And the winner is?

 

Congratulations Kristin, please email me as soon as you are able. 

And to all who took the time to comment, post links to your Facebook page, thank you. 

I invite those of you who have interest my my approach to keeping an artist’s journal to please sign up for my class. This is a video intensive 5 week (possibly 6) class that really picks apart all the different aspects of having fun with art supplies, layering techniques, drawing and painting.

I would love the opportunity to work with you and to explore what you and your visual voice has to say. I will ask you to buy yourself flowers too! This is an added benefit of taking the class if you ask me! We all deserve pretty things to look at (and don’t worry, I have also taken loads of gorgeous photos for you to work from as well.

So please, sign up for my first journaling class today! I look forward to it!

Dream Journals

Fragments old, made new.

The poppy sew-plies purse got nixed. I like that piece too much to cut it down to size and at the same time, I don’t want to have one off sized purse in the lot. So I searched my stash and am making a new ‘graffiti style’, embroidered ‘Gather your Sew-plies’ purse. Perhaps I could even call it graffiti boro, to go with the rockstar boro wrap! I am pairing each of these bags with a garment that I am embroidering and embellishing. Basically, no clothing in my wardrobe is safe! 

So I took a very old ragged and dilapidated cross stitch piece and sewed it in place on some sturdy linen. The canvas sew-plies purse in the background of this photo is the notorious Belly Button Sew-plies purse, mentioned in this post. But here you can see why Leslie named it the Belly Button! It’s an outtie. 

Alright, so here is the thing…I have fallen in love with making these purses. I sort of want 30 of them in various styles, colors, patterns and styles. That Belly Button? It is a magnet, a fabric covered magnet. Magnets have become, The Bomb. Do you remember finding cloth covered snaps in clothing? You hardly see that anymore. I have mastered the art of covering magnets, it is easy really, I just like to inflate my ego and give myself props.

So this morning, all bright eyed and bushy tailed, I logged onto Amazon to search out strong disk magnets and I found them, in two sizes. They have already shipped… I await them with baited breath.

Today is the last day you can sign up for my online class give away! So go to it!

Sewing Sew-plies again and again.

This week I did an interview and spoke about living in a tiny apartment and maintaining a studio within it. I was reminded that I don’t need to apologize for liking things neat. Funny how I do that. When I was working at the poster restoration place, I helped organize supplies and keep the shop ship shape. I came to understand that if you know where things are, it is easier to get a job done. Hence my love of peg board. Yesterday I got some new pegs out to hang some scissors that Leslie sent me (thanks woman!). Didn’t I just fall in love with peg board all over again? When I sit at my workbench, I know where everything is! Very nice.

So far I have made 6 Sew-plies purses, the above will be number 7. I strap them on and take my sewing with me wherever I go. With this one I am thinking about the layered nature of graffiti and how I might achieve that in cloth. This one is coming along nicely, it will be bigger than the others (I don’t know how I feel about this), because I can’t trim it, I wasn’t paying attention to the size as I began making it. Ops. Perhaps it will be made to hold my glasses or cell phone.

My friend Lisa came over and we made this purse side by side. She didn’t want hers as a ‘back pack style’ so she made her pouch to hang from the neck. Me? I am in love with the back pack styling (the pattern is almost ready). This one also needs a scissor pouch and thimble holder. I am loving making each and everyone. I am pairing them with clothing that I am stitching, embroidering and loving on. My studio looks like a haberdashery right now. I love that word.

And hey, if you haven’t already signed up for my Dream Journal class giveaway, please do.

Dream Journal, new online class offering

I am putting the finishing touches on my first on-line journaling class Dream Journals and boy would I like to see you there. We will learn to use watercolors, resists, we’ll draw, paint, play and create journal pages that are richly layered and dynamic. All techniques covered in the class are taught in my book, Dreaming from the Journal Page, but that isn’t a required purchase. I do hope you might though!  The class stands alone, but also compliments and expands upon what is contained in the pages of the book. And beside that, we will be working in community with one another, helping and encouraging one another as we go.

The daffodil above, is an example of dry on dry watercolor painting, which is covered in two long videos (so far there are over 12 videos in all, more to come). Arrow to the left demonstrates the use of frisket as a resist. I will get you layering, building, drawing, painting and making pretty pages, using easily approachable techniques, in no time flat. I will get you drawing with fun and memorable warm up techniques, and if you have ever been heard to say, “I can’t draw”, you’ll prove yourself wrong.

And in order to get the word out about this new class offering, I would like to give away at least one spot in the class. 

