Maureen McPartlan Designs

Transition

2011-10-03T22:16:00.000-07:00

Here it is, October already, and this is the first post I've written all year. I'm not going to beat myself up over it, but I will tell you what's been going on with me in 2011. Apparently, I've been hibernating.

In baseball they call it a slump. In reference to artists, I think it's known as a dry period. At any rate, I was not creating very much at all this year, for various reasons. It caused me some distress, but I knew that I wanted to switch gears out of the Blinds series and try something new and different, and that thought / intention was intimidating. So I very cleverly distracted myself with the rest of life. It was all too easy.

About a month ago, I got an offer for a free life coaching session with a woman who needed the hours of practice in order to complete or move forward with her training and certification. I have always been interested in this idea... what exactly is life coaching?... and so I figured, hey, this is a win-win. Our 1/2 hour conversation wound up being about my artwork (or lack thereof) and my skilled avoidance of my studio all year. She said quite a few helpful things, but the one that seemed to make the key turn in the lock was "You're in a transition." Ah, yes.

Transitions in lifestyle. Transitions in relationships. Transitions in focus. Transitions in artwork. Transitions in identity. On some level, of course, we are all always in transition. But this year had been really chock full of changes for me - big ones - and I think I needed time to assimilate them before I could emerge ready to produce again. Hearing it reflected back to me helped me to move past my frozen state and open that studio door again.

I decided to start with left brain stuff, the stuff I'm more comfortable and familiar with - organizing, sorting, and the like. This was a non-threatening way to get myself into the room ("I'm not working [read: not failing], I'm just in here sorting these fabrics out"). Next, I got busy with creative projects that follow someone else's pattern or instructions. I bought a pattern to make a skirt. I found out how to make a design wall (I'm thinking big!). I found a way to make an attractive version of a bulletin board. Then, I actually dove in to each of these projects. The design wall is up and ready for my inspirations. The memo board now holds all my stuff I want to see each day but can't have cluttering my table space. And the skirt is more than halfway done, including the first zipper I've ever sewn (I always marveled at that skill, and am so proud to have tried it)!

Next, I picked up a resin frog from our Chamber of Commerce. I'm decorating it as part of an outreach effort to the victims of the Japanese earthquake and tsunami. And I posted a Call for Entries from a local gallery that is looking for winter white - themed artwork for a show in December. The creative juices started flowing! Sweet relief. I have something to say.

Last week, I mailed off four pieces of artwork to a filmmaker friend who needed decoration for a set in his film, aptly called "Starting From Scratch". It was a last minute request and I wasn't sure if they'd match his color scheme. This morning I found out that they were able to use all four of the pieces I sent and that they got a lot of screen time! Here is a photo of them in the background of the set... what a treat to be able to collaborate with another creative spirit!

So I think I'm through the transition. I think I'm on the other side now. Moving forward. I will be posting more here soon. I hope to have lots to show and tell. I am excited to see what develops!

Working with Fabric and "It Ain't Easy Being Green"

2010-12-21T00:36:00.000-08:00

Tonight the house is, miraculously, silent, clean, and empty all at the same time. This meant only one thing: studio time!!! No one to distract me, no excuses about tidying up, to real worries.

I've got a lot of pieces assembled for display at the restaurant space. There'll be room for me to hang about 7 or 8 of them there, and then I'll have some back ups in case they sell (please, let them sell!). At any rate, I've not got much on my plate in the studio either because I've completed work on so many of the designs I created MUCH earlier in the year. It seems like it took me forever, working one hour here and another hour there, but I'm actually very proud of what I've accomplished this year. In 2009, when I really started to get inspired, I only completed three pieces. In 2010, I was able to finish 18! And this is on top of a very tumultuous personal life (baby, moving, new business, etc.). So I'm patting myself on the back for that and setting my goals even higher for 2011... more on that in another post.

Not having much "completion work" left me free to finally tackle a project that has had me feeling a little daunted... creating a piece that was commissioned by a family friend. I pulled the fabric in her color palette out and began looking at the selections together. As I did so, the patterns, colors, textures, and plain old constitution of the fabrics began to speak to me. I began to feel this overwhelming sense of passion about what it is that I do out there in that studio space.

This friend wants to hang a quilt in her oldest daughter's former room. The daughter was recently married and now her room is becoming a guest room. As a new mom myself, I couldn't help feeling the poignancy of what I had been asked to create for that space. As I fingered the fabrics I thought about what this woman must be feeling as she releases her daughter to her new life and adjusts her own home to match her new role... one where the room for the daughter is no longer needed. I thought about how this afternoon I was shopping for items to help keep my toddler safe around the house and happened to see items that would be awesome in a little girl's room... and how I got excited at the idea of decorating a room for her when she gets a little older... and how I thought about how the time would come when she would probably have input about how she'd want to decorate at some point down the line... and how time sort of stretched out before me in that store.

