Monday, April 23, 2012

April - Pink Moon

Another moon.  I've always wanted to do a series on the traditional full moons, so I reckon that's what you'll be seeing here now, since there won't be any more prompt words.

The Native American name for April's full moon is Pink Moon, called such after the wildflowers that bloom around this time of year in the east.  Other names are Sprouting Grass Moon, Egg Moon and Fish Moon, all of which reflect what's going outside in the spring.

I have cheated a bit on this one, in that I made this piece in early March and have written the current haiku for it.  In February, I took my first class at Quilt University, a class called Dyeing with Tea and Spices, taught by Marjie McWilliams.  It was a lot of fun playing with what was already in my kitchen to create colors on fabric and I've learned enough to be experimenting with what's growing out in my yard.  Over the weekend it was dandelion greens, which produced a fine pale yellow.  Intrigued?  The class will come around again in mid-July.

This was my final class project and all the fabrics in it were dyed by me.  The pink gradation was made from Tazo Passion tea.  Those blue birds were probably from berries, or perhaps red cabbage.  The yellow and greens could have been from a lot of things.  I didn't write it down, I was busy making it out of my new fabrics.




in the warm moonlight
spring blossoms cast a pink glow
as birds soar to mate

Thursday, April 19, 2012

Just thought I'd share . . .

Greetings!  I'm so happy to join your group.  Two of my favorite things - art and haiku!

I don't have an April haiku and art piece but I thought I would share a peak of the quilt I made for SAQA's Seasonal Palette exhibit that will premiere in November at the Houston show.  They have asked us not to publish until after the exhibit opens but I can show a little sneak preview.  Just to give a little background on this exhibit and me . . . I'm new to SAQA, I joined in July of 2011 though I've been quilting for about 20 years, and this exhibit was the first members exhibit I tried to enter.  Submission to exhibit was a little unusual.  Artists had to submit a portfolio of four quilts, choose a season and explain why, along with an explanation of the technique to be used. They selcected 38 artists out of 147 but I think only 36 will be exhibiting.  We had six months to create the artwork which had a size requirement of 32″ x 78″ high.  Originally, I chose winter as my season but since so many of the selected artists did as well, about half, many, including myself were reassigned.  I got spring!  Plus, when writing my artist statement, I decided to write it in haiku.  It just seemed to fit.  So, my quilt and haiku do have a little to do with April especially with the very early spring we're having here in New Jersey.  Today, in fact, I saw my first iris!  In April!  So, maybe I do have an April haiku, two haiku in fact, and artwork to share.  

My technique is simple:  I tear fabric into strips and collage it into a painting, then I fuse it down and then finally quilt it.  Even though it sounds simple enough, the collaging - the painting of the scene - takes a long time.  I use hand dyed fabrics and batiks that I collected for years.  Did anyone say fabriholic?

I realize you won't quite get the the first haiku because you can't see the entire quilt but I will post the whole thing in November!  Anyway, I hope you enjoy. 

Elena

The title of the quilt is from one of the haiku: 

Tranquil Marsh - Wild Iris


warm golden light
shrugs off the chill of gray
blinking open

lush violet
blooms in a tranquil marsh
wild iris

Monday, April 2, 2012

March - Glimmer

This is the result of experimenting with my Inktense pencils.  The rainbow colors are a bit bright...





the dark sky brightens
as the storm ends, a rainbow -
a glimmer of hope