Well, I started at the end of the story. Go down 3 images to start at the beginning of the Art of the Carolinas event and read upward!!

This is my final (I think) result from the Abstract from realistic painting. Here's what I did:
I brushed gel medium on a long triangular piece of fabric and laid it on the painting (on the left), pressed down on it and then left it for about 10 min. then gently lifted it up. I love the ghost like effect that left. Next I found some mulberry paper in my collage collection. I had stamped an image on it using a caramel stamp pad and the image didn't work. I tore the paper into strips and glued them to the top right dark blue portion. Then I cut a small square of needlepoint canvas and painted through it onto the long turquoise pice in the middle of the painting (using a red/orange papier paint). Then I lifted off the canvas and put it into the collage box! Then I found a small piece of Sherrill Kahn fabric and glued it across the bottom right. It's from her Fire Within series and I love the deep Southwest colors. Last I picked up some fur from my cat Rusty that was on the chair where he'd just had a nap. He has a neurological condition and sometimes pulls out pieces of his downy soft tummy fur. I washed a bit of it, dried it and then glued it to the right of the painting between the red and caramel colored blocks. I am thinking of adding a small fluffy white feather to the top teal block but maybe it's finished. What do you think?

On Sunday, the last day, I took an all day class with a wonderful artist and teacher named Bob Rankin. I have been so interested in abstract paintings recently -- the exact opposite of anything else I've ever liked or done. Anyway, this class was Abstracting realistic art (again, with acryllics) and the class was fabulous. Bob was an art teacher for 30 years and he is the consumate teacher, as well as a fabulous painter:
http://www.bobrankin.com/flash/index.htm
Bob paints very large and I like to paint small. In the class he painted a huge painting in under 19 minutes. Incredible work.
(http://www.boomnc.com/archive/articles_fiftyfabulous_2006sept.html)

Not only did Bob have excellent exercises to loosen us up but he gave everyone individual attention and was very supportive and answered zillions of questions. We did several exercises, with pencil, then with paints and then did a painting on our own with Bob coming around often to check our progress, offering advice and finding the good points in all our paintings. Bob had all kinds of paints and different texture mediums for us to play with and I'm sorry I didn't take more time with those. I did use one (lower left) and love the bumpy effect.

This is what I ended up with. I asked Bob's advice saying: I don't think I quite "got" it -- please critique this for me. He told me I was too linear -- lines too straight and even. As I looked at his work on display I could see what he meant. Still, I didn't want to give it up because I loved the Southwest colors so I brought it home and "watched" it for a coule weeks. I had remembered hearing Bob tell someone behind me: remember, you can always make a collage with it!!!

The other three classes I wanted to take were already filled when I registered (about a month in advance) so I chose another class with Betsy Stroud which I hoped would solve a problem I've always had with landscapes -- it sounded perfect for me -- what do you do after you've painted the sky and the mountains. This was also an acryllic class and we painted on a 10 x 14 canvas watercolor board. This class was at 5 p.m. on Saturday and I think both Betsy and I were tired! I didn't insist on the attention I needed or ask the questions I should have in order to get some help because after Betsy did a demo, we were again left on our own to work. Betsy is not the type to come around and look at what you are doing and offer advice and assistance. So this is what I ended up with. I blame myself for not being more assertive and going up to ask her advice. I think I could finish this if I just knew what to paint!!! Oh well, I was gaining experience with acryllics (which I hardly ever use). We painted from a color copy of fall trees in Colorado and actually there was very little in the foreground on the photo except the details of one tree but it was pretty far back. Our camera died a week or so before our trip so I didn't get to take pictures of what was going on in the classes.

In Nov. I was fortunate to be able to attend Art of the Carolinas in Raleigh, NC and stay with my dear friend Lin (http://viewfromtheoak.blogspot.com/).
It was a hectic trip. My DH drove us to Raleigh on Thurs. 11/9 and I attended my first class at 9:00 the next morning. It was Homage to the Box, taught by Betsy Dillard Stroud. We used acryllic paints (some metallics) on heavy weight watercolor paper. It was a fun class and this was my result (nothing like Betsy's and nothing like those around me -- I never seem to do well in classes). First we watched Betsy demo her technique and then we tried it on our own. Betsy did two paintings, using parts of the 2nd to cut up and collage to the first. The class ended before we got that far. I'm not happy with mine so I will probably cut it up for ATCs but will definitely try this technique again. I also finally carved my first stamp. It's stamped on the bottom left and the top, toward the middle -- those magnificent squiggly lines LOL. Betsy has a wonderful new book out which I ordered and just received. It's called "The Artist's Muse" and I hope to use the exercises in it to get a better handle on this process. Like they say, if you can't make it good, make it bright!!! And I did cut it up and use it for cards and ATCs!

