Art Work by Barbara DIx

Last fall I finally decided to improve my drawing skills. I needed it badly, but that is another story. I was very tempted by classes like 'Watercolor without drawing' but that would have defeated the purpose of taking the class. But I admit those classes were very tempting. Don't ask me why but I ended up in a water color class and not in a drawing class, I guess it is the colors that I was attracted to. And I also guess my choosing that particular class had a lot to do with its location. The class is held at Flamingo Gardens simply a beautiful place, thank God located close to where I live. I knew from the moment I finished my 3 hours that I would be happy there. I since have enjoyed every minute of every class there. Our teacher Barbara Dix, is a wonderful artist and teacher. Check out her new web site and see for yourself.

Art Basel

Wow, another Art Basel weekend is over. Lots of interesting and different art and lots of not so great and less interesting art. Wynwood has calmed down, the streets got emptier and normal life has returned.

For us artists it means back into our studios, motivated and full of energy.

I started my art week with a day painting 'en plein air' at the Bonnet house in Ft. Lauderdale. The weather was just right, one of these days where we remember why we love so much to live in South Florida.

A tip for of town visitors. Stop at Bonnet house it is a great place to visit.

New Work

Finally.... here is a glimpse of part of 6 pieces out of 20.

Opening Night

.... as promised the pictures

Gli Artisti: The White Peacocks

.... here they are the artists of the night. A great opening, excellent art, wonderful friends and visitors, nice bar, good food what else can we ask for. A big thank you goes to the gallery, they did a great job, thank you, thank you thank you!

More pictures will follow.... stay tuned!

And should you have missed the opening, you can still go and enjoy the art work. The show runs until November 28.

Juvenile Diabetes Foundation Benefit

The Party is on.

Join us Friday night, enjoy the art work, meets the artists, buy raffles... come and just have a good time. Support the juvenile diabetes foundation.

Tropical Storm Ida

Tropical storm Ida is 'rushing' towards Pensacola, and about 20 of my pieces are at the museum of art there. Bad timing....

Angler Fish

I think it is time to show another piece of my husbands pastel paintings. We are both working on 'water related' subjects. While I am still dealing with my brain-, elk- and stag-horn corals, he is working on his angler fish. Actually he is off to the next piece already 'sea grass'.

Juvenile Diabetes Foundation Benefit

St. Lawrence Gallery in Ft. Lauderdale proudly presents the watercolor exhibition of the 'White Peacock Artists of Flamingo Gardens'.

This is a wonderful group of water color artists, lead and supported by their great teacher Barbara DIx . They enjoy painting in the calm and beautiful surroundings of Flamingo Gardens.

If you have a chance go and visit the gallery, come to the opening, they are a great group of artists to be around, and their work is just beautiful.

Lark Books: '500 Art Quilts'

'Hindsight' and 'Yangtze 1' were both accepted in the upcoming publication '500 Art Quilts'. Lark Books received over 2000 applications, the juror was Karey Patterson Bresenhan. The book will arrive in book stores in spring 2010.

Nyoko won the dog lottery

I have a new studio companion, his name is Nyoko (japanes : gem). After having been without our Wanda, she passed away 1.5 years ago, Nyoko came into our lives. He was rescued by the 'golden retriever rescue' , yes they also take in flat coated retrievers. We do not know much about his past, except that he has been mistreated badly.He also had heart-worm a difficult disease to treat. But he pulled through with the help of his most wonderful foster family. They helped him forget his past, at least part of it.

Nyoko is like Wanda's brother, just bigger! He is the most wonderful dog, I think every dog owner claims the same of his or her dog. But he truly is. He has cute 'freckles' and almost yellow eyes, is as gentle as you can imagine, and just loves to be in the studio with me. We are as happy as we can be!

My new big piece will be finished in his presence.

