Design Notes Newsletter

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Thanks for reading..................

Graduation Exhibition

I'm home now and catching up on studio and quilt work, plus a bit of sleep. The Exhibition was a great success, lots of people visiting including family and friends. We began on Tuesday, the 13th ,to prepare our displays, finish all the little bits of painting and preparation....actually that took 4 days! I learned so much about how to display my work, how important it is to view work from a distance and what looks best when placed side by side.....
The Exhibition opened on Saturday and was part of the Whidbey Island Studio Tour, so we had people interested in all different art forms.
Here's my work space while I was finishing some bits and pieces, along with the very bare wall:

then, magically its transformed into a gallery!

My main design theme was paisley and I arranged some pages of my sketchbook to show different design ideas I had using stamped images. Here it is as a rough mock-up, feet included!

And here is the final piece on the wall.

I created a collage piece using lots of texture with acrylic gels, paper and stamps. I loved doing this type of work and found it was a meditative process of going back into the work again and again, building up layers and layers of colour.....

Another exercise in texture with four small pieces, again mediums, and layers and layers of colour....

I teach Shiva sticks a lot in my classes and use them extensively on fabric. Here is an exercise about blending colours on paper and working texture into the colour. I'm preferring the matte colours on paper now, rather than the iridescent. Did you know that there are recommended papers to use with Shiva?

This little piece is all about texture, paper rolls adhered onto the background and then lots of paint and mediums, so much fun! The light spot in the centre is a camera issue...

so that's a quick little tour of some of the work. Tomorrow I'll post some more.....

My Art and Design Exhibition

Please consider joining me at my graduation exhibition on July 17th and 18th in Oak Harbour, WA. for further information you can email me at info@susanpm.com

I'll be posting picutres of some of my work over the next few days but there's nothing like seeing it in person!

A Visit with Nine Patch Media

Today Daphne and I took a drive up to Comox, here on Vancouver Island to visit the studio of Nine Patch Media http://ninepatchmedia.com/. Nine Patch Media is a Canadian company specializing in instructional DVDs. Technical Director Chris Manuel, a former Disney producer, brings 20 years in media production. Five-time published author Sharon Pederson is an internationally renowned quilting instructor. Elizabeth Phillips brings 25 years in marketing, from consumer electronics to tourism.
Daphne and I have known Sharon and Elizabeth for a number of years and thought it was time to see what actaully happens behind the "scenes" in their beautifully bright and spacious studio.

Here Sharon and Elizabeth discuss some of the process for creating the DVDs.

Three smiling faces, Daphne is on the right.

I'll keep you posted!

Nature at its Best

Last week my DH and I spent a week on Pender Island. After rebuilding the deck we got the kayaks out and have a couple of wonderful paddles around the island, exploring some areas. On the last morning of our holiday we paddled out to Razor Point and passed some interesting spots.

We see lots of colour when we're out, the starfish are often wonderfully surprising purples and oranges. Mr. Seal is dappled greys and browns.

The water was so calm the reflections were almost perfect. We kept on paddling and saw an eagle in the distance. I paddled closer.......

and closer, kept taking pictures and paddling closer. Until I got within 25 feet, he just kept staring at me. I took this last picture and paddled away. He eventually flew off after I had left. Life is full of wonderful memories, especially when we can get off the roads and sidewalks..................

One Word Wednesday

Counting!

Screenprinting Class

We had a small class but great fun for two days of screenprinting at Quilting in the Trees. The first day we spent using printing inks, regular screens, leaves and thermofax screens. On Day Two we used thickened dyes and began with waxed screens and then moved onto masking tape, stencils, string and more!

Leaves were great fun to use with the screens.

Laura and Hennie using their waxed screens and thickened dyes.

Quilting in the Trees

Last week I ventured out to my guild -- Victoria Quilters Guild http://www.victoriaquiltersguild.org/ for our annual retreat. I taught two classes in an idyllic setting at Pearson College http://www.pearsoncollege.ca/  and the weather cooperated!

On Friday I taught my Photo Illusions class, using digital images printed onto both cotton and silk organza fabric sheets. Students brought their images and we spent the morning selecting and printing and then the afternoon was spent designing their own quilts. Students had a great time, learned lots and created some wonderful work.

Teresa used images of English Bay and the freighters waiting to load.

Kathy's quilt used images of an angel. Any idea where you might find this statue?

Sharon used photos from her garden.

Laine's trip to Newfoundland was her inspiration.

More pictures tomorrow from the Screen Printing class.

Patchwork Pattern Maker

Someone pointed me in the direction of a Patchwork Pattern maker at the Victoria and Albert Museum site. It can take a photo and turn it into a gridded design for half square trinagles and full squares. its an interesting bit of fun to play with.

Here's my original photo and then the design that it made. If you squint, you can see the designI'm not sure I'd ever make the quilt but it might be useful for portraits.

Check it out at: http://www.vam.ac.uk/microsites/quilts/patchwork

Quilting Design

Next week I'm teaching Quilting Design at http://www.quiltuniversity.com/  We'll be spending some time looking at design sources and how we can be inspired by those designs  around us.

• Look at corners of rooms, places where there might be some picture moldings, where there are joins of walls and floors.
• Look at the sidewalks downtown. Thank goodness city planners in many places are being more creative these days and we see interesting manhole covers, grating around trees and cement paths that have designs stamped into them.
• Try to see your environment in a slightly different perspective, while riding the bus or waiting in line for lunch. Look around and find curves of interest, straight or crossing lines. Think of repetition, pattern, sequence wherever it can happen. 
• Pay particular attention to advertising in magazines and on billboards. It is all around us as we are too often aware. Ask your self how advertisers use design to get their message across? Think of the golden arches, car hood ornaments, the back pockets of your favourite jeans or the make up counter at the mall. Good design is fundamental to the object.

Take rubbings of windows, there is wonderful inspiration as close as your local church or temple. Stained glass looks wonderful as a technique, but think of the designs as quilting lines, too!

• Kid’s colouring books. Pick up a couple at the grocery store
• Post Cards. Who says you have to be on vacation to buy them?
• Sidewalks. Look down around you
• Your front door, the neighbour's front door
• Hub caps. They are neat, take a look
• Gift Wrap
• Birthday, seasonal and all purpose cards

Scrapbooking has become popular and there are hundreds of different ideas for quilting designs. If you do not scrapbook, you probably know someone who does. Ask them for ideas and resources. Consider using:

• different stamps (stamp a dark colour on paper and enlarge to the desired size)
• precut border templates for tracing
• die cuts for gluing on pages (simple little motifs to enlarge)
• stickers for motif ideas

What other places could you find ideas for design? Send me in a picture and I'll post them on my blog! You can register for the class anytime before June 12th. Just go to http://www.quiltuniversity.com/  

See you in class!