An update on the Galorious Stampers retreat in September. Gina Burns taught us to decorate smooth white tiles using reinkers and isopropol alcohol. She then took them home and finished them with resin. Here are the three I made.
The bottom one contains a real leaf. I loved the way the effects on these kept changing as we added inks, metallic inks, and sprayed them with alcohol. They are much brighter and interesting than the scans show them to be.

Thanks again Gina.

The art bashers had a sale/swap session and exchanged things we had made, or were no longer using, for someone else's treasures. One of the special treasues I came home with was a gift from my dear friend GG (Gina Burns) who first got me interested in the group, invited me to the bash and put up with my driving to and from Cincinnati! In addition to being an extremely talented graphic designer, painter, collage artist and a truly artistic soul and a dear friend, Gina is one of those people who can take anything and make art from it. (http://www.PictureTrail.com/ggburns)

The top photo is one of a group of tiles GG brought to the exchange and she very generously let me choose one as a gift.

The bashers also decided to exchange ATCs -- I've posted GG's (2nd photo). Of course I came away with one of those to add to my GG art collection!

We also exchanged small handmade items, the plan being to make something as a remembrance of our art weekend. As soon as I can find all the wonderful items I received I'll make something and post it.

And thus ends the saga of the two September art retreats -- a record for me and for Gina and the days it took us to recover from each were worth it! Art is Life.

I didn't get to take Chris Puls' class on eraser carving but so enjoyed meeting her and spending time with her during the bash. This gal can do eraser carvings like professional illustrators can draw -- the detail in her work is incredible.
A huge thank you to her for setting up Art Bash North in Cincinnati -- she not only taught the very first class -- early morning! but also attended to every detail of the retreat from the online work to hotel details to chauffering us to meals and all the hundreds of things that came up in between. The event was an experience I'll never forget and Chris worked very hard to make it all happen. Many many thanks to a very talented, happy lady. Her smile is infectious!
And check these out: http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=33016563 and
http://www.safehomevisits.com/

Nancy Curry teaching her marvelous techniques for ATCs (but they can be used for lots of other art pieces too).
(http://www.2artsy.blogspot.com/) and
(http://www.picturetrail.com/nancycurry)

Oh what a talented and creative person she is. I had worked my way through part of her wonderful book: Texture Effects last year with the Artists of the Round Table and so was very excited to be able to take Nancy's class at Art Bash North: Mixed Media ATCs). I loved the way she worked all kinds of paints and mediums with different tools -- creating an 8.5 x 11" sheet from which we could cut pieces to use as backrounds for ATCs. She also brought a lot of her own ATC creations for us to drool over.

Cindy Cade is another Art Basher who has a heart of gold and a laugh to go with it. But wow is she great with the Spellbinders Wizard. She put it through its paces and gave us a packet of several different materials to practice with.
It was a great learning experience. Unfortunately, I have put my results, along with the rest of my treasures from the get-together, in a safe place (!) and now I can't find them to scan. But trust me when I tell you that this gal knows the Wizard and does some great art pieces with it. My favorite is running a brass stencil through and getting an immediate fully dry embossed image -- no more tedious tracing on a light table with those little tools that always poke through the paper at least once. And then there's the textured embossing and embossing on metal, and, and and!

I was so happy to finally meet Wanda Hentges who drove all the way from Iowa to be with us and do this demo of ruffled plastic. Note the gorgeous shirt she is wearing -- yup, she decorated it. She and I did some swaps in another online group a couple years ago and she's every bit as wonderful in person as she is online -- look at that great smile -- it lasted all weekend and brightened the room! She also helped me through other techniques -- I'm usually the last one to "get it" but that's ONLY because I can't hear well. LOL

Here's Wanda demonstrating the ruffled plastic technique. Mix Lumiere paints with gel medium with a wooden stick, then add the various colors to a piece of shrink plastic. Hold the heat gun back from the plastic and heat just the mixture on top. When it is "ruffled" heat the entire piece so it shrinks and flattens. Wanda used black shrink plastic and punched out an oval piece with scalloped edges. Mine turned out a little wonky so she gave me her demo piece -- the one shown here.

These are some of Wanda's gorgeous pins and ear rings made with the "ruffled plastic" technique.
This was a lot of fun and you can tell that Wanda loves trying new things and then teaching them -- she made a little frame with this technique and put it on the front of a book -- very cool!

Here is Sarah Hodsdon teaching us a really neat cigar box -- checkers. We taped off the wooden box in a grid with blue masking tape, then painted it black, inside and out, and then added felt to the inside. Many people stamped on some of the squares with metallic paints. The "checkers" are round glass "thingies" that you buy at the craft stores or online. You can glue images on the bottom that are then magnified. Neat idea and a fun class -- mine's not finished yet ...... Sarah sat in front of me during the bash and is such a creative, sunny individual not to mention a fun teacher.

