Shhh...Today's Art is a Secret

It has been quite a few months since I have participated in an ACEO Theme Week contest. April's "egg" theme and May's "hats" theme just didn't speak to me, plus I had too many other things going on.

But Jun'e "summer garden" theme suits me just fine.

The ACEO is still in progress, so it's still a secret, but here is a sneak peak...





Stay tuned for the complete reveal to be made on June 1.

Artist Trading Card of Italy

I love it when the right-colored thread is already in the sewing machine, and all I have to do is sit down and sew, like I did to finish up this Italie artist trading card, the next in my French alphabet ACEO series.

ACEO Italy 2 ½” x 3 ½

...did the sewing elves set this up for me, to help me finish my artist card sooner?

Was it my clever studio gnomes who know that my favorite color matches their pointy hats ??

or was it Megan working on my new red dress...

who is going to be annoyed when her bobbin runs out sooner...??

On the Bookshelf...Vincent's Sketch Book

Added to my treasured possessions, and currently sitting on the nightstand for a nightly dose of inspiration...this lovely little sketchbook that Megan brought me from the Van Gogh museum in Amsterdam, containing several of Vincent's pencil sketches, some of them embedded in his letters, Volume I of which is also on the nightstand, and almost complete.



Might be time to do more sunflower artwork soon...

ACEO Tribute to Vincent, LE Print, 2 1/2" x 3 1/2"

Rome was not built in a day...nor was my Italy ACEO!

It was almost 2 weeks ago that I finished the "H" artist card in my French alphabet ACEO series.

Some of the letters in this series were immediately obvious to me, but I've had to work for some others. I had to work for the "I", actually flipping through my antique French dictionary (it is so much more satisfying to turn the pages of an antique book than a new one, and to occasionally stick my nose into it and smell it :-)).

When I happened across "italie", complete with a 3/4 page map, I felt a bit sheepish about not having thought of it sooner...after all, I am italian!

But with scrapbooks and homecomings and housecleanings and the store, it has taken me quite some time to build my little roman empire.

Not quite done, but well underway!



The background is hand-painted in the colors of the italian flag. On this surface I free-motion stitched with variegated thread. An outline map of italie was printed on green cardstock (thank you Bubbie for the suggestion of solid dark green...it was perfect), then stitched in place along with the "I" clockface. Gel medium tacks the letters in place and adds dimension and shine to the other paper elements.

Just have to figure out the back now!

Noblesse Oblige

I have been honored with this award from my blogging pal Deb, my most loyal of blogging pals...thank you, Deb for stopping by so frequently, always with a warm or encouraging or complimentary comment!



Like so many others, I started my blog to share and promote my artwork, my quilts offered for sale on eBay, the inspirations behind my quilts and artwork.

But art is an extension of the person, so it is impossible to talk about my art without sharing my family, my travels, my garden and other things I love - Paris, gnomes, Vincent. Before you know it, I realized I was writing the story of my life, the diary I thought I would never find the time to write. Only now instead of it being in a tiny book locked up with a tiny key and stored between the boxspring and the mattress, it is out there in the webosphere for all to see.

And to make sure it doesn't get lost in the webosphere, I periodically print the contents in a lovely book thanks to my friends at Blog2Print.

I'll be back to pass this along!

Details of Noblesse Award:
The recipient of this award is recognized for the following:
- The Blogger manifests exemplary attitude, respecting the nuances that pervadeamongst different cultures and beliefs.
- Their Blog contents inspire; strives to encourage, and offers solutions
- There is a clear purpose at the Blog; one that fosters a better understandingon Social, Political, Economic, the Arts, Cultures, Sciences and Beliefs
- The Blog is refreshing and creative- The Blogger promotes friendship and positive thinking.
The Blogger who receives this award will need to perform the following:
- Create a post with a mention and link to the person who presented the NoblesseOblige Award- The Award Conditions must be displayed at the Post
- Write a short article about what the Blog has thus far achieved
- The Blogger must present the Noblesse Oblige Award in concurrence with theAward conditions
- Blogger must display the Award at any location at their Blog.

