Visiting Friends, Part 1

During the next few weeks, I would like to occasionally feature a few of the talented and generous people I met during my travels. I must begin with Patty who welcomed me in Knoxville, Tennessee. I had stumbled upon her blog (here) and had asked her about guilds and fabric shops in the area…and that’s all it took. She took me to the Thursday Bee and the Smoky Mountain Quilt Guild. In addition, we did a tour of quilt shops and she took me to her home where she has a beautiful studio which was originally the living room of the house--this woman has her priorities straight! 

Not only is Patty a professional hand quilter, but she possesses quite a selection of quilted clothing. I particularly liked her coats of which these are a small sampling. 
A lovely evening coat of velvet.          A sassy blue coat and hat, taken in her studio.

On the outrageously fun side,                  

this coat complete with puffy sleeves

would be suitable for a Renaissance

Faire.                                                       And Patty collects dragons so, of course,

                                                 she made a dragon coat.

Here are a few of her beautiful quilts. Patty has a liking for Hawaiian motifs and everyone knows I have a fondness for appliqué. Hers is impeccable.

                            Patty is prolific. She must have a hundred quilts stored away. 

                                  My heart skips a beat when I look at this square quilt. 
                                    Her circle quilts are equally captivating.        

                                                                          And a closeup. 

                               

                                      This one is titled "3rd Day of the Universe." 
                                     Can you guess Patty's favorite color?

So thank you, Patty, for making my trip to the States memorable. 

Did I have a good time!

A Magical Happy Blog Birthday

Yes, one year ago today the tranquil Province of MulticoloredPieces came into existence.  Easier said than done—it took about forty years of work/play to get to this one year. When I hesitatingly started out, I calculated that I had enough material for about a year. However, it would appear that there still remains enough material to get through another year. 

     In my peregrinations, various blog birthday presents crossed my path.

Many useful items for future play and posts beckoned to me. Purses seem to be in the future so I purchased the hardware for straps and clasps. Old buttons showed up--notice the two round, yellowish buttons that look like eyes? Bizarre and irresistible. No idea what I'll do with them. The old watch faces are for a piece about time that has been simmering on the back burner for too long.
        And who could resist the fabric in those beautiful American quilt stores ?

I truly restrained myself, buying only with my pomegranate tree quilt in mind. OK, I threw in a few blacks because they're always useful. I may never use the pomegranate fabric, but, I knew that I would regret not buying it once home. 

What have I learned in this year? Probably like everyone else, I’ve enjoyed the making of new friends and having art/quilt shows available at my fingertips. I’m astounded by the creativity of artists/artisans around the globe and their generosity in sharing ideas, techniques, and information, in allowing visitors into their lives. In addition, the diversity is invigorating.

Of course, I didn’t realize the amount of work a blog would require, however, one post a week for three weeks, then a week off feels right to me. I find this blog keeps me on track and focused. For a long time I created my art quilts in a relative vacuum. Now a window on the world has opened and I can illustrate my blog with my artwork. Indeed, MulticoloredPieces has become an artistic endeavor, my form of an artistic chronicle. 

        

Looking back at that first post, I feel the need to revisit that monster of a quilt, Flowers for Abou Jihad (Nov. 1993, 79”x79”) maybe because the colors go well with the above watercolor painting and perhaps because it remains engrained in my soul due to its size and the three-year gestation period (worse than kids).

This piece moves on its own if you look at it long enough; it seems to generate energy as if it's going to swirl away to an exciting future, as I hope MulticoloredPieces will do as well.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all followers, readers, and visitors. You have made this birthday magical just by your virtual presence.

More Thoughts on Sand

I'm back. I returned to the tranquil province of MulticoloredPieces after six weeks in the States visiting family and meeting blogger friends (more on that in later posts). It was a blast, but, living out of a suitcase leaves much to be desired. Basta!
         I found a great deal of garden work as summer approaches, and so, I'll be busy outside for the next few weeks. For the moment, I'd like to return to my diatribe on the beach. Even though I'm thankful to be back in Tunisia, the beach remains as unappealing as ever. Probably because of the sand. Sand is useful for making glass, I suppose, or for adding to the clay in my garden. Beyond that…?

         Well, yes, beyond that: 

At the beach, the vistas are spectacular with the melting of the blues of the sea with the blues of the sky at the distant horizon. "Sea, Sand, and Sky" (March 1995, 56"x64"/1m40x1m62) reflects my attempt to capture that.

The irregular log cabin blocks of the background are constructed in brocades, satins, and other fancy fabrics along with some cottons, in order to give a bit of shimmer to this piece. The colored, raw-edged sections are cottons from used clothing. That uneven bottom edge presented all sorts of technical problems--a beast to do, but well worth it. Admittedly, then, the beach is good inspiration.

On Resisting the Urge to Collect

Alongside the problem of accumulation, the urge to collect remains a threat to order in my house. I actively resist collecting, however, to keep control one must organize with conviction because some collections may prove necessary. I used to acquire professional books, however, now I collect texts, that is, digitized books confined to that magical rectangular box, the computer. Organized alphabetically and by subject, my library remains readily available and invisible.

          Other collections may have sentimental value, therefore one must take extra precautions, such as rounding them up in one place. My mom's copper and brass collection came to live in my house. 
                             I started with three discreet shelves in a hallway. 
                         Most of the tea kettles belonged to my grandmother.

   One must be rigorous. Did you know that collections multiply when you sleep ?  
                                           Yup, they're cunning.

         So don’t let your guard down. This collection even went below the shelves.

