Friday was one of those days when everything worked perfectly with no effort on my part. I had several errands to do and places I wanted to be and I accomplished it all.

I started early in the morning to head down to Point Loma for the Visions Critique group that is facilitated by Gillian Moss. This group meets the last Friday of every month. Gillian does a great job of keeping us on track and focused during these sessions. We had about a dozen artists in attendance. Our group consisted of the regulars that attend most of the critiques and we had some new faces.

I get very inspired to see what everyone is working on and the feedback is incredibly helpful. I brought two pieces that the group critiqued last month for me.  My progress and the enhancements I did was well received, so I know I am on the right track. 

The critique group meets at the Visions Art Museum, which has a fabulous exhibit that is hanging right now. If you are in the area, please stop by and check it out.

After the critique I headed home with a short stop at Paradise Sewing in Poway to drop off my sewing machine. It started doing some funky stitching so I wanted to get it in the shop before it turned into a real crisis. I have a second machine that I can use to continue in my quilting. It took all my willpower not to buy more fabric and thread, but I may not be so strong when I go back to pick up my machine.

Do you have a critique group that gets together to discuss quilts and art? If you don't, you should consider starting one in your area. It does not have to be limited to fiber art. Artistic principles are common across all mediums. These groups are extremely helpful in advancing your art.

Friday was a glorious day. I got up early, got in some quilting for about an hour and then headed down to the Visions Art Museum in San Diego to participate in their monthly critique group. I have not been able to attend for quite a few months as it has not fallen on my "off Friday" schedule. I had a couple of pieces I wanted feedback on and I was not disappointed with the quality of the comments. One piece is "in work" and one is done, but did not feel that it truly was finished. I got some great input and suggestions on that piece and will be working on updates to bring it to a completed state.

Not only do I benefit from the input and the camaraderie of the other artists, but I get totally inspired by what they are working on and bring to the critique. The critique group is overflowing with talented people and I am blessed to have a group like this that I can go to for feedback and inspiration.

I have no photos to share as my pieces are slated for an exhibit in October. The other artists work that was shared is also in work for specific exhibits. I know that is a little disappointing and I love to share work when I have permission. 

Critique groups are so beneficial I do suggest that you try to find a group in your area or start one up. It is especially important if you are an artist that works in solitude. I drive an hour to the Visions critique, I think it is that important.

Saturday was a total lost day on the computer. I was doing some clean up and research and discovered that the email addresses on David and my business cards are not linked correctly to our website. It seems that when Google went from the free apps to the paid business apps our emails (David@ and Trish@fromedge2edge.com) someway got dropped. It was supposed to be a grandfather account, but I spent all day on it and only got the Trish@ working again.

If you have been getting bounced back emails from us, please use the Contact Form on the website or use the Trish@ email address. I sincerely apologize for this inconvenience and any frustration it caused. Heaven knows how frustrated I was yesterday trying to fix it when all I wanted was to be in the studio working on my art.

David and I both had a great time going through our stash of fabrics for this challenge. We were allowed one neutral to put into our quilts for the "rest" or quiet place. This also could serve as a color to pull your eye around the quilt.

I chose to stretch the neutral a bit and inserted a greyed down green for my piece. David stayed a bit truer to the challenge and used an off white. We both played with textures and unconventional fabrics for our pieces.

Most of our fabrics came from discontinued decorator fabric books that we got from interior designers. By adding some machine and handwork to the pieces we were able to add additional line and movement to the surfaces.

Scan the QR Code with your phone and see the video about this work. Details of each piece.are presented.