I wake up to gloomy Juney skies in Southern California, with 7 days of school left, at least 3 of them are chaotic evil, OK, maybe neutral, but probably not good. Today includes two staff meetings, maybe three, with one optional but is it really? I mean, they sent an email at 9:30 PM about it. Last night. Fun times. Free donuts though. How do you get teachers to show up early on a Monday morning? Yeah. Free food. We’re sad. We had this discussion that our appreciation week this year was pretty sad…the wonder of no PTA and IDK what else. It is not ideal.
Meanwhile, the government is trying to make a case for sending the National Guard into Los Angeles, after not deploying them during the January 6 insurrection. I mean, if there were ever a time to use them (since 1960), that would be it. And to ignore the governing bodies already saying, “We got this”…nah, let’s escalate it. After arresting tourists and US Marshalls and kids in or on their way to school and people who have been going through the legal process, paying taxes, contributing to the community, sometimes for YEARS, let’s deport them. Immigrants pay $96.7 billion in taxes each year. They’re not freeloaders, unlike some billionaires.
This picture was all over the internet yesterday…some of my extremely right-leaning friends posted it.
Claiming it was part of the ‘riots’ in Los Angeles. Problem is, that’s not a current picture. It’s from 2020. It doesn’t help when the elected politicians are part of that fraud.
Liars. That’s how they start riots. Lying.
Exacerbate the issue. Make California the problem. Bring in the military. Many of whom are people of color, immigrants. In fact, y’all, most of us are immigrants here. My lily white people weren’t born here. We came from somewhere else. Most of you did.
I’m so irritated by the government’s flailing at the moment, so scared for my students’ families, so worried that those who are apparently in charge will be making things so much worse. Power. Greed. Money. Not empathy, not taking care of people, not making sure things are safe. No Kings protest on Saturday. No dictators. No rich people in charge please, unless they get it. Unless they donate books to schools or homes to the homeless. Donate a significant part of their income. Pay their damn taxes. Pay their bills. Then they can be in charge. Not these bloated idiots.
Sigh. It’s not surprising I can’t make new art right now. Between school ending and all this shit, how could I? I did finish the in-between Boom quilt…
Friday night. Nova not helping. At all.
My mom had given the Tinsel quilt back to me after she finished the snowflake embroidery…
I think she gave it back to me in November, and then it’s been sitting around. I finally quilted it…just luckily had the right colors of thread. Good thing, because I don’t know where to locally get thread any more.
I mean, it’s not like Joann had regularly stocked thread in the last couple of years anyway.
I appliqued stuff, mom embroidered, I pieced it together and added some pieces over the edges, appliqued the snowflake bits on. We changed the borders. I didn’t like the way it was in the pattern, and someone else had done a nicer version, so we did that instead.
Last night, I put the binding on and made sleeves.
I’m not done with the handstitching, but I probably will be tonight.
Trying to do all that while the dumb government attempts to take over the state. I’m willing to stop paying federal taxes…they don’t pay for anything I want at the moment. No education, no USAID, no saving people’s lives with cancer research, no NOAA, so what am I paying for? Teslas? Starlink? Gold toilets? Nothing I want. Nothing I need.
I’m still teaching sex ed. This is a legit concern.
Four more days of that. Today is pretty chill. Gonna test them. Then grades are due Thursday, so I did a bunch of that this weekend, but I won’t be done until Thursday.
This is also legit. Above and below.
She’s an immigrant.
Sigh. I’ve got to get through this week. So many meetings. So much stressful crap. Hoping LA holds it together, but stands their ground. Hoping the pressure of 22 governors against the feds will back all this shit off. Mass deportations. The people who voted for that don’t understand what it really means. Also, tourism is down. Shockingly. You can’t give aid to the fire victims, but you’ll pay for this. You won’t help people hit by tornados or hurricanes, but you’ll pay for this. You won’t send the Guard out to protect people in the Capitol, but you’ll do this.
OK. School. Meetings. Free donuts. Grading. Cleaning the classroom. Trying NOT to build a pillow fort and hide in it for a year or so.
Oooh. Friday. Thanks for coming. Nice to see you. Eight days of school left. Finally out of the totally dry sex ed teaching and into the meaty stuff of pregnancy and parts (they forgot all of them) and diseases (they think it’s all Herpes). Definitely at the document-the-shit-out-of-your-behavior time of year. So the really annoying ones can get out if they can’t behave. Also second Eid came early this year, so a ton of kids will be out today. Oh well. I was missing 9 kids by Period 6 yesterday. My coteacher had 10 kids total in her classroom. Lots of opt-outs on her end, parents who opt their kids out of the curriculum…which is FINE, if they do it on schedule, which large numbers of them did not, increasing our stress levels. Fun times. It’s the end of the school year; it’s always stressful. With the adjustment to a Tuesday end instead of a Thursday end, the grade file doesn’t open until Monday and it’s due Thursday…not sure when the heck I’m supposed to get all that done (well, after school, in the evenings, no duh) AND clean my room up to close it out. There’s a field trip Tuesday, then promotion lineups and next week, I think we’re barely in the classroom, which is fine, but usually grades are due after a weekend. So I’ll get everything I can done this weekend, but the early part of next week will be yucky. I guess at least I know it’s coming.
Art is slow right now because of all that. I did manage on Wednesday night to trim the quilt and get the binding machine stitched on…
Smaller quilts are nice because I don’t have to try to go out and shop for binding. I never have enough of any fabric for binding a big quilt.
Then last night, I sewed the sleeves on and started the handstitching…
Didn’t quite finish; I will tonight. Then I’m going to start trying to draw the next big one. Wish me luck.
I made it to ceramics on Wednesday finally…it’s been almost two weeks. The girlchild gave me a stamp for Mother’s Day and I finally had a chance to try it…
Very cool. She had it made from one of my eye drawings apparently. So fun. Much easier than the crappy carving of my name I’ve been doing.
