International Womens Day is on March 8. There will be a big celebration in Chico with dancers, singers, films, lectures, food, ethnic and women's groups booths etc at the Womens Club on 3rd  from 5:30-8:30. I'll get more details out later
My contribution to this event was to create  a quilt  (with embellishment assistance of the very talented Eve Hutton) to be used as a fundraiser at that event with funds going to support Just One Person, a nonprofit group that benefits young women in East Africa helping  them to attend school and develop careers instead of being married off in their early teens. It is called "Celebrate!" and it is 42" wide by 30" high, using my stained glass technique.





I am planning  to teach a fabric collage portrait class (animal or human) on Feb 10 and/or 11. I need to hear from you if you are interested so I know that I have a minimum of 6 students to go ahead with this. I will need your photo in advance to make a pattern for you. The technique is not hard after that, so take a chance!




Another of my quilts is in a magazine. Sfat: the Blue Door is in the current issue, so I'm told, of American Quilter magazine. I haven't received a copy yet because I guess I somehow let my membership lapse. Maybe they'll send me one like the publishers of the other magazines have done. Here's another photo of it.
 I may have to teach a portal series. It's a fun way to showcase a memory



New website is under development. Because I needed more stress and another commitment (did it to myself).


Then back to Hawaii to look some more. Busy weeks ahead

A few weeks in Hawaii and you haven't heard a word from me (no surprise). Too beautiful for words on the windward side of the big island, so I'll just show a few pictures.
Hopefully we'll soon have a big house over there to share with vacationing family and friends. Stay tuned. Lots of inspiration for new paintings and quilts too.

Right after we got back I taught an eager group of students in my streamlined stained glass quilting class. So fun and so easy!

Here's some of my students' work in progress:
Frances used tan "leading" for an oriental look
Nancy went for simplicity to get it done
This was my class demo
Fran's Sunflower is ready for quilting. I hope to show some more when I get to see them finished.

Meanwhile if you want to see some of my work in person, so to speak, right now, "Lovebirds 2.4 Love" is down at Road to California, and "Waders" and "Flight Envy" are in the Snowgoose Festival at Ave 9 Gallery.

Stained glass quilting - in Italy!

Waders

Well, first I'll be teaching  in venues here in the US,  the next one being in Chico (check in with the Rabbit Hole shop).
 If you want me to come to you, let me know! The class can go from a day to a week.
 Here's my latest one, which has been juried into  the Snow Goose Festival opening January 20 at Avenue 9 and Chico Art Center galleries . 45 excellent artists will be in that show- do not miss it!
 More exciting news. I'm on the list to teach stained glass designing and quilting at the Abruzzo fiber arts school in Italy August 8-15. Sign up through the school for a memorable Italian experience in a charming medieval town. I'll help you with a photo that captures the experience and help you make it into a stained glass masterpiece (or two)..
I then plan  to lead the  group to visit, photograph, and sketch/journal other parts of the country, ( if you have more time, for an additional, but  reasonable price).
 There are also some other wonderful teachers at the school at other times  if you can't join me (but I hope you will! ). Great accommodations, scenery, food, and lots of individual instruction. Check it out here: http://www.abruzzoschoolofcreativeart.com/phyllis-cullen.php Let me know as soon as possible if you are interested, so we can design our trip!

On the Road Again

Happy holiday  time!
A month with trips to San Diego, Lodi, Carson City, Medford, Boise, and the Russian River.I love to visit kids, grandkids, (and grand dogs), and I love to teach,-
 but when do I get studio time to paint or quilt?

Marc, overwhelmed with love by Alani's 3 boxers.

sunset in La Jolla

We did fall in love with a house with panoramic ocean and mountain views in San Diego, but the price to match is way out of our reach. Sorry, Alani. Guess we're not moving right now..

I sent out my 25 postcards for the Tree of Life post card exchange in time for Chanuka (and actually remembered to take a photo this time).
I had great help making these from Sophie and Maia (ages 4 and 2)






Some pieces I finally finished:   An often photographed old mill in New England's
gorgeous autumn.

