My Foto/Fiber Bonus Pack

As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, the first three “Red Carpet” fiber postcards will be part of the three Fiber Bonus packs I am donating to Virginia Spiegel’s Foto/Fiber Fundraiser for the American Cancer Society.  But that’s not all, folks!  I’ve raided my studio and pulled out some of my favorite things to add to the fun and sweeten the deal. 

I love collecting vintage linens and using them in my work.  Some time ago I scored a set of quilt blocks embroidered with flowers.  I used most of them in a bed quilt top (it remains a UFO at this point) and have decided to share the rest and so am adding one to each Bonus.  With a little research I’ve identified the designs as  Eveline Foland’s “Memory Bouquet” pattern.  The patterns first appeared in the Kansas City Star newspaper from October 10 through November 11, 1930.  The quality of the workmanship in these blocks is really excellent, and they are in very good condition for vintage blocks.  They measure approx. 12” square, and  would be wonderful either framed or incorporated into a project of your own.  They are all different, but here’s an example:

But wait, there’s more!  In each pack I will be including one of my original cyanotype prints on cotton, made from a photograph taken in my garden.  They measure approx. 8” x 10”, and again, would be suitable for display as is, or used in your own artwork.  Here’s one of them:

Next up, a piece of my hand painted cotton fabric, measuring approx. 11” x 22”.  I have never offered either my cyanotype prints or my painted fabric for sale, so this a unique opportunity to own a piece of my work in this format.

Another one of a kind item--a strip of Seminole patchwork, approx. 16” x 4”, left over from my award winning quilt Sumac:

Whew!  I think it will all fit in the envelope, and if there’s room I may find a few other little treasures to tuck in there.

So mark your calendars for February 15th and 16th, and hop on over to the Foto/Fiber Fundraiser page for more details on how it all works.  There are many amazing artists donating their work, and 100% of the proceeds go to the American Cancer Society.

New Fiber Postcards - “Red Carpet”

I’ve just completed a new set of fiber postcards/mail art pieces.  I’m calling it “Red Carpet”.  It’s based on the magnificent display my red maple tree puts on each year when the leaves drop to the ground, usually all within a day or two.

I did a set on the same subject, “Carpet of Leaves”, way back in 2005, and it was very popular.  Here’s a card from that series:

I thought it was a good time to reprise the theme.  Both sets were made in a similar fashion, starting with a length of white cotton fabric.  I painted the fabric with textile paints and arranged maple leaves on it, then put it out in the bright sunlight to dry.

A heliographic print resulted, as the paint wicked out from under the leaves and the image of the leaves remained.  This was layered with batting and stitched heavily with a variety of specialty threads.
After washing and drying, to intensify the texture of the piece, it was layered again with peltex (a stiffener) and a backing.  Individual 4” x 6” cards were cut, and the edges stitched to reinforce them.  Here are all 25 cards in the “Red Carpet” set:

Some of them will be going out in a swap with my fellow artists over at Postmark’d Art.  I’ve been a member of this group since it’s inception, and have swapped dozens and dozens of cards, but have been on hiatus for the last several swaps due to being overcommitted elsewhere.  I’m happy to be back on board and looking forward to the exchange.

And….drum roll please….the first three in the numbered series of “Red Carpet” cards will be part of my contribution to Foto/Fiber 2012 Fiber Bonus, Virginia Spiegel’s  Fiberart for a Cause fundraiser to benefit The American Cancer Society . I’m so pleased to be a part of this worthwhile effort that I’m raiding my studio for all sorts of goodies--more on that tomorrow!

Testing--New Fiber Postcards

I'm playing around with the new machine, learning what it's capable of, and resetting my muscle memory reactions to match its speed and sensitivity. Just for fun, I did a short set of new fiber art postcards. I'm calling them "Testing", and that's number #1 matted above. Below is the set of all six.

These are similar to a set of Recycled cards I did last July that I enjoyed making, and people enjoyed receiving. I keep a fabric and batting "sandwich" next my machine that I use to test out stitches, threads and thread tensions, etc. After a time it get covered with experiments and I start a new one, but the old one has such cool random colors and textures it cries out to be used. In this set, I layered yarn, strips of netting recycled from prom dress alterations, and a layer of thin chiffon on the sandwich, then tested some different threads to see how the machine handled them. I added stiffener and a backing, cut them to size, and stitched the edges. The machine performed wonderfully, and the cards turned out well.

I'm starting to think about amassing cards for the upcoming swaps at Postmark'd Art and Art2Mail. They are a nice way to try out ideas, a lot of fun to make, and I love exchanging them. Plus, some of the extras will likely end up over at the Studio Sale Blog.

Watt & Shand Postcards

I've been a member of Postmark'd Art since its inception. Incredibly, we are now on our 8th round of mail art exchanges, and still going strong. The possibilities for design excitement in the 4" x 6" format seem limitless, and the fun of getting cool art in the mail never grows old for me.