Here is how it works:

1. Simply comment on this post to put your name in the hat.

2. To double your chances of winning, link to this post on your blog, Facebook, Pinterest, or your favorite social networking site. BUT, you will need to come back here and leave a second comment with a link to your post, for a total of two comments in your name. You are responsible for this (please don’t link to me on Facebook, as I won’t be able to keep track of that, the comments here are the easiest way from me to keep it simple) .

So please help me get the word out, will you? I will announce a winner one week from today, July 10, so please check back. Thanks a bunch.

Clothing Construction=Love

I live in New York City where folks wear a good deal of black, it is almost a uniform, and a dull one if you ask me. I have made a conscious decision to wear printed blouses and clothing. I mean, I love cloth and color right? So I think it is high time I put my ‘money where my mouth is’.

This fabulous blouse was sent to me by a good friend and as soon as I laid eyes on it, I fell in love with it. It has a snap front, two small pockets, also with snaps, a great collar. But…it bloused out to accommodate ‘the girls’. At first I was disappointed, thinking, ‘It is too big, I won’t wear it, I love the cloth, maybe I will use it in something’. But then I remembered that I have skillz. Crazy mad skillz, (well not really, I don’t want to sew a lined silk suit-but you know, pumping yourself up for a new adventure is a good thing sometimes).

So, out came the seam ripper (that is a crazy mad seam ripper [ok, I have said that phrase enough already]), and I am in love with it, and I mean l-o-v-e love.

Anyway.

I opened the side seam and dart, I smashed the excess cloth from the dart up into the arm hole, I took about 4 inches of cloth out of the side seam. I removed the pockets in order to extend the pin tucks up into the collar (the termination of the pin tucks created about 3/4″ of poof on each side of the chest area), I reapplied the pockets and am wearing the blouse as I type. I have a few more blouses that need my attention. A few of them are quite colorful too! This is also really good because I don’t want to start shopping in the mens department just for the lack of shaping, I would rather have feminine prints that tickle my fancy and make me feel pretty, fun, excited.

Go ahead, brag on me, and tell me about your crazy mad skillz.

Officially Sew-plies Crazy

 

Yup! It’s official. I have jumped off the deep end. I don’t think anyone but me is quite so excited about my Sew-plies purse, but I am. So far I have made 6 of them, and I will be making even more. They have struck my funny bone and I can’t stop. I honestly want one for every outfit I can think up. I am sewing and embroidering one that is my, “Inspired to Quilt” version, right now. I just can’t stop. I was even over on ebay looking at 8mm release clips and considering purchasing 50 black and 50 multicolor because I like purchasing in bulk. I have gone crazy, right?

Marsha made one. Have you?

P.S. I am upgrading and improving the pattern now!

Dreaming from the Journal Page Give Away+

Dreaming from the Journal Page is a pretty snazzy book, if I do say so myself. North Light was very gracious to me when they heard I had been diagnosed with cancer and rather than flying me to home base to have step out photographs taken, they hired a photographer to come to me. Many of the shots in the book are candid, taken in our tiny apartment, with images of my paint boxes, pencil cups, and ‘smalls’ (the little things collected that make us happy). 

So you get to see my beloved peg board, our lifestyle, my belongings, one of the last photos taken of me fully figured. When I first saw the photographs, I was floored! I could pretend our apartment is huge! I could believe the story that was created by beautiful photography. 

The author photo shows me with a doo rag covering the glare of my shiny, bald head (which I came to love as a symbol of my strength.) I was in the midst of my 4th chemotherapy dose, just the week before my 5th, when I felt my best. I think back on this and marvel at my strength and tenacity. This helps me to realize just what I am (we are) capable of. And to have such a thing, bound, laminated with my name on the spine as a reminder? Priceless. (I had the spine cut off  the covers laminated, had them give it a spiral binding. I even signed my own copy, why not?). I saved the spine and applied a magnetic strip to it, it is on the fridge!  🙄

So, if you own a copy, here is some insider info:

Page 32, behind the plastic dye containers, on the wall is an ornament that Judy Coates Perez made for me.

Page 88 and 89: That is my good friend Cricket, who hepled the photographer and I organize ourselves.

Page 91: We had to rearrange the apartment to take the three sewing machine shots.

Page 112: The little wooden sewing machine was made for me by my friend Jod, the Snape ring to the right of it was made by my friend Shanna. The pinecones were sent to me as stuffing in a package.

Page 120: I call my bed quilt The Beast (it is KING size), I asked the photographer to take this photo, he didn’t really want to because it a wonky angle. But it made it in the book!