I glazed, after fixing one thing that broke and breaking two more things, because that’s the stage we’re at.
This color is much better, so I started glazing other things, like bombs and tires. Hopefully I’ll be doing more of that tonight.
My banned book piece will be in this show, opening up in a couple of weeks at the downtown library.
It’ll be on the main floor, I think…
The opening is June 21 from 12-2. I have a dental appointment at 11, so I’ll be rushing a bit.
Liars. Also this…
I don’t want to pay federal taxes any more. It’s not doing me any good.
Here’s Nova again, trying to be ON my lap while I read. I’m literally holding her head as she tries to smoosh her entire chonky self under the iPad.
Sweet but demanding (and shedding fur all over the place).
OK. Teaching how to prevent unplanned pregnancies today (aka birth control). More cleaning of the room, although not during classtime, because classtime is all talking, all the time, no rest for the wicked. Or me. Then clay, then finish the quilt. Sounds OK. Sounds doable. No more late work can be turned in after midnight tonight (well, it CAN, but I won’t grade it), so that’s a hard line. It means that in a week, there will be no more grading. I love that for me. No planning either, except for some bits and pieces of stuff I keep tossing out there. My coteacher and I have two days for planning for next year set up already, for the beginning of July…gives us time to mentally reset, but works around our summer schedules. I’m jealous of her travel, but also want to stay home and make art. And I’ve been finding and ordering supplies for the week of artmaking in July for me. Going to do some painting on fabric and some fabric manipulation and some threadpainting. I have avoided Amazon and Target and Walmart and Hobby Lobby and all the other lame companies. I feel good about it, excited even. Not excited about cleaning the garage out, but it is also on the list. So is painting the shed. Fun times. Not. Maybe I’ll even get the sprinklers fixed finally. Ha!
Oh. My. It’s been fun y’all. Really. This week? I’m sure it’s the 7th Thursday this week. Yes, I know it’s not really Thursday. Or the 7th Thursday in a week. It just FEELS that way. I haven’t cried yet (knock on wood, growth mindset!), so either that’s a good thing, or the meditation and ashwaganda are doing their jobs. Maybe. I might just be in shock.
So, there’s 10 days of school left. Time enough to teach pregnancy and unplanned pregnancies (aka birth control) and STDs. And grade everything? I think kids have stopped trying to fix their grades. Mostly. I’m OK with that. If you haven’t figured it out by now, you’re unlikely to. It’s absolute chaos. Nothing new there. So just strap in, hold on, and scream, and eventually it will be done.
Art! I have a ton of things going on in my head. I’m trying to cull down the things I want to try during the residency to a reasonable number. I can’t do ALL the things in a week…I think. Trying to make sure I have stuff to prep and to do the things. Need materials and some bases to work on. So I’ve been pulling books off of bookshelves and searching up materials lists. That part is fun. I’m also sort of halfheartedly working on this piece, which really really wanted to be made for a long time.
So I quilted her in two nights.
She’s seriously uncomplicated, unlike me. Trim her tonight, put a binding on?
Then what? Then I need to start drawing. Or do something else small and uncomplicated. I’ll have to figure that out.
It’s been this for DAYS.
Like BRING IT. Rain plasma down from the heavens! OK, no, we don’t want fires. RAIN from the heavens! But no. It’s just humid and thick and uncomfortable and you don’t even get the excitement of thunder and lightning, very very frightening me.
This is fun. And so true. And why men’s sperm counts are down.
And we don’t know how to get rid of them. Also, fuck Southwest for putting Gulf of American on their flight tracker. FUCK THEM. Like arrogant shit much? Sigh.
This is so incredibly true. I just moved a huge pile from one place to another…
I SHOULD READ SOME OF THEM. True really. I should. It’s not like I’m not reading; I totally am, every day, for probably too long. Considering all the other shit I should be doing that I’m not. Procrastination? Not really. Just. OK. Maybe. Yeah. I mean, I’d rather read a chapter about demons and vampires than weed whack the slope or replace the solenoid in the sprinkler valve. IDK what my issue is with that, but my brain is just like screaming NO at me. OK brain. Chill. I won’t make you screw the thing in and attach the wires.
OK. Today I am teaching about body image and things. I remember this being a stupid lesson, the way it’s designed, not the learning of it. I didn’t design it. All this was designed by a committee. Yes, a committee I was on, but trying to explain to parents what the average middle schooler will and won’t do in a classroom is torture, plus other teachers are much more wholesome (read: not cynical) than I am and think kids WANT to draw little pictures representing themselves for 20 minutes at the end of the year…I mean, SOME of them do, but I’ve got a whole group of rancid fermenting boys that just want to yell PENIS and run around like chickens with their heads cut off. So yeah. That’s today. Meeting this morning. Somewhat stressful. Lots going on. Could do without it, but it spiraled. Or mushroomed. Or mushroom spiraled. Then after school, I swear I am going to ceramics. I’ve been SO TIRED. But I’m going. I need to. It’ll be fine. I don’t have book club tonight (it got moved) and I’m not cooking, so there’s no rush. I can just go and glaze and listen to my audiobook and chill out. Hopefully. That’s my plan. The rest can go fuck itself.
Uh huh. Twelve days. Unfortunately, two full 5-day weeks, which sounds hard, because it is at this stage. Trying to grade everything, do awards, get ready to teach sex ed, we don’t have the right number of packets of anything and it’s all talking, all the time. Still recovering from food poisoning, thought I was fine, then Saturday kicked my butt. It’s fine. I’m just getting through it all a bit at a time, but I spent probably 4 straight hours Sunday afternoon doing just that. No clay, no nothing. I’m tired of that shit.
I did make art, not a lot, just a bit. I ironed the smaller piece together, with the help of Annie on my feet…
Dogsitting weekend. Almost wrote dogshitting. Still valid.
