Miriam's Finished Quilt - Part V

This is the final post from a very special friend who has blessed me with sharing her journey in making one of the Kaufman "Down On The Farm" quilts.  The designs are printed from my paintings, and have brought me abundant joy in seeing them used in other beautiful forms of art works.    I appreciate Miriam Reiss, Shirley Liles, and Marsha Cribbs for being kind enough to share images of their quilt creations. They are amazing!

Today we create art in many forms and for different reasons.  At one time not too many years removed women made quilts for practical and necessary reasons.  They kept people warm, and quilting was a way for them to use extra fabric that was left from handmade garments.  In those days many people were very frugal and didn't like waste.  Today we make them to decorate our bedrooms and other living spaces, or for our babies and children to use as throws during cold weather.  We make them out of a desire to master an art that has faded from our past.  We love the workmanship of our ancestors.  We feel closer to our roots, and I can't speak for quilt artists; but I know that creating something that brings joy and usefulness to others bring a satisfaction to artists of all media.

The three photos below illustrate Miriam's text.  Enjoy:)

Hello Cheri,

 

As you can see by the attached picture, I have completed the "Down on the Farm" quilt after several setbacks. The second picture is showing you the type of batting that will go behind the quilt which is called "warm and natural", is just like it says and it makes the quilt feel great on cold nights.  On Friday June 30th, I will be taking it to the "longarm quilter" and she will place it on a very long frame with a longarm sewing machine and will quilt a specific design on the quilt itself. This will sandwich together the quilt, batting and back solid fabric. Once that is done, the binding will go all round the quilt to finish it off. As you know, early on I got the binding all set up and ready to go for when I get the quilt back.

 

A longarm quilter is a expert on these big machines and therefore often most quilters will send their quilts to these experts. In addition, not everyone can afford these huge machines or have the room for them. I have attached a picture of one to give you an idea. I expect to receive the quilt in a week or two. Binding does not take long to sew on. I am hoping to show you the truly completed project real soon.

 

I hope all is well with you and your summer has been a pleasant one so far.

 

Warm wishes,

 

Miriam

 

 

 

Miriam's Quilt - Part IV - Post 1

Miriam is almost finished with her quilt.  Please check out the earlier blog posts about her process.  It is so interesting and I love this quilt.  Can't wait to feature it as a finished item!  The quilt blocks are made with the designed fabric panels, Down On The Farm by Robert Kaufman.  This design happens to be licensed through Sage Brush Fine Art and it is my artwork! Thanks for coming by.  Here are Miriam's update and photos.  ENJOY

Hi Cheri,

 I finished all the rows of the animals with the 9 patch block. In addition, I sewed together the satching rows that will be attached in between the blocks. As you can see, I attached one satching row on the top of the quilt to make sure it lined up correctly. The biggest problem now is that all the seams line up properly and points meet so is pleasant to the eye. This is when you know your 1/4" seams where exact when you are sewing the fabrics together. Of course, the correct size of the cut of each piece is also very important. Thus, it will all come together nicely at the end.

After everything is sewn together, the batting and backing of the quilt has to be put together. More on that later and what to expect next which will be two more steps to completion.

Hope all is well and will keep you posted!

Warm regards always,

Miriam

Miriam

Miriam's Quilt - Part III - Post 4

I heard several days ago from my Facebook Friend and Quilter that she had been busy with personal things, but she has resumed working on the quilt made from the Down On The Farm fabric by Robert Kaufman.  If you are reading this blog and do not know then I must tell you that the animals printed on these fabric panels are from my original paintings.  I'm so honored and excited that there are quilters who are using this fabric in some of their projects whom I actually know or have discovered online.  The creative process of their work is very different from mine; however, we have connected in subject matter....the love of country, nature and farm animals.  Thank you again Miriam for sharing your process with me.  Here is her last post message to me.  Enjoy!!!!!

Hi Cheri,

To continue with the quilt, I had to work on the 9 patch block. It is called 9 patch because it has 9 squares that you sew together. However, 4 squares are two half triangles that are sewn together of different colors. A lot of work goes into the 9 patch blocks. In addition, I was able to started to start sewing the blocks together in a row. I now have 4 of the 8 rows done. After all the rows are done I have to start working on the sashings that goes between each row and on the top and bottom of the quilt with their corresponding small gray squares.

I will try to put more time into the quilt as time permits. As I am sure you know, our time is not always ours to do what we want. I will admit, I am looking forward to finishing it soon. Will continue to keep you up to date.

