Welcome to my Studio!

Did you think I was just a virtual studio?

Here are my Open Studio Virtual Online Tour pics, to illustrate that I am writing and creating art from a real live studio.

Reclad dresser

My husband, Ted,  “altered” an old dresser so that it has a beautiful new wooden top and room underneath to put crates on casters. My ipod provides music, and that is one of my art pieces above the dresser. You can also see a beautiful card and book from Kelli Nina Perkins.

Upper and lower cupboards

Ted also installed a whole bank of cupboards. These Ikea cupboards have a built in ironing board in the small top “drawer.” it is very handy. The little cabinet will soon be suitably decorated. It holds my handmade stamps.

Stainless steel double sink

I am the very fortunate recipient of a stainless steel, restaurant sink. The piece of wood you see at the top right is a temporary “hood. ” There is a fan behind it, and in the cupboard is a switch I can turn on for airbrushing.

Former bar area turned to storage

What was once  a fairly large bar area has sliding doors that enclose sliding carts which I can pull out to access materials that I store there (mostly in banker boxes.) There is a light inside this storage area, and more shelves at the back and along the one side. No space is wasted!

Design Wall

When the doors are closed, they form my design wall. There is enough space between the doors so that items can stay pinned on the design wall even when the I slide the doors either way. The small, colorful plastic drawer unit houses beads.

FIling cabinet

I have no excuse not to be organized (does a double negative mean I am organized?) This large vertical filing cabinet is a refurbished one, but the drawers glide beautifully. The small plastic drawer unit holds my embroidery floss.

Work and storage table: I have two of these beauties!

IAs I said in the photo caption, I have two of these beauties, designed and built by my talented, ever supportive husband, Ted. Every layer pulls out to hold paper, or works that I am drying and storing. Gwyneth is the small doll you see presiding over the setup of a new project. She was gifted to me by my friend and fellow artist, Margi Hennen.

Here is drawer pulled out.

The table looks wonky due to my picture taking, not because of the way it was built!

You can see that one “drawer” holds a lot, and keeps the items on it dust free. These are my works, except for the small piece with the crow on the side, which I received from Carla Gordon Kurt.

My sewing area can be seen on the video Cracked Paper Quilts I and Cracked Paper Quilts 2. I will eventually purchase, or Ted will build, a more multi-functional sewing cabinet.

Fabric (or paper) storage unit

Another Ted exclusive, this rack will hold fabric or paper. He made it out of copper pipe. The noodles slide on and off as needed. I also use the noodles to export cloth to other places when required.

Below it is another refurbished cabinet.

Cabinet for sewing supplies

Ted actually burned the leaf design into the wood. The cabinet holds sewing supplies, and is marked by a dressmaker torso from my friend, Diane Jones, who lives in Durham, Ontario. She and her partner, Randy Martin, are multi-talented folks who can create everything from art to houses, and also make music at the same time. (Ted and Randy are both candidates for the Superman designation, as far as Diane and I are concerned.)

Computer area

My computer work station is absolutely integral to my creative process.

Light table

Last is my very practical light table. Ted has plans for remaking this as well ~ the different sections need to pull out because it is difficult to put the paper in properly. You can see by his other work that when he puts his hands and mind to it, the light table will retain its practicality but become lovely to look at. In the meantime, it was a mainstay in my stained glass studio, of which the vestiges are now stored in boxes in the garage, but it still comes in very handy when tracing is required. A light switch on the side turns on the lights: it is very bright across the entire surface. I put a piece of 8.5 x 11 paper on it so you could get a sense of the surface size.

The little Sony Digital Handycam is responsible for any videos you have seen so far: Ted is the man behind the camera. He has a good eye and steady hand when it comes to capturing my studio antics.

Margi Hennen has a new home . . . on the Internet!

You have searched my site and combed the Internet because you are intrigued by doll maker extraordinaire, Margi Hennen. Well, she now has a site of her own!

Web Design by TrueFaux

View some of her Classic Dolls (starting with Diana and her tit bag: I offer no explanations–go and see for yourself), New Stuff (I fell in love with Watching Woman), and Goings On (through which you may be lucky enough to connect with this modern day jester).

Margi’s site is only five days old, so click over and say “Hello,” as a homewarming gift. I guarantee you will be amazed and amused. Beware, however, because you may also be challenged to question certain ideas that you hold dear (bright yellow polka dots notwithstanding).

Incubation and the Art Process

I have an insightful friend/artist, who asked me a very pertinent question about the poetry I write. Let me tell you that when discussing things with her, you had better be prepared for razor sharp penetration to the heart of an issue. It is one of the things I love about her. I had mentioned that I wasn’t writing much anymore, because I was so focused on quilt making. Here was her question/statement:

“Surely the contemplative nature of its incubation could be a productive part of your art process?”

That question left me speechless as it echoed in my skull chamber. I was tempted to smack myself on the forehead, but I have learned to accept that sometimes we are oblivious to the most obvious things about ourselves. It takes the probing of another~a loving, sentient being~to help us achieve certain realizations. Thank you Margi!

