Pokey : Cloth Paper Scissors

International Quilt Festival/ Houston Recap!

Pokey — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 01:00:00 GMT

Brace yourselves! I think I'm about to set a world record in the Blogosphere for the number of photos in a single blog entry. I took nearly 250 shots at International Quilt Festival/Houston, but I cut the lot down to 49. (The ones I don’t post in this blog entry, I’ll put in the photo files on the QA site.)

I’m still feeling a little aphasic while I catch up on sleep, so let the pictures do the talking!

International Quilt Association (IQA) Awards Ceremony

The upper ballrooms at the George Brown Convention Center were packed with attendees and quilt lovers eager to learn who was going to win awards for this year's International Quilt Association's fall judged show, "A World of Beauty."

Coincidentally, this was the ceremony where our new publication, International Quilt Festival: Quilt Scene made its debut. Featuring eight of the top award-winning IQA quilts, I repeatedly (incessentaly?!) reminded everyone who worked on this publication that this issue could not see the light of day until after this ceremony took place. Thanks to the hard work of those involved in keeping this issue under lock and key, it remained a surprise (and I didn't have a coronary).

When Brenda Groelz from Handi-Quilter awarded Caryl Byrer Fallert with Best in Show, Caryl flew onto the stage...

Caryl's quilt, "On the Wings of a Dream," is a self-portrait and tells the story of her personal evolution over the past several years. Her journey is a poignant and inspiring one, and we were happy to see her win.

Below people take a closer look at all of the quilts that won awards. (To view them all, check out the IQA site, then join IQA!)

Here I'm posing with Sue McCarty who won the Pfaff Master Award for Machine Artistry with her quilt, "Tribute to Tolkien." This quilt also won the Viewers' Choice award at Quilt Festival. It's gorgeous...

Denise Havlin of Illinois won the Fairfield Master Award for Contemporary Artistry with "Snapshot: Shannon's Bantam." This quilt took Denise four years to construct, and at the IQA luncheon the following afternoon, she shared her biggest design challenge: that while working on it, Shannon kept growing up!

SAQA@20: Art & Excellence

To celebrate SAQA's 20th anniversary, I was honored with being the juror for this special exhibit. Selecting just 35 quilts from SAQA members was one of the hardest tasks I've done, but in the end I think the exhibit looked absolutely incredible! (The exhibit will be traveling to Chicago and Long Beach, and we'll have a small sampling of images from this exhibit in the December/January issue of Quilting Arts.)

Preview Night at Festival

Our booth was rather busy during the show. Thanks to all for stopping by!

Below I'm posing with one of the sweetest (and most talented) people on the planet: Maggie Winfield. She always decks herself out with her signature couture. (You may remember her from my Long Beach post.)

Love the back of her jacket:

I was very excited to meet Lexus Estes in person. Last year when Lexus was eight, she submitted her very first quilt to the fall IQA judged show. It didn't win an award, but I got to interview her for an article in Quilt Scene about what it was like to make her first quilt. Here she is signing copies of her piece.

She and her grandmother stayed through Saturday of the show, and she got some Very Important People to sign her copy, too. Below Karey Bresenhan meets Lexus and signs her copy.

As did Nancy O'Bryant Puentes...

I got to pose with Lexus, too. Funny story: on the airplane home while working with these images on my computer, a passenger sitting next to me said, "Your daughter looks just like you!" I clarified that I wasn't so lucky and she wasn't my daughter, but told him her mother should be very proud of her. She's poised, energetic, and possesses a budding passion for quilting. Hopefully we'll be seeing a lot of Lexus in the years to come!

Artist Trading Card (ATC) Wall

The ATC wall buzzed with activity during the entire show.

This little girl (below) is an award-winning watercolor artist; those who got to trade with her were pretty fortunate!

Sandie (below) made a bagful of ATCs and stopped by often to trade. She broke her leg a while ago, but that didn't stop her from coming to Festival...

Open Studios

We had a number of art quilt and mixed-media rock stars who were on hand demonstrating their art in Open Studios. Below is the very talented (and articulate) Susan Brubaker Knapp demonstrating fabric painting and sharing her finished, thread-painted pieces. Her Quilting Arts Workshop made its debut at Festival (and Susan is also the cover girl for our 2010 calendar). Susan has some wonderful shots of quilts at the show so be sure to check out her blog.

Jane Davila was a hot ticket, too. Here she's stitching on a Bernina 440. (Many thanks to Bernina for lending us a machine!)

The very talented Lyric Kinard was on hand to offer art and design advice, share her techniques, and to sign her new book, Art + Quilt.

And Melanie Testa (author of Inspired to Quilt) dazzled attendees with her machine stitching, her artistry, and her humorous demeanor. (When Melly chuckles, you can hear it 10 aisles away...she has the best laugh.)

Sharon Tomlinson (a gifted Cloth Paper Scissors artist) demonstrated how easy it is to make faces...

Below Michele Muska of Wrights shared a variety of her artwork and mixed media. (Be sure to check out her pin cushion article in the upcoming Winter issue of Studios magazine. These pin cushions are adorable.)

Frances Holliday Alford is a brave girl and will stitch through anything. Here she's stitching through bits of plastic and other alternative surfaces.

