crazy for color

The Benefits of Teaching, and Summer/Art/Kids

noreply@blogger.com (Heidi Miracle-McMahill) — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 21:20:00 +0000

I've got one more class for the summer, coming up on Saturday, monoprinting (photos at the right are some up close detail photo from a monoprinted piece) I'm really excited! I think this is the class I'm most excited about teaching so far (of the 6 courses I have put together for teaching at Fiber on a Whim this summer). Don't get me wrong, I have loved all of the classes so far! It is almost feels sinful to be taking money for this! (Note, I said almost.)

One of the participants in Saturday's class will be bringing gelatin so we can do some gelatin monoprinting! That is one of the things I was hoping to get around to learning this summer, so I'm thrilled that someone in the class will actually be helping me learn this technique! She spent a week with Rayna Gillman learning techniques such as this one. Wow, am I ever jealous!

Anyway, that is the way it always is with classes right? So many talented and creative people out there and when you teach you learn so much! With other minds in the mix, someone always comes up with something you haven't thought of before. So, it's never really a teacher/student kind of an atmosphere. More of a share and learn and grow together. Tuesday's needlefelting was no exception. A great group of women and we had a blast!

So, if anyone is still looking for a way to spend there Saturday, there are I believe 2 spots still open. The class is from 10:30 to 3:30 and we will have a ton of fun!

Other news? Hhhm, can't remember if I wrote about selling one of my two Yoni quilts I made for the Yoni QuiltArt Challenge! Totally unexpected but I was thrilled that it spoke to someone! I love the two pieces but I wasn't sure that I would ever display them prominently anywhere in my home and probably the last pieces that I thought would ever sell (not because they were not good work/art, but because of the sensitive nature of them). But you just never know! Apparently the work I did to get the challenge posted to QuiltArt was worth the work! Really validating! For the person who bought it, she found it inspiring as it represented rebirth, a place she is at in her life, hoping to rebirth herself through her creative writing. I hope the piece brings her inspiration.

Well, back to the kids, supper, housework. Word of warning, DO NOT take your children to the Foam Factory in Marietta on a weekday in the summer. We went today, and yes, they had fun, but it was PACKED with daycampers. There was no one there running the entry taking tickets, so no one watching whether it was at capacity or not (I"m sure it was well over capacity). The noise was deafening and my kids were a bit overwhelmed until lots of campers begin to leave around 2 pm. I had envisioned myself sitting and working on some needlefelting, going over my notes for the Monoprinting class and an occassional bit of time in the foam ball pit playing with the kids. Instead, it was noise, noise, noise, and I had to hold my 3 year olds hand the entire time so she did not get trampled to death. And, I did have fun and decided to just let go of my plans and enjoy it with them. But, if you go, don't expect to sit quietly to the side while your kids have fun. Ain't going to happen. We had only been once before and there were maybe 2 to 3 other kids (during the school year). Today, well over 100 kids in the same space.

The summer seems so short and not enough time to fit in all the activities but also too long without a break to really work on some of my art. I'm behind on commitments/commissions. I learned that summer is not the time to take these own. Seems I would have known this, but I didn't think it through. So, if you are someone waiting on something from me, please know, I will get to them! But, it will be easier when school starts in a couple of weeks. ;)

Have a great evening! Happy creating!

Heidi

Tips for Long Life

noreply@blogger.com (Heidi Miracle-McMahill) — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 14:33:00 +0000

I'm still working on my family history and a cousin of mine recently sent me a huge envelope of family photos and information. It is so much fun learning about your family, especially when you knew so little to begin with. My Great Grandmother, Margaret Wilson, lived to be 107 years old. I knew this and had found some photos online of her but this envelope contained many photos of her birthdays over the years and a newspaper article about her life. What I found interesting was that my cousin remembered our Grandfather taking her whiskey and that she drank a glass every night and said that the whiskey and her Cherokee blood
(haven't found this in her family lines yet) were her secrets to longevity. The newspaper article said that it was hard work. Hahaha. I'm sure she worked very hard. She had 8 children to raise alone as her husband was killed by a falling tree.

