Creative Cue Wk4: Rolling
Creative Cue wk3 - track
Creative Cue Challenge Wk 3 - Track

A different look at procrastination
Creative Cue Challenge Wk 2 - Heel 2
I said that I wanted to use the Creative Cues to work through some design elements as I know that my quilts lack variation - whether that be in tone, scale or interest. So I have taken the Heel cue to try to create something that has interest both from a distance and closer to. Using text seems to be an easy way to do this as I think most of us are drawn in when there are words to be read.
The text is taken from Wikipedia and describes the culture and impact of foot binding in China, which struck me as an interesting juxtapostion with a 7" heel that we 'sophisticated Westerners' might wear!
This is photo manipulation - removing an area from the shoe image to show the text below. It would have been much quicker to print off the text and the picture, cut out the shapes from the shoe and stick them together, but at least I learned quite a bit in the process!!!!
What "type" are you?
Creative Cue Challenge Wk 2 - Heel
Even so, when I went to http://johnjohnston.info/flickrCC/index.php, a very simple Flickr search tool, it brought up 1,263 images. I've included a couple of early favourite images to work with but how the jelly beans came to be tagged with the word heel I don't know - but they look good!
Photo manipulation
Having not posted for some time I thought that I would have lost all my virtual friends - it has been great to hear from you and know that the world of blogging is alive and thriving!
Creative Cue Challenge - Week 1 East
The challenge is described thus - "Use the Creative Cue as a starting point for a sketch, art work, journal page, photograph, painting, etc. You can use any type of medium you prefer….pencil, chalk, paint, fabric, etc." more details can be seen on the Three Creative Studios blog here - http://threecreativestudios.com/blog/
As this has to be manageable I'll be using the challenge word to search for a Creative Commons licensed photo from the web, which I'll then manipulate. I do need to find myself a list of design elements to work to before I go to far! So with no more ado - this weeks word is EAST:
The original photo is Storm brewing by renrut CC by License (Rye harbour on a stormy day)

And this is my take on it:

Christmas time

Apelsinas / Orange by You_rate
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License
Ingrid Press
A trip to York
The turkey red exhibition was wonderful. Because of the cohesion of the exhibits created by the use of colour the impact as I entered the hall was amazing. I've seen pictures of the hall but hadn't realised just how tall the space is. The contempory exhibition of work by Scottish group Edge made a fitting contrast - I particularly like the work of Sue Jury but guess who had left the camera behind!
Whoever thought of opening the kitchen to QGBI members was a genius. It was an unexpectedly hot day - I'd walked across York from the railway museum, via the art gallery and was in serious need of the calm and a good cup of tea!
I've often heard people talk of the deli across the 'yard' from the museum and the quality of food they serve, but I'd not heard anything of the wonderful garden that has been created in the courtyard. Considering St. Anthony's is almost on the inner ring road, this garden was a little oasis of colour and quiet.
Whilst I was in the museum I bought a couple of badges from Sumptuosity - http://www.sumptuos
The exhibit I went to see at the art gallery finished this weekend. It featured the art of St. Ives and had pieces by the majority of artists associated with St. Ives. This was the first time I'd seen a Ben Nicholson relief 'in the flesh' and have even greater respect for his work. The other artist whose work I enjoyed was Wilhelmina Barns-Graham. I was first introduced to her work at the CQ summer school last year, but had more or less forgotten my interest. Now I really must follow this up!
Lino cutting - another exercise
monogram - 2cm x 3cm
A little playing produced this pattern, it was supposed to be an exercise in layering and wild abandon, the layers are there but it looks like the abandon will have to come another day!
FOQ - Reflections 3
Yoshiko Jinzenji - no photos here, and not many on the web that do justice to the simplicity of this gallery, showing the work of her students using her own cloth.
Chungie Lee - again, more later, though I've a growing sense that in trying to capture how I felt about her class and her work I'll lose some of the magic she left me with.
Ingrid Press - Ingrid was happy for people to take photos and my only regret is that I didn't a shot of her gallery. As well as quilting Ingrid is a basketmaker and had several small pieces on display.
And finally a student exhibit from Taeyoun Kim, an MA student at Nottingham Trent.
The common theme for me was the 'simplicity' of these pieces, where placement is all important. I love the control that produces a sense of calm and it serves as a reminder to me that this is what I like to aim for in my own work. I enjoy new techniques, I like surface design, I'd love to be able to embellish with wild abandon but - this is where my heart lies.
Lino cutting - lesson 1
From the flocked card of the box to the way the tools rest in your hand it's a joy! I've played with tools from time to time, but not having found any suitable books/tutorials haven't really challenged myself. So when Dijanne Cevaal announced that she was doing an on-line course I signed up
Exercise 1 was a kind of warming up exercise, using different tools in different ways to create a range of marks on a 12" x 12" piece:
Exercise 2 focused on positive and negative images, which is something I've struggled with in the past:
Exercise 3 was to create a repeating pattern on a smaller piece of lino - 2.5" square. I made two of these as I wanted to try curved and straight lines:
FOQ - Reflections 2
Having watched (and listened) to Margaret's hand stitching in the Pojagi class (more on this tomorrow perhaps?) I decided that it is time to give it a go. I've always been frustrated by my lack of speed when hand-stitching, but that is missing the point entirely so I bought a mixed pack of perle cotton from Winifred Cottage. I deliberately chose a colour mix that I don't normally work with. The following day having mulled over the pojagi class I decided that I had the germ of an idea for next CQ challenge and bought some silk organza from Mulberry Silks.
No one could have been more surprised than I was when I finally unpacked my goodies, they weren't bought to go together, I'm not sure that they ever will, but I'm left wondering where the influence for these colour choices came from.
FOQ Reflections - 1
The easiest to record is the Little Gem Tombola, which I think I can safely say was a success. We superceeded the targets we set ourselves, eventually receiving around 2,000 Little gem quilts which in turn raised more than £9,500 for The Guild's quilt museum at St. Anthony's in York.
For me the success was as much about the atmosphere around the stand and people's responses to making and winning these little quilts. The Guild used to work under the banner "spread the word, share the pleasure" and this was what the Little gem project has been about.

Members of the LG team before FOQ opened

A closer look at some of the contributions (click on picture for more detail.)









