A long time ago I used to paint. When the YM came along it became impossible. I would just put out paints and he would need me. By the time I got back to it the brushes would be ruined and the paint dried out. It wasn’t feasible anymore.
It actually worked out. At the time, I was said, but I got rid of a lot of painting supplies and began to focus on quiltmaking. I am happy that I did. I think having 100 canvases around the house would be much harder to deal with. Also, I wasn’t a very good painter. I enjoyed it, but I would never have been great.
Auntie’s View
Before that I painted a picture of a view I looked at as a kid. The view is from inside my godmother’s kitchen out into the dining room and is completely stylized. I don’t really know why this view made such an impression on me, but I remember sitting in the kitchen and looking that way a lot.
The walls were not violet. The stove, a space age looking electric behemoth, was on the left inside the kitchen door. Auntie (what we called my godmother) never made cakes like that and the Christmas tree was not in the dining room. The overall arrangement was correct.
I may have mentioned that I tore a ligament in my foot in September. It is much better, but still improving. Earlier this week, I went to see my doctor to have it checked out.
One of the things about my doctor is that he is also an artist. He has his paintings hanging in his office. He has a small Artavita profile with a couple of his newest works. The bio he posted on his website mimics how I feel about my quiltmaking, especially where he talks about the flow. I agree with him that my work and my art are better when I do both and also that I get into a Zen-like state when I am sewing.
DH – Dancer Series #11
One of the things I noticed about the dancers in his office is the use of black. It offers an intensity and moodiness that is different than the look of ‘noir’ films, for examples. There isn’t a creepy sense of the psychological thriller in these paintings. I get the sense of the artist trying to show different types of people – dancers in this case.
I can’t stop looking at #11. I really want to know what the dancer is thinking. Is she angry? Is she annoyed that we have invaded during her practice?
Also, I think the juxtaposition of the black and ballet dancers is interesting. When I think of ballet (tutus, after all), I think of pink and baby blue flowing skirts or white stiff tutus. I don’t think of black. Most of the others in the series have black in them, but not all. Despite not all of them having black in the image, there is a consistency of style: straightforward, clear, slightly blocky (??). I get the sense that what you see is what you get, though there is a layer or two underneath the viewer needs to contemplate.
DH-Dancer Series #14
I like the tutu in #14 very much. I also like the pose, especially the hands around the back. I also want to know what is going on with this dancer. My doctor is not a writer, but I would love to hear the story of all of these dancers.
I am always pleased when I find out someone has a passion to which they are dedicated. I feel like I am getting through this pandemic because I can sew as much as I want or all the time. I feel like quiltmaking is a way to stay on track, not get depressed and makes me a better person. I have to figure out problems, choose fabrics that go together, design projects. While I am doing all of those things, I don’t think about staying home all the time, not seeing family and friends.
By seeing my doctor’s work, I can see how he is a better doctor because of his art. He can talk to me on a level that is professional, but also human and I appreciate that.
I bought some Tsukineko inks some time ago and never had the chance to use them. As time passed, I lost my inspiration and the inks languished.
Mark Lipinski did me a real favor when I was at his house and I don’t even think he knows. He asked me about my art quiltmaking in the process of the podcast. He was trying to get to know me and, instead, he changed my focus. I had gotten away from surface design and was focusing on piecing. I don’t know why, but it was my reality. By asking me Mark made me think about art quiltmaking again.
As a result of that innocent question, I have started to go back to some older art quilt projects. I finished the beading on Kissy Fish, but before I finished, I was looking for some green beads. In searching for them, I found the inks. Soon after I was talking with Nancy and another friend and suggested that we work with these inks together. I am much better at new supplies when I have another person to work with. So we got together and tried the inks.
It was really fun. I didn’t make great art, but it was really fun.
