Apologizing, who apologizes all the time, sorry that is not me, excuse me, pardon me, sorry, oops sorry about that.

BFF's talking as they peruse the workshops.  Oh, I'm taking this.  You should too.  (Clue #1) Why would I take a workshop that would teach me how to talk about my work without apologizing?  I think, whew, I think, I'll pick one of the others, sorry but that one is not for me.  Are you taking it? "Why?" and then her best friend forever started, "You never apologize about your work except when you find your:

cats hair on it, a string hanging, a crooked string, the cigarette smoke, or the food stains on it,
or you don't have enough time to sew on a sleeve and you pin it,
forgot to sign it on the front, used more than one color purple,
forgot to send the return postage, forgot to start the quilt period,
forgot...., didn't mail it on time, didn't start it on time, didn't square it up,
missed the point of the theme, always miss the point of the theme,
did not have any red fabric, mail your quilts regardless of the theme,
used a glue, sequins, or tried other attachments and they started to fall off before you mailed the quilt, quit sending entries in because you never get in, sorry but I am not going to try this or that ever again... " "Hey Hey Hey, I don't do any of that!"

Why would you take a workshop that strengthens your point of view.
Why would you take a workshop that gives you the tools you need to possibly move on.
Why not? Why so? It takes guts to gather with your real contemporaries and have an honest dialogue.  I am up for it! How about you?

How do you talk about yourself, work, life, children, animals, ok so maybe life partner should have been earlier in this sentence, but I am not about to apologize.

We have been exposed to so many reasons to diminish our wonderfulness, our accomplishments, to devalue...wait I am not about to go through a therapy session, when I am at a convention.

Good because this is not any of the above!  This class is about you. A few minutes out of your day to really listen to your peers and you, talk about what you do, how your present yourself, and to learn a few simple but powerful motions, words, stances, to take when talking about your creative process/work and the powerful artist you are.  Oh sorry, I forgot, I will be chiming in from time to time.  So sign up and march on in...You'll have a blast!

Ms. V

Detail: 240 Million Slaves Ago...
Hanging in the International Underground Railroad Museum of Cincinnati Oct-Mar 2014

Gallery Shots, Postcard, Painting on Fabric, Weaving, Show & Tell

I call this Three Pregnant Ladies.  My two daughters were pregnant with children and I was pregnant with grief.  It was made from my hand dyed then painted fabrics, the center was drawn then painted on muslin, the chair and animal appeared in the picture so I painted them in.  The brown is a commercial fabric just the right color that I found a few years later, and was then able to complete the quilt.

This quilt was made in answer to a call for quilts that included birds or other wild life John James Audubon drew and painted.  The celebration was the 200 anniversary of his landing in Kentucky.  The piece was on display for three months in a gallery there.

Original print by John James Audubon.

This quilt was made from my hand dyed fabrics, scraps, reverse applique method on the hand and arm, beaded nose, eyes and bracelet, painted nails, sheer fabric over the background and hand and painted leaves echoing the leaves in the original print.  it is also my second overall machine quilt.

Great Grandmother Willie Cratic Finch and E. Finch Morris   

Postcard Swap, Great Grandmother Willie (born before the end of Slavery) & Great Aunt Eunice her daughter walking on Market Street in Philadelphia. This photo was taken before 1945. The building was Tuskegee Institute, now University where three of the youngest, of my great-grandmother's nine children attended school.  Eunice or E. Finch Morris, as she like to be called was one who attended.

This was drawn as one of a series, done immediately following a GYN appointment.

My Dear Professor Haymaker.  He encouraged me to enlarge my work from 8 1/2" x 11" to 8x10 feet.  The weaving behind us is one of three I made during our time together.  I often start small but end up five to ten times larger.

 

Bad hair day, not anymore.  I created the square behind the face, of paper, thread, crystals, glue and fabric.  Later this mask required a backing and the cream fabric square felt just right.  As I completed the appliquéd of face, hair, then necklace I realized it needed to be larger so I added the boarders.  The quilting is the first overall machine quilting I completed after I got over the fear of machine quilting.  Oh yes, I was nervous about it for years, finally taking the plunge after a session with Juanita Yeager.  So it doesn't matter if you can draw, sew, paint, or fussy cut. There are things that have us stumped...until we gird up our loins and punch through or pop the bubble.

Show Tell partner.  I use this piece to demonstrate the way some quilters show their work.  After the demonstration we all laugh at ourselves and having gotten the point do a much better job at introducing ourselves and sharing one of our art works with our audiences.

Journal Quilt Project, hand dyed fabrics, the plants were drawn into the surrounding pink area mocking the printed fabric and drawing the eye out from the central figure in three directions.

Journal Quilt Project, detail of hair and hand/

This was embroidered using a simply zigzag stitch, straight stitching, on a commercial fabric that I reworked with fabric paints then digitally enhanced so that the colors matched a PowerPoint presentation theme.

These are some of the faces I create out of scraps. This project was part of a round robin.  Below is the fourth of five rounds.  It is now being hand quilted by the luck owner.

 

One of the faces on  my 2011 Self Portraiture. Acrylic and oil sticks were used to enhance the faces after the whole cloth had been soy waxed, dyed, and stitched.

This is an old fashion bush comb from Ghana.  My parents purchased it during a trip.  I wanted that comb but Mother still has it on display at her home.  So I did the next best thing, I sketched it and painted it on fabric, then enhanced it with stitching.

This is the wrong side of the 2011 self portrait some of the other faces showing some of the trapunto and stitching process.

Thanks for stopping by, Ms. V