I remember being afraid to kiss her when I was very young, 4 maybe. She died when I was 5. Now what I wouldn't give to have a conversation with her. Part of the article said:

"The Wilsons owned a number of sheep and raised flax and cotton. Aunt Marg then left us rather bewildered by a recital of the many steps involved in the art of weaving flax, wool and cotton, before the fire at night, telling of great piles of flax, which was pulled like wheat by the handfulls and piled in bundles on the floor, 'thick as hair on a cog', and from which so many of the household wants were made."

She also said:

"I travelled over 4 mountains and sold buttermilk at 10 cents a gallon; raised my children with the help of God and didn't ask anybody for help."

Here are several photos of her over the years. The first I believe is her 98th birthday.

The bottom photo is of some aunts and uncles and my Grandmother. I'm not sure what the occasion is but I was fascinated that they actually had a small bear "pulling" the cart.

In my fiber art world, I taught watersoluble crayons last week and had a lot of fun getting to know some folks! Next is Needlefelting, Tuesday July 8th and Monoprinting, Saturday July 12th. There are still some spots available in the Monoprinting class! Check Fiber on a Whim's webpage for the class description and to register!

Happy Tuesday everyone!

Heidi

What I've been working on

noreply@blogger.com (Heidi Miracle-McMahill) — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 14:19:00 +0000

Well, with my new obsession with making digital storybooks I finally made some real progress on making a memory book for my sisters and myself about my Dad. It just keeps growing as it seems to be taking on two purposes, our family memories and his genealogy. I have found a wealth of information online about the Miracle family. I have photos of Great Great Grandfathers! My Dad had nothing and was a bit estranged from his family so all I had were a few photos of him as a young man. He literally had a briefcase when he died and nothing else. Anyway, also with Father's Day just passing and my Dad's birthday (June 11th) this has been another tough time in the healing/griefing process for his passing. Working on this book is getting me through it. Helps me feel connected to him.

This is far from done but I wanted to test out the embedded preview so I could share it with my sister as it is so far.

Off to swim lessons with the kiddos. Hope you all have a good day!

Heidi

Rejection is no fun

noreply@blogger.com (Heidi Miracle-McMahill) — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 19:48:00 +0000

They say you can't get in if you don't enter (juried exhibitions, that is), but it still sucks when you DO enter and then get rejected. Or not selected I should say. Oh well, better luck next time right? It's just hard to keep pushing yourself to get things in for these deadlines when you keep getting rejection letters. I wish the curators had time to explain what the issues with your work are. Whether it simply didn't fit the particular exhibit or whether there is something you really need to be addressing or working on. I don't mean your voice or style but things like technique, composition, color, etc. Not that I would always take the advice but it would just be nice to know every now and again ya know? My guess is that I'm rushing my work and that it is someone how showing in the final package, like my photos for my instance. At least that's what I like to think.

Of course, I want to offer congratulation to those whose work was selected for this year's National Small Art Quilt Exhibit! I can't wait to see the work! I guess I just had particularly high hopes for this one since I won the Juror's Choice Award last year. Just goes to show you that you never know.

Now I'll just wait to hear from Threadlines. Wish me luck! Just keep saying it..
"If I don't enter I'll NEVER get in. If I don't enter I'll NEVER get in...."

Now for some sunshine and swinging.

Heidi

Oops, there was one more image I forgot to post

noreply@blogger.com (Heidi Miracle-McMahill) — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 14:01:00 +0000

My butterfly.

More Breast Cancer Awareness Art and Making books for your family

noreply@blogger.com (Heidi Miracle-McMahill) — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 02:47:00 +0000

Okay, so you may think I'm even stranger than you did before when you look at the photos in this post. I was just stuck on drawing boob related art for Fiber on A Whim's BRA fundraiser for breast cancer research (which starts today!! visit their website to view the art and bid!) and these were just some of the things I tried along the way. I threw in a couple of others that I was able to get scanned in yesterday as well.