Small pieces go together quite quickly.
Saturday night, after being mostly off for hours in the afternoon, I stitched it down.
Sunday, I sandwiched, pinbasted, and started quilting…
I also stitched this down…
My SIL claimed it back in November and I promptly lost it for a few months. Found it! Not sure how I’m finishing it yet.
Way too many animals here this weekend. Both dogs helping me read my book Friday afternoon after a very long day of 45 egg drops and a principal meeting.
Sigh. I don’t really want the new principal who’s coming. He doesn’t have great reviews. Ah well. Should be a shitshow of a year.
We had Annie because her daddy was coaching soccer up north.
She has mellowed out. She’s also scared of cats and we have four of them.
And sometimes they like each other.
Boychild was at a fire and gone an extra day for that…
So Simba barked nonstop and the Man and I sent memes about dogs barking back and forth.
Totally Simba.
And when Simba gets going, Annie sometimes joins in, mostly out of nervousness of being left out, I think.
Survived the egg drops, although many eggs did not.
It seems anathema to sacrifice so many scrambled egg breakfasts in the name of science, but we did. It was good.
Happy Pride Month!!!
Maybe I’ll get my flag up this month. Might need an assist on that.
This is my answer to my local school board about everything.
Also that last bit, louder for those chatting in the back.
Want some owl video?
There’s definitely a baby. I hope there’s more. Even if they’re loud.
Yeah. The next quilt isn’t fully in my head yet. Not surprising, considering all the juggling and balancing going on right now. Two Zooms (emergencies!) just popped up in my email last night. Sigh.
Yup. That’s what I do. In rainbow colors (not just Pride…all the time).
OK. Teaching the first day of sex ed, where we talk about nothing. Fun stuff. Then a two-hour staff meeting where we might meet the new principal who we’ve already vetted with all our friends who work at the school where he’s not allowed back. No joke. It’s been a good run, y’all. I’ve had decent principals for about 13 years or so. I guess its’ time. OR. Maybe he learned his lesson after the last one, will turn over a new leaf? What are the odds. THEN, I get to be on an emergency Zoom while driving to drop art off downtown, because, yes, I got into the library show. It opens June 21, Saturday, from 12-2. I think I have a dentist appointment right before that, so I will be running late. Ah well. At least I got in. Then maybe I can come home after all that. Not sure when clay is happening. Tomorrow? Ugh. Midnight? Maybe.
I just got back from four days in Ohio…Athens, Ohio (OK, it’s taking me a long time to finish this post, so not really just back…almost a month ago! Hey school ended. Don’t judge too hard.). Where Quilt National takes place. This is my 5th time getting in, and nothing compares to the first time, but it’s still amazing. I wasn’t able to go the last two times…in 2021, there was barely a vaccine, and I was teaching on Zoom, and it just seemed like too much. In 2023, I was still listening to my school district tell me there were no subs, you can’t possibly take time off. I stopped listening to them, because there has to be a balance between work and life, and there hasn’t been. I am glad to have a supportive principal at the moment. So this year, I went. Excited! But even then, I had forgotten the amazing rush of being with like-minded people, artists struggling to create, whatever that looks like, meeting new people, seeing old friends, seeing the art! So my brain is still in exploding mode, and hopefully that will get me through the end of the year.
I didn’t photograph all of the pieces. I get to a point where I can’t. But I tried to photograph every artist with their piece, and details when I felt them. Oh hey! Here’s me. Talking about my inspiration. I kept it short. I read Dr. Clarissa Pinkola Estes’ Women Who Run With the Wolves when I was in college, and then I had signed up for Audible to listen to books when I quilt and clay, and her books about wise women and crones and Mother trees popped up, and I think I listened to two or three of them. I loved the idea of a Mother Tree/Crone who was trying to protect us all, especially the younger women who might not have the resources we older women have (I’m still not old enough to be a crone, but it’ll come). On the left are all the issues with reproductive rights, telling us we don’t have any, turning women into baby factories. On the right is war, Gaza, Ukraine, there’s bombs dropping throughout this quilt, body bags, people crying. It’s not an easy quilt to explain; it wasn’t easy to make. And I’m glad it got in.
Oh yeah, it has a name: Seeking the Crone’s Protection.
And here it is surrounded by other quilts…love to see what’s around it.
Susan Else’s sculpture Something to Say; to the right, Jennifer Candon’sMetanoia, Peggy Black’sPolyphonic 5 to the left of mine, to the left of that, Ruth de Vos‘ Wings of Freedom, and then to the far left, Keetje Abbenhuis’ Trash in Orbit.
Here’s Peggy Black in front of her piece.
Here’s my good friend Dinah Sargeant with her 100 pieces…holy moly. The piece is called Snaps and is all of her scraps made into little snapshots.
A detail of one of the hundred pieces. Not a small amount of work. She made each into a tiny quilt with sleeves and rods.
This is Kestrel Michaud’sEchoes of Time and Magic, part of her steampunk world.
I’ve read articles and watched videos of her explaining her process, which is similar to mine, but uses technology (computers and cutters instead of scissors).
I had a great conversation with her about her technique and materials, and am impressed she has persuaded her husband to make her artistic life easier (more technological support).
I know that if my hands ever give out, I might need to do the same, head to the computer. Not there yet. Nice to know a process exists though.
I saw a few of her pieces at QuiltCon this year; it’s a fascinating way of working, especially after hearing about why (and how) she did the arm and shoulder after an injury.
Certainly very different to how I make work. It has some ideas I might be exploring this summer. Inspirational anyway.
This is Russ Little talking about his quilt to the right, More Than Black & White #4, with Helen Geglio’sMind Map: Compartments behind him. Russ had a fascinating story of the background behind making these pieces.
