October Art Fun

I recently made cards for the only art fair I am doing this fall. Artistic License was this last weekend and it was great. Plus you could not have asked for better weather - sandals and short sleeves. And it was a great show.

I intend to use these cards as this years Christmas cards, assuming I accomplish that task - good intentions.

This is a sample, each card is unique. They are like little quilts mounted in the blank greeting cards that have a window or frame.

The process

I started with a photo, manipulated it in Photoshop. then uploaded the image to http://www.spoonflower.com, an online fabric printing site and ordered a quarter yard.

This is the basic image I sent off to be printed.


I took this fabric, using a silk screen, I screenprinted silver paint onto the image, in a ramdom pattern, and then

Then I did the same random printing with a stencil, sponge and red textile paint.

The end result

I quilted the fabric to batting, cut them into rectangles and made cards

Here is another example
The same process on a second pattern I had printed by Spoonflower

My intentions here are to share the process, any questions - please ask.

October - how did that happen??

I spent the weekend in Joshua Tree, Ca, with a friend. We attended 2 - 1 day workshops with Ellen Hill, a water-colorist. On location in Joshua Tree National Park, way out, behind lock gates and awesome. Ellen was great, the other students interesting and sharing and the scenery magnificent. Son Brian learned to rock climb in this park.


With the right frame of mind and incite, the desert is beautiful. The 2 park ranger volunteers were also wonderful.

And apparently no blog would be complete without food.

We went to Ruby's Restaurant at the end of the Huntington Beach Pier. Meet daughter Erin and Michael.
Michael, a 20 yr. vegetarian having a Bacon, Lettuce and Tomato Sandwich - he said he had been thinking about bacon. Pork seems to be something people dream about.

And Tom the wood turner These are segmented wood bracelets. He is busy buying all sorts of wood to cut into really tiny pieces to make bracelets. Ebony wood apparently goes for $98. a board foot. Too bad I like black and white. A Capricorn accountant - appears to be a perfect match for segmented wood.

Happy Columbus Day, apparently no mail delivery

Mid September

Tom and I were in Portland, Ore - for a long weekend. This is a photo of some of my favorite men. Brian, who was celebrating a birthday and his dad, my first husband. Brian treated us to several great restaurants, even one that had and needed no sign out front. We attended several of the TBA = time based arts performances. Getting your mind around performance art is an art. I explains it thus - i stand on the corner jumping up and down for an hour - that is performance art. This is not to make trivial of the real art and we saw several memorable performances.

Said son got a sewing machine for his birthday. He found a fur jacket at Red/white/black thrift store and wanted to know if the machine would handle the fur. Sometimes you got to wonder.

Tom has gone back to wood turning school and this semester is working on bracelets. I think he has gone over the hill - 48 or so of these little things makes a bracelet. Now how much would that cost in the free market?
Went to lunch with a friend in Anaheim. There on her table were a couple of ceramic pieces of Brian"s, what fun.
She uses the old dresser scarves on her table and tops the scarves with art.

Last Saturday we went to the wedding of a child we have known since she was 2. Her parents are dear dear friends and our companions are dear dear friends.

Nice to get dressed up and celebrate. We all need to celebrate MORE, what are we waiting for.

30

august became september

August seemed so long and yet went so fast.

The American Sewing Guild held their National Convention downtown L A at the Bonaventure Hotel. As a member and a Bernina Designer, I was invited to show one of my garments. Tick Tac Toe is the second from the right, gold and orange. It was fun to see the garment on a mannequin and out of the closet. The blue garment, on the right belongs to Judith Bear and it is wonderful. She won viewers choice at the Bernina Fashion Show in Houston.

Judith and I went to the convention together, visited the vendors and stayed for member fashion show. Dinner is an important part of these events. We each had a Caesar Salad - not the usual presentation but pretty great, sardine and all.


A Friday - it started with an estate sale in Leisure World in Seal Beach. This is a gated senior community and the sales vary but somehow still seem pretty much the same. We do not often "score" at these sales but we have fun.

My companions are Madelyn and Jeanne - friends and my former neighbors going back to 1987. These are gals who know where the bodies are buried, if you know what I mean. We went from Leisure World to a couple of Garage Sales, to my world famous Mexican restaurant in Santa Ana for Fish Tacos.

Then the Goodwill Market Place, with the pickers and the auctions. Bins , 6x6x6, of hardback books were going at auction for $30. No one would tell me what they were planning on doing with these books that had been donated to Goodwill and never made it to the store or didn't sell in the stores.

There are stories to tell with displayed merchandise - I think this one is especially provocative.
Do you sun first and then shower or vice versa.

Then we went to a real honest to goodness Goodwill store and scored.

I left the house at 7:15 for Pilates and returned home about 4. What a great day. Thanks Madd and Jeanne Marie

The month of August, so far

It is with great honor, I have participated in the Quilts of Valor program. http://www.qovf.org/index.html. I made a quilt top, provided the backing and binding and was paired with a Long Arm Quilter. Colleen quilted and finished our quilt.


I love the picture of our quilt on her long arm machine, it shows process and I love knowing the how and the why of how stuff is made.
This long arm machine is in her living room, as many of these magic machines are. More about Colleens quilting can be found at: www.colleenscreations.com

Colleen was honored to be able to present this quilt to a wounded member of the Armed Services. May it help in their recovery. I have the fabric for my next quilt.

