Book Review: The Quilts of Gee's Bend

The Quilts of Gee’s Bend is one book I turn to regularly, partly because my creative roots are in fiber, paper and fabric and those art forms still resonate for me, but also because I find it to be full of inspiration that translates to many forms of art and design.

When I look at the Gee’s Bend quilts, I learn about color. I learn about symmetry and asymmetry. I learn about looking to traditional design as a source of inspiration for creating something new. I learn about seeing pattern in the world around you and interpreting it in your art. I learn about how to create something beautiful and artistic with only the materials on hand. I learn about the impact of keeping it simple.

Recently I had a customer, a beginning jewelry artist and designer, ask how she could prevent tiny marks on the jump rings when she manipulated them. After providing a few tips, I also shared my belief that “…it is also OK to have some slight marks sometimes - it is a sign of the presence of you, the artist and designer, in the piece”. The prominence of the hand quilting in the design of many of the Gee’s Bend quilts allows me to see and feel the presence of the artists and continues to guide my approach to handmade jewelry design.

I was fortunate to see many of the Gees Bend quilts in person at the Tacoma Art Museum several years ago and I can say for sure that the experience of seeing these quilts in the flesh surpasses anything that can be presented in a 2 dimensional form. That said, the Quilts of Gee’s Bend is one book I turn to over and over again, as an endless source of design inspiration, and a touchstone to remind me of my path in handmade art and craft.

The Pleasures of a Long Weekend, Art for Fun

Art for fun. For no purpose whatsoever. Just to be creating something.

With Bumbershoot Supplies and Bumbershoot Designs, I am surrounded by things artistic all the time. It is a true blessing. Most days are very full, and that's why I love long weekends, because there usually is some open time to just potter around the studio.

When I want to create for fun, for no good reason, I usually turn to mixed media art, where I began.  I love the lack of rules.  I love that anything goes. It feels like me.  

This past long weekend, I wanted to use some of the wonderful supplies I received from Sarah Elder at mysocalledjunkylife on Etsy.  You may remember her as our featured artist a few weeks ago. I love her trim tags and other wonderful vintage art supplies, and I treated myself to some. 

The heart, lace and seam binding are from Sarah.  I tea dyed the tag, stamped it with gesso, and collaged with some painted, stamped and foiled vintage sheet music. Stitching, that makes a piece feel complete for me, plus some rhinestones, the little ones are from Bumbershoot Supplies.

I didn't begin with this in mind, however, this tag is going in the mail to London today, a birthday gift for my greatest friend Susan, who never reads my blog, so the secret is safe here :) 

Mothers. Mama A Rainbow. Mixed Media Monday

This is my entry for this week's Mixed Media Monday theme of "mothers".  This art quilt is my attempt to capture a very special moment in my life, a unique Mother's Day present from my son Eric. We're not big on Mother's or Father's Day, we basically try to approach every day as Mother's Day and Father's Day and Children's Day. So it was a real surprise when Eric sang me this song (lyrics below) on Mother's Day a couple of years ago... I still get a bit teary every time I read these lyrics as I hear his incredibly beautiful clear boy soprano singing this song for me.  I deeply value my role as a mother to Eric and my daughter Emma, and I can't think of anything that has blessed me more in my life than the presence of three very special people, Emma, Eric, and my husband Jim.

Hand dyed fabric, ribbon, transfer of Eric's heart drawing, then stitched, photo transfer, stamping, crystal, vintage rhinestones.

Mama A Rainbow 

~Jim Nabors

What do you give to the lady who has given

All her life and love to you

What do you give to the reason you are livin'

I could window shop the world

Before I'm through

Mama, a rainbow

Mama, a sunrise

Mama, the moon to wear

That's not good enough

No not good enough

Not for Mama

Mama, a palace

Diamonds like door knobs

Mountains of gold to spare

That's not rich enough

No not rich enough

Not for Mama

Mama, a life time crowded with laughter

That's not long enough

Not half long enough

What can I give you

That I can give you

What will your present be

Mama, young and beautiful

Always young and beautiful

That's the Mama I'll always see...

That's the Mama with love from me

What can I give you

What will your present be

Mama, young and beautiful

Always young and beautiful

That's the Mama I'll always see...

That's the Mama with - love - from - me...

Look What I Found. Mixed Media Monday

Oh my. All you have to do is go to Bumbershoot Supplies to see "what I found" :)

But for this week's Mixed Media Monday challenge, I focused on one of the most special places in the world to me, the ocean. We are blessed  in Seattle to be very close to water everywhere, including salt water in the form of Puget Sound. And the Pacific Ocean is not too far away.

This is a 6x6 inch art quilt using my hand dyed cloth as a base and featuring some of the treasures I have collected in my trips to the beach.

One of my favorite poets, ee cummings, captures my feelings about the sea so well:

maggie and milly and molly and may

went down to the beach (to play one day)

and maggie discovered a shell that sang

so sweetly she couldn’t remember her troubles,and

milly befriended a stranded star

whose rays five languid fingers were;

and molly was chased by a horrible thing

which raced sideways while blowing bubbles:and

may came home with a smooth round stone

as small as a world and as large as alone.

For whatever we lose(like a you or a me)

it’s always ourselves we find in the sea

Party Animals. Mixed Media Monday

This 6x6 inch quilt square is for the Mixed Media Monday theme "party animals".  I live in Seattle, on the Puget Sound and quite near the San Juan Islands, around which reside well studied pods of orcas. They migrate every year, returning to the Puget Sound and it is a cause for celebrating this life rhythm. I took a holiday with my daughter to try to see them return.  We did not see them, I guess they were on holiday for the day too.  We did, however, see otters and porpoises within a dozen feet of us at our whale watching spot.  And at the Whale Museum in Friday Harbor, we saw video of the orcas playing and splashing, surely looking like they were having a party, celebrating their return home.

This quilt square is made of silk, embellished with silk ribbon, vintage sequins and vintage seed beads.  It is stamped with letter stamps and stamped orcas were fused to the surface. The  beautiful orca stamp is a design by the Haida artist Paul White.