Spring Energy

I feel a bit like Rip Van Winkle. I go out and explore and then fall asleep for what seems like a hundred years! But I've not really been gone, I've just taken spring by the horns. I've tended to my neglected gardens (or now, lack there of!) gifting the city with 20 full bags of leaves and other yard debris. I've spruced up the front of the house dealing with over a year's worth of weeds. I've torn down old wooden what-nots that are decrepit and no longer useful for holding flowers of any kind. I've cleaned off the back deck and gotten it ready to wash down, sand and spruce up for summer use. I've met with Alan the pond guy to see if my small pond is salvageable (it is and will be "easy" in his discussion of the facts).

I've planted a large urn of pansies and johnny jump ups at the curb and dusted off the metal do-dads that make it a bit more appealing over there. I've taken to getting up at 6am and out the door by 6:30am with my faithful 4-legged companion for a nice walk and have shed some of the "winter 10" that was giving me grief {smile}. I've spent the weekend in Newton, MA (just before the horror of Marathon week) celebrating the impending birth of a new little life. I've been to my centering place- spending a weekend with a friend in Vermont. Laughter, great food, lovely wine and tasty craft beer. Book store browsing, artisan shop goodies (jewelry for her, a beautiful etched stemless wine glass with birch trees for me), and 2 quilt shops all in one weekend adventure. I'll spare you the trip down into the "hollow" which was a sitcom waiting to be written! We never fail to find something that makes us laugh until we cry uncontrollably funny tears. 

And even if I'm not sewing (must get that construction top put together and to the quilter asap!), I am pursuing art. I've found my niche. I'm excited...I am enjoying every moment of my second level photography class. I'm not as experienced as some of the others in the room (and boy do I covet that professional zoom lens that is larger than the little girl who is sporting it!) but I am growing and finding a true passion for the nitty gritty. This week's topic was landscapes and street photography. We had models to work with to learn the fine art of direction. You'd think being a mom would make it easier to order a young 'en around- not so! "Make your bed" or "Pick up your clothes" rolls off the tongue a lot easier than "tuck your chin a bit" or "try this" or "try that". But My model was a joy ( yes, totally adorable and since I have a release form, I can share her photo). With "golden hour" approaching, we gathered up our gear and headed out to the streets of Troy. This is one of the first shots I took down at the river front. The sun wasn't where I wanted it just yet and this view was calling....

I couldn't resist this one:

these (as we came to refer to them) "dead bodies" were all over the River Street area. They were too ridiculous for words. New Parking meters, I'm assuming??

Now meet Mia. Isn't she beautiful? This is an untouched version of the photo. I did want to lighten it up a bit, but those files don't load in blogger, so this one will have to do for now. We were down near the river and the painted wall behind her just screamed backdrop. I have a few back and white shots of her that I'm proud of, but apparently I will need to format those to load in blogger as well. 

After working with Mia, I took to the alley ways. I'll spare you most of the urban decay that I shot, but I will just mention that this is the kind of thing I want to document. I have done the pretty flower, trees, nature thing, and it has yielded some lovely photos, but if truth be told- if I photograph another daffodil or budding tree or stark pre-spring landscape I will hit myself over the head with a bouquet! This is what I want to document- the raw, the gritty, street life at it's best (and worse). My favorite of the night is this almost unreadable painted sign on a ramshackle building near the river. I shot lots of doors to nowhere, rust encrusted windows, crumbling concrete and the "beauty" in it all. Remember- beauty is in the eye of the beholder!

Just as golden hour hit, I was making my way back to River Street and caught this sun flare by putting my camera on the ground of Monument Park and hoping for the best. I am pleased with the result:

We did of course walk the lovely historic neighborhoods of Troy as well. I chose to shoot a lot of ironwork. There is such amazing beauty in railings and finials etc. This is one of my favorites from that walk:

I do love the repetition of pattern glimpsed through the front of the railing. Almost like a quilt/quilting design, no? Repetition at its best.

