism Speaks. We have raised $2,185 so far!"

The online exhibit is fun, inspiring, and the cause is worthwhile. Plus it is an opportunity to pick up a fine piece of art.