New "Sculptures" Series

Good Morning,
I've been trying to get this entry done for several days now - but time has been getting away from me! Now after spending hours (really) on the phone trying to set up routine doctor and dentist appointments, I've got a few minutes before I sit down with my good friend and CPA to do end of the year taxes. I will be sooooooo happy to get all of the Wild Heather Quilts loose ends taken care of!

This quilt titled "Sculptures #3; Green on Blue is from the new series I've recently begun. I have never felt more alive, more artistically energetic or more involved in my work until I began this new work. I've finished two more pieces since this one. Depending on the size, I can make one from start to finish in 12-18 hours, with two dry times added in.

The style combines two of my favorite things; bold color - in this case with paint and silk and machine quilting. The work is very fluid and exciting. I'm finally beginning to feel at home in my studio and am trying very hard to keep regular hours.

I will host my first 1st Friday open studio next week on the first Friday in February. I hope to have at least five new pieces and will showcase them along with 6-8 older pieces. It's exciting to think of myself as finally being a "Studio Artist". It makes it feel real and valid - now if I could just start selling in this depressed market it would be wonderful!

Till next time,
Heather

Fallin in Love with Paul Klee, Again

Crucifers and Spiral Flowers, 1925 and Before the Snow, 1929 both by Paul Klee

One of the things that I'm enjoying about having more time to pursue art and art making, is time spent looking at art made by some of my favorite artists.

I've just finished reading Six Bauhaus Masters then I found a great retrospective on Paul Klee and spent this morning looking at about 50 of his paintings. He is one of my favorite painters. Though I enjoy his non-objective abstracts, I appreciate his figurative abstracts the most. Most of his work was done in watercolor with pencil and ink, usually on paper mounted on cardboard. He worked in oils too, but not too often.

I really appreciate his use of color. He was a minimalist, working in dark, saturated shades and lighter tones and pastels eschewing pure hues. His shapes are fanciful and unrealistic as though everything exists in a dream world. They are easy on the eyes, drawing you in, yet leaving you filled with questions.

I have been spending some long hours in my new studio. Some time spent on preparing for teaching, some on preparing for video shoots and some on creating new art work. Working on the new art work is the most stimulating time I've experienced in a long while.

I'm calling this new series, Sculptural Collage Quilts. The work excites me so because it mixes my old favorite, machine quilting, with my new favorites, wet collage and painting. This past Thursday and Friday I prepared four new collages that I will begin quilting next week.

I've commited myself to spend Tom's off hours (weekends) with him, but it's really hard not to go over to the studio today and start quilting. It's a three day weekend for Tom and I'm going to spend it with him - relationships are like making art - they need care, serendipity, creativity and dedicated time too.