Cosmic Commotion

"Cosmic Commotion" 12" square by Judy Wedemeyer

This is my Wed@Pat's group challenge entry for the 2014 Alaska Fiber Festival.   The quilts will be sold to benefit the Alaska Fiber Festival.

My quilt was designed using the  4-patch method of tiles and symmetry as explained on Raymond K. Houston's website.  The top was actually created several months earlier when I was experimenting with Raymond's  'line alphabet' system (as explained on this posting) in which my chosen word spelled out BLUE.  I have made a RED, YELLOW, GREEN and MYSTERY quilt using the same line alphabet.   This month I shared the design method with a local quilt group and hope to see future art quilts from those members.  It is a fun and challenging exercise to create original works with repeatable design methods.  I have several 12" art quilts designed and waiting in the wings to be transformed with fabric.  Woe is me with so many ideas and so little time.

The backside of Cosmic Commotion

Material Maven's 'Comfort' Quilt

"Connoisseurs of Comfort" by Judy Wedemeyer - 2013 (12"square)

Today was November's quilt reveal on the Material Maven's blog.  Here is the link to my post  "Connoisseurs of Comfort" where you can read the full story and construction methods.  Be sure to check out all of the Comfort themed quilts.

January theme is:  STRONG

Addendum:
November's 'COMFORT' theme was my final challenge piece as a Material Maven (although I didn't realize it at the time).  My creative focus will be directed toward producing art quilts for our Anchorage Centennial Celebration on behalf of Anchorage Log Cabin Quilter's, Inc.

"Garden Greenery" Material Maven's Green Theme Piece

This is today's submission to Material Maven's online art quilt challenge.  The theme was GREEN.  The title of my 12" square piece is "Garden Greenery".  Click on this Maven's link to read about it.  The new theme will be posted sometime the same day. 

Close up detail of my wire beaded dragonfly and bead embellishing.

Cellular World

"Cellular World" by Judy Wedemeyer 2013 (12"sq.)

This  'cosmic'  feeling art piece is in response to the Material Maven's  Cell theme for July.  My daughter Kristen's fiance is into astronomy and I thought this would be an appropriate companion piece to another small quilt I gave Lincoln.

Canyon Colors & Curves

Here is my newest Material Maven's challenge quilt.  The theme was Canyon.

fabric side

felted wool side

Click on the link above to read about its construction as well as the other group submissions. 

Material Maven Theme Challenge: Communication

"SOS" by Judy Wedemeyer (12"x12")

Today is reveal day for our  Communication themed art quilts.  Here is my  Material Maven's submission.  Read the details here.

The first photo transfer had a slight smudge from my printer so I used it as a practice piece.  Slightly larger dimensions allowed for more embroidery details  (both hand and machine) in the border.

"SOS" by Judy Wedemeyer (14"x15")

Material Maven Theme Challenge: Interwoven

"Interwoven: Through The Ages" by Judy Wedemeyer  (12" sq)

My latest Material Maven challenge piece is now completed.  You can read about it's construction here, along with the other Maven's posts.  After much deliberation, I have chosen the next challenge theme to be 'communication' with the results to be revealed March 15th, 2013.  Be sure to check back then and thanks for tuning in.

Material Maven's 'Element' Challenge Quilt

Material Maven's March challenge theme is ELEMENT.  There are many ways to interpret this theme.  My idea is a bit obscure yet quite meaningful in regard to my focus on simplifying my life in 2012.  My thoughts kept returning to what I consider the main element of simplicity to be.  The answer for me is No Excess.  

"The Element of Simplicity: No Excess" by Judy Wedemeyer 2012

My personal definition is as follows:  Simplifying in general, means to reduce or eliminate anything which is not necessary to clarify thought or action, in order to accomplish that which you desire to understand and or achieve.  My desire is to de-clutter my mind, activities, physical surroundings and anything tangible or intangible in my life that consistently interferes with my spiritual, artistic, relational and physical goals.  As I see it, simplicity is something entirely different to every individual, based on what is perceived as necessary and enriching versus excessive and counterproductive in achieving their personal 'happiness quotient' in life.