And One More for the ACEO Collection

Another by Beata Sasik (her work is just gorgeous...I wish I could paint like this...), this one called Paris Apartment.

Next in the ACEO Collection

Another irresistable addition to the non-ACEO-collection, this one by Beata Sasik, a print of one of her originals, Festive Tower.

Paris ACEO Collection

Of course I mean the non-collection, as I have said many times...I do not collect ACEOs.

Unless of course I can't resist, like this one...Remember Paris, by Susan Lowman, eBay seller Bluelily715.

So appropriate on the day we are celebrating Megan's return.

Artful Towers

Still no arting going on, but as usual that does not mean a lack of creativity :-)

In preparation for Megan's Bon Retour party tomorrow, we made these awesome Eiffel Tower cookies.



This represents hours worth of icing squeezing :-)

Where does one get a 7" Eiffel Tower cookie cutter? Why on eBay of course.

What other Eiffel Tower gear can one get on eBay? Oh, much too much...

But I could not resist these awesome wine glasses...

Homecomings Part 2

Unlike the homecoming of Botticelli's Elements, which needed quite a bit of explanation, this homecoming is pretty much self-explanatory in pictures.

Homecomings Part 1

A well-traveled quilt has finally come home to join the other hundreds around the house.

"Botticelli's Elements", completed in Feb of 2007 (wow, that long ago!) was part of the Transatlantic Quilt Challenge II and has been to the UK and back, with lots of exhibit venues in between.

The challenge was to create a quilt using some of a specific 6 fabrics, 3 each from the US and UK. I think those were the only requirements, but I honestly don't remember (no surprise here!). The fabrics were quite disparate and not even necessarily all that attractive :-)

But there was one which grabbed me, and was chosen to be my focal subject, a fabric representation of Botticelli's Birth of Venus. Coincidentally we had traveled to Italy just the prior year and I had seen this wonderful painting at the Ufizzi Gallery in Florence.



I decided to capture 6 elements - Venus, the shell, the robe, the background trees, water, wind and the wind-strewn flowers - with the 6 fabrics, not is a realistic way, but in a elemental manner most representative of my quilting style, using predominantly squares.



The squares are all rough-edge applied to a batik background.



The larger elements are satin-stitched along the edges.



Extensive free-motion quilting covers the piece!



Need to get some better pictures, but this is a quick attempt to capture the homecoming.


Botticelli's Elements, Diane Weber, 48" x 48"

I Declare it Done!

At approximately 8:36 PM PST, I am declaring the Paris scrapbook complete (despite yesterday's consensus that scrapbooks are never complete ;-)!

I am too wound up and at the same time exhausted to try to photograph it all, but here are the final highlights.

ZNE

A couple weeks ago I attended Convenzione, an event sponsored by ZNE, VariaZioNE. What is all this? Well, a way to feed my latest interest, which I have been cultivating since the beginning of the year, mixed media!

I am proud to now be a member of the ZNE organization. I thought I would celebrate with a little slideshow of the first 50 or so mixed media ACEOs I have created...wow, that many already, and only started in 2009!

(Sorry you can't see the full image on the portrait orientations, but I could not resist the Paris backdrop for my slideshow ;-))

All Spare Moments Scrapping

Just a few days left to finish this up...wait, is one ever finished with a scrapbook??

From Cards to the Scrapbook

All the creative energy available is being poured into the Paris Scrapbook, to hopefully be in some state of completion before THURSDAY!



One of the things I need to learn is how to take pictures of scrapbook layouts...the 12x12 size does not lend itself to scanning.
I love the soft colors and warm thoughts spread onto these two pages...simple quiet moments and simple pleasures...ah, Mamie Gâteau!



Then some not-so-quiet but just as memorable, from le lieu le plus heureux sur la terre!
I got to use the Mickey Mouse confetti, also known as pixie dust, that I patiently picked up from the ground after the parade...when was that...Christmas I think, maybe 2003??



And then there are the moments I get to live only through the pictures, but I can feel the fun, the love and the warmth of the Paris sun!