What else have I been up to today? Well, a good friend of mine is a Heritage Makers consultant and I finally got around to opening an account and purchasing some of their products. They are in the business of digital storybooking. You've heard of scrapbooking, right? Well, this is online scrapbooking. No glue, no mess. All on the computer. Beautiful "papers", "stickers" and all kinds of embellishments. I knew it would be addictive and oh boy, is it ever. Once you finish making your book, they publish it in a hardback book and send it to you! So, I think I've spent a total of 5 or 6 hours online today making a Father's Day book for my husband. Yes, I know it's late. I'm hoping he will understand since the computer has been so screwed up the last month. I wish there was a way I could show you a sneak peak of one of the pages but I don't think there is any way that I can show a picture until I have the actual book in my hands. Anyway, if you are into scrapbooking (or if you find it overwhelming as I did!), this might just be for you. You've got all of those digital pictures on your computer and now there is an easy way to make them into a cherished memory. I'm not saying all of this because Betty is my friend, I truly think this is a great service!

Alright, off to bed.

Heidi

Sunprinting Class a Blast!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Heidi Miracle-McMahill) — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 13:25:00 +0000

I had so much fun in my class with the participants yesterday! We had a cloudy day so we had to wait a bit for our images to print but almost all of the pieces were a success. As usual, I was inspired and learned a few things from my students, one of the perks of teaching. And, as usual, I forgot to bring a camera to class and ask if I could take any pictures of their work to post. Hopefully they will send me some (hint, hint).

A couple of the masking items I brought along that were a lot of fun were some paper letters (made on full sheets of paper, just punch them out) that I found in the scrapbooking paper aisle in a department store and sequin waste. Both worked really well! I ordered the sequin waste from SkyBluePink. They have some really fun items! One of the students used safety pins for her masking item. I thought it made a great fun print, especially for quilters! What quilter wouldn't love a safety pin printed fabric!

Well, I'm not ready for church so I better run! I'm making Oobleck this morning with the children (Dr. Suess story. If you've never done it, it's really easy and fun activity for kids. It is simply cornstarch and water. Makes a big fun gooey blob. Look online for recipes and ideas.

See ya!

Heidi

Now I'm really back! Warning/Disclaimer--nude art

noreply@blogger.com (Heidi Miracle-McMahill) — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 17:35:00 +0000

Woohoo!! So I had partial capabilities back for a few days and then my husband took my computer over to fix it correctly. So I was without email, internet or anything computer related for about 5 days. Wow, talk about withdrawal! But, it was also really nice. I found I had more time (duh!). Same as when I don't turn the television on (for me, not the kids, ha-ha).

Anyway, now I'm back and can work my way through my 200+ emails (not counting the Yahoo groups or Quiltart email list!).

I'm not quite in the mood to sit and scan lots of my drawings or take photos, so I've just scanned a few for now. Here are two of my donations to Brazenly Radiant Art, pen and ink/watercolor drawings on 9 x 12 Bristol paper. The first two are for a fundraiser through Fiber on a Whim which will donate all proceeds to Breast Cancer Research. The deadline for donations is June 15th. Purchases can be made via email bids starting 10 am June 16th. You can view the full gallery on their webpage on the 15th or 16th. You can also read about it on their blog. The third image is just a little birdy, ink and watercolor on watercolor canvas.

I'll also be donating some work on canvas that I think will be included in a separate sale for this fundraiser at a later date.

Oh, and Tuesday evening I attended our monthly meeting of Fiber Art Fusion. It was wonderful! All of us presented our contributions to our upcoming show at The Art Place in Marietta. I don't recall the dates but it is late July/early August. The work (and the stories behind them) were so inspiring! So, I hope lots of you can make it to see the show!

