not missing, pulling it all together....

Hello there, I know its been a while since I last posted. However in my brain I have constantly been writing this post for about a month now... The time has come, where I finally made the jump from makeup artist full time, and artist "when I have time", to ARTIST full time, and makeup artist a few hours a week! Yes, what I am trying to say is that I have gone part time at work so that I can spend more time in the studio. It is always hard to give up a steady paycheck and instead move on, relying on my own ways of creating a new income. I think that is one of the main reasons that so many artists abandon what they love so that they do not have to be "a poor starving artist." I was never comfortable with that notion of not being able to travel and doing things I enjoy so I made a compromise, makeup artist. It is something I love and the truth is it has allowed me to stay creative and I get to play with color everyday. However for the past 2 years I have had an itch to get going, make stuff, get on things again! So here I am embarking on this new journey, it means building up this blog, being faithful to being consistent, making all the time and accepting that sometimes things will turn out better than others. Posting on etsy, entering shows, and making what I want to make with knowledge that not everyone will like everything. I am thankful that I have a partner that has embraced all the crazy ideas I have and believes in me enough to support this change in my life. It is maybe the best gift, the gift of doing what my passion is. 

I have spent a lot of my time while making questioning why I make certain things and not others.... why even make something, that could be bought or mass produced. Time after time the answer changes but there is one answer that remains the same in everything that I do. It is important to me to use traditional textiles and textiles techniques in a new way, it is important for me to make "traditional women's work," from a modern point of view. In college I would have thought it un-necessary to make something utilitarian, sure I made things every once in awhile for fun, but certainly not as my main work. While I still hold some artwork to a more "serious" level, where I want it to have meaning and depth. I now understand the beauty in a well designed quilt or everyday towel. Those objects have always lured me, especially if they are from the era of  the 1920's-1960's. Now I appreciate designing and making them myself, putting a twist on the traditional patterns and designs with a modern color or fabric. These are the things that are passed down, textiles hold memories and stories and that is an important part of my work, it always has been. So that is where I will begin my journey into the full-time creative world again. Everything is still a bit unclear, I am not sure where this road will lead, but I go in confidence that I will get there if I just do what I do and create everyday. 

knots and binds and new threads

Hem tape... Archenemies!

A view of the studio since I moved some things around and got new shelving. I loved my old latter style book-cases however they were not convenient to the workspace... Can't wait for that dream studio in the backyard... Designed by me for me... I may never move, if that actually happens. 

FINISHED!

After almost one year of working on this thing, I finally finished it yesterday! I finished making the hem tape and sewing it on, and then it was off into the washer... Always a nerve wrecking process. It came out fine and I ironed it and made it went up to the master bed. I love that feeling of finishing a project, especially when you still like it as much when it is finished as you did when it was a fragment of your mind. 

I am really loving the traditional pattern with the contemporary fabric and colors in this piece. Not being someone who loves to make things that are very precise, usually I just start going at it and make things work.... I followed the rules for a log cabin,  pretty closely with this, and sometimes made up my own, and it turned out almost precise. Except for here and there and well, I can live with that! 

I forgot how much I loathe attaching the hem tape, I love making it, and even ironing it out. However when it comes to attaching it and sewing it, I seem to always have trouble making sure that it stays even. I have followed about ten different sets of instructions and always seem to come out frustrated. I think I this one was alright, but I still dread that part and can understand why people send of quilts to be finished... I don't think I would ever let someone else finish my projects but I can understand why some do. 

This quilt was fun, and it was a special project to work on. I made it especially for this home, for us, and to look back one day, when I have decided to change the decor, hopefully not for a while,  and remember what I loved when we bought the home and moved in. 

As for what comes next... There is a lot of embroidery thread, fabric and gradating color involved. Lots of summer projects to keep me busy when I am not digging up dirt, in the garden.

April showers...

April showers, bring may flowers.... Can't wait! I have been working on the garden, along with my partner, and of course the help of my mother, the garden gnome herself. In all the years growing up I never thought that I would be a gardener, taking for granted the beautiful spaces that my parents cultivated. The want to make, create, and cultivate plants, crops and lush greens came with the purchase of the house, and has really evolved into another way of creating and expanding a mind full of ideas. 

My mother really has been the one that has helped and taught us the most about the garden, without her help I am afraid we would be staring out at a piece of weed-filled dirt. Due to the rain the past few weeks I have not yet taken photos of all the work that has been happening in the yard, however I have been pinning on pinterest.... So here are a few inspiration photos. 

We actually took a tree trunk and did this on the side of the house in the backyard, and I am in love with it. 

I am not yet over the terrarium phase I have been playing with miniature gardens since last summer and just finished planting one that is about 2 by 3 feet..... photo to come. 

