magical moments in the studio

Here are my latest renditions of what I've done with fabric and threads. Well, let's not forget a tad bit of lace thrown in some of the pieces too.




I want to give credit to an artist named Stephanie Levy for inspiring me to create this scene. I love looking at her artwork. I wish she'd put them all in a book that I could peruse through day after day after day.



And then I got this wild hair about trying out a new technique (for me anyway) with dresses I drew. I played around until these three showed up. They remind me of little fairy dresses.

There is little I enjoy more than going into my studio and being alone with my fabrics, threads, beads and imagination. I know I need to market more, to set up my etsy account, to blog more often, to visit galleries and boutiques... I know I need to do all of that, but there is something so magical about my time spent in my studio. Something always shows up that surprises me. I look at the end results and am in awe. Those are the moments when I truly let go. I totally surrender to the process and allow whatever comes forth from the process.

It is a gift I get to savor over and over. This treasure of magical moments that turn into tangible items people cherish. It fills my heart to overflowing. What magic. What joy. Ah...I soak it in.

Life with Aprons!

Here are a few samples of aprons that I've made for Spoons Garage on Kentucky in downton McKinney.

In another lifetime I was a quilt shop owner, a fiber arts teacher, and another quilt shop employee. Throughout that time I accumulated massive amounts of fabrics, beads, buttons, paints, ribbons, yarns, etc.

A few years back I designed and had built a home that included a studio for me. The studio was the entire upstairs -- 1200 square feet of space to house my stash of fabrics, notions, and books, not to mention the room for designing my art. This room had a 180 degree view of a lake to the north of us, and the mountains to the west.

Since leaving all that behind, I'm still going through boxes of treasures that help me create items such as these aprons. They are all ones-of-a-kind because I'm using up fabrics that are no longer being made.

Even though the aprons are on display at Spoons Garage across from Cadillac Pizza Pub on Kentucky St. Spoons employees and customers have been requesting special items just to fit their needs.

This one here has buttoned pockets for a cell phone and iPod with a narrow pocket in the middle for a pen. It's a size large and my free form is a size 4, so it swallows it up pretty well.

The ties, or handles as I like to call them, are extra long so that they can tie in the front. It just adds a nicer look to it, I think.

If there's anything here you'd like to see in person, feel free to stop by Spoons Garage or you can email me at jillluigs@yahoo.com.

And thanks for stopping by the blog.

smitten

I have visions of threads, fabrics, beads, buttons, and whatever else I can get my hands on. I dream them. I view my world as blankets of fabric and threads. While others may see grass I see shades of green and brown fibers sewn on linen then washed with gesso or diluted acrylics. What others may view as skyscrapers in Manhattan, I sink into a world of gray and brown hand-dyed fabrics with thread-outlined windows and doors. I take in life with waves of colored fabrics, variegated threads, glistening with beads and buttons.

Gather more ribbons and lace and trims, sew on gold buttons, vintage beads, and antique jewelry. Keeping the rest of my life simple is easy, so it's surprising that I embellish my artwork so profusely.

If I feel down, I dip my hands through buckets of beads and buttons, and life brightens.

And the same happens when I'm at my computer writing, or dipping into one of my many journals, or reading lovely words written just for me.

Words, fibers, beads, buttons, paints and inks...I'm smitten.