It took me awhile to formulate a design but then progress sped up significantly.

Thumbnail sketches resulted in the diagram on the left.  A full scale outline determined placement for key elements.  Fabric choices are described below.

 With simplicity in mind, I based my quilt design and fabric choices by focusing on what reinforced my thoughts to eliminate excess while staying true to my message.  The black chicken fabric symbolized being in the dark, running around like a chicken with my head cut off, trying to accomplish too many things without focus or clarity.  The white timepiece fabric reminded me of setting goals and deadlines.  Although the fabric is still visually busy, the circular shape is conducive to focusing and containing my thoughts.  In choosing the solid yellow gold fabric, I eliminated all distraction and reached the bulls eye of my target - by eliminating Excess (XS), and achieving the ultimate element of simplicity.

Finishing details include a narrow red ribbon crosshatch to indicate a target (goals), a kumihimo (Japanese Braid) embellished inner circle that defines and honors reaching my goal of simplicity in life, and concentric quilting lines radiating toward the center of my focus.  Lettering is a bold black embroidered reminder to stay true to the Element of Simplicity by eliminating Excess in my life.

Because my focus is streamlining through 2012 by Simplifying my life, I'm quite certain this theme will surface through much of my artwork this year in various forms.  I've never approached a concept quite so myopically, but this singular approach has greatly energized my focused thinking.  I believe my efforts will reap awesome personal rewards this year.

Material Maven's 'south' Challenge

"South Bound" by Judy Wedemeyer (12"X12")

As the newest (14th member) of the Material Maven's international group of art quilters, this is my first piece submitted for 2012.  Each member, on a rotational basis, will choose a theme on which all of the group members will individually interpret the theme and create a 12" square art quilt.  The January theme is 'south'.  Readers can follow the entire groups submissions and creative descriptions on the Material Maven's blog.  Catch up on older posts to learn about our members.  Some members have their own blog links listed on the Maven's home page, in addition to others of interest to art quilters.

Quilt challenge results and the next theme will be revealed on the 15th of every other month.  Rather than double posting, I will post a photo of my submission here with a link to the Maven's blog, where you can read about my creative process there.  Check back frequently there until all 14 members have posted.

2012 promises to be yet another exciting year of challenge and personal growth.  I hope you are feeling the excitement as well! Have a blessed New Year!

Three Creative Studios - Destination Theme Challenge

Can you believe the 2010 Three Creative Studios Quilt Challenge has come to an end with this final piece?  Destination was the theme.  I pondered my options to the last minute and simplified my original design a few times because I wanted the 'less is more' approach to have the largest visual impact.

"Take The High Road" measures 14" square.  The aqua batik background with moon, stars and comet shapes creates a Universe in which to suspend planet Earth.  Free motion quilting lines closely stitched in clear monofilament thread flattens the background to make the Earth appear three dimensional.

The highway is a synthetic satiny material already embellished with glitter and faux beads.  I liked the tonal striations on the gold fabric and just enough texture to add interest to the highways surface.  I fused the highway before edging it with matching embroidery thread.  My intention in drawing a winding, narrowing road that diminishes in an upward direction, is my interpretation of traveling the highway of life - a steep climb with switchbacks, that when my days on earth come to an end, the road I've traveled (and hopefully by Taking The High Road in my life choices), will lead me to my heavenly destination.

Three Creative Studios - Music Theme Challenge

jubilation - ˌjoōbəˈlā sh ən

noun

a feeling of great happiness and triumph.

"Jubilation" (16.5" X 15")

Initially I was quite excited about the music theme 3 Creative Studios had chosen for our fifth challenge quilt for 2010.  Thinking the category would be easy to come up with something wonderful, my gears started turning.  Quickly I realized how difficult it would be to narrow myself down to one idea! With only two weeks remaining before deadline, I convinced myself to run with my first idea and forget all other possibilities.

