#4 - arie's house - gee's bend collection

arie's house

4th in limited edition

of

gee's bend inspired game boards...

The 4th board in the collection of gee's bend inspired game boards is now available... here are photos of the finished piece... (please see earlier blog for more photos of the work in progress...and the story of the inspiration...)





Arie's House
checker board
19 x 19
limited edition of 20
$200.00 + $15.00 shipping
6 weeks delivery

to order: please email me @ dianeallison@charter.net

or call my studio: 828-265-0977, to reserve your piece...

only 10 still available...

colors: soft green, off white, red, browns, terracotta, navy and worn blue

please visit my website to see more about the gee's bend game board collection... http://www.dallisongameboards.com/ - and to see other game boards that are available...

it's the Country Living Fair!

County Living Fair

(yes, THE country living...)

September 12, 13 and 14th - (friday-sunday)

10 - 5
Rain or Shine

Ohio Historic Village

Columbus OH

i do believe this is the 3rd fair for country living... each year it has grown by leaps and bounds...and each year they find a new bigger and better location to showcase their event...

and extra special to me is that my dear friend, jen o'connor, creator of earth angels will be there with her band of angels....showcasing original paintings, pottery, decor and textiles from her earth angel artists... so many angels will be there - that you are bound to meet many... in this fun celebration...

be sure to check out jen's site: http://http//www.earthangelstoys.com/index.html, to see which of her angels will be there and when they will be doing special presentations...(jennifer lanne, aka, angel) painted the beautiful piece above....




also, for more information and for all the latest, see her blog: http://earthangelstoys.blogspot.com/, to see what us angels are up to...
(this is the beautiful jen below!)

and if you can't make it to the fair? be sure to shop at earth angels to find all the goodies that you've every dreamed of...

and remember - artists need an outlet to bring their work from their studios to you....jen has made this possible...with your support she connects the artist to the collectors...

her link is always on my site for you to check and see what art she has available...you may find yourself browsing forever....which to decide???

it's the saturday music show...

asturias - isaac albeniz

welcome fisherman's daughter....

the fisherman's daughter...

sara, who you all have probably heard me mention, by phone, emails or on the blog... has been a tremendous help to me over the many years.... whether it's unloading dishes and cleaning up the kitchen to make coffee before we head to the studio (this morning), to a much dreaded carpool, or even worse, animal sitting... sara has been with our family for many years, pulling up the loose ends to make our household, lives and work run smoothly...

sara's sister, beth, is having a baby.... a baby girl... the first grandchild in the family... the most anticipated event of the year... shower after shower, adorned with gifts, this baby girl has certainly already got it going on...

this piece titled - "fisherman's daughter" was created by sara herself as a gift for the new little one coming... the daughter of a fisherman and college teacher - what a combination of insights this little girl will have - from history to the adventure of the open waters...i think the love of learning and travel will always be on her mind...

i love this piece.... i think it is perfect, the colors of the open seas, sunrises and sunsets and fish swimming....i wanted to share this special piece with you.... you never know...just one day there may be a line of 'sweet' game boards....

quick update on Arie's House - Limited Edition

first and foremost, thank you so much for your support of my work...today the emails were coming in and the phone was ringing...

so i wanted to just give you a quick update about the new checker board entitled, Arie's House - #4 in the limited editions, inspired by Gee's Bend quilts, that i introduced earlier today...

8 of the 20 are already sold...

only 12 left...

i will update with a picture next week when the piece is complete...

until then...

19" x 19"
$200.00
$15.00 shipping

if you would like to order one - please email me at dianeallison@charter.net or call me in my studio at 828-265-0977

Arie's House... #4 in gee's bend limited editions

Introducing

"Arie's House"

#4 in Limited Edition of 20

Gee's Bend Inspired Game Boards

(the inspiration)

In the back of my mind for months i've been anxiously awaiting the studio time to create a new Gee's Bend piece... pouring over many pages of beautiful quilts, (The Quilts of Gee's Bend), i decided to make my next limited edition a checkerboard inspired by Arie Pettway - (1909-1993) - "housetop" - circa 1930. Arie's original piece is made of cotton, wool and rayon, and measures 75 x 75" and is featured on page 13 of the above mentioned book...