Getting back to the classes at Art Bash North (Oct. in Cincinnati), below is Pat Wiley-Shafer demonstrating the proper way to hold the brush to do Sumi-E painting. Pat is a lovely person, a great teacher, and it's not her fault that I don't
have results to post -- I just can't make the shift from mind to fingers with this form. I want to do learn to Sumi-E cats but can't seem to get the basic strokes. Chris Puhls produced some magnificent bamboo and as you can see, Cindy Cade "just playing around" produced this lovely Sumi-E design before painting over it during Sarah's cigar box class. And Sarah drew a cat in a lightning flash, with just water on her pen, and handed it back to me but unfortunately it won't scan and I can't even trace it! LOL These gals are truly talented and amazing.

This is Pat K. Thomas, on the left, marbling artist and teacher extraordinaire! She hails from Sevierville, TN and her fantastic art can be seen at this gallery:
http://www.cliffdwellersgallery.com/pat_thomas.htm

Here she is demonstrating the proper way to hold the
brushes to begin Sumigashi marbling to Pat Wiley-Shafer (more about her later!).

Pat K. Thomas pulling
a sheet of Sumigashi
marbling. I'm sorry the
detail doesn't show; she
demonstrated the procedure
and then pulled a gorgeous
pale image of pink and blue.

Okay, my turn! Dip the
Japenese brushes into the
paints, drop them on the
water, repeat, left, right,
left right. Oh, this is
fascinating to watch.
Then blow on the water to
disperse the paints and
the concentric look.

Now it's time to transfer the
marbling from the water to
the paper. Breathe deeply -
remember -- it's a zen thing!

Laying the paper down onto
the Sumigashi ink/water.
and bottom right to top left --
easier said than done!

My first Sumigashi page.
Pay no attention to that
white spot at the bottom
left -- the page can be cut!!!
There is a trick to not only
laying down the paper but
also one to picking it up!

Okay, enough of plain water Sumigashi (what I call Marbelling Light! And on to the marbling with deeper darker colors and "sizing" in the water to make the paints float on top and if they float to the bottom, they are out of the way.

Here Pat is demonstrating laying the paper down correctly onto the marbled surface of the prepared water. Isn't that a beautiful design!
Unfortunately I couldn't locate a picture of her showing how to drop the inks onto the water.

I have dropped the colors onto the prepared water trying to form a color pattern I think will work well for this design.
Here I am starting to move the paint around after dropping blue, yellow and purple onto the surface of the prepared water, using a long thin wooden "stick." There are many patterns one can make with this method and all are gorgeous.

Here's my sheet part way
into the multi-step
marbling process.

Here's my final product. Not perfect but I love the colors. I marbled several other sheets, including a ghost sheet of this one (second laying down of paper on water) and hope to have lots of fun playing with these. And I plan to try this at home in the future (OH NO!).

To put it all into perspective, here's the gorgeous check book cover I purchased from Pat Thomas. This scan does not do it justice -- silver, gold, copper and black --
incredible work! I hope to post things I make with her wonderful sheets of paper in the future.

I am very late posting about Art Bash North, held in Cincinnati in October. This was put on by the Artists of the Round Table -- a wonderful online group of artists that I am fortunate to be a part of -- even though I am way behind in my assignments! My dear friend Gina (far left, back row), introduced me to this group and yup, that's
the famous Nancy Curry (smack in the middle of the back row). She is such a super person, as are all these gals.

This is our group photo in the lobby of the hotel where the event was held and we are holding the "flat people" who could not attend in person.

This were two days of non-stop classes, taught by several of the members pictured here, sharing of art we'd brought, discussions, food, a swap and sale (did I mention food!!!). A great time was had by all and I made some terrific new friends whom I've sadly neglected as I worked on other projects. But I know they are a forgiving group. Just look at those smiles. Thanks Chris for setting this up, Jacqui for starting this group and your leadership that makes it the wonderful group it is, and to all the instructors who will be featured in subsequent posts in the next few days as I catch up.

And last but certainly not least, Terry (left) is presenting her bright and sunny quilt to Betty. What you cannot see until you click on the photo are the many many tiny crystals Terry added to this sunny landscape. And note how she finished the bottom edges.

It is amazing to me how we all did such different things with our bags of stuff. The tough part was not knowing who they were for (or guessing the wrong person!!!).

This is Betty (left) presenting the Bag of Stuff quilt she made for Terry -- a gorgeous Asian creation with lots of detail.
Again, be sure to click on the pic for the details.

I will post the other two art quilts as soon as I have permission from the creators to do so.