Opening Night in Lugano

I wish I could have been there.... my friend Silvie opened her first solo show October 9 in Lugano Switzerland. The 'house' was packed, the buffet absolutely wonderful.... her work very special. Everybody just LOVEd her textile pieces, many who were not familiar with Silvie's work were in for a great treat. My favorites clearly are the pieces with her own metal frames or structures. Have a look yourself

Textile Exhibition in Lugano

My friend and fellow artist Silvie Umiker has opened her first solo show in Lugano last Thursday evening. I cannot wait to see the pictures..... if you have a chance go and visit it.

“La ricerca delle armonie fra colori e materiali sembra riuscire

con disinvoltura a Silvie Umiker, lasciando dimenticare all’osservatore

la minuziosa costruzione delle sue opere che infatti hanno, a prima

vista, un vero effetto pittorico. Ogni opera però è un meticoloso

ricamo di idee e di forme. Sono pagine pittoriche da sfogliare con

l’attenzione delle scoperte. I colori hanno un’inconsueta morbidezza,

i materiali la assecondano. Nella frenetica corsa alle ricerche

dell’originalità, così dominanti, Silvie Umiker al contrario sembra

seguire l’andatura delle melodie più rasserenanti. Senza stridori,

neanche nei contrasti. Se il suo intento è quello di “chiudere i cerchi”

fra creatore e osservatore, ci riesce con grazia originale.”

Salvatore Maria Fares

Solstizio

October 9 - November 2 2009

Banca Intermobiliare Suisse S.S. - contrada di sassello, 10 - angolo via motta Lugano

Vero Beach Class

Upcoming classes

Ocean Waves Miami

Saturday October 10, Just Therapy, no cold water, 3 hours

Sunday October 11, Landscape 1, 6 hours

for more information please contact Barbara bfrazz@bellsouth.net

'Megapixel Myth' by Ken Rockwell

My latest PIXEL experience. I wanted to apply to one of the fiber exhibitions and noticed that today even the highest end cameras barely full filled the pixel requirements.

Here is a very interesting article by Ken Rockwell concerning this pixel mania. The short of it though is, with our modern cameras pixels don't matter anymore. I happily agree....

Also check out his web site he has a lot of very useful information concerning cameras and digital photography.

Upcoming Classes

Ocean Waves Miami

Saturday October 10, Just Therapy, no cold water, 3 hours

Sunday October 11, Landscape 1, 6 hours

for more information please contact the guild directly or e-mail bfrazz@bellsouth.net

Vero Beach Museum of Art Florida

Sunday October 25, Landscape 1, 6 hours

for more information please contact the museum directly or e-mail: egiordano@verobeachmuseum.org

Subversive Stitchers

Check this blog out

http://subversivestitch.blogspot.com/

ALS: Raffle Tickets for the cure

There is a beautiful quilt on display at the Mayo clinic. Proceeds from the raffle tickets go to the ALS research. For more information and a picture of the quilt visit the subversive stitchers blog .

For raffle tickets go to Raffle Tickets

Pensacola Museum of Art presents

For more information go to Pensacola Museum of Art

SAQA Benefit Auction has started

This is a great opportunity to be able to buy wonderful art pieces... have a look at the pics. And it is a nice way of supporting SAQA. Visit their website

http://www.saqa.com

Hindsight 12

One of four new pieces, finally photographed.

Fabric Sculpture or Yoga Posture

This is not one of my new fabric sculpture. You are looking at 'In the Bog' a yoga posture. The piece turned into a 'yoga posture'..... I am trying to restore it.

New Project with a lexmark printer

I finally started my new big project, so far so good. The first panels are on the design wall, under my sewing machine or drying... I used my new ink jet printer for the first time to print on fabric. The results are fabulous , the print quality excellent. I have so far always used a hp printer and was pleased with it. My new printer is a 'lexmark' and I am amazed at how much crisper the colors are. To be fair, my hp is by now about 6 years old, meaning the new hp might be as crisp as my lexmark is.

Now I am on the lookout for a larger inkjet printer (13" x 19"). Anybody out there have any suggestions?