Also, this is a good example of my forgetting to go back and take additional photos. I was constantly getting overwhelmed by this experience of art and artists, so I apologize for not fully documenting the event.
For instance, this is Gabrielle McIntosh, a math teacher, who was talking about the piles of grading she needed to do (this is Precarious Balance, which is largely how I feel about school on a regular basis).
I meant to go tell her YES. I GET IT. And I never did.
I took one larger picture where you can see those two a little better, on the right. I think when I went back, there were people just hanging out there constantly (table and chairs?), so that’s my excuse.
This is Jennifer Strauser’sSweet Surrender, constructed by starting to stitch on the outside edges and then moving in.
OK, crazy small world (or not)…I just finished trying to watch some of the Making Zen online workshops this week (totally failed last year, due to being in Maine) and I watched hers! But I didn’t realize it was the same person.
It’s a fascinating technique.
And then there’s this, Stefanie Neuner’sThat’s NUTS, about her atypical child and trying to get them help.
There’s a ton of really special embroidery on this piece.
I know it’s emotional for her and am glad she was invited to be part of the exhibit.
Insane amount or stitching.
Cindy Grisdela explained her leaf/pod shapes and her experimentation with color, in Musings II.
Wendy Richardson’s piece Children of War won an Award of Excellence.
So many pieces about war this year. This one is beautiful.
She spoke about the crosses going up into the sky being those who had lost their lives heading to heaven.
I traveled with a local San Diegan, Juli Smith, who happens to be in my modern quilt guild chapter. This was her first Quilt National with Sweet Tooth, due to the sugar packets she originally designed with.
We had a variety of international quilters, as always, with a variety of ways of communicating with us. This is Harue Konishi and her piece Halu #14. She translated her artist speech for Keri Wolfe to read to us.
Great sense of color and contrast.
Betty Busby’s piece Conflict was an intriguing mix of materials and shapes.
Another war quilt…she talks about these being the aftermath of battle scenes. Here she is explaining how she made barbed wire out of fiber.
When I first started paying attention to Quilt National, you could always tell who had taken classes from Nancy Crow. I think Irene Roderick is the new version of that. This is Laurie Paquin’s Composition 3, and she admits to Irene influence. Her piece reminds me of beetles…or brightly colored cars. The thin lines are intriguing.
She won the Emerging Artist award.
I got absolutely no good pictures of Patty Kennedy-Zafred’s long book-shaped piece, Mercato Del Friuli. It’s behind that head. Whoops! I swear, my brain gives out after a while.
I meant to go back and never did. This is where I tell you to buy the catalog. If you can’t go to the show.
I love Anne Smith’s work. So much recycled fabric used in such a fascinating way. This is Elmore & Duke Reminiscing.
Inspirational stuff.
I often wish I could work more like that…more freeform and textural.
She is also a much more careful quilter than I am.
Susan Shie was not at the opening weekend. I’ve met her before. I would call her one of my early influences in the art quilt world. This is her piece Navalny: 9 of Wooden Spoons (wands) in the Kitchen Tarot.
A crazy amount of writing.
This is Rodger Blum’s Seven Angry Men and One Celestial Being…
The surface is very interesting. I’d like to know more about how he does this. .
This is Trash in Orbit, by Keetje Abbenhuis.
She talked about using a particular shape, three sides and a curved line.
Ruth de Vos was also not at the opening weekend (not surprisingly). This is her piece Wings of Freedom.
The bird wings are beautiful.
Isabelle Dupras’s piece Le grand Tamtidelam a deux tetes is a fun folk piece.
It’s also very different than her other work.
I did ask if she had cats at home…
because of these…apparently no.
Cara Gulati’sRainbow Spiral Kaleidoscope is fun to look at (and try to figure out).
His piece is sound reactive, so I spent time staring at it, trying to figure out what it was reacting to…
No real answer to that. Just that it’s reacting. Certainly beautiful and fascinating.
Sandra LH Woock’s piece Day Break is just fun to look at, trying to figure out how she made it.
That website is ancient. Clearly she spends more time making fascinating things than updating it.
This is Danette Pratt’sScream. I wanted to meet her, to talk to her, but she disappeared. Her piece is on the page next to mine, and she has my mom’s middle name.
Plus holey moley, her stitching, that face; they’re just fascinating.
I like it. I like the hand applique with the slow stitching.
The cool shading here.
Just an amazing piece.
Barbara Schneider is amazing at making fabric look like bark. This is Forest Floor, Tree Bark Fragments, var. 10.
You know, one of the reasons it takes me so long to create this post (besides the day job) is that I search out websites for each artist, and THEN I read their websites. So I just take forever.
This is Barbara Lange’sSo Wa Wai. It’s all discharged jeans fabric and there’s an amazing story behind it.
It involves a mom’s love, which is always a cool subject.
This is Heather Akerberg’sDialectic No. 1, which won Outstanding Machine-Pieced Quilt.
I love that on her website, she talks about introducing her team…and it’s her. And her cat.
From left to right, Louise Silk’sGabriel: A Mantle for our Steel Town Angel, all of reused materials. Then Sandy Curran’sSurvivor’s Guilt. And Shin-Hee Chin’sViriditas (Greenness), which won Best of Show.
Here is Jean Renli Jurgenson talking about the fabric she used for her piece Hallelujah.
It was a real pleasure to meet Jane Haworth (I own a small piece of hers) and hear about how she made all the chickens in Let’s Talk Color.
She makes some amazing collage pieces of animals.
And her chickens are gorgeous.
I also talked to Sue Sherman, not realizing at first what other work she had done that I had seen. She’s been creating these animal portraits and they’re mind-boggling. This is The King Family, and they are all painted.
Then the frame is made of all the things the animal would like…such as the squid crown.
Real skill in the painting as well…
There is such a wide range of work that is vastly different from mine…it’s part of why I love these exhibits. This is Seen and Unseen, by Kathy Ford.
