The next exercise in Dijanne Cevaal’s lino-cutting class (link to her blog in the Reading category in the left sidebar) was to create positive and negative images using the same basic drawing.  I created two 4 1/2 x 9 inch blocks (about 10 cm by 22 cm):

For the exercise, we were to leave the background of the negative block untouched.  I think now that the exercise is done, I’ll carve something interesting into parts of the the large flat spaces in this one.

I did my first prints in a combination of metallic and Jacquard textile paint onto a length of my hand-dyed fabric:

I then used the turquoise-teal paint that I liked so much from the 12×12 print:

These prints I really liked!  So much so, that I decided to make two quick art quilts, one of which is being donated to the FiberArt For A Cause (FFAC) fundraiser to benefit the American Cancer Society (which in turn supports cancer research).  My dad had and survived throat cancer, my half-brother and a dear friend died of different cancers, and dad and my husband have had skin cancer(s), and my mom may (?) have colon cancer (if she does, it is VERY slow moving–she wouldn’t do the tests to confirm or rule out, and the doctor diagnosed her over two years ago, so I’m thinking she doesn’t, but we just don’t know).  So… I am happy to once again support the FFAC.  Go here to learn more.

I’ll share the quilts in the next post!

There is a new book out from Lark Books in its “500” series, 500 Art Quilts.

I was thrilled when I received word that two of my quilts would be among the 500 (made by 369 artists).  A whopping 432 pages long, this book is, pure and simple, eye candy!  Edited by Ray Hemachandra with quilts juried by Karey Bresenhan, founder of the International Quilt Association and quilty godmother to hundreds of thousands of quilters for her incredible energy and devotion to quilting and the quilting industry–she’s one of the forces of nature behind International Quilt Festival in Houston (can you tell I think she’s the bee’s knees?).

Now that I have received my artists’ copy, I am even more thrilled—and humbled and astounted—to be included on these pages.  All I can say is that you MUST get your hands on a copy of this amazing compilation which summarizes the state of art quilting around the world today.  It is simply STUNNING!

My quilt A Sense of Place:  The Wall, has a page all to itself (on left):

And Koi (yippeee!) is included here, top of left page:

Throughout the book I was tickled to see names I know well, and equally excited to see quilts and names I’ve never seen before.  What a wealth of talent and creativity we have in this medium!  Karey did a fantastic job selecting a representative range of styles and techniques (jurying was blind, meaning she did not know who made which quilts), and Hemachandra and staff did a great job placing the quilts in groupings that complement the quilts.  There is almost no text, just name of the maker, size, materials.  The artwork speaks for itself…and it is singing in joyfullness!

A few days (week?) ago, I shared with you some of my first attempts at lino-cuts, here.  I then did the first exercises for the class. To become familiar with the techniques, Dijanne Cevaal (our teacher, blog here and is in the links on the left) has us do a nine-patch sampler of marks.  Of course I didn’t make mine quite like the sample, but you get the idea:

And an angled view that gives you an idea of the depth of the cuts.  For this one, I used the Golden-Cut linoleum from Dick Blick (link below).

One of the best suggestions / new to me, was to use a pale color of paint/ink for printing to create good background texture, then print over it with another lino-cut.  The pale background print adds subtle but effective movement to the print.  Here is my pale print (which I will over print, at least part of it, later on):

The trick with this 12 x 12 inch block is to get it all inked up without having the paint dry.  I have been using the textile paints I had on hand:  Jacquard Textile paint,  Setacolor transparents and Lumiere (a metallic).  For my second print, I used a pewter metallic Lumiere.  You can see pale spots where I didn’t get it inked up quite as well as I should have.

The third attempt was with some Jacquard Textile Paint.  Usually, I’m not as wild about this paint as it is thick and opaque,  so when painting or doing some stamping with it, it obscures the print of the cloth underneath (I like to shade the fabric usually, but not hide it).  However, this paint worked the best for this technique.  I REALLY like the way this one turned out.  I’ve ordered more of the Jacquard and some of the water-soluble Speedball inks that are for use on textiles to see how they handle, too.   Stay tuned for tests with those (the box should be here in a few days–ordered from Dick Blick, an online art supply store in the US).

Next, I’ll share some leaf / bud carvings and prints.

Logo designed by Jeanelle McCall of http://www.fivespoongallery.com/

Get ready folks…tomorrow is another Tote Tuesday fundraiser for the American Cancer Society, and it’s gonna be AMAZING… please visit Virginia Spiegel’s Tote Tuesday page, here.  There are THREE bags of delectables from Karey Bresenhan filled with goodies from her stash, her mama’s, and donations from amazing people around the world.  There are other amazing offers of books, totes, padfolios, artwork… it is just amazing!  Let’s make this an especially successful day!

Next week will be (I think) the last Tote Tuesday, and it will include my donation of a copy of Threadwork Unraveled, a spool of Superior Threads Rainbows in one of my favorite colorways, four pieces of my hand-dyed cloth totalling just over a yard of fabric, and a pair of hand-dyed socks (upside down to each other, AND a piece of artwork using one of my new lino-cuts (more on that tomorrow!).  Stay tuned, and DO surf over to Virginia’s and see if you’d like to bid tomorrow.

So often, we hear gripes about bad encounters with corporations (and wait ’til I tell you about Continental Airlines, it’s a doozy but that’s a different post).  This post is about corporate good behavior!

A while back I bought the Mighty Bright Flex2 light with ac adaptor (plug).  I liked it so much, and so did Paul, that we bought a second one for him.  Since glare from the sofa lamps on the TV screen bugs Paul at night for TV watching, I bought mine to use as a reading light while on the sofa with him.  Well, mine died after less than 3 months, and they have a bulb life of a few thousand years.

So I looked up the company and wrote, saying I didn’t know what they might be able to do, as I had thrown out the receipts.  I did test the light with batteries, and with Paul’s light with my plug, and my light with Paul’s plug, and was able to determine that my AC plug was fine, but the light was not.  Lo and behold, about 2 weeks later, a replacement arrives, no questions asked, no need to return the dead one, nothing…just a company wanting to make good on their guarantee and make their customers happy.  They succeeded!

This is what my light looks like, and here

is the info from the Mighty Bright company.  I bought mine at a Barnes & Noble.

The second story is about Delsey suitcases.  In 1987 or so, while moving with the US State Department to Bolivia, Paul and I bought our first hard-sided suitcases.  Those two molded-plastic suitcases were the first generation of wheeled bags, and they STILL function.  But, wheels and technology have vastly improved, so about 15 months ago I bought a new Delsey on sale.

Two weekends ago, while racing to get set up for a class (we got in to the building a mere 30 minutes before the class was to begin, and I usually need a good hour to set up for that workshop), I accidentally stepped on a buckle and broke it.  I wrote to Delsey USA via their website to describe the part I had broken, and ask how I could purchase a replacement part (it’s the gizzie that you can use to “chain” or tow another suitcase…if you look at the picture, it is the thing in the middle of the top).  A couple days ago I get an envelope in the mail with TWO replacement pieces, the whole thing not just the half of the buckle that I broke because I’m a klutz, with NO charge!  Once again, I am a HAPPY customer.

GOLD STARS to both Mighty Bright and Delsey.  It’s nice when huge companies do right. Thanks folks!