Fiber Artist
Goals are good — deadlines can be overwhelming. That’s life. I have a solo exhibit opening October 1st and I set myself the goal of having a significant number of new works completed. It’s crunch time and I have two pieces yet to finish. I’ve shared some of my grandmother’s fine hand work before and […]
Here is the latest in my Broken Ginkgo series. For now, at least, this will be the last. I have two other pieces that need to be completed before my solo show which opens October 1 at Creative Framing & Gallery (check the side bar for more details). To read about the first 4 in […]
As an artist, I try to be diligent about acknowledging other artist’s work whenever I share it here. It has been my practice to watermark the images I take with ©FrankiKohler.com because I actually clicked the image. When your cursor hovers over the image the name of the art and the artist are revealed. During […]
This is the second of a series of 12″-square art quilts begun with a small scrap of printed cotton fabric. This one included a challenge of using three colors of blue thread and several sizes and patterns of free-motion quilting lines. Here are some details You can see where this idea began here. Earlier postings […]
I realize that this is just fabric and thread but I am pushing myself in new directions and it feels more like walking a tightrope. One slip, and well, let’s not go there. I’ve had this piece on my design wall long enough. Time to move forward with something. The next layer of quilting is […]
Fellow artist and on-line friend Sharon Benton has temporarily moved from the Seattle area to San Jose for a few months and we are getting to know each other in person — so fun! Sharon was a charter member of Postmark’d Art so we have been chatting on-line and swapping art since 2004. Last week […]
The final touches were completed this morning. I was successful in getting a variety of designs and design sizes in this small quilt so I’m pleased with the outcome. This series is quite fun! I have #5 ready to quilt and #6 is mentally being pulled together. And here’s the back Who knows when this […]
While I work out quilting designs for the sunflower scrap I’m working on the fourth broken ginkgo quilt. I have each piece of the pattern solidly stitched on the very edges and have begun the quilting. I tend to quilt very densely — some refer to this as quilting it to death — so keeping […]
I’m having a lot of fun creating a bouquet of sunflower scrap pieces. Here is the second piece well under way. I chose to use a square scrap for this one. Yes, those are a lot of pins. After stitching the pedals and seeds I was concerned about distortion so I blocked it. I used […]
Heather Piazza joined me for a visit to the O’Hanlon Gallery to see their current exhibit Bay Area Women Artists. The art center is located in bucolic Mill Valley, just north of San Francisco. Of the 56 pieces Donna Seager selected for this exhibit only four are textiles. I continue to be impressed by the […]
Ginkgo Dust Up has been accepted for Bay Area Women Artists, an exhibit that just opened at the O’Hanlon Center Gallery in Mill Valley. The O’Hanlon Center for the Arts provides programs, studio space and exhibits as part of its mission for fostering creativity and building community. Juror Donna Seager of Seager Gray Gallery in […]
I purchased the only tube of blue beads that were the right shade and size. I hesitated with the purchase knowing that if I ran out of beads before I was done I was sunk. I decided to risk it. The beads are on and here is what I have left in the tube. Lucky […]
I recently shared the beginning of a new project using a scrap of printed sunflower fabric. I thought I had my direction well-defined and that this foot-square piece would be whipped out and on my wall in no time. Nope. That was not the way it was to be. I had some learning and stretching […]
Last week I was in San Diego for a class reunion with Frankfurt American High School alum — it happened to be the same week that the International Quilt Festival was featured at the Long Beach Convention Center. Oh my! I hitched a ride with Kay Laboda and we spent a day at the festival. […]
Beginning something new is always a shot of adrenalin to the creative flow. While pouring over a stack of Machine Quilting Unlimited magazines, an article by Jenny Bowker (May 2011) called “Starter Scrap Quilting” piqued my interest. Jenny likes to start with a small scrap of large-print fabric, add borders, then extend the pattern of […]