And then I was back to the fabrics and revisiting the thought I've had before (certainly not original, but salient nonetheless) about fabrics and textiles being so unifying... the threads woven together are metaphors for us as individuals. We are bound together in so many ways... and we come apart again at certain times...

I felt a connection to these women... the friend, the daughter, my own daughter, my mother, and then just women in general. And that's when I got really weepy. No, I didn't really. But I got emotional. I got that overwhelming passion I mentioned, and I got down to work creating. And I put together what I think is going to turn out to be a really beautiful piece.

Until that big reveal, here is one I call "It Ain't Easy Being Green"

I changed up my quilting stitch on this piece. After all the tight quilting I had been doing I was ready to get loose again. This has a larger meandering stitch that was pretty fun to do... kinda like painting giant jigsaw piece outlines.

And the back picks up the green with no mistakin'!

Blinds #17

"It Ain't Easy Being Green"
©2010 Maureen McPartlan
12" x 25"
Fabric Wall Hanging
(Commercial fabrics, cotton batting, rayon thread, plastic & glass beads)
$45 plus shipping (via USPS, will be billed separately and include insurance on your item). *CA Residents must pay sales tax.*

My First Art Show and "Amazing Grace"

2010-12-03T11:50:00.000-08:00

Alas, I had such high hopes for my blogging in November and the month literally disappeared on me. Here it is December 3rd already and I haven't even shared that two of my pieces -- "Holly Jolly" and "Strawberry Fields" -- will be on display at a real live art show for the coming weeks!!! Beginning tonight, The ARTery in Atascadero is hosting an "Under $200" art show in their store. It's a wonderful opportunity for local people to come see and buy some great art at a very affordable price! If you're in the area, please try to stop by and support this show and the wonderful folks at The ARTery. Part of the proceeds will be going to Coats For Kids in SLO County!!

By the way, if you're not local and are thinking of buying any of my pieces, they won't be available on line much longer... I'm going to be hanging them at our new restaurant, CalTerra... if we ever open the doors. :) I will still be posting photos of them though, as I complete new ones.

Here is "Amazing Grace"

It's kind of a quiet one, with very subtle tones in the fabric. It barely did anything for me at all until I added the purple beads, and then did some meandering quilting with a shiny lavender thread. Now it's quite pleasing to me.

Maybe that's how grace works in our lives? It's certainly how the artistic process works for me sometimes, and I love it. Sometimes I just never know where I'll end up until I get there. And so then I can really focus on the journey... which, I hear all the time, is what it's really all about.

Blinds #16

"Amazing Grace"
©2010 Maureen McPartlan
12" x 19"
Fabric Wall Hanging
(Commercial fabrics, cotton batting, rayon thread, plastic & glass beads)
$39.00

Updates and "Holly Jolly"

2010-10-30T23:38:00.000-07:00

It has been way too long since I've written here! Quite a bit has changed since my last post. We moved back to California from our temporary stint in New Jersey. We arrived in August and are so thrilled to be back in our adopted hometown of Atascadero. Upon our return my husband and our friend agreed to help me create a studio space of my own in our garage, which had previously been affectionately known as "Man Space". They emptied out all the junk:

and cleaned it up:

before painting it a groovy yellow and moving me back in:

We still have plans to put in a nice wood floor, but we're waiting a little bit on that piece... maybe a couple more months. For now, I have a door to close to a room that's pretty much my own. I can leave projects out, "building myself a bridge" as Twyla Tharp calls it, to the next day's work. I have enough work space and enough storage to have several projects in the pipeline at once. No distractions in here. It's just art. It's heaven!

I've been trying to dedicate at least an hour each night after the baby goes to sleep to getting out there and being creative, and it's amazing how productive I've been!! What a difference an hour in the studio makes! Not to mention the calming effect it has on my psyche!!!

I'm also really excited to be participating in an art show this December at a local art supply store that's showing work priced under $200 from artists of all ages, at all skill levels. I submitted two pieces, Blinds #3, "Strawberry Fields" and the one pictured below, Blinds #15, "Holly Jolly". A portion of the proceeds from each sale will be donated to the Coats for Kids program in SLO county!

So without further ado, here is one of the entries:

Blinds #15

"Holly Jolly"
©2010 Maureen McPartlan
13" x 19.5"
Fabric Wall Hanging
(Commercial fabrics, cotton batting, rayon thread, plastic & glass beads)
Available at The Artery in Atascadero, beginning December 3, 2010

Serendipity & "Sergeant Pepper"

2010-04-22T21:05:00.000-07:00

I was walking in lovely Lambertville this weekend with my husband, our daughter, and my mother-in-law, who was visiting for a few days. It was so great to be out of the house and enjoying the weather and the shops of both Lambertville and her sister town across the river, New Hope. We had a great afternoon there. While we were perusing the shops of Lambertville, we came across a sign that said "Studio for Rent". My mother-in-law, who is very supportive of my work, turned to me and said, "That's what you need! A studio!"

