Progress?

I recently found out that the picture was taken after a funeral. Now my new detective job is to find out whose funeral it was. I suspected that it was a funeral since the boys had on white. It has always been a belief in my family that children wear white to funerals. I remember my sister frantically going from store to store trying to find some appropriate white outfit for my younger sister and I to wear to a funeral.

With all that said, I am inching my way along on the greenery. I spend my evenings cutting leaves. I cut a bag full, thinking that I had done a lot. The next morning I sewed them on in about an hour and it covered about 4 inches. That is when I realized that it is going to take so many leaves that I can't even imagine. So last night, I cut another bag full. I am all over the place working on the leaves and grass. I get tired of working on one spot and shift to another spot. Then I try to stay focused and work on one area. That lasts a little while.

I'm really getting a little antsy to work on the children. I think I may work on their clothes a little bit. Saving the faces for last. Anyway, it has come a long way from the first white blob. Thanks for checking in on my progress. I can call it progress, can't I? ha ha ha

Slow Progress

My hope is that the greenery will be so detailed that it will add so much beauty to the picture. I just started it. I thought I would be much farther along by now. I had rationed myself a week to work on the greenery. I am into the second week and working hard to finish it this week. It looks like it will take some really late nights to make that happen.

I am working on getting some history of this picture. Thinking that the history might help me come up with a fitting name, unless one of you come up with something even better. Right now I am calling it "Four" just as my reference, but that is not what I want for the name.

First Construction

I started building the house for the quilt. I have to admit that it doesn't look like much, but it will. This is the foundation for something great to come. Or at least that is my plan.

Is this how the Wizard of Oz felt when Diana Ross pulled back the curtain to find that he was only smoke and mirrors? When I first start with this blob, I can see the finished product. Something is missing in this picture, though. Plan to go to the fabric store tomorrow. I will post another look once I get that fixed.

Over the years I have noticed that most people do not see my vision or care to. Then there are those special few- who can see where you are going -- or are willing to wait to see where you are going.

I have met those who ask me what I am going to do next and then proceed to tell me what they think I should do. I pray that I am not one of those people. When someone shows me a work in progress, I consciously look and listen. Then try to follow their dream.  So much of the work goes on inside one's head that it is magical when it finally makes sense in reality.

I am starting on the greenery and shrubs next. I am pretty excited about all the different colors of green I have to work with as well as all the techniques I want to try in order to make it look real. That is always the goal, and hope that each time I get closer to that look.

Breaking Through

I have just started a new project. I have also envied the artists that can post their work in progress. Fear has gripped me deep in my stomach at the thought of going through my process in the public eye. This year I am working on breaking through some of my stagnant habits. This may prove to be good for me and my process or not. We shall all see.

It has to be good for my spiritual development though. It is never good to be stuck. This is the project I have just started. I have a little more of a time limit on this one than I like to have, but it may make me work a little harder and consistent on this one quilt.

This is my rough sketch on paper. I don't have a name for it yet, but I am hoping that you all will help me with that. I am holding my breath and getting ready to post the first stage of fabric work soon.

SPRING CLEANING

 

 

Spring is coming so fast. I remember as a small child watching family members clean like crazy. As I got older and was added to the cleaning frenzy, I realized that I didn't like it at all. I guess it was one of those necessary evils. Washing, scrubbing, dusting and cleaning. I loved that we got an opportunity to go outside, but I just wanted to be outside playing instead of cleaning blinds. I wanted to go around and look at the daffodils and the camellias. I loved flowers and how they helped me learn to tell time. Global warming has changed some of that schedule but yesterday I saw some daffodils laughing in the sunlight. That made me think that all was well with the world.

 

So in honor of impending spring, I have set aside many quilts on my website www.obaquilts.com for the purging fate. My purge will be your treasure. I've set quilts at bottom line door buster prices. I felt a little twinge of the gruelling spring cleaning rituals as I lowered one price after another. I guess it is one of those necessary evils.

