Remember those “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie” books?
This is my version of that…
If you show a girl a quilt, she’s going to wonder how it’s made. When she wonders how it’s made, she’s going to take a Block of the Month class to see how it’s done. Once she’s signed up for the class, she’s going to begin making a quilt herself.
Center Block from the Flower Pots Quilt Designed By Kim McLean
When she starts to make a quilt herself, she’s going to think about how she can make it uniquely hers.
Detail of one of the Center Blocks
When she begins to make it uniquely hers, she’s going to incorporate all the stitches she learned in the Craftsy class given by Sue Spargo that she wrote about a few weeks ago on the post, Change.
Detail from Flower Pots side panel
Once she begins adding all those stitches she learned…
Almost finished Flower Pots Quilt!
she’s going to want to start designing her own blocks…
Rhino Block designed and stitched by Ariane Zurcher
The artist’s retreat will be life transforming and will give her all kinds of ideas for new pieces that she wants to design and create…
Manhole Cover at Onondaga Community College
While she marvels at all the things she’s seeing and learning she will be reminded of other things she’s already working on…
Detail from Flower Pot Quilt Border
One of those things will be manhole covers! Who doesn’t love manhole covers and if you love manhole covers, wouldn’t a quilt inspired by them be even more fabulous?!
So it’s probably best to give a girl her first quilt while she’s still very young so she has plenty of time to learn and do all of this!
Merlin overseeing the work.
Coming next week: pots! Not flower pots as in the quilt, but real pots, thrown pots, hand painted pots… gotta love pots!
I just returned from a two week long artist’s workshop, where I studied with the fabulous and fabulously talented artist, Rosalie Dace for five days, followed by five days with another fabulous and extremely talented artist, Lorie McCown. The workshops are part of the Schweinfurth Art Center‘s yearly summer program – Quilting by the Lake, also known as QBL. Though there is now no lake, there was one at the place they first began doing these workshops more than thirty years ago, and not everything produced is quilted, though it depends on the workshop you signed up for.
Here’s a run down of my time at QBL.
Day 1 of Rosalie Dace’s Workshop entitled Skin Deep: Panic! and the realization that perfectionism is creativity’s executioner.
By the end of the first day I have a couple of ideas, but am definitely struggling.
Day 2: I begin repeating something Rosalie had written on one of the large boards propped up on one of two easels in front of the class. “DON’T PANIC!” This becomes my mantra for the rest of my time at QBL.
Day 3: I hate everything I’ve created thus far and have the rude awakening that my expectations are a killjoy. Around the middle of day 2 and into day 3 Rosalie encourages me to use machine stitching, which definitely pushes me out of my comfort zone. I proudly show Rosalie the machine stitching I’ve done (and am devising ways I will hide it after showing her) she applauds my efforts and then drops a bomb by suggesting I add two more lines of machine stitching so for every one line there are now THREE and a little part of me dies inside.
This was what I had done by the end of Day 3, beginning of Day 4. People would wander by and remark, “Ohh, pretty” or “oh the beach! I love the beach” or just, “water!” It was around this time that I came up with the title: “It’s deeper than you think” and then proceeded to muddy those serene waters by incorporating many of Rosalie’s great suggestions.
Day 4: Go with the flow. I’m a fiend and machine stitch everything I can get my hands on. I am one with my Bernina and life is good.
While working on the “It’s Deeper than You Think” piece I begin playing with the other study, which began with a cream colored background. I decide I have to lose the brown fabric, it’s a sink hole and is bringing everything down, including me. It morphs into this, with sticks and stones and leaves that I found on my way to class that morning. I entitle it, “And Yet, You Are Here” (I will refrain from explaining the title as I trust all of you to come up with your own interpretations!)
Day 5: I finish the “It’s Deeper Than You Think” piece and reflect on all that I learned, not just technique, but about art and the making of it, and was reminded of the often painful process and cycle of creating. Whatever genius idea I have, usually showing up in my mind at some absurd hour in the middle of the night, loses it’s luster by daylight. By afternoon I’ve decided it’s the worst idea I ever had and by evening I’m questioning the meaning of everything. Needless to say this usually spirals down into a kind of personal horror, like a set list with all the songs you’ve ever hated that randomly play loudly on a loop. Relief comes in the middle of the night with yet another stroke of genius and the cycle begins again. But, as Rosalie reminded me more than once, “It’s okay. Don’t panic.” And with that mantra in mind, I can sit with the discomfort and “keep swimming.”
It’s Deeper Than You Think
Rosalie is a force, brilliant, funny, kind, welcoming, encouraging and oh so very talented. It was an honor to be in her class.