And while the idea of having my own private space to retreat to and get some work done is unbelievably appealing, my lifestyle does not allow for that luxury at the moment, unfortunately. Not to say that it won't some day, but for now I work from home and it suits me fine. I said as much out loud. She corrected herself. "No, not a place to work; a place to show your work."

"Ah, I said, you mean a gallery."

"Yes, a gallery. You need to get your work out there more so people can see it in person." She had just bought herself one of my wall hangings -- had chosen it online from the photos I posted, but picked it up in person and was surprised to find it smaller than she imagined it would be, and that the photos didn't do it or the others "justice".

This is something I've been struggling with lately. I actually fancy myself quite a capable photographer, but I have been frustrated by the limits of photography for capturing the experience of my wall hangings. And while I feel I've been incredibly fortunate with being able to get images of my work seen by many people using Facebook and this blog and Twitter, I feel the urge to expand into other outlets so that I can get even more exposure.

It was a passing conversation. We didn't dwell too long on it. I still want to get more pieces finished, and I don't feel quite ready for a gallery actually. I'm still finding my way here. I didn't think too much more about it.

And then that very same night an old friend emailed me to say he thought he had seen me walking in Lambertville that morning... that a girl who looked very much like me was walking in Lambertville and he saw her and it reminded him that he'd been meaning to tell me about an opportunity to get more exposure for my work.

Well if that's not serendipity I don't know what is. My jaw fell into my lap and I laughed out loud with giddy excitement. The details are still fuzzy, I am still trying to learn more about this opportunity, but even if nothing comes of it the thrill of coincidence happening like that charges me up and gives me hope that I am indeed on the right path!

Here is Blinds #14 "Sergeant Pepper"

The choppy bars of color remind me of the pins or patches on some military uniforms denoting rank (I think!).

I stitched this one very closely again and am pleased with the way it textures the whole piece.

Blinds #14

"Sergeant Pepper"
©2010 Maureen McPartlan
12" x 23"
Fabric Wall Hanging
(Commercial fabrics, cotton batting, rayon thread, plastic & glass beads)
$39 plus shipping (via USPS, will be billed separately and include insurance on your item). *CA Residents must pay sales tax.*

A Funny Thing Happened and "Fields of Gold"

2010-04-15T21:40:00.000-07:00

A funny thing happened on my way to my studio, (which is also known as the office): I constantly sat at the computer desk. Worrying about the details of bill paying and communication and other such necessary but not terribly productive ways of spending my precious time, I told myself it was mandatory I have all that in order before I allowed myself to be creative. Well guess what suffered? Yup, my creative work. I never got to my studio. (Really, I should post a picture of this whole set up. I'm using these words "studio" and "office" very loosely...) By the time I was done doing my busy work it was too late to start any fun stuff and the night would be lost. Night after night this scene replayed itself.

So last week I came up with a plan. One night per week is already designated date night with my husband. That leaves six nights to get stuff done. I divided up those six into three for creative work and three for bill-paying type work. I decided they would be three consecutive nights spent on each type of activity, so as to encourage whatever flow may develop in either realm, and so I would not feel too splintered by the different types of activity. I put my plan into action, with the first designated night being assigned to office work.

A funny thing happened on my way to the office: I all the sudden had this terrible urge to sew. How ridiculous. Why is it that the grass is always greener over there? I sat five feet from the sewing desk I had previously been avoiding with such great skill and pined for it like it was a long lost love. I had to laugh at myself. Three nights later I finally got my opportunity for uninterrupted play time in my studio and I was like a kid in a candy store! I think maybe I'm on to something!

Here is Blinds #13, "Fields of Gold"

The colors here are relatively muted, compared with some of the recent pieces I've completed. But their combination is quite satisfying to me. Reminiscent of clear blue skies and open fields...

Up close you can see the stitching is much tighter than on previous pieces. It adds a real depth and texture to the surface which I'm quite pleased with. I intend to keep working like this on upcoming pieces.

Blinds #13

"Fields of Gold"
©2010 Maureen McPartlan
12" x 24"
Fabric Wall Hanging
(Commercial fabrics, cotton batting, rayon thread, plastic & glass beads)
SOLD

Quilt Shows and "Raspberry Beret"

2010-04-05T20:50:00.000-07:00

March was a difficult month for me. Although I'm not proud of it, I spent the first few weeks of the month in serious avoidance mode again. There was a quilt show that came to town and I was so excited to be able to attend. I grabbed my mom and our good family friend, both of whom are quilters, and off we went for a great girls afternoon. The Quilt Fest of NJ featured some of the most amazing work I've seen thus far.

I'm sorry for the artists when I say that the photos on the website for the show do not do their work justice. They don't even come close. You have to see these pieces in person, right up close, to appreciate their depth and mastery. They are truly, truly works of art. And I, as a novice, felt completely embarrassed by my own beginner's status. I know I shouldn't compare myself to people who've been doing this for many years, who have much more experience and skill to bring to the table. And, I promise, I was kind to myself when I made the comparisons. And I STILL felt terrible! That's how good these quilts were.

