Nancy Crow is an Ohio-based modern quilt pioneer, teacher, and author who has inspired generations of artists with her creativity.
Nancy Crow is an Ohio-based modern quilt pioneer, teacher, and author who has inspired generations of artists with her creativity.
Did I tell you I am taking a second Nancy Crow Workshop? This time I am going to Quilting by the Lake in upstate NY in November and participating in the Sets and Variable III workshop. Have I taken Sets and Variable I or II. No, of course not. LOL Nancy has given us a lot of prep work to prepare for her workshop. The first thing we are to do is draw lots of motifs with simple and compound lines. Second, we are to pick some of the better motifs and sew them with a white background and black lines. Okay, so I am currently away from home attending a conference. Between making notes on the workshop, I am drawing motifs. Here are 72 different motifs I have drawn today. I have posted the numbers on the left side of the motif. Please let me know which 3 motifs are your favorite and feel free to tell me why. Motif winners will be sewn into 8"x8" blocks to take to the QBL2.
No time for pictures yesterday. The day floated by me. I started this piece at the Nancy Crow's Lines, Curves, Circles and Figure Ground workshop last December. It has been taking up my big design wall for way too long and is one of my few workshop pieces that I want to finish. I really enjoyed this class and loved learning how to piece curves. I can't believe I was so fearful of sewing a curve. I felt like I had been set free. I didn't want to make it too complicated as I wanted big, bold and chunky. The assignment involved using bold, bright colors, too. ©Colleen Kole, 2013, Set Free -work in process, 74 x 75 I haven't quilted it yet, of course. But am looking forward to free motion quilting it. I folded it up for later to finish as I need to get going on my original goals of 20 Roofline pieces. This was my favorite class from the Barn workshops. What great memories I have of spending time with a wonderful teacher, friends and creating together. What more could you ask for!
Did I tell you I am taking a second Nancy Crow Workshop? This time I am going to Quilting by the Lake in upstate NY in November and participating in the Sets and Variable III workshop. Have I taken Sets and Variable I or II. No, of course not. LOL Nancy has given us a lot of prep work to prepare for her workshop. The first thing we are to do is draw lots of motifs with simple and compound lines. Second, we are to pick some of the better motifs and sew them with a white background and black lines. Okay, so I am currently away from home attending a conference. Between making notes on the workshop, I am drawing motifs. Here are 72 different motifs I have drawn today. I have posted the numbers on the left side of the motif. Please let me know which 3 motifs are your favorite and feel free to tell me why. Motif winners will be sewn into 8"x8" blocks to take to the QBL2.
mother artist quilt maker hand stitching inner life time is material
Black & Whites
Nancy Crow is an Ohio-based modern quilt pioneer, teacher, and author who has inspired generations of artists with her creativity.
Artist Nancy Crow has been making quilts for over 40 years. She maintains large studios and a teaching facility on her 218 acre farm east of Columbus, Ohio. Named a Fellow of the American Craft Council, she has received the major award, The Individual Artist’s Fellowship, from the Ohio Arts Council twice and The National Living Treasure Award from the University of North Carolina, Wilmington. In addition, she was named a Master of her Medium in Textiles by The James Renwick Alliance, associated with The Renwick Gallery/Smithsonian Institution.
I just got home from Ohio, after a wonderful week at the Barn. I was taking "Sets and Variables" from Nancy Crow. It was an inte...
Here is the picture of my Blue Rose that I promised you last week. Sorry it took so long. After I promised to post it I was sick and wasn't in my office to take a picture. I was undecided how to finish the edges so for now I just slid it into a frame. This was an experiment where I sewed together 5 or 6 layers of fabric and then started cutting away layers. Once I was happy with what was revealed, I applied gesso to the front and added some stamping and other color embellishment. I really like the results and should do more with this technique. And here is my first finished (other than the hanging sleeve and a good steaming) quilt from the tops I pieced during Nancy Crow's workshop. The quilting is not going to earn me any awards but I am satisfied with the piece. As I am preparing for a solo show next summer, I want to do more with this "double F" motif and have them all hang together.
Hand dyed cottons, fused, machine quilted
Nancy Crow is an Ohio-based modern quilt pioneer, teacher, and author who has inspired generations of artists with her creativity.
