Innholdsfortegnelse for February - March 2017 i Quilting Arts Magazine

Ana Buzzalino is a fiber artist and quilt instructor living in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Ana has been teaching a variety of quilting techniques for over 25 years. Her recent work focuses on surface design such as fabric dyeing, rubbings, stamping, and monoprinting. She is a frequent contributor to Quilting Arts, has appeared on “Quilting Arts TV,” and has two Quilting Arts Workshop™ videos, “Machine Stitching and Painting Quilts” and “Quilting and Dyeing Serendipity.” anabuzzalino.com Sharon Carvalho has a passion for fabric and design—and creates her fiber art on both a design wall and with a computer. She re-combines her abstract digital designs with her own hand-dyed and custom-printed fabrics with an interesting array of commercial cottons and batiks. She has two grown children and lives in Sisters, Oregon. sharoncarvalho.com Jane…

Adapted from “Turmoil,” the exhibition catalog with permission from SAQA selected for excellence in design, craftsmanship, and use of material, the artists featured in “Turmoil” are attempting to make sense of their physical, as well as social and cultural environments, by creating art that shares narrative stories of time, absence, location, and representation. Deftly using a range of traditional and leading edge techniques: silk screening, image transfer, collage, applique, shibori, ice dyeing, and trapunto, these artists are making artworks that explore unexpected relationships between painting, printmaking, photography, and abstract art. Harmonizing the aspiration to solitude with the interplay and influences of chaos, discord, imbalance, and tumult, “Turmoil” features art quilts by artist members that depict personal interpretations of confusion and uncertainty, bitterness, anger, or the chaos of an over-scheduled life.…

in the first installment of the “Shifting into Neutral” series in the December 2016 / January 2017 issue of QUILTING ARTS, we examined the different values of black. Now let’s do some experiments using a variety of gray dyes. While collecting gray dyes, check with several dye suppliers as they generally offer varied values and undertones. Research your choices online or join an online dye group; ask questions and learn from experiments that others have done. DIRECTIONS Shibori dyeing with gray In this exercise, we’ll experiment with different grays while achieving shibori effects with simple tools. Traditionally, shibori uses fabric wrapped on poles— often PVC or plumbing pipes—but with my technique you can use empty glass bottles you have at home. 1. Cover your work surface with the plastic sheeting.…

do you use your smartphone as a virtual sketchbook? Fiber artists now have a multitude of inexpensive apps that can transform photos into interesting and usable images. There is one app, though, that does marvelous things with value and contrast: Popsicolor. It offers many options for manipulating color and adding special effects. My preferred option uses one dark tone for the entire image. The application changes a photo into a dramatic and easily traceable image which can be stitched with one color of thread against a white background. You can use this technique with any subject, but I prefer to use it to create striking pet portraits. DIRECTIONS 1. Choose a clear photo with sufficient contrast. Make sure there is a balance of light and dark in the face of…

looking for an easy and accurate applique technique? Double reverse applique may be exactly what you need. This raw-edge technique involves stitching the fabric from the back and then trimming the top layer to reveal the layer below. Since stitching is done from the back, this second type of reversal gives the technique its name. This is a highly accurate technique that can be used in many different situations. The first piece I made, “Ellen,” shows just how precise an image can be. The pear in the sample uses just three values of fabric to create a highly realistic rendering. After practicing on the pear, try it with one of your own images. DIRECTIONS 1. Set up your machine for free-motion stitching. Load clear monofilament thread in the bobbin and…

FEBRUARY IN NEW ENGLAND IS NOT THE MOST INSPIRING LANDSCAPE. If I were to make a quilt based on the images I collect in my head and on my phone in the dead of winter, I wouldn’t have to dig very deep in my stash. White snow melts into gray slush. Gray beech trees are adorned with last fall’s brown leaves that haven’t yet fallen. Once in a while a bluebird will perch on an empty branch or a cardinal might visit the bird feeder, but they are the only bright spots in a dull landscape. It is a good thing that I don’t have to rely on the bleak view outside my window, but have inspiration from the quilt artists, techniques, and galleries on the pages of QUILTING ARTS!…

One of my favorite new techniques is metal leafing. I started to experiment with it on fabric, as I wanted to see what the difference would be between metal leafing, foiling, and metallic painting. The term “metal leaf” is used for thin sheets of metal of any color that do not contain any real gold. “Gold leaf” is genuine gold that has been hammered into thin sheets. It is available in a wide variety of karats and shades. The most commonly used is 22-karat yellow gold. In my work, I use imitation gold metal leaf as real gold leaf is quite expensive. DIRECTIONS For this article, I focus on using metal leaf on fabric. 1. Cover your work surface with plastic. To prevent the metal leaf from being disturbed by…