I have always loved and appreciated music in all forms and cultures.  Instrumental, vocal, group or solo, synthetic or natural.  Admittedly, I prefer and assimilate some music genres over others, but it has always amazed me how seven pure notes on the scale have been arranged in countless ways to deliver music across this globe and yet remain endless in future creative compositions.  Perhaps it is the same thread of wonder I experience knowing seven colors of the rainbow comprise the myriad beauty of art and life as a whole.

Synesthesia occurs when rare people (thought to be linked to genetic cross wiring of the senses) see music, sounds or the spoken word as color.  Some can also taste colors.  The mysteries of life are complex to say the least so I tend to hang onto my faith, believing God created everything, man and beast, music and color, all for our enjoyment and benefit.  Which brings me back to my original idea for this music themed art piece.

As a child I noticed the sweet pure melodies of various bird songs in the background of my outdoor activities.  My adult ears, over time, have learned to identify some of the birds that are speaking on the wind and can even interpret some of their language.  I try to mimic some on occasion. Ravens are especially fun to 'talk' with.  When I sing or whistle, I'm usually in a happy mood.  Sometimes I sing to get myself in a happy mood.  Listening to birdsong always, without fail, puts me in a happy mood because I sense theirs ~ singing their praises to life and creation.  It brings to mind the scripture I have used as my foundation for this art piece:

Psalm 98:4 - Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth, burst into jubilant song with music.

Ephesians 5:19 - Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord.

Construction of "Jubilation" began with a hand-dyed green fabric, rubber stamped with a leaf print using a foil adhesive, left to dry and then gold foiled with an iron.  The chickadee (my favorite bird) and leaf applique were results of previous class exercises, tossed aside for just this project!  Various options for musical notes were available to me but I decided the commercial fabric I had on hand saved time and created what I was hoping for, appliqued to look like a song.  I free-motion quilted around the bird, leaves and musical notes using a batting foundation to create a relief.  After deckle edging the quilt-let, I fused it to an orange print fabric, scalloped the edge, then fused that to an orange felt backing.  The edged quilt-let was sewn to the inner green print fabric, border strips were added, thus completing the top.  After layering the quilt sandwich, I machine quilted in the ditch along the borders. Using a green fabric calligraphy pen, I hand lettered the quotes without pre-marking, which in all honesty made me a bit nervous thinking I might mess up the whole project with a misspelled word or poor spacing!  A #1 black Pigma pen outlined the lettering for clarity.  Clear mono-filament thread created a freestyle quilted border around the quotes.  Final embellishment was hand sewing a glass ladybug on a leaf.  This little quilt makes me feel light-hearted.  It's a keeper.

Three Creative Studios 2010 - "Reflection" Theme Challenge

"Growing Reflections" (8.5" X 8.5")

Reflection -- serious thought or consideration : time for reflection.  * an idea about something, esp. one that is written down or expressed : reflections on human destiny and art.  This embroidered art piece 'reflects' many of my thoughts as a gardener.  Earthy colors, growing vegetation, soil, design, boundaries and borders, symmetry, contrast, usage of space within a confined area, light, texture and shapes.  When I ponder the subject of reflection as it pertains to my art and gardening, I discover the two are quite similar in my mind.  I chose these pastimes because they are wonderful vehicles to explore and express my creativity.

I thrive on color and how it enlivens my world around me.  Living in Alaska where the two predominant seasons are snow or no snow, almost always dark or almost always light, I need gardening for my outdoor activity, and quilting for my indoor activity.  It seems whatever season I'm currently in, I'm reflecting about the other.  Winter encourages quilting and planning the next garden of color.  Summer allows me to put my plans (and plants) in the ground, and provides ample photos and inspiration for the pending winters quilt projects.  The circle of my life is reflected in my creative pursuits, season to season.

