Dena Crain's Darned Quilts

Here is a photo of the quilt I made in Dena Crain's class at Quilt University. It's a humble offering compared to what is possible. I was blown away by the fabulous quilts in Dena's Gallery on her website, especially this one. I continue to be amazed by the creativity of everyone, although by now I should just know that the "creativity explosion" is as real as the "technology explosion." LIFE expressing Life. xoxox

Gilded Goldfish Batik Card

Here's the before and after goldfish sent to my grandchildren in Tennessee. I'm sure they would have been just as happy with the before picture, but I'm still practicing my Zentangles, and getting to know the nature of paper batik. While I'm at it, I'll post a Thank you card I'm working on. Everyone in blogland knows how hard it is to reproduce a 2D image that has gold and silver on it. It just doesn't do justice to the real thing.....anyway, that's my excuse. I still think someone will like receiving it. Who doesn't like to be thanked?

More Batik--On PAPER

The two above pieces are 6" x 8", and the ones below have been folded in half, so they measure 4" x 6". Sometimes it's hard to get a visual reference on a blog. Think small.





Still playing with hot wax. A work in progress, as usual.
These greeting cards are made just like fabric batik, with the tjanting tools. They are so much easier, though, because you can just paint the dye on, and no rinsing is needed. There are still a few "halo auras" where the wax shows through, but I'm getting used to them. Overall , there's a lot of possibility here. You might notice drips and splotches which, I have been assured, are desirable (probably for people who are messy and can't help it, and I fit that description).
A renowned calligrapher, Carol Pallesen, came to town for a two day workshop.
As usual, I'm the slow one. My very talented sister-in-law, local artist Kathy English completed many beautiful hand decorated painted designs. These are just a few of the 18 cards I made. As I complete them with designs and embellishments, I will post more.