Ardis Wannabe Project for this Month

Our Ardis Wannabe (artist want-to-be) item pulled from the bag at last Guild Meeting was a little brass bell. For those who choose to participate, we can create anything, using that item as inspiration to make something - no rules except it has to be DONE, and we suggest Keep It Simple. mmmm, well, there is the old farm dinnerbell on my back porch, and that's as far as my pea brain would go, and THAT was no-where. But, I've wanted to try Tonya's LazyGal Free Form letters for a long time, and this is what came out of it tonight during a sewing frenzy - strips everywhere, threads, cut-offs etc. (I did not include a photo of the floor!) LOL I only thought of using 2 highly contrasting fabrics. Thanks Tonya for the idea! Words look so cool in a quilt border and this was my trial run. This took me about 2 hours with some short breaks to stretch. Wonky was what I wanted! I won't be hesitant to try them again on a REAL quilt.

DOING IT is the art!

Our Ardis Wannabe Guild Challenge (artist want to be) pulled from the bag last month was a Sheriff's 6 pointed Star. I've never made a 60-degree star, so armed with TWO $20.00 rulers, and no pattern I cobbled along, and managed to make this honker of a star! Finished project is about 24 inches square. I DO love the colors. Whew - big, bold, DONE! The ART will have to be in the process this time.

Wouldn't this make the center of a little boy's quilt? We sure see a lot of cowboy fabric!

Not ready for this!

SNOW this morning -- I wanted to be outdoors a few more weeks. This weekend we are attending an outdoor, cowboy wedding. The high is supposed to be 31 degrees.

(Below) You are wondering what this is. It's 1 of 4 drawings of a little brown jug, for the Guild Ardis Wannabe (artist want-to-be). I changed it to greyscale, pixelized it, altered contrast, and tried to erase the background. I am foolishly trying something of which I know nothing in Corel Paint Shop. The goal is to reproduce one finished picture of a little brown jug, in 4 shades of the same color. Maybe this drawing will end up my entire project and not make it to fabric. This will involve 4 fabrics - maybe fused and each section cut out and refused to a background. Sounds like a plan but ??? I am posting this especially for Deb who co-chairs our Guild challenge - she'll understand! 8-)))
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Dorky? but DONE

Our Ardis Wannabe word was HOUSE. A SNAIL carries her house, a multi-colored creation. My project is DONE (with the exception of binding). Quilt Guild is in a few days, so I had to really hurry last night and finish it. (Now I can get back to my Mystery Quilt in process.)

Part of this project I LOVE, most of it I don't, but as we're learning - it's a JOURNEY! This is a lot harder than I thought! Just WANTING to be artistic, does not mean you automatically ARE artistic! It takes WORK, plus determination, plus trying, trying, trying again.
It deserves a B- for execution.
Maybe a B for originality.
Overall ??? a C+.
But an A for effort! 8-))
I LOVE the background of the muted Snails Trail blocks - that deserves an A.
I discovered it's impossible (I think) to paperpiece a spiral.
I learned to use lower contrast in the Snail's Shell - in my opinion, that is the most wrong, but I HAD to get it DONE.
The 'slime' thread is lovely - I'll use it for something else.
The leaves and branches were a good idea to kinda balance things.
Her body is barely discernable from the background but ... isn't that the way a snail is?
The grass in the foreground hopefully gave it depth.

LOL - my first effort at the shell turned into a plump, free standing pillow, with a big hole in the center!!! LOL - even DH was trying hard to think of something pleasant to say about it! It's in the trash!

Wonder what the next WORD will be! Since it was ME and a friend who came up with this Guild challenge, we HAVE to produce SOMETHING.

Another Ardis Wannabe (artist want-to-be) Project

Yikes -- Quilt Guild in one week and I've got to get my 'arty' project DONE! REAL artists are right - it's the JOURNEY that takes precedence over the project, but still, one has to have something to show for all the thinking! I'm wondering what the difference will be between my FIRST arty project from my LAST arty project. And always, the emphasis should be in TRYING!