Happy creating! I'm teaching Sunprinting on Saturday at Fiber on a Whim and there are still a few spots left!!! :) I'm heading out to the pool with the kids and then hopefully there will still be some sun and time to do some experimenting with different paints for sunprinting this afternoon and tomorrow (with the kids).

Be sure and make time to play!!!

Heidi

Some posting capabilities are back! Yea!

noreply@blogger.com (Heidi Miracle-McMahill) — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 16:43:00 +0000

So, I finally decided to use an old hard drive until my computer is fixed. Which means what? That I can scan and upload photos!! I just don't have any files from before the crash yet. So, I can take new pictures, scan new drawings, etc. I sent in entries to Threadlines and am working on my photos for National Small Art Quilts now, an application for an upcoming art festival (also due today), and my piece for our local fiber show, due on Tuesday! Wow, I don't think I've ever had so many deadlines all at once.

I'll start taking photos and scanning very soon!! So look for pictures!

For now, here is the detail of the piece that the background for my blog title is taken from. The colors are more true to life here:

Working Style Continued and Deleted Posts

noreply@blogger.com (Heidi Miracle-McMahill) — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 18:01:00 +0000

Well, my husband was uncomfortable with my posts with pictures of the kids so I've deleted those. So, if you were looking for them they are now gone. I guess I should set up a password protected family photo site. I used to do this but it's been several years. I'll have to remember the best way to do this.

Anyway, I was thinking more about my working style and about it being wasteful (or not). I realized that one of the reasons I often continue painting on fabric when I originally planned to just work on a few small pieces is that I DON'T want to waste the paints! And, that I figure if I'm working with the same colors that my extra pieces will coordinate if I cut them up to use in a piece later, and I might not ever be able to get quite the same shades, tints, etc. at another time. So, maybe I'm not being as wasteful as I thought. But, I do go through a lot of fabric. I don't think I'll ever be the type to work in a more planned and structured way but I do hope to find ways to better harness my focus and to find a way to restrain my excitement just enough to make some more of my work keepers rather than just the practice.

I'm still waiting on my computer to be up and running and now I'm afraid it may prevent from entering the next two shows that have deadlines in the next few days. It means I can't upload photos and create my CDs for sending my images. Maybe I better start investigating some places where I can use computers that will have everything I need to get this done. Maybe a friend's house?

I'm meeting with a person who is the recipient of a commissioned gift I will be making for her. This will be my third liturgical stole and I really love this work. It is so meaningful and personal. I feel like I already know her after studying her website and I am so thrilled to have the chance to create some fabrics incorporating some of her philosophies including things such as the Chakras, the Wheel of Life and something called the Purple Tent. If you want to learn more, take a look yourself. I'll post pictures as I start the process.

Working style

noreply@blogger.com (Heidi Miracle-McMahill) — Sat, 31 May 2008 01:10:00 +0000

I'm getting really frustrated that I cannot scan my work as I've been drawing a tremendous amount just lately. Oh well, I have to be patient until my IT person (my husband) is less busy .

Just when I start to fall into a funk of wondering if I am wasting my time with my art, someone posts that they love my work, find it inspiring and that it makes them smile. I ultimately make art for myself and because I HAVE TOO! (Otherwise, I'd be even more crazy than I am now!) But, it is always nice to know that what you are doing actually matters or makes a difference to others as well. So thank you! I don't really think that I shouldn't be making art but sometimes I question how much time to spend on it or on which kinds of pieces or projects I should focus my attention. And, I feel really guilty about how much I go through in terms of paint, paper, fabric, etc. I tend to be a bit obsessive and if I start drawing it turns into a week of drawing and 3 pads of nice paper later I have a stack. Or, painting on fabric. Rather than working very focused on one piece, it will turn into days of just having to splash colors about and see what kind of effects I am able to achieve. Then, 10 yards of fabric later and only a few pieces I'm happy with I think, was that really a good idea? And, the answer? Most of the time I am able to remember that is an emphatic YES!!!! Of course, not everyone can afford to go through so much material and have so many mistakes. I choose to use nice paper and nice fabric because I never seem to know when something will be just a sketch or keep me so entranced that I must turn it into a piece of art. I very rarely sketch and then proceed. It is a somewhat wasteful way to work but it works for me. I am able to feel as if I am practicing and making my mistakes and creating things I am satisfied with all at the same time.