I loved this quilt.... so many things about it....the large borders, orange and browns.... but what touched me was that the center was her bandanna and the entire quilt was made from her old field clothes...and when i read that, the spark was lit... i had to make a piece surrounding Arie's life and work. I focused on her bandanna - the piece of fabric that wrapped her neck, touched to her heart, wiped the sweat from her forehead and covered her head from the heat...

I haven't found information on Arie herself, but will keep digging, and in the meantime I thought i'd share this paragraph from the Gee's Bend book, for i envisioned that it was about her...


"The creation of a quilt was a respite by comparison with endless other chores. The quilt was a 'cushion', in a very real sense of the word, against elements that invaded their log cabins chinked with mud against the wind. Illness, especially among children, was not a welcome visitor in Gee's Bend, and along with home remedies and castor oil came a pile of quilts to sleep under - protecting oneself, along with the warmth of siblings, against the damp of the Alabama River air. The complexity of these women's lives, woven into a daily experience that included raising children, farming and finally quilting, if reflected in the complexity of their quilt compositions."

(checker board piece drying.... after several more days of drying, i will begin the woodwork...)

I do not know how many of you grew up on farms, or your parents or grandparents had farms....it was many generations ago that it was the 'norm', but my husband, clarence, was raised on a farm, a tobacco farm. He had pickin' clothes, school clothes, church clothes and play clothes. He knows the difference in crops, dirt, weather and all the other things that seem so alien to me and my suburban upbringing. My parents were on farms too, and left and never looked back.

(mixtures of shades of color)

I remember when i went through my 'romantic' phase of - "lets buy an old farm house and fix it up and have a really large garden"... didn't sound like fun to him, sounded like all the work he had left behind along with all the discomforts... now of course, i'm older, and have watched many documentaries on farm life...and realize the difficult work and life that is often times decided by weather alone.

If you haven't already seen the Gee's Bend book, "The Quilts of Gee's Bend", here is a link to their site where you read about their quilts, see patterns or order the above book directly.

http://www.quiltsofgeesbend.com/

a days work...

I will add photos of the above piece, Arie's Home, when complete.

i've been accepted....

artfulhome

art for home. for life. forever

http://artfulhome.com/

I've recently been accepted by the Guild - Artful Home.... you may already receive their wonderful catalog - i just received my fall edition yesterday..., but they also have a website where you can browse and shop and learn about the artists, their work, and their inspirations. Artful Home, and the talented artists and beautiful artwork, is regularly featured in national and regional publications.


(hollowform vessel below by - joel hunnicutt)

Being accepted into the Guild is a great honor for me - for they represent North America's finest artists. 'Accomplished, celebrated, and rigorously selected by industry experts, Artful Home artists are among today’s proven masters.'

With over 12,000 pieces available by selected studios, the jury process is difficult. 'Each piece is selected by our jury of renowned artistic advisers. Each work of art included in Artful Home has been selected by an advisory panel of experts from the art world. Knowing that every piece you see has met our exacting standards means you can purchase with confidence.' The Artful Home catalogs and website offer more than 12,000 works of original art for the home, all made by hand and shipped direct from our Guild artists’ studios.'

The Guild - Artfulhome - is a wonderful link created from the artists studio into your homes. Please be sure to check out their site - it's easy to shop on, categories galore, and interesting reading...i especially love reading the 'artist corner', it's so interesting to see what other artists are creating.

And I thank the Guild for including me in the 1,200 artists of this country...to be surrounded by such talent is more than humbling...