Around About - three months We are go to get a Pineapple Punch tonight. What? We are getting lots of moisture from Hawaii so it means Snow tonight. The bright Orange scraps make me think of the bright colours of Hawaii. Orange is the new colour for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge 2013. I have added my post to Scraphappy Saturday Orange Oasis today. After you read my post, Go see what others are doing with their orange scraps. I sewed on my "Around About" last night. I needed to get from purple to Orange. Last month I was lucky to find an old strip set of pink and purple to make the change over. How was I going to make my change from Purple to Orange? Why would anyone have purple and orange left overs partly sewn? Well I dug and dug. Guess what I found? (it helped that I cleaned and took note of old UFO's last weekend). Orange scraps, list of blocks I need to do and little piles of units needed. I found this Purple and Orange lumpy wavy strip set. It was built in a Nancy Crow class maybe back in 2004 or 2005. I have a box of curvy strip sets I built in the class. I spent at least one full day (and night) building about 12 strip sets that are very wonky and measure about 20 inches across. This was one of them. Perfect. Finally using it. With the strip sets I have some more curvy cut strings. Many in orange. See how wavy they are. They were cut with a rotary cutter but not a ruler. I sewed some together. Do you see how lumpy it is. I do not iron it yet. Cut it first. Cut before you iron. I made it wide so that after it is ironed I can straighten it up again. I am not sure I want "Around About" to be totally wonky. Just a few bits here and there. I used best press and a very hot dry iron to make those seams behave. It worked. I then trimmed these again to get out edges to be some what straight. I did not want to get into fussy curves on the larger units I am adding. I have been interviewing each of the add on before I sew it on. This is the photo before I sewed and in the stage were I thought "Yes I am happy with it".
I did. I just soaked up every minute of the Barn last week for the Improvisations class given by Nancy Crow. It was a tough class for me-quick paced and some of the art concepts were obviously things I hadn't really thought of fully before I design a quilt. Or even knew. Nancy divides the class into a series of exercises which need to be completed in a specific amount of time. Some of the exercises are done in black and white and some in color. I was really worried about this class but went into it with this attitude: each exercise given to us to- was just an exercise. Not a wonderful quilt that I would produce but an exercise I would learn from. I did complete most of the exercises but failed miserably at the middle one. Obviously one I need to re-do here at home. I won't tell you more about these specific exercises but I will tell you this: 1. I learn more at my one week workshops at the Barn than I ever did in a semester of college. Ask others and they will say the same. 2. It is absolutely wonderful to share time with others who have the same goals and interests. And laugh with them. Making art is lonely and a sharp contrast to what I did before with people every minute I was working. I didn't realize how lonely I was! 3. Nancy, her family and Margaret Wolf work together and give above and beyond to make this a great learning experience. Nancy spent a considerable amount of time with us and for that I am truly grateful. 4. Yes, I did sew spending from 7:30 am -10pm there working away. Uninterrupted time except for meals. Wonderful meals. Working on a black and white composition another work in process 5. Carol Soderlund was teaching a surface design class there at the same time. It was a treat to see what that class did and see Carol's happy face. I think one of Carol's classes will be next in line for me. 6. Set aside comparing yourself to others and what they are doing. You can't be at any other place than where you are currently are at in your artmaking. I am grateful to have had this opportunity. If you have a chance to go to the Barn, don't hesitate to go. The experience will exceed your expectations. And that expectation should be about learning as much as you can and not about producing the miracle piece. Be inspired, my friends- I am over the top inspired. And a little tired.
Nancy Crow workshop Sets and variables I and II - Preparation
I loved my workshop with Nancy Crow! Sunday, set-up day, I was totally overwhelmed. The class was an advanced class and many of the women knew each other from previous workshops. They all seemed to have more fabric, better irons, bigger machines, EVERYTHING. I was totally un-nerved. I had to go out to the porch and cry for a while. Monday I had pulled myself together and I bravely marched back to the barn. Our first assignment was to create a 2 ft by 3 ft quilt using a black figure on a white ground. It was due in 24 hours. I stayed till 10 pm and arrived at 7 am Tuesday morning to get it finished for the 9 am reveal. Here it is. Tuesday we were assigned to create 3 tops that were 3 ft by 4 ft tops. The goal was to create a middle ground in the three quilts. The first quilt was to reinterpret the quilt from Monday using multiple blacks and whites and a grey. The second quilt was to reinterpret the first day's quilt using blacks, whites, greys, and brown. The third quilt was to reverse the colors in the 2nd quilt. We had till 10 am on Wednesday. I stayed till 10 pm and got there Wednesday at 7 am. At 9 am Nancy gave us till 11 am since no one had all three finished. I got the first two finished. Here they are. The last assignment was to create a 4 ft by 5 ft quilt in full color using the same elements as in the quilt from the first day and the best of the quilts from the second day. The colors and values were supposed create various fore grounds, middle grounds, and back grounds. We had till Friday at 3 pm to get it finished. Guess how long I stayed and how early I arrived each day? Yeah, you got it. But I got it finished! Here is my quilt.