Bernina 820 / 830

Wow yesterday was THE day, I was 'test driving' the new Berninas.

Before I even start raving about the new machine let me say this. I still think the price tag is unbelievably high and I wish Bernina would have offered a machine with the same arm size with a reduced set of features, in the price range of the 440. That machine would have been affordable for a wider range of customers.

I have not played with a new sewing machine for a very long time and I mean a veeeeeery long time, so this event was a real revelation for me. I got to enjoy for the very first time the advantages of the BSR (Bernina stitch regulator). This feature itself was absolutely wonderful, it for sure would make machine quilting a lot easier for me. There were students in the class that did not enjoy the BSR, but it worked great for me. I guess it is a matter of preference. Since I do not do any type of embroidery the 830 would not be a machine for me. The main advantage of the 820 for me is space between the needle and the machine. It would be perfect for my type of work. I would be a bit worried about all those sensors and technology in that machine. My stitching can be really 'dirty', pieces of gesso paint falling off, etc, but according to the Bernina representative this should not be an issue either. All in all for sure a great machine.

Brain-E-Scape

They are finally done. It seemed to take forever to finish my 'left and right hemisphere'.

Brain-E-Scape 2

I am almost done....

'Black Fabric Break Down'

WOW, what an experience I had today. I needed some black fabric for a backing today and went to my commercial fabric stack to grab some. Before I continue I think I want to mention that even though I use fabrics nowadays in a very different way than I used to, I buy good quality and I still wash it before it goes to my stack. I do however not write down when I bought the fabric and brands... way to much keeping track for me. To go back to my story, I am pulling my black fabric out of my box and the fabric falls apart. And I mean it literally disintegrated in my hands as soon I pulled a little. Now of course after the initial 'wow' effect, the fabric gets my interest and I started pulling in different directions and I am the proud owner of a very interesting piece of fabric all torn apart now. I have no idea what will happen with that particular piece, but I am just very puzzled about the whole situation. Like I said I have no idea how old the fabric is, but for sure not THAT old, for sure not an antique. I have some very old fabrics nothing like that has ever happened.  I assume there has been a batch of fabrics out at some point that had a material problem. I wonder has anybody else had a similar experience? DId I miss 'the big black fabric break down' which would not surprise me at all? Hmmm could this be the title for that piece?

SAQA auction starts soon

Don't forget

This is a great opportunity to be able to buy wonderful art pieces... have a look at the pics.  And it is a nice way of supporting SAQA. Visit their website

http://www.saqa.com

Bernina 820 / 830

Wow, I am still in total 'shock' after I have learned today what the price of the new Bernina 820 and 830 is! $ 11990 for a sewing machine? This sounds more like a down payment of a house to me ( just kidding). Ok, I admit the 820 is only $ 7400 still, I am wondering how many 'Bernina lovers' will and can actually spend so much money on their next toy.  

I say of myself that I was born on a Bernina, grew up on a Bernina, taught in public schools on Berninas (still do whenever I am teaching in Switzerland), have two Berninas myself... yes you guessed it, I am a 'believer'. It just has always been a great tool for me. I spend hours on my machine, the colors of the threads are 'burned' into the metal of my workhorse. But would I ever spend that much money on a sewing machine? I think this time Bernina has gone over the top. 

Kiva

Yes I am breaking my rule 'that my art blog is only for art' again. But I think this is a cause worth braking a rule. I finally got on board with KIVA (www.kiva.org). This is a non-profit  where you can lend as little as $ 25 to a low income business women / men of your choice. It is a way of helping somebody to find the way out of poverty. I would LOVE to be able to try Raquel' s cookies. Check it out for yourself.

Raquel Francisca

Bat Plant

... for sure a different kind or inspiration. I am admiring my first bat plant in bloom. 

SAQA Benefit Auction 2009

This is a great opportunity to be able to buy wonderful art pieces... have a look at the pics.  And it is a nice way of supporting SAQA. Visit their website

http://www.saqa.com

Brainstorming

Brain-e-scape (detail): 

left hemisphere 

It is still a work in progress but I am getting there....

