Fabric Printing at Home Blog Tour & Give Away

Many of you know Julie B Booth as being my Roy G Biv partner. Have I ever mentioned that we're old friends from my days in Virginia? That I really and truly know Julie? Have I mentioned that she is a book author as well? Her first book, Fabric Printing at Home, was recently published. To kick off its release, Julie is celebrating with a blog tour of 13 artists whose work appears in the gallery as well as daily give aways.

Fabric Printing at Home is filled with ideas and step-by-step instructions of how to print on fabric using normal kitchen objects. With chapters about Kitchen Textures and Found Object Printing, Beyond the Potato Print, Wrap It Up! Wraps and Foil, Recycled and Repurposed and Irresistible: Fabric Resists Using Kitchen Ingredients, Julie offers something for everyone.

The piece that I contributed to the gallery falls under the found object printing category. When Julie first asked me to participate, I pondered what to use. My collection of wine corks seemed fitting. Now, I think Julie pictured a pattern of dots created by stamping the end of the cork, but 

I inserted toothpicks in the cork ends, rolled it through my inks and paints and then printed on paper.

The cracks in the corks make varied and interesting marks.

Once enough papers were printed, 

I cut and tore, assembled and reassembled,

stitched and repeated steps 1 thru 5

 Cloud Paper Water 1, Jennifer Coyne Qudeen

 until there were 7 pamphlet stitched books. The set is entitled Cloud Paper Water 1, based on Thich Nhat Hanh's Clouds in Each Paper which Sandra Brownlee so intuitively read to me during her Tactile Notebooks and the Written Word workshop at Big Cat Textiles in August 2013.

  Cloud Paper Water 1, Jennifer Coyne Qudeen

Each book contains a word from the poem so cleverly hidden that even I can't find them now and, well, I wrote the words. The cover above appears in the gallery of Fabric Printing at Home. 

Julie is having a daily give away to celebrate. Stroll on over to her blog and leave a comment for a chance to win. I'm joining in the celebration as well by giving away a copy of Fabric Printing at Home. For a chance to win, just leave a comment on this post by midnight New York city time on February 13. The winner will be announced on Valentine's Day. 

I'm curious...what's the most unusual object you've used to print with?

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 Be sure to visit all the stops on the Tour:
February 2: Lisa Chin
February 3: Lynn Krawczyk
February 4: Jane Davila  

February 5: Carol R. Eaton

February 6: Judy Gula

February 7: Susan Purney Mark 

February 8: Teri Lucas 

February 9: Jennifer Coyne Qudeen 

February 10: Deborah Boschert 

February 11: Lynda Heines 

February 12: Cheryl Sleboda 

February 13: Terri Stegmiller 

February 14: Jackie Lams

Searching for Roy G Biv 4 - reminder

Do you know what this Thursday is?

It's the first 3rd Thursday of 2015 and that means we're kicking off a new year of Roy G Biv. We're going back to the beginning and starting with red. If you're joining in the search, just leave a note for Julie or me when your post is up and we'll be happy to link to you. 

Hope to see your reds on Thursday!

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2015
January 15 - red

February 19 - orange
March 19 - yellow
April 16 - green

May 21 - blue
June 18 - indigo
July 16 - violet
August 20 -brown
September 17 -gold
October 15 -grey
November 19 -pink
December 17 - blogger's choice 

Searching for Roy G Biv 3 - Blogger's Choice - Update 2

Welcome to 2014's last installment in the search for Roy G Biv. This month's color is blogger's choice and I've chosen...what else?...rust. Enjoy!

Richard Serra

Cleveland, OH

Newburgh, Scotland

Cleveland, OH

Philadelphia, PA

Wilton, CT

Wilton, CT

It's a bit difficult to believe we've come to the end of a full year of posting the colors of the rainbow and beyond. In case you're wondering, Julie and I are continuing the search in 2015. January through July will follow the Roy G Biv alphabet. Afterwards, we're going off rainbow with the addition of brown, gold (think metallics...silver in 2016), grey, pink and ending the year with blogger's choice.

If you'd like to join in the fun, but don't know the rules...guidelines really...it's very simple. Just post 5 or so photos of items featuring that month's color to your blog. When it's live, let Julie or I know via a comment on our blogs and we'll list your blog and link to it. This truly is a case of the more, the merrier so we'd love to have all our blogging friends joining in. 2015's calendar is below.