Very old, small items appeared out of nowhere: ivory handled jackknives, keys (including a huge and ancient key to a shop in the medina/old town of Tunis), ashtrays, a bell, a souvenir Eiffel tower, toy pots, a box of colored pencils from my husband's grade school days, and a bottle top opener. A Chinese embroidered jacket found at the flea market served as inspiration for the dragon watercolor. 

This lovely set of canisters with a tray from around the late 1930s was originally silver plated as can be seen on the egg cup in the middle. It was a wedding gift belonging to my Tunisian mother-in-law.

 And this Tunisian copper and tin canister originally had a lid and held sugar cubes.

     All right. I admit I love this collection for its sentimental and aesthetic value. 
                    But I still resist the urge to collect, and the battle rages on...

Beach Culture and the Necessity of Art

Summer approaches and the Mediterranean beaches will soon entice Tunisians to drop everything and swim in warm water and play in sand—for days on end. 

Tunisian beach culture is not the best fit for me. I hung out with the swim team crowd when I was a kid—give me heavily chlorinated water, smooth sides and a flat bottom any day of the week. Who needs salt water in your eyes and the possibility of a sting ray swishing out from under the sand and zapping your knee (happened to an American woman I know)? In addition, I don’t suntan, I tomato.

              When our kids were younger we rented a beach house for a couple weeks during summers—they loved it. In order not to hate it (I mean, there’s sand everywhere, you’re lucky if you can keep it out of the food), I walked and sketched, 

or worked on various projects in the protective shade of the porch while everyone else enjoyed the beach. And this is when art becomes a necessity. Nothing profound here--just a question of keeping one's balance. 

I admit to sometimes working from a sketch or drawing when precision might be desirable and when I have a bunch of drawings in front of me because I couldn't take fabric and sewing machine to the beach. No point in wasting ideas.

Beni Khiar, Nov. 1993, 26"x37" /67cmx93cm, machine pieced, appliquéd, embroidered, and quilted

        This piece commemorates a vacation in Beni Khiar, a small beach village.

I haven't been to the beach for a number of years. Now I just say that I’ve grown roots in my garden. And yet, the memories linger...

Mosaic Technicalities

Several questions have been raised in the Comments section of a previous post  showing that mosaics interest readers. Therefore, I propose to expound on mosaic-making technique as I understand it. Keep in mind that I am self-taught and this may be all wrong.

First of all, the best bases for me are terra cotta and clay pots, which can last 25 or 30 years in an outdoor environment. Adding the tiles and cement should extend their durability by years. I don’t bother with wood, as it has low durability in my area. However, recycling is important and I have been gluing mosaic pieces onto metal paint cans and buckets and then grouting with cement (yeah, just plain Portland cement, no sand added), which seems to work in the short run. I would expect those containers to last a minimum of five years, but eventually they will rust from the inside. Same can be said for the oil tin cans I use. Since I cement the bottoms, they could last longer because the cement and tiles form the container. Time will tell—I’m rather new at this. I’ve been toying with the idea of using plastic detergent containers in order to recycle them. Cheap plastic Christmas tree balls make cool “orbs” that can be hung in the garden.    

          Warning: wear a mask when working with cement, and watch out for your back—the larger pots can be heavy. One must choose carefully where they will be placed because once planted, they’re difficult to move, needless to say.

          On the creative side, I never sketch mosaic designs and I find that I have nothing to say about the design process in my journal. Remembering that it’s “just” a flower pot is liberating. A couple of simple rules: make many and make every design different. I reflect on possible designs and work it out on the pot with a few penciled lines.  Generally, one design leads to the next. 

           I cut one color of tiles (usually white) with nippers to get rectangular or triangular pieces of the same size (more or less) to work into a design. Then I add the fill-in tiles, which are smashed with a hammer. One should use "thinslip" to adhere tiles to the surface for outdoor projects and there's a special mosaic grout. I haven't found them locally so I use a very strong glue (and keep the windows open or glue outside) and use cement for the grouting. Seems to work. I've also seen resin used, which  makes the mosaic lighter, however, I can't vouch for its durability. I darken the grouting cement with a black paint product used for mixing wall paint--once again, seems to work. I've also used white cement for grouting if the tiles are dark. Other colors can be added.

          Having saved tiny pieces for awhile, I’ve accumulated enough to use in parts of designs. Here's a floral motif: 

    There still remains room for a few more pots going up the stairs to the roof.

For information and free instructions see Mosaic Art Supply.
For inspiration check Mosaic Art Now.

Close-ups & an Announcement

                     Susannah Fiberchick put in a request for some close-ups 
         and I now have “ Oranges from My Garden” in front of me, so I can oblige.

          Often, the interesting things appear in the details, if one pays attention. 
                                I used acrylics lightly on the background.

All fabric is recycled clothing.

Bits of fabric sewn down and thread painting create the illusion of depth.

                 Of course, here I nearly smack you in the nose with the details.

In addition, I would like to announce my presentation, which is open to the public, at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville.

Title:        "You're Not Modern If Your Women Aren't Modern: 

              From Colonial Feminism to Nationalist Feminism in Tunisia" 


When: April 16 from 4-5pm 
Where: Hodges Library, Room 213. 


I talk about the changing representations of women as seen through women's magazines and how debates about modernity affect women. Here's the publicity picture:

This Tunisian women's magazine cover from 1937 shows an extravagantly dressed servant carrying a woman on a platter, which suggests an Orientalist perspective on the European artist's part. The monkey and the lush foliage contribute to this idea. The rather odd position of the woman on a platter (ready to eat?) also suggests ambivalence toward emancipated women. And I would argue that women still battle that ambivalence today.