I have mostly recovered from that afternoon. The intention was to go and get inspired... the result was that I got intimidated. Not good.

Just a few weeks later the American Quilter's Society featured its first show in Lancaster, PA, the heart of Amish country. I had to really screw up my courage to get myself back out to look at more high quality work. It was a two hour drive each way, with a six month old. I knew if I made up some excuse not to go I'd never forgive myself, so I went. This show is one of four put on by the American Quilter's Society each year. I am new to attending shows, but from what I gather these are pretty much the best of the best... artists submit their work from all over the country and are juried and judged according to different categories.

Luckily this time I emerged more scarred by the trauma of traveling with my baby than by the work I viewed. Not because the quilts were any less impressive! They were just as overwhelmingly amazing. But maybe because I was in a different mental space. I came in to this show feeling a bit more humbled than I had at Quilt Fest. At Quilt Fest I fancied myself somebody. At Lancaster I knew quite certainly I still have a very long way to go. This mindset enabled me to appreciate what I was seeing with an eye to improving my own skills, learning new techniques, and applying my energy to really doing my best work.

I set goals for myself of attending classes and workshops someday when my full-time mommying responsibilities allow a bit more me time. I aspired to someday enter one of the contests. I allowed myself to dream about maybe possibly winning an award. And I came home ready to get back down to business. I finally started sewing again!

This is Blinds #12, "Raspberry Beret" and it's the last one that's quilted the way I've quilted the previous eleven of this series. I've been using a really rambling, open Free Motion stitch on all of these pieces. So much of the work I saw at these competitions featured much closer, tighter stitching that I've been inspired to give that a try. I'm excited about the way it's turning out so far! You'll see that in my next entry. Meanwhile, here's #12:

I don't know why "Raspberry Beret" is the only title that came to mind... I think it's the pink and purple together that did it.

On the reverse you can see for the first time oh-so-clearly the stitch pattern I was referring to, since I used a darker thread on a lighter, plain background fabric. It's different in that the stitchwork is the dominant focus rather than the fabric.

Blinds #12
"Raspberry Beret"
©2010 Maureen McPartlan
10" x 21.5"
Fabric Wall Hanging
(Commercial fabrics, cotton batting, rayon thread, plastic & glass beads)
$39 plus shipping (via USPS, will be billed separately and include insurance on your item). *CA Residents must pay sales tax.*

Is This Thing On? and "Tequila Sunrise"

2010-03-29T19:49:00.000-07:00

Ha. The funny thing, the scary thing, is that this thing IS on. People are actually reading what I write here. Real, live people. I used to journal a lot. And then I stopped writing for a few reasons, but one of them was that I never wanted anyone to come across my journals and read them in the event of, say, my untimely death. Of course if I died I wouldn't be around to be embarrassed, but somehow I was still intimidated at the prospect. And now I write personal thoughts on the world wide web. Not that I'm Arianna Huffington or anything, but oh my goodness people are reading what I have to say!!! For someone who's shy, like me, that's a bit intimidating. When I write, I'm simply spilling thoughts onto computer screen. In my head, that's about as far as it goes. Now I come to find out that people are actually doing what I request and visiting this page, reading what I've written and reacting. How bizarre. How surreal. How (tap, tap) LIVE...

I present to you Blinds #11 "Tequila Sunrise"

This piece incorporates some more of the really vividly colored fabrics I inherited from a fellow artist's stash (Thanks Dawn!!) and makes me feel like I'm down in South Florida watching a tropical sunrise or sunset.

On the back I used a much more mellow floral, something akin to what I hope an agave flower might look like, but that's really just a stretch of my imagination.

Blinds #11

"Tequila Sunrise"
©2010 Maureen McPartlan
12" x 22"
Fabric Wall Hanging
(Commercial fabrics, cotton batting, rayon thread, plastic & glass beads)
$39 plus shipping (via USPS, will be billed separately and include insurance on your item). *CA Residents must pay sales tax.*

Learning As I Go and "Purple Haze"

2010-03-03T21:20:00.000-08:00

Tonight I finally got back to work. I was stuck in avoidance mode for a number of reasons, most of which had to do with circumstances where the work was not "flowing". For example, I had broken the needle on the sewing machine last time I sat down to quilt and hadn't yet replaced it. I am low on beads and thread, requiring a trip to the store soon and making my creative options somewhat limited and less exciting. In short, sitting down to work felt like sitting down to work, and I kept putting it off.

But tonight I bit the bullet and replaced that needle, which I had never done before. SO EASY, by the way! And I untangled the mess of threads that had unraveled off the spool simply by sitting still and being prone to gravity's effects, grumbling about the mess it was, but realizing in the process that the tangle was likely the cause of my broken needle... There had been too much tension on the needle, which caused it to snap and break. All this time I had been thinking that the tension was being caused by the bobbin thread, which has been continually breaking, but now I find a potential fix in a totally different spot! Eureka!

