Sketches

I exercised a bit more on faces in Modigliani style, I just coloured the mouth to accentuate the pale face. I like this : keeping only the essential.
Je m’exerce encore toujours à dessiner des visages, cette fois-ci – une fois de plus- dans le style de Modigliani. J’aime accentuer la bouche et réduire à l’essentiel les traits d’un visage gardé pâle.

When I was in Ste Marie aux Mines I found the bark of a mulberry tree,
It was the first time I saw it for real and not transformed yet.

I couldn’t let the opportunity to buy the unbleached and the bleached version.

À Ste Marie aux Mines j’ai eu l’occasion de trouver- et de voir pour la première fois - de l’écorce de murier.

Je n’ai pas su laisser passer l’occasion d’acheter la version non blanchie et blanchie.

I have cut a small piece of the bleached bark and used 3 Golden fluid acrylics paints and a tiny bit green glitter to obtain this result.
Since I gave the cell phone pouch (from a previous post) to a friend, I have to make a new one for me.

J’ai découpé une petite partie de l’écorce blanchie et je l’ai peinte avec de la peinture acrylique fluide de Golden et un soupçon de paillettes vertes.
Comme j’ai fait cadeau de ma pochette de portable, je m’en refais une.

I have thought a bit about the use of two languages in my posts.
Do you like this way of organizing ?

Are there improvements to make ?

J’ai réfléchi à la façon donc j’écris et partage mon blog en deux langues.
Aimez-vous ce genre d’organisation ?

Y a-t-il des améliorations à faire ?

"Honesty is the best image."
Tom Wilson

" La franchise ne consiste pas à dire tout ce que l'on pense, mais à penser tout ce que l'on dit. "

H. de Livry


Write you soon,
À bientôt,
Nathalie

Sketches

When I was at the hair dresser in the beginning of the week I sketched a bit, I tried to draw a samurai, I want to make a Japanese themed work :
Étant chez le coiffeur en début de semaine, j’en ai profitée pour faire quelques gribouillis, mon but était de réussir à dessiner un samouraï, voulant faire un travail d’inspiration japonaise :

I said I tried !

While sketching, there was a lady that had a bad cold and this is my interpretation of her cold :

Installée tout près de moi, une cliente n’arrêta pas d’éternuer et de se moucher. Elle m’a inspirée à dessiner ces ‘microbes imaginaires’.

Sur le chemin du retour j’ai vu un magnifique coucher de soleil que j’ai essayé de reproduire en peinture à l’eau.

On my way back at home I saw a wonderful sun down (or how do you say it ?)

I used my watercolour paints – long time I used them - to paint it.

“Imagination is more important than knowledge... “
Albert Einstein

"Les miroirs feraient bien de réfléchir avant de renvoyer les images"
Jean Cocteau

Write you soon,
À très bientôt,
Nathalie

Language/langue Important !

Someone asked me, since I’m living in Belgium, if I wasn’t able to write in French – perhaps I lived on the Flemish side and wasn’t able to speak or understand French.
Well, French is my mother language AND I live in the most French corner on the Flemish side. To make something simple !
Having been writing for such a long time in English.... it feels like a second skin.
I will continue to write in English and I will add the French translation for all my French readers - my mom will be SO happy ! She will finally understand what I’m writing without having to ask for a translation to my dad.


Quelqu’un m’a récemment demandé pourquoi je n’écrivais pas mon blog en français puisque j’habite en Belgique. Habitant du coté flamant, je ne parlerai peut-être pas le français ? J’ai commencé à écrire ce blog en anglais parce que la plupart de mes lectrices et futures lectrices sont anglophones. Au fur et à mesure je me suis sentie plus à l’aise en écrivant en anglais. Je continuerai à écrire en anglais mais, à partir d’aujourd’hui, j’écrirai également en français. Ma maman va être enchantée : mon papa n’aura plus besoin de traduire mon texte. Je m’en tiendrai à ces deux langues – je parle le flamand et l’allemand également – autrement ce blog aura plus l’air d’un guide touristique ou d’un mode d’emploi européen !

Write you soon,
À très bientôt,
Nathalie

Cell phone Pouch

While in Ste Marie aux Mines, I followed a little free workshop on the Husqvarna/pfaff boot.We were only six to follow the cell phone pouch workshop – I still don’t understand why we were so few -.
We received a kit to work with, I chose green :
Different materials were layered on the base.

The embellisher was used and after some time, I finished the pouch :

Big enough to put my cell phone in and my touch screen will suffer no more.
I showed the pouch to a friend and seeing that she loved it so much I gave it to her after shooting some pictures of the pouch. I’m so happy I made her happy.

