Patchwork just got interesting!

Credit: Gotye - Somebody That I Used To Know (feat. Kimbra) -official video.

OK OK - don't rush for the Comment button, I know patchwork can be interesting.  It just depends....
And,when I say 'just' -  this video has been out for months, enjoy.

Quickie.
Did this one for the next Kreative Momentum workshop which is all about making paper grids.

Yes, the photo quality is rubbish - I was rushed....  Just call me "Many jobs badly"

I really only put this up today because I want to draw your attention to a musician I admire (and who has the cutest of babies, next to my own (who are no longer babies of court) who wants to win 10,000C$.  And
Take a look at John Wort Hannam on the page, scroll down and listen to his music.... vote if you like.

Enjoy

The Curiosities show in Medicine Hat

Did I ever imagine that I would have work on show in a place called Medicine Hat... There is no such place name in Britain, the closes we get is a coastal location called Scratchy Bottom, and that isn't similar at all is it?

Anyway I digress, if that is ever possible in the first sentence of a blog entry...

If you happen to be in the area of The Hive do pop in as the show's opening is tonight at 7pm.  Yes the opening of the show is on the first night of the show, and not somewhere near the take down (as seems to be the norm in Calgary !!??!!)

It is a 2 and a half hour drive from Calgary so I won't be there.  But I am told that all 3 of my pieces (2 of which were shown in my previous blog entry) were accepted and are on show.

Also work by my good friend, the extremely talented Arlee Barr is on show in the gallery and shown below.

I ask you, Isn't that just beautiful?

“Hybrid Pod: Girl” arlee barr 2012

8″, stitched paper and fibers over wireform mesh, beading, hand and machine embroidery

I hope I can show you some images of the show and gallery when they upload to The Hive website... all in good time....

And my birth sign is.....??

Forgive the ??English??* but this from the ffwd =Fast forward weekly = Calgary's news and entertainment alternative, free newspaper today...
"Like an aquarium fish, you often flit from flake to flake as if you didn't get enough of the food you were lookin' for in the first place.  By goblin' up more goodies than you can digest at once, the benefits of their nutrition start to erode.  It don't matter how good the grub is if you eat so much you explode."
Worryingly accurate...
However, the feel good factor has kicked in as I submitted 3 pieces to the Curiosities exhibition in Medicine Hat.
I rather liked the idea of participating in a show where work sold helps fun art classes for children.  And if my works don't sell (and of course I am not optimistic), then I get them back in time, maybe, for the next Contextural show in May.

Assemblage No.3

Shibori, knitting, hand stitching, disperse dye.

Assemblage No.1

Shibori, knitting, hand stitching, disperse dye.

Worked as a volunteer at Studio C today... Had a great time, should I feel guilt over enjoying myself so much. It was like a morning off work.  The participants were great fun and one guy, Daniel, shamed me into admitting I know very little about disney movies.  Thanks, Megan for sharing the fun of fibre art classes at Studio C and great work Annamaria for putting Contextural in touch with Stuido C. I hope we can raise funds to exhibit the felters' art works real soon*.

I am in love with copic markers.
Check out this video to see how beautifully they blend. I am sure there are others that give these effects but these are the ones for me.


These are the markers I used to colour metal below.

Cardorama @ WIC

I haven't posted about this before but:-

West Island College is a really lovely school whose philosophy fits so well with ours.
I go in to help out with Cardorama nights, which, I think of as a social club for the teenagers.  But the excuse is card-making.  The kids come in after school (3:15) and it is very very informal they stay till 8:30pm - clearly they enjoy it (and they get credits towards the awards system, house points and so on).

Bad-for-you snacks, pizza and a limited number of fizzy drinks are on hand at various times through the evening. The teacher arranges for a film to be projected on one wall about half way through the evening.
School pays for the materials and food.
The kids go home happy, socialized and having done a good job of making, perhaps, 200 cards in the evening and these sell for charity.

The designs for the cards are created by a few dedicated women who supply the students with kit bags with everything in there that they need to recreate a model card. Ready cut card stock, paper and bead accents, ribbons and cut out shapes...

The reasons for doing it this  in a controlled way are pragmatic... to ensure quality control and that the cards will sell.  Which they do.

However, I do have a slight problem with this as I believe the creativity ought to come, predominantly, from the students.  I create an idea for a card that allow for student creativity within a controlled framework.  I take in a few models and stencils for design areas that need to be filled,  and a ready made computer file for the cutting out of window mounts and that sort of thing.  I like to, at the very least, allow students to take ownership of colour choice/combinations.

Next week is Cardorama night and above are examples of the card I have modelled for the students to make.

This card involves using the Cricut machine to cut the card and window mount, embossing strips of recycled metal with designs, adding blended colours over the uneven surface using marker pens, tweaking with metallic markers, fitting metal strip behind window mount and affixing an inner lining paper to provide for writing area and to hide the metal which has sharp edges.
The version with the knotted threads also involves using the sewing machine to create holes but I think I might not go there this time around. KISS.

I think the students will particularly like messing about with the coloured markers on metal.

Business Card for a Valentine

This one's for you sweetie... "Subdued - my heart"
(My apologies once more - Photo-quality is off, daughter has camera on X-country ski trip for school! But a poor post is better than not post.)