Mother's Day Beth: a journal quilt

This week I am doing, not one, but two journal quilts...and really there should be a third for the east of Weston MA big water pipe break.

But this is Mother's Day weekend. I subjected my daughter-in-law, Beth, mother of my three grandchildren, to a quilt portrait: I put tea or coffee cups in the background because she makes me welcome at any time, and is always offering coffee, tea or supper. She is a devoted mother. The three paper dolls make her crown, and she always has plenty of bags on her shoulders.

Who will be next in this two hour exercise. Thanks to Clara Wainwright and Adrienne Robinson for the inspiration for this sort of casual portrait quilt and to Geri Barr for the idea of these sketches, 8"x 8" journal quilts, one a week for a year. Hoping not to portray Beth so horrifically as I do myself, I used the stamp filter on Photoshop Elements for a teeny bit of help, but mostly, I cut out free hand and scribbled with the glue stick and sewing machine.

Click to enlarge.

Funny Face: a journal quilt

This afternoon, I felt I should make a journal quilt about the water supply problem in Boston. However, I was still curious to make a portrait like the ones Clara Wainwright led the townspeople of Gloucester to make (see Sunday's post, May 2). I thought I would create one of Beth for Mother's Day with the children on her necklace; and then make all my friends for a quilt or get them to. Then I decided since this would not be a realistic portrait, it might not be fair to subject friends and family quite yet. YET!

So....I prepared a background for my visage. Thank goodness I don't look that way. I cut out pieces of fabric, free hand, thinking teaching, books, crafts, drawing. I held the fabric scraps in place by light dabs of glue. Then I tried different feet on the sewing machine (mistake). Very messy. Then it became apparent I would need to use netting for the unraveling elements. I understand only maroon netting works. Here is the monster! Artists never give up but maybe sometimes they should :*)

Sun, Water and Paint

What sunny days! We took off for the North Shore to see Clara Wainwright's "Surrounded by Water" quilt show in Gloucester at the Cape Ann Museum, had lobster rolls at Captain Carlos', and picked up a cone and strolled, watching the children dip their toes in the ocean. I can't wait to try the sort of fabric portraits Clara made with the townspeople of Gloucester with my family and friends. Her other quilts were painterly, staggeringly beautiful, narratives with mystery, grand color and texture. Joe and I keep reflecting on the wonderful exhibition. If you go, watch the DVD of Clara in action.

The grandchildren spent the Saturday night with us and we survived today to drop in Open Studios again, to see good encaustic and portrait painting, and bump into old friends. Since I last wrote, I have sewed some canvas covers for needlepoint bookmarks, made some calling cards, and piled some filler and blanks for journal quilts. But I have no new art to show.

Always looking for a quick solution, I toyed with how people who don't paint could create a family portrait...one not modeled. The photo, filtered in Adobe Photoshop or Elements, projected to say to 4' x 5', or any size, would have to have hard edges, lines that could be filled in with paint. I came up with three filters (cutout, posterize and stamp) on Adobe. I think these have possibilities in the right setting and could be accomplished by anyone with time and patience. I am fond of the monochrome, but anything goes, if you are not prejudiced against "paint by numbers."

Craftsy Concentration

It was a craftsy week, starting out Monday talking and stitching with friends over lunch and coffee until today when I dropped by the grandchildren's to pick up Beth's unfinished needlepoint (she and the grands were doing ribbon weaving projects), to have more than blind contour drawing to do at these sessions. I should get out the needlepoint bookmarks I made from scratch to give everyone a canvas so we can design our own. Susan was doing Matisse!

In the studio for two days, I filled two giant garbage cans with files of 40 years. Joe was so happy that I can walk through and almost paint there! Found some jewels to save. And at the other end of experience, the entrance to beading at Nita's today had these electric azalea bushes. Was it the rains as she claims or her devoted gardening.

After stopping at the grandchildren's, I went to Adrienne Robinson's to see her portrait quilts and her newly published book! It is beautiful. Her Creation Myth book is hot off the press and available at Amazon and Barnes and Noble. I am so proud of her. Coming up soon is a self-portrait quilt workshop with Clara Wainwright (with whom Adrienne created faith quilts after 9/ll and self-portraits) at the Cape Anne Museum, both the museum and artist a special treat.