I participated in Open Studios, too, and demonstrated my graffiti-style, fabric-collaged ATCs that I shared in Quilt Scene. (On a personal note, I'm looking especially tan in this shot. No, I haven't hit the tanning salon! My husband and I took a week's vacation in late September to the Caribbean and I'm still sporting some color...wont last much longer.)

Workshops at Make It University!(TM)

The Workshops were a real hit this year, thanks to the teachers. When the show opened each morning, people ran down the aisles to come to MIU and put their names in the jars where we drew names for each Workshop.

Jane Davila teaching her workshop:

Kathy York (sitting)--who's been in Quilting Arts a few times and has a quilt in the upcoming December/January issue--shows her lighter side with Jamie Fingal. Jamie's teaching her Traveling Art Box Workshop.

Aren't they cute? These two girls just met in MIU in Jamie Fingal's Workshop. Festival just keeps bringing people together...

Below Luana Rubin of eQuilter poses with her daughter, Sophie, who took Lesley Riley's Mini-Fragments Fabric Collage Workshop.

This little cutie shows off the brooch her mother made in Liz Kettle's workshop.

QUILT SCENE!

Quilt Scene was a real hit at the show. We completely sold out of the issues we brought! There were a few photo ops with this special issue, and although the picture below accurately describes how excited we are about this magazine, the expressions still crack me up...

Funny coincidence: The woman standing just right of me is another Patricia Bolton. Someone saw her name tag at the show and said, "You've gotta go meet Pokey!" When she came up to me, we both looked at each others' name badges and burst out laughing. (She's technically Patricia Bolton-Legg, but close enough.)

Surviving the Runway: Celebrating 35 Years of Quilt Festival

And no MIU is complete without a musical party/ spoof on Saturday night! For this particular Surviving the Runway, "designers" were instructed to make a couture outfit commemorating the last 35 years in fashion. Their supplies were limited and consisted of pipe cleaners, fabric scraps, feathers, glow-in-the-dark bracelets, and fun foam. The stakes were high as I had a lot of loot to divvy out to the winning designers.

We sang the "Brady Bunch" and "Flinstones" tunes, danced down Main Street to Van Halen, did the Michael Jackson moonwalk (albiet poorly!), and felt the Festival love as we sang along to Pete Townsend's "Let My Love Open the Door" (a personal favorite).

Look at the devious expression on Barb Forrister's face (sitting far right). Ironically enough, she won!

We had "Tim Gunns" assisting the Runway and helping designers make their outfits. From left to right: Melly Testa, Leslie Jenison, Jamie Fingal, Judy Perez, and me.

Gala on the Green (a.k.a. PARTY TIME!)

The 35th anniversary festivities culminated in an outdoor party on Discovery Green complete with a live cover band that played tunes from the past 35 years. It was a total blast, and the Quilting Arts team did not hesitate to shake it on the dance floor! (I'm a firm believer that those who dance together, stay together.) Below Lyric Kinard and our own Helen Gregory ham it up.

You may notice I'm wearing a Bruce Springsteen shirt (below). That's because Bruce has a 35th celebration, too, with his exhibit at the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame: "From Asbury Park to the Promised Land," celebrating 35 years of Bruce and the E Street. (See how I think about this stuff?)

Below Lesley Riley showed me how it's done...

We danced...

and danced...

(Helen with Rhianna White of Quilts, Inc.)

and danced some more...

And had a great time!

After-Hours Party at the Hilton...

Jamie Fingal and Leslie Jenison invited the QA Crew (Barb Delaney, Helen and me) to join their art party in their hotel room--something they do every night at Festival. Only requirement was to come in your PJs...

When we opened the door, I was worried something had exploded on the floor, but nope, it's a wholecloth painting the group is collectively working on. (They tell me they're going to cut it up and later stitch it back together.)

Barbara Delaney sat right down and painted alongside Leslie and Frances.

And I think this video sums up the experiences and friendships at Festival. Rachel Parris and Jamie Fingal lead everyone in a toast:

(Please visit the site to view this media)

**October 23 Update! Bonus Videos!**

Thanks to Judy Coates Perez for sending me this!

(Please visit the site to view this media)

And to Helen Gregory, Barbara Delaney, and Larissa Davis for devising this video spoof. Kudos to Barb and Helen for taping this in the rain!

(Please visit the site to view this media)

Thanks to everyone for participating, to sponsors who donated product, to our Workshop teachers, and Open Studios artists, and all that attended!

Until we meet again. Hope to see everyone in Chicago...

It's a Wrap! QA TV Series 500 just completed taping...

Pokey — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 13:44:00 GMT

I've just returned home from Cleveland where we taped our next series of QA TV (airing end of December). This new season promises to be a strong one! Not only did we tape some fabulous segments at International Quilt Festival/Chicago this past April, but we had some rather talented guests joining us on the set this past week.

Some pictures:

No, this is not the new host of Quilting Arts (despite her perfect teeth and colorful disposition). This is a piece by Susan Else, entitled "Nothing to Fear." It's part of the current Quilt National exhibit, and we were fortunate enough to have Kathleen Dawson of the Dairy Barn Arts Center come and bring along some pieces to share.