She was an architect in her former life, so this is a true departure.
More fascinating closeups.
Here’s a better photo of Shin-Hee Chin’s piece Viriditas.
She’s got some YouTube videos of her process that are just fascinating, but she also talked about the role of classical music in her work.
Looking at it up close does not help explain her process!
I could stare at it for hours.
This one, I could have sworn it was flowers until the artist, Beth Schnellenberger, started talking about the two birds in Double Phoenix Rising (it was my first run through…wasn’t reading labels at all).
She uses a technique very similar to mine (so she understands my insanity).
Brent McGee’s work Apollo and Dionysus is fun to look at…very textural and 3D (honestly probably more fun to touch…but you’re not supposed to touch the art).
I spent some time hanging out with Brent and some of the other artists at a winery Saturday night. It was interesting listening to all the ideas bopping around.
Here is Ann Houle talking about her work Bio-Sphere on Fire.
It’s a fascinating piece to look at up close.
As is this one, Holly Cole’sAdrift, which won the Persistence Pays award.
Intriguing use of materials and development of imagery.
Vicki Conley’s piece Flying has crazy details. These are flamingoes…which explains her headband and shirt…
I had just read an article about her traveling and quilting. She has a setup in their camper and it works. Sounds lovely.
Susan Lapham has been doing these organic plant quilts recently (or maybe forever?), which totally contrast with the more blocky/improv stuff I’d seen from her before. I love this piece, Field Counts 2.
Jungeun Tark’s piece Tea-Bowl of Mama has some very interesting construction going on.
When I think of experimenting with more textural work, this is some of what I think of, at least in parts.
Lousy picture, sorry; I think that woman walked in front right as I took the picture and it focused on her amazing hair instead of Jean Sredl and her piece Shoddy, made up of waste fibers and other fun things.
She talks in her statement about ‘environmental catastrophe’, which is what this piece reminds me of happening.
She moved so fast! She had someone read her statement for her; I found a website, but it’s out of date. That said, her work is fascinating and very textural.
She mentioned that her piece didn’t have any deep story behind it; it was just about color and shapes…it is a fun piece though.
Jan Soules told a story of improv piecing these fish shapes in Two Fish, Blue Fish.
Complicated but also fun to look at and contemplate.
Sarah Spencer’s (aka Io the Alien) work is graphic and in your face, as is the subject of this piece, Queen of Swords, who is Mona Eltahawy.
This is kind of my mood for 2025 (my own Project 2025?), so I love it, and the color. Plus Sarah is fun to talk to.
She’s relatively new to the quilting world, but let’s hope she keeps making these graphic pieces.
I’ve always loved Terrie Hancock Mangat’s work, from way back. This is Vertigo on Cobblestone, which is so accurate for how this quilt feels.
And even better? That skelly under a sheer fabric.
It’s funny that her work and Susan Shie’s are two that I feel really influenced me early on, and I don’t embellish really at all…although maybe I want to? I did crazy quilting, so there is a connection. Terrie wasn’t at the opening, unfortunately.
This is Kathy York’sWhere the Walls Have Eyes piece, where the eyes are inside.
I did wonder if it was on the wrong side, because you could only see the eyes from the top, and most of us were too short to see them…but I don’t know what happened with that.
I didn’t take pictures of everything. I always feel weird about that after, like I would have enjoyed staring at Niraja Lorenz‘ piece Abundance, on the right, for a long time, but I never got there. And there’s Denise L. Roberts‘ piece Finding Connections #26, the red on blue piece.
There’s a point when I feel totally overwhelmed.
This piece was so delicate and beautiful. It’s Dawn’s Early Light by Myania Moses.
Linda Steele’s piece Communication Breakdown is about being addicted to being on our phones, but also a fun use of improv and text.
I realized while wandering all over her website that I’ve seen some of her crazy quilts before. She has a wide range of stuff she creates; truly impressive.
This piece, Cellular Entanglement, by Mattea Jurin, is a very cool use of materials.
The clear vinyl plus stitching plus colored pencil work…
She wasn’t there, unfortunately, because I would have loved to hear her talk about her work.
This is Susan Avishai’sWhere Do the Children Play?, a quilt about the Hamas attack on Gaza.
She uses a lot of repurposed fabrics and texture. But also, wow, another war quilt, and as I’m finally getting around to finishing this post, the day after my country drops bombs on Iran. Sigh.
Doesn’t matter what your politics are…it’s a valid question.
Here is Regula Affolter talking about her piece The WEF Extra’s #103.
She was talking…sorry for the weird face! I do spend more time listening than I do taking amazing photos (as might be obvious).
This is a quote from her statement: “Pieced with dimensional pocket that person can fit in.” Because we need those.
Yes, I know I missed some people and some quilts. I can’t do it all. In fact, in looking at the catalog, there’s some I don’t remember seeing at all, which is kind of mindboggling. I did really really really enjoy the trip though. Totally worth all the school stress going in and coming back. Just getting the chance to hear everyone talk about their work and spending time with artists was a boon to my art brain. So I’ll remember that for the (hopefully) next time I get in. Always go. Don’t NOT go. Now I just have to find the extra frame I have somewhere in the house so I can hang my poster from the show…my 5th! I remember when I thought I would never get in. It feels good to get in.
OK, so this week is just plain weird. State testing for two days, so 3+ hours with kids for two days, then they leave and I hopefully am super efficient and finish grading everything (ha! hahahahah.). Then I leave at some ungodly hour on Thursday for Quilt National, knock on wood, everything goes well. You never know. I certainly don’t. Looking forward to it though. Seeing the art. Talking to artists. Fun stuff, really. It’s one of the things I appreciate about the art quilt world. In fact, I was at a local SAQA meeting on Saturday, and it’s cool to see people present their work and talk about what they do. It makes me feel like I don’t do much, though…they’re all starting philanthropic groups and teaching classes and writing books…and I just make quilts. It’s OK…I don’t want to teach quilt classes and I don’t know what I’d write a quilt book about that would actually get published anywhere, so for now, I’ll just keep making the work. Which is, in fact, the part I like best.