We pulled the word "HOUSE" last month. Thinking of different kinds of houses - I settled on a SNAIL with it's own type of house. As it happens, I even have this little scrappy Snail's Trail quilt. Good thing I had a sample to remind me how it goes together.
Then I thought about making a dull, green/gray background that a snail might crawl along, leaving a trail of slime. Suddenly my cutting table, previously devoted to the latest Quiltville Mystery, is completely disorganized by ideas for a snail, slime, background, strip pieces to be made into a snail shell, batting to create the shell, and whatever else comes to mind. Oh yeah, I pulled some cream tulle (sp?) out. (Pulling all those ideas out -- now THAT'S !!! the journey!)

The 'slime' thread is in the lower right photo, with my original drawing (I made copies, for cutting. I'll have to start cutting out that drawing to make the pieces. Wonder how that will play? Who knows what will happen next? If I never talk about it again, you'll know something went wrong, but in the meantime, I am running full throttle, full of energy, full of ideas. DH, who would never claim to be artistic. made several excellent suggestions.

QUILTS

Last month, the Quilt Guild Ardis Wannabes (artist want-to-be's) pulled the word "Q U I L T" out of the bag, and those who wish to participate were to make some art-y type 'thing' based on the word. The important aspect of the project/thing is that is must be DONE by the next month. The goal is to help us stretch our imagination, try something new and not get overwhelmed with such broad terms as saving humanity, the search for truth ... NOT!!!

This isn't my idea of "arty" but it IS something different for me. First, it's paper piecing, so I had to actually USE a computer program (Foundation Factory) that I've had for at least 5 years, then one will discover (after they are sewn together!) that alphabet letters need to be spaced differently than just say .. a standard 1 inch between letters. So one must UNSEW!!! them carefully (remember? they are paper pieced?), and the very most important part is when you resew them, they still must say Q U I L T S, and not Q U L I S T! Oh yes, I can hear you guffawing out there, thinking, "how can anyone get them in the wrong order?" Hey, Q U L I S T happens!

So, in my search on this journey to thinking more artistically, I am learning to stay calm, don't throw it out, and go back and fix it, no matter how disgusted one gets. Chances are, when finished, it will be OK. And I like it.

I wanted something to put on the wall that says, "A quilter lives here". Again, I used what I had, adequately machine quilted, there are several prairie points pointing inward (for interest) and bound with single fold straight of grain binding, hand sewn.

Tomorrow is Quilt Guild day. I wonder what the new Ardis Wannabe word will be?

Out of my element

I am stepping waaaay out my element (namely quilts) to try something of an 'arty' nature. First, I will make it very clear -- I KNOW nothing about art, except I enjoy looking, thinking, watching etc. Occasionally I am struck with an idea, or have a glimmer of a thought, or am tempted by a tingling of an idea. Another guild member and I suggested the idea of an Art Group to the Guild, and it was approved to have an "Ardis Wannabe" group (artist want-to-be). We (Joan and I) put words into a basket and at each meeting, one word is drawn. The project is based on that word. All those who care to participate will produce a finished art piece in ONE month. Yes, ONE month. This is to get our brains flowing, and not stagnated by too many concepts, ideas, possibilities. It has to be DONE the next month. Of course, small is expected, but DONE is best. The only rule was that it had to contain fiber - we didn't say how much. No other rules.

My own project was a lot more clever in my head than the end result. I am being very brave showing my pitiful effort, hoping that in time, I'll get better. I started and restarted about 7 times, changing background, colors, concepte, etc. Whew, getting frustrated is the hardest part and then, it is even MORE difficult to FORCE oneself to try again. I had words printed on fabric for this project, sewn on, but later removed them (so much for my expensive fabric sheets at $3.00 each! I had planned to fuse bright flowers here and there but that was entirely too cutesy.

And no matter how I worked, it ended up looking like a quilted wall hanging, which is totally NOT what I wanted!

This word is "Friends" .. I had some vague idea of layers in each friend's personality, friends in a busy world (background) that larger greyish thing is a manipulated photo (Paintshop Pro) of me (the same as in on my blog profile)with Friends surrounding me, and I also put one of my DH behind me, also manipulated (watch it! LOL) Yes, I am thinking THAT 'manipulated' part was planned! Vertical layout was much better than horizontal.

And it appears I left a black thread on my photo! Well, it IS finished, and I'll try again next month.