Kathleen Dawson and I in front of Kathy York's Quilt National quilt: "Little Fishes in the Big City."

Artist (and newest board member to SAQA) Carol Taylor and I pose in front of one of her quilts featuring her narrow piecing technique. Carol also taped a QA Workshop with us.

Jeanne Delpit of Bernina joined me for two segments and she was on hand all week to help artists unfamiliar with Bernina machines to sew on them. Jeanne was such a great help and I am so glad Bernina is the show's sewing machine sponsor! Those babies simply purr...

Beryl Taylor appeared in Season One and I was so glad to have her back! She also taped a workshop, the first in our series of Cloth Paper Scissors workshops. Her mixed-media and creative embroidery work were dazzling (as usual).

Liz DeBellis and I pose before taping her collograph printing segment. Liz is an elementary school art teacher and Quilt National artist, too. Pretty nifty accomplishment for someone under the age of 25!

Another Quilt National artist, Sue Cavanaugh joined me to demonstrate several shibori techniques. (She'll also be featured in an upcoming issue of Quilting Arts.)

Amy Milne of The Alliance for American Quilts, Liz DeBellis, and Michele Muska of Wrights chumming it up in the green room.

Paula Prass, fabric designer for Michael Miller fabrics, came to show us how she makes her framed art quilts. (No, it was not intentional that we coordinate so well with the fabrics in front of us!)

Sometimes I make funny faces on QA TV...and after we finish a segment the director likes to leave those stills on the green room tv to poke fun at me!

Luana Rubin, founder of eQuilter and managing editor extraordinaire, Helen Gregory, smile for me in the green room. Luana taped two very interesting segments with us.

My friend Natalya Aikens came back to tape not just a QA TV segment but a really fabulous workshop, too. Little known fact: She worked on the set as a costume designer for HBO's "Sex and the City."

And yes, I did return to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame to see "From Asbury Park to the Promised Land," the special Springsteen exhibit. If you are in the Cleveland area anytime soon, you really must go see this exhibit. And it may look like I'm making an obscene gesture, but I'm actually giving my "hang loose" sign. (What cracks me up about this picture is the woman to the right laughing at me...)

I am afraid those are all the pictures I have of this taping from my camera, but there were many more talented guests! I want to give a special thanks to the show sponsors who make QA TV possible: Interweave, Bernina, Sulky of America, Michael Miller Fabrics, Alexander Henry, Art Gallery Fabrics, eQuilter, Wrights, Electric Quilt Company, Kaleidoscope Collections, Cedar Canyon Textiles, The Warm Company, JT Trading, Hinterberg Designs, and Rowenta. Also a heartfelt thank you to producer Kathie Stull and her assistant, Katherine Lamencusa!!

Other guests who blogged about their experience taping QA TV:

Alma de la Melena Cox

Quilting Arts Uncensored and Make It University! at International Quilt Festival/Long Beach

Pokey — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 20:13:00 GMT

OK, Everybody! It's time to take the “Quilting Arts Uncensored: The Stuff You're Not Supposed to Know” Quiz!

Are you ready? Which of the following statements is true?

A. For the very first Quilting Arts calendar we published in 2001, the printer mistakenly flipped a couple of the images for the months, so that the Thanksgiving turkey for November ended up appearing on the month of March. When I pointed out the error to the printer, they first argued that, indeed, turkeys are around during the month of March, and so therefore it wasn't really necessary to reprint all 5,000 copies.

B. Back in the day when it was just my sister-in-law, Sally, and me, and Quilting Arts was run out of my house, Sally was so upset after fielding her first disgruntled subscriber call, she burst into tears and sobbed, "But she was so mean to me!" (You've come a long way, Sally!)

C. After 9/11, instead of flying from Boston to Houston for the International Quilt Festival, my other sister-in-law, Ann-Marie and I thought a more prudent option was to drive a Winnebago down to Texas. While driving along the Interstate in Tennessee, we ignored the weather advisory on the radio warning about tornadoes in the area, and with tornado-force winds and golf-ball-sized hail pounding the Winnebago, we hugged each other, called our husbands, and told them we were going to die. Minutes later when the storm passed, we drove to Wal•Mart, bought Abba's Greatest Hits, a 12-pack of Smirnoff Ice, and spent the night in the parking lot.

D. Someone called me once to tell me they were stopping their magazine subscription because Quilting Arts had become too pagan.

E. I got a letter from a viewer of Quilting Arts TV, telling me that her hair looks better when she rolls out of bed in the morning than my hair does on set.

F. All of the above are true.

If you picked F, congratulations, you are right! To hear more whacky stories about what it was like to launch Quilting Arts Magazine® and Cloth Paper Scissors®, and to be in the running for some great door prizes, come join me for my luncheon in Long Beach at the International Quilt Festival on Thursday, July 23. Details can be found on the Quilts, Inc., website.

*****

Below is the list of Make It University!™ Workshops with Cloth Paper Scissors being offered at International Quilt Festival/ Long Beach. We have a fabulous lineup of artists so I hope you'll come and join us Friday, July 24–Sunday, July 26.

