Classes

I accepted to give classes again after a 2 year break.
The demand was such that I couldn’t say no any more.
I will give a ‘beginner Art Textile’ class in ‘Patchwork Studio’ a shop in Harelbeke, Belgium halfway February.
This class is for all those wishing to learn freeing ways of doing patchwork and wanting to take a step further – going closer to ‘Art Textile’.
It will be a two-days workshop.
I will show how to thread paint, giving dimension with fabric, working with Angelina, tyvek, food wrap, candy wraps and Caran d’Ache neocolor II.
The result will be a reference textile book, so that those following the workshop will have the notes and the examples in one place.
This is a peak :

As you can see : some materials aren't easy to take in picture !

I used the ‘Mistyfuse’ I bought in Houston for the page/fabric assemblage.
This is a great product !

Thank you, Iris for the development of this fusible webbing.
I even coloured mistyfuse using diluted textile paint :

The biggest advantage of mistyfuse : this product don’t stick.
Another fusible webbing is always sticking on your fingers or fabric or on itself while you don’t want it to stick before you want it to stick.

I decided to rewrite and make new examples for the class.
For the examples : no problems, enough ideas.
But since the class will be given in two languages (at the same time) I have to make sure I have two class-preparations, one in French, the other in Dutch.

That’s the reason why I didn’t continue ‘Marseille VI – L’Estaque’.
But tomorrow will be my play day : can’t wait playing with ‘Marseille VI’ !


My new year resolutions are :
- not making a single new UFO.
- When I take an on-line class, making sure I can participate for a 100 %
That’s all !
I do not want to make promises I can’t hold !


“Good resolutions are simply checks that men draw on a bank where they have no account.”
Oscar Wilde

Happy New Year !
Write you soon
Nathalie

Enjoying

With the Christmas days I had the chance to have an extra free day on the 25th.
I spend the day – in slow motion – sewing on “Marseille VI L’Estaque”.
This piece is turning just like I wanted :

I had one ironing accident but nothing irreparable ! My son had ironed his shirts and when I used the iron I forgot to turn the steam off.

I started the thread painting on the roofs at right :

Once I will have finished the basis thread painting I will add the tree. I think I will make the leaves using ‘fiber etch’ . This is a product that bites/burns the fabric and leave a nice darker edge. The only downside : it’s a bit messy and tricky to work with.

The following picture is the painting George Braque did from almost the same spot :

The exhibition is a success, we had on 1 day over 300 visitors.
Can you image this ?
300 !?!
For a little exhibition with not that much publicity.
WOW.

I have added some more pictures from the exhibition :

These are from Carine, Astrid,and Gerda :

And these are mine :

"What I dream of is an art of balance."
Henri Matisse

Write you soon
Nathalie

Without Words or almost

Merry Christmas !


"From a commercial point of view, if Christmas did not exist it would be necessary to invent it. "
Katharine Whitehorn


Write you soon
Nathalie

Started

After I chose my fabric for “Marseille VI - L’Estaque’ I started to draw my design on a fabric stabilizer.
I prefer to draw and then sew on fabric because I thread paint a lot once my basic sewing is done. With the 2 or 3 layers of fabric I can finish with an almost flat surface.
One big advantage is that I don’t have to tear the ‘stitch and tear’ stabilizer !
I don’t always stick to my coloured drawing and to the chosen fabrics. I love to have the ability to change my mind !I started to layer ‘the background’ ; the sky, the greens, a part of the bridge and the shadows in the buildings.

As you can see, I didn’t draw the tree on the foreground. I haven’t decided yet how I will finish it.

“Everything you can imagine is real.”
Pablo Picasso

Write you soon
Nathalie

L’Estaque

I chose the fabrics that I will use for ‘Marseille VI L’Estaque’

There are not that many different colours but many sun and shadow spots, thus the black tulle will certainly be used to temper some used colours.

Short blog this time because it’s DH’s birthday today, he’s turning 51 years young. This evening we’re going to one of our favourite restaurant with only the two of us.

“As we grow older, our bodies get shorter and our anecdotes longer.”

Robert Quillen

Write you soon
Nathalie

Sketching and new book

Today the postman brought me the book I ordered from Terri Stegmiller
‘Creative Paper Quilts’.
Terri has autographed it and also has put a little word in it.
She also has put an ATC in the book as ‘thank you’ :

The book is full of refreshing ideas on making little paper quilts.

On the other hand I started to sketch again, on this project :

This is a picture I took while in Houston. I altered the colours a bit with my photo software and started to sketch.

I see some fibre possibilities in the picture but I have to make some more sketches.
Some works need to grow a bit. What I like already are the colours : a purple background with some pink and some green and the yellow/orange flowers.

For the ‘Marseille VI L’Estaque’ I started to look for the right fabric in my stash.
I do not want to buy new fabric, so let’s be creative and inventive !
And I do not want this quilt to be larger than 1 yard.

Almost Christmas and still no decorated tree. I have to admit that I love Christmas trees but not in my home. When the children were little I had a little tree, but now that they’re grown up and more away than at home and that I’m working all days…. I prefer to create when I have some hours off.

“You see things; and you say, 'Why?'
But I dream things that never were; and I say, "Why not?"
George Bernard Shaw

Write you soon
Nathalie

Marseille VI L'Estaque

Most of you know that our city trip to Marseille left a huge impression on me.
Most of you also know that I started an art-quilt series about Marseille.

This is the next photo I want to adapt and make in fibre : L’Estaque
Georges Braque and Paul Cézanne painted this little village near Marseille many, many times !

When, in L’Estaque, you can follow a walking route that retrace their paintings.
I took many pictures of the different views. I can’t show them all, but here's another one :

Over the years many things changes but the spirit stayed.

I traced the (first) picture with EQ6 – wanted to practice the program a little more – and this is the result :

The design isn’t perfect : you still can see some blue background between the houses but the essence is present.
I removed some of the annoying details : the electricity cables…
I have to simplify the design a bit more : still too many details !
I want straight lines. Looking for a cubism style !
But I want to have a contrast with the flowing of the leaves.
Add a little frivolity in my work to be.

I just love it when I can go ahead in some of my ideas and knowing that it will become a nice work.
Sometimes I see my work already finished in a glimpse. Then I have to remember and write the idea down.
The same happened for this one.

“Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference.”
Winston Churchill

Write you soon
Nathalie

Happy Dance

I finished module 1 from the C&G creative sketchbooks.
Laura Kemshall and Edwina Mackinnon wrote me that I may start with module 2.

I love the result from this exercise and with some adaption I could make this in fabric.

The official opening of the exhibition was a HUGE success. We had a lot of people who came from about everywhere.

On the picture above my brother who came specially for that event and

on the picture below, my parents.

The traditional quilts on the walls were made by Gerda, Carine, Julie and Magda.

I'm so thankfull that they accepted to exhibit some of their quilts.

Since the name of the exhibition is "From patchwork to Art Textile', I needed some traditional works. Most of them were hand sewed and hand quilted.

The critics on the exposed works were very positive.

The pictures from the works below are mine.

I now know I’m going in the right direction never the less I’m making art primarily for myself and that others do like it is a nice positive addition.
I have sold several of my works which made me even more happy.

The only scary moment was when I had to speech. I had to speak real close to the micro but wasn’t able to read my paper any more because I had forgot my reading glasses !

"Speeches are like babies - easy to conceive but hard to deliver."

Pat OMalley

Write you soon
Nathalie