Moving on with the month

THE SPACE BETWEEN, a special exhibit at the Long Beach International Quilt show. My quilt, Life Happens In the Space Between is shown with me standing in front. International Quilt Association presents a great show and I was priviliged to have a piece in this special exhibit. More about the quilt can be seen on my website - http://joanell.com/


And lastly, so far. Tom and I flew to Wyoming to attend the 8th sort of semi-annual Burgert Cousins Family Reunion - it was great. I am submitting just a few of my favorite photos.
The road, the fences, the land and the sky - what is not to like.

The view from my favorite spot on my brothers back patio - storm coming.

Before the storm, my cousin Marilyn and I ran the par course, just imagine our sense of fulfillment after these chin ups.

And I always ask to see a friends favorite photo from a trip, this might be mine (or the chin ups)/ I think it is the worlds biggest dandelion. My sister wouldn't let me keep it and put it into her car and take it home - she had enough of them already. But I love the detail and will try to make a screen or something or not.


And the month is not over - yet.

Photoshop class at Create Retreat

The class was about working with Photoshop and using the images in your art - collage, paper or fabric. Various programs and skill levels made the class interesting. Working with other students and trying to note their sequence of moves or tricks - made it fun.

And this morning I had breakfast, with iPad in hand, with Rose. She walked me through Blogpress app., giving me the ability of posting on this blog from my much loved and under utilized iPad.

Two days later I made it actually work. This is fun.


Line image of freshly cast ceramic ducks


Same ducks with vegetation overlay


Line drawing of graffiti


Ceramic angel over old post office mail boxes


Having fun with stamps


Glowing Joshua tree - the picture belonged to someone else but she borrowed my flash drive in the class -so! Two images overlapping, one original, the other with ps glowing edges -I think it has possibilities.

Location:All day last Friday

A trip downtown LA and lunch

It wasn't a field trip but rather a number of destinations. First, the pottery place you could see off the freeway - sort of at the corner of the 110 (Harbor Freeway) and the 91 (Artesia Freeway). You can see it but couldn't get there from here. I have this friend who never says never. ZoeAnn found it.

You can see by the "end " of the road sign that it is not an easy place to find.

Colorful


Artistically inspiring. Then we hit the freeway and headed downtown.

We went to shop for fabric. One never has enough fabric. This is Michael Levines, a downtown LA institution. We went to the "by the pound " loft space - bargains you don't need but buy.

And then there are the streets in the fashiob/garment/fabric district
You often wonder just what country you are actually in - but that is another story.

Then we went for lunch - food is always part of the adventure.
Is this not the most fabulous name for a restaurant?

We had a great lunch, sitting outside, on an island between 2 busy streets. We watched the tour bus arrive at the Orpheum Theater - who knows who was actlually arriving and getting ready to perform on friday evening. This photo is of the back side - the colors and form.


And, we saw this food vendor on the way to our car - we could have eaten here, but didn't

Check out the sign



On retreiveing the car at our roof top parking garage, these where the vistas.

and There are many parts to these adventures. The participants, the itinerary, the food -( lunch is always a part) and the intention. Whatever the intention for this day, we had a great time. As my mother in law used to say - a good time was had by all.

A beautiful day for a Goodwill experience

For the forth time I found myself at a Goodwill Market place. This is visit #2 for the Marketplace in Santa Ana, Ca. What an operation. Today I was a picker picking for someone else - sort of like a Pro Picker. Pam is/was looking for a particular type of sweater material for her latest collection. She will deconstruct, construct and over dye. She is putting together a collection for a spring fashion show.

We found sweaters for her a a couple of things for me. But the true adventure was learning about the process. Orange County/Santa Ana operation is way way bigger than the one in Long Beach. There are trucks and bins and boxes everywhere. The live auction was in full swing. Auctions are in Spanish unless someone needs it in English, so we grasped only parts of the operation.

A person wins a "lot". That merchandise is gone through and either - packed up to take somewhere, sorted and boxed and stacked or bagged. It all goes away, every day.


Apparently the merchandise is either headed for Mexico, a swap meet or a container.
The guy I talked to indicated that these white bags, full of stuff, were headed to a container and would be going over seas. Seems sales of used US merchandise is big in other places.

Amazing!!!

And I cannot believe I like going to the picker lot and just finding stuff. It limits your pallet, you find what you find. Somehow liberating - who knew?

In my real world I have just finished a quilt - "Life happens in the space between". I am entering this quilt into a juried competition so am not showing the completed quilt, today. The fabrics for this quilt all came from Goodwill.
Blues/greens/ male fabrics from Goodwill Store in Huntington Beach
Red/pinks/ mom type fabrics from Goodwill Marketplace in Santa Ana

I contend I have rescued these fabrics. Who knows their fate. Today there was a sweater from "Free People". It was a small petite so I had no reason to buy, but I do wonder what adventure this sweater will have.

And then, Pam and I went for lunch. Probably the best fish tacos I have ever had.
This is the view of our table but sadly does not include the man across the isle who had catfish in garlic sauce. It was a live catfish when he ordered it and he said it was fabulous.
Great day and thanks for listening,