At QUILTING ARTS, we celebrate contemporary art quilting, surface design, mixed media, fiber art trends, and more. We are always looking for new techniques, innovative processes, and unique approaches to the art of quilting. We’d love to hear from you! What are we looking for? • Artists with inspiring portfolios of work to be featured in our In The Spotlight, Artist Profile, and Q&A articles. Show us your work and tell us your story. • Essays for “the last word” (up to 800 words). • Unique techniques, new ways to use existing tools and supplies, and ideas we’ve never featured before. • If you are teaching, blogging, or exhibiting your art quilts, you probably have great ideas to share! How to submit • Write a brief description of your idea…

what’s more inspiriting than a love that warms your soul and fills your world? We love family, friends, pets, ideas, and more. Some love seems to fill our hearts to bursting and beyond, while other love envelopes us like a warm blanket. Why not express this through art? In the August/September issue, we challenged readers to create a 10" x 10" art quilt based on the theme “Who Do You Love?” Could there be a better muse than the one you love best? The love each artist feels for their subject shines through in all of these quilts. We hope you enjoy this gallery of our readers’ work! “Agape” KIM JOHNSON • MADISON, ALABAMA “Agape is the Greek word that means the highest form of love, God’s sacrificial love. Agape…

i love paper almost as much as I love fabric. I’ve found that with interfacing and a little paint, I can make fabric look like torn paper. Having fallen in love with the torn edges of paper, I wanted to create a technique in my collaged quilts that made the edges of the elements look like torn paper. Certain thick papers are colored on the front and back and when torn, the white inner layer is revealed. Paint, stabilizer, and fabric will recreate this look. This technique also acts as a sealant so no edge stitching or turning under is necessary. The interfacing gives body to the fabric so the “torn” edge doesn’t have to be sewn down—it will create depth and dimension from the tiny shadow cast below the…

Dear Quilting Arts, When I opened the August/September issue I smiled and thought, “I was right again!” You see, I have long believed ideas and interesting thoughts to be flying around the globe and then once in a while they happen to fall down in different places. I mean you can never be quite sure to be the only one to have a certain idea. In “Mini Mosaics,” Cheryl Lynch describes how she fell in love with mosaics on a trip to Israel, and then started making mosaics using fabric. I have a similar story. I have loved mosaics for a long time, and collect glass and porcelain tiles that wash up on the shore where I vacation in Gran Canaria (in the Canary Islands). I started to think about…

there are many different ways to transfer images and photos to fabrics and other surfaces. Some methods result in a near perfect duplication of the original image, while others have less precise results. Sometimes the art being worked on is best served by those perfect transfers, and sometimes an artwork calls for a transfer that shows variance in color, edges, or intensity. A transfer using a solvent and a laser-printed copy falls in the more organic, less-perfect camp. While many solvents work to transfer images, I prefer a natural, orange-oilbased solvent like Citra Solv for its non-toxic properties—and its great smell. Image transfer methods are broken down into two basic categories–direct transfers and indirect transfers. In the direct transfer method, the image is printed directly onto the final substrate, in…

TWILIGHT WHISTLER STUDIOS This beautifully patterned fabric has a hand-painted look, with its bold marks and exotic feel. The indigo and eggshell pallet is perfect for apparel and home décor, adding a modern, cultural twist to any project. The fabric is 100% cotton, but emulates the texture of mud cloth for a distinctive combination of form and function. Prices vary • Windham Fabrics • windhamfabrics.com 180 DOODLE QUILTING DESIGNS: FREE-MOTION IDEAS FOR BLOCKS, BORDERS AND BEYOND COMPILED BY KAREN M. BURNS Have you caught the free-motion quilting bug? This book offers free-motion quilting ideas for beginners through seasoned experts. With knowledgeable tips and helpful hints, these designs can be used for a myriad of projects. Featuring motifs with names like, “I’ll Always Olive You,” “Fire Breather,” “Spools of Thread,” and…

my goal is to make extraordinary art using ordinary images and simple techniques. With little more than a handful of unremarkable images, some hand-drawn objects or sketches, and a few colorful gelatin plate prints or digital backgrounds, I have discovered that almost any image can be transformed into stunning fabric. i dub the images I create as “mash-up” because sometimes I bring together three, four, or five images that have no relationship. The process involves selecting images almost at random. Selections are determined by color and line. The big idea for me is that the more diverse the original images, the more intricate the end design becomes. My mash-up method of fabric design came about as a result of photos I considered uninspiring, yet seemed stimulating once I added some…

Did your parents teach you a motto to live by? Did your favorite author inspire a mantra? Has a song lyric on the radio grabbed your attention and you can’t get it out of your head? Have you ever heard a lecture and some idiom just sticks from it? Has a buzzword been buzzing in your mind? For this challenge, we want you to think of a word or phrase that informs your life. Share your meaningful words with us! Our challenge is for you to create an art quilt based on the theme “Words of Wisdom,” in whatever way that translates to you. Share your quilt with us and we’ll publish a sampling of reader’s artwork in the August/September 2017 issue or at quiltingdaily.com. Here’s how to enter 1.…

AS I ENTERED MY FINAL YEAR OF TEACHING ART AT OUR LOCAL PUBLIC HIGH SCHOOL, I WANTED TO DO SOMETHING PERSONAL AND CREATIVE TO COMMEMORATE MY YEARS OF SERVICE. Looking around my studio, I realized that many of my accumulated scraps of hand-dyed, painted, and printed fabrics had also been created over the course of my teaching career. I decided that instead of creating something completely new, these remnants of other projects could be part of a retirement art quilt. In searching for a theme, I decided on one of my personal design symbols: a horse. For me, horses represent energy, strength, and nobility. In my pile of fabrics, I found an extra image of a medieval armored horse from a deconstructed silkscreen project. I knew this would be the…