A Chicken Came to Roost in my Nest

May 3, 2014May 3, 2014 | JP Dawes Artist

So, yesterday there was a package in the mail. Exciting!!! I knew I hadn’t ordered anything as I tore into the package. Inside was this charming chicken pincushion to roost by my nest in the family room. . Linda Klonz from San Antonio, TX sent this as a thank you gift. It is crafted from an antique quilt block with tiny little black beads for eyes. I have secretly lusted after one of these from when I first saw the pattern. But I was always too busy to make my own and never found one to buy that I liked. This little guy is so perfect, his feathers are the exact shades of blue and red in the family room where my nest is.

I belong to some yahoo groups that talk about the great vintage Singer sewing machines I use and collect. A recent topic was retro fitting a Singer cabinet for a long bed Singer 301/301a. Some of the experts said it can’t be done because of the length of the bed but never say never to a bunch of people who rescue these workhorses and use them. I was lucky enough to score an original Singer 301 long bed table from a garage sale recently. I offered the interested people a tracing of the cutout area and a brief description of how the machine sets into the table opening. A few people took me up on my offer so I sent a few off patterns in the mail.

Linda had sent a thank you email and that was wonderful. I didn’t expect more. But an unexpected gift given from the heart is truly a treasure.

Dogwood Time in the Ozarks

April 24, 2014May 20, 2014 | JP Dawes Artist

The hills and hollows are full of redwood and dogwood trees in full bloom. The wild wisteria is cascading over the trees in all their purple glory. At my house, a few years ago I noticed dogwood seedlings coming up in my flower beds. The first one was at the back corner of the house. The next year, another sprouted on the front corner of the house. It seems that the birds dropped seeds in the perfect places for the trees to grow. I could not have planned this better. This is a photo of the first dogwood as it began blooming. I love the photo at night with the contrast of the snowy blooms against the night sky. I know that before long the leaves will be large enough for some leaf prints, but I’ll enjoy the blooms for now.

But is it ART…or is it MY art?

April 10, 2014April 11, 2014 | JP Dawes Artist

Oh what a cute little piece of vintage commercial fabric. I could see this design reworked with appliqued yo-yos and embroidery.I could use any commercial fabric of my choosing for the background, or I could use some of my hand dyed fabric for a more artsy look. But then the questions arise. Is it my art quilt, a copy or an inspirational derivation?

What if I did nothing to the fabric except put a binding on it and some beads. Does that make it art? And if it makes it art, is it MY art?

If I want to submit it to an art show or a quilt show, can I honestly do that and call it MY ART or MY QUILT?

Recently I’ve had this very issue come up. When I asked what makes a commercial fabric that is simply bound and beaded art, I was told it is the artist’s hand that changed it, otherwise it is just fabric. Ummmm…maybe ….

My response was that it is the artist who transforms any medium into art. But I don’t see binding and/or beading a commercial fabric enough to transform it into art….and especially not art that you can honestly present as your own work. You aren’t the designer of anything except the binding. If you are beading the design it isn’t much more than paint by number.

I think this discussion goes far beyond a fiber artist using commercial fabrics for their art. Pamela Allen is a master at using commercial fabric and making art and there are many more. With the ability to purchase unique fabric from the designer who sells it on sites like Spoonflower, the chance of something being claimed as the fiber artist’s own art and design increases. I think it is dishonest and I wonder what you all think about it?

I know I’m outspoken and not afraid to enter into a spirited discussion about all things fiber and I hope you will let me know your views on this. I’m linking to Off The Wall Friday this week.

Shark tooth

April 9, 2014 | JP Dawes Artist

I’ve had an enjoyable few days. My son and his family were here for a visit. My granddaughter asked me to help her make a pocket for her loose tooth. Here is how the story goes and why she wanted a pocket for the tooth….

She had a shark tooth. That was a new one on me so if you don’t know what that is I’ll explain. Her permanent tooth is growing behind the loose tooth. She has been carrying a plastic zip lock bag in her backpack just in case the tooth fell out at school. And if she lost the tooth she might not get that big pay out from the tooth fairy. Remember, it doesn’t take much cash to inspire a 7-year-old. She had to have something to carry the tooth in until she got home and could transfer it to her tooth fairy pillow.

She drew a picture of what she wanted us to sew. Then we went into the studio so she could find the fabric she wanted to use. We found a yellow fabric with bright red cherries and a yellow dotted piece for the lining. Instead of a pocket we made a little zipper pouch. She got some practice feeding the fabric through the machine so I could show her it wouldn’t eat her fingers.

Guess what happened a couple of hours after we finished the little pouch…the tooth fell out! She decided she would put it under her pillow here with a note to the tooth fairy that she hoped she would find her here at Grandma’s house. And we all know that the tooth fairy can find a little girl or boy any place there is a tooth under a pillow. Ka-ching!!!

Deadnettle Day 2 Dyeing – Pickle Juice!

April 4, 2014 | JP Dawes Artist

Above are the bundles from soaking overnight in the dye pot. Ron unwrapped one that was a white on white print. Because the print is vinyl, it never takes dye. You can see the top two are on plain muslin and took the dye well. The next step was to add iron mordant to the pot and add some of these back in. Amazing color shift. It even made some of the imprints from the plants stand out that you can see in the fabric on the right.

We left 2 bundled fabrics in the pot and will take them out tomorrow. Oh, it doesn’t smell like mint in the dye room. It smells distinctly like dill pickles! Which is really what the color of green looks like…pickle juice!