Above: Stamps by Alisa Burke

Make It University!™ with Cloth Paper Scissors® Workshops

These workshops will be taught by exhibitors and artists in the Make It University!™ with Cloth Paper Scissors pavilion, with a maximum of 25 people per session. The fee for each workshop is $10, and workshop participation will be determined by lottery. Each workshop will have its own lottery. The lottery will open for each workshop the day the workshop is given, and people may put their name in each workshop lottery jar from the time the show opens that day up until 15 minutes prior to the start of the workshop. Participants may put their name in each workshop lottery only once, but may put their name in as many different workshop lotteries as they choose. People must be physically present 15 minutes prior to the start of the workshop to hear if their name is called. If the person isn’t present, unfortunately their spot will be forfeited and another name will be called.

Thursday (Preview Night)

5:30–6:30 Metal Meanders

Create a unique card with soft metal. Emboss, paint, distress, and hand-stitch.

—Beryl Taylor, Cloth Paper Scissors®

7:00–7:30 Make It University!™ Mixed-media and Fiber Art Raffle

Stop by and put your name in the raffle for free mixed-media and fiber supplies!

––Hosted by Pokey Bolton, Cloth Paper Scissors®

8:00–9:00 Hand-carved Stamps
Why purchase all of your stamps when you can make some yourself! Learn a variety of unique ways to make your very own handmade stamps with easy-to-use materials.

—Alisa Burke, Cloth Paper Scissors®

Friday

10:30–11:30 Ficklestick Jewelry

Create a daisy necklace or bracelet of choice using a variety of fabrics and wire.

Diana Taylor, Stickball–Home of Ficklesticks

12:00–1:00 Mixed-media Scroll

Create a small wall hanging with fabric, felt, screening, and more. Paint, stamp, stitch, and then add sleeves and chop sticks, top and bottom, for fun.

—Jamie Fingal, Cloth Paper Scissors®

1:30–2:30 “Wish You Were Here” Mixed-media Postcard

Combine cloth, paper, Lutradur®, and a variety of mark-making tools to create a keepsake from Long Beach.

—Leslie Jenison, Cloth Paper Scissors®

3:00–4:00 ATCs, Organza, ATCs: Oh my!

Create artist trading cards with freezer paper and silk organza. Learn about resists, paints, and glues while making some awesome ATCs.

—Melanie Testa, Cloth Paper Scissors®

4:30–5:30 Fanciful Felted Fruits

Create felted wool balls and then transform them into colorful decorative fruit ornaments using scraps of wool felt and colorful embroidery floss.

—Judy Coates Perez, Cloth Paper Scissors®

6:00–7:00 Resin Jewelry and Much More

Embed quilt art or interesting fabrics, paper, buttons, or beads to create resin pieces that can be used for pins, magnets, and more.

—Fran Valera, Little Windows™

Saturday

10:15–11:15 “Treasure Heart”

Create a greeting card or a small wall hanging with fabric, a padded silk heart, hand stitching, and beads.

— Beryl Taylor, Cloth Paper Scissors®

11:45–12:45 Living Postcards
Make it simple or make it rich; create a postcard-sized tableau. Scratch, draw, and carve into the surface, apply fabrics, stamps, and collage for texture.

—Rebecca Stuart, Stuart Gill, Ltd

1:15–2:15 Playing with Zap Cloth

Create a base for embellishment. Learn to use pure pigment dyes, layer metallic paints, and adhere zap cloth to a velvet base.

—Barbara Matthiessen, Earth Safe Finishes

2:45–3:45 Creative Cuff
Create a cuff bracelet from painted fabric, buttons, canvas, and an assortment of non-traditional, recycled materials.

—Alisa Burke, Cloth Paper Scissors®

4:00–5:00 Metal Magic: You Can Stitch Through Metal!

Work with Grungeboard™, metal, transfers, paints, and stitch to create fun, little pieces of art.

—Judy Coates Perez, Cloth Paper Scissors®

5:30–7:00 Surviving the Runway, ‘60s Style: The Ultimate Creative Challenge with Cloth Paper Scissors®. Join Pokey as we go back to the days of The Beatles and The Beach Boys and participate in a Flower Power mixed-media challenge that will leave you in stitches. Wonderful assortment of prizes, including art quilting and collage books, DVDs, threads, and tools given to those who survive the runway!

— Pokey Bolton, Cloth Paper Scissors®

Sunday

10:30–11:30 Traveling Art Box

Decorate a small tin box, fill it with accordion-folded paper, and be ready to create art on-the-go, or have your art samples at the ready.

—Jamie Fingal, Cloth Paper Scissors®

12:00–1:00 Easy Graffiti!

Learn about graffiti and tons of graffiti-inspired techniques that can be applied to fabric, paper, and mixed-media projects.

—Alisa Burke, Cloth Paper Scissors®

Freaky Friday at Quilting Arts Headquarters

Pokey — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 13:47:00 GMT

It's a beautiful, sunny June day and while many people are counting down the days to their summer vacations, we're planning for Halloween and beyond! The QA staff is knee-deep in preperations for our Quilting Arts GIFTS photo shoot that will be taking place at my house this next Tuesday. It's funny to me to see the juxtaposition of the potted petunias on my front porch with the holly wreath on the front door, and the lit Christmas tree in my living room in the distance (more pictures on the photo shoot coming soon).

