every-single-day

All Sortsa Places...

In this post I am going to be as discombobulated as I am feeling right now.

The man is finished. I thought I would be doing alot more work on him and then my impetus fizzled, he grew on me and I bound his edges! He is my first completed male work of art!

A few pieces of art ago, I asked mySelf very nicely, to please stop beading pieces so intensely. I told mySelf that this was slowing down my ability to put artwork out into the world.

So then, I start quilting densely! Now I hear mySelf grumbling to let mySelf be. I am obviously a micro oriented person, why fight it, right?
So. Now. Please know the color in the first photograph is the closest to reality. I will be adding him to my gallery as soon as I straighten one thing out. Maybe you guys/gals can help me on this one.
When my friends see this piece that call it No. 15 for obvious reasons. I don't want to name it No. 15. In my mind the number is there because it is.

So here is the Cat part of the post!

This is an abstract photo of Arrow! My! Cat! Pal! He loves to sit in my lap as I surf. He is a belly up sort of boy! Loves the belly rubbins.

And this is Monk, who doesn't feel well. He is going to the V-E-T tomorrow. Poor little guy has an infection in his mouth! Ouch. Prey to Bast that Monk gets better and soon.

I said I felt discombobulated.
Here are a few of my current blog/website crushes:
JuJu Loves Polka Dots it started with the pocket tutorial. The skirt and the red striped shirt did me in.
Wee Wonderfuls. I want one of her dolls and can't afford an 80$ doll right now! I think I am going to have to save up.
Whip Up. They are a style fulcrum of craftiness.
The Birdhouse Network has some nest cams set up! I feel super invasive looking into the home of birds but I can't resist either.
Natascha Rosenberg
She is very creative and fun!
Then thier are all of my tagged items over in the right hand toolbar...

Thanks to everyone who sent well wishes about my article!!! It makes me so happy to see my work on glossy pages. Now I want to write more articles! Get my book published, take over the world through quilting. MwaHaHaHa!

Happy Dancey Pants!!!!

oHmYGoDdeSS!!!!!!!
I am in PRINT!!!

I have been so patient! I wrote it in November! Horray for me!!! I can't hardly contain myself! YEAH!!!
ummm...hmmm!

Love Bird Comfort!

I have been crazy buzy with the commission. But I made time to make this pillow out of one of the Love Bird Squares I am selling in my shop.
I made it for myself. I am in love with it!

Sale/Trade anyone?

8 ounces Cotton Moire, hand dyed in fucshias, reds and rust. Originally bought this from Habu Textiles. I value it at 28$. I don't have a ball winder so I can't break this baby down.
I lowered the 'price'. Make an offer!

Traded!

I made these two bears from a pattern, can't recall which one. They are 16" tall, stuffed with glass beads and excelsior. Thier joints are a little loose. They need a loving home. Separately or together. I value them at 25$ each.
My "values" are loose.

If you would like to trade? I would like Scarf Style, Yarn enough for a Turtle Neck Shrug in something very soft and warm and needles to knit it with.
Metal Tjaps
I feel a little silly even posting these things. The bears took forever to make, but that was so long ago, I would just like to have the studio space back. Make an offer.
If we trade we will work out whatever we need to through email. I want to get rid of this stuff, so talk to me!
I have bigger, more detailed photos and will forward them if you would like them.

Artist's Way Folks:
I went four days without doing the morning pages last weekend, it went horribly! I don't want to work without them. I get it, I know why she wants us to do them! I am back in line and doing them every morning.
About money? I have a negative view of money, as though this were an old and ingrained issue.
My new view on money and its ability to surface in my life is more maliable. Money is something that can be manifested.
Though as I write this I think of the 3000$ plumbing job we were just forced to do. Anyone wanna buy some art?

Waxing Eloquent!

This will be a photo rich post. I am going to post about the cloth I made from least liked to best liked. I like them all, don't get me wrong. But like a photographer, If I get one photo that I loooove out of an entire roll, I am doing really well.

This is good, I want something more to come out of the brightest/lightest blocks. This one will stay in my unfinished pile. It may need to be soda soaked again. or perhaps a screen printed ditty will do the trick.

I really like this one. The hot and cool reds and pinks work well for me. I can see it cut up and used in, well. Something.

Again, I really like this. I would like to do it over, trying to use smaller blocks and more layers. Different colors. The wax resisted blocks were applied using a foam block. I wonder how difficult it would be to make a foam stamp. I think I should check out This to That to find out about applying foam to plexiglas.

As I was making this one, I thought it would be my favorite. I love it. The textures are right on, the colors suit it. It sings. This photo stinks but it is time for me to move on. I need to start my day...

But this is the piece that made me say, "YES!" and, "how can I exploit what is happening within this piece?
Sonji asked what scale these pieces are. I usually work in fat quarters. Because I often use monoprint as a means to achieve texture, I am limited to creating cloth to the largest piece of Plexiglas that I own. That would be max 54". I like working small because I can do it alone. When I make cloth in yardages, I need to ask my man for help in manuevering.
Sonji is doing some great work over there! Go check it out! the blue is my favorite!

Waxy Weekend/Snowed IN!