On the way to the beach in Bodega Bay                  One of our local old tank houses

           

November madness

Joy (Lovebirds Three)

   Recent highlights, of course, besides 4 adorable little girls and their  wonderful parents, to visit, were trips to Idaho, Seattle,, and Houston. The International Quilt Festival in Houston was astounding as usual, and the lectures, demos, vendor booths, added to the huge variety of top level quilted art, provided inspiration for months to come.
My quilts, photos, and poetry  were there, and Joy was published not in one, but two different magazine's  October-November issue . It's this one,
Go to Quilts.com to see more from the show

Treetop Pair

Thanks
Annie's Star for the beautiful
handmade ribbon  that came
home with my parrots


And for those of you interested in learning this  fun and easy stained glass technique, go on over  to the Rabbit Hole quilt shop in Chico to sign up for the class on January 14. You can get all the details there (or call me).                                                                                      

Solitude

                                   
Here is a the class sample, which is hanging in the shop, although I will help you make your own pattern if you like.

Violet's curvy quilt

Now I'm back home, I hope to have
some new work to show you soon.



 Meanwhile, I did manage to make a quick baby quilt (and take an even quicker snapshot  of it) for our newest grand daughter.
 Welcome to the world, Violet!

Open Studio

Open Studio Tour this weekend and next gives you all plenty of opportunity to come by the studio, see what it looks like, check out the beautiful and incredibly functional furniture my brother Dave made for it, see what's new, watch me demonstrate free motion quilting and collage on the long arm machine, and felting on my Bernina, and just come visit and catch up with each other.. Here's a few of the felted  pieces,  a few new minis,

 here's  a piece made for the Textile Abstractions blog ( which you can check out  through my sidebar),




















 and here's a piece I painted from a  class with Frank Wilson (paint along with Frank) which I then thread painted/quilted
In between I've been to San Jose  (newest grand daughter Violet has arrived), New York, Connecticut, Oregon, and  San Francisco. No wonder I'm so far behind in my to do list in the studio.,










 I did get to the last of the Chico Heritage plein aire paint outs, however, and my Matador oil painting  will go to the Chico Icons show.







Next week, off to  teach in Boise, Idaho Falls, Twin Falls, and Burley Idaho. I come home for the second weekend of open studios( see you there?) and leave the next day for Seattle, Kent, Tacoma and Bellevue WA from whence I fly to Houston for the big show. See you there? Stop me if you see me! I'd love to meet you.

New Stuff! Hurray!

Well, at least no one can accuse me of overloading my readers with too many posts... ok, this is waaay overdue, it won't happen again, blah blah
So, I've been so busy sending stuff off here and there I might as well tell you where you can see my work: Hayward New Line Cinema Gallery, Berkeley EB-MUD building (soon), PIQF, our own Annie's Star Quilt show Oct 22-23, Houston, judged show (2) , SAQA vSense of Adventure, and Hands all Around. You will not see my work in the winner's circle.
And, of course, at Avenue 9 gallery and  OPEN STUDIO at my home studio on Oct 22-23 and Oct 29-30. Come one, come all! I will be demonstrating thread painting on the long arm and felting
 My newest family album piece is done. I am including a photo of it after the collage, before the thread work with my oil painting set up next to it to show my method. The completed quilt has all the thread work done too.

I'm also showing you a little felted piece to
 whet your interest





A little plein air piece from the Mozart mile event.  After 15 minutes , the musicians at that spot on the race route packed up and left, so this is a very  quick  sketch!                            

and just a couple of other places we've been lately, Arata Pumpkin patch near half moon Bay (ponies, petting zoo, maze, gladiators, haunted house, bouncy house, LOTS of pumpkins)

And on the Oregon coast . Astoria. the bright green pilings in the Columbia river really are that color

Watch for early January for workshops locally on portraits and on easy stained glass quilts. Teaching schedule getting interesting for next year (Alaska! Israel! and....)

