Judy, Judy, Judy...

This weekend I traveled to Atlanta...
a 2 1/2 hour trip by car

to meet the most extraordinary woman by the name of

Judy Coates Perez.

(hey, is she standing on a box? I look like I'm about 5 foot tall!! Oh, I am...)

She is one of the most generous and talented artists that I have ever met.

I went to Fiber On A Whim for 2 days of classes with her.

The first day was a Mixed Media Fabric Painting Class.

Oh What Fun!

We transformed a plain white piece of PFD fabric .

into a riot of color and texture.

I loved the non-stressful way of creating the most beautiful piece of fabric

I wanted to make a tote bag out of it
but my husband suggested making a wall hanging out of it...
hmmm...
I can solve that dilemma by making more fabric!
Yay! An excuse to get back in to the studio and
Play The Judy Way.
I'll post pictures of my creation (keep in mind it was my first time!).


Oh, and guess who else was there for the first class?


My buddy Cheryl Prater!



(I'm seeing double!)
How much fun was that?!?!

Cheryl and I "met" online and have been talking to each other for a while
so it was great to meet her in person.
She hasn't been feeling too good lately, so she had to leave a little early.

If you read this Cheryl, I hope you're feeling better!


Here are a few pictures of the class.

This was one that Judy painted. Looks great!

And here are a few samples of her work that she brought for us to see. Beautiful!

The second day was even more exciting!

We played with Tsukineko Inks.

Have you ever painted with them?

They are awesome!

I loved the organized way that Judy presented the information...

the way that she led us through exercises

that helped us to gain confidence with using the inks.

I'll post pictures that show the progression of my own work with them.

This is the first one...just getting used to the applicators...
trying to do some shading..

Notice how flat everything seems,

no real shading on the leaf at all..too dark.

Here's the next exercise.

Shading is getting better with the help of a few tricks that Judy shared. Now, try my hand at a flower. Looking better!

Here is the final painting that I did.

I picked a beautiful beetle and, encouraged by Judy, added some bold colors to it!

That was quite an improvement, wasn't it?

I will definitely be using them more, not only in quilting but general art work as well.

I may use them in the piece that I will have hanging in the Pickens County Museum

this October...my art class will have a show.

How exciting is that?

Back to Judy...

Here is more pictures of things that she brought to share with us.

Paintings with Tsukineko Inks on fabric.

Awesome...

I had the pleasure of having dinner with her, Kristin and Jan on Saturday night.

We sat at the restaurant for about 2 or 2 1/2 hours during a horrific lightening storm...

but not as bad as what Judy had when she went back home on Monday...

We had a blast! Great food and fun, entertaining company.

Judy and I met for breakfast on Sunday am as well.

It was so awesome to get to spend so much time with her...

she really is as sweet and fun as everyone says she is!

So, if you EVER get the chance to go to one of her classes,

RUN DON"T WALK

and sign up!

They are well worth the money, the drive...

you will NOT regret it!