Also this week much of staff worked very hard to swap 2000 mixed-media charms with other readers for our "Charmed or Be Charmed" reader swap appearing in our September/October issue of Cloth Paper Scissors. Featured in the same issue will be some of the results from our "Skeletons in Your Closet" reader challenge, and below is a sneak peek at some of the entries. Warning: This video is scary for a number of reasons, including the fact that I'm having a really bad hair day. What's funny to me, however, are the two somewhat unexpected guest appearances.

Happy Friday,

Pokey

(Please visit the site to view this media)

The 2010 Cloth Paper Scissors Calendar Artists are...

Pokey — Fri, 08 May 2009 16:55:00 GMT

With the help of attendees who voted at Make It University! at International Quilt Festival/Chicago, the following artists' work will grace the pages of the 2010 "Life is Like a Box of _______" calendar, available this summer.

Congratulations to:

Danielle M. Tworek, Hopkinton, NH

“Life is Like Box of #2 Pencils”

Linda Trenholm, Las Vegas, NV

“Life is Like a Box of Crayons”

Andrea Manard, Memphis, TN

“Life is Like a Box of Corks”

Madalyn Bruning of Bellevue, NE

“Life is Like a Box of Watercolors”

Jean Brown of Elgin, IL

“Life is Like a Box of Tools”

Susan Minier of Highland Hills, NY

“Life is Like a Box of Magic”

Leilani Pierson of Chicago, IL

“Life is Like a Box of Whims”

Lou McCulloch of Medina, OH

“Life is Like a Box of Quilt Squares”

Megan Halsey of Landsdowne, PA

“Life is Like a Box of Beach”

Michelle Pulver Feldman of Stamford, CT

“Life is Like a Box of Paint”

Lynne Redmond of Greensboro, NC

“Life is Like a Box of Gorgeous Autumn Leaves”

Lorna Orkin of Houston, TX

Life is Like a Box of Inspiration”

Mary Beth Volpini of Newport Beach, CA

“Life is Like a Box of Fortune Cookies”

Congratulations to all of you! Our staff will be in touch with you later this month to follow up.

For those who would like a sneak peek of the 2010 CPS calendar, below are a couple of detail shots taken by Larissa Davis of Leilani Pierson's and Andrea Manard's entries respecitively.

International Quilt Festival/Chicago is next week!

Pokey — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 16:35:00 GMT

I love this time of year. When April comes around, it means one kind of sock season is officially over (bye bye boots, hellooooo sandals), and another type of sock season officially begins!

It also means it's time for the International Quilt Festival/ Chicago, and below are some of the highlights for Make It University:

Preview Night
We'll be hosting our own quilter's stimulus package as we raffle off fabric bundles, notions, and books. All you have to do is put your name in the cookie jar at MIU and be present if your name is called.

QA TV Taping on Saturday in Make It University!
Want to see what it takes to put these segments together? Come by and watch!

Workshops and Open Studios
From Preview night through Sunday afternoon, we'll be hosting mixed-media workshops and artists in Open Studios.

Voting for the Cloth Paper Scissors 2010 Calendar
We're leaving it up to you what appears in our 2010 Cloth Paper Scissors calendar. Come vote for your top three favorite entries!

Piece by Linda Trenholm

Take 'Em or Leave 'Em Artist Trading Card Exchange
Bring as many ATCs as you want to trade out. Trading hours open all day/ every day. Below are five I made late last night, and yes, they feature mice. I have a huge fear of them so I made these ATCs as a form of confrontational therapy!

All of the information for Make It University! can be found on this web page:

Make It University in Chicago

Information on International Quilt Festival/ Chicago:

International Quilt Festival/Chicago

Hope to see you,

Pokey

Life's a Beach Challenge Results

Pokey — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 16:36:00 GMT

Apparently I am not the only one counting down the minutes until summer because we received more than 280 submissions for our "Life's a Beach!" Cloth Paper Scissors reader challenge. Submissions ranged from altered surf boards and flip-flops to assemblages and journal-quilt-sized art quilts (and quite a number of them).

The following artists should ship their artwork to us per the challenge guidelines published in the magazine to be considered for inclusion in our July/August issue of Cloth Paper Scissors and/or to be exhibited at Make It University! at the International Quilt Festival/Long Beach this upcoming July:

Kristin Beason (both entries)
Shirle Bedient
Michelle Bonds
Dale Cornwell
Dan Daniels
Mina Doerner
Donna Funnell
Marcia Kerbl
Jan Harris
Lynn Kunz
Dot Lewallen
Laura McCabe
Lisa Jones Moore
Andrea Parr
Lynne Redmond
Gina Smith
Carolyn Sutton ("Go Fly a Kite")

There were a number of other entries that were very intriguing, and we're going to get in touch with these artists for other publishing opportunities. Thanks to everyone for playing along and dreaming of summer. Hope everyone enjoyed the challenge!