So my reward for getting back into it tonight was threefold: A) I learned a new skill B) I found a new solution for a recurring problem and C) I got some new work done. Very satisfying all around. I still need to hit the store for some more supplies, but there are worse things in the world!!

Here is the latest piece. I call it "Purple Haze" and man, am I excited about this color combination. So reminiscent of spring and lilacs and Easter eggs and irises and all things new and bright and fresh...

On the detailed shot you can see the lime green stitching and swirling pattern I'm so fond of these days. Ties it all together, in my humble opinion...

And for the reverse I found this awesome lime green fabric which I just feel is the perfect complement to the front of the piece. So lush and so happy!

Blinds #10

"Purple Haze"
©2010 Maureen McPartlan
12" x 20"
Fabric Wall Hanging
(Commercial fabrics, cotton batting, rayon thread, plastic & glass beads)
$39 plus shipping (via USPS, will be billed separately and include insurance on your item). *CA Residents must pay sales tax.*

Face Your Work & "Underwater Love"

2010-02-19T20:38:00.000-08:00

For a few seasons when I lived on Nantucket Island I worked with a landscaping company. It was hard but satisfying work. I would come home at the end of every day full of fresh air and heartily exhausted. Some of what we had to do day in and (seemingly) day out was to weed the many gardens we tended. Each of us on the team was provided with a large bucket for green waste, which we filled at the garden site, toted off to the company truck for removal from the property, and then repeated the process. I worked with one of my very best friends in the world on that crew. We'd be side by side, weeding and talking and laughing. We both worked the same way: we would always be on our hands and knees because we weren't allowed to sit, and we had our buckets to our left as we weeded left to right. We each dragged our bucket along next to us as we moved. Eventually, I suppose, we might have gotten our bodies turned so that it seemed we were backing our way along the hedge or through the garden beds. It prompted our boss to yell out more than once: "Face your work!"

Our boss, who didn't always accompany us to each site, had a keen eye for the most efficient way to get the job done, particularly since she had many years of experience under her own belt. She thought, if we were weeding left to right, that the bucket should be on our right, ahead of us, in front of where we were going. She wanted us to push it along instead of pull it behind us. My friend and I would indulge her when she was with us and bugged us about it because it was our boss's company, after all. But, left to our own devices, we always seemed to revert to the other way of working. It didn't seem to make a whole lot of difference in our speed except that we thought it was easier to pull a heavy bucket than push it. Neither my friend nor I are landscapers anymore, but our boss's comment / instruction stuck with me. I always thought it had real existential overtones, some of which I'd like to explore a bit here.

So often in life we avoid doing the very things that will move us forward! If we could only "face our work", whether that be emotional work, spiritual work, mental work, or physical work, we might progress through life's lessons more efficiently... maybe with less pain and suffering. It takes courage, in my opinion. If you face your work, you're going to be forced to deal head-on with the situation at hand. And let's face it: they call it work for a reason! It's easy to see why people might turn away from challenging circumstances. We don't want to reach out to the person who's wronged us. We don't want to acknowledge that maybe we're a bit dependent on some substance. We don't want to analyze the best way to improve our lives. We don't feel like cleaning out the gutters. Much easier to zone out, stay stuck in a rut, avoid change or challenge, be numb. But is it?

Face your work! It's a profound call to living when you really think about it. What are we here for? We only have a limited time on this earth. If we keep our backs turned to our purpose for fear of the unknown, we miss countless opportunites and lessons that could expand our perspective if we stay open to what they're teaching us. The people I always admired most were the people who really loved what they did for a living. For them, work was a passion they could barely keep themselves away from rather than a chore or a bore that they had to suffer through. My sense is that those people are facing their work. That they're doing what they're meant to be doing. That they're really living life to the fullest. I like to think that they don't shy away from other kinds of work (the emotional, spiritual, mental, or physical) either, but that's probably a little bit idealistic.

Even if we only face one kind of work every once in a while I think we're grasping a bit of what it means to be human. I believe that my artwork is part of my reason for being. And I can say from experience that in my fear and avoidance of doing this work I met with harder circumstances than I have since I committed to getting the work done. It's hard to explain, but I just always felt adrift while I was searching for what I wanted and should be doing. I would run into brick walls repeatedly. But because I believed that work had to be hard and unrewarding, I struggled on anyway. Since I've opened up to my creativity, I find I feel a great deal more joy and passion and personal satisfaction with my life in general and, my work in particular. I'm not sure why making that turn-around was so scary. Many reasons, probably... too numerous and tedious to list here. But I guess what I'm trying to say is that I think my boss was right. It is better with the bucket in front of me.

Here are some pictures of my most recent piece Blinds #9, "Underwater Love". When I first got this front assembled I considered calling it 'Key West on Crack' because the vibrant colors remind me of what I imagine Key West must look like. Never having been there, I stress that I have quite favorable thoughts of how it must be. But the further along into the piece I got the more the title changed, as you'll see below.