This railing finial and the back lighting in the door well was lovely. I wish it wasn't so painted over and "pristine".I love pineapples, and this one is no exception...

As night descended upon Troy we made our way to a private tour of the upcoming Photo Regional exhibition at the gallery on Fulton Street. How many ways can one say amazing?? I am so happy we got a chance to see it before opening night in the context of class. We could take our time, discuss what we saw, what we liked, the different applications and forms of photography. One artist (and they are artists in the truest sense of the word!) photographs with a pin hole camera of his own making- using an oatmeal box! Incredible photos. Incredible art.

I really wanted the evening to go on...and on....I was totally energized. But all good things must come to an end, and there is more to discover next Thursday night (studio portraiture). I came home to find the biggest full moon sitting over the neighborhood

and couldn't resist trying to capture it from the attic window (crazy lady that I am!). 

It has been a good week. Now back to that yard.....

** Morning update! Those "dead bodies" are art pieces! They are "Uncle Sam"s.....should have read All Over Albany before writing my post . 

Too Much Spam

I tried to be nice. Really, I tried. Hard. I wanted several "no blog" friends to be able to comment on my musings...
I really,really did. However, to let them (one in particular) do so I had to change the settings for comments to allow anyone to leave a thought. That left this blog wide open to all kinds of spam comments, and I truly have neither the time nor the patience to deal with this on a daily basis. So, with apologies, I have set my defaults to registered users only. I am sorry if some of you can no longer comment on the blog itself. You can of course simply send me an email! Happy reading....

Oh What A Night....

I feel that it is safe to say that maybe, just maybe spring is on the horizon. The sky has taken on a beautiful blue:

There are signs of green popping up through the tangle of leaves in the "forest area" of the yard:

And it was great fun to take advantage of the light to take some shots around the pond. I love my fossil rock:

Last night was the final class for my photography 101 course. I have a couple of weeks off, then begin the next level. I'm excited. Because the weather was so nice and there was still a bit of daylight at 6:15, we all gathered our gear and hit the streets of Troy.  We were free to shoot whatever we wanted, and starting near the river was my choice. I loved the look of this railing- in all its rusted, chipped glory. A perfect perspective angle- shoot low, take advantage of lines, play with angles. 

Troy is a beautiful city in many ways, and I wanted to capture some of the old, some of the grandness of the city:

Not a perfectly angled shot, but I like it...and it gave several of my classmates a good laugh as well as a memory to take home. As I was attempting to meter this narrow street, I was off curb and there was no traffic at all....for a minute anyway! As I progressed in metering and sharpening my photo, I was "accosted" by a very large brother, in a very large SUV, with a very loud horn who decided he had to pull up right there near the curb- and I was in his way. He was not at all pleased that I didn't move immediately, so I figured I had best shoot and move. From the rockin' of the rap inside the vehicle  and his not so nice look as he jumped out of his (left it) running car (where was he headed in such a hurry??), I think I made the best decision....but alas, my art suffered for it.

Seeing as the streets were a bit unsafe, I took to the side alleys (hummm...safer?). Bingo! I have two  photo series I felt I wanted to begin. One was "Doors". My first door shot presented itself. Again the perspective and angles:

Then I found my second door. This is one of my favorites from the outside shoot. This is just one of three wood doors in an alley, and I loved how by shooting it from this angle there is a hint of something being "inside" or "behind". A door. A mystery.

The sun was beginning to set, so we were called to head back to the Arts Center. The sky and clouds over the river were gorgeous.  Unfortunately, I had just missed a rowing team as I walked back up the street above the river walk.

Another favorite of the night- that golden hour that professional photographers always rave about. It is so pretty when you have it...and I got the silhouette I was hoping for, so I felt good about that.