So on Friday, I had to put two heads back on, and finally decided that the clay coathanger was not gonna work, so I made a new hand with a hole in it, and I’ll make a metal coathanger to go in there. That’s a better idea anyway. I got everything reattached and put the first super light layer of underglaze on…
It’s a bit too pinky. I’ll work on that. I’m gonna be underglazing for a while, no matter what. I’m hoping I don’t have to keep fixing things, but I’m sure I will. There’s a lot of things attached to this.
I finished tracing the last of the pieces for the new quilt, which is small (for me), on Friday night. And then I cut them all out.
It’s only got like 137 pieces, so it was fast. I was going to start ironing to fabrics on Saturday, but Kitten had some major pee/poop issues and it involved some fabric bins. She’s decided that’s where she lives now, and I had them covered by towels, but that’s not enough in this case. So I ended up washing two bins of fabric with the pee remover stuff and then sorting through about 8 bins of fabric, culling fat quarters for donation. I never made it through all of my fabric over a year ago when I last did this, so it was a good time to do that. I keep the stuff I use the most, and because I use super small pieces with most fabrics, those are the ones I cut in half, donating some to Social Justice Sewing Academy and some to the Navajo Quilt Project. It allows me to keep buying some fabric (I like a huge palette), but not be drowning in fabric. Here’s some of what I sorted through.
Grays and blues mostly. It’s also nice to reacquaint myself with fabrics I haven’t seen for a while. There’s some in those bins that will be hair in the new quilt, I think. The blues, not the grays, just in case you’re thinking I’m normal.
Last night, I finally started ironing the pieces of the new quilt down to fabric.
Not so exciting in the color ranges at the moment. This won’t take long. I might even finish tonight. We’ll see.
At the SAQA meeting on Saturday, I recognized this artist, Ellen Ann Eddy…
I’ve always loved her work; I took one of her classes early on in my art quilt development, but obviously, her method didn’t really stick. I do have a baby I made in her style way back in the day that I meant to make into something bigger. Maybe should pull that out.
That is how I feel some mornings, but I’m definitely not 29. My knees are not anywhere close to 29.
Anyway, art tonight, grading all day, kids complaining that they still have to work…all day, every day. Book club tonight! Yes, I finished the book, thank goodness. I actually really liked it, although I’m blanking on it right now. Not really awake. Lots of meetings today. Gotta write sub plans. All good. Trying to live a full life means I have bits of bougainvillea in my thumb right now, a quilt in progress, many shipping dates coming up, at least one thing I need to enter, cat laundry to do (yes, more, but not pee this time), and four thousand things to grade. Or throw away? It’s possible I will do that. Shhh. Don’t tell the kids. Must go to work now.
Oh my. I know it’s Wednesday. It’s the nonstop day. I have one of those a week, it seems. Might be two or three this week. Next week…next week will be crazypants. Going to Quilt National! Haven’t been since 2017. Looking forward to it. My quilts were there without me. Not this time…
Artwise, I’m not doing much. It’s not because I don’t want to…or I’m burnt out on art. I’m not. I just needed to finish a big quilt for a friend, and now it’s done. I need to dehair it, because cats, and I think there’s one seam I need to fix, for some definition of fix. And another one that needs something, some restitching. But otherwise, it’s done.
I got the handstitching done in two nights.
Cats love it when I’m sitting on the couch for hours. Me too sometimes. It’s relaxing. Meditative. I just watch some show and stitch. Ideal.
I did some clay on Monday night…
Gave the priest a head…
And a cross. But as I was putting it away, I felt something fall off. AGAIN. It’s fine. I’m glazing as of Friday; I hope. Glazing will be a challenge. There’s a lot going on. And I’ll probably have to fix some things. I’ve found that’s been a constant with this piece. I’ve been working on this piece since November…mindboggling. I might actually finish it this summer? Maybe? And hope it all goes together and doesn’t fall over. Ha! Need to get better at modular building. Or working smaller…oh that’s not gonna happen.
Anyway, tonight I’ll be thinking about the next art piece and probably sorting some fabric out for donations…to make room for new stuff too. It’s been a while since I’ve done that. Today is busy, so we’ll see how all that goes. The left eye is twitching now. Last week, it was the right eye. Yesterday, I had a blood sugar incident. I’m trying to follow doctor’s orders for more protein in the morning, and my body is just not happy with it. It’s also harder to make dietary changes when I’m teaching because of the fallout. Ah well. I’ll get there, wherever there is.
It does cost money to get in. I was debating the opening, but I have another one the day before here in San Diego (assuming I get in) and if I go up to see my daughter, this is a long way on a Sunday for her. I don’t know. I’m waiting for all sorts of notifications to make decisions about things for the summer. So this is one of them.
And this is real.
With a pillow over my head to kill the light and the noise. I really don’t see sleep in my future. Maybe late June.
OK. More testing today, not state, but district. It’s what kicked my blood sugar butt yesterday. Trying to do it differently today. Then more state review (ugh). Then union meeting and pilates (fun times) and grading and counting supplies for egg drops. Wait, that’s earlier in the day. More tea, for sure. More chaos. More grading. READING A BOOK. Or three. Because that’s kinda where I’m at right now. Don’t ask how many I have checked out from the library right now. It’s bad. I have some plane rides next week though. I could finish a book or two. Maybe. Art. I’m gonna work on something new. That’s fun. Exciting. Deep breath in and deep breath outting. All good.