My husband said the bead work reminded him of sunlight glinting off the water's surface. The beads are not real prominent, but they're there.

I absolutely love the reverse fabric on this piece. It's so rich and realistic! By the end, I was almost disappointed that this wasn't the front of it! But it remains a great surprise for anyone who makes the peek to see the back side.

Blinds #9

"Underwater Love"
©2010 Maureen McPartlan
12.5" x 23"
Fabric Wall Hanging
(Commercial fabrics, cotton batting, rayon thread, plastic & glass beads)
SOLD

The Little Voice & "Amber Waves"

2010-02-15T08:50:00.000-08:00

You know the one I'm talking about. Julia Cameron, in The Artist's Way, calls it "the Critic". It's that nagging voice inside your head that relentlessly criticizes, doubts, and generally dampens enthusiasm and creativity. It's vicious. I've recently been tuning in to that voice, really listening to the crap it spews. What a mean old voice it is. It's ever-present, so much so that I frequently take it for granted, listening to it as though it were truth and not illusion. Believing it as it puts me down, sneers at my work, tells me my dreams and ideas are impossibilities. Ugh.

But recently I stopped to tune in to the messages I'm hearing on a regular basis, and I was so pleased to be able to laugh at it. It's like that recording on LOST... the S.O.S. message that's been on a loop for 16 years. My little voice just keeps repeating the same tired old message, but in different variations.

Julia Cameron's Morning Pages exercise was helpful to keep the Critic at bay. But since I've had the baby I barely have time to brush my teeth, let alone journal every morning! So it's up to me to battle that voice using my own devices for a while. I won't say that I'm always successful. But I'm glad to know that I can separate myself from it every now and then and see the messages for what they are: false, self-defeating, limiting illusions... echoes of critical influences in my life. I'll probably always have that little voice in my head. But at least I know it's not right. It's not true. The truth is much more positive and uplifting, much more affirming. I guess it's like that old story about the two wolves... what we ultimately believe is our choice.

Here is Blinds #8, "Amber Waves" front:

detail:

and reverse:

Blinds #8

"Amber Waves"
©2010 Maureen McPartlan
10" x 19"
Fabric Wall Hanging
(Commercial fabrics, cotton batting, rayon thread, plastic & glass beads)
SOLD

Four Pieces: "Back in Black", "Red October", "Zip a Dee Doo Dah", & "Gather Ye Rosebuds"

2010-02-07T09:36:00.000-08:00

Not much to write today; I mostly just want to get these pieces posted and talk a little about them. The nap gods have been good to me for the last couple of days and I finally had the opportunity and circumstances to complete a couple of pieces! 2010 is off to a great start!!

Here is Blinds #4, "Back in Black". It's a very dressy piece, with beautifully exotic floral fabrics composing the front, which is embellished by dark iridescent beads and black stitching.

Up close you can make out the swirling quilting designs which tie the whole piece together.

On the reverse I used a black background fabric overlaid with a pattern of deep forest green bubbles.

Blinds #4

"Back in Black"
©2010 Maureen McPartlan
12" x 24"
Fabric Wall Hanging
(Commercial fabrics, cotton batting, rayon thread, plastic, & glass beads)
$39.00 plus shipping (via USPS, will be billed separately and include insurance on your item). *CA Residents must pay sales tax.*

This next one is called "Red October" because of the way it evokes sensory memories of the harvest season in me. It too is a bit exotic and maybe even romantic in tone...

The detail shows the deep red hues with subtle golden highlights. This beautiful interplay of color is reflected in the bead work.

The reverse fabric is an absolutely breathtaking design with elegant composition. It reminds me of the patterns you see from above when flying over farmland. Simply beautiful. This is the first piece where I did not cut in on the reverse fabric, letting it hang intact as a rectangular piece. I think it worked well.

Blinds #5

"Red October"
©2010 Maureen McPartlan
10" x 19"
Fabric Wall Hanging
(Commercial fabrics, cotton batting, rayon thread, plastic & glass beads)
$32.50 plus shipping (via USPS, will be billed separately and include insurance on your item). *CA Residents must pay sales tax.*

I've named this next piece "Zip a Dee Doo Dah" because it is so incredibly sunny and happy. Makes me feel like singing! I love the blue and yellow mixed together, like a bright afternoon sky in summer.

The detail shows the light and darker blue stitching and beading against the cheery florals.

And for the reverse I chose a lemony yellow fabric with just a touch of detailed design on it. A very subtle backing, while still in keeping with the overall brightness of the piece.

Blinds #6

"Zip a Dee Doo Dah"
©2010 Maureen McPartlan
10" x 18"
Fabric Wall Hanging
(Commercial fabrics, cotton batting, rayon thread, plastic & glass beads)
$32.50 plus shipping (via USPS, will be billed separately and include insurance on your item). *CA Residents must pay sales tax.*

Last but not least for today is a kind of wild one I'm calling "Gather Ye Rosebuds" from the poem in English Lit. The fabrics are a bit Victorian for my taste, but sometimes these pieces seem to have a life of their own... What can I say?