And then it was back to the Arts Center

and our "grand review". We also had a quick lesson in editing in camera raw. A very interesting mini-lesson indeed. I am now going to try my hand at shooting in raw more. The tweaking and editing one can do is incredibly easy and totally amazing.

With more practice I think I might become a fairly decent photographer. I'm not aiming for pro status, just a competent gal behind a camera. I can see why this hobby can become a passion. Now to find more doors....oh yes, and that second series of shots?? Cityscapes- I think that would be grand.....

Notes to Myself

Some days I wonder where the my time goes. Mondays seem to bring about the question: what have I up to? What have I done with myself over the past 7 days? Waking up and finding a brand new week ahead of me can be a bit disconcerting when I'm not sure where the old one went! Thinking back on last week, I guess there were things that captured my time. 

These went away as the sun came out for a bit:

I went to my photography class and got to see part of the newest exhibits during gallery shoot: 

" wall graffiti"

Part of the current exhibit caught my attention: "words".  Humm...wonder why (smile)?

(the above is not a great photo- but I still love the entry. Note to self: practice depth of field!)

(the faces above were covered in word collage. Eye catching and rather interesting)

Then there was the mundane every day stuff. Lots of this: 

Note to self: Don't let the day's dishes sit in the sink over night (yuck!). Second note to self: No need to publicize your laziness to the world!

There was the folding of laundry (talk about mundane):

There was catching up on my week's reading- the good, the bad and the ugly!

Note to self: Don't photograph a page in your latest Kindle book that looks like you've discovered "old lady porn" when you are actually reading an "OK for what it is" book (In the Kingdom of Men)

I've been tackling the monster quilt's binding. Two sides down, two to go!  Note to self: Just. So. Big.

I've finished another hand applique block for a project that should have been done 4 years ago!

Note to self: Get. This. Done.

 And got side-tracked by a bit of journal making (Note to self: ADD/procrastination leads to a girl getting nothing done!):

Then of course there was the hunt for the perfect Easter Basket and goodies to go inside. Note to self: get that frog pillowcase made asap! Easter is this Sunday (no time to procrastinate anymore!).

Hummm- no wonder I felt like doing exactly what fearless companion does most of the day:

 Note to self: Naps can be a good thing. 

I guess I didn't let last week get away from me after all-well, OK, not that much. More importantly, I'm glad I spent the day yesterday laughing, sewing and then laughing a bit more with some very lovely ladies. Laughter, sewing, friendships- Note to self: all good things!

Out Like a Lion

This blog (and my stitching) has been temporarily interrupted by Mother Nature.

I'll be outside shoveling (again!)...

A Study in Contrasts

That sneak peek project is finished - well, at least the top is done. Now it is on to the quilting. I had an epiphany yesterday as I was pressing the top. I thought to myself- are you crazy? How in the world would you have the strength to hand quilt this! The fabrics are densely woven- think batiks and there is no way my poor hands could even try to needle through them. The decision is made; it will be machine quilted. Simply. Linear. That is exactly what it needs. This week, I will use the left over fabric and some Kona Black from the stash to piece a backing.Where does this contrast I talk about come in, you may ask yourself?? Bear with me! I'm about to free think, but I am sure you will go there with me. At least I hope you do.
A couple of years back the "modern quilting" crazy really started to hit close to home. I was still working at the LQS then, and the books reflected this shift. Some of the newer fabrics that arrived signaled a move in this direction as well. Co-worker and I would commiserate on what we then called (and frankly still do) "dumb-downed" quilts. It didn't take much to cut a bunch of squares and/or rectangles and throw together a quilt. Easy Peasy! We did admit, however, that it could be a good thing. It seemed to be bringing in younger sewers who were going to be making their first quilt. Our craft that we so loved, our craft that has stood the test of time would live on. We just didn't find anything redeeming about this "new", "modern" stuff.
Don't get me wrong. I love the happiness of the new lines out there. I love Kaffee Fassett's fabrics. I've made several "easy peasy" quilts with much success: Yellow Brick Road, Lasagna Quilt. If you need a fast, go to pattern, these can't be beat. But those who know me, and those of you who have been kind enough to follow this blog through thick and thin, know I'm a traditional kind of girl. Show me a reproduction fabric and my heart stops. Mention Barbara Brackman and I sigh. Primitives make me happy. Deep, dark, depressing colors....or those cheddars and poison greens. Oh how my heart sings.
That mentioned contrast? If you have been reading my blog for sometime, you may remember this post on Rosie Lee Tompkins .  Her quilts were on display at the Shelburne Museum. I took tons of photos and wrote at length about what I learned of her. She reminded me so much of the wonderful women of Gee's Bend and the quilts that came out of that community. And here is where I find my personal study in contrast.  I consider the quilts that came from this remote Alabama community to be compelling, historical, and utterly fascinating. I have a beautiful coffee table size book that was given to me by eldest daughter. I adore this book. I marvel at the story, the women and the quilts. They are bold. They are linear/geometric. They are icons of the era, and were unique. So, what makes them different from the "dumbed down" quilts I've shook my head at these past few years? Any Internet search for modern quilting/modern quilt guild will show that these present day quilts are, in their own way, bold, geometric/linear. They are "easy" quilts, and the art of quilting has a new audience. This is all a good thing.

