Creative Life Sampler

This week marks my fifth year of writing this blog.  It hardly seems possible! Confetti for Captain Klementz, 2017 My first posts centered around a series of wall hangings I made from my father's neckties in 2017. For the first couple of quilts I used traditional patterns. Then I was left with a pile of silk remnants and this quilt was created, - even the necktie designer's labels were incorporated.  Somehow this became a pivotal moment; it felt like there had been a shift in how I thought about quilting. This was a quilt I would consider displaying as art. The whole process was energizing.  A desire to share this experience and what I had learned started to grow, and more ideas about creativity came to mind. After much debating with myself, and asking everybody else for their opinions, I finally took the plunge. This blog was started with the goal of fostering and inspiring creativity. I decided to be as consistent as possible in posting every week. In 5 years I missed 7...

Getting ready to see QuiltCon 2023 next week and this quote caught my attention. It feels so appropriate, for while we celebrate the individual achievements of the quilters who were juried into the show, one can't help but reflect that the show, as a collective of creativity, is adding to the history of this art form.  Looking forward to being inspired by the work of Modern Quilt Guild members!  © Lauren Klementz-Harte Our epoch insists on individualism, yet the ever-flowing, self-refreshing stream of art is a collective achievement. Norbert Lynton The Story of Modern Art, second edition Note:  This picture was taken out of an airplane window  as we traveled over a winter storm.

Hadn't been on a beach walk since the rains went through here last month. They must have been pretty powerful in Ventura. Some of the shore line has been reconfigured and there were lots of raw materials left behind. So, naturally, the sand was scattered with structures all along our recent beach walk. Imagine the anticipation of the sun's warmth and the surf's sounds when the storm finally passes. You head out to the beach for the day with no responsibilities, no aims or goals for productivity, just the opportunity to relax and enjoy clear blue skies over Southern California.  But the wealth of scattered logs, branches, and debris can't be resisted. They're not a nuisance. On the contrary, they get the creative juices flowing. What can be made with all this "stuff"? A fence, or a bench on which to watch the horizon, . . .  . . . or still grander structures. So many possibilities. I'm fascinated by this impulse. Whenever I see some creative effort, esp...

This wall hanging was started on January 2 and finished on January 31, - one month in the making. I'm getting faster at pulling these projects together, which is gratifying.    My original layout was designed with a landscape orientation:   The choice to bind the piece in the darker color changed the overall look and, when I shifted it to a portrait layout, it seemed to work better.  But let's continue to rotate the quilt: These options are intriguing, . . . are they possible settings for future projects? I'm also kinda diggin' the backside of this piece: Maybe it's time to design a whole cloth quilt for my "Q is for Quilt" series. (A whole cloth quilt is made of a single length of solid color fabric and often includes trapunto, or stuffed work, - extra batting which adds more texture and dimension to the surface.) Feels like this is a "pick a path" moment.  I'm interested in your feedback, so share a comment at the end of this post or on my ...