I had the weekend to play before I began Lorie McCown’s class called “Connections.”
A brief summary of Lorie’s fantastic 5-day workshop.
Day 1: I got this. I’m an old pro at this point and nothing is going to phase me. Lorie mentions that machines are optional and encourages us to use hand stitching (I promptly ignore her), immediately decide I’m going to resurrect (with Lorie’s okay) the other piece I started in Rosalie’s class, “And Yet, You are Here” and machine stitch the whole thing. Lorie encourages us to think out of the box, explore materials we otherwise might not have thought of. I’m open to this idea, particularly as I’ve already given my inner rebel some freedom. She shows us examples of her work that are powerful, emotionally laden and visually compelling. I decide I’m going to use paper and maps and whatever else I can get my hands on that evoke the title – “And yet, you are here.” Remember I am now one with my Bernina. All is well.
Day 2: I’m not going through the angst I experienced the week before, so things are coming along nicely. Lorie is terrific, gives lots of encouragement and suggestions and wonders aloud whether I might “go bigger” and then asks, “What do you think?” I’m totally on to her, but do “go bigger,” because, well, why NOT go bigger? and anyway I’ve already demonstrated my anarchistic streak by ignoring her whole hand stitching thing.
Day 3: I announce that I’m thinking of using silk ribbon and Lorie suggests I use it as a way to tie in the idea of “And yet, you are here” by tacking it down in various places and then bringing all the various ribbons to the “X” so they converge. I love this idea and dive into my silk ribbon stash.
Lorie discusses various backing options. I decide, since I don’t have the canvas I’d prefer, I’ll back my piece in wool, which I have a great deal of. Still very little hand stitching, almost everything is machine stitched because I’m clinging to my whole – I’m a rebel – schtick.
Day 4: I’m letting “And Yet You Are Here” simmer for a few days and decide to begin working on a version of another idea I had in Rosalie’s class.
This is what it looked like in Rosalie’s class.
And then I added to it.
In Lorie’s class I took this concept and did this.
Which then became this
Day 5: I can be a rebel with hand stitching too! The night before, I worked until 10PM and was in class by 7:30AM. I’m determined to work in some of my ideas for this piece – holes and slashes with stitching around them. The piece now looks like this… it’s still a work in progress, I intend to do much more stitching on it and you’ll notice I hand stitched everything on this piece. I’m calling it – “Life #1” and am thinking of making a series. Lorie’s all over the “series” idea, which you can see if you visit her website, and I encourage you to!
A few close ups
Thanks to Quilting by the Lake, the Schweinfurth Art Center, Rosalie Dace and Lorie McCown, but more than anyone I am forever grateful to my husband, Richard Long, who said when I broached the idea of going away, “Absolutely, you deserve it.” And when I asked, “Are you sure?” He didn’t hesitate, “I got this,” he said. I know how much he had to do so that I could go. What a great guy! And what an amazing twelve days I’ve had!
You’ll notice it’s been awhile since I’ve written anything here, but not for the reasons you think. It became necessary to give up my studio when we made the decision to pull my youngest child from school and began homeschooling. That was over two years ago. We felt we didn’t have a choice. There is nothing, absolutely nothing I can create that is more important than my daughter’s education. We are all happier as a result.
Which leads me to this blog. Just over a year ago, last May of 2015, to be exact, I signed up for a Craftsy class. Do you know about Craftsy?
WHAT?
YOU DON’T???
Craftsy is fantastic. There, I even added the link for you to go check them out. No, I am not being paid, nor do I, in any way, get anything for writing about them. This is my opinion and experience. Okay, so I took a class on Craftsy called: Embroidering Texture and Dimension by Hand by Sue Spargo and it changed my life. I loved the way Sue used stitches on layers of wool and fabric. I loved how she created something so different from what I was used to seeing. She didn’t “embroider,” not in the way I was used to seeing embroidery done, but instead created a whole new three-dimensional textile. I was utterly enthralled.
I knew nothing about quilting. When I signed up for her class I did not know that her work was considered quilting. In fact when I took the class I wrote her and asked what all the stitching was in the background, was it done by machine or hand and when and how did she do that and, by the way, why and how was it all so puffy looking? Someone helpfully suggested I take a beginning quilt class and my first thought was – “huh, I didn’t know a quilt could do that!”
But back to Sue Spargo’s class. It began with a download of one of her lovely designs, a butterfly sampler, but as I have a strong independent streak, I decided to design my own piece and use what I learned in her class on my design.
A few weeks before I found Craftsy and Sue Spargo’s class, my husband came home with a photo of a West African Long Tailed Hornbill that was perched on a railing at the Central Park Zoo. He, the bird, not my husband, though my husband is also fabulous, was so captivating I decided to use his image in my piece. Here’s the photo my husband took.