I put Margi’s insights together with Tammy Vitale’s November 21st offering, over at Women, Art, Life, of  a poem that touched others, as well as myself.  It is titled Dream. Ellie, responded by sharing  a poem of her own. She also said she once played piano! Leah liked the poem and when I went to her site, I was very taken with her work! It has the quality of visual poetry! Then I found this page by Tinkerings. The water lily is a favorite image of mine, and this hand is beautifully rendered.

So, I am going to crash the music playing, poetry writing, image making party with a poem (and image) of my own. But first, let me say that I played piano at one time (years of exams and festivals) but gave it up to pursue art and poetry. I simply didn’t feel I could spend the hours needed, any more, to keep my technique up to the level required to do justice to Bach, Mozart, etc.

As for this poem, I don’t know if it’s finished; it was in my head when I woke up yesterday morning, around 5 pm, and hurried to the computer to capture it. I may decide I have to change some words, or entire lines in the future, but I’m going to publish it anyway. The image is part of my Daily Design Papers practice, though I didn’t publish it on the blog.

Our hope would have it

There is something
within us,
something golden and round like a holy
yolk that seeks to break
free.    It’s not

that this structure    of
skin and bone lacks
comfort or
familiarity.  It actually seems
alive.    We pet
and groom it,  teach it
tricks,  entice it
with treats.    But inevitably
the pins that hold it all
in place let loose     the soft shell
crumbles.    What walked
and talked now proves
itself a mere

container.    That precious
orb within is still
intact     at least
our hope would have it
so     despite
its perfect    absolute
inscrutability.    Or,
perhaps,

because of it?

© Carol Wiebe

Perfect yolk

Three DYNAMIC women . . .wait, make that four!

I recently viewed a thrilling example of synchronicity, on Bonnie McCaffery’s site, that produced a stunning, award winning quilt! First of all, let me say that Bonnie’s contribution to the quilting community is immense. Just watch a few of her vidcasts, if you haven’t already, to substantiate that statement (and I love that she is an excellent business person as well as quilter). The particular vidcast that I am referring to here is #20. Meet Annette M. Hendricks, Gail E. Thomas, Helen Godden, three dynamic women from three countries (and two continents) who collaborated on a quilt despite overwhelming, geographical challenges. Bonnie, of course, is the fourth dynamo!

Just in case you missed it on Annette’s site, and if you still haven’t experienced your fill of this inspiring story and quilt, you can examine the back of the quilt and close-ups of the work here! It kinda makes you want to get up close and personal with some artsy fartsy friends, eh? Three visions are demonstrably better, or at least as good, as one!

You know, I was feeling in a bit of a funk for some inexplicable reason, and I realised it was because I am starting to take myself too seriously. My playful side is tickling me for more fun and frolic! The inner jester (or more appropriately, the fool) is wagging a wily finger and challenging me to get braver about just being myself, and drop any dreary imaginary standards demanded by the roles of professional artist or award winning quilter. I intend to spend more time courting my wit and whimsy. Wahoooooooooo!

By the way, a master at wit and whimsy is Margi Hennen, shown here juggling a few of her quirky dolls. Wait, make that five dynamic women. Forget it, there’s too many of you out there to count!

I want to live, and make art, more extravagantly than carefully!

A Doll Is Not Necessarily Just a Pretty Plaything

Dolls are traditionally considered to be pretty playthings. As such, they are non-threatening, mere toys, used by children to act out their innocent fantasies.

Well . . . Margi Hennen makes dolls with such a wack-load of personality, you’d swear they were six feet tall. They evince the kinds of messages that cavort with your cranium, instigating such eruptions as a hearty guffaw or an expletive (“&$#@% ! That is so true!). Kristen Pauch-Nolin characterizes them as “subversive . . . . capable of inciting, reflection, dialogue and change.” See some of them here, and here. Pretty playthings? Hardly!

I am tempted to characterize these dolls as jesters. Wikipedia reminds us that “the court jester – precisely because anything he said was by definition “a jest” and “the uttering of a fool” – could speak frankly on controversial issues in a way in which anyone else would have been severely punished for . . . Still, even the jester was not entirely immune from punishment, and he needed to walk a thin line and exercise careful judgement in how far he might go – which required him to be far from a “fool” in the modern sense.”

A tip of the mock sceptre to Master Jester Hennen, who is far from a fool herself: her dolls are not made to play with. They play with you!

A number of years ago, I created a doll for a very personal reason. My mother was experiencing a serious health concern. As an artist, my immediate response to life challenges is to explore them artistically. The result was a small doll: an art form I seldom utilize, but which brought me comfort. I felt that my love and concern were manifesting themselves as stitches. She (the doll) represents transcendence– transcendence of illness, pain, separation from loved ones. Stars, and the occasional moon (which I always think of as a feminine symbol) cover her body, indicative of heavenly realms.

When I offered this doll to my mother, I told her the story of its making. I hoped she could embrace the willingness inherent in the doll’s outstretched arms and yearning face, to accept life’s offerings, no matter what the guise. Obviously, I was revealing the same message to myself.

My mother makes her home quite far from me. I am pleased to envision that she can cradle the doll in her hand and have an immediate sense that her daughter cares for her.