You be the judge! Announcing the finalists for our 2010 Cloth Paper Scissors Calendar Contest

Pokey — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 17:24:00 GMT

Thanks to everyone who participated in our first-ever calendar contest for Cloth Paper Scissors. Interpretations for the theme, “Life is a box of______”, ran the gamut but the most popular responses illustrated with thread, glue, paper, and ephemera were:
1. Life is a box of crayons
2. Life is a box of yo-yo’s
3. Life is a box of art supplies

Some took the challenge more metaphorically while others did a play on words. All of them delighted our staff, and we congratulate the following finalists!

Congratulations to:
Brown, Jean
Bruning, Madalyn
Feldman, Michele Pulver
Gatto, Peggy
Halsey, Megan
Manard, Andrea
McCulloch, Lou (both entries)
Minier, Susan (“Wild Tulips”)
Nelson-Johnson, Linda
Orkin, Lorna (“Box of Inspiration”)
Pierson, Leilani
Redmond, Lynne
Trenholm, Linda
Tworek, Danielle
Volpini, Mary Beth

Please refer to the entry rules for shipping your artwork to us. Any questions, please email Barbara Delaney at bdelaney@interweave.com.

Help us choose the final 13!

We will be bringing all of the finalists’ entries with us to Chicago to Make It University!™ at the International Quilt Festival. There, we will have a voting system in place for you to vote on your favorite pieces for inclusion in our 2010 calendar.

To find out all of the details for Make It University!™ click the link below.

Make It University! at International Quilt Festival in Chicago

Cloth Paper Scissors "Play On Words" Reader Challenge

Pokey — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 03:28:45 GMT

Today's the big day! I'm not talking about Groundhog Day (and please join me in cursing that over-sized, toothy rodent who dared to see his shadow this morning).No, I'm talking about the announcement date for the finalists for our Cloth Paper Scissors "Play On Words" reader challenge.

We thank all of those who entered for sharing with us your wit, your linguistic talents, and your art. Most entries had us laughing, some were thought-provoking, and frankly a few were a tad obscene, which had us bowled over in our office chairs in fits of giggles.

Congratulations to the following artists; your pieces were selected for consideration for publication in our May/June issue of Cloth Paper Scissors! Please send us your art by February 16, 2009. Any questions email Barbara Delaney at bdelaney@interweave.com.

Jean K. Brown
Donna DeSoto ("Color Veal")
Mina Doerner
Deb Dunn
Maureen Erhardt
Annie Fisher
Christine Francis-Barta
Colleen Kelly
Donna McCaugherty
Kathy Parks
Leilani Pierson
Sidney Sward

We also would like to feature others online as part of our "Online Extras" so you might be hearing from us. As usual we discovered new talent through a reader challenge and we have set aside a number of entries to contact for future articles. We thank everyone for entering and hope you had fun with our challenge!

You Made What?! An Interview with Mixed-media Artists Opie and Linda O'Brien

Pokey — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 19:35:36 GMT

With Valentine’s Day less than a month away, are you beginning to fret over what to get your loved one? Forget about a sappy Hallmark card, an overpriced bouquet of roses, or a stale box of chocolates. Take a lesson from soul mates Linda and Opie O’Brien, who after more than 20 years of marriage know that the key ingredient to any lasting relationship––simply put––is humor.

Case in point:

What inspired you both to make such a piece of art? Was one of you feeling a little...shall we say... bloated, and the conversation went from there?
Actually we were feeling a bit drained. In December we finished the manuscript for our new book and we were very much in need of a bit of silly fun. Since we've worked with organic, recycled, and found materials since 1994, we've collected about 2000 tins that we use in our work and many of the classes we teach, so we have a lot to draw from.

The vintage Ex-Lax tin was perfect, as we often take a whimsical approach with our pieces. This piece actually has a funny, albeit embarrassing story, because up to the point that I scanned it into the computer, we both misread the word movement for moment and when we looked at the screen it said Ex-Lax ... never a dull movement, Opie turned to me and said, "Does that say movement?" and I said, "Yes, I think it does," and he said, "But didn't it say moment," and I said, "I thought it did, but computer screens don't lie." We ran to get the piece, re-read it, and we laughed until we cried, since movement really was so much more appropriate to the tone of the piece. Now there's your happy little accident!

Where are you going to put it? In the bathroom, perhaps?
It's funny you should ask, as that was Opie's first choice, but we started a wall of metal collages that go down one side of our entire hallway and there was the perfect place for it, so there it hangs for now until we decide which will become class samples, which go on etsy.com and/or reserved for vendors’ night at art retreats.

What type of art is the most gratifying for you both to make?
Opie and I have been living and working together 24/7 since the 80's. Fortunately we are very like-minded, but a sense of humor is paramount to the success of a relationship of this type and humor often transfers into much of our work. Our Dada Dolls for our latest book are a complete hoot and these new metal collages seem to be taking that direction as well. But we also love creating books, assemblage, jewelry, and our original music, and find all of these mediums equally gratifying. The fact that we can do this together is the most satisfying part of it all.

Look for more artwork from Linda and Opie in upcoming issues of Cloth Paper Scissors. To learn more about them and their newest book Who’s Your Dada out next fall, visit their website at http://www.burntofferings.com/.

Quilting Arts Sneak Peek

Pokey — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 01:05:40 GMT

Want to see a sneak peek of the cover for the February/March issue of Quilting Arts (on sale February 3rd)?

