Turkey

Returned from a trip to Turkey. The photos you see here were made in Perge, an ancient town or rather the remains of an ancient town. The time of the year was really perfect for this kind of visit since there are not many tourists around (you should visit there in summer, or rather not!). So I was able to shoot photos without any humans on it. These columns are so awe inspiring - erected several thousand years ago and still so beautiful.

More skinny book pages

These are not all but my most favorite pages from the skinny book. I will not bother you with all 25 of them.

Skinny book swap

At long last - my skinny book arrived yesterday! I had been waiting for it for months. The exchange should have taken place last year but due to the fact that several artists dropped out Chrysti had to look for replacements. So with a delay of about two months yesterday it arrived, and it was well worth waiting for. I am absolutely happy to have such a beautiful objet d'art.
Chrysti did something extraordinary by binding the pages and doing the covers front and back. This book is everything I hoped for and I suppose I will be pestering you with several pictures these days. I rather hope you enjoy looking at them as much as I do. Chrysti announced that she will be hosting some more swaps and you bet I will be looking for these, too!

Cyber fyber exhibition

This is an interesting and - at least for me - rather daunting project. Susan Lenz has 163 ATCs she is trading via her blog

cyberfyberexhibitionpostcards.blogspot.com/

You can choose one of her cards and send her one of your own in return. Those she receives in this exchange will be shown in an exhibition at Vista Studios in Columbia.
I opted for one of her cards which show a larger piece done by herself which was cut up and centered in the ATC. Somehow it reminds me of baroque costumes since it is so extensively embellished. In return I sent her one of my really expressive cards called "Rush hour".
Take a look at her blog - it is really worth while.

Addicted

These are the hearts I did for the heart swap of the art4card list.
Somebody should have warned me: This is addictive! It started harmless enough by using up fabric and scraps from the friendship cushion-swap. But when I began making the hearts from felt, I suddenly had the feeling that I couldn't stop any more. They are so soft! You always want to touch them. And the ideas how to embellish them kept just popping up in my head....

Art book

Just started a new book project together with Britta, Renate, Peggy and Ulla. This is something the internet makes possible: To work together with people you never met in person, but whose interests and style you know nevertheless.
The photos show the booklet I send on its way detailing my wishes for the book as well as letting the participating artists jot down their ideas and inspirations. Both this booklet and the art book itself will make a journey practically all over Germany - and will hopefully do so more than once since we intend to work in rounds.

Friendship cushions

These are the friendship cushions I received. Some are really elegant, others are funny (I love that cat!), and the felted ones are really, really cuddly. Each one has a sort of personality, don't you think so, too? My personal favorite is the one from Ulla, made from brocade and dotted with tiny golden pearls. Whow! This is the Louis XIV among the cushions.

Embellisher project

This is the first real project I did with my embellisher. So far I only experimented in order to find out what materials can be used - sometimes I think the question is rather what cannot be used! So far I only found out that paper is not so suitable since you see the resulting holes ;-)
In this piece (it is called "storm at sea") I used a piece of batting as background. Thereon I felted fabric, silk paper, scrim, sheers, rovings, Lutradur and several special yarns. At last I added cording and beads to make the shoreline more interesting.
What I like very much about this kind of work is the way you can leave the outer borders without finish. Somehow this adds to the organic look.

Links

I added some more links and made sure that those already there are working. Naturally I add links to blogs that I like because of what the artists have to say or to show. However from a legal point of view this "linking" can be harmful insofar as you can be made responsible for contents of blogs or websites you have linked to. I do not know if it is really enough to do so, but I entered the following text (only in German, since my English is not sufficient for real legal jargon) hoping that nobody will make me pay for links that are not kosher.
Wichtiger Hinweis zu allen Links auf meiner Internetseite: Mit Urteil vom 12. Mai 1998 hat das Landgericht Hamburg entschieden, dass man durch die Einbindung eines Links gegebenenfalls für die Inhalte der gelinkten Seite mit verantwortlich ist. Dies kann nur dadurch verhindert werden, dass man sich ausdrücklich von diesen Inhalten distanziert. Ich habe auf diesem Blog Links zu anderen Seiten im Internet. Ich möchte ausdrücklich betonen, dass ich keinerlei Einfluss auf die Gestaltung und die Inhalte der gelinkten Seiten habe. Deshalb distanziere ich mich ausdrücklich von allen Inhalten aller gelinkten Seiten auf meinem Blog und machen mir deren Inhalte nicht zu Eigen. Diese Erklärung gilt für alle auf meinem Blog eingebundenen Links.
Schutzrechtsverletzung: Falls Sie vermuten, dass von dieser Internetpräsentation aus eines Ihrer Schutzrechte verletzt wird, teilen Sie mir das bitte umgehend per E-Mail mit, damit ich zügig Abhilfe schaffen kann.

