The Magic of Re-purposed Paper @ 2QAQ

We had the pleasure of Robyn Woodrow as our guest speaker  at our July 2QAQ meeting. Robyn's work involved the recycling and re-purposing of paper - and this gown was no exception. Made from recycled encyclopedia pages the gown flows as it moves - so many question about the text and textures - an exquisite piece. Robyn, of Red Zebra Designs, also shared other paper creations including a bridal veil, shoes and an interpretation of community, created from thousands of rolled pages of print. We were also treated to stories from Morocco - a few of our group journeyed into the Sahara on a Moroccan Textile Tour - wonderful stories and textile experiences shared with our group. Thanks for a great afternoon!

2QAQ in September / Craft and Quilt Fair 2012

We had a great meeting on 29 September with our Queensland Quilters Art Quilt Group (2QAQ). Here we are looking at responses to the three challenges so far this year - portraits, bark, nine and for our November meeting - weft. I finally put the hair on my portrait piece. I do love plaits! All our challenge responses will be on display at the Craft and Quilt Fair Brisbane 2012 where you can also see the State of the Art Quilt juried entries for 2012 and watch  the 2QAQers demonstrate different art quilt and textile techniques. Would really love to see you there.

 

 

 



Portraits and portrets from the Netherlands

Gearing up for 2012 and Queensland Quilters Art Quilt Group (2QAQ) - and had a play with self-portraits (our first challenge and workshop on 25 March). Thanks to Ankie for sharing the work and talents of another fantastic textile artist from the Netherlands Nienke (and if you follow the link and scroll down her 2011 Gallery you will see her portrait work in all its glory). This year 2QAQ will meet every second month and will commence each meeting with a demonstration / play / workshop-type activity. Our first challenge will be "portrait" which has involved lots of internet surfing and researching copyright free or publicly available e-publications (such as through Interweave and QuiltingArts.com) to inspire the launch of a thousand faces. So my first attempt at a portrait (left and below)  - still in the "raw", and at the unadorned, hairless, "fused only" stage is based entirely on Nienke's work and style - at present I am interested in the technique and processes she may have used - and the fun to be had in being able to re purpose those bags of thready scraps! Nienke's blog is well worth the visit. For those of us not fluent in Dutch, Google translator opens the portal to the world of possibilities and appreciation of the gifts of others even further ... and the light of artists like Nienke can filter through ...

Postscript: After emailing Nienke for permission to post my efforts (inspired by her creation) Nienke has advised she was inspired by the work of  Bodil Gardner from Denmark, who has been making pictures for many years - Bodil hopes her portraits inspire the rest of us.  Bodil's website includes a wealth of information on creating portraits and the techniques she uses at her website. Well both of these artists have inspired me (albeit a work in progress) and I hope you get to enjoy Nienke's and Bodil's works too.

Finding myself ...

Progress is being made. I started to think about "found objects". It could be argued that 9pm and a glass of wine in hand may not be the best time to start a project. However, I have been looking at some "nests" made by Little Sister for our upcoming exhibition and how she had used old sewing patterns to great effect. The base fabric loosely represents part of a jacket pattern and my "Found Objects'  stamped fabric has been torn into strips and "rewoven" into the new me. The creative me. The textile arty me. In amongst the found objects, I have  a sense that I found myself.  No more peeks now until the big reveal @ 2QAQ. 

State of the Art Quilt 2011

This is my entry for State of the Art Quilt 2011  Journal to Quilt @ 30000 feet interpreted a flight between Nashville and Chicago last September.  You can check outthe other fantiastic entries here. After the initial squealing of being juried into the exhibition subsided, and the exhibition  went on display, it is such a humbling experience to "hang" with so many gifted textile artists. It is also fantastic to be able to view the art quilts of other 2QAQ members, many of whom entered this year's SotAQ. Congratulations everyone!

Scapescrape workshop @ 2QAQ

Here's the wonderful scraped tissue that we all played with at 2QAQ on Saturday. Lots of wonderful colours and opportunities to create beautiful landscapes ... or sunsets ... or bush fires ...



SotAQ11 and 2QAQ 2-morrow

In the very beginning .....

Congratulations to all the art quilters who were juried into the State of the Art Quilt 11 (SotAQ11) and I can't wait to see all the quilts together at the Brisbane Textile Festival in June. Thank you Barbara Macey and for Barbara's comments that will be helpful for next year's efforts. Well done to everyone - and I'll be posting a full picture of "Journey to Quilt @ 30000 feet" once the show opens. Looking back at the early pics I am reminded  not of the satisfaction of finishing the piece, but learning to work through the unknown and making connections on different levels. It is a "changing perspectives" quilt and the SotAQ process has certainly helped make positive changes to mine. And now to pack for 2QAQ tomorrow - please join us if you can @ the Wellers Hill Bowls Club, Esher Street from 1pm!

