onward

working on projects continues

I'm nearly done with the quilting of this piece -- which is a good thing, since the entry deadline for it is May 1 -- just a week away

then there is this piece

when I had the idea to do this piece about 3 weeks ago, I hoped to have it done in time for that same May 1 deadline

uh -- not so much

for one thing, I just couldn't manage the time well enough between other things to get it all done

for another, I have never done a piece that involved a person since I began using the new technique, and it was a lot more complex thank I envisioned

I will finish this, but clearly not in time for the show I originally wanted to enter it in, but I think a show will present itself for entering this

and since this piece does have a future show in the summer, I have returned to working on this at the design wall

at the current rate, I should be able to get the rest of this ready to stitch this week!

I decided that the biggest mailbox needed a raised flag to be added to it, so I did that this week

there is not a lot of contrast between the mailboxes and the sky, but once I add the silk organza and do the quilting there will be

there are a couple of other pieces in the queue to be quilted, but I should get to this one before too long

and this week I started working on a piece for a show titled "Life Along the Rio Grande"  with a November 2017 deadline

when I first got the invitation to enter, I couldn't figure out why Colorado artists were being invited to participate in a show that has to do with the Rio Grande

I admit, my geography knowledge is not the best for places I've never actually been to -- so I had to go and do some research to discover that the headwaters of the Rio Grande are right here in Colorado

here's the map -- the sort of "paint by number" guide for this piece which will be the first one I've done for a show that has a very defined size requirement -- the full size map is actually for a piece slightly larger than the finished size needs to be so I know I'll have something that is big enough

and this is the color version

this piece may also be the first of a new series of pieces under the loose title "Reflections"

this week's utilitarian sewing involved making new cushions for the love seat in the living room

the original filling in the cushions had been discarded a while back, and some previously used eggshell foam had been substituted in the original covers

until Benson decided that the foam was "magically delicious" and in about 10 minutes while I was doing something out in the garage made an enormous shredded foam mess all over the living room

he wasn't interested in the upholstery fabric that was over the foam (thank goodness!), just the foam -- who knows what goes on in a dog's mind?!

but because he left the fabric alone, and because this was a project I knew I was going to do anyway (that foam was only a temporary fix from the beginning), I already had the new thicker foam on hand that I intended to use for new cushions, creating a pattern to cover the new cushions wasn't hard -- same shape, just thicker

I had not, however, figured out what the new upholstery fabric was going to be, so these newly covered new foam cushions are covered with fabric pieces that were from a couple of sheets that had outlived their usefulness as sheets (the outside edges remain structurally usable after the center is shot).  Those cotton covers can just stay on them when I reupholster the rest of the piece and there will be a double cover over the foam

since I did this Benson hasn't touched them --- wondering still what was so tasty about that eggshell!

early in the week I did a one day workshop about silk screening

I last did silk screening about 40 years ago, and things have changed --- A LOT!

the amount of work that I was able to do in one day would have taken a lot longer back then

all of which has me thinking about the possibility of using this technique on some of my art

so I came home from class and ordered a new issue of the Dick Blick catalog so I can look into ordering some supplies --- that should be fun

while I was in class, Benson had to watch dad

which meant he was worn out at the end of the day

not sure what he was dreaming about when I took this picture

maybe the taste of those foam cushions!!