Painting, painting

Passing Lane

My latest painted quilt is over at the Textile Abstractions blog, made in response to the challenge word "contrast."Check out that blog for more description and to see how the others dealt with it. I am way behind on those challenges, but thank goodness we aren't that strict, since we are all so-o-o busy ( hum mantra of the 21st century). Here's a photo though.

Autumn Reflections

 And a quick little (11x14) oil painting of my favorite
season, autumn . Nothing compares to the reflections
 of New England foliage (this is a lake in Acadia
National Park). I tried to express the fall excitement
at the end of the day.
Yep, it's 99 degrees outside and autumn can't come
too soon. Of course we have sunshine
 and not hurricanes so I really shouldn't complain.
Fall social season, however, is already in full swing,
so although I enjoy every get-together, party,
show and event, I am already bemoaning my
time away from the studio.

Art in the Barn

That's the name of the art show that will be part of next Saturday's Concours de l'Artiste, musical entertainment, food, wine, classic cars, and a beautiful setting, a fund raiser for the Northern California Ballet. Tickets are available from the Chico and Paradise Chambers of Commerce, or call us at Avenue 9  gallery to see where else to get them. I'm looking forward to all of it, especially the art of course! Expect to be greeted as you drive in by Mr Personality,  as I've dubbed this inquisitive llama who watched me intently as I painted his portrait (oil, 16 x20).  It will  be on sale along with my ballerina paintings and more than 50 other beautiful works of art by several artists far more talented than me.
 There';s also a magnificent new show on display right now at Avenue 9 Gallery by two very talented photographers. Amazing nature photography.They will be at the closing reception on September 1, but you can see their work before then!
 Along with stuff from the rest of us, the usual suspects. I have a wool felted fiber piece, two watercolors and  various photos for my contribution this month. Several other things in progress but not much to show you yet.
Time to get serious. Open studios is coming up fast.

A blog? I have a blog? oh, Yeah!...

And there it is, right on my to-do list! (Unfortunately anyone who knows me and has seen my to do lists (yep, plural) knows they are about 78 items long. So easy for "update the blog" to get unnoticed). Doesn't mean I didn't want to.

 So, anyhow, still travelling. Last trip to Portland a  few weeks ago we accidentally found a touring group of restored cars from the 1900 to 1920 era. There were about 300 of them and their occupants were all in period clothing too. Looks like there will need to be paintings and quilts from that show. Here are just a few pics

 They were on a group ride down the west cost and were all parked at Fort Vancouver, which was also fun  (recreated buildings, reenacting people and occupations. worth a visit.)



We also went to a nursery full of amazing

water plants, gorgeous lotus blossoms,  with lily pads big enough for
 kids to sit on ( as demonstrated by the
owners' children). More inspiration.

Solitude

Meanwhile I am way behind in work
 for the Textile Abstractions group,
 having finished "solitude", shown here,
but not even in planning for the next two.
 Solitude was inspired by a painting  I did of 
 Bodega Bay a few years ago

The big event at the Chapelle de l'Artiste is coming up soon. It's a benefit for the Northern California Ballet, on Saturday night, august 27. Besides the Art in the Barn show and sale, there will be a classic car show, all over the gorgeous property (which is a reason to come just by itself), good food and drink, live music, etc. I did finish two more ballerina paintings, shown here (one is a quick watercolor sketch I did on site, the other an oil I did from my sketches, memories and photos). I am almost finished with another oil, of the llamas, but I don't think it will be dry on time, we'll see. Naturally, the quilt will NOT be ready this month.  (No, you only think I can work that fast...)
 Tickets are available thru Chico or Paradise Chamber of Commerce i believe

I will be arranging to teach a portrait quilt class and a stained glass quilt class locally. . Let me know if you are
interested in either, so we can take that into account when scheduling which weekends