I hope to be up on their site by early October - so look for me there!

below is a quilt by michele hardy - titled 'windows'.... 29.5" x 21.5" -http://www.artfulhome.com/artitem/39717.html (link takes you directly to her piece).

Andres Sogovia....

sunny board grouping...

often times, it's when my boards are on the drying racks that i see what pieces work so well together... and i'll jot them down on paper, thinking, i must make this grouping for my wall... hmmm, the story of the cobblers children?

i thought i'd share this grouping with you..., (and maybe one of the above pieces will be sent to you later this week!)...

if you would like to see more game board groupings, click on the below link, and you will then be directed to my website page, entitled 'groupings'...

http://dallison.squarespace.com/groupings/

note: when you enter this area on my website just click on a board that you like and a grouping will be shown...

the boards shown above are white backgammon, merry go round parcheesi, gypsy penny pitch, circus and boys will be boys checker boards...

kiva.org

kiva.org

Mrs. Ry Morm and her husband have been married for twenty five years. They have five children—three sons and two daughters. One of their daughters is married and lives outside the family home. as for the other four children, two are employed full time and other two are in school. The family lives about fifteen kilometers from Phnom Penh.

Mrs. Morm has been a fish seller for twenty five years. She buys the fish in her village for resale at market. Her husband is a security guard at a company in Phnom Penh.
Mrs. Morm is requesting a loan for the second time. She is asking for $1000 to purchase a motorbike for her husband to use for his work, and to buy fish for resale

over the last year i have had a link to kiva.org listed on the left of my site for people interested in giving, and for people wanting to find out what kiva is all about... but i wanted to blog about them again, after all, i do loan to them and have been repaid by several people already... every good cause deserves a cheerleader every now and then...

kiva.org - loans to entrepreneurs... this is a fascinating organization started by a couple to help individuals or groups around the world to begin their own business, add to their business, or for individual needs; transportation, roof repair...

kiva is the first micro-lending website that enables givers to directly choose and give to who they would like to support...what fascinates me about this organization is that there isn't the bureaucracy that is normally involved when one gives... you just go to their site and decide what small business or family you would like to help out with a loan (that's the hard part, choosing) ... and if feels very personal because it is so direct. the loan areas are broken down; gender, area, farm, art, school, home repairs, etc.

our country is rich and fabulous - we were built by the entrepreneur - we offer grants to artists for tools, schooling etc., grants to small businesses. this is similar, but worldwide... and i cannot tell you how many times i have needed a loan in a small amount for tools or supplies over the years, a starving artist is just that...but grants are long and time consuming request, and it can be a year before you hear back...so this is a quick-get-to-the-point and help 'personal type of grant', that is made to people around the world by you.

today i received partial payment on some of the loans that i have given. it's a good feeling for me to know that i helped somebody on 'the other side of the world' to make their vision a success. what would we do if we couldn't dream and take steps towards making our dream a reality... the entrepreneur is a fearless person and will do what it takes to succeed. i have great faith in the kiva loan receivers and know that they will work countless hours, go without, struggle, to make their vision succeed.

so if you have $25 that you would like to loan to an artist, a growing business, a household that would like to plant a crop or do home repairs, checkout their site... it's amazing what so little $ from our country can do to help others globally.

so check out their site... http://www.kiva.org/

saturday music show.... rock, so adjust those speakers...

ahhhh..... how this reminds me of my home before the oldest moved out.... visions of his place now....

could you ever?

j. brooke patterson

as you know i just love sharing artists and their work with you.... especially when it makes me smile...'tis the time we are all starting to think about upcoming gifts to give... and j. brooke patterson's work is beyond amazing... i wanted to share her unusual pieces with you, for i think you may haven't ever seen such a site! brooke describes her pieces as little worlds inside real eggshells...

i will quote brooke's words describing her process, her thoughts and her ideas.... for this is easier for me, for i don't want you to miss out on any of these things.... i will feature photos of a very small range of her work and you can go to brooke's site... http://www.jbrooke.com/index.html to see many more designs, prices and to order directly from her...