For the record, I need to start by confessing that a week after I sent in my deposit for the workshop, I got cold feet and tried to back out of it. I had been told by a number of people that Nancy …
Nancy Crow workshop Sets and variables I and II - Preparation
Nancy Crow is an Ohio-based modern quilt pioneer, teacher, and author who has inspired generations of artists with her creativity.
For the record, I need to start by confessing that a week after I sent in my deposit for the workshop, I got cold feet and tried to back out of it. I had been told by a number of people that Nancy …
Nancy Crow seminar 2015 - Students exhibition in Alsace for Patchwork European Meeting
Well–I did it again. I’m just back from my fourth trip to Nancy Crow’s Timber Frame Barn in Ohio. I spent two weeks there studying Advanced Composition with 20 other students. The…
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All week we are using a linear motif each student was to design before coming to the class. Here is mine. The first day we were to create two finished sewn-together compositions of about 36 inches square. The first composition was to use black and one color in a flat and a bright tone. The second composition used white and the same color in two tones. Here are my 2 compositions.
mother artist quilt maker hand stitching inner life time is material
How to make Wonky Curved Blocks (16") I'm going for a fairly over sized block, but the method works for any size block you would lik...
I've been thinking about doing some new work and making a change from straight lines and squares to more circular shapes....like that would ...
I must also tell you of another go getter of a woman who has a way with color and fabrics, my friend Cathy. We met back in April at the Gee's Bend retreat in Alabama. I was excited about my upcoming workshop with Nancy at Shakerag and told her about it. Cathy was able to obtain a spot in the workshop and we had a fine reunion. She is such a kind and giving person, full of energy and fun. An amazing woman to watch in action. Check out her blog, livelovelaugh-cathy.blogspot.com to see her progress on composition # 2. Her composition # 1 is equally as beautiful, as you can see. And now it is time for me to fess up. I was one of the students that didn't complete composition # 2. In fact, I didn't even get a good start on # 2. We began by making more striped fabrics following certain criteria. Thirty fabrics to be precise. I got a good start with these 3 pieces, since the directions were pretty concise. Then, as you can see, I ended up all over the place as far as color. Totally incoherent, er-ah, non-cohesive. And if you take the time to count, I didn't even make 30 fabrics. I was pretty burnt out by fabric # 27 at 1:00 am. After staying up way past midnight 3 days in a row, fog had set up permanent residence in my brain. Commenting to Nancy the next morning, that I didn't yet have all my fabrics completed, she said, "too bad. We've got to move on." And that was just fine with me. What the heck was I going to do with this mess, I wearily asked myself. First of all, we cut a strip of varying sizes from each of our made fabrics. And from these strips of fabric we had our choices to work with in restructuring a new composition. Again, Ms. Cannot Make a Decision, was all over the place. I have 3 compositions in one. Ok, let's divide these into separate compositions. It was a start. I won't be boring by showing all the configurations I tried. Let's just say, that they were really bad. The harder I tried the worse they got. And to be honest, I think I must have deleted the pictures of my wall as it appeared on Friday afternoon. Or maybe I just didn't even take any pictures by then. I truly do not remember. I packed everything up, loaded my car. Had a delicious last meal at Shakerag and headed home. After recuperating physically and mentally for, oh let's say 25 days, I began again. compo B, yet to be decided I decided to begin anew with some of these parts. compo A I will spare you scrolling through the multiple arrangement pictures. Here is where I am today. approximately 50 inches x 70 inches at this point and growing I wanted to work with less colors for a change of pace and try something totally unlike anything I had ever done. I don't want to make a clone of the many, many Gee's Bend-ish, Nancy Crow-ish pieces that I constantly see all over the www. Still looking for something different. As my blog descriptions states in the About Me box still searching, diligently. I feel that each person learns at his or her own pace. I can sew very fast, but I do not work fast. I am methodical and plotting. What I see in my mind doesn't always look good on the design wall and I constantly change my designs as I go. Whether it be an improvisational piece or something taken from a photo to a sketch to a pattern. In my mind, when I am sketching or drawing with pencil and paper, I will begin with an idea or a focal point. From there, I expand and do lots of erasing. The same with "drawing" with fabric. I am still more comfortable beginning with a focal point and then "sketching" or sewing more fabrics to add until I am happy with what I am seeing. From there I can work on that vague vision until it becomes reality. Constantly erasing and redrawing. As much as I respect Nancy's methods, I cannot say that it is my preferred method. Plus the fact that abstract composition still escapes me. However, I am now even more determined to learn. I do plan to try and do more smaller pieces in the future using her methods. Granted, I am not likely to make a 5 foot by 6 foot quilt a week by my methods. For now, I will incorporate things that Nancy taught and try and be more open minded. I learned so much in this 5 day workshop, not only about art, but so much about myself. Even though I did not come home with a completed piece, those days and nights will stay with me forever, as a great learning experience. Nancy boosted my ego tremendously. I got my money's worth and then some. Thank you Nancy Crow.