How do you work?

Computer Crashed

noreply@blogger.com (Heidi Miracle-McMahill) — Tue, 27 May 2008 20:57:00 +0000

I'm bummed because I can not scan or post images today. My computer crashed a few days ago and my husband has somehow set me up temporarily so that I can use email and the internet. But, I have no hard drive and I can not scan or print.

What have I been up to? Mostly I've been back to pen and paper drawing. With being a bit under the weather for about 2 weeks now, it's just been the easiest way to be creative. Today, now that I'm feeling better, I started moving my art supplies out of our home office room to the kids' playroom. My husband is going to be working from home and until we have some time and money to finish our basement space he is taking over the my office/our home library/formal living room (yea right!)/art storage space. I've managed to move about half of it out today. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with things like my files, finished art on canvases, art books, etc. I'll start tackling that tomorrow.

Hopefully sometime in the next 2 weeks I'll get my act together and complete a few of my pieces in progress. My Fiber Art Fusion group has a show coming up in Marietta at The Art Place, Transformation. I have to complete my piece by June 10th. AAH!

Well, since I can't post any pretty colors, I'll try inspiring you by telling you to get busy and send in a submission for the National Small Art Quilts Exhibit (my next goal in meeting an exhibit deadline). Deadline is June 6th or 7th, just around the corner. What's great about this exhibit is, it's for small art!!! Right up my alley! And, there are no picky rules (showing my bias here) about 3 layers, or bindings or quilting through the back. It is for art that involves fabric/fiber and stitching.

Hhhm, what else can I do? Oh, I can point you to some great Etsy shops or other websites. Here is a fun Etsy shop to look around. Great little felted and fabric critters to see, 425 Square Foot Art. Let's see--Have you visited my friend Rebecca's blog lately? Did you see that she had TWO articles published in the last Altered Couture AND some of her work in the gallery section as well! Way to go!! Seriously, you should pick up a copy.

Well, back to organizing my art supplies. Tomorrow I hope to also figure out how to get the train table out of the playroom (don't ask me what I'm going to do with it, haven't figured that out yet) so that I can set up a craft table.

Kids are getting hyper and hungry. Catch ya later!

Heidi

Oh well, better luck next time

noreply@blogger.com (Heidi Miracle-McMahill) — Fri, 23 May 2008 11:09:00 +0000

My quilt wasn't chosen for Art Quilts Lowell. At least the process was very fast! Never had that fast of a turn around before. Leaves me free to enter it somewhere else. :)

Congratulations to those whose work was chosen!

Heidi

You Can't Win

noreply@blogger.com (Heidi Miracle-McMahill) — Mon, 19 May 2008 20:04:00 +0000

Okay, well, some miss the black background with white letters. I have to admit that I liked that better myself. But, I'd rather have folks be able to read it than to have it look "cool". So, here is my compromise for now. I'll probably keep playing around with colors and my header box, so don't be surprised if it keep changing for a bit. Again, thanks for all the input!

New Look to My Blog

noreply@blogger.com (Heidi Miracle-McMahill) — Mon, 19 May 2008 12:20:00 +0000

I hope you all like the changes that I have made. After looking around for a good way to keep track of stats on my blog (#visitors and such), I posted a question to the fantastic QuiltArt email group to ask for suggestions. Well, I received several great responses on stat programs, but also had many folks tell me things I needed to change on the "look" of my blog to make it more readable. THANK YOU!!!

