The Storycatcher, 500 Handmade Books, and My Bluegrass Roots goes to Cary!

(Above:  Lark Publication's new 500 Series:  500 Handmade Books, Volume 2 and Ann Hite's new novel The Storycatcher. Click on any image in this blog post to enlarge.)

Yesterday my mail was GREAT!  I received TWO books in the mail!  First is my copy of the newest 500 Series publication from Lark:  500 Handmade Books, Volume 2.  On page 257 are three image of my piece, The Good Girl.  I'm quite honored to be in this book.  (By the way, Some Things I'll Never Know was part of Volume 1.)


(Above:  The Good Girl.  To read more about this unique artist altered book, CLICK HERE.)

The other book that came in the mail is the second novel by my friend Ann Hite.  Ann's first book, Ghost on Black Mountain, earned her a Townsend Prize nomination and was the winner of "Best First Novel" from a Georgia Author of the Year Awards.  Ann and I were introduced to one another on-line by another writer.  Why?  Well, Ann was struggling with a character in her second novel, The Storycatcher.  This girl, named Faith, needed to be in a cemetery for the sake of the plot but had no good reason for being there.  That's where I come in!  From what I understand, Faith is now an artist who makes grave rubbings for her artwork!  Sound familiar?  I cannot wait to read the book!  Thank you, Ann ... especially for mentioning me in the acknowledgment and having a gallery copy sent to me! 

Another exciting thing happened this week, part two of my interview with TextileArtist.org, a British on-line site for contemporary fibers, is now available.  It is called My True Calling.  (The first part, A Partnership with My Materials, is HERE.)  I am truly honored to be included on this impressive site.


(Above:  My Bluegrass Roots.)

Yet another exciting thing happened this week! It dealt with My Bluegrass Roots.  This unique art quilt was accepted into the PAQA-South juried exhibit, ARTQUILTSfreezeframe at the Page-Walker Arts & History Center in Cary, NC. The show is on view from Sept. 26 - Oct. 20 with an artist's reception on Fri., Sept. 20 from 6 - 8 PM.  To read more about this image, including the acrylic photo transfer process, CLICK HERE. 

My mother had to help me.  She had to print out the photo release, take it to my ninety-four-year-old grandmother, have her sign it, and then mail it to me!  Why?  Well, every piece in this exhibit will show how art quilters use photos.  Each piece will be accompanied by a copy of the photo used ... and a photo release for that image.  (This might sound silly since my piece includes an image transfer but most art quilters don't necessarily use an exact copy of the image.  Most translate a photo using various fabrics and/or paints.)  Since my image originally came from Grandma's photo album, I had to have Grandma's signature on the photo release!
 

(Above:  My Bluegrass Roots having a stretcher bar glued to the reverse.)

There was another slight problem with having this piece accepted into this show.  The Page-Walker Art and History Center has a hanging rail gallery display system.  This means there is a track installed near the ceiling from which rails are suspended.  Artwork is attached to hooks on the rail.  Thus, the walls stay free from holes.  Originally, My Bluegrass Roots had a large slat (1" x 4") stitched to the upper top of the quilt's reverse.  I pre-drilled rather large holes in the slat ... exactly 33" apart.  Basically, by hammering two large nails into a wall 33" apart ... using a level ... my piece hung on the nails ... perfectly.  This wouldn't work with the hanging system at the Page-Walker so I removed my slat.


(Above:  My Bluegrass Roots having a stretcher bar glued to the reverse.)

My husband Steve built a stretcher bar exactly two inches smaller than the art quilt.  When centered, this left one inch between the outside edge of the art quilt and the stretcher bars.  Using a tube of Amazing Goop's marine adhesive, I glued the stretcher bar to the back of the art quilt ... and even attached a label printed on photo paper using the same glue.  After adding a standard wire, the piece can hang on any hook ... even the rail system at the Page-Walker.

It is not every day when marine glue can be used on the back of an art quilt ... but My Bluegrass Roots is THICK!  That's a piece of upholstery material onto which I glued a section of an antique blue-and-white quilt ... to which I applied at least eight layers of acrylic medium before transferring the image.  Stitching through it required pliers!  The finished work is rather heavy and cannot be rolled.  

 

(Above:  My Bluegrass Roots ready for shipping.)

Since the piece will not roll, I shipped it flat ... in a very, very narrow "crate".  I screwed the stretcher bars to a double-walled piece of corrugated that fit exactly into this shallow "box".  This will prevent the work from moving inside the crate.  The crate was made using two, still folded, over-sized boxes from Uline screwed to a 2" x 2" plywood frame.  I checked my FedEx Ground tracking number ... it is in Cary!