Lightning Strike

I wish I had my camera with me when yesterday lighting did hit a cellular tower. I was driving on interstate I 75 north  when the cell tower was hit by lightning right next to me.  The tower turned into a blue silver 'rod' absolutely beautiful, never mind the thunder was loud as hell. I enjoyed nature ..... too bad I could not capture the moment with a picture.

Quiltscapes at the Whistler

Quiltscapes at the Whistler: August 5 - 31

My piece 'Yangtze 1 ' will be there

Artists Reception and Awards is Saturday August 8, 2 - 4

Night blooming Cereus

Nature inspires Art: some pics from my 'nightly' garden show. Two different night blooming cereus and a red dragon fruit show their beauty... and all this while I am working on my 'Hindsight: Trash mountain honey' piece. 

Work in Progress

I guess after all my traveling it is about time that I post some new art work. Let me get it straight the piece is not finished but a little sneak preview never hurts. The used pics have been given to my by the photographer..... he has not seen yet what I did to his great work. And of course he will get ALL the credit once my piece is finished. The piece does not have a title at this point but it is part of the 'Hindsight' series. Happy butt searching.... 

Art at Work

I am just trying to imagine what a great zoo Down Town Miami could be.......

Summer days in Switzerland

I am back in my studio ..... my summer break was wonderful, inspiring and relaxing. It is the time of the year now when I can only do 3 things. A) work in my studio air conditioner working overtime, B) floating in the water and waiting for the sun to set or tending my garden hoping not to be swallowed by my plants. And of course right after yard work it is back into the water and then back into the coolness of my studio. Summer is here, it is hot lush and just wonderful. 

But lets have a look at my last hike.... Switzerland, Tessin, Monte Generoso to be more specific.

'Sunken' Art in Stockholm

This trip to Europe brought us among many other places to Stockholm. Besides the fact that Stockholm is a great city, it is also a place where my art soul got nourished.  We were also very lucky with the weather. It was very sunny but nice and cool at least for us Miami people. The Swedish were of course swimming....

While there we visited the famous VASA museum. The museum was especially built around a 17th- century ship. The ship sunk on its maiden voyage and only in 1961 was it possible to bring the ship back to the surface. It is beautifully restored and the art work is absolutely incredible. The Vasa museum is  for sure among the most spectacular museums I have ever visited.

http://www.vasamuseet.se/

Newspaper article

Check out our great press!!!!

Opening Night

Impressions from the opening last night

We had a great opening last night. Many thanks to the staff and volunteers of the Lighthouse Center for the Arts. They did a wonderful job. Almost 400 visitors joined us, we were lucky with the weather. In the the afternoon the storms and the rain were really horrible, the gallery even lost electricity for a while, but in the end the weather Gods were with us, the rain stopped and we had a nice and pleasant evening. 

eARTh Elements

eARTh Elements June 5 - July 16

Lighthouse Center for the Arts

373 Tequesta Drive, Tequesta, FL 33469

Opening Reception

Friday June 5, 2009 5.30 - 7.30 pm

Pinnacle: National Juried Art Exhibition

Pinnacle: National Juried Art Exhibition, June 5 - June 26 2009

Foster -Tanner Fine Art Gallery

1630 Pinder Street, Tallahassee, FL 32307

Opening Reception

Friday, June 5, 2009

6:00 - 8:00

I will have 'Hindsight' and 'WAR IS RAW' in the exhibition

Iguana # 2

I found my favorite Iguana today.... 

Another day of getting a show together and up on the wall has passed. Pam Moody (ceramics), Melani Brewer (fiber) and I dropped our pieces off at the 'Lighthouse Center for the Arts'. Pam's husband took care of her heavy and absolutely beautiful pieces, and Shannon from the gallery placed our fiber pieces while Melani and I made sure our jewelry was displayed nicely. One of Pam's pieces made me feel at home right away, she brought in this great Iguana...  I hope I can get a picture.

