New name Same place

SEWSEWART.COM

In case you hadn't noticed, and why would you, this blog now has a new URL. What used to be a .blogspot is now a .com. First off it sounds a bit more polished and professional and secondly, it is quicker and easier to type. You don't have to do a thing. You can continue to use the sewsewart.blogspot.com address all you'd like and Google will redirect it to it's new home. Isn't technology wonderful?

Thanks for reading,

Beth

Monoprinting play date with Judith

I can't believe it's been almost a year since I saw Judith. She has been so busy and with both of our schedules, we have made and broken many dates. Well, she finally did make it over and we had a ball. We were testing materials to do monprinting at the Maine Event this September. She loves Zentangles and she just sat down and did this out of her head.

  

She is amazing 

These three are mine

We had a very successful play date. She is coming back again this week and we will be working on books.

Thanks for reading,

Beth

Thermofax logo

I started out hand cutting this stencil and putting it on my shirt. I got so many comments and interest in the workshops that I thought about buying aprons for the workshop participants for them to use and take home. 

The crow on the stencil is the image I have used for over 20 years. I even hand carved one which is on the wall next to the front door of the Art Greenhouse.

I also designed a thermofax screen using a different crow. NO ONE even noticed this on my shirt and Rita who attended the workshop said it looked like a stamp as opposed to the hand cut funky stencil which she liked better.

Now I'm not sure which to use. I did send out an email to the participants from the first workshop asking which they wanted on their apron. Which do you like better??

Thanks for reading,

Beth

MidSummer Maine, the final day

All of the BIG projects are now behind us and we can start to play. We learned about rubbings, stamps, collage and going back into previous work for added layers.

A collage on the cover of a pamphlet

A page of gelli print above. A small rectangle was cut and lines were added with black pen as well as white dots made with correction fluid.

Watercolors painted over oil pastels. What a beautiful effect.

Flooding the surface with water then adding watercolors. They look like blooms.

Drips of watercolors making a grid

Buttons and someone's personal watercolors below.

Drip grids with some areas colored. 

Collage

Collage

Gelli prints

Marcella, without whom these workshops would not be as professional, smoothly run or fun. Thank you Marcella for all the years you have assisted me!!

Collage luggage tags.

Lunch on the deck!!

One of our favorite things is Saturday night Show and Tell.  Here are Janice and David Jones who are doing work in collaboration. David is an award winning oil painter who has a gallery in Paris and shows there as well. He has painted some works and Janice has used them as an inspiration for Art Quilts.

David working indoors during a rainy spell.

One of our group had to bow out on Sunday so she missed getting her picture taken with the group.
Sorry about that Laura. See you next year!

If you are interested in signing up for next years workshops, contact me using the contact form at the bottom of the page or just leave a comment.

Thanks for reading,

Beth

MidSummer Maine day two

There were several people very excited about making coptic stitched books. Usually this is a very intense one day workshop in itself. We started the first day with the paste paper to cover the bookboard covers and folding the signatures leaving the rest of the process for the next day. The first day we also made accordion folded books and pamphlet stitched books with paste paper covers.

Accordion fold book

Pamphlet book getting a custom first page

We spent a considerable amount of time learning to stitch the spines of our coptic books... 

but look at the results!!

Here is a completed pamphlet (U.R.) with paste paper cover, an accordion book (u.l.) and a coptic book. There are also some fabric beads laying on the book. 

We made fabric beads which are pictures above in the last half hour of day one and left them to dry over night. Second day, we wrapped them in metallic thread with bead embellishments. These are great to add to quilts or book covers. See how cute they turned out!!

Rolling the fabric on knitting needles for the fabric buttons

Another technique we learned was weaving papers

and everyone was interested in learning more about gelli printing.

Wow! What a day!!

Thanks for reading,

Beth

The first MidSummer Maine Workshop

I was struck with this idea during the winter to have a workshop using paper and mark. Why sew something without working it out on paper first. How about a few exercises to rev up that creativity and a hand made book or two to keep those ideas in one place. We had some takers, enough for a full house. The way the room was arranged we each had all the room we needed at a six foot table. We were surrounded with supplies and inspiration. This was day one:

Art Art Greenhouse all lite up awaiting the artists. You can see all the "art faeries" swarming the building (or maybe raindrops on my lens?)

Our alfresco lunch spot on my deck

We are making paste papers to cover our book. We will be using these papers in other ways over the weekend, probably during the year as well as during next years MidSummer Maine II.

Our hard work drying on my fabulous drying rack in the Maine summer sun!!

Covering the bookboard covers with paste paper

Tearing signatures to make our books which had 160 pages each. Each signature was 16 pages.

In the yard making "MARKS" on large sheets of paper. Later we can weave them into a composition.

The long "arms" holding the marking making implements along with using our non-dominant hands gave use wonderful squiggly line and interesting shapes.

Thanks for reading,

Beth