UFOs!

I have quite a few UFOs (unfinished objects) that I have racked up over the summer.  I have also finished a few things as well.  (Including a few of those 6X6 weekly challenge pieces!) Hopefully, I will get around to posting pictures very soon. I am pretty excited about a series of small works that I have begun.  They are based on the Rorshach tests.  You have seen them--though you probably didn't know the real names for them!  Look it up!

Week 9: Peace

"Outer Peace"

Imagine lounging on the beach with a good book while a cool breeze blows over you. You watch the sun go down as it "throws a million sparkles on the water".  Remember that line from "Forrest Gump"?

Week 8: Blessed

"Counted Blessings"

Every morning that I wake up is a blessing.  There are so many things in life that we take for granted, and I chose to simply honor some of the obvious things that I am thankful for.  I hand painted the background, and then I hand wrote down some of the ways the Lord has blessed me.  I then machine stitched the ankh, which is the symbol of life. 

Week 7: Jungle

"Macaw"

I had a lot of fun doing this one.  I think I have developed a fixation on Macaws now.  They are such beautiful creatures.  I stitched the design first and then filled it in using acrylic inks.

Week 6: Cool

The word "cool" has so many meanings.  I decided to take the color scheme route by using cool colors in my mini quilt.  This was the first time I used grid quilting on one of my works.  I like the way it turned out.  Kinda cool!

Week 5: Mercy

"Where did all the blue skies go?"

My first thought when I thought of the word mercy was to do something religious, but since I did something related to the church last week, I decided to take another route.  I created a mini painted portrait of a famous singer who sang a song with the word mercy in the title.  Can you tell who it is?  Probably not, but I thought it was a creative depiction all the same!

Look again.....................

Yes, it's Marvin Gaye.  I thought of his song, "Mercy, Mercy Me".  How relevant the lyrics are today:

Oh, mercy mercy me
Oh, things ain't what they used to be
No, no
Where did all the blue sky go?
Poison is the wind that blows
From the north, east, south, and sea
Oh, mercy mercy me
Oh, things ain't what they used to be
No, no
Oil wasted on the oceans and upon our seas
Fish full of mercury
Oh, mercy mercy me

Oh, things ain't what they used to be
No, no
Radiation in the ground and in the sky
Animals and birds who live nearby are dying
Oh, mercy mercy me
Oh, things ain't what they used to be
What about this overcrowded land?
How much more abuse from man can you stand?
My sweet Lord
My sweet Lord
My sweet Lord

Week 4: Harmony

"Joyful, Joyful"

This week I drew the word harmony from the box.  I brainstormed for several days before actually beginning the quilt.  Overall, I am pleased with the direction I decided to take.  I do so miss my days in the choir!

Week 3: Sweet

"Does this count as fruit?"

This week's mini quilt definitely honors one of life's perfect little confections: the cupcake!  Subconsciously I think it was inspired by those Yoplait yogurt commercials that try to say that their yogurt is good enough to eat when you are craving something sweet. Ummmm, I think I would rather have the cupcake!  Besides, what harm can ONE LITTLE CUPCAKE do?

Week 2: Art

"I'm ready for my close-up!"

I had the pleasure of pulling the word "Art" out of the box.  At first I thought, "I am so glad it wasn't something incredibly diffucult!" But soon I discovered that the word art is so open for interpretation, that that did not give me a clear direction.  I decided to pay tribute to one of my favorite artists, Henri Matisse, and created something in his "style". 

Week 1: Baby

"Day Twelve"

I allowed my husband to randomly select the word for the week.  To my surprise, he selected the word baby!  I have tons of inspiration for that topic as one might imagine.  Here is my 6" X 6" quilt for the week.  It is based on a photo of Laila when she was just twelve days old.  The image is hand stitched with a variegated brown hand dyed thread.

Happy New Year!

Just like almost everyone else, I like to make "goals" for the new year.  This year, I have a few creativity goals, but the most important one I think, is a personal challenge I have always wanted to do.  I am challenging myself to create one 6" X 6" art quilt every week.  I brainstormed and asked others for their ideas as well for possible themes.  Each Sunday, I will randomly select a different theme from a box and the quilt will be my small interpretation of that theme.  Each quilt is due on Saturday, and I will begin a new one the next day.  I will post the results.  Wish me luck!