The opening is coming up this Friday June 5, 5.30 - 7.30. For more info visit  http://www.lighthousearts.org/

Picture: Trouble in Paradise, Pam Moody

Miami and Iguanas: or a new studio companion

Never a dull, moment or life is exciting, it depends on your point of view. I any case it is rainy season in South Florida, I prefer to stay inside at least in the afternoons. My studio overlooks my lush back yard and guess who moved in 'Igu'. Yes he is a green Iguana, and I named him. He is 'charming', rather pretty, not at all shy, big, and he fore sure kept me from working. I just have to watch him. He eats the fruit from our queen palm, so far no damage on my other plants and flowers. Of course I am defending my mangos, there is a point when I do not believe in sharing any more.  To be honest I hope he will move on, but from what I read chances are slim. Oh well, so far so good. 

My only worries are my cats. Has anyone any experience with wild Iguanas and cats living in the same back yard? So far I could keep them apart since the Iguana seems to be on a very regular schedule. He shows up for lunch and a break in the afternoon.  We had one close call, the cat was NOT afraid which worries me even more since those claws of Igu look very scary.

Opening Reception June 5

The exhibition 'eARTh Elements' in Jupiter Florida opens soon

Opening Reception June 5, 2009 5.30 - 7.30

I will have a large body of my work on display there as well as some of my jewelry. For more information and directions follow the link.

Jewelry piece of the month

The rainy season started in Miami, it is hot and very humid, the mosquitoes are here too. Therefor it is STUDIO TIME. Forget the outside or the beach! I am creative happily working in my air conditioned studio. Beach glass jewelry is on my table, the drill is working... have a look.

Berkley

 Can you tell we have fun? And I just LOVE the Golden Gate Bridge, I guess I am not alone there......
I have spent the most wonderful time with the EBHQ quilters in Berkley. The workshops were great, the students a lot of fun and everybody took very good care of me, in fact spoiled me around the clock. My special thanks goes to Karin Lusnak, I enjoyed every minute of my time with her. As always it is so much fun seeing other studios and being able to talk to other artists is always such a rich experience. Thank you Karin.

Water 1

You are once more not looking at one of my own art pieces but a new piece my husband is working on (still a work in progress).  

And not to worry my studio is organized again, my jewelry pieces finished and ready to be part of my blog. I just have to photograph them. 

On the textile side, the next anti doom and gloom piece is also almost finished a seascape just in time for the 'water season'  called summer. 

And don't miss my next exhibition dates. QN is coming up and 'eARTh Elements is opening June 5 in Jupiter Florida. More information about that soon. 

Artist trying to be organized

... or artist at work. 

Upcoming Openings

Quilt National

QN 09 will open soon. 'Rejections' is packed and ready to be shipped North. 

For more information go to http://www.quiltnational.com/

jewelry piece of the month

It is spring, it is wedding time, so I a am showing a non traditional 'bridal' piece.

Several strands of fresh water pearls, twisted, are held together by a sterling silver rose. The same rose is repeated on the earrings finished with dangling pearls. 

'Hindsight'

I am still working on my series 'Hindsight', I finally finished another 4 pieces today. 

For the first time instead of brushing on the UV protection I sprayed the stuff on. For sure it is less work, faster and easier on my back. But the layers are thinner when spraying and I had to do more layers something I was not aware of before I started. I don't know at this point if I will use the sprayer again for smaller pieces, parts need to be cleaned, the compressor has to be dragged into the studio, work area has to be covered and lets not forget the VENTILATION!!!!! But for my bigger art work this is for sure the way to go. Besides it is anther nice use for my air brush. 

Jewelry piece of the month

I guess it is time for my next jewelry piece. I am working on some class projects and thought I share them with you. Using a cooper wire gauge 26 this time for the same bracelet as you have seen before, I was able to work with fresh water pearls, for sure one of my favorite 'material'. I still remember, the first 'real'  jewelry piece I bought for myself many many years ago, was a necklace made out of fresh water pearls. And to this day I still love the pearls. 

