The Green Fan (Girl of Toledo Spain)

I had posted earlier about a book that I was working on and forgot to add photos of the completed book.

I will do that today.

I used a photo of one of my favorite paintings (see this this post).

I printed it out on a nubby fabric (some type of poly blend I think) (it was a cheap sheer curtain fabric from my mom's house) and then built the front of the cover around it.

You can see from this picture that I added a bit of hand dyed lace to the sides , to create a spine wrap of sorts.

 Ah, this is where the photo of the front of the book went!
I have changed the template of my blog and am still learning how to work in it,
just when I had gotten so used to the previous template.

repeat -
change is good...
change is good...

 On the inside of the book cover, I placed an old doily that I made.
It really coordinated well with all the other fabrics so I donated it to the cause.
A scrappy "signature wrap" (I learned this from DJ Pettitt) snuggles all the pages of the book together.

 And I just love the back cover of this book!
I've used a combo of several acrylic mediums to create a leather like substance. I then used a mix of water and acrylic mediums to color it.
A series of paint, dry.
Paint, dry.
Repeat until your OCD is soothed...
Or you get distracted by sanding it...

And there you have it, another cool book!
I hope that I can take these books with me to Asheville tomorrow - well, what I really meant to say was that I hope I get to go to Asheville (NC) tomorrow for the monthly Fiber Art Alliance meeting.
The schools are closed there today - snow, black ice - you know that sort of nasty winter weather.
If I get to go tomorrow - I will carry the new books to show and tell. I'm sure that my fiber and book lovin' peeps will like them!
Say creative my friends.

A Busy Week

Last week was so busy for the Sloan household!
We were finishing up the Big League World Series obligation,
continuing to rush about getting my son ready for art school this fall. He was accepted into Winthrop Art School- but we only have 2 weeks left to get EVERYTHING ready to go...wow- it pays to check all of your paperwork early and not wait until the last minute!
In my own defence, I have been so crazy busy dealing with my mom's estate and family members that refuse to cooperate with "due process"...
some people just do not understand that there are certain things that have to be done.
And it's not about what they want or I want - it's about what HAS to be done...
I had two demo's last week in Asheville. One on Tuesday at the Fiber Art Alliance that I am a member of.
It went very well! I think that it can be an eye opener for people to watch the mixed media background demo as they begin to look at their supplies a bit differently...
I did the same demo at the Asheville Quilt Show.
Did any of you go to the Show?
My. Oh. My.
Julie Simpson and all the other ladies did an awesome job! What a fabulous show it was! And so many great demonstrations! I was honored to be a part of the event also.
Such great talents right here in our back yards.
I was so busy looking and then teaching that I didn't take pictures. I'll bet if you go over to Judy Simmons or Mary Stori's blog they will have pictures.
Then yesterday, I sent in two project proposal's for a book that is being written.
Keep all your fingers crossed (and maybe your toes too!) that at least one of my project's will be accepted. I think they will be notifying people around the end of this month - maybe next month.

I'll try to do a better post a bit later on.
I'm going to my studio now to begin work on two small (short not small) books to send in for possible publication.
I'm real excited about this project - scared but excited!
I'll let you all know what happens with it all - one is for a magazine and the other is for a publisher (book).
I've released my dream to the Universe - let's see if it's meant to be.

Fiber Art Alliance

Regular readers know that I belong

to a great fiber group in Asheville NC.

We meet on the first Tuesday of each month.

I've said it before, I'll say it again...

what a talented group of women!

Julie Simpson and Elaine Zinn led the program this month.

Wow, what an impressive resumes they shared!

They are both quite talented and so very nice...

The program was on Fabric Beads.

No pictures, since our new camera hasn't arrived yet (can't wait!)

but suffice it to say

that the place was packed

and everyone really enjoyed playing

with fabric, glue, straws, yarn and yummy fiber.

Thanks ladies, for a wonderful class!

My friend and fellow member, Anita Heady

brought some of her lucious hand dyed fabrics.

Check out her blog & web site for pictures.

I'm sure that you can contact her and purchase some!

I've Been Bitten By A Bug...

Perhaps you can help me identify the pesky thing...

Any ideas? Here's another look or two of others like it.

Ahhh, great you figured it out!

It's dry felting!

This is the first time that I have done it and I really like it! I think that I'll try more but before that I'll show you pics of the Felting Class with Nancy Butler at our monthly Fiber Art Alliance meeting in Asheville NC.

All the beautiful pieces above are done by Nancy...she is so talented and such a great teacher!

My pictures do not do her work justice.

They must be seen in person to apprecite all the design work she has done.

She was a little nervous at first but she did a great job.

Thanks Nancy!

There's my buddy Anita Heady.

She has started a Quilting Arts Alliance in Athens Georgia.

Email her for questions.

And there's two of my most favorite people in NC...

Patsy Thompson and Gen Grundy.

Look at Patsy's site for AWESOME free motion quilting DVDs.

And the Light...

The Bendable Light.

Get one.

Today.

It TOTALLY revolutionized my sewing!

And My Gen (yes, Jane, she is MY Gen)...

so happy to see her again!

And I hope you're feeling better Gen!

Look at these ladies, working so hard!

I am so sorry I didn't get their names to post...

forgive me.

I did ask permission to take their picture though.