A West African Long Tailed Hornbill. Look at him!
C’mon, admit it, he’s adorable. So here’s what I started to do and you’ll notice I got way too involved with everything BUT the bird, which was the focus… and again, this is something I also tend to do – do everything but the thing I’m trying to focus on. Look, squirrel!
The Beginning
He began to take shape…
I gave him some much-needed feathers on his head, because he was getting cold, I could tell.
A little hair/feathers/plumes, whatever are good, but he definitely needed more…
More, more, more and while we’re at it, let’s toss in some black beads. I am a jewelry designer after all.
There, that’s better
And some more circles, because honestly who doesn’t like circles?
Circles can go anywhere I always think and I wanted to try my hand at all the different circular stitches from Sue Spargo’s class.
And if one or two circles are good, well many, many circles can only be better, right?
Okay, so maybe I got carried away….
And here it is, the final piece. As an ode to my beautiful daughter I call this piece Thunder Bubbles.
I used every single stitch Sue Spargo taught on this. It really should be called, “Thunder Bubbles Sampler.” Because I knew nothing about quilting I didn’t know that you should leave an edge so that you can bind, face or otherwise somehow finish it off. I also took a hand quilting class at the local quilting shop and did my best to hand quilt more circular shapes. I didn’t know to iron in between, so the back isn’t as flat as I would have liked and the weight from all those drizzle stitches on his head pulled the batting and backing fabric into a kind of crater. Anyway here’s the back of my very first hand quilted piece!
Next week I’ll write about where all of this has taken me and what I’m doing now.
Last May we pulled our daughter, Emma from school and began homeschooling or non-schooling or… I’ve written more about all of this on the other blog, the one I share with my daughter: Emma’s Hope Book. One of the many benefits of homeschooling, aside from the huge relief and plummeting stress level, is that we get to explore, together and separately. The beauty in exploring is that the goal is to be curious and discover. There’s no right or wrong and there’s tremendous comfort in that. The entire process of learning becomes one of joy and experimentation without the burden or stress of feeling one should know something before having learned it.
So it was, some eight months ago when I sat down with Emma and asked her what she was interested in learning about. She typed that she wanted to learn German and take a ceramics class among a number of other things. So we bought Rosetta Stone for German and Emma began taking pottery lessons at a nearby ceramics studio. Her teacher, seeing my obvious excitement and interest, asked if I might like to make some things too. I eagerly said, “Yes, please!”
Learning anything new is full of experimenting, exploring, tweaking, practicing and refining techniques learned. To dive into something you’ve never done before can be daunting, but only if you are comparing your work to another’s. Particularly crushing is if you expect you will be able to produce something that is of similar expertise as someone who has been studying and refining their technique for decades. The exhilaration comes with the process of learning, practicing and improving. But so often we are not taught that this process is wonderful at all. In fact, we are taught that it is hard work and the end product, only produced after years of practice and toil, is all that is of value. Everything else pales in comparison.
I disagree.
This cereal bowl that Emma made for me is perfect for walking while eating. It has an indentation that perfectly fits one’s thumb while cupping the bowl in your palm. Why hasn’t anyone designed a bowl like this? I’ve never seen one before, but oh, how I love it. This is my new, favorite bowl.
My favorite cereal bowl made for me by Emma.
The platter below? “It matches” was what Emma typed in reply to my exclamation that I thought it perfect for serving cheese and crackers or maybe a brioche en croute with fresh baguette.
Emma’s Platter
This bowl that Emma made used cookie cutters and then she painted after joining all the shapes.
An Autumnal Bowl
A few months ago, or maybe it was years, (this is an aspect of getting older, the years feel like months, yet another example of that saying people tell you when you first become a parent – the days are long, the years are short) I asked Emma if she had any interest in learning to knit. She said she did, and as I love knitting (I wrote about some of that “here“) and used to design knitwear, I thought we’d start with something simple, like a scarf. Emma chose a light blue yarn. After a couple of tries, she lost interest and so I began making a long scarf using an alternating knit 2, purl 2 pattern. I rarely use knitting patterns or cooking recipes for that matter, but that’s another post. Anyway the scarf began like this.
Light blue scarf in alternating Knit 2, Purl 2 pattern with the beginning of a navy blue chenille infinity scarf in the background.
The finished scarf ended up measuring 87 inches in length and 11 inches wide. What you don’t see is the other side where I changed my mind after an inch or so and decided to make the pattern more elongated.
