Happy 2024! I'm delighted to share another “three bits of inspiration” with you and hope it kicks off a creative year for all of us. For this issue, I'm focusing on portraits. Frankly, it took me a long time to appreciate portraiture, but now it's an area of art that I'm eager to see, study and understand. (I don't have much desire to create actual portraits, but that doesn't mean they can't inspire my work indirectly.) Plus, there's news about online lectures, upcoming events, a couple of accomplishments from 2023, some recommendations and images of a fun interactive textile art accordion book I created. Enjoy. Thanks for reading. 🙂 |
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- Portrait Competition A couple of year ago, my friend Kristin and I were in DC and decided to visit the National Portrait Gallery. We happened upon the Outwit Boochever Portrait Competition. It was extraordinary! I was stunned and inspired by the variety of media, the story telling and the incredible challenge of creating a piece of art with an accurate likeness of the subject while also expressing the unique vision of the artist. You can view the 2022 winners and finalists here.
- Stem and Thorn Dallas artist Jeremy Biggers was busy in 2023. It was super fun to follow him on social media as he created murals, exhibited at international events, explored AI and painted lots of dots. His social media handle is “stem and thorn." I haven't found any specific story about why he chose this name, but I like imagining what the metaphor might mean to him.
- Magazine Collage Artist Dan Zilla creates portraits exclusively from paper cut from National Geographic magazines. If you look closely, you can sometimes tell what the subject matter of the original photo may have been. This adds an interesting dimension to the storytelling of the work. The glint in an eye may actually be a photo of a far-away star taken from a telescope.
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Bonus: Did you know you can browse the Studio Art Quilt Associates online database by genre? Open the collection here, then click “genre” for a pull down menu of options, select “portrait” to see several examples of faces created in fabric. |
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Online Lectures I have two lectures available on Creative Spark! Anyone, anywhere can enroll and watch at anytime. Both lectures are multi-part, include tons of tips and inspiration, stories and ideas from my creative practice and downloadable resource guides. |
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No stars on this one yet because it's brand new! 😉 Be one of the first to register! |
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I’ll excited to be teaching at this event! My mini-session is all about Using Photos for Color Inspiration. The COLOR MIXER is a live, virtual event with ten quilt artists and 8 hours of programming. In addition to my session on photo inspiration you’ll learn about color theory, the history of color, creating custom color palettes for your quilts, stash-busting techniques, ombré designs, designing with prints, and so much more! |
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Just $59 for tons a great instruction and inspiration. $20 with my code MIX24DEBORAH |
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Studio News! My artwork was selected to be installed as a mural in the Dallas Arts District! Read all about the creation of the artwork, details about the installation and a link to the dedication here. |
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Highlights One of my professional highlights of 2023 was having the opportunity to be on the judging panel for the International Quilt Festival in Houston. I wrote about the experience including lots of behind-the-scenes info about the process here. I was thrilled to select this art quilt by Jean Wells as my judges choice. |
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This and That - The Astonishing Color of After was one of my favorite books from 2023.
- I really like this plant rack. Check out my houseplants here.
- I loved the comedy series Somebody, Somewhere. It takes place in Manhattan, Kansas near where I grew up.
- Ever had a desire to make a quilt with special items of clothing? Kristin LaFlamme's new book, Quilt Your Story, is an excellent resource with tips, patterns and ideas for creating unique heirlooms.
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New Work I created a tiny art quilt for each page of this accordion book – then I embellished the pages with prints and paint before stitching it all together. Check out the IG reel about the book. |
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Use the code PORTRAITS for 15% off anything in my Etsy shop through January 31. |
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Do you have a favorite portrait artist? Tell me about it. |
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