So, I've made some changes, such as no more white words on a black background (was making some people see double!), and I have made the text bigger and lots of other minor changes. So, I hope you like the new look!

And, for those of you who have asked when you will see the full photo of the piece I submitted to Art Quilts Lowell...probably sometime after it is accepted somewhere (hopefully!), or I just decide to post it for sale or whatever. That is unless you are local. I've been showing it for Show and Tell lately. :)

Have a great Monday! Off to Music Class with my daughter and Field Day with my son. Fun, fun!

Heidi

100th post! And, yippee, I finally did it!

noreply@blogger.com (Heidi Miracle-McMahill) — Fri, 16 May 2008 23:37:00 +0000

Wow, 100 posts! I can't believe I made it to this point.

And, the yippee is because after over 9 months of not entering a juried exhibition, I got my package in the mail today for Art Quilts Lowell! They extended the deadline and I pushed it all the way to 5 pm today! I don't even care if I get in. Well, okay, I do a little bit, but my goal was to really focus on entering a show. I have had so many deadlines on my calendar that have just whooshed right by. PArt of that was a conscious choice on my part to focus more on family and get away from the stress of trying to finish pieces on a deadline. I decided to just work and if I had completed a piece in time then enter. Well, I'm not a finisher, so without a deadline really looming and real commitment to make it work, that just didn't happen. That is still my goal however. To work on my work, regardless, and then if I have the work for a show then enter. I'll keep trying.

Here is a small bit of what I entered:

I started it about a year ago and then pulled it out of my tub of half way done pieces while away on the Focus on Fiber retreat. I hand stitched it like crazy. It gives me a sense of calm and peace when I stitch by hand. I call it Free Woman Dancing in celebration of the freedom I felt while on the retreat and the glorious women I was with and the wonderful dancing that occurred. It was definitely a time of new beginnings and growth for me.

So, keep your fingers crossed for me.

Lots of classes are coming!

noreply@blogger.com (Heidi Miracle-McMahill) — Thu, 15 May 2008 15:28:00 +0000

Well, the summer schedule for my classes is now complete. The class information is all up on Fiber on a Whim's class webpage. Here is the short version:

Friday, June 13th, 10:30-1:30 Wet Felted Vessels $35.00
Saturday, June 14th, 10:30-1:30 Sunprinting $35.00

Friday, June 27th, 10:30-1:30 Watersoluble Wax Pastels for the Fiber Artist, $35.00
Saturday, June 28th 10:30-1:30 Stamp Carving (Make Your Own Stamps), $60.00 (which includes a kit fee of $25.00 for materials)

Tuesday, July 12th, 10:30-1:30 Needlefelting $40.00 (which includes a kit fee of $10.00 for wool felt fabric)

Saturday, July 16th, 10:30-3:30 w/ lunch break Monoprinting $40.00

I can't wait! I'm having so much fun completing the class notes and trying out the projects and ideas for the classes. I hope to see lots of you there!!

heidi

Yippee!

noreply@blogger.com (Heidi Miracle-McMahill) — Mon, 05 May 2008 22:11:00 +0000

Both of my pieces sold today on the first day of Collage Mania II!! Yay! About 90 pieces sold today! Which means that Virginia Spiegel helped raise at least $7000 so far, (hopefully some generous donors gave more than the required minimum of $80.00). I can't wait to hear the final total.

So the good news is, that means there are still over 100 pieces to be purchased tomorrow!!! And, the minimum donation drops to $40.00 tomorrow! A lot of my favorites are sold, I'm not surprised, but there are many, many fabulous pieces yet to be acquired. So get your email ready and hit send at 9 am tomorrow with your choice of artwork(s)!!!

What I've been up to

noreply@blogger.com (Heidi Miracle-McMahill) — Mon, 05 May 2008 18:20:00 +0000

Mostly playing around with project ideas and writing up notes for upcoming classes. I taught two classes in April at Fiber on a Whim, watercolor pastels on fabric and wet felted vessels. They are both being offered again in June. And, I'll also be teaching Sunprinting, Needle-Felting, Stamp Carving and Monoprinting. Still working on the dates and I'm still writing the notes and finalizing the projects, but I can't wait for June to get here! Once I have all of the dates I'll post the schedule here. I really enjoy teaching and sharing my passion for the fiber arts with others.