The Finished Scarf
This is the edge where I began knitting and decided to change the stitch. Three times. The final stitch pattern is a Knit 2, Purl 2 for three rows and then Purl 2, Knit 2 for 3 rows and repeating for the remainder of the scarf.
The I-Changed-My-Mind-Edge
I’m hoping Emma will try knitting again sometime, but in the meantime, I’ve started a couple of other projects, one is this deep blue chenille yarn that I’m knitting, using a newly learned brioche stitch, into an infinity scarf for a friend.
The makings of an infinity scarf using a brioche stitch
And finally this is one of my ceramics projects.
Pebbles in a Plate
For those familiar with my jewelry, this may remind you of something else…
Life is busy. We are homeschooling our twelve-year old daughter. Best decision we ever made! (For more about that you can read our group blog where Emma writes many of the posts – Emma’s Hope Book.) I continue to juggle my business and its needs and demands with parenting, homeschooling and writing. As I no longer have my jewelry in stores, I am doing trunk shows. There are not enough hours in any given day and things fall through the cracks. Still… art bleeds through in myriad ways to make life even more exhilarating and exciting. In preparation for this last trunk show, whose theme was Halloween, I roped my family into carving pumpkins and helping me cook halloween treats.
Art? Crafts? Who cares?
Let’s begin with a little Halloween fun.
Grinning Pumpkin ~ Carved by Richard Long
Our son tries his hand at carving…
Nosy Pumpkin with Rotting Teeth ~ By Nic Z-L
I’m a purist and went for a more traditional pumpkin, which means I googled “cool carved pumpkins” and found one resembling this and copied it. 🙂
Originally I wanted to paint this wreath black and have a few snakes and rats poking out from the foliage, but this idea was vetoed by all but my 14 year old son…
Welcome to Fall Wreath
And since that was so much fun, I went a little “wreath crazy”…
Entryway to my pre-Halloween trunk show
Who-doesn’t-love-candy-corn-Wreath
Raven’s Nest Wreath
And then there was cooking that needed to be done…
Trunk show treats – Yes, I made them. From 11 o’clock going clockwise, Pumpkin granola bars, Spider Web Cupcakes, Pumpkin Blondies, Delicious, decadent fudge and Pumpkin Scones
In addition to the halloween treats, I made my spectacular Bloody Mary’s garnished with large green olives, celery and lime. They were a big hit!
For all of you who would like to be included on our mailing list so you don’t miss out on future trunk shows and events, just say so and I will add the email you use to comment to our email list, or send me a different email, if you prefer.
Today is the final day of the first leg of my Ariane Zurcher Jewelry trunk show in New York City. Next week I’m in Chicago and the following week Aspen, Colorado. It’s a – three trunk shows, in three cities, in three weeks – tour!
I’ve written about how I started designing jewelry ‘here‘ and about the genesis of my Transition Collection as a way of finding that elusive “balance” of family and work that so many talk about, but that I never seem to actually achieve, ‘here‘.
I won’t go into any of that again, but like everything in life, it’s impossible to compartmentalize career, family, children and friends into neat little boxes where nothing overlaps with anything else. And even if it were possible, I wouldn’t want to do it. I love that design influences life and life influences design. That these different elements weave together to create something unique is what I respond to when I look at any art, whether it’s a painting, ceramics, sculpture, clothing or jewelry.
18 Kt Brushed White Gold, Druzy and Natural Pearl Ring
My daughter, Emma, has begun writing stories. Those of you who follow my other blog, Emma’s Hope Book, will have likely read some of her writing as I’ve posted it there, with her permission, more and more. What I love about reading her stories is how unexpected they are. Every sentence is a surprise, a tiny, sparkling, gem of an idea, beautifully wrapped up in words that take my breath away.
Recently Emma told me she was interested in jewelry! Before I pack up this trunk show, I plan to ask her to point out a few things she particularly likes. Words and jewels… the apple didn’t fall far…
Sometimes what’s reflected is easier to see than the thing being reflected. I wrote about this and the nature of progress on my other blog, Emma’s Hope Book the other day.
EHB is the blog where I write about being a parent and autism and how my daughter has helped me see the world differently. It’s ironic that her neurology, the thing so many believe to be a massive deficit – autism – has shown me a world far more beautiful than I ever dreamed or believed possible.
Reflection is like that sometimes. We see things in a reflection that we might have missed were we to look directly. Art and inspiration are like that too.
I took this photograph in Central Park this July 4th. Had you asked me what the weather was like I would have told you – clear blue skies and hot, hot, hot.
