Greetings from Southwestern Wisconsin! I love to learn and explore new media. I try to challenge myself and learn new techniques whenever I can. Working outside of my comfort zone helps me to grow as an artist.
I found my way back to art and creativity through a set of stained glass classes that I took with my husband in the 1990’s. I had put myself aside to be a wife and then a mother. It was this class that made me realize how much of me was missing from my life. Once that door was opened, it led the way to so many more opportunities. I just follow where I am led…
My husband and I have always had a strong connection with nature. After 5 years of searching for a new place to call home we landed on a small farm in rural Wisconsin. Waking up here every day is like a dream come true. I see inspiration everywhere I look. Most of my original designs are abstracted from nature.
Our move introduced me to a huge community of quilters. These women and men have enriched my life like I never would have believed possible. We teach each other and share our ideas. Small sparks become big ideas when we bring our creative energy together.
I love bold, bright colors. I dye many of the fabrics I use. Dyeing fabric allows me to work with color pallets not available at the local quilt shop. I still work in stained glass, but fiber arts have really taken center stage. These two loves were combined when I started making my miniature quilt block jewelry. Each piece of jewelry includes a machine pieced quilt block made from my hand dyed fabrics. I sell my jewelry and hand dyed fabrics on the internet and at local quilt shows. I also belong to two internet art quilt challenge groups. I like the idea of working from a theme or keyword and then letting your imagination interpret the design. I usually start with a concrete idea in mind and end up with something completely different by the time I finish. I just follow my intuition to see where it leads.
You can read more about my rural life at:
www.shadygrovestudios.blogspot.comI maintain a second blog that is related to fabric dyeing with tips and tutorials and show and tell:
www.dyecandy.blogspot.com Warm regards from Southwestern Wisconsin. I am home and this is my creative place.
Carmen, thank you for sharing yours with me.