I'm obsessed with the monoprinting the last few days. I've done it before and really enjoy the process, but wanted to try out some ideas I have for the class. I made a "plate" (or a collagraph in printmaking terms) using a sheet of foam paper. I glued to this lentils, bits of foam, textured paper, tape and tin foil. I then played around with applying paints, misting with water, dry fabric versus wet fabric, using a brayer versus not, etc. so I would be able to answer all the questions that I will inevitably get! This process has just reaffirmed for me that you have to practice to get better at anything. And, practicing is the way to discover your own style and the little tricks. Here is one of the better ones from this practice session. I added a bit of colored pencil to highlight the edges of some of the collaged pieces.

Love to hear what you think! :)

Happy creating!
Heidi

My other piece in Collage Mania II

noreply@blogger.com (Heidi Miracle-McMahill) — Fri, 02 May 2008 17:21:00 +0000

I just realized that I never posted my other piece that I donated to Collage Mania II. Here it is, Rearranged Continuation:

Just a few of the fabulous......

noreply@blogger.com (Heidi Miracle-McMahill) — Fri, 02 May 2008 16:26:00 +0000

....pieces of art available through Collage Mania II! Get ready because I'm sure they will be selling fast on Monday. $80.00 for an original piece of artwork is almost unheard of. First come, first serve! Prices go down to $40.00 on Tuesday, but your favorite may be gone by then! AND, it all goes to the American Cancer Society. Every single penny!!! None to the fabulous organizer, Virginia Spiegel, who I know must work at least the hours of a full time job on her fundraisers, all in the name of a cause she supports. So here are some of the beauties I'm featuring today, just a few of the 235 available. I almost hesitate to post these as I might be bidding on some of them myself.

Some of these pieces are part of a series and you could purchase all 3 or 4 to make a stunning wall arrangement of art!!!

All of the details about the pieces are on Virginia Spiegel's website on the pages of Collage Mania II. The artists of the pieces I have listed here today are (in order from the top): Liz Berg, Jane Davila, Terry Stegmiller, Rhoda Taylor, Cynthia St. Charles and Karen Stiehl Osborn.

Please search through all of the others, there are so many fabulous pieces!!!

Collage Mania II

noreply@blogger.com (Heidi Miracle-McMahill) — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 18:14:00 +0000

The Patron Preview for Collage Mania II is now open! Virginia Spiegel is again coordinating a fantastic event to benefit the American Cancer Society. So, if you like art and you want ALL of the money you spend on it to go to the American Cancer Society, take a look through the 200+ 8x10 inch collage art on this website.

She has raised over $150,000 already through Fiberart for A Cause. This woman is amazing!

I have two pieces donated to the event. :)

Bleeding Tissue Paper

noreply@blogger.com (Heidi Miracle-McMahill) — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 21:41:00 +0000

My three year old loves playing with bleeding tissue paper. I brought back some of the pieces that Jacque Davis was using to dye fabric at Focus on Fiber. She loves ripping the pieces, cutting them, smashing them down on paper and then spraying them with water or painting them with water. Somehow she is able to come up with much better results than I. She layers on more colors than I think could possibly turn out any better than a huge muddy mess. Puts so much water on that there is a sitting pool of water in the middle of the paper. So, at first I was working on my own and she did her own. Now we do it together, so that I might learn from her free-ness with the process. We have several of these lying around and I've taken to enhancing them with colored pencil. It's great fun and as soothing if not more so than stitching. I love watching to see how different colors react to one another, next to each other, on top of one another, on top of different tissue paper dye colors. Great project for anyone looking to increase their color skills with colored pencil. Here are two different scans of sections of one of mine and Maggie's artwork. I should have taken a before colored pencil photo but of course I didn't.

