Thursday, May 15, 2014

What do I love to Create, How I do it...and the good that comes from it ...

 I am now offering the opportunity to take some fun Art Quilting Classes either in small groups or Individual , for a very reasonable fee.  I have many techniques I have developed over my last 41 plus years of sewing, creating with fabrics and making art to sell  email me at fairygodmotherarts1@gmail.com





Ok here is another one of my stories .. I started sewing when I was 10 yrs old the only place to buy fabric was the GC Murphy in old town Alexandria at that time...so my granma would buy me some there but taught me how to recycle.  Then one day they built a new mall ...and in it was the most glorious place called Minnesota Fabrics*    well I started cutting lawns for fabric money...and they would put remnant bags together for 1.00 I am talking a BIG Huge bag of fabric...I would buy every one and then go through them and create whatever....it was so much fun....miss those days...when I got married the price had gone up to 2.00 but I worked so I would buy them as many as I could..but just didn't seem to use it all,even though I made lots of clothes for our children, curtains , pillows, quilts etc.

 One day after a few years of living in our house my husband (yes that one) went into the attic and saw over 30 trash bags full of fabric and demanded I get rid of them, reluctantly we put them out to a yard sale (thinking would make some money to buy more) but I only sold a few pieces and was trying to figure out what to do with them , since they were not allowed back in the house.  A Priest pulled up to the yard sale in a yellow VW Bug, came over and was looking at all the bags of fabric.  He asked how much, I asked him what was he needing it for ....he said the church ladies made quilts for aids babies and other children.  I told him he could have it all...a look of disbelief on his face and a Are you kidding?  which sounded funny coming from a Priest...we helped him stuff about 5 bags in his car and he said he would be back later for the rest...he and the ladies came back and loaded up their cars.  A few months later I saw him and he told me they made over 150 quilts from those bags so far...can you imagine 150 happy children from something I had saved ...my stash became a God Stash,,,,A few years ago I made a pact with myself to only buy 1/4 yard pieces from now on unless truly special ...and I have done pretty good...except for when people clean their stashes out and give them to me....have a blessed day and always look for the silver lame lining to our stashes

* I still shop there when I go to visit my mom , it is now Hancock fabrics, and when I learned to drive and got a car I would go  to Hollin Hall Variety a local five and dime that had the best "Quilting" fabric collection around then.     Hollin Hall Variety , one of the funnest places to go

I love to create with anything and everything ....I like to do what I call Rustic hand sewing...sort of a not so perfect applique and quilting.  Don't get me wrong , I am in awe of the people who do the sophisticated  intricate applique quilts with a gazillion pieces and is literally a masterpiece when done and then they throw it on a bed.   I wonder how many actually make it being on beds...??? hmmmmmm.

Right now I am trying to get back to doing embroidery  free form ,,, I have all of my inspirational books by Judith Baker Montano , I just added her "Free  form Embroidery "  to that collection, I just want a few years to sit down and do it all, that is not too much to ask.

Her work and techniques are so intriguing , you can help but walk in to them and become a part of it.


Update : April 2014 I moved back   to Alexandria, where I was born and raised as well as all my family on my mom's side. 

I am now available to teach my skills to other in workshops and sell my art work in the Northern Virginia area by appointment or local art and craft shows.

Well have a Blessed day and  Create   Imagine   Just Believe and DO.
Sunrise in the Outer Banks Fabric Postcard

Tag  crazy quilt, with "PAS" Dragonfly

Crazy quilt fabric postcard Dragonfly done with "PAS" Technique

Mermaid ornament hair made from trim samples

Recycled Fabric Wallets

Dress Postcard from a Challenge

Dress Postcard from a Challenge made with trim samples

Woven Fabric Tag


Art Quilt one in a series of 7
Moonrise on Currituck Bay
Some of my Art for sale at local Art Shows
Suitcase with all of my fabric and mixed media  postcards



Cat "painted" on fabric using Pantone markers


don't be chicken just create and dance
some of my Rustic Hand Sewing

No. 2 in the face series the back is layered strips of scrap under sheer

I love Houses and making them , and the great thing is that I can use the prettiest scraps like this one


Sunday, May 4, 2014

Art Quilts are fun to make...let me teach you how

Once upon a time there was a little girl who found her mother's Singer sewing machine one day, little did she know where that momentous meeting would lead. 