2QAQ April meeting and Quilts4London pennants

The old girl guide is coming out in me now ... be prepared! So in readiness for the 2QAQ meeting in April I'm getting ready for our pennant workshop supporting quilts4london where every Olympian and Para Olympian will receive a pennant made by a quilter or textile artist from across the globe. Imagine that. Some 16,000 pennants are needed. The wood turners of the world (not excluded by quarantine I presume) are being asked to make hanging rods, and the braid and cord people of the world are also working on tassels and the like .... the textile and timber Olympics perhaps? Perusing the gallery of the 600+ pennants already received I came across this distinctly Australian contribution - by our own Jan McPike, a member of 2QAQ. Titled "Australian Red Gum" the pennant comprises hand printed gum leaves, machine quilted and hand beaded. It is another beautiful piece by Jan. Back to preparations for the April meeting ...

These are my people

Welcome to the first 2QAQ meeting of 2011 - that's two-quackers and there's not an Indian runner or mallard in sight. There is a wealth of friendship and talent and these are my people. Yesterday thirty of us gathered at the Wellers Hill Bowls Club for an afternoon of live art, show and tell and fun. One of our members was giving new life to old photos affected in the recent floods - and had remade a photo of young love into a postcard that she sent her husband on Valentine's Day. Others kicked off show and tell with the results of their recent challenge - and there was the return of the State of the Art Quilt 10 pieces - reminding us that there are now ... about 48   30   24 is just today   left to complete and enter quilts for SotAQ11.  New members are always made welcome and our March meeting will have guest speakers smartArts  - if you are in the area or interested in art quilts at any level - we would love to welcome you to the group. Our April meeting willl be hands on workshop making penants for the Quilts4London project - a pennant for every olympian and para-olympian (we don't have to make all 16,000 of them ...) All the details of our meetings are on the 2QAQ blog site - it's just $5 per meeting to contribute towards hire of the venue, and BYO lunch.

Paint + fibre

Between the 2QAQ group, Dale Rollerson and Playways have taken me and my machine to creative places I did not think I could imagine ... my only complaint is that the possibilities are endless and the WMBM is frequently a "studio widow". He will manage. His mantra is that I should follow my dreams, so long as that doesn't mean he has to leave his dreams to participate in mine. Art quilts and aviaries - it's a marriage made in compatibility. 
Painted some sheets of vliesofix over last weekend and  bonded them to felt perhaps to be rotary cut, re-purposed and start a new life as a journal cover. Played with Tyvek thanks to an envelope received from the US some months ago when playing tourist ... I'm getting into the painting and loving it.
Used all the copper thread offcuts from a different project with silk that I'd dyed at Ankie's some time ago to make another ....(you guessed it ) nest and played with wafer thin sections of silk fibres carefully bonded with a hint of Angelina fibre and now have a possibility for another nest or bowl .. albeit with  a fragility rating of "fairy floss".

vliesofix + paint + felt

While in Beaudesert I found the fabric and patchwork shop (by sheer coincidence, directly opposite the Council offices and right beside breakfast ...) and I purchased felt - by the metre. Oh joy. Using cool red, cool yellow, raw umber and magenta a largish piece of vliesofix got the treatment, and when dry (aided by the hairdryer) was stamped with a lino cut block ... dried again then bonded to an equally large piece of felt. Stitching will commence sometime this weekend ... most likely Sunday after 2QAQ' first meeting for 2010. 1-4pm @ Wellers Hill Bowls Club (note the new premises for 2011). BYO lunch!

Journal to Quilt - the journey continues



Stitching in progress ...

 I missed didn't miss the deadline for State of the Art Quilt 2011 - so this will have to won't be my entry to the Queensland Quilters annual Quilt Show later this year - the original journal entry has been copied and I'm highlighting the various sections as they transfer to the quilt top ... a road here ... a suburb there .... and really enjoying all the handwork, buttons, beads and various threads transforming the surface.  Thank you 2QAQ - can't wait for the February meeting ... only 20 19 more sleeps.

Highways and Byways for SotAQ11 and 2QAQ

The highways and byways are now being added to my State of the Art Quilt 2011 entry -  Journal to Quilt - from a drawing / doodle I did  on a flight from Nashville to Chicago last September. Deadline approaches so it will be all needles to the pump. Details of the SotAQ11 can be found on the Queensland Quilters website or at the 2QAQ blogsite (Queensland Quilters Art Quilt) - lovingly referred to (by me) as the "two quackers" .. a fabulous bunch of talented art quilters who share everything art quilty on the last Saturday of most months. So looking forward to catching up at our next meeting.