Here is what I have been working on. They are my original designs for pillows. Casitas de los Chuparosas (Little Houses of the Hummingbirds.) Stay tuned for more and you will soon be able to purchase things in my new virtual commerce division. Here is my little dream shop. O.K., so I made it out of Legos, does that count as “bricks and mortar?”
(I tried to use as much of the little printing and words on the color swatches as possible because that way it is obvious that they are paint swatches. And, well, I just love little words.)
5. Glue the flower head to the big, flat end of take-out bamboo chopsticks. You can reinforce with tape. 6. Cut out some leaf shapes for the stalks.Et, voila! You can arrange them in a vase or decorate a birthday cake or give them as gifts. You could make boats or birds or letters or faces or anything.
And I almost forgot to mention the bestest part of the day. After Renegade, I wanted to go check out the now-defunct Home Ec craft lab in Silver Lake which was great and the women were so nice and they will still have a web presence (the brick and mortar was killing them.) So, on the way there we were wondering what to eat and I mentioned seeing some sort of a taco food-truck on the Food Network but I couldn’t remember any more than that. I just remembered that no one ever knows where it will be and the company tweets and blogs about their location then people flock to them and wait in line. So, lo and behold, after searching for parking in Silver Lake for way too long, we passed a graffiti-covered food truck followed by long line of very patient folks and my man recognized the name on the back of the truck as Kogi Korean BBQ! The very same truck for which we were wishing! The doors of the universe swung wide on their hinges for us that day. We sat on dirty steps in a parking lot and ate beef and pork tacos- infused with chinese five spice but served on a corn tortilla. If you go, get one of the amazing daily-changing desserts.
Here it is. My first quilt. It sort of feels as momentous as birthing a child. Seriously.
There are so many layers to making a quilt and it really doesn’t become itself until the very end. Piecing the front and back of the quilt seems like the whole story but really, that story isn’t told until there is another story written on top of it which is the mark-making of the quilting. Those stitches can either repeat the story (hiding in the ditches of the design…so that the quilting honors the image by being somewhat quiet) or the quilting can sand-blast and obliterate the the image by meandering all over it and rewriting the tale…which I did. Either way, the tale is written yet again by the choice of the batting and how it behaves in the wash. I used batting designed to shrink 5% between the two layers of quilting. This creates a puckered vintage/antique look. I love that. Once, I read on someone’s blog (I wish I could remember which one) that her favorite part of quilting was throwing her finished quilt in the wash and getting it all crinkly. I remembered that all the way through this process and couldn’t wait to do that myself. This last step takes all your order and hard work and throws chaos into it. As for the over all look of the quilt, it isn’t nearly as loud as I thought it would be. But more is definitely more. It is bright and fun and happy. Perfect for my little boy. I based it on the adorable (and organic) new Circa 50 fabric line for Monaluna. The main fabric is printed with Vespas and VW buses and cars in a retro Richard Scarry style. And because of that, this quilt is called Things That Go in honor of Richard Scarry’s Cars and Trucks and Things that Go (A favorite around here.) The funny thing is that as an abstract painter, my work tends to be organic, earthy, muted and atmospheric. Tonal ochres, deeply dark earth-purples, or veils of mist and washes. But when I sew, I seem to sew out loud. My choices are so different- much greater contrast of colors, crazy polka dots and prints- stark backgrounds. I am amused and curious about this difference in my voice so far. It reminds me of that Emile Zola quote: “If you ask me what I came into this life to do, I will tell you: I came to live out loud.” This quilt definitely came to live out loud…and so did my precious little boy. And it would seem, so did I. The reason I am sewing in the first place is because it is fun and fresh for me…and that spirit seems to be alive in everything I make. Perhaps I have been making moody serious paintings for so long that my soul needs a break? I think that the real questions and emotions of human existence can even be solved and played with in quilts. And the thing is, at the end of the day, you can’t wrap yourself up and go to sleep in a painting. It won’t comfort your body- only your mind. So, quilts are paintings for the senses, the body, the soul. Here is what my paintings look like…
Quilt top done. Learned much. Funny, from afar it looks like a bunch of art school drawings pinned to a wall in a grid- that makes me happy. I will reserve comments until the whole thing is done…which brings me to the back. I am so in to the back. The back of a quilt is a much more intimate experience. It is made for only one or two people to enjoy. It is private. It is the casual side…the leftover side…the rushed and haphazard side…the side that touches the body…the side that no one sees…the secret side…the side for play…the side that doesn’t take itself too seriously…that loves itself more if it is imperfect…that doesn’t care about mistakes…the real side. I just came up with a manifesto- I think from now on I will set out to make the frontside feel as good and as real as the back. You know who does that, Denyse Schmidt. See hers here. And a nice conversation with her about her work here.
…but maybe a little afraid. Here is what I have learned so far:
1. Have a plan…even a vague notion a of a plan. (Like maybe, perhaps, do a sketch or two before cutting up all your fabrics.) 2. Know what size quilt you are going to make…even a vague notion of a size. 3. Have enough fabric. (see #1 for have a plan and make a sketch.) 4. Really like how all the fabrics work together (see #3.) If you don’t have enough fabric and you bought it online but don’t want to wait for more, for example, then you have to improvise. (I did mention that I need to learn from doing and making mistakes, didn’t I?) Off to do my sashing.