Three years later after sewing a few doll clothes and little projects here and there, one of the little kids she babysat woke up from a dream and told her he wanted a green kangaroo with blue plaid pocket.  So the next day she went to Memco and bought some fabric and made him that green kangaroo, that was the glimpse into the future.

I tried patterns that places sold , but they were frustrating and too many pieces, so I designed my own.  There was a neon green platypus , and blue bears ...yellow kitties and pink elephants. By age 15 I was designing and selling fully jointed teddy bears at local art shows and for special orders.  In 1978 I met a group of ladies that loved Teddy Bears as much as I did and that took my little company to a whole new level.  We went to Collectable Teddy Bear Shows in Towson, Maryland and it was amazing, how many people there were like me, that loved designing and creating bears straight from their heart and soul.

I learned how to joint (make movable arms,legs and heads) bears , I would make them from faux furs I would buy at the local Minn Fab store, or at Memco or wherever I found it .  Each bear was one of a kind all jointed, hand finished with embroidered nose and then I used safety lock eyes, from Hollin Hall variety.

Each bear took about 6 to 16 hours to make from start to finish and very hard on the hands turning the pieces out , jointing them, stuffing them, hand sewing the seams closed, brushing the seams out, sewing on the ears , stitching the nose and mouth on and the eyes...   Plus inhaling lots of fluff pieces floating all around...lol.  I made over a couple hundred bears every year till 1995 when I had to stop for health reasons.

So now you are saying thought this was about ART QUILTS???  Well it is , I love to sew and eventually the damage of making bears the way I did caused a lot of issues with my hands, and I started sewing more quilts, table runners and more.  Then one day I discovered Art quilts , they are composed of the traditional 3 layers , but that is about where it stops.  Art Quilts are created with our heart, soul and imagination that could never be contained in a box.   They can be any size from 5 x 7 inches to King size...and are created with machine sewing, hand sewing , fusing , whatever you can think of.  There are no hard fast set rules, and the freedom to create a painting made with pieces of fabric is out of this world.

I have spent the last 35 years developing my techniques for sewing things in a quick fun and simpler method then traditional sewers and patterns use.  Putting in tons of fun and taking out the frustration of trying to sew, making sewing and creating art bearable.  Plus techniques that allow you to make jointed teddy bears from 1 & 1/2 inch  tall to 36 inches or more....   

I also developed techniques to use in art quilting called PAS : Poor Artist Silkscreen a fun way to re create fabrics and add images unlike any other
 
So now I teach people how to CUT loose and experience creating with fabric art quilts, whether it is abstract, landscape or realistic interpretation.   One day work shops 6 to 8 hours and you can create a beautiful piece of art to be proud of.  

Fabric Postcard mailable art I also teach Fabric Postcards
how to make art dolls :simple mermaid art  doll
Mohair Antique style Teddy Bear   Maxmillian
, How to make collectible teddy bears , , wire wrapped jewelry , for just a few options.  If there is something you want to learn just contact me and I will see if I can help you.

Sea Glass, Emerald TrianglesWire Wrapped Sea Glass

Why I create (my new name Lorri Lee Glennon)

My photo
Hobbsville, North Carolina, United States
Having been a artist literally all my life, I love color and dimension.I learned to sew at age 10 , by age 13 started a stuffed animal business, which grew into a collectable Teddy Bear Business for 15 + years. I opened my own bead store specializing in Spontaneous Creation classes and love to teach everyone they could be creative and open the door to their imagination.I recently returned to one of my favorite art forms taking photographs my father gave me my first camera when I was a child and I have loved photography ever since. I took professional family portraits and weddings for the first 5 years living in the Outer Banks, I am now shooting Family portraits again and sharing my love of the Outer Banks through my blogs. Be creative, walk in faith and never give up....It all happens in God's time