Moving forward- what has this girl been up to? She has gone bold, she has gone linear, she has gone a bit "modern".
Just before Christmas, I happened upon a kit for a Gee's Bend Quilt (packaged and sold by Windham Fabrics) tucked away in the back of the scrapbook supplies at a local Tuesday Morning. The price was right. I grabbed it up.  I had seen the kits before and had a few favorites (this was not on the favorite list, but it is now!). I just didn't want to spend the kind of money they were originally commanding. This was a steal, and it was a lesson to me in, yes, contrasts. I could branch out and make a reproduction of a "newer" quilt, and I could love it:

my reproduced quilt- with liberties taken

The kit's design was inspired by Blocks and Strips, made by Loretta Pettway Bennett. Loretta is the youngest living quilt artist/member of the Quilters of Gee's Bend (having been born in 1960).

Loretta P. Bennett

Loretta's quilt pattern is an example of her "one block quilt" style:

Loretta's Blocks and Strips
50" x 60"

 As I write this entry, I will stand corrected on "dumbed down" quilts. I will marvel in the geometric patchwork of these simple yet narrative quilts. Take a look at them yourself. Flying Geese, Log Cabins, Half Square Triangles. They are all represented. Those quilt elements we learned when we first started. Those elements considered "traditional". It is all in the way one interprets it, isn't it?? Years from now all that matters is that this form of expression lives on. How we as quilt makers do that is a personal choice. We just have to make sure we continue to stitch. I will have a photo of my entire top for you as soon as I can figure a way to photograph it outside without making it a muddy mess! But until then, I will continue to stitch, and I hope you will as well.

The Creative Process

Any creative process has to begin somewhere, and yesterday between a nap here and a nap there the latest one began. In a word: cutting, cutting, cutting. I love these fabrics. Sturdy batik cotton, rich colors. Not something I would have chosen myself (at least not at the time I acquired these). These lovelies came in their own cotton sack, along with instructions and the prod to not worry about cutting mishaps- just do your own thing. Not that I always get crazy about cutting, but I do try to be extremely precise. Yesterday was another story. My fuzzy brain couldn't wrap itself around WOF versus Length. And in stitching a few pieces together I found that my ability to read numbers and fractions was a bit off. BUT!  This project is one that is very much forgiving, lends itself to doing your own thing and is turning out wonderfully. Today while I'm still fairly awake, I am going to stitch up the last panel (making some adjustments for yesterdays folly) and call the top officially done. Can you guess what this is going to replicate yet?? Oh, btw, no fair enlarging the above photo on the off chance it will tell you what I'm doing (smile).

To Be Continued...