Discussion on art

There is always an discussion on art in the one or other list. If you really want a true insight into what art is, you just have to watch this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pDo_vs3Aip4

Hearts

 
 
These are the first of (I think it was) 10 hearts I am going to make for another swap with the art4card list. Once again I did vintage style, but only because there were several pieces of fabric with roses left from the friendship cushion set. The next hearts will definitely be something other. I think of trying out something with the embellisher and perhaps of sewing some from linen and then stitch them. You will be kept informed.

Friendship cushions

 
So this is the set of cushions that went out into the world yesterday. Somehow each and every one of them turned out to be vintage... The idea of a cuddley little cushion to hold into one's hands or to display all together in some kind of bowl or so lead me to make them all this way. Now I am looking forward to those I will receive back.

Last baby quilt

 
 
So this is the second baby quilt I made for one of my collegues. Nothing to crow about, really, but I like the rainbow colors and especially the backside fabric.

January-ATC

 
 
So this is the last of this month's ATCs. I think Ruth did a great job - painting on this small scale is really not so easy I should think. In relation to this my own card doesn't really leave you breathless....

Friendship cushions

 
 
A new idea emerged some weeks ago at our art4car-list (which in reality has long since metamorphosed into a mixed media-list) - friendship cushions. They are about 4 x 4 inches, without any theme, filled with soft stuff and a piece of paper with words of love and friendship written on it.
The felted cushion is from Beate Knappe. It is immensely cuddley and in my favorite colors (how did you know, Beate?). However, I myself feel still strongly drawn to vintage style. The pink cushion with the photo on it is my prototype. It turned out to be about 0,5 inches too small. Turning it inside out and stuffing it costs more space than I recognized. So this will be a present for a friend, the others for the group swap will have to be a bit larger.

ATCs from January

 

 

 

 

The first two cards are from Elke respectively Peggy who did a little swap with me this months. Elke's ATC was done with painted Tyvek and evokes the feeling of tree bark quite realistically I think. The color from my ATCs are unfortunately not true. The card with the girl on it was ivory, the other one a very pale lavender.

Material pleasure

Just received these materials for my embellisher. Aren't they yummy? This will be really exciting to try out - I love the colors. It is quite interesting to learn how which material reacts to this kind of process. Even punching from the front or the backside of the piece makes a difference! And the way sheers react is absolutely not predictable. It all depends on the weave, the raw material, the kind of embellishing on the fabric itself. What astonishes me is how easy it is to felt fabric to wool. I love the effect of the fabric becoming kind of fluffy if you do the punching from the backside of the piece.

What a Mom says during a day

I saw this You Tube-Video on a blog and just had to include it here. If the address is not readily accessible, do copy and try it out, it is really worth while listening to!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W95Y8hNQiH8

Happy New Year!

To everyone who chances to read this blog: May you have a happy, creative and blessed year!
This is a small winter scene I made for my stepmother in law for Xmas. It was done with the embellisher using scraps of velvet, linen, lace, felt, organza and tiny charms. The text says: It was a cold, silent night. I rather like the somewhat subdued effect that results when embellishing from the backside of the piece. Somehow this picture really evokes the feeling of freshly fallen snow - at least for me.

Winter Angel

My friend who received an angel for her birthday will get this winter angel for Xmas. It is a Finnanger design - I just love these angels. That snow on the cap and arms is really cute.

Key to success

A friend of mine opened a small gallery at our home town. This collage titled "key to success" was my present for her on the opening day.

Felt purse

With my new embellisher I started experimenting with purses. A friend of mine literally snatched them out of my hands to sell them on the local Christmas market. I made 8 in different colors but had only the opportunity to make a photo from this one.

Tag book

Just realized that I did not show the tags I received in our tag swap - duh! Will have to do that.
This however is the tag book I sewed for those tags I received and sewed for myself since they were so much fun to make. However, I gave it away as a present to a member in the art4card group as a thank you together with some tags. Since I liked the book as it is I will make one with the same picture for myself.

New baby quilt

This is the quilt for Lea Sophie - she is such a cute little girl I would have liked to keep her the first time her mother brought her around. Roses seem to be the right choice for a romantic mother and a beautiful little girl.
Now there is still a quilt to sew for a little boy who is due early December. No roses there although the mother is easily as romantic as mother number 1. I opted for simple rectangles with applied hearts in bold colors and will have to hurry to get it finished in time.

Autumn is gone

Winter really took us by surprise. One of these days we were still enjoying sunshine and beautiful colors, and then all of a sudden temperatures dropped, an awful wind kept blowing for three days in a row, snow set in - imagine, early November! - and all those marvellous leaves were gone.
My view from the dining room door is now bleak, grey and uninviting, the golden sentinel all but invisible having been robbed of its glorious golden leaves.

Happy dance

At last success! This quilt made third place in a challenge titled "nostalgia" by the German magazine "Patchwork-Ideen" that takes place every other year. I have been juried into this challenge four times and finally - bingo! There is not much that could make me happier - except perhaps my new embellisher I have been experimenting with the last two days....