 

Do me a favor. At least go to the website and look, even if you don't buy today. And tell all your friends about the sale. Help me get these quilts out of the closets and on to your bare walls that are screaming for art or onto your beds that long for that little touch of beauty and handmade warmth.

www.obaquilts.com

 

Call for Entry

City Gallery at Waterfront Park,

Charleston, South Carolina

Call for Entry

“Mermaids and Merwomen in Black Folklore”

Cookie Washington - Curator

This call for entry is seeking art quilts and art dolls inspired by the folklore and visual history of the black mermaid archetype. Some of the first tales of mermaids and merwomen were brought to America by Africans enslaved along the coast of South Carolina. Black mermaids traveled with enslaved Africans from Yoruba to distant lands, comforting them in the holds of the slave ships that took them far away from their homeland in Africa. Known by other names, her traditions continue in the countries to which her people were dispersed. Because of the rich oral traditions of these peoples, few if any of these stories were written down until they were recorded by collectors of folk tales toward the end of the 19th century.

You are invited to share your visual interpretation of these myths by creating a Black Mermaid/Merwoman in an art doll or art quilt. Mermaids and Merwomen in Black Folklore with be on view at the City Gallery at Waterfront Park in Historic Charleston, SC from August 28 through October 28, 2012.

I can think of no better venue for an exhibition of Black Mermaid art quilts and art dolls than the City Gallery at Waterfront Park in the historic city of Charleston, SC.
 

 
For more information, contact, and entry form:
Cookie Washington, Curator
Mermaids and Merwomen in Black Folklore

720 Shelley Rd.

, Suite "B"
Charleston, SC 29407
Phone: 843.259.8108
Email:cookiesews1960@gmail.com

Many people carry the mermaid energy inside them, that otherworldly beauty, a longing and desire that makes them reach for heaven though they may feel they live in the darkness of the sea.”

The city of Charleston is exhibiting this show for two months and it will be one of the featured visual arts exhibits for the MOJA  African American Arts Festival now in it's 30th year.

 

An 8" X 8" full color, 120-page catalogue/book will accompany the exhibit. Twenty-five pieces will be featured with a full-page photo and paired with an original poem written for his special project. Remaining entries will be featured with just a photo. One free copy of the book will be given to each participating artist. Books will also be available for purchase at the reception.  CityGalleryatWaterfrontPark.com

Please create a piece for this show, and share the call to entry for this show with other members of your circles whose work you admire? Remember the Call for Entry will be July, 23rd.

Completed work will need to be in by August 15th for inclusion in the book of quilts and poetry, that will be published as part of the show.  The exhibit will be at the City Gallery at Waterfront Park in the historic city of Charleston, SC from Aug. 28th thru Oct 28th, 2012. 

 

The beautiful City Gallery at Waterfront Park is in the oldest historic district of the city of Charleston. It is a huge 2 story glass art gallery which is why I can accept 100? or more pieces for the show depending on the size of the art quilts and up to 10 art dolls.

 

If you choose to become a participating artist  in Mermaids and Merwomen in Black Folklore and choose to travel to Charleston, SC for the exhibition, the weekend of September 7th and 8th would be the weekend to come to this show if you are an out of towner.

 

September 7th, Friday is Yemaya's Feast Day. I will be hosting an invite only party to celebrate/honor her and we may "take it to the water..". Please let me know if you would like to attend this event.

 

The talented, mystical Arianne King Comer, has agreed to teach a Batik class for visiting artists and guild members. Arianne grows Indigo seeds in God's earth, harvests it and turns it into indigo dye, then she creates batik art. She is willing to teach a class Friday afternoon and a full day class Saturday morning and afternoon. If interested in the class please send notice ASAP.

 

Saturday, Sept 8th  from 6 to 8 pm is the Artists Reception at the City Gallery at Waterfront Park.

There will be live music,  refreshments and over 400 guests will be invited.

 

The Cultural Affairs Dept in the city of Charleston, SC, said if we had an early enough head count they may be able to secure discounts on hotel rooms. If any of your guilds or families are coming please let me know.

Feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns.

