52 Ways to Look at the River, Update 3

It’s time again to document progress on my ongoing fiber art project, 52 Ways to Look at the River.  I’m at Week 16, and here is a shot of all the panels to date, informally pinned up on a design board.  Each week I travel to somewhere with a view of the Susquehanna River, take a picture, and use the photo as an inspiration to make a 6" x 12" needlefelted and stitched fiber panel.  I try to complete each panel within 90 minutes, although I’ve been stretching that just a bit longer as the panels are growing more detailed.
Below are the individual panels from weeks 8 – 16.  (To see weeks 1 – 8, click here.) All images enlarge when clicked.  You can follow along, and see the inspiration photos,  as I reveal them each week on your social media venue of choice:
Facebook page:http://www.facebook.com/suerenostudio
Twitter feed: http://twitter.com/suereno
Tumblr: http://suerenostudio.tumblr.com
Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/people/suereno/
Instagram: sue_reno_studio

 
 
 
 
 
 
I am loving this project a lot.  I work well when setting up parameters that allow for experimentation within them. The panels started out as quick “sketches”, improvisational and impressionistic.  They are becoming more realistic and detailed. I’ve worked a lot with needlefelting previously, but my skills are growing exponentially as I figure these out each week, which is very satisfying. It’s worth noting to anyone who struggles with the creative process that satisfying is not the same thing as easy.  Each week when I am confronted with the blank panel and the photo, I panic.  I have NO IDEA of how I am going to pull it off.  So I start, and as I go along it works out, and when I’m done I’m rather impressed with myself.  That’s the usual creative arc, but most of my projects are large and take months, if not years, to complete.  I think it’s doing me good to go through this on a weekly basis.
The trip to the river each week is wonderful as well.  It’s a beautiful river and I never tire of admiring it. Above is the inspiration for week 16, taken on a hike to an overlook at Safe Harbor Dam.  Below is the view from above of the old railroad trestle by the dam. On the walk up to the overlook, we encountered black vultures!  They were hanging out on an old building and were slow to take flight.  This is the closest I’ve ever been to them, and they are magnificent:
 
And finally, an instant karma  tale of a type that happens frequently in the fiber art community.  Some months ago I was waiting in line at a fabric store and struck up a conversation with a young woman who was new to quilting.  She remarked on the silk I was buying, I told her I frequently used it in my work, and I gave her my card.  Recently she emailed me and asked for advice. She had been given her grandfather’s silk ties, and wanted advice on how to proceed to use them in a quilt.  I took some time to write a detailed response and sent it off, and she replied with her thanks.  And the next day, out of the blue, I was given a big bag of vintage silk ties.
They are high end, luxury brand silks, in great prints—the wearer had excellent taste in picking them out.  I deconstructed them, removing the labels and liners.
Then I carefully washed them, laid them flat to dry, and pressed them. They will be very useful for this and other projects, as I feel one can never have too much silk on hand. You can see one of them in the week 14 panel above.  It was perfect for the look of the river in the heavy rain.  Another bit is in the base layer of the foreground of the week 15 panel, giving just the right hint of gridded structure.  
Until next time, thanks as always for reading and commenting.

Reviewed in Down Under Textiles

  My work is featured in Issue 20 of Down Under Textiles, Australia’s latest and most-exciting magazine for textile enthusiasts.

Artist Ali George wrote an extensive and illustrated review of my Quilting Arts Workshop DVD/download, Surface Design Essentials for the Printed Quilt.  I am very proud of the work I did for this video, and I deeply appreciate the kind words that Ali has for it in her evaluation.
Ali was gracious enough to send me a physical copy of the magazine, and wow, it’s great!  I’ve read it cover to cover, and have been introduced to new artists and new ideas. 
Many, many thanks to Ali and to editor Kate Oszko for the coverage.

Work in Progress - Magnolia, Update 2

I’ve progressed on the Magnolia piece that I started en plien air at the PA Governor’s Residence. I began the needlefelting in the garden with a hand punch, blocking out the colors and the skeletons of the tree and the bushes.  Back in the studio, I have a machine needlefelter that lets me add layers of wool and silk more quickly and securely.  I’ve built up the tree and the rose bushes, and filled in the sky.  Next I will layer this up with thin batting and a backing, and stitch it to add more texture and detail.
At this point the piece is about 2 foot square.  This is an awkward size by my standards, a bit too large to frame out, but not large enough to make a big impact on its own.  Plus, I like working large, and I feel like I have more to say about this image.  So I’ve begun on some strip patchwork I will use to expand the work.  It’s a variety of silks, in different weights and textures.  It will be cut up and reconfigured, but it’s pretty cool just like this, isn’t it?

Stay tuned! And as always, thanks for reading and commenting.

On the Cover of Machine Quilting Unlimited

 Jack in the Pulpit is the cover quilt for the September/October issue of Machine Quilting Unlimited.  It’s a tremendous honor, and I am so pleased with how great it looks!
Inside, there’s a seven page spread with many more pictures of my art quilts, and an article I wrote sharing my process and working methods.  I focus in particular on my series The River, with imagery inspired by the Susquehanna.

I’m proud of my contribution to what is overall a great issue of a consistently excellent publication.  If you haven’t seen it yet, it’s available on news stands, and subscriptions and back issues can be purchased at their website. You can also follow MQU on Facebook.

Wonderfully and  coincidentally my friend Allie Aller is the cover quilter on Machine Quilting Unlimited’s sister publication, Modern Quilts Unlimited!