When was the last time ‘operator error’ was good news for you? Well, it turned out to be good news for me this week. Just Wednesday I shared some cyanotype prints with you, pointing out that one had a blotch caused by a water spot. I puzzled over this spot at the time I noticed […]
Studio Art Quilt Associates (SAQA) just announced some exciting news to members: In 2012, we have received 394 donated art quilts. Most will be sold through SAQA’s online Benefit Auction. A special group of 106 will be sold in the SAQA booth at International Quilt Festival – Houston. Warren and Nancy Brakensiek selected the works […]
This is one of the small works I took with me to Asilomar last month. While there I did get some work done on it, but the many distractions did not allow for the kind of decision-making necessary to complete it. Yesterday, thanks to a day I spent with Jenny Lyon focused on quilting, I […]
I was invited in 2010 to be the Artist in Residence during one of the five sessions that Empty Spools Seminars holds classes at Asilomar Conference Grounds in Pacific Grove, CA. I was thrilled to sign the contract and here I am today. Arrival day was Sunday, June 17. My sister Christy met me here […]
I’m going to be the Artist in Residence for Empty Spools Seminars later this month. Empty Spools has been putting teachers and students together to fine-tune quilt-making skills since 1985. The setting is Asilomar Conference Center in Pacific Grove, California, right on the ocean. It just doesn’t get any better. Being AIR is quite an […]
That’s how many 12-inch square beauties are already available for viewing on the Studio Art Quilt Associates auction page. Be sure to click on the What You Can’t See on the Computer link to get more information about the quilts. The auction begins Monday, September 10 at 2 p.m. Eastern time and at this pace […]
I look forward to reading Mick LaSalle, movie critic for the San Francisco Chronicle, every Sunday. He writes a thoughtful, intelligent column and very often I am moved to a big “Amen!” upon reading an exchange between Mick and a local reader. A reader recently asked Mick to respond to critic John Simon‘s comment that […]
I’m working on a third broken color piece using the ginkgo leaf — yes, it’s a bit of an obsession. But I don’t mind. I never tire of the ginkgo leaf. I’m using the same pattern I used in February intentionally. The first one I made was sent to Studio Art Quilt Associates for the […]
I’m thrilled! The three quilts accepted for the Best of the Valley 2012 show each earned a ribbon. Precious Metals received 1st Place honors in the Mini Quilts, Art category. Oakleaf Hydrangea was pinned with a 3rd Place ribbon and Fall Ginkgos was recognized with an Honorable Mention ribbon. These are the first ribbons my […]
Oakleaf Hydrangea, Fall Ginkgos and Precious Metals were juried into this year’s The Best of the Valley show which opens tomorrow, Friday, April 13, in Lindsay, CA. I am always thrilled to have my work accepted by judges who are seeing art works from some of the best in the art quilt community. Acceptance is […]
It’s still raining and I finished the second Broken Ginkgos art quilt. I thought I had everything figured out ahead of time for this small quilt. I had planned to use the orange fabric — the ‘broken’ element in this quit — for the binding. In fact, it was cut, prepared and ready to stitch […]
I’m happy to be closing in on the finish of another broken colors quilt. I have been wanting to return to this method since completing my first piece which became a donation for the SAQA 2012 fund-raiser. I’m eager to finish this one so I’ll have it on my wall to enjoy. The white lines […]
I learned a technique that Denise Miller calls broken color (after a water-color technique) earlier this month and I shared progress on a small art quilt. I’ve completed the quilt now and have decided to call it Broken Ginkgos. This quilt will be donated to Studio Art Quilts Associates (SAQA) for their 2012 fund-raiser. SAQA’s […]
I simply had to go! The traveling SAQA exhibit Art Meets Science opened on February 3rd at Visions Art Museum in San Diego, CA. My quilt Nature’s Fractal is a part of this traveling exhibition and this is the only West Coast venue. (See the sidebar for an explanation of the exhibit and where it […]