Speaking of Julie, I'd like to congratulate her on the release of her book,

Fabric Printing at Home can be ordered from QBookshop or Amazon. I am thrilled for Julie and can't wait for my copy to arrive. Guess how I'll be spending the holidays! It's also an honor to have work included in the gallery section.

Happy searching!

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Mary Ann over at Blue Sky Dreaming shares some of her most loved colors from the year.

Sharmon of Sharmon Davidson Contemporary Mixed Media begins her year end post with a rustic collection of greys.

Charlton Stitcher reviews the flavours of the year.

Maya of Million Little Stitches chose opulent and sparkly golds as her color of choice.

Eric of Cerulean has posted a few subtle, earthy-toned favorites. 

Thank to all who have searched with us this year! It's been amazing to view your finds each month. Happy searching in 2015!!!

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2015
January 15 - red

February 19 - orange   
March 19 - yellow 
April 16 - green

May 21 - blue

June 18 - indigo

July 16 - violet

August 20 -brown

September 17 -gold

October 15 -grey

November 19 -pink

December 17 - blogger's choice

Around the World Blog Hop

Welcome to my stop in the Around the World Blog Hop. My Roy G Biv partner, Julie B Booth first invited me to join the blog hop in October. Susan Bowers of Tracemarks extended an invitation soon afterwards as well. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to accept their kind invitations at the time.

When Lotta Helleberg asked me to join, what immediately ran through my mind was third time's the charm and I knew the universe was telling me that I needed to do this. A heart felt Thank You! to Julie, Susan and Lotta for thinking of me and extending the invitations. If you click on their names, you'll be spirited away to their own blog hop posts. From there, you can hop away to your heart's desire discovering new artists around the world - all from comfort of your own home. Enjoy!

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1. What am I working on?

I have 3 tea bag pieces in various stages of creation and an idea for a series that needs attention. 

A replacement for Water Dreams 1, which sold from Alchemy of Tea at the Cornelius Arts Center, is nearly complete. It's waiting for me to decide how to finish the sides...or if they are. 

What began as the base for an artist book has aspirations of becoming an installation. Think ancient scroll cascading down the wall and landing on the floor. A bit more length is required, I do believe.

Of course, there's always my hand stitching on black cotton to occupy the time when one or the other of my little urchins is hip hopping or learning the piano.

A friend has inspired me to begin crocheting again. Luckily, we've a wonderful yarn shop nearby called Nancy O. That's where this luscious grey came from. It's meant to be a wrap to keep my shoulders warm on our chillier days. Charcoal grey and burgundy will be added at some point along the way.

2. How does my work differ from others of its genre?

Good question. The short answer is that I don't really know. In wanting to find my own voice with the tea bags, I haven't researched to see what others are doing. That probably sounds funny considering my participation in Alchemy of Tea, but it's true. 

That said...I alternately view the tea bags as paper and cloth. The flow-thru type are what I use and those are generally made with abaca pulp. Being paper means that they are strong and any technique one would use with paper can be applied yet the thinness and translucent quality of the material hint at organza - and makes them perfect for layering and stitching.  

3. Why do I write/create what I do?

Memories are often associated with tastes, scents and sounds. Tea is my memory link. One whiff of freshly brewed black pekoe with mint and orange transports me back to my grandmother’s kitchen. Lady Grey winds me to Newburgh, Scotland where I first sampled its delicate yet steady taste. 

My work with tea bags explores and expands on the concept of memories, whether real or imagined, through the use of marks – the tea’s own as well as my hand made marks, direct rust prints, digital prints and hand and machine stitching.

 
4. How does my writing/creating process work?

During an artist talk this summer, I listened as two painters explained their individual theories and practices for organizing chaos via their art. They were attempting to make it nice and orderly, have it make sense and play well with others, etc. In listening to them, I realized that I have gone in the opposite direction with my work...in fact, I have embraced chaos via a wabi sabi sensibility.

Thank you for stopping by my corner of the world. Enjoy!

Searching for Roy G Biv in 2014

 Julie and I would like to announce round 3 of Searching for Roy G Biv. For those who are just now tuning in, let me give you a little background.

