On a Roll (Part 2)

The one on the right is called Easy Does It.  The fabrics are all either hand woven or hand printed cotton.  All have a really nice soft hand so it will be a very comfortable lightweight jacket.

I have to admit that the idea of naming my jackets came from my friend Maxine Farkas.  The first time I ever did an exhibit of my jackets, I planned to label them just Jacket 1, Jacket 2, etc.  In her inimitable way, Maxine chided me "Ann, you can't just call this Jacket 1 and ask that price.  You have to give it a name!"  It was really hard at first, now it is almost always just fun.  I am grateful that she made me push myself.  You need friends like that.

I was definitely having fun when I named the jacket on the right Joy Riding.  The name captured my feeling as I put together that mix of fabrics.  I really like the way the colors go together, but I did feel a bit like I was breaking the rules with the disparate patterns. 

.I had thought to wait another day before working on this work update post, but I hit a bump in my next project.  I'll let that one percolate for a while.  I'm ready to start another jacket and the first step is to audition my fabric combinations.  I needed to stay away from purples and blues this time so I started looking for other combinations I could put together.  I'm pretty happy with this set, but I'd like to figure out something to jazz it up a bit.  Maybe something playing on the circle theme in the two main fabrics.

Since my June anniversary post, I have finished three jackets and an artwork.  Another artwork is well underway.  So you can see why I feel like I am on a roll.  I've stopped stewing about what sort of art I should be making and am just following my heart.  It's a good feeling.

So here are the three finished jackets.  You can see why I thought I should stay away from blues/purples this time.

On the left is Just for Friends.  It's also cotton - a mix of commercial prints and hand-dyes.  I just love the colors in this one. 

Naming my jackets is part of the creation fun.  Sometimes the name reflects something about the jacket, sometimes it is just serendipity.  I meant to call this one Just for Fun, but when I wrote it on the label I made a mistake.  I thought about replacing the label but then decided maybe the name was appropriate.  I realized that anyone who buys one of my jackets automatically becomes a friend.  So the name stuck.

So that's where I am with my jackets, but as I mentioned I've also been pushing ahead with my wall art.  My evenings are usually spent watching TV and stitching.  I'm not a good couch potato.  My hands have to be busy.

I've been working on two related pieces created from some of my gelatin prints layered over pieced, hand-dyed silks from Maria Testa.    The titles for these two  came from a book I read just recently, though I'm afraid I can't remember which one.  The one on the left is finished.  I've called that one Begin Where You Are.  The one in progress will be called The Rest Will Follow. 

Those titles pretty well capture how I work in general, but especially now as I try to just let my heart lead my work.

More will follow...
Cheers,
Ann