“Hot town, summer in the city
Back of my neck getting dirty and gritty
Been down, isn’t it a pity
Doesn’t seem to be a shadow in the city”
Detail of “Drifting Continents” by El Anatsui ~ Brooklyn Museum
The detail above is such a wonderful example of perspectives. As we were walking through the show, I overheard someone exclaim, “But it’s just a bunch of metal tops!” And I thought – and we’re just a bunch of cells and water! But step back and we are so much more. I am always thinking about things in terms of neurology and autism. Our culture tends to see autism and those who are Autistic as less than, but if you move away from this thinking, there is great beauty. (I write about all of this in much greater detail on Emma’s Hope Book.)
Here is another view of the same piece ~ “Drifting Continents”
“Drifting Continents”
The beauty of the piece is in both the details and in the magnificence of it, as one steps far enough away to view it in its entirety. Below is a detail of the piece, Gli (Wall) which greets you as you enter the exhibit.
El Anatsui ~ Gli (Wall), 2010 Aluminum & Copper Wire
A part of Gli (Wall)
It is majestic…
Gli (Wall), 2010 El Anatsui Aluminum and Copper Wire
Gravity and Grace… what a wonderful title for a show that exemplifies both.
To view Ariane Zurcher Jewelry and more perspectives on art and design, click ‘here‘.
Often an idea comes in the form of a doodle, literally! Which is why having a sketch book around is so important. Doodles are like little dreams… they seem to come out of nowhere and if I’m lucky I catch them as they appear. Not all sketches are pretty, sometimes I’m in the subway or on my way somewhere and so pretty isn’t the goal. Capturing the idea, the image and getting it down so I won’t forget it, is. So something that begins as this….
Silver Models for Earrings
Turns into this… silver models for what will eventually become 18 Kt Gold earrings.
From the model a silicone mold is made… like this one…
Ariane Zurcher Jewelry ~ Juno Collection: 18 Kt Brushed Gold Bracelet With AZ Logo Box Clasp
On my other blog ~ Emma’s Hope Book ~ where I write about the ever evolving process of being a parent and human being and how my daughter’s autistic neurology has made me rethink everything I once thought I knew (in the best possible way), I wrote today about her perfecting a “catch” at the trapeze school she has gone to for several years. You can read the entire post ‘here‘, but that process, hours and hours of practice that led up to the video clip I attached, showing her flying through the air on a trapeze and then letting go and catching another person’s arms, looks so much easier than it actually is. So much in life is like that.
Most works of art, whether the written word, paintings, sculpture, or things we wear, took time to create. Like a terrific actor who makes the role they’re playing look believable and natural, luring us into the story so we forget this is someone acting a role from a script they’ve memorized, the most beautiful works of art make us forget there is any process at all. We have an emotional connection to the art, the hours, days, weeks and even years it may have taken to produce it, is not something we think about. But usually the process of creating is messy… in my case the creative process means metal dust gets under my fingernails. My hands, face and clothing become covered in a fine dust. So much so that once, on my way home, a friendly stranger asked, “Oh! Are you a mechanic?” There was a trade school for mechanics across the street and no doubt she assumed I must work or teach there.
So I want you to see where I go everyday. Welcome to my studio! This work bench is one of two, where I make the models of designs I’ve created, sometimes from a sketch, sometimes from wax I’ve carved or hot wax I’ve shot from a gun, sometimes I just start playing around and things happen, things I hadn’t intended. Often what I visualize in my mind isn’t at all what I end up creating. Other times it is exactly what I visualized. But the actual process is always similar. I have to sit at that bench and work to create anything. Michael Crichton once said that to become a best-selling author, he had to sit down and actually write. He used a commercial airline pilot as an example. He said, “If I am due to pilot a plane filled with people, I can’t say, “You know, I’m not really in the mood to fly today. Let’s reschedule.” I love that! So yeah… I have to show up and do the work…
This is one of a half-dozen sketch books I have. I always carry a sketch book, a pencil and an eraser with me. As you can see, I made lots of notes and drew pretty detailed sketches for what I wanted to create.
Ariane Zurcher Jewelry ~ Juno Collection: 18 Kt Brushed Gold Orbs Strung on 22 Kt Gold Chain With 18 Kt Brushed Gold AZ Logo Box Clasp
The finished product ~ an 18 Kt Brushed Gold Necklace with Hand Fabricated Box Clasp took a number of tries before it looked like this! And in the process I went a little box clasp crazy. I made a square box clasp, an oval box clasp, a rectangular box clasp, a small circle box clasp, a medium-sized circle and a large circle box clasp, I even made a box clasp with a false bottom that no one would see except the wearer.
I’ll have to devote a post to box clasps one day, they are a beautiful thing!
circles, because honestly who doesn’t like circles?
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