Monday already? It’s mindboggling how quickly the weekend is over sometimes. I look at the two days and think, but what did you get done? I mean, I entered a show after photographing the pieces (they’ll go to my official photographer later; I didn’t have time for that). I went to dinner with my parents (forgot to take photos). I went to an art exhibit out in the boonies (also forgot to photograph any of it). So I’m low on photos. We were gonna hike but it was 95 degrees, so that didn’t happen. I had to go to the dentist. That was fun (not). So yeah. A weird weekend.
Oh yeah, the Man had a show Friday night…a little different since the band’s singer is either on hiatus or never coming back. So they all filled in and got some other band lead singers to come in and sing a bit. They did OK. The Man had 3 or 4 songs…he was definitely nervous.
Which is weird, because he sings all the time, sometimes up front. I guess it’s different when it’s just you and no one else. It was for a friend’s birthday party…and even his wife came up and sang. She was definitely nervous. No way in hell I’d do that. Sorry. My teacher voice means singing in public is a mistake. I can’t hit all the notes…voice gives out. Like this week, I think all we do is talk every day. Ugh. Hate that. Especially when they’re so checked out. Sex ed is like that too, all talking, but they’re not as checked out at least.
I finished quilting my friend’s mom’s quilt. The last border was in need of ironing…in fact, I might need to iron it again once the binding is done. I got permission to use black fabric for binding (another color would have been confusing there), and I had a big chunk in my stash from another friend who moved and decided she didn’t need all her fabric. So that was easy. I got it sewn on with the machine, and now I get to sit and watch TV for a few days to get it all stitched down.
It’s not the most beautiful quilting job in the world, but it should hold up. I’m rolling art ideas around in my head. I’ll get there. Not a lot of brain power right now for creativity. Mostly stressed out by the end of the year stuff.
This is my favorite picture in the baby album. It’s the most dresses I’ve had in my closet maybe ever.
I look pretty discombobulated by it all. Anyway, happy mom’s day to those who need it.
OK. Today. Ugh. I really hate reviewing for state tests. It’s torturous. This is my third attempt at it in three years. IDK if it’ll be better. Probably not. Ah well. It would help I guess if I thought state testing were important…but I don’t. It’s something we have to do, and the expectation that kids will remember three years’ worth of science content is nuts. Plus we’re doing some district testing Tuesday and Wednesday in our advisory classes on top of it. Double ugh. Not three hours of testing, but long enough. Then short classes after the kids are braindead. Recipe for disaster? We’ll see. Maybe it’ll be awesome. There’s a 2-hour staff meeting on the calendar, but the boss pulled the literacy component, so maybe it’ll be shorter? It has to be shorter. Then ceramics tonight, put a head on the priest and then start glazing. Come home and stitch a binding. I can handle that. Maybe I should grade things too. I’ll think about it.
So state testing has started. Some years, it’s easy, the kids are into it, it’s chill. Some years, it’s not. This year? Not. Fun times. Today will be worse…it’s the performance task. Some kids will just skate through it. Some will pretend and then hit submit after writing one sentence. Some kids will just repeatedly lose their minds that they’re being asked to test at all, to sit still, to be quiet, not disrupt those around them, not bang on the table or pile up all their snacks and drinks (that did really happen yesterday. All of it.). So by the time 12:15 comes around, all my patience for the day (and possibly three or four days afterwards) is gone. Not great, because we’re testing again today. And I still have to teach for days until the end of the year. One kid was already like, why do I still have to do work? Because they know they’re promoting (probably) or not and they think we’re done. We have 29 days left, dude. Don’t stop now. Sigh. My stress levels are high…my face is breaking out…my blood sugar is a mess. And today is my 500th pilates class! Not sure it matters. It’s not like I’m stopping now.
OK, artwise, I’m in a weird place. I did finish the book piece. I managed to construct it properly…
The first two pages are shoved into that envelope of the last two pages. There’s certainly a few things I would have done differently, but it’s done now.
I need official photographs so I can enter the show, but I’ll do those when I’m home in daylight.
Eventually, I’ll have my photographer take photos, but I don’t have time for the thing it’s being entered into, which has a tight deadline. If it gets in, it’ll be in the downtown library for 5 months. I’ll let you know.
So what next? Well, I don’t have my head around the next big quilt, although I know there will be one over the summer. I was thinking of doing something smaller just to keep me mentally going through the last weeks of the school year. I haven’t figured out what that is yet, though, because I’m trying to finish my friend’s mom’s quilt. I was diligently working on it in January and February and then a random deadline popped up and I got sidetracked. I mean, I did purposely put this one away to finish the other thing. So I’m finishing this…I’m almost done anyway. Well, for some definition of ‘almost’.
Her mom made the quilt and sandwiched it, but unfortunately was unable to quilt it before she died. So it’s here and I’m quilting it. I’m in the outer border at the moment, with the rest done. I think. Honestly can’t remember if I finished the center panel. I think I did.
I did. So I finished outlining the symbols in the blue border and will overall quilt that starting tonight. Then I need to outline the reddish brown and black borders. Some things have happened to this quilt over a long time (fabric replaced, not by me, possibly already partially quilted? I just don’t know). And then I’ll put the binding on. And hand it over. And then, like I keep saying, not offer to help ever again (which is really not in my nature…sometimes I say no and then go back and say yes; please don’t take advantage of that). So when I’m done with this, I’ll start something new. Or maybe in between. We’ll see.
Clay is going. I made most of a priest and 3 handmaidens on Monday…
I was thinking when I went in next, I could start underglazing, but no. I still need to give him a cross and a head. Most definitely a cross. Head? Hmmm.
We watched the first episode of Season 6 of The Handmaid’s Tale last night…made us both cry. Good times. So Friday, I’ll go in and try to make a head. And a cross. And THEN I can start underglazing.