Artist Nancy Crow draws inspiration from near and far to create beautiful and inventive quilts that take the medium to a new level.
Nancy Crow workshop Sets and variables I and II - Gradation in size and value - Work in progress
mother artist quilt maker hand stitching inner life time is material
Vor etwa einem Jahr hatte ich mir den Katalog zur Ausstellung Color Improvisations bei Ginie Curtze bestellt, da ich die Ausstellung in Karlsruhe nicht besuchen konnte. Schon beim Durchblättern des Buches war ich mir sicher: da will ich hin. Diese Quilts möchte ich unbedingt im Original sehen! Doch auch die nächsten Termine in 2012 konnte ich leider wieder nicht wahrnehmen. Da traf es sich gut, dass wir jetzt sowieso Freunde in Schleswig-Holstein besuchen wollten. Denn nach dem 10.3.2013 werden die Exponate Neumünster und Europa verlassen und in die USA gehen. Am 8.2. war es endlich soweit... Am Eingang Wenn man im Museum Tuch und Technik die Kasse passiert hat, betritt man die obere Etage des Museums, eine Galerie. Eine gewisse Ehrfurcht beschlich mich, als ich die ersten Quilts im Original sah. Heike Dressler Doch schon sehr schnell kehrte ich auf den Boden der Tatsachen zurück, als ich mit Bedauern feststellen musste, dass die Quilts nicht sehr professionell gehängt waren. Teilweise waren die Stangen viel zu dick, so dass sich Wellen bildeten. Von Heike Dressler weiß ich zum Beispiel, dass sie am unteren Ende ihrer Quilts einen zweiten Tunnel annäht, um bei ihren eigenen Ausstellungen den Quilt im Zweifelsfall dort zusätzlich zu stabilisieren, damit er glatt hängt. Hier hatte man leider auf solche Feinheiten verzichtet. Schade! Ob man den Künstlerinnen damit einen Gefallen getan hat? Barbara Bugliani Dennoch war ich total begeistert von der Fülle derart ausdruckstarker moderner Textilkunst. Welche Aussagekraft und Einzigartigkeit präsentierte sich dem Besucher mit jedem Quilt. Faszinierend, wie unterschiedlich und mit erkennbar eigener Handschrift jede der 27 Künstlerinnen das Thema umgesetzt hat. Mary Lou Alexander Sylvia Sutherland Impression Jayne Willoughby Scott Obwohl die meisten Exponate von Amerikanerinnen angefertigt wurden, brauchen sich unsere deutschen Kolleginnen wahrlich nicht zu verstecken. Ihre Quilts können sowohl in Design als auch in handwerklicher Hinsicht durchaus international mithalten. Pia Welsch Detail von Heike Dresslers Quilt Uta Lenk Uta Lenk Randa Stewner Da viele der Quilts frei im Raum hingen, konnte man auch deren Rückseiten sehen. Interessante Rückansichten Mein Fazit: Ich bereue nicht, die weite Anreise zu der Ausstellung gemacht zu haben. Ich fand es spannend und inspirierend die Originale bekannter Artquilterinnen in der Ausstellung zu sehen. Das hat mir persönlich viel gegeben. Die Ausstellung der Selfportraits von Nancy Crow war für mich etwas Neues und ich habe mich über die "Zugabe" gefreut. Diese Art der Monoprints ist ungewöhnlich und sehr ausdruckstark. Besonders gurt gefallen hat mir die Struktur, die sie durch Maschinenquilten hervorgerufen hat. Dadurch kommen die hellen "Bänder" noch deutlicher und plastisch hervor. Ich glaube, das sind Arbeiten einer neuen Generation. Wer die Möglichkeit hat, nach SH zu reisen, bevor die Ausstellung zu Ende ist, sollte die Gelegenheit wahrnehmen und sie sich ansehen. Demnächst berichte ich über amerikanische Quiltshops und einen Quilt, der jetzt in Memoriam entsteht. Bis bald... Heide