Because the fabrics themselves are so densely decorated I kept my embellishment to a minimum, using only clear and white beading and threads. Your eye really has enough to do with the roses!

And on the reverse I kept it very, very simple. Damask rose fabric shows the swirling lines of the quilting quite beautifully.

Blinds #7

"Gather Ye Rosebuds"
©2010 Maureen McPartlan
10" x 22"
Fabric Wall Hanging
(Commercial fabrics, cotton batting, rayon thread, plastic & glass beads)
$39.00 plus shipping (via USPS, will be billed separately and include insurance on your item). *CA Residents must pay sales tax.*

Hand Carved Textile Hanger

2010-01-25T20:38:00.000-08:00

I finally obtained the textile hanger I was coveting! All future photos of my work will be featuring this hanger, but here it is by itself:

It is beautifully hand carved and comes from Indonesia. It measures 19 inches end to end. The space for the hanging (the lower bar) measures 16 inches.

I am selling these hangers as a wonderful complement to my work. I have priced my work very inexpensively, as I am just starting out. Unfortunately however, I cannot sell these hangers for less than $30.00 plus shipping costs due to my cost in obtaining them.

My Words for 2010

2010-01-25T20:23:00.000-08:00

I have recently been following the words and works of another textile artist: Lisa Call. A prolific writer and talented artist, I am inspired by her example as I stumble through these early stages of my artistic endeavors. She chose words to live and work by in 2009, and found by the end of the year that they had impacted her whole life. I decided to find some words of my own for 2010 and came up with Prosperity and Integrity.

Prosperity has long been a personal goal of mine. I read a book called The Four Spiritual Laws of Prosperity some years back (and I highly recommend it). The writer outlines said laws as follows: tithe on all your income; forgive everyone all the time, especially yourself; seek, find and follow your divine purpose; and set clear, measurable goals. That's it! Sounds so simple, doesn't it?

I've been tithing since I read the book and it's definitely changed the direction and quality of my life. I've gained a sense of partnership with the Divine, it's helped me to open up to trusting the unknown, and it feels really good to give back to my Source. I am a huge proponent of the benefits of forgiveness. I strive to forgive often and easily. Now that I'm doing this creative work I do believe I have found and am following my divine purpose. Becoming a mother has given me the same feeling of profound satisfaction.

Setting clear goals has been something I've avoided up until the end of 2009. It was just not a habit I was familiar with, and sitting down to draw myself a road map felt intimidating. I neglected it. But in a lot of ways I have been spinning my wheels lately. So finally, my husband and I sat down together and talked about what our goals were individually and jointly. We defined our goals, and then we worked backwards to create action steps that had deadlines attached. We then created a paper chain for each goal, the way kids used to make paper chains to decorate for a party or holiday. Each link of the chain has a specific action step and a deadline written on it. When we complete that step by the date we're supposed to, we have a ceremonious cutting of the link. We congratulate ourselves on completing the task, and then we move on to the next step in achieving that goal. Outlining the path in this way takes the hoping out of goal setting and brings the intangible into the here and now. We know the concrete steps we need to take in order to reach our objectives. Kind of like a glorified To Do List, I suppose, with really important stuff being the ultimate To Do.

Now, having these goals outlined means I have all four spiritual laws in motion at last. 2010 will be my (first) year of prosperity.

Integrity is a quality I really admire and strive for. To me, it means having all four bodies (mental, physical, spiritual, and emotional) aligned and working in harmony with one another. It entails great discipline, constant self-consciousness, and compassion for missteps. As a hopeful realist, I am not quite sure integrity can be maintained as a steady state. Maybe some masters can achieve it. Maybe I can work toward that goal (I'll have to make a chain). Something tells me that living in integrity will be a lifelong journey. I am, after all, only human. But I do intend to walk the walk in 2010. I intend to speak the truth. I intend for my word to be law. I intend to do what I say I'll do, when I say I'll do it. And if I cannot, I intend to forgive myself, correct myself, and start again.

I intend to be positive this year, to gain momentum on all levels of my being. To stop spinning my wheels, and gain traction at last. 2010 will be my (first) year of integrity.

Carving Out Some Time & "Strawberry Fields"

2010-01-16T05:34:00.000-08:00

So there seems to be a theme developing in these posts... not intentional, but present nonetheless. Time is heavy on my mind lately. I suppose that has to do with being a new mommy. My four month old demands a lot of my precious time, making each nap an incredible opportunity to be productive in some meaningful way, shape or form. Not that spending time with her while she's alert and awake isn't meaningful. It's the most important work I do. But accomplishing tasks feels good to me. I love a good To Do List. I especially love physically crossing off each task as I finish it. Mommying is not really like that, especially since you wind up doing the same things over and over and over and... well, over.