The bees left yesterday. I figured they would. I came home and washed the composter lid and side, then sprayed it with citronella, hoping it will cut the bee pheromones. They keep coming back. Not sure what to do about that. I have a bee-friendly yard…maybe a bit TOO friendly. And no, I haven’t fixed the damn sprinklers. I think I need two solenoids now. I don’t know. Maybe I need a new controller.
I had two cats on my lap in rapid succession last night. Luckily the chonk here didn’t stay long.
He’s a year old now and solid. Sometimes sweet, sometimes not. Like all calicos. I have a hole in my right hand from his morning whack. He’s harassing the old lady, who basically needs to be carried into the litter tray and food multiple times a day. She can get there, but he attacks.
OK. Testing. Afternoon is science planning. I’ve managed to grade quite a bit so far, so that’s good. I had to get a loaner computer Monday after school because my screen just went black when I was at lunch. Fun times. So Monday was stressful. I guess the good news is the eye with the vitreous humor detachment is fine (as fine as anything with a big blob rolling around in it is), but she thinks the other one will detach too. Except the right one has always been worse, more nearsighted, with an astigmatism. The left isn’t as bad. So let’s hope it doesn’t. She does think the blog will wander south with time and only show up when I first get up in the morning. Sounds good. Somehow I found the energy to go to ceramics after all the running to the IT department (not at school) and getting a new computer. After school, I have a telehealth appointment with my doctor where she will tell me I need to get my numbers down and I will ask her how to do that and she won’t have an answer. So there’s that. Then my 500th pilates class and book club. And someone else is cooking dinner. I’m already exhausted because I didn’t sleep well, so I’ll be quilting after that and going to bed. Oh! Also trying to finish my book before the library sucks it back from me. I went to the gym last night to help me finish it, but I’m at 86%, less than 100 pages. I’m up early to go to the meeting my principal just canceled. I could be reading. I should be reading.
I’m sitting here with two computers in front of me, deep breathing, trying to get two things done at once, which is, of course, physically impossible. But one computer is incredibly slow, so I type in between, in the wait times while it responds. I’m also waiting for the electric company to show up to remove something so I can get a solar battery installed. Unfortunately, there are bees in my composter (right next to the freakin’ meter, talk about bad timing, y’all). I think they’re chill enough right now that it won’t be an issue, and I’m hoping they leave by tomorrow, because otherwise, I’ll need to delay the battery install. Sigh. I have an eye doctor appointment this morning, so things are already wonky and I’m already stressed…plus it took FOREVER to fall asleep (probably related to all of the above and other shit), so I’m tired. I’m always tired. This may not be any different. Also there’s the issue of not posting the assignments for school too early, so kids will actually have them to do in class and not have them done and be acting out. Yes, there are scheduled posts, but they work about 50% of the time, so sometimes, you just post everything early and pray a little to the Goddess of Education, who is a little over-stretched herself at the moment.
The weekend. Sigh. I meant to do some things and then got in the wrong headspace and didn’t. Love that for myself. I did apply to an artists’ residency, hopefully something I can do this summer. Maybe not though, depending on timing and availability. I got the banned book piece to the next step. I finished stitchdown and pinbasted Friday night…
Ironically, I un-pinbasted them on Saturday and put a backing on them…I think it’ll be better that way. Then I quilted them Saturday night…
All together, they took a little over two hours…
Not long. Not hard.
Little quilts are easy.
But still not cheap. Time is money? My time is worth something.
Then last night, I started construction…this is the hard part. Not exactly sure what I’m doing. Scary to cut it and not sure it’ll be the right size, but doing it anyway.
So hopefully construction goes well over the next couple of nights. Certainly I’ve done it in my head about 3,000 times by now.
Oh, here’s the bees…
I went out yesterday evening to put the compost in, opened the lid, threw it, and ran. I went back when it was dark, when they were all chilled out.
I knocked off the honeycomb. This morning, there were three batches of bees…one still on the corner, one down on the ground under that (the biggest chunk), and a smaller chunk on the lid, which still smells like home, but is 20 feet away now.
They’re fascinating, but I need them to live somewhere else right now. Well, always. They love the composters unfortunately. I have an anti-bee spray I’ll use this time. I wash with hot water and soap, but it’s not enough I think. This composter has had bees at least three times.
The SDGE guy is out there…he wants me to check on him in 10 minutes in case he gets stung and has an allergic reaction. Chill guy.
I did not make it to ceramics Friday. Had a meeting after school and then had to set up for the sub this morning, and I was exhausted by the time I was done. No energy. Came home and graded instead.
Here’s my dinner drawings from the last four weeks.
I can’t explain them. I just draw. No purpose.
I find it relaxing. Yes, I can talk to the people I’m with while drawing.
It’s the only time I really get to draw these days. Which is frustrating.
Sometimes they bring the food really fast and I don’t get to finish. Or I’m drawing super slowly and I don’t finish.
I thought the Man’s plants looked like they were talking to each other.
Laughing plants.
This is way too real.
Except I do finish things. I finished one last week. This current book is really good so far. Hoping it stays good.
I’ve been working on this in bits and pieces at meetings and things.
OK. Sigh. Today is chaotic, but I’m hoping it will even out once I get through them dilating my eyes, my going to Costco with dilated eyes, then getting to school and hopefully having my eyes undilate (last time, it took over 4 hours, so I’m a little nervous). Plus I didn’t tell the kids I would be out…some of them are just jerks when you do, so I just decided to make it a surprise. The SDGE guy did not get stung by bees (they are so chill still)…good thing. I want to read my book, I need to grade things, I want to go to clay (it’s quiet on most Mondays), and I’m hoping the eye thing goes well. The doctor wasn’t particularly personable the last time. Didn’t tell me all the things, but wrote them up and I read them later. I guess that’s a thing…if you read. Hoping to come home to no bees hanging around and plenty of time to try to make that quilt thing go together. And the headspace to do so. Mondays. They just are.
Kathy Nida 