This time around I riffed on what I was creating on a large scale in the studio, and made a set of "Watt & Shand Banner" postcards. I used the fabric I had custom printed from my photo and used in "Watt & Shand #2" , and combined it with fabrics used in "Watt & Shand #1". I'm really happy with the way they turned out, I like the way the banners stand out from the monochromatic color scheme.

If you are new here, you can track back the progress of the Watt & Shand series, and why it excites me, by clicking on Watt & Shand under Labels in the sidebar at the right.

I had a few extra cards that I mounted on matboard, see # 16 above and #18 below, and am offering for sale at $45 each, postage included. I've added these and two others to my Sue Reno Studio Sale site, under "Digital Prints". You can Email me to arrange for purchase. Thanks!

Recycled Postcards

I've been a member of Postmark'd Art for years. You can read about the project, see lots of fantastic fiber art postcards, and read articles at the website. (Check out my article on working with heliographic prints!) We are on Round 7 of exchanges, and it just keeps getting better and better. (You can read more about this group and Art2Mail in my interview with The Alliance for American Quilts.) This time around I committed to making my postcards out of recycled materials.


As I work in the studio, I keep a sample quilt next to my machine. It consists of two layers of muslin sandwiching some of my favorite batting. I use it to check thread tension when loading a new thread, to audition stitching motifs, to experiment with couching on threads and yarns, and so on and so forth. Once I have things to my satisfaction I move on to the actual quilt at hand. When the sample quilt gets filled up, I make a new one, but I am always reluctant to toss the old one because there is a lot of interesting, if random, stitching on it.

So this time around I recycled it. I layered it with tulle (recycled from alterations at a bridal shop) to hold down all the loose threads and did some more stitching. I cut it up into the 4" x 6" card format, and added raised motifs. The motifs were the trimmings from the "Canopy of Leaves" cards I had done several years ago, and had saved because I thought they might prove useful. Also because I just liked them.


Here's one of the new cards:
One of the nice things about the being a Postmark'd Art participant, along with the camaraderie and the thrill of cool art showing up in my mailbox, is that it provides an impetus to try out concepts in a small format. As I am currently deeply ensconced in working on not one but two Very Large Quilts, I enjoyed a quick side trip into something achievable in a short time frame. I also enjoyed the departure from my usual stylistic themes. I don't usually work with abstract images, and had fun with the brief flirtation.

Is it art? Quite possibly. It has lines and forms and colors and a focal point. Is it Art with a capital A? Could be--it expresses an concept, even if the concept is simply "let's see what I can make that is interesting/pleasing with materials at hand". At any rate, they are finished and mailed off to all sorts of exotic ports of call, and that's enough.


Here's one of the "Canopy of Leaves" cards that the motifs were trimmed from:





And here's a few more of the Recycled cards:

Am Fluss/By the River

Back in early 2006, which seems like a very long time ago, there was a request circulating around various fiber and art forums for submissions to a mail art exhibit to be held in Bremen, Germany. The theme was "Am Fluss/By the River"; it looked like a good cause, and I love sending thing off to foreign countries. I had some postcards around at the time, and sent two of them to the organizer. A lot of other artists who I know online did the same.

The cards were all duly noted as they arrived on a blog, which was fun and interesting, but then communications fizzled out, and the promised exhibition book never materialized. I don't waste a lot of time fretting about things out of my control, and I fully understand how creative people can get sidetracked/run out of time/run out of energy, so I let it go.

Lo and behold, the exhibition booklet turned up in the mail last week, with nice documentation and pictures of all the mail art. Better late than never, and I fully appreciate it. Here are my contributions:

Hacking away at the Hackberries

When we first acquired this property, many moons ago, it sported one dogwood, a handful of "builder shrubs" (ugly, ill-placed junipers we promptly removed), and a vast empty expanse of grass. I've since spent many a happy hour double-digging beds, planting trees, shrubs, and so on, and it's a shady green oasis now. But those first few years I was very grateful for the wild hackberry trees that edged the yard, where it met the woods. To paraphrase the old blues song, if it wasn't for hackberries, I wouldn't have had no trees at all.

And I'm still happy for them. Although it's widely considered a "trash" tree, a derogatory term used for species without a lot of commercial value, it's an attractive and adaptable tree, and its berries provide food for wildlife. That same wildlife also distributes the seeds very effectively, and I spend a lot of time pulling hackberry seedlings in the garden beds.

They do not give up the fight easily. Even the smallest seedling establishes a long and tenacious taproot that a gentle tug will not dislodge. This is a job that involves digging, sometimes a lot of it, and bad language. And even though I have a sharp eye for this kind of thing, they have the ability to blend in with other foliage and grow heartily before they are noticed. They also tend to grow smack dab in the middle of a shrub, were I can't dig them out, and have to resort to repeated pruning to try and starve them out. Below is shot of one growing in an emerging patch of monarda, where it stands out a bit, but removing it will still be an endeavor.