Up till now I've been keeping the same schedule as our daughter. Getting up in the morning when she does and going to bed just a bit later than she does. She likes to fall asleep in my arms, and I relish that cuddling time. But it's been wreaking havoc on my ability to get very much done! This morning I made the revolutionary decision that mothers the world over have been making for eons, I suspect. I got up a few hours earlier than I normally would, just for some peace and quiet and the ability to use both of my hands at the same time to focus on the same task. What an incredible experience it's been! I am hooked. i had forgotten the luxury of early morning productivity! A few more hours of the day reclaimed as mine!

Here are some photos of "Strawberry Fields", the latest in the Blinds Series, which I was able to put the finishing touches on this morning!

The front has a lively mix of assorted red floral fabrics, many of which are infused with greenery. I picked up that contrast in the bead work, using glass, plastic, and metal beads to embellish the piece.

I also quilted the piece using green embroidery thread, which has a nice sheen to it.

The reverse, shown here, is an energetic, small print that incorporates the red and green contrast once again.

Blinds #3
"Strawberry Fields"
©2009 Maureen McPartlan
10" x 22"
Fabric Wall Hanging
(Commercial fabrics, cotton batting, rayon thread, plastic, glass, & metal beads)
$39
Available at The Artery in Atascadero beginning December 3, 2010

It's Never the Perfect Time & "Pretty in Pink"

2010-01-07T07:07:00.000-08:00

I've got my eye on these textile hangers I want to use to hang my pieces. They're beautiful, and they're in a store in Princeton right now. Why? It's a matter of my very small budget, and red tape at the bank, and being a mommy to a very young one who's not always keen on car rides, especially in this wintry weather. So I haven't been back to the store to pick any up. And I don't want to post more photos here of my work without them looking exactly the way I want them to.

So here I sit, with my To Do List in front of me: Get Textile Hangers, Post New Blog Entry, Upload More Photos to Blog, not doing anything! How silly is that? Just because things are not "perfect" I have been standing still, not progressing at all. I hate that, when I get into a rut. Perfectionism is a disease. It can paralyze you; I know it paralyzes me.

So here are some more amateur photos of another piece. They're not perfect photos, it's an imperfect piece (although so far one of my favorite compositions), it's not hung yet, and THAT'S OKAY! I want to share them anyway.

I am calling this series "Blinds" because these pieces make me feel like I'm looking at a (wild and crazy) garden through some window blinds. This is the second in the series. Its name is "Pretty in Pink".

A detailed shot of this piece highlights some of its beautiful iridescence - some of the fabric, the thread, and the beads have real luminosity.

The reverse. Again, it's a whole cloth backing that corresponds with the colors of the front. I feel that it gives your eyes a place to rest after the intensity of the visual activity on the front...

Blinds #2
"Pretty in Pink"
©2009 Maureen McPartlan
10" x 22"
Fabric Wall Hanging
(Commercial fabrics, cotton batting, rayon thread, plastic, & glass beads)
SOLD

Always an Assistant, Never an Artist... Until Now & "Ode to Don Juan"

2009-12-27T12:00:00.000-08:00

Like the proverbial bridesmaid unlucky in love, I have spent many years on the outskirts of the art world, peering in woefully but admiringly. I worked for several professional artists as their assistant. I lived in artist enclaves. I frequented art galleries and museums. I befriended artists. I worshipped artists and their work. But I never realized what that said about me until someone pointed it out... that I viewed artists as my tribe... and therefore I was probably harboring an artist deep inside myself.

Since then, it's taken six years and several health scares for me to work up the courage to see what I could do. Life is too short and too precious to not do what you're really dying to do... so I've become a self-taught art quilter.

Right now I'm excited to be working on a series of strip-pieced collage-type wall hangings. I add beads to embellish them, and finish by machine quilting. I'm thrilled to have created a design that I can repeat in a multitude of variations. Color seems to be the theme here. I love the abstract nature of these pieces, and yes, they're sloppy on purpose. It may just be an initial rebellious phase as I enter this medium, but I have a sense that I'll probably always hate borders and edging. They feel too confining to me, too boring. I like the rough edges and the fringe-y feel these pieces have. I think it's kind of sexy.

I have located some fantastic textile hangers that I want to purchase for display purposes, but have yet to do so. In the mean time, please excuse me as I post very amateur photos of these pieces for you to enjoy!

This is the first one I made. The title is "Ode to Don Juan" because when I conceived the design I had been reading Carlos Castaneda's books and was really trying to "see" something new. Finally I had a breakthrough, and this series is the result!

Here is a closer view of this piece.

...and even finer detail!

This is the reverse of "Ode to Don Juan". I wanted the back to be just one whole cloth rather than more piecing. You won't see it when it's hanging against the wall, but if you do peek back there, at least the fabric is fun and coordinates with what's happening on the front.

Blinds #1
"Ode to Don Juan"
©2009 Maureen McPartlan
10" x 18.5"
Fabric Wall Hanging
(Commercial fabrics, cotton batting, rayon thread, plastic, glass & wooden beads)
SOLD