This art quilt is by Kathy York (who some may remember from this particular Saturday night event). Doesn't it make you wish for spring? Kathy hasn't seen the cover yet, so hopefully she will mosey on over here and have a look!

This just in…

Quilting Arts contributor Amy Ropple will be teaching a quilting class entitled "Expressive Quilting" this semester at the Massachusetts College of Art and Design. Here's the course description:

Experiment with using a variety of quilt techniques as expressive fiber art forms. Learn traditional techniques and then explore their expressive potential through working on a series of artistic challenges using mixed media. Approaches to piecing, collaging, embellishing, and quilting will be taught, with an emphasis on using traditional techniques in experimental, original and personally meaningful ways. Wednesdays, 6:30-10pm.

For more information contact the Continuing Education office at MCAD at (617) 879-7200, or email Amy at aropple@aol.com.

More reader challenge opportunities..

We just posted a new Cloth Paper Scissors challenge on our website called "Life's a Beach!"

Help us celebrate summer in the July/August issue of Cloth Paper Scissors by taking our “Life’s a Beach!” reader challenge. Just make a piece of mixed-media art that’s in keeping with the “Life’s a Beach!” theme. The piece may be two- or three-dimensional; it may be one piece, such as a mixed-media sand castle; two or more pieces, like an altered bikini; or it may portray a scene. You may use text or beachy elements like sand, shells, salt, stones, etc. You may be inspired to use some of the techniques in the January/February issue, such as Patricia Gaignat’s encaustic books, Anne Quinlan’s narrative collages, or Chrysti Hydeck’s digitally altered photos. Or, show us something completely different. It’s your choice, so long as you adhere to the basic beachy rules.

And don't forget about our Quilting Arts Rock On! Reader Challenge! Only three weeks left before your quilted tributes to Def Leppard, AC/D C, Bob Seger, Debbie Harry (or Debbie Gibson) pieces are due!

Winners in the New Year!

Pokey — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 20:15:58 GMT

Congratulations to following 10 people for winning the first QA Blog fabric raffle for 2009!

Thanks to everyone for posting your resolutions, goals, and good wishes for the New Year. We loved reading what you all aspire to accomplish by the end of the year. (You're an ambitious lot!)

I ask that the following people email me your full name and mailing address, and in the subject line of your email write (in caps) 2009 WINNER. Once everyone has emailed me, I will get the goods out to you (probably within the next ten days).

Willa (OK, I admit I purposely picked Willa for being the very first to comment in the New Year.)
Alice (of Aliceandjo)
Melissa (who posted at Jan 2, 6:12 PM)
Elaine Koenig
The Quilt Rat
Karen Christensen
Penney
Beth M.
Mary Ann Van Soest
Katie (Raggamuffingal)

If you didn't win some fabrics, you can still win a heart…

I found the following news story via Laura Krasinski about a young boy battling a rare form of brain cancer. To keep him distracted from painful chemo. treatments, he loves collecting postcards from around the globe. I bet he would equally love handmade postcards, too. Will you join me in sending him one? Click on the image below to see Connor's story...

Lastly, we are hard at work on our March/April issue of Cloth Paper Scissors and have a burning question for you!

How have you improvised? When you can’t find—or don’t have—the tool you really want, what’s the silliest (or craziest) substitution you’ve ever made? And what were the results? We’d love to know. Send your responses to bdelaney@interweave.com.

Something to Ponder this Holiday Season: Do Quilting and Collage Editors Know How to Party?

Pokey — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 21:55:00 GMT

Why yes, we do!

Some of the women of Quilting Arts and Cloth Paper Scissors. Left to right:Geri Stevens, Sally Murray, Helen Gregory, Barbara Staszak, Pokey Bolton, Barbara Delaney, Cate Prato.

If anyone was near the town of Stow, Massachusetts, and heard a rowdy party happening by the woods, that would have been some of your Quilting Arts and Cloth Paper Scissors crew kicking back and enjoying some holiday cheer in my in-laws' barn.

Luckily, we weren't riotous enough to inspire a write-up in today's police blotter, but we certainly had fun as we reflected on the year we've had.

Left to right: *** Bolton, John Bolton, Ralph Stevens, Dom Pugliese, Nick Prato.

We ate delicious eggplant parmesan, drank great wine, listened to a rockin' holiday music mix, but most importantly, we spent much of the evening reflecting on how lucky we are––thanks to all of you.

The polar bears outside the barn window reminded us that, baby, it's cold outside...

But inside the laughter kept us toasty.

My favorite picture:

I of course used some of quilting skills for my e-invitation:

"It's Time for a Sit Down," says Tony Soprano...Thursday's Christmas Party

It's that time of year to toss a few back and celebrate our greatness in the barn!
Where: You Know Where...
When: Thursday at 6:30
What to Bring: Your smiling self and a guest
What you'll be listening to: The fine Christmas tunes from The Underground Garage (Get ready to shake your booty!)
What you'll be eating: The savory repast from well... The Savoury Lane
What you'll be imbibing: Non-alcoholic and alcoholic beverages for all to enjoy
What to Wear: Something comfy with elastic so you can enjoy that devilish chocolate cake!