I'm not really grousing. Digging up hackberry seedlings gives me healthful outdoor exercise, and keeps me off the streets. I admire the hackberries for their energy and enthusiasm, and a few years ago made a postcard-sized piece to pay tribute:

Daffodils and Mules

One nice thing about a cool spring is that the daffodils last a very long time. Above is "Albert Einstein", below is "Ice Follies". Both are from original digital pictures, printed onto cotton, edged with vintage fabric, and stitched.

Living in Lancaster County, I have become a bit blase about many of the sights the tourists thrill to, but one thing I still find extraordinary is the spring plowing. There are many Amish and Mennonite sects that employ technology and machinery in varying degrees, but the most conservative of them still employ mules for plowing.

I saw several mule teams out in the fields today as I was going about my errands. I didn't take pictures, out of respect for their desire (based on their religious principles) not to be photographed. But imagine if you will a team of 6 large and sturdy mules, hitched side by side, walking at a brisk pace through the field. They are harnessed to a plow, which turns over a broad swath of earth, and where the farmer stands and handles the reins. The most impressive part is when they reach the end of the field and need to turn around and head in the other direction. The outside mule makes a large 180 degree arc, the inside mule turns in place, and the four in between keep pace according to their position. I am so impressed by the amount of training and skill that must be involved in choreographing these sometimes stubborn animals.

Dealing with Althea

It's finally spring-like here, albeit a bit chilly, and I am on temporary hiatus from studio work to deal with the landscape. A lot of my work is based on plants I grow, and I do a lot of printing and painting of fabric outside, so I suppose the garden could be considered my outdoor studio.

It's an established garden at this point, meaning I spend little time encouraging things to become established, and a lot of time hacking things back that have overstepped their bounds and/or need rejuvenation. Since in the past I planted very intensively (translation: I am a plant junkie and tried to fit some of everything in), there is a fair amount of whacking back that needs to occur each spring. It's fun because I'm aiming for an aesthetically pleasing result, and there's a lot of contemplation and decision making that goes into each pruning cut.

I will spare you the pictures of pruned shrubs, or the even more impressive view of the resultant brush pile, but above is a small quilt featuring the Althea, or Rose of Sharon, variety called "Diana". It's a cyanotype made from a photograph, with silk borders and hand beading. The vegetative Diana has been dealt with quite thoroughly, and will doubtless reward me for my attentions with plenty of blooms this fall. Below is a detail:

I'm about halfway through shaping up some overgrown arborvitae. They are lovely to work on because they smell so good. They require ladder work, which I'm no longer willing to do without a spotter nearby, ready to call 911 should I lose my grip. Below is an arborvitae postcard, a cyanotype on silk.

All Things Calla Lily

I tried to gussy them up by putting them in a handwoven African basket, and surrounding them with chionodoxa flowers, but really, they are unimpressive brown lumpy bulbs. Ahh, but they will turn into something like this:

I bought the bulbs at the farmer's market a few days ago, for the incredible bargain price of $1 each. I'm not certain what variety they will be, but any calla is a good calla.

I've used callas a lot in my fiber work. They are pretty much irresistible--the graceful curving shapes, the markings on the leaves, the way they seem so tropical yet grow here in Pennsylvania. Here's a few postcards made from photographs:

The fabric on the side of the photo is a bit of cotton print fabric from my personal stash. My mother made a dress from in the 50's. It's covered with French motifs--the Eiffel tower, a well-dressed woman walking a poodle, a street side cafe. So chic! I dole it out in bits for different projects, and will miss it when it's gone.

A bit more of my 50's stash is on the bottom of this one.


Here's a small quilt I made featuring a calla lily leaf. The center is a heliographic print done on pink silk:

And a detail from Pink Calla Leaf:

More on callas tomorrow.....

The Subtle Signs

If I look down, I can enjoy snow crocuses and the emerging daffodil foliage. If I look up, I can enjoy the red maple buds emerging.

Much more subtle are the changes in the evergreens. The arborvitae are shifting to a slighter lighter green, and the yews are losing the purple cast the foliage takes on in cold weather. It's all very encouraging! Here are an arborvitae and a yew as cyanotypes on silk:

The Winds of Change

March is so changeable. I started out for a walk in brilliant sunshine yesterday; the weather changed abruptly and I headed home into 60 mph wind gusts, dark skies and rain. Very invigorating!

The snow crocuses are blooming. These are small crocuses that naturalize well and spread into big clumps. They bloom a bit earlier than the dutch crocuses and I find them to be extremely cheerful.

Time to plant some pansies.