Wow, what a weekend. Labor Day is the last big weekend of the summer for our restaurant, and this was my first time participating in a show by the Tybee Arts Association, so it was doubly crazy.
Before I even got to Tybee, I had to finish the pieces for the show, framing them, making labels, pricing and wrapping them for transport. Then Wednesday it was a meeting for work and a meeting for last minute details of the show. Thursday it was buying a new clothes dryer, then spending the afternoon setting up for the show. Friday stuff for work, then the opening reception during the evening. Saturday work morning shift at the show, then back to do stuff around the house and take pictures at the restaurant. Sunday another morning shift, knock out some to-dos at the house, back to pick up art and help with taking down the show. Then take pictures and watch the fireworks. Then a nice leisurely evening and to bed. No, not that part, because the power went out about midnight and we re-opened the store, staying open until 4 a.m. Days like this, it makes me wish I drank coffee.
The art show was fantastic, we held it in a historic cottage on the grounds of the Tybee Light Station, aka Tybee Lighthouse. Of the 20 or so participants, most were painters, there was one photographer, two jewelry artists, one who made beautiful little "fairy chairs" from twigs, shells and other found objects, one fiber artist (beautiful scarves and other items) and one quilt artist – me!
We had a great turnout, with lots of visitors to the Lighthouse wandering by to see the show and many others coming from around the area for the show.
I brought seven pieces for the show, all beach-themed, and all including various threadwork elements, including free-motion quilting, free-motion embroidery, thread sketching and thread painting.
They were: Palm Sunrise, pieced, painted and dimensional applique; Day at the Beach, pieced, free-motion embroidered and dimensional applique, with some hand-dyed fabric; Sea Turtle Trio II, pieced, painted, free-motion quilted and dimensional applique; Tybee Fireworks IV, pieced, painted and appliqued; Lighthouse with Boat II, pieced, free-motion embroidered, painted and dimensional applique; Sunrise Lighthouse, pieced, painted and appliqued; and Lighthouse With Sun, pieced, free-motion quilted and embroidered and appliqued.
Palm Sunrise sold at the show.
We all noticed that small items, like note cards and small prints, sold very well, so for the next show I will bring my fabric postcards.
It was great fun and I am looking forward to next time.
More later.
It's been a busy week, trying to catch up in the office for work and getting started on a new piece using some of my handpainted fabric for fun. More about that later. Here are a few photos I took on Tybee Island during Labor Day weekend.
Before I even got to Tybee, I had to finish the pieces for the show, framing them, making labels, pricing and wrapping them for transport. Then Wednesday it was a meeting for work and a meeting for last minute details of the show. Thursday it was buying a new clothes dryer, then spending the afternoon setting up for the show. Friday stuff for work, then the opening reception during the evening. Saturday work morning shift at the show, then back to do stuff around the house and take pictures at the restaurant. Sunday another morning shift, knock out some to-dos at the house, back to pick up art and help with taking down the show. Then take pictures and watch the fireworks. Then a nice leisurely evening and to bed. No, not that part, because the power went out about midnight and we re-opened the store, staying open until 4 a.m. Days like this, it makes me wish I drank coffee.
I have been having a great time this week sun-printing fabric, and trying different resists and effects. For these pieces I have used seashells as resists, shapes cut from card stock, and string. I've also used sprinkles of water part-way through the drying process and silk salts. A bonus from the string, actually crochet thread, is that it picked up the colors of the paint so I have something else to play with. These were all painted with Setacolor transparent paints, diluted to different strengths.
First, though, I have to finish framing and labeling several pieces for a show next weekend. I'll be participating in the Tybee Arts Association Show and Sale Labor Day weekend. This will be my first show with the TAA and it looks like a great one, with about 20 artists, an opening reception Friday night and the show open Saturday and Sunday.
A couple of weeks ago I went to visit my parents and got to play with and take pictures of their new kittens. They were too cute not to share, so enjoy.
I love the look of hand-dyed fabric, and have been tempted to buy oodles of dyes and supplies time and again. But realistically, until I have a better setup, I'm restricted to smaller efforts.
Tuesday it was on to provide the program at my quilt guild. I focused on threadwork and my technique for painting my quilts. Great audience, of course, and they asked a lot of good questions about materials and techniques. My program title? "Playing with Thread."
My work tends to be more stylized than realistic, suns with wavy rays and little spirals for waves. I'm absolutely amazed and impressed at the very realistic works many quilters make, but don't have the desire (or maybe it's patience) to try those types of pieces myself.
The trees were thread painted using my Singer 500, set on a simple zigzag. I used a tulle base in a hoop.
