On keeping busy, travelling and dreaming …
Another week has gone by. February is a thing of the past and we are at the start of another month. It’s been snowing in Calgary, and quite cold, which is a good excuse to stay inside and make stuff.
I travelled to Edmonton on Friday to teach my “New York Beauties Blocks Made Easy” workshop to a wonderful group of ladies. I don’t go to Edmonton often, and had forgotten what a wonderful city it is. The river valley with the old and new buildings up top is stunning, especially at dusk, when the lights are starting to appear and the sky is turning …
It was cold, and it snowed a lot, so I was happy to be in a nice hotel downtown, warm and cozy. The workshop took place over two days and everyone did a wonderful job and finished the pillow top. I love this class: no matter what fabrics you put together, the pillows look always amazing! Here’s a group photo of the ladies with their pillow tops.
I am back home now with lots of work that needs to be done. I started stitching on the windows piece I’ve been working on and have a loooong way to go, but need to get going and get it done. I have another piece lined up to stitch on after that one.
You can see the use of the dropcloth and the wonky improv blocks that I used. My idea was to have it look like an old wall with lots of graffiti and grunge, peeling paint, etc. plus some places where the plaster or stucco has come off and it’s showing the “bones” below. The eyelet reminded me of curtains.
While all that is being done, I’m always dreaming … dangerous occupation as thoughts and ideas swirl around in my mind. While in Edmonton, I managed to drop by Johnson’s sewing on the way to the hotel. I had 10 minutes to shop :) Amazing how much you get accomplished in 10 minutes! I was looking for a yellow or green grunge fabric (as I do have an idea), and managed to leave with 4 reds, 1 green, 1 yellow, 1 black and a wonderful grey. hahaha It was a good thing I didn’t have more time!
So now that I have the fabric, I want to get started on developing my idea or ideas … but I promised myself that I’ll stitch this week and try to get the top done. At least this one as it needs to go on a vat of dye after the stitching is finished. Then I can concentrate on developing my new ideas while stitching on the second piece.
A few weeks back, I posted new classes for March and April. Check them all here. March 16th is “Create Stunning, One-of-a-Kind Prints: Master the Art of Texture with Collagraph Monoprinting.” A wonderful workshop full of possibilities, and another way to use the gelli plate! A gelli plate, a bit of paper and cardboard, some paint and a bit of fabric to print on (or paper). I’d love for you to join me. I hope to see you then …
Now I’m off to do some stitching before the day gets busy. I’ll be back with more news next Monday. In the meantime, keep creating! and thanks for reading,
Ana
