Welcome 2013

 2012 was a great year for me. I am essentially a loner kind of gal but I pushed myself out of my comfort zone and made 2 new friends. I also connected online with a like minded thread painter and have been exploring this new friendship as well. My husband and I have been making serious lifestyle decisions and our joint New Years resolution is to get active and fit.
Today I downloaded the Quilting Art In Stiches  Vol. 9 and something Eileen Lauterborn noted there resonated with me. She wrote: “The more artistic decisions you make by yourself, the stronger your ability as an artist will become.” 

What good timing this observation is! I am working on my lesson plans for this spring, and as always, I struggle with them. I try to keep up with trends and try all new techniques that I encounter. I then share my insights with like minded folks who attend my classes. I do this only because there is no organization or guild in my community that shares my interest in alternative art quilts and mixed media. What a surprise it is when I teach these classes and am told that they would not have thought to do a specific technique the way I do it or that they cannot ‘think’ their way out of a specific problem.  I am going to gently push them to make their own decisions and remember Eileen Lauterborn's quote. Heck, I may even make this my new mantra for classes..

This year I am teaching a 3 part class—creating a scene with paint, then thread, then embellishments. My final class is a stand alone advanced thread painting. No newbies, so those advanced quilters will be able to work on their skills.

Here is a teaser of the 3 part class. “-)   It is a large piece and is taking a fair amount of time. But its coming along.. And I have had to make a lot of decisions, so I guess I am on the road to becoming an artist. hehe

This weekend I’ll show you the completed piece!