Oops, forgot my photos on that last post

noreply@blogger.com (Heidi Miracle-McMahill) — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 18:57:00 +0000

As usual, I'm too lazy (well, really just to busy, takes less time) to take actual photos and am just using my scanner, which means that I only have a portion of some of the items.

The third photo down is a scan of my last piece from my printmaking class. It is a solar plate print from a photograph my husband took of a reflection of a tree. I manipulated it digitally and printed it on a laser transparency and then made the image into a solar plate. Pretty cool process. The first picture is the original photo (credit to Dan McMahill) and the other is after I changed a few settings and made it black and white.

The other two are a small area of the silk square pieces I made in Hellene Vermillions silk painting class. It was a bit hard to get a good scan of silk and to get the colors right. But, good enough for my blog I suppose. Take her class if you can!!

Okay, back from the bus-stop (obviously) and now on to finding gymnastics outfits and a snack before heading out.

See ya!

Heidi

More Classes Are Coming!

noreply@blogger.com (Heidi Miracle-McMahill) — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 18:18:00 +0000

Today has been a good day so far. It started with me getting my son on the bus and then going back to bed (bad habit, staying up too late). Then heading out later to pick up my daughter at the Chattahoochee Nature Center (she takes a nature class with Dad a couple of times a month on Wednesdays). Well, today I decided that she and I should hang around for awhile. We took a walk through all of the plants and learned many things about birds. Turns out Wednesday is the day that homeschooled students are at the center to act as educators about the birds! It was really fun watching the 10-12 year olds give me their speeches about the birds. They were really impressive! From there we went to Borders and read lots of books and magazines. I'd have just enough time to flip through a book or magazine in between Maggie picking out the next Dora or Elmo book for me to read. And, now we are home, ready to head to the bus-stop and then out for gymnastics for the kids. Where I can simultanesouly watch and look through more fun books or work on some stitching.

I've been working on class material for some more classes I'll be teaching and thought I'd share some thoughts on my art teaching experiences so far.

Teaching at Fiber on a Whim in Sandy Springs has gotten off to a really great start. I knew that I liked teaching but now I know that I REALLY, REALLY like it!! It feels almost like a sin to be paid for teaching art, almost. ;)

In April I taught Wet Felted Vessels and the participants made a small pouch (cell phone size) and a bowl. They were worn out from the physicality of the class after 3 hours but all seemed to have a ton of fun.

I also taught Watercolor Crayons on Fabric in April and this class was even more fun. There were a wide variety of comfort levels on using the crayons but by the end of the class all seemed to have fun playing and seeing how wonderful these little jewels can be.

Both classes filled up with waiting lists so the same ones are boing offered again. So if you missed them the first time, now is your opportunity!

Friday, June 13th, Wet Felted Vessels 10-1
Friday, June 27th, Watercolor Crayons on Fabric 10-1

Here is an email quote from a participant in my watercolor class: "This is ... as close to having fun as I can remember doing in my life." I couldn't have asked for a better compliment. I of course want to teach the materials and help students gain some skills and confidence, but giving someone a day of fun, permission to play and also to see themselves as a creative being are my ultimate wish.

To register for classes or for more details go to the Fiber on a Whim page: www.fiberonawhim.com

And be watching for even more classes!! Sometime this summer or into the fall, I will be teaching Sunprinting, Stamp Carving, Monoprinting and Needle-Felting (by hand and by embellisher machine). There may even be some classes for children or Mommy and Me type classes sometime this summer.

Oh and before I forget, I took Hellene Vermillions Silk Painting class and I had so much fun!!!! I came home with 3 great silk pieces! I highly encourage you to take a class with her. You can find her class info on Fiber on a Whim's site as well and her blog and website there I think too.

Have a great evening! Off to the bus-stop and to gymnastics!

Heidi