so let me introduce.... the captivating and profoundly talented

j. brooke patterson

and her amazing egg dioramas

i have looked and looked, stared for lengthy periods at brooke's work... each and every piece is a masterpiece inside itself, in this little egg... the talent of her fingers and her mind...create these unique, one of a kind pieces.... and i'm sure one day you will find many of her pieces in museums on display.

her pieces are touching in so many ways, whether childhood memories of storybooks that have been read and reread for countless hours... and seasonal pieces; flowers and snow capped trees, the partridge in the pear tree... to heartfelt times of our lives - a window to life as she's called her series...

her talents are unlimited, and certainly not limited to individual egg pieces but you will see series of egg dioramas transformed into very touching framed pieces...

brooke's thoughts on the egg:

"As a container of life, the egg also inspires one to imagine the many things that can dwell inside. It can frame and focus a passing observation, or a deep contemplation. It is opportune medium in which to create little worlds that can enchant, delight, and amuse people. Its irregular shape and size, and its intimate nature, can draw people inwards."

brooke talks about her process...

My egg dioramas are handcrafted using real eggshells. All of the elements inside are handmade individually, so each egg has its own unique character, along with the unique shape that the egg itself brings to the piece. The scenes are created using a variety of sculptural media, in addition to found and recycled materials. Each egg is framed with custom-cut glass.

i hope you have enjoyed this very small sampling of brooke's work... she has so many pieces available to choose from that you will really enjoy her web site... many of her pieces would make special gifts for the grandchildren, and wedding and anniversary gifts as well...

here is her link again... http://www.jbrooke.com/index.html

thanks brooke for sharing your work with us!

split personality

it's hard to imagine that school started 3 weeks ago.... seems like just yesterday... the signing of papers, sending in monies, joining of activities, marking calendars, car pool, lunch packing and the dreaded wake up calls, (i refuse to chant the morning calls of my childhood years....up and atom sleepyhead, still makes me cringe, how annoying is that?), and am starting off with 'time to get up', since that is what i know i will be resorting to in the upcoming teen years anyway....

and then the never ending chants....shower....did you brush your teeth, let me check them...did you brush your hair....with what?....do it again....is that all you are going to eat?, you will be hungry, pick up your room before you go, get the clothes off the bathroom floor, let the dog out, let the dog in, .... and then lots of no's no and i don't no's.... get your backpack, lets go.... and then the final... have a great day sweet potato, listen to your teacher....all that in just 45 minutes...

but as i think of him in 3rd grade i wonder down to my studio.... and get started...

i do believe that i actually have accomplished more in 3 weeks than i did in the 12 weeks of summer... my blackboard is emptying of names and game boards that need to be worked on and there is a nice feeling connected to the blank space....

i am being torn back and forth from beginning new gee's bend pieces and finishing what i have started... being an artist, sometimes you have to out smart oneself... try different things to trick your mind that is... i can't be wondering off aimlessly all the time creating new pieces when the last thing i'm needing are more boards to be painted on my blackboard.... but it is difficult having what appears to be a split personality.... and get myself to focus on what needs to be accomplished and put the creative ideas on the back burner....

i'm trying very hard to use a reward system on myself.... yes diane, you may do this, but only after you have done that.... sometimes i say to myself...how old am I? but it seems that whatever trick i'm trying to play on my personality will work for awhile....and then that other part of me (wants to have her way, and do it her way, image above), will start to take over again until i find another trick to play on myself....so i guess i'm trying to outsmart myself?

i'm sure you quilters have the same trying dilemmas.... ohhhh what wonderful fabrics you just bought at the quilt store.... and ohhhh what a wonderful design you will create.... and you are so excited and jazzed up and ready to go NOW.... and then....you look at all the quilts you have in pieces, partially done, tops ready to be quilted, a cross stitch here and there... and probably you will keep that new fabric in the bag you bought it in and maybe, just maybe..... put it in the place you keep your hundreds of fat quarter fabrics that are nicely displayed in colors for all of your upcoming quilts....