“Happiness isn't something you experience; it's something you remember”.
Oscar Levant

Write you soon,
Nathalie

Creativity Boost

I came back from Ste Marie aux Mines with a head full of ideas.

The exhibition was of a high, very high level.
Can’t help it but I much preferred the exhibition in St-Marie than in Houston.
It is probably because I more love innovating work/art rather than traditional quilts.
I have an immense respect for those who produce traditional handmade quilts because it’s time consuming.

I saw a retrospective from the Gee’s Bend quilts. I had the chance to receive an explanation from the delegated person. I was impressed because they’ve developed their own style of quilts.

I also had the chance to meet and talk with Sandra Meech-I only bought one book and it was hers- and Michael and Judith James. I was totally impressed by the work of Tiziana Tateo, an Italian artist. I talked a bit with her and she told me she had an exhibition in Belgium, not so far from my home, but I missed it and I’m sorry.

I can only say I was happy to have travelled to see all those art works on 21 different sites.
DH asked me if I had to choose one : Ste Marie or Houston, my answer is without a doubt : Ste Marie aux Mines.

“So you see : imagination needs moodling - long, inefficient, happy idling, dawdling and puttering.”
Brenda Ueland

Write you soon,
Nathalie

Away

I’m going to the ‘carrefour européen du patchwork’ tomorrow.I’ll be back on Monday, late in the evening.
Write you soon,
Nathalie

Over

We had a wonderful time. But it’s so good to be back home.

We first stopped in Honfleur to walk in the beautiful old town with the lovely old houses and streets and the many art galleries.
I had the chance to be able to take some pictures with a nice reflection on the water :

I just loved those fishing nets :

Those old houses are unbelievable, some of them are more than 400 years old :

When walking in the small streets, you discover treasures : being able to take a look in the entrance of a porch normally closed and hidden to the view of the tourists.

Old doorknobs :

Inscriptions on balustrades :

Back at where our walk started : artists taking their lunch pause :

We walked for about 5 hours not knowing where to look first.

“Develop interest in life as you see it; in people, things, literature, music - the world is so rich, simply throbbing with rich treasures, beautiful souls and interesting people.”

Henry Miller

Write you soon,
Nathalie

Three flowers and 200 posts.

I never thought I would still know what to say after 200 posts but :

After the flower sketching from yesterday, I started to choose some fabric for my little project.
I layered the fabric in no time :
This time I added white tulle on the surface :

I stitched the whole surface with metallic thread. I was curious about using the background I made some weeks ago. I quickly auditioned the two together and decided to use both of them :

I carefully cut the background to avoid a lot of bulk :

I used a stitched zigzag to make the two pieces one. I used a dark blue metallic thread to make a transition between the purples from the center and the blues from the border.

After adding the backing, I quilted – again with a light blue metallic thread – with a vine stitch.

I just love this free appliqué way of work :
I’m able of using scraps.
It’s rather quick.
It’s freeing.
I can ‘let go’ and make my thing without a lot of stress.
It’ just what I need for the moment.

“The best way to cheer yourself is to cheer somebody else up.”
Mark Twain

Write you when I’m come back from Deauville,
Nathalie

Long days

I’m so sorry I haven’t been able to be more creative and show you more. As I said in past blog posts : this has been some hectic months.

DH and me have decided to take a well deserved break next week : we’re going to Deauville, France. For us : only a 3.5 hours drive with the car.
It’s time we have some quality time. The past months we only lived for our shop.
Men always think they’re able to do it all. Women also…
Since we know – for 2 years now - DH has the disease of Parkinson, I have the impression we run after time.
That’s why we try to take more quality time. Simply enjoy our company.
Believe it or not : now we love each other, when we were just married not. Strange.

I haven’t done much : some doodling after seeing some work from Marc Chagall,
some sketches in preparation of another flower fabric collage :

and some flower stitch exercises. Didn’t made I some progress ?

I also enrolled in Terri’s faces workshop new version.

some sketch, but with some details added and lines erased:

Sue and Terri had the luminous idea of changing their class format in on-going workshops.
They created a ning-ring and added all their workshops in that ring. No yahoo-group anymore and an easy to navigate site.
The positive about that group is that the pictures from the different workshops will be available for all the members. I’m in another ning-ring and saw myself enrolling in a class because of the pictures showed by other class-members. The general discussion forum is available for everyone becoming a member of the ring and not just the workshop members.

“I never feel age...If you have creative work, you don't have age or time.”
Louise Nevelson

Write you soon,
Nathalie