Meanwhile, I continue to paint a bit and have been fooling around with some free stitching.
Linda has inspired me!

Claire drew Linda's bag of stuff and created this magical, whimsical, colorful wall quilt. These ladies are all awesome quilters who not only have fantastic skills but are also very very creative and I am so honored to be part of their group. How they tolerate my feeble attempts, I'll never know. Perhaps they are being kind to underdog quilters!

Claire said her goal was to use everything in the bag and did she ever! I'm sorry that my picture does not do justice to the details so will try to get a close-up to post later. The techniques and embellishments are incredible. And what a lot of work. When Claire gets in the groove, she rocks!

This is the wonderful art quilt I received from my dear "quilter" friend Linda, whom I met online when I sold her a quilt book about 4 years ago. She has introduced me to many wonderful quilting adventures -- including asking me to join our little art quilt group. This wall quilt is especially dear to my heart as she bought the pattern when we attended the Nashville Quilt show from a Vermont vendor and so I know these are the green hills of Vermont -- one of them alive with color! Our "new" camera bit the dust and has been sent back so I will post
a close-up of the quilt as soon as we receive a new one so
that you can see all the free stitching she has done -- creating clouds, water, mist/fog, dimension in the hills and valleys and to my favorite white birch trees. She "drew" my bag of stuff in our swap which only contained a large variety of leaf batik fabrics. She added the sky and several other light fabrics to balance the colors. I gave her a "real" challenge with those fabrics. You can just see some of the quilts from the library quilt show in the background.

Anatomy of an Art Quilt!

The bag of "stuff" I drew.
After reading a Quilting Arts article, we -- the 5 members of our art quilt group -- exchanged bags of fabric and embellishments. We did not know whose bag we drew so did not know who we were making the art quilt for. We were to make a wall quilt of our choosing, using what we'd drawn, but we could add fabrics and embelishments of our own. It had to be 20" x 20" or of equivalent measurements. We had about 6 months to make the quilts but were two months late exchanging them. Only one person was on time (not me!).
I got a bag with several different batiks (which I later learned were hand dyed -- glad I didn't know that at the beginning!).
Also in the bag were two pieces of "wild fabric" and lots of embellishments -- shown here.

This is my "dry run." I could NOT figure out how to cut this out. I read and reread the directions and finally my better half (an engineer and programmer) had to walk me through it and through it and through it. The quilt was supposed to be rectangular but the "sky" pieces were not long enough so I took off the outer straight edges and added the pieces from both quilts to the bottom of this one. I got the curved idea from an "underwater" quilt in the book I used for inspiration and ideas (Creative Fabric Weaving). I have since added (what else) a batik cat sitting face forward on one of the lower "hills". I wil also add a half-sun and perhaps some flowers but but will not add all the decorative stitching except in the hills. Will post it when finished. DH likes the design in the batiks and I do too and I've had enough free hand sewing for a while! Maybe in a few months.......

A little more detail on the flowers.

Detail of the "grass" or bottom of the little quilt.

Detail of the sun in Clair's quilt. I had cut out a whole sun but my very talented friend Gina suggested I have it peeking out from behind the trees and she's right -- it is so much more effective that way.

This is Claire (on left) receiving her little quilt from me . We had such a fun meeting that day. We met at the main library, downtown Lexington, and viewed the quilt show in the rotunda. Then went to the library gallery for another fantastic fiber and fabrics creations show. Then to lunch and then back to the library to exchange our quilts on the 2nd floor, with the quilt show as a back drop.

This is it -- the little art quilt (18 x 22) that I made for Claire for our art quilt group's "bag" challenge. Click on it to see the stitching detail and the flowers. Whew. Don't think I've ever been as nervous doing an exchange. But then, it's my very first "art quilt."

A picture taken of the quilt hanging at the Berea Quilt Extravaganza.

I belong to a small quilt art group (5 of us) and we made a little challenge quilt for the Berea Quilt Extravagana under the auspices of the Kentucky Art Quilt Society. We each made blocks and helped put the quilt together with ribbons, lace and other odds and ends. Sorry the detail does not
show too well. My block is the white one with the hat, purse,
scarf, shoes -- in pink and purple. Three members of our group are holding the quilt, L to R: Betty Acker, Claire Breswick and Terry Daugherty. Their blocks are much more
attractive shown in detail. Also Linda Gibson and a former member, Joyce Wright, contributed blocks and finishing work.

Time to post some of the things I've been up to. This is my Nov. swap postcard for KQS/AQS. While the scan doesn't show it, the fabric is a partially sheer shiny moss green with copper leaves. I free stitched the tree using straight lines and then adding texture with different decorative stitches on my machine. I used copper metallic thread -- a real challenge.