"Growing Reflections" is also reflective in design because the four quadrants are mirror images of one another.  In some ways it reminds me of an English formal garden.  The design is free clip art I downloaded from Dover Publications.  After ink jet printing the design on silk and ironing fusible web to the back of the design, I trimmed the edges to adhere it to the light cotton background fabric.  My background fabric was then ironed to a fusible stabilizer before machine embroidering the design.  All of the embroidery was free motion stitched using 100% Rayon Embroidery Thread.  The stabilizer was thick enough to act as my batting layer, so after fusing a cotton fabric backing, I free motion machine quilted around each color section with clear mono-filament thread.  "Growing Reflections" may be hung on point or squared with equal visual balance and appeal.

To view other artist entries click on the 3 Creative Studios Quilt Challenge 2010 badge in the sidebar.

"Growing Reflections" has been donated to Anchorage Log Cabin Quilter's Small Quilt Auction being held on Sept. 11th and 12th,  at Conoco Phillips on the corner of 7th & G Street.

3 Creative Studios Challenge 2010 - 'Rhythm' theme quilt

"Heart Song" (11" X 15")

After much deliberation on how I wanted to interpret the theme Rhythm, I finally decided on heartbeats.  I kept envisioning heart monitor readouts as graphical music - depicting the rhythmical up and down beats emphasized in music.  Thus the title Heart Song.

The majority of my work was in the thinking stage on this piece.  Execution progressed quickly once I downloaded heart monitor images from the internet onto my desktop, dropped them onto a blank Painting page in Appleworks 6 on my iMac and then rearranged them before printing the page on Printed Treasures Ink Jet Fabric.

I applied fusible interfacing to the backside of the printed fabric, then added Tear Away stabilizer before machine embroidering the hearts with Rayon Embroidery thread using a free motion zigzag stitch.  A small satin stitch was used for thicker graph lines and tightly spaced straight stitching for the thinnest ones.  My color choices were black, gray, red and white.  Once all the embroidery work was done I carefully tore away the stabilizer.  I was less than satisfied with the semi curling fabric near the largest embroidered heart, thus forcing me into problem solving mode...

By cutting the large heart into an applique piece I freed the background fabric from distorting.  A  variety of rectangles were cut from the remaining fabric, using iron on fusible web to anchor each piece to the black plaid background.  Although the photos don't show the details all that well, this plaid fabric has red and white threads in the weave which adds to my 'graph' and color theme.

Large red rick rack reminds me of cyclical heart beats, as well as the red zigzag machine stitch anchoring each applique piece to the background fabric.  The striped black and white fabric was cut on the diagonal before applying as a binding, which I feel serves as great visual motion, interest and balance.

The backing was pieced from scraps used in my Passage theme quilt.  The heart label just seemed appropriate as a finishing touch.  Heart Song reminds me of the Rhythm of life and the people we love and who love us.  My husband and I both have parents who have had major heart surgeries so we are abundantly aware of those genetics in our own lives.  May our hearts sing strong for many years to come!

3 Creative Studios Challenge 2010 - 'passage' theme quilt

During my month long North Carolina vacation this past February/March, I experienced an emotionally charged tour through the International Civil Rights Center & Museum in Greensboro, NC.  The museum pays homage to four A&T freshmen who 50 years prior to the museum opening, politely refused to leave the whites-only Woolworth lunch counter in Greensboro, NC, and helped inspire a national sit-in movement that ultimately led to desegregation of the F.W. Woolworth lunch counter on July 25, 1960.