Doom and Gloom

My personal remedy against 'doom' and gloom', I turn on my 'GLOWING OBJECTS', enjoy a good book, (yes I need more light to read) or spend as much time as I can in my studio. Right now I am working on a new 'glowing sea scape'.

Environmental Concerns

Hindsight is 20 20 so they say.

Here a little sneak preview of my 'Hindsight' miniature series. This series is motivated by my concerns for our environment. 

Watch for more 'hinds' to come. 

Knitted Wire Bead Bracelet

My upcoming classes at ‘Past and Presents’ in Cooper City

Monday, April 6: 1PM – 4 PM

Friday, May 1: 5PM – 8 PM 

Class Fee: $ 25

Kit cost: $ 15- 20

Level: Intermediate

Students: 6

Are you ready for a challenge? Knitting with wire is different from knitting with fibers, but once you have overcome a few hurdles it will be fun. With my help, a few tricks and your patience you will be at the end of the class the proud owner of a copper wire bracelet with beads.

Requirements: students need to know how to knit and cast off.

For more information, and class registration please send me an e-mail or contact:

Past and Presents: 954 680-8266

http://www.pastandpresents.biz/

 

Garden Vessels

 As promised here are the first two results from my new experiment. You are looking at packaging styrofoam blocks, shaped with heat and then painted with an air brush. My garden vessels have a drainage hole. I am still looking for a  textured paint to add more interest to the styrofoam. The plan is to create a whole wall and plant a vertical garden and then cover an 'unsightly' wall. 

Materials: Hard & Soft

Here are some pictures of the exhibition Materials Hard & Soft.

http://www.dentonarts.com/events/PDF/2009%20H&S%20Winners.pdf

Spring is in the Air

My favorite spring flowers. 

Garden Vessels

I just finished my second vessel, and again I am very happy with the result. I am very convinced that this is a great way of using packaging material that otherwise would just been dumped into the trash. So far I have not used any textured paint, that is still in my head and I need to 'investigate' that thought some more. But I have put plants in both vessels today and they look great. I will take pictures tomorrow and add them within the next few days to my blog. Time will tell how the vessels will hold up in out outdoor environment. One is in a very wet area the other is in front of our entrance therefor rather dry. Time will tell. 

Garden or Recycling Art

I am currently trying to create styrofoam vessels. The idea is to use materials such as packaging styrofoam blocks  and shape them with heat into interesting forms so I can use them as planters.  I have sprayed the finished object , so far I have only made one, with acrylic paint. The first piece looks great but I am looking for a more textured surface. I am just wondering if anybody has tried something similar using textured paints? Since outdoor art is not my normal medium I am trying to avoid big mistakes.  Any hints and tips are greatly appreciated? 

Liquitex Iridescent Medium

I have been looking for a while for a medium that turns my regular acrylic  paints into iridescent colors. I found Liquitex  'Iridescent Medium' and it works great on my fabric / paper collages. It can easily be diluted if the iridescent effect is too strong. I used it on some of the water areas  on my 'seascapes' . 

Jewelry piece of the month

Winter in Miami. I guess this time the jewelry piece of the month was inspired by  the cold temperatures we have had lately here. Believe it or not, I measured 33 F one morning in my backyard. I know for all of you living up North this must feel like a early spring day, but for us beach combers the world was upside down. We are not supposed to be cold, that is why we moved here. Thank God my orchids and other plants survived the cold spell! My hurricane tarps were used once more even if it was for a different purpose, like covering my wonderful tomatoes and my herb garden. It still feels a little chilly in my studio, but that is alright since I will be sweating pretty soon again. 

Materials: Hard & Soft

Great News: Anemone 2 is among the winners of Materials: Hard & Soft

If I receive any pictures of the opening I will post them.