In a 2012 blog post, Julie mentioned a Mr Roy G Biv. Being unacquainted with him myself, a quick Google inquiry was undertaken...which left me shaking my head in despair! Asking my husband if he knew Mr Biv brought much laughter...from him, not me. My head was hanging so low by then that it was dragging the floor.

You see, while Julie and my husband had learned the colors of the rainbow as RedOrangeYellow  Green  BlueIndigoViolet, I learned them simply as red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple. Out of innocence, shame and more than a few belly laughs, the Search for Roy G Biv was born.

On the 3rd Thursday of each month, you are invited to join the fun by posting photos on your blog that focus on the color of the month. If you let us know that you're participating via a comment on either blog, we will reference you and link to your blog. Originally, 5 photos were suggested, but we were having so much fun that that guideline was quickly forgotten.

The 2014 calendar is below. As you can see, a few colors have been added after the proper Roy G Biv search. We're open to ideas of colors - the metallics, for instance, or turquiose - so if there's a color you're passionate about, just let us know.

January 16 - red

February 20 - orange

March 20 - yellow

April 17 - green

May 15 - blue

June 19 - indigo

July 17 - violet

August 21 - pink

September 18 - black

October 16 - white

November 20 - brown

December 18 - blogger's choice

Julie and I try to remember to post a reminder each preceding Thursday. Life gets hectic and Mr Biv slips into the background. We understand. Participation is totally optional, but as far as we're concerned, the more, the merrier. See you on the 16th!

Searching for Roy G Biv - White - updated

White.

 From frost on my windshield 

 to the froth on my cappuccino

 or the arrows found on a NYC building,

 white symbolizes light,

 purity and cleanliness.

 It reminds one of home and

 that magic exists.

White can be hard 

 or soft

and every now and then

just a bit mysterious.

What does white remind you of?

Liz Davidson has snowy whites on a blue day.

Mary Jane has a celestial body of white.

Fiona has the white of peace.

Julie, like me, has a variety of whites.

Ersi has a state of white.
Lisa has mise en place whites.
India has roving whites.
Barry has silvery healing whites.
Christine has playful salty whites.
Elizabeth has brilliant snowy whites.
Karen forecasts snowy whites.
Shipbuilding has wrapped whites.
Velma has snowy whites.

Do you have white?

Searching for Roy G Biv - Blue

London has blues.

 It is there, if one looks closely

 at  Tower Bridge,

 on the docks behind Tower Hotel,

 greeting customers at the Best of India along Brick Lane,

 on a plate at the Victoria and Albert,

 down an alley off Portobello Road, 

decorating not only the entry,

 but the windows as well.

New York has a blue mosaic

  outside one of the stores.

 You must look up to see it,

 although if the wind is blowing and you listen closely, 

the tinkling of the blues can be heard.

Boston has a bit of blue

of the natural sort 

 and the man made too.

Do you have blue?
Julie, Fiona and Flags for Peace do.

Searching for Roy G Biv - They've got green

Boston definitely has green.

That's where we've been for the past few days. Exploring Boston, feeding the ducks, riding in the swan boats, going to the aquarium and the most magnificent children's museum I've ever seen. Oh! To be 5 again and be able to play in that place.

Do you know who else has green? Julie has Maine greens. Fiona favored us with a bit of green to ponder. Lisa posted the most wondrous greens...my favorites are the patinas. But it was Ersi who stole the show!

September's search for Roy will have us all in a blue mood...or in the mood for the blues...or the Moody Blues...or...

What sort of blues will you have, I wonder?

Searching for Roy G Biv - Orange updated

It's time for the next installment of the never ending quest for Roy G Biv. June's color is orange.

Do you know what my photos are of? Care to hazard a guess? If so, leave a comment by midnight Saturday [my time - eastern standard time USA...now daylight savings time just to confuse]. The person who has correctly identified the most objects will win a piece of my rusty cotton [roughly the size of a fat eighth in quiltling].

Sunday morning, the winner will be posted as well as the original photos of the objects above.

This post will be updated throughout the day to include blogs that are participating in the Search for Roy. If you are joining us or know of someone who is, please let Julie or I know via comment and we'll include that blog on our list too. Enjoy!

1. Julie B Booth   
2. Paper Ponderings
3. Arzigogolare