Book Review: Masters Art Quilts, vol. 2

Several months ago, I submitted my name as a potential reviewer for Master Art Quilts, Vol. 2.  I had enjoyed the first volume and really wanted a crack at the second.  Then I forgot about it.  So when this beautiful book arrived, I was as surprised as if someone had sent me an unexpected gift.  And truly, it is a gift.



Published by Lark Crafts and curated by Martha Sielman, this book is 400 pages of art quilts with something for almost every artistic taste.  There are abstract quilts, representational (though not necessarily realistic) quilts, quilts using only fabric and quilts that stretch the definition of quilt itself.

Each artist was given 10 pages, with one page devoted to an artist statement.  I was not familiar with all of the artists represented here, and I enjoyed the alternating feelings of discovery for new-to-me artists (like Reiko Naganuma and Leslie Gabrielse) and reacquaintance with old favorites (Carolyn Crump and Alice Beasley).

There were, of course, others with whom I did not quite click. I appreciated being exposed to their work, admiring their technique, and understanding their inspiration, but still being left cold by the work itself.  Other artists will respond differently.  This is one of the book's strengths, presenting a wide variety of work without pushing a particular style or point of view.

The pictures are presented simply, against a white background, that makes a trip through these pages easy on the eye.  That is not to say, however, that this book is easily finished.  I read a lot, and the goal is to finish the book and find out what happens, so I approached this book in the same way. I realized, after viewing the works of about 10 artists in a row, that this can cause headaches.  Better to slow down and visit thoughtfully with one or two artists than to try to cram it all in at once.  As a quilter, I did wish for more detail pictures so that I could better see how the artist achieved a particular effect.

For me, this book is more than a compendium of art quilts -- it is a reference guide, inspiration point, and kick in the pants all at the same time.  After seeing all of the excellent work in this book, it's time to get busy myself.

More Faces

Part 1 of today's assignment was to scribble (really scribble) ten faces from real life.  In her video, Carla did this at a coffee shop.  Well, I had to take my mother-in-law to an eye doctor appointment, so figured I could use that time to camp out at a coffee shop and scribble out ten faces.

The problem?  Once I sat down at a stool by a window and got out my paper and pencil, I felt like everyone would see what I was doing and demand to know why I was drawing random people, and doing such a spectacularly sloppy job of it.  At least no one would be able to say that this is a picture of them.  Here are the scribbles:

Staying Class-y

New year, new challenges and opportunities!

I started 2011 with a class by Carla Sonheim, The Art of Silliness.  I try to act like a responsible adult, but I'm actually rather silly. The class was 30 days long, with a worksheet to do each day.  I made it to about day 7.  I still have the other worksheets...

This year, I am starting with a class by Carla Sonheim.  Again.  But not the silliness class, because that would be just too silly, even for me.  No, this one is Faces 101.  The "101" in the title does not refer to any introductory status like Econ 101 or History 101; it refers to the 101 faces we will draw by the end of the class.  Did I mention that this class only lasts five days?  That's a lot of faces.

We are using different media for each assignment, and so far I have over forty from the Monday and Tuesday lessons.

On Monday, we were to do 8 watercolor faces.  Because these were imaginary people, it was easy to just let the paint tell me what the person was going to look like.  The two girls in the middle are my favorites.

On Tuesday, one of our assignments was to use acrylic ink and a dropper to draw 10 people from pictures.  I used a high school yearbook from 1980.  The ink was kind of hard to control, but it forced me to work in a very loose way.  I ended up liking what I did, except for some of the smearing.

Off to today's challenge!

You Can Make the Salad

Growing up, when my mother would ask me to help her with dinner I would be assigned to peeling the potatoes or grating cheese.  Most often, however, I would be told, "You can make the salad."  This continued even once I was grown.  I would go home for holidays and offer to help with the fantastic meals that my parents would plan.  The response? "You can make the salad."  I had a husband, a home, and children, but the salad was my contribution in my mother's kitchen.

And then, one year, when my mother came to visit she asked if she could help with dinner.  Without even thinking about it, I said, "You can make the salad."  We both got a good laugh out of that.  Apples and trees, of course.

Here's the thing, though: I have come to see "making the salad" as a way of letting someone help, but not so much that if they mess it up you have a problem.  My mother and my children helped me get some of my dolls ready for a recent event.  They sewed basting seams, gathered tulle into tutus, attached Velcro -- all things that needed to be done, but basically salad-making.

What was that? Control issues, me?

My mother's salad was delicious.  The dolls were just fine.  Maybe it's time to let people do more around here. I could definitely use the help.

New Website is Live!

Go ahead.  Say it.  "Finally."  I know, it has been a long time coming, but now it's here.  Yay!

Please come visit at www.jbryantcampbell.com.

Works in Progress

I was listening to NPR last week and listened to an interview with acclaimed author, John Edgar Wideman.  He said something that really made me think: a work in progress is not a waste of time, he said.  Rather, a work in progress is a privilege.

I have tended to look at works in progress as something hanging over my head that I must finish.  Considering Mr. Wideman's statement, however, perhaps a work in progress is a reminder that I have been given a gift and that the work is a manifestation of that gift.  That not using it would be the true waste.  That every time I create something, I am saying thank you.

I am back to work.  Thank you.

Sometimes, It's the Little Things

This summer started out with preparations for the New York Doll Show.  I had so much to do, and I felt like I was sewing every waking minute.  Then it was over and I asked myself, "What next?"  But it was summer, the kids were going to visit my mother in Michigan, and I decided I needed a little down time.  Which turned into a lot of down time.

I thought a lot of thoughts during that time.  I just didn't sew a lot of ...sews? Just to get back into the swing of things, I made a few postcards.

They were a good warm-up and I'm almost ready to answer the question: "What next?"