This weekend my Man was away and the girls (EJP and Jeri Riggs)came to play. We got snowed in! I swear there was a bjillion inches of snow. All of which we shoveled from my luckily short driveway.

I took alot of photos but too many of them were wonky in some sort of way. Weird smiles, odd facial expressions, so I will spare you the gorey details. Instead I will show a goofy photo of myself. I can handle it!
We made some really awesome fabric, using soy wax.
Jeri brought some awesome metal objects. I am going to have to get my hands on some of the metal circles she brought!
And then... damn it! They got me to start knitting again! I had myself convinced that I had enough creativity on my plate without obsessing over gauge, stitch count and the like. Then Jeri has to go and tell me how to knit a top down hat to whatever gauge I want.
Damn it! I love to knit. I love being about to do it on the fly. I love to read knitting blogs... and today... I went to buy Scarf Style. They didn't have it in stock. I want a turtle neck shrug!
Photos of the cloth I made in the next few days!
Unfortunately the weekend ended in clogged pipes and major plumbing bills, but these things happen!

I keep thinking I should have a blog tag sale. Does this sound like a wonky idea? I have things like one pound of hand dyed cotton chenille, odd craft items for making teddy bears and stuff like that, that I don't see myself using. Maybe I should just make a list of stuff I have and ask if anyone wants to trade for ... Scarf Style and stuff like that!
What do you guys think?

I have a whole bunch on comments to respond to, I love getting posts from all of you and don't want you to think I take it for granted, so thanks! You will hear from me.

The Starting Line

I just got back from a shopping trip with DS who commissioned the three baby quilts from me. It went so well! I didn't know what to expect. I wanted a look and feel to the group of quilts and need not have thought twice about it. DS's taste and color skills were spot on!!! Yeah!
And the nice part? The pink hand cloth wasn't clicking... and I had done a forth ORANGE colorway that was just right! Hurray!

My favorite color combination of the moment? Pink and Orange! And now I get to work with it.

The two boy quilts were just so easy to choose fabrics for it wasn't even funny. I have a soft spot for the blue colorway! Don't know why.

The lonely fabrics off to the right are going to be backing fabrics.

This is where I would like to discuss my progress in the Artist's Way. This chapter discusses making a good faith effort to approach your Goddess/God/Higher Power with your creative desire and trust that s/he will meet you half way. That she is willing to give what you seek and encourage you to move forward.
I quit my day job.
I am working toward setting myself up doing commissions like this one. I am doing the leg work. One step at a time. As I complete this commission, I need to look for a photographer who could photograph these four quilts in a sexy, marketable way. And I trust that the Goddess and the world needs the Melanie Testa makers mark on some high quality goods.

Hurray!

Positive reinforcement!!! Someone bought TWO, count them, 2 purses. One of which will be beaded!
Thank you Universe, for affirming the ability to sell the things that I make.

This is the next offering in my shop, hand dyed screen printed squares. Just in time for Valentines day. I am selling them in groups of 4. The first person to purchase a batch will get an extra one.
I think they are cute as pie!
I hope they sell.

I continue to do the Artist's Way. I love the fifth chapter and will need to reread it. Gotta go to my photoshop class! Will discuss this more later.

Commissioned Cloth Complete

This is 1.5 yards of cloth. With a detail shot (below).

It feels so good not to have the making of this cloth over my head anymore. all together this cloth takes 3 hours to make, not including the soda soak beforehand. So add another 15 minutes per piece.

This colorway is my favorite. I like dark rich colors.

So now! I can go back to my regularily scheduled studio time. That wax is still calling my name.
Omigoodness! I exceeded my bandwidth last month! I think I need to upgrade. I am trying to slim down my jpg's wherever possible. And decide between two plans, a difference in cost of 22$ or 77$
I want the site to be totally up and available for the months following my magazine article.
What would you guys do?

Chapter 4, The Artist's Way

For those of you who are not doing the Artist's Way, feel free to skip ahead.

Chapter 4 asks us to stop reading for one week. I am not doing this. No way, unt-un, No, nada. NOT.
I am having a little bit of a hard time with the Artist's Way in gereral. I am not a blocked creative. I know what my art is, I know that I do not need to feel the 'creative energy' to create, I know that I need to create in order to feel whole and connect to powers greater than my Self.
I have been doing the morning pages everyday since I started doing the course. Somedays I have written less than 3 pages but I have written everyday. I see and feel the value. No fabulously lost parts of me are popping out in these pages. I have done alot of the work suggested in this book over the past few years and do not have a deeply buried self.
I have been revealed to myself and am aware.
I do sometimes go on media blackout, which for me means no internet, no news, no TV. Perhaps this is what I need to replace no reading with. But I am not going to. I am skipping this chapter. I will continue to do my morning pages though and look forward to chapter 5.

Yesterday, I made this bag for myself. It is only big enough to hold my journal, paint set, pens and related stuff.

It needs dyeing. Embellishing, Washing. I hope that the raw edges fray up and become fluffy.
I think I mentioned that I bought Danny Gregory's Creative License. in a previous post. I have always thought to make myself a bag that would only hold my journaling supplies, and inspired by his book, I figured it was the right time to make it.
I know a white bag is difficult to photograph. Hope it doesn't bore you.