 

“Mermaids and Merwomen in Black Folklore”
TERMS & REGULATIONS• Open to African American artists in the United States,
Mexico and Canada, age 16 and up.
• Entries must be an original quilt, quilt hanging, or
afro-centric doll created in the last three years. Work
must not have been previously exhibited nationally in the last 5 years.
• Quilts or dolls made from a kit, commercial pattern,
or in a workshop with the aid of an instructor are
ineligible.
• Quilts must be multi-layered and finished with
stitching. Integration of non-fabric embellishments,
such as beads and stones, is acceptable and
encouraged.
Entries must be in keeping with the theme
“Mermaids and Merwomen in Black Folklore.” Please review text
at the end of application for suggestions.• Applicant must submit  Jpegs of art, bio, fee and application for jury process by

July 23, 2012.
Your $25 entry fee allows an artist to submit up to two
entries.
Entry fee is paid by USPS Money order, or check,
no credit cards can be accepted at this time.
We are sorry for any inconvenience.
Make checks or Money Orders payable to:

Torreah Washington,

720 Shelley Rd.

Suite “B”
Charleston, SC 29407

Making Quilts into Stories

I’m excited to announce the publication of the first volume of my book If Quilts Could Talk. It has been a long time in the making and is finally a reality. I give much credit to Kyra Hicks for incentive and information in her book, How To Self-Publish Your Own Quilt Catalog and her blog publishyourquilts.blogspot.com

This delightful paperback contains five (5) short stories about my childhood in the rural southern United States and a quilt that accompanies and accents the story. You will find all the stories to be very personal and that is the way I planned it. It is my way of celebrating our strong family and community as well as honoring the ancestors who exist for our success.

In this book only the first quilt-A Day Late and A Dollar Short came before the story. The story is about the quilt, my father, and my regret. The fabrics I used came from the hospital supply company where he worked. The second story is a tribute to all the good times my sister and I had together. It is secretly a story about how poor kids made fun with no toys. The quilt is patterned after one I saw elders making called a postage stamp quilt. They would use the postage stamp as a pattern. It would take them a very long time to create something absolutely gorgeous. I spent a considerable amount of time making the pattern run across the quilt.

The third story is about the railroad tracks. It may be difficult for people in other parts of the United States and maybe the world to know the real meaning that the railroad held for African Americans in the south.  President Jimmy Carter tells a story of the African American people in his hometown being allowed to stand and listen to the radio outside a window in their home to hear the Joe Lewis fight. He says that when the fight ended the people thanked his father and walked slowly away. When they crossed the railroad, you could hear shouting and celebrating clear to the next county.
They did not make a sound until they crossed the dividing line. My parents used to go to the railroad and pick up the coal that fell off the train cars. Countless fathers left home to find work on the railroad. It was a distinctive line of work and source of survival on many levels. The quilt is an Irish chain design using the same size squares as the postage stamp quilt. I added two pictorial squares about the story.

The fourth story is about my aunt; Ms. Marie Ponder. It is because of her that I have this belief that aunts and uncles are very important to the growth and development of young children. Every family member had a clear purpose in the extended family model.  I wanted to honor that role in that story. The quilt is an applique that I made to honor her. She taught me to sew which eventually led to quilting. I pictured her in the type of hat that African American women wore to funerals. I also covered the quilt with charms celebrating her many skills.

The last quilt in this series is my favorite. I remember so well the excitement and pride that went with having a new dress for Easter. And I also remember how great it was to have a built -in best friend in my sister. This story covers several points in a very subtle way (and some not so subtly).  I spent a lot of time designing the dresses on the little girls on this quilt because of my vivid memory of our dresses.

"… As we sat there fidgeting, I felt the tingle of the burn on my ear. My mind flashed back to the day before when I was on the floor at Ms. Henrietta’s house. Ms. Henrietta said, “Sit back in the chair. I won’t burn you again.” The smell of rose oil pomade drifted past my nose. She always used rose oil pomade when she straightened our hair. I wished I could believe that she wouldn’t burn me again. But I knew I was going to flinch every time I felt the heat of that straightening comb close to my neck and she was going to catch my ear again with that hot comb. It never failed…"  Excerpt from “If Quilts Could Talk.”  This book is available in paperback and e-book. I guarantee one of these stories will take you back and make you smile.

I want to encourage all quilters to take the plunge and publish yourself! It's your ride take the wheel.

Order books today at http://www.obaquilts.com/ or http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=wwwobaquiltsc-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=096395945X&ref=qf_sp_asin_til&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr