Summer Heat

A little late in the season, I have repainted some areas of Summer Heat to make the embellished swirl really pop. Here are the newest photos.

Io, Europa, Gannymede and Surface

Storming energy over the last week and a half. Here are a couple of the results. Io, Europa, Gannymede is the one with the moons (I guess that's kind of obvious from the title!) and the one I'm labeling Surface is so far unfinished but has a lovely luminous quality which is worth enjoying while I decide where to go with it. I may cut it down and mount it on canvas, or add more surface to it, or maybe play around with the edges and let it be a sort of "carpet." Or . . .

Amaryllis Buds

I took this photo last spring in the garden and did almost no Photoshopping on it as it pretty much speaks for itself. It is on exhibit this week at the International Quilt Festival in a show called Eye of the Quilter in Houston which gets close to 40,000 visitors. No fabric, just the photo!

Colors and Holes

I've created a cardboard book with which I'm quite pleased. Of course it's not laser cut so the Xacto knife blade marks are part of the design.

It's Summer: Daylily

I can hardly believe that I have finished the top of Daylily, my piece for the Noble Seasons traveling exhibition for 2010!! Still all the hand work and putting it together ahead, but the design is complete. Let me know what you think by responding with the "comment" button just below. Love that embellisher!

Tracery

Here's the third piece in the Muckenthaler show, Tracery. Hope to see you there!

Remember that you can click on any photo to enlarge it so you can see details.

If you're in southern California on Sunday, October 11, please come out to the opening of Contemporary Quilts at the Muckenthaler Cultural Center in Fullerton from 12-3. I have three pieces on view and there is much else to enjoy including an exhibit of sculptural baskets. Above are a couple of the pieces that will be on display.

Wood Cells

Here's the white quilt. I never use white, just like I never use pastels, but somehow these cells sang out to me, so here it is.

I have been going back to some of the quilts I've made over the last three years and adding a bit to make the colors pop, reframing them, sometimes putting a new back on, etc. Just generally trying to bring them up to date using my new skills and experience now that I'm working full time as a studio artist. It's amazing how fast we develop our artistic talents when given the time!

Zucchini Baring Their Souls/Cells

What happens when you strip a zucchino to its marrow (ha, ha!)??? This really is what zucchini cells look like.

Exploding Pomegranates

I have renewed Jeff's favorite quilt with a new border, some additional quilting and a new back. Here's a close up of Exploding Pomegranates. It will be on display at the Muckenthaler, an elegant gallery which belies its name, in Fullerton, CA, until the end of the year.

Here's a piece called Parti-Wells, part of the Sere series, more practice with flipped circles. Some are deconstructed screen printed. It'll wake you up if you're feeling dozy!

New Course!! Adventures in Contemporary Embroidery

Coming September to the website (DeborahWeir.net) is a complete description of all the various techniques and materials which you can learn to embroider, applique, bead and otherwise employ to go beyond the flat surface of your quilts and other textiles. Above are some examples: Golden Splat!, Blue Box (lid) and DK#5. Yup, all stitched. Email me for more info Fiberfly@cox.net.

New Course!! Using the Embellisher (dry felting) Machine

Here are examples of multiple techniques which this inexpensive and EASY to use machine can do. The course descriptions will be on the website from September 1 (DeborahWeir.net). They are Rotorua Redux, Rosebud and Fetid Wells.

I've been trying out some ideas for the Science Meets Art SAQA challenge and have so far run into a wall as all my ideas have proven too hard to render in fabric. Now if this were an embroidery challenge . . . So here are some silly examples of my efforts to make wood cells - neither the colors nor scale are realistic, just experimenting.

Here's a bit of a teaser: a small close up of a piece I finished this week called Archeology/Language. Click on it to see the details.

Here are some photos of pieces I've sent off to national shows recently. Remember to click on them to see a bigger version. They are Window 3, That's Amore, Rosebud, Knee-His, Joolama 3 and Coalescence 2. Which is your favorite?

DONE!!

At last, SERE: Summer Heat is complete. After beading, I went in with more paint, some with metal bits, which is why there are so many reflective dots. And then I finished it with a little silk thread running stitch to visually emphasize the horizontal heat lines and connect the spiral more intimately to the rest of the surface. There is batting in this piece so it could be finished as a quilt, but it will be much more impactful stretched and framed, so I will drop it off at my brilliant framer's, Colleen at Kathy's Framer in Torrance, CA, for the final step. Check back to see what frame we have chosen.

This is the beading and final shaping stage of the piece nearing completion. I thought I'd post its progress to date with some close ups so you can see the intricacy of the detail and understand why it is taking such a long time to complete this phase. Keep in mind that those white headed pins are TEMPORARY! Once I'm happy with the bead details there is just one more step before I take it to my FABULOUS framer.

BIG honor . . . I was invited by the Palos Verdes Art Center to be a docent trainer for their upcoming All Media show. I get to turn more people on to the artistic pleasures and richness of textile art. Thrilled to be able to expand their horizons! This is my piece in the show.

SERE: Summer Heat (stage four)

This posting shows the overview and a couple of detail shots of the completed embroidery on Summer Heat. The spiral is now clearly evident; it is comprised of a multitude of applied materials stitched in place. It has a variety of textures and widths, but reads as a flowing, harmonious unit which guides the eye across the piece. It is interesting to see at this point how the background is beginning to look burnt, pealing and aged. Two more stages to go!

Remember that you can click on any photo to enlarge it so you can see more detail.

SERE: Summer Heat (stage three)

Here you can see that I've begun the stitching and application of surface elements, including metal, to start adding dimension and interest to the surface and further delineating the swirling pattern.