Just before I left on my trip I was taking pictures of new art quilt projects at the art studio. Some were finished art quilts and also art works in progress. Like a lot of artists and quilters it is easier for me to have several art projects going so when I get stuck in which direction to go I can put one aside and work on something new to remotivate myself. Learning the method of self motivation is just what it is, a learned process. Literally it is making sure that when a design gets stalled temporarily it doesn’t get stalled permanently. This year it is very important to me to create a lot of new art quilt projects because I was just recently invited to do a trunk show and classes by a quilt guild on Vashion Island outside of Seattle, Wa. I am scheduled to travel up there about the middle of November. Even though I have taught a lot of classes about painting watercolors on fabric I have never done a full blown trunk show. I am thankful that my local quilt guild has allowed me to practice on them while I am president. They have been my tester child so to speak as a presenter. The other thing is that I have really only seen maybe two trunk show by other quilters in the past so I feel a little in adequate. To do this I researched how to approach a body of work (trunk show) on the internet and here is some of their suggestions. You need a theme of some kind for your art quilt projects. For instance when I think of the quilter Carol Doak and her many versions of paper- pieced stars, or maybe McKenna Ryan with her awesome appliqued quilts, each one uses a concept and then repeats it on a consistent basis. To me Carol is stars and McKenna is nature. When I looked at what my art quilts have represented in the past I realized it was about being outside in Idaho. You have to admit that Idaho contains some of the most beautiful nature scenes in just about every part of the state. Three of my art quilts have had that theme in them.
“Elk in Aspens”, 
“These are the grains of our lives” and “Idaho Pride”.
Through my artistic journey I have found that I am a very visual person. I take a lot of pictures for reference and collect a lot of reference books and a good 90% of them are about nature. One of my friends along time ago told me this little bit of wisdom “Do what you love and money will come”. So it came to me I love nature and all of its aspects. Well maybe not its mosquitos or ticks but just about everything else. So my body of work is going to incorporate a lot of Idaho’s nature. I am so excited to get started on my new art quilt projects while I an getting ready to share Idaho with others. The other suggestion about doing a body of work is to make sure there are those off the wall items that keeps it from being a sea of the same designs. Lately in the art studio I have been practicing abstract painting ideas. Using color and shapes to define an design idea allows me to be out of the structure box. You will notice that my new art quilt “Ghost Whisperer” and also “Tatoonie Revisted” a work in progress, were done in a very abstract way.
It was way out of my comfort zone while working on these two pieces but they grew on me so to speak.
Hopefully during these next few months as I present my progress on this body of work (trunk show) It will inspire you to be more creative in your artistic journery…….
