more everyday objects

Still working with my series of Everyday Objects.

La Sueglia means alarm clock, in Italian. But of course you knew that. Time to start thinking about my trip to Orivieto, Italy in 2012.

Saturday's workshop

I taught "Sketching & Watercolor: Journal Style" on Saturday, in Encinitas at the California Center for Creative Renewal. One of my favorite locations to teach, well, besides Orvieto, Italy in 2012.
Note: I'll be teaching at California Center for Creative Renewal again on Saturday, December 3, 2011.

This is how I work

I work on one piece at at time and literally make each into a tiny quilt. Once they are done and hand stitched, I'll assemble them into one quilt. At least that's the plan.

(I'll be teaching some of this technique at Visions Art Museum, in San Diego next month April 4th & 11th.)

Walk for Thought on March 26

My husband, Don Strom

Thank you for your support Team Don Strom for the Walk for Thought happening on March 26 in San Diego benefitting the California Brain Injury Association and San Diego Brain Injury Foundation 


Thanks to those friends who will be walking with me and Don:  Linda & Mike Bannan, Rachel Grant and Kenneth Greene, Sara Megling

Thank you to those of you who have donated:
Gillian & Jonathan Moss, Elizabeth Kunicki, Anonymous, Susie & Chris Clark, Mary McNally, Anonymous, Justine Hennessy, Sheryl Z. White, Katie Leinweber, Kathy Welter, Jill Berry, Nancy Scott, Linda Bannan, Barbara (Los Angeles), Karin de Baay, Helen Shafer Garcia, Carol Collier, Wendee Lee and Suzanne Smith.
You can still join the walk or donate to Team Don Strom.

Walk for Thought:Saturday ~ March 26, 2011 at Mission Bay Park - De Anza Cove. 3000 E. Mission Bay Drive, San Diego. Walk Information: Register and check in from 8am-9:30. Walk starts 9:30am. Walk distance is 1.5 miles in each direction. Walkers can determine their own distance.Warm-up session, music and raffle items. Exhibitors will provide information and local resources.(No dogs or balloons are allowed.)


Don and his art. It is on display and for sale at
North Coast Repetory Theatre through March 20

Quilt for Melly

My friend, Melly Testa, has breast cancer. She is currently going through treatment. A group of us made her this quilt, to wrap herself in during chemo. Melly calls it 'the quilt of pure love" and she's right.

Those of us who made blocks were me (here's mine), Lyric Kinard, Judy Coates Perez and her daughter Nina, Kelli Nina Perkins, Tracie Lyn Huskamp, Alisa Burke, Gloria Hansen, Jill Berry, Carla Sondheim, Diana Trout, Pokey Bolton, Jamie Fingal, and Leslie Tucker Jenison.

Hold Melly in your thoughts, and send her messages of healing.

Got Pattern?

Just finished up the 8 week class I teach at the Athenaeum. These are student's works in progress from yesterday's class. Strips of paper napkins, collage papers and some fabric, glued on to muslin. They'll stitch on them and cut them up and who knows what!

























And here are my lovely students!

Rosehips

Rosehips. I don't know why, but I love them. Gotta do some drawings of these!

Recycled Circles: some student work from a recent workshop

Recycled Circles is one of my more popular workshops, hope you can attend one this year:

• North Carolina, at Random Arts on June 12
• Long Beach International Quilt Festival on July 28 (as a quilt)
• Chicago at CREATE on Wednesday, August 24.
• Portland, Oregon at Art & Soul on September 29
• Houston International Quilt Festival November 4 (as a quilt)

and see more student Recycled Circles here.

Glib, but sincere

 An excerpt from Pokey Bolton's recent email blast.
What it's Like to Be On ‘QATV’

I gave you a behind-the-scenes look at taping “QATV” Season 8 on my Editor's blog last week. But it's only fair that I give the guest quilt artists a chance to tell you what it's really like.So I asked three, two newbies and a veteran, to give you their own take on what it's like to be on “Quilting Arts TV.”

Jane LaFazio, mixed-media and quilt artist
Have you ever been on TV before?
This is the second time I've filmed for 'QATV', so the TV filming was relatively easy. (I had two segments in Series 300.) Pokey is a great host and asks the perfect questions, and it's always wonderful to be around her warmth and energy. It was really nice to see the same producers, assistants, and camera people as last time there, so it felt very comfortable.
What was the best part?
The martini at the end of the day tasted great. The bar was having $4 martini night, so I could afford two! Seriously, though, Jeanne Cook-Delpit (of Bernina) is great to work with. Fun and unflappable! Which is a much-needed quality as she was teaching me to use the wondrous and fancy Bernina machine that I'd use on the set.
What would you do differently next time?
I know I made some mistakes on camera, that I wish I hadn't...I sniffed, I hit my mic, I talked too fast and made the segments shorter than they should have been. But I'll take away the kind comments of the director, when he said I was a natural on camera, and came across very well, and when one of the producer's assistants told me I was 'inspirational.' I told her thank you, and that that is what I want to be: inspirational. And rich!

Handwork

Size: 36x48 inches.
Well, what do you think? I've been so close to it...I just don't know. Most of the time I love it--but I realize it's really different....

Added 3/12/2011
Title: Industrial Aged
Artist Statement: Rusty forgotten gears, mysterious machine parts. Perhaps an ancient instructional manual with text no longer legible…. taking on the appearance of an illuminated manuscript. How did the parts fit together? What part did they play in the making of something? How much time as passed since they were used? How is the space between ages marked?

Preparing for our San Miguel de Allende Art Retreat in April 2011

Our Tesoros del Corazon art retreat is approaching quickly!  Helen Shafer Garcia, Lynn Leahy, Diane Uke and I met at Laurie Mika's home this past weekend for final prepartions. Laurie created the gorgeous nametags (above) for all the participants.

Laurie's studio (above) and home are filled with gorgeous artwork, much of it her's.


Treasure of the heart!


We talked of San Miguel and spoke of your plans. Such a beautiful city!

Above is the B&B where we'll stay and hold our workshops.

Above is a photo of breakfast at our B&B, from a few years ago. That's me on the right, mid table.

Above are the gorgeous things you'll be creating in your 4 days of workshops.

Helen is teaching the book structure, I'm teaching Sketching & Watercolor: Journal Style, Lynn is teacher that wonderful necklace.



And Laurie will teach you to make these beautiful polymer tiles for the top of your Tesoro del Corazon ~ Treasure of the Heart.  There are a few spots left!