Art Experimentation Month

It is Black History Month, Vision Awareness Month, and I also proclaim February to be Art Experimentation Month.

I purchased the Feb/Mar issue of Quilting Arts earlier this week and I have been inspired.

My most recent commission is completed (awaiting framing) and I want to do something different. February is usually a quiet month for me & this year is no exception. However, instead of coming up with new quilts using my old methods, I am going to come up with some new methods. This issue of Quilting Arts is full of methods I have not tried before.

My first experiement was with monoprinting. The two pieces shown are using monoprints. The top piece had added stamping. I often do not know when to quit.

Yesterday I ran to to get a few new supplies to play with. I purchased some little squeeze bottle with teeny writing tips. I'm looking forward to seeing what I can do with those. I need to run out again and get some teeny funnels to fill up the bottles with paint. I did not buy any of those yesterday & I attempted to fill one of the bottles without a funnel. I lost a lot of paint that way. Unfortunately, I cleaned up immediately. I should have thought to experiment with handprints and finger prints first. Oh well.

I am anxious to try Jane Dunnewold's flour paste resist method. I will have to purchase even more equipment. I have yet to use a squeegee in my work. I will also have to construct a padded printing surface. At least I already have flour, measuring cups and mixing bowls.

I have a chunk of rough styrofoam sitting in the studio. I'm wondering what I can do with it. Can I use bits of it as stamps? Hmmmm.

I would love to purchase some MagicStamp foam and a heat gun to make some stamps. Has anyone used this method before? I would love some information before shelling out the money for a heat gun.

I also need to see if I can get my sewing machine to do free motion quilting. So far (after 5 years) I have not been able to get it to perform correctly. I have a presser foot for the job. The feed dogs seems to drop away, but I just can't get the pressure correct -- the fabric does not move under the presser foot. I do not know if this is my problem or the machine's problem. In the past, I have just pulled out my old (and primitive) machine for this job. However, it is no longer making happy noises & I know that I have to take it for a check up.

Unfortunately, I will not be able to leave the house today for more supplies. We are in the middle of another ice storm. I'm just hoping to get some experiments done before the electricity goes out. The hubby, however, is hoping for power loss so he can drag his generator out . . .