and lets not forget the stitching groups, hooking groups, quilt shows, guild groups and 'field trips', which always seem to include a nice lunch at a tea house....and just a 'little' shopping...

maybe we should go with the flow and have bumper stickers made:

beware: artist in training

stops for quilt shops

feel the fabric

discipline a quilter?

save a quilter

busy stitchin'

so what is one to do when there are so many things to be made.... i talked to my girlfriend, becky, in dallas a couple of weeks ago.... this is what she had been doing that day....

i worked on hooking for an hour, then did some quilting for a little while, and then switched over to my cross stitch.... i'm also piecing a new quilt, and started making a new hooking pattern for a rug, i'm taking a hooking field trip to the east coast this fall.... and then.....and then.....

i must admit.... that is a beautiful life.....

new art to share....

felt art by - patty benson of papaver vert

i thought i'd feature artists and their works that i come across over the next month.... holiday shopping has been on my mind.... searching for the perfect gifts and handmade pieces, of course... be sure to check the different artists in the left column for wonderful works that are offered and that i recommend from the past... and remember, with fall starting up and holidays right around the corner these artists can easily be sold out rather quickly.... so give them a call...

i don't know how many of you are familiar with the site, etsy.com - i love this site, and love surfing looking for unusual art, home decor and jewelry... many of the wonderful pieces are being made by artists that are also working full time, until they can make it on their own as an artist.... many show on the festival circuits, setting up their wares, rain or shine, and many, like i had, can be found at their kitchen table creating their crafts while their children sleep....

it's a good feeling to be able to help support these artists, their dreams and their families, and to perhaps give them the boost, that every artist needs, and to show them that their work is loved and appreciated.... so hats off to etsy for getting this site out to the masses....

patty benson (aka papaver vert), is from the west coast and has always been a designer of sorts... from making barbie clothes at the age of 6, and admittedly always forgetting to leave an opening for barbie to get into... to painting and drawing her way through school, knowing from a young age that she wanted to create and share her creations... she creates a natural and modern line of hand felted decorative pillows and accessories for the home.... i crave her bowls and vases.... wonderful to give as a gift or to have for oneself....

using an old-world technique to create a natural and modern line of hand felted decorative pillows and accessories for the home, Papaver Vert means Green Poppy in Latin and French. as of yet, no green poppies exist making this a rare thing indeed. this could be seen as the basis of Papaver Vert. Each pillow is hand made from scratch using the ancient and labor-intensive craftsmanship of hand felting wool from its semi-raw form.

the pillows are made from 100% merino wool, which makes them not only luxuriously soft but a renewable and eco-friendly material. the felt making process is a laborious one that creates a truly unique piece of art, making each one of her pillows slightly different from the next.

about the Wool Bowls - The felted bowls are made in a different way than the pillows. They are first hand crocheted using either 100% wool or 85/15 wool/mohair yarn, then wet-felted through several wash cycles, dried around molds and finally steam blocked. I am very happy to say that the yarn used for her felted wool/mohair bowls is processed and dyed in the U.S from sheep raised in the U.S, now that's pretty neat.

hand crocheted with 85/15 wool/mohair blend in a mix of heathered browns and greens, these single bowls were wet felted, dried around a mold to create their shapes and then steam blocked... before they are wet felted, the crocheted bowls are waaaayyyyy larger in shape but the process of felting them causes them to shrink into a tight, sturdy, felted fabric...

patty's process, in itself, is so fascinating.... painstakingly time consuming and the finished piece is.... well, beyond words... her colors are wonderful, you have so many to choose from and she happily can meet your custom order needs....

you can find patty's pieces at http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5108727

or you can go directly to http://www.etsy.com/, and type in Papaververt to find her....