David will have four of our pieces displayed at a local coffee and consignment shop for their grand opening this Thursday, February 28th, 2019. The location is The Espresso Barn, 1301 E. Gurley St, Prescott, AZ. They have fabulous coffee and tasty treats.

David and I love to stop in and enjoy the relaxed atmosphere while drinking our coffee. Come join us on the 28th or drop in any time to see our work and get a great latte or other wonderful beverage.

David and I are thrilled to be included in this exhibit in San Pedro at the Loft. We hope that you will be able to attend the show sometime during its run. Let us know what you think of the show!

Join David and Trish Charity at the SAQA exhibit in Poway. The artist reception is Sunday, April 10th. If you've ever wanted to ask questions about the art, the reception is the perfect time. Most of the artists will be there to talk about their pieces and answer any questions you may have. This is a great venue and lots of fabulous art will be on the walls.

Make an afternoon of it and enjoy a local lunch at some of the great restaurants in the area. 

Exciting news was received on Monday in the mail. David was notified by the Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum that his quilt, "Dog Gone" was accepted into the "No Girls Allowed" show.

The "No Girls Allowed" exhibit runs from January 29th, 2016 to April 26th, 2016. If you are in the area during those dates, stop by and see all the great quilts made by the dudes of quilting. David and I know several of the artists that have work and it should be great. We have already seen a few and they are fabulous.

Check out the Museums website calendar for information on the artist reception. We went two years ago and had a great time. It is a wonderful venue and the docents are very knowledgeable about the art on display.

What a crazy, busy month this has been. David and I took a short vacation over the Prescott, Arizona and got all kinds of crazy inspiration from Jerome, Verde Canyon Railroad train trip and the amazing galleries in Prescott. Lots of photo opportunities and enjoyed some amazing food in the area and gelato at Cuppers Bistro. Check out the Rustic Pie Company if you are in the area.

Friday was a day to get together with a group of artists to discuss titling art, pros and cons of types and necessity of titles. It was a lively discussion. Some of the artists stated that they only read titles if they like the piece. I personally will read a title on a piece I am not fond of just to see if maybe I missed the point of what the piece is about. All the members of the group agreed that titling is important but not to give away too much or box the piece in. The viewer must be able to add their own narrative to the work.

My personal opinion on titling is that it should be the spice or icing of the piece. Maybe not totally necessary, but a nice thing to experience and a view into the artist's intention.

Quilts on the Wall had their meeting on Saturday and it was the turn in for the Roots/Routes exhibit and the election of the new officers. The exhibit is going to be great. All the pieces turned in were amazing and fun to see all the interpretations of the topic.

​Next years board members look great and I am looking forward to the new exhibit topic "Crossings" for the juried show. I actually already have an idea for this one. I have had an idea kicking around for a few years based on a photograph that my brother-in-law took. This might be the perfect exhibit for it.

On the final leg of the home stretch. I have the facing on and the final phase is the sleeve and label. That means I also have to make a decision on the title of my piece. My working title is 'Ancestral Cairns' and I think that may be the final title.  These are the definitions:

Adjective 1. Pertaining to ancestors; descending or claimed from ancestors: an ancestral home.
Noun 1. A mound of stones erected as a memorial or marker

Of course, while driving around the other day, I came up with a different title and I love it. I will keep you all in suspense until I get the final label on the quilt and it is set in ink.

My process was to find historical maps of areas where my ancestors a few centuries ago started their migration and where they ended up. I put these into Photoshop on different layers so that I could erase and blend edges between the different maps. After I blended the edges, I uploaded the file to Spoonflower as a black and white file. Because the final design is to be 18 inches by 48 inches, I was able to get two pieces printed on one width of fabric. That allowed me to have a test piece for different coloring techniques before I started on the main design.

I sampled different paints, inks and other coloring agents, both transparent and opaque. After applying my base colors, I quilted out the piece. After quilting (and first testing on my sample piece) I layered more color on the surface with paints, Inktense pencils and oil pastel sticks. I trimmed the piece to size and faced it with some of the Sticks and Stones fabric by Moda I used on the front. I liked it so much that I went back to Primitive Gatherings where I originally purchased it and bought more yardage to use in other projects. 

The suspense is over. Thinking about the time that my peeps started their trek over (1603) I have changed the title. The hardship of the ocean voyage, the unknown of what the land would be like and reading some of the genealogy records I decided this is a more fitting moniker. It is inked and labeled and ready to turn in for the exhibit in November. the title is: 
Brave Hearts and Restless Feet

After getting the final work done on this piece, I will work on pieces for the SAQA twin exhibit call for entry of Tranquility and Turmoil.

I was very excited to attend the artist reception and see both friends, artists I knew, and to meet the other artists who attended. I enjoyed talking to them about their work as well as answering questions about my piece.

The only sad part was that the 100 quilts being shipped to the Mancusco show in Palm Springs and PIQF have not been located yet. I, as well as some of the other artists in this show, had one or more pieces in that shipment. I have no doubt that they will be found in a warehouse or event center somewhere but it is disappointing that they did not make it to the shows they were scheduled to be displayed.

If you attended the Visions reception I would love it if you left a comment about the show. It would be wonderful to hear your impression of the exhibits and to encourage others to get there to see it before it closes in early January, 2016. 

I have discovered that I need to have a backing on my Roots/Routes quilt or I cannot do any "pre-stitching". The fabric is just too temperamental to cooperate with me. I need a little more "tooth" to needle through.

Good news and bad news:

• Good: Fortunately, I happened to have two yards of this batik that will blend beautifully with the front of my quilt. I will be able to use the thread colors I want and still have them blend with the backing. 
  
• Bad: This appears to be the only piece of fabric in my enormous fabric stash that I did not pre-wash. It is now lounging in the washer with our towels.
• Good: I don't need to take a trip to the fabric store tomorrow to look for backing fabric.
• Bad: I have to wait on the washer and dryer before I can use it.
• Good: I get my towels done at the same time, so I save some water.
• Bad: I will not be able to sew on this today as I will need to start getting ready for the upcoming work week.
• Good: I have Friday off and can spend most of the day getting this underway.

On the upside, we got Starbucks treat receipts today and I had my Java Chip. Life is good.

So, how's your weekend going?