All of us at Quilting Arts and Cloth Paper Scissors wish you the happiest of holidays, and we thank you so much for such a wonderful year! Cheers to you...

Move over, Frosty...

Pokey — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 16:35:24 GMT

Move over, Frosty. You’ve got some stiff competition this winter! Sue Pelletier’s snowmen article from our November/December issue of Cloth Paper Scissors inspired a number of people to feel flaky this winter and make some snowy concoctions.

Linda Freeman surprised her monthly art group when she made these to give away as party favors:

If Ann Bonestell from Los Osos, CA, was asked if she was naughty or nice this holiday season, she must be the latter. She turned her snowmen into snow angels.

The parents of Martha Brown’s kindergarten class will have a pleasant surprise when school lets out for the holidays.

As will the parents of Jacqui Chaltain’s kindergarten class in Houston!

Jeannette’s snow girl is complete with an important message during these tough economic times…

Ute from Nebraska had a friend over and made this crowd of colorfully garbed snowmen. (Don’t they look like they’re crammed on a train platform trying to board ?)

Sue Clark had an art party and made a gaggle of snowmen with her gal pals.

And Brenda Boyd from Texas even gave us our president-elect!

Great job, everybody! Let’s hear a round of applause for our guest artists today! More from our readers can be found on this page.

Author Interview & a Blog Raffle!

Pokey — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 20:30:47 GMT

Above: Debbi Crane, Pokey Bolton, and Cheryl Prater at Make It University! at International Quilt Festival/ Chicago in 2007.

We have a very special guest with us today: Debbi Crane, co-author of MIXED MANIA: RECIPES FOR DELICIOUS MIXED MEDIA CREATIONS recently published by Interweave.

Debbi, we’re so glad you could join us today! I must say, you co-authored along with Cheryl Prater a very chic mixed-media book! Interesting title, interesting concept. Tell me a little bit about the idea behind your book.

Cheryl and I were really committed to doing a book that retained our individual voices and art-making styles. Cheryl does a lot with found objects and kind of sits down in front of her materials and makes what comes to her; I, on the other hand, tend to plan out every little step of a project before I even thing of picking up my scissors. The combination of our styles might seem a little crazy, but I think if we were exactly alike there would be no reason for us to collaborate. I hope we have shown our readers that the mixed media table is big and there’s room for everybody.

This arts and crafts book is a rare and welcomed treat because it is written with such wit and humor. I love how each chapter opens with the banter between you and Cheryl. It's like a slumber party I want to crash.

Cheryl and I wanted the words to be as interesting as the artwork. I have to thank our editor, Darlene D’Agostino for working so hard with us to get the dialogue just right, but Cheryl and I have had a natural sass in our conversations since we met in 2006.

What was your favorite part or project?

I love the design process – dreaming up new projects, writing the instructions, seeing the ideas come to life, working out the bugs and figuring out how slick I can make the engineering.

I know you're an art teacher by day. Now that you are an author, do your students treat you with celebrity status?

Not really, but maybe they will when my segment on Quilting Arts TV airs!

Note to readers: Debbi taped a segment with us at Make It University!™ this past April in Chicago. Her segment will appear in Series 300 of Quilting Arts TV, which begins airing nationwide December 26th.

Debbi, I have to tell you, I was inspired by your quilted clutch project. I love how playful it is and this weekend I am going to make a few for gifts.

In fact, I have a clutch in progress (below) and I'd love to give it away as a little blog raffle treat right now!

What question should I ask everybody to answer in the comments area, Debbi?

If you could have a craft date with any crafter or artist, living or dead, who would it be and why?

Ooooh, that is a great question! And a tough one! For anybody who would like a chance to win this quilted clutch, please answer the above question in the comments area by Monday 5:00 PM EST. I will then draw the winner and post to the blog Tuesday morning (along with some of your responses).

So, Debbi, I'm curious what is next for you down the pike. More books? Will you be joining us in Chicago and teaching a Workshop at Make It University!™ this coming April? Will you be writing more articles for us? Are you teaching anywhere?

I would love to do another book. It was hard work, but the kind of hard work I love. I am so delighted with the results.

Yes, I will be in Chicago with my mom and daughters. I am not sure the quilt show is ready for three generations of Crane women!

I hope to be in Cloth Paper Scissors again soon. I always have projects in various stages of completion for potential articles, and I will be embarking on my sixth year of daily art in 2009.

Debbi, I must ask: You know you have that rock star glam about you (I mentioned this in a previous post). Did you ever dream of being a rock star? If so, what band would you have joined? And are you going to participate in our Rock On! Art Quilt challenge?

I am a rock n roll girl, I must admit. I listen to the radio way too loud in the car and sing at the top of lungs, much to the dismay of my girls. I tell them – If it’s too loud, you’re too old!

I would say that I’d join Fleetwood Mac or maybe Heart – my husband’s fave – but there always seems to be drama in a band, so I’ll stay a solo act.

Yes, I’m doing the Rock On! Art Quilt challenge! Love it!!

Debbi, thanks for being our special guest on the Quilting Arts blog today! For people wanting to check out Debbi and Cheryl's book, you can learn more here.

And don’t forget to share in the comments area who your artist/craft date would be!