Page 126: The author photo was taken across the street, it was the first photo that was taken of me for that purpose. I like my softness. 

And, because this is a celebratory day, my one year anniversary (birthday?) from surgery, I am going to give away two books to folk who commented after helping me with my survey.

And the winners are?

Suzan Engler won this copy. Please email me!

Janet Burns won one copy. Email me please.

And heck, if you would like a signed copy, please don’t hesitate to click that button on the upper right. Or if saving some cash works better for you, Amazon has a pretty cheeky discount, Dreaming From the Journal Page.

And you know? Thank you. It has been a long road since this post, where Leslie helped me tell you what what happening. So many of you sent packages, cards, love, care, emails, prayers. You helped me to see that I am as well loved as I love. Thank you for that. That is a gift beyond measure.

Looking back.

Hey there. This blog post is a bit hard for me to post but one I feel passionate about and one I feel needs to go live. It is about cancer, recovery and ‘going flat’. Last year, on June 21, I had bilateral mastectomy without reconstruction. And as you might imagine, my thoughts, feelings and memories are swirling around me this week and it is time to let them go.

My treatment protocol dictated that I have neoadjuvant chemotherapy (chemotherapy before surgery to shrink the tumor and get cleaner margins), surgery and radiation. In some ways neoadjuvant therapy is a blessing because it gives you time to think through your options. And by options I mean, needing a mastectomy and deciding what type of reconstruction or lack thereof . Surgery is often the first thing women (and men-men get breast cancer too) have to go through after finding a lump- and at that point everything is happening so fast that it can be daunting to make a decision that is right for you. So I had some time to think and to decide what would work best for me.

I chose against reconstructing my body for so many reasons, the number of surgeries, failure rates, and the fact that there is no sensation and that reconstructed breasts are reported to ‘look good in clothing’.  Luckily I found photographs of another woman whose body I could relate to and who made it seem as though this would be a choice I could wrap my head around (they are beautiful photos). 

One year ago today, I still had my breasts. I miss them, I grieve the loss of my breasts. Do I regret my decision? No. Is it an adjustment? Yes. 

Why am I telling you all this? First and foremost, because I bet there is a woman out there who is making this same decision, and I want her to know she is not alone, this does not suck, we are a tribe. Beside which, this decision is just as valid as wanting to reconstruct, no matter the societal pressures related to femininity, breasts, appearance and gender. In facing this anniversary, this change to my body, I want to acknowledge the particulars and to release my body past.

Tomorrow my new body will be one year old. Welcome! I live in a world of firsts right now, first anniversary after surgery, the next treatment related anniversary will be one full year out from my last radiation (August 25) and boy are these welcome. It feels good to move away from active treatment, to put time between me and the immense pressure of active treatment. Thank goodness. Glad that’s over. 

I like being flat. I like owning my choice, my body. I am amazed at how resilient the human form is and I prefer to stay centered in this new place. This new landscape. This new me. So let’s celebrate!

Tomorrow I will choose the winners of my book, Dreaming from the Journal Page related to this post (I have been remiss in doing so and tomorrow seems a good day to give stuff away).

Phew. Thanks for reading this far.

And hey! I gave my mother her Jelly Roll quilt this weekend, looks great, huh? Very beachy.

Oooh. New.

Working with Victoria a few weeks back really gave me some incite into play, release, and welcoming the new and different back into my work with cloth. Victoria probably didn’t need to do anything at all. But she sat me in front of her machine, using her tools, and asked me to just do. She asked me to embrace what would happen.  I came home from the play date and asked myself how I might apply these thoughts to my work and materials.

This approach feels very freeing. I feel like I am on to something. This is exciting because since I wrote Inspired to Quilt, I have gone vague. I don’t feel inspired. Not in the manner the book presents itself. And since I started surface designing cloth, I have made quite a bit of it. Yesterday, as I was sewing the mono printed silk gauze (the flower on the right above), I was thinking, ‘This is just what I need! I need to start going through my bins and using all of my own cloth!’  This idea feels right. Big sigh.

This small piece will be yet another Sew-plies purse. I wonder how many I make when I am finished making them.

Today I am off to teach at The City Quilter. The name of the class? Small Works, Big Impact.

Small Work: Swan

I have been having some fun and experimenting. I am not ‘finishing’ the piece when I paint with dye. I am bringing the piece to an interesting place and allowing for the call and response of possibility.

I originally thought this might be a Sew-plies purse in the Inspired to Quilt style, but it says, ‘No’. Small work it is.