This same Woolworth store became the International Civil Rights Center & Museum, celebrating its opening February 1, 2010.  Inspiring lives of many notable African Americans from all walks of life are honored for their exceptional abilities and being excellent role models for future generations - during a time in American history when human equality was not recognized among the Blacks, especially in the South.  As I pondered the magnitude of risk and bravery these four A&T  freshmen exhibited in order to gain self-respect and the civil freedom they deserved as human beings, I was filled with admiration  for their willingness to take a stand (by taking a seat), in a peaceful demonstration to make themselves heard and improve their lives.  They proved that a few can accomplish much to influence others and thereby change history.  Changing course creates a passage from one direction to another ---  Liberation is a passage from bondage to freedom.  May we all change course when necessary, so we too may experience greater personal liberty and freedom.

"Liberation"  (21" X 22")

All of the photos were taken by myself except the bottom corner photos and the upper right corner.  Images were ink jet printed on silk habotai, backed with Misty Fuse and adhered to a cotton black and white plaid fabric.  A monochromatic black/white color theme was chosen to depict segregation of Blacks and Whites.   The mood is heavy, dark and oppressive which instills the need for 'a new and brighter day' all the more urgent.  I kept the overall construction very loose and frayed to enhance the 'unraveling' of the past as it leads to a 'less constricted' way of life.  A section of a vintage felted wool blanket was used for the batting and as part of the top construction.  Black cheesecloth is free form machine quilted on top of the blanket to form a border.  Blanket edges were raveled.

Loosely torn strips of striped black and white cotton fabric represents not only pathways or footsteps from one place to another, but the links of a chain or bars on a jail cell or fencing that forbid passage of Blacks into White areas.  The feeling of being less than, in bondage, disrespected and ultimately not belonging... opposites of freedom, equality and liberation are reinforced throughout the piece.  Originally I had sewn one sheet of black tulle over all the photos and loose threads but after quilting I decided to cut away the net for greater contrast and less confined threads.

Continuing with the unconventional mindset -  that which goes against the grain, doesn't do what is expected and is more free form and liberated... my backing of striped fabric (more of the fenced off feeling) is smaller than, and overcome by the frayed edges of the quilt top, and yet another way to show the themes movement has overcome the constraints of the times.

The detailed photo above shows the bronze marker that sits on a pedestal outside the International Civil Rights Center & Museum, honoring the four A&T freshmen who launched the Woolworth lunch counter sit-ins.  (More Greensboro sit-ins info on this website)

I've thought extensively about personal freedom, self-respect and being treated with equality as it pertains to myself and others.  So much misery could be avoided if we all lived by the Golden Rule and treated one another as we would ourselves want to be treated.  Making that daily decision is a passage unto itself, to live a better life for all humanity.  I'm glad I did this project.  It gave me much to think about.

3 Creative Studios Challenge 2010 - Puzzle

Creative challenges motivate me to think outside the box.  Having a theme with a deadline spurs me into action.  Late December I stumbled onto 3 Creative Studios Quilt Challenge and just had to sign up.  There's a link in my blog side bar for 3 Creative Studios if you want to keep up with what other participants are doing across the globe.  Every other month, beginning in January we are given a theme word (our first one is PUZZLE) to interpret any way we'd like as long as the finished quilt has three layers held together with stitching.  We are free to blog about our work in progress on our own sites but are not to submit a photo of the finished item until 'reveal week' prior to the next theme word being issued.  

Since I will be on vacation during reveal week, I needed to get my piece completed and photographed, loaded into cyberspace so I can submit it at the proper time.  My readers will see it first here. 

This project actually began in Larkin Jean Van Horn's shattered circles class last Fall.  

The more I 'puzzled' over what I wanted to do with it, my ideas about this challenge kept colliding with this shattered circle.  Although others may not see the symbolism without my explanation, here is a breakdown of what you are looking at from my perspective:


global/earth view, fragmented but complete
creation vs. evolution
fish symbolic of Christian faith vs. fish as part of the evolutionary cycle
intersecting crossroads of man and his beliefs ie. pathways to life

24 puzzle pieces from a two-sided dinosaur puzzle (complete just not assembled)

"Puzzled?"  (16" square)