Art Quilting and Kaffe Fassett

Now that my "once-a-year" art show, the Newport News Art Festival, is over I am now focusing on a another one of my passions: quilting!  I really like traditional quilts but recently I've gotten into art quilts.  It stands to reason that I would like art quilts because there is really no right way to create an art quilt.  By definition an art quilt is "an art form that uses both modern and traditional quilting techniques to create art objects. Practitioners of quilt art create it based on their experiences, imagery, and ideas rather than traditional patterns.^[1] Quilt art generally has more in common with the fine arts than it does with traditional quilting. This art is generally either wall hung or mounted as sculpture, though exceptions exist"(quoted from Wikipedia).

I just went through my archives to find any pictures I've posted so far on my Kaffe Fassett art quilt but I don't think I've posted any!  If you haven't heard of the fabulous designer Kaffe Fassett let me introduce you to him here (click on his name to be taken to his website).  His fabrics are wild and whimsical!  I can only take his fabric in small doses but my mom has really embraced his style and has started a Kaffe Fassett quilt too. My mom is doing a traditional 9-patch but with these fabrics it is very modern. 

Here are some examples of his fabrics from his 2014 Spring and fall collections.  I really wish I could post all of them!

Last year at the quilt convention I bought a bundle of fat quarters not quite knowing what I was going to do with them:

I also saw a technique done there that I thought maybe I'd try.  There was no pattern which was fine because I don't like following patterns anyway.  This quilter sewed the fabrics into tubes then wove them together to make a pattern.  Hmmm, I could do that!

This would be the main focus of my quilt.  I then appliqued circles onto other parts of the orange background then quilted around the Kaffe Fassett fabrics:

I have only just begun to embellish!  I love beads and sequins and other found objects added to my art quilts so stay tuned for the finished product.

Close-ups of embellishing and following my 3 triangle quilting designs within the quilt:

Thanks for looking!!

The Newport News Fall Festival

I have loved going to the Newport News Fall Festival since I was a little girl.  My mom has been doing this show with her artwork for a number of years (25+) and I have helped her set up since I was young.  Two years ago she suggested that I apply (I had to be juried in with my own artwork) and sell my stuff.  I was honored and humbled to say the least.  I have always looked up to my mom, she is an amazing artist and for her to acknowledge my work validated me.  I was accepted in last year AND this year and it was a total blast!  I love that it's the first weekend in October, the weather was perfect and because it's in a park the woodsy smell is just heaven.  

A big huge thank you to everyone that came out and supported me!  I was sad that my cousin Susan couldn't come down from Northern Va to help me out so my dad had to do double time between my mom and me (giving us potty breaks, etc.) 

Here are some pictures from this past weekend:

 On Sunday my creative juices were flowing so I sketched 3 pages of notes!  I am so excited to start my new ideas so stay tuned because next year's NN Fall Festival will be definitely be better than this year's! 

New ideas for my fabric bowls...

New fabric bowls that will debut at the Newport News Fall Festival held the first weekend in October.

I am now painting pedestals and attaching my fabric bowls to them.  If you are hosting a Christmas party and need more room on the table you could use this one to 1. give height to your table and 2. create more space on the table (mints could go in this basket)

But before Christmas let's talk about Halloween!   Here are two of my newest creations:

(I still haven't decided yet if I'm going to paint eyes on this cat, I kinda like it without eyes.  Can't you just imagine this on your dining room table with Snickers bars in it!)

You can't see the spiders legs too well from this photo but I made them out of wire and painted the eyes with a toothpick.

I have also come up with a new spin on the old jewelry box.  With this one I have incorporated my love of Zentangles.  In the bowl you can store your necklaces and watch and then on the hooks beneath you can hang your rings and bracelets:

 And with this one you can hang jewelry from the hooks at the top and store them in the basket below:

Here are a few more every day whimsical bowls I've created:

I have a lot more that will debut at the Newport News Fall Festival in Newport News, VA the first weekend (Saturday and Sunday) in NN Park so please come out and see me!

Art can be found anywhere

One boater got real creative with his rope.

Smithfield pier, Virginia.

Virginia Beach

Cape Henry Lighthouse (New)

Throwback to my photography days

When there is just too much going on in my personal life to update my blog I will post some of my photography:

I hope everyone has a beautiful day!

I'm counting down!

When I was a little girl we would travel to Lancaster, PA to visit Amish Country.  I didn't really get it, or get them.  Why didn't they use electricity?  Why did they all dress the same?  And now over the past eight years I've been taking a much needed "mommy getaway" to Amish Country.

I started writing an Amish blog called Amish and English but haven't updated it in a while (a year to be exact) because there is just so much information out there and not enough time to write about it.

Here are a few photos I've taken during other trips:

At the quilt auction

At the horse auction

This is one way to keep cool (see the irony? They don't use automobiles)

A mom and her kids

Friends

A mom and her little baby boy

Innocent eyes

I know most people would be excited to vacation on an island in the water or in the mountains hiking or camping but me? I prefer Amish Country. 
So the countdown is on!! I leave in four days, YIPPEE!!

Featured Friday artist: ?? (he or she is even a mystery to me)

I would love to give credit to this artist, and I have searched for weeks to find a name, and although I haven't found the designer I really wanted to share these with you because I find them so interesting!

Last week I was at an antique mall in Virginia Beach, Barrett Street Antiques, and normally when I make it over there (about 1/2 hour drive) I go directly inside.  I have really been in my "creative mode" lately and I LOVE recycling old things.  When I pulled up this time I noticed that there were a lot of garden things outside.  Old statues laying around as well as life preservers and buoys, old wrought iron furniture and the like.  My kinda place! 
So I walk around out there for quite a while and discover these bird houses made out of recycled materials:

As I continued to look I found more and more of these gems!  I quickly went in and asked if I could take some pictures in the garden area, she looked at me like I had 3 heads but said yes I could take pictures.  Here are some more I found:

I found the #8 on a lot of the birdhouses, I wish I
could find the artist to ask him/her about it

After I took my pictures I went back inside to find out more about the artist. When I approached the desk I said "I'm interested in the birdhouses outside." She said "All of them?!" (Like I wanted to buy them all!  They were quite pricey.) I said "Oh no I'm interested in the artist, do you know who made them?"  Again a look of "Are you really interested in those old things??"  Then she gave a curt answer "... one of the sellers owns that part out there, he makes them and tries to sell them here".  She obviously wasn't going to give me any info and didn't want to help him out either. 

I am truly sorry for not giving this artist credit so if you're in the Virginia Beach area and can find out any more about this artist I will be sure to update this post.