Love this idea of a tiny green house.... maybe next spring/winter. 

And who wouldn't love a pool that is completely filtered by the plants growing in one side of it... If only I could figure out where to put it.... 

P.S. I love pinterest! Check out my boards at www.pinterest.com/anaslayers/

Vogue

I finally got around to watching "The September Issue", a documentary that follows the process of what it takes to create an issue of Vogue. Fashion has always seduced me, however I have a love/hate relationship for the fashion world. I admire the artists that create some of the most spectacular things and literally create walking sculptures that are meant for wearing. Couture is my favorite kind of fashion, to look at, admire, and study. The hours that go into some of the garments, and the textiles that are used to make them are brilliant. Haute Couture is true craftsmanship at work. 

The movie was a really interesting look behind the scenes of what happens at the photo shoots, what makes it in and what gets cut. I love that part of the magazine the photos that showcase the most beautiful attire in the most un-realistic, imagined scenarios. Essentially what separates it from just being clothes and turns it into art. 

Anna Wintour is a powerful woman and definitely knows what she is doing. I was happy to see that she does have someone that challenges that at times and makes her re-think why something should stay, go or be changed. Her co-worker from the start- Grace. 

I did find it humorous that Meryl Streep played her so well in "The Devil Wears Prada." It was a fun comparison, and while she may seem cold, she is a business woman and at the end of the day she does her job brilliantly. An interesting documentary and well worth watching. 

inspired travels

While I was in Puerto Rico I fell in love with this building in Old San Juan. I made it a point to walk by it at least a dozen times. The tiles are so beautifully painted and layed the pattern and colors so traditional. The bottles in the tile even look like they are made from glass (which I think they could be). Last night while watching t.v I was so happy to see it as a back drop for a Gap commercial! I have no idea what they were trying to sell, probably jeans of some sort... But I could care less because there was my building again! I have dreams of what I would do with this building... a shop perhaps, antiques, art supplies, home wares, fabric... It is the perfect combination of old and beautiful and yet such a common thing is shown, bottles. At some point a factory, what a beautiful factory that must have been! 

finishing touches/inspiration

I am sure that I am not alone when I say that the finishing touches are the most tedious parts of making a quilt! I have been working on this for months, a traditional log cabin pattern. Finally I am seeing the end, it is so close I can almost feel this soft blanket on my bed... However there are those pesky little finishing touches that are so necessary to making a quilt last and structurally well crafted. 

I am using a traditional tying method to complete the quilt, I love doing it this way because it maintains that hand-finish, considering that this is all machine sewn. I use a soft pearl cotton to tie everything off, it is very strong, and wears well with all of the other cotton on the quilt. 

So until it is finished I will be tying away... and having this monster take over the studio table, ironing board, and chairs so that it stays flat-ish and off the floor. I have a huge pet peeve when it comes to making something dirty before it is finished. It could be the OCD in me, but it just seems so wrong to let this soft new cotton get dirty. Usually when I work on a project this long I am ready to put it away and never look at it again, (or at least for a few months). 

That's what happened to my circle quilt, it was hidden for almost a year until I was ready to look at it again. This one is different though, I am still in love with the color combo and the log pattern, I almost want to make another one with different fabrics (on a smaller scale). 

Now that I am almost at the end of this project I think it is fair to share what made me fall in love with this color combination and inspired the pattern. Below is the picture from a magazine, if memory serves me it was from "Beautiful Home" but it was about two years ago so I am not sure. I loved the textures in the frames so neatly put on the wall, but did not want so much on my walls. That is where the quilt came from. My bedroom is a cool true-grey color and I think the pairing will be such a soft and nice place to retreat to. The book "Modern Log Cabin Quilting" by Susan Beal, was also a great source for the technique and a look at other log cabin patterns. I followed the traditional method but came up with my own design inspired by this page torn out of a magazine and the book. 

body world's

While I was in Puerto Rico, I was lucky enough to see the "Body World's" exhibit by Gunther Von Hagen. I have missed this show in three cities and it was pure coincidence that I found it in San Juan. It was an incredible display of science and the human body, and artistically I found it moving. To pare down the body to the most basic forms of arteries, skin, bones, muscle, organs.... and on and on it went. I could have gone back every day to see the show if I wasn't doing other more beach like things... more on that to come. 

I was moved by these two people the most. The idea of a person holding their own skin off their back and what that could mean figuratively. The beauty of even being able to create this form... 

And then there was this one, the pregnant woman. The baby was so tiny I had to really look for it, even though she was already 5 months. It made me wonder what happened to her, and thankful for her contribution so we could see this stage of life in a way that has not been shown before. If this show comes anywhere close to you, I would recommend going to see it. Very interesting!