Warm wishes,

Miriam

Clementine - Cow Painting

Clementine 

18x18 Oil on Canvas

Cheri Wollenberg

Clementine is a black baldy cow.  She seems to be gazing out of a window at her viewer doesn't she?  Our family has been in the cattle business for over 50 years.....going back to my husband's dad who was a farmer and raised cattle.  I especially love to see this crossbred cow mixed with Hereford cows grazing on green pasture.  The design in color, texture, and composition is very exciting for me. For more information on the Black Baldy click here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Baldy 

 Clementine is named for a dear friend in Arkansas.  I am honored to know her.  She is a fine, Christian person and mentored my husband and I when we lived in Fayetteville.  For information about buying this cow you can follow this link.  Just CLICK.  

Animal Painting of a Goat - Mr. Handsome

Mr. Handsome

14x18 Original Oil Painting

Cheri Wollenberg

Thanks for stopping by.  I am glad to be back and blogging. It has been quite some time since I last posted. A change in my domain caused my blog to be down for a month.  I've painted a lot of paintings during that time, and I'm anxious to share them all with you.  Mr. Handsome is one of the goats I painted from a collection of photos my son took while working in Texas.  He has a customer who has a herd of goats and they are beautiful.  Each goat has a different design quality in texture, color and shape.  This particular goat has three horns...WOW.  The hairs on his chest were flowing in the wind which lent to the composition movement.  He has blacks,browns,sienna browns and ecru whites throughout the design of his face and coat hair. I thought this mustard green made a perfect background for his portrait.  He was a delight to paint, and I look forward to painting others.  This goat painting is for sale here.

Snowmen–Paintings and Tins

I couldn’t decide what title to give this post!  I knew it might be a longer post, so steps or parts seemed to be the answer.  I wanted to bring credit to many deserving people who have blessed my life as a painter over the last three years.  So here is my story:

 Each year I try to paint something for the winter season and/or Christmas.  I started out painting realistic scenes and subjects.  I would have them printed into note cards for my personal use.  Then I was very inspired by a young lady who “felts” and sells her work on Etsy (http://www.etsy.com/shop/BearCreekDesign) in 2011.  She creates some of the most charming felted snowmen and they seemed to “talk” to me .  It was as if each said “paint my sweet face” and I’ll bring a happy attitude to everyone who sees me during the winter!  I contacted her and asked her permission to allow me to use the images of her adorable little snowmen.  I painted my first two whimsical snowmen in 2011.  Last year I created two more and they are added here:
         
         Snowman III                             SnowmanIV

Part II of my story is kind of like Buzz Lightyear’s approach to life, “Infinity and Beyond”!  However, I would insert the text, “Etsy and Beyond”!  I began to sell on Etsy in 2009.  I have enjoyed this venture so much that it is difficult to explain unless you are an Etsy seller!  I ‘ve met the most wonderful people from all over the world….good, kind people…..sellers who encourage, and buyers who enjoy my work!  For more on this story you can actually go here, see my studio and read more about the process of my work: http://www.etsy.com/shop/ChatterBoxArt/about/.

Part III…. Last year from January to July I worked with a young man who has a design firm to create the composition that is on these tins.  He had came up with the idea of the grouping of snowmen and hired me to paint them in my style.  I'm very grateful to him for his trust and confidence in my work.  I'm also grateful that my work was exposed through Etsy and this blog.  I've worked very hard to get my work to the public.

Caroling Snowmen

 

Part IV…….. My work is being displayed on popcorn tins and sold in Walmart stores this month.  These two generous people who let me interpret and express their ideas in my own "style" are absolutely AWESOME!   I wanted to thank them in this post for this opportunity.  My family is very proud of me(lol).  They have pasted the tins all over Face Book.  We have discussed that before this we might not have taken the time to see who the artists are on those wonderful gift items every year.  I think we will be much more interested now... Also, Etsy has provided the opportunity for me to do custom work for  many people.  I enjoy selling there.  Etsy is a great way to get your “hand-made” items seen, and I appreciate the efficiency and work of their staff and people.  My snowmen are available in small prints in my print shop:http://www.etsy.com/shop/artprintsbycheri.  For larger prints (up to 16x16 on canvas) contact me there.

Here is a look at the tins
           

Still Life Painting - Copper, Crock and Red Onions

Copper, Crock and Red Onions

16x20 Oil on Canvas

Cheri Wollenberg

This summer we had a great garden.  The okra, black-eyed peas and tomatoes are the only veggies that are still producing at the moment.  Every vegetable that we've taken from our garden was beautiful to me!  Yes... I'm amazed that food can actually start from a "wee" little seed and bring forth fruit that can nourish and sustain us.  What a miracle!  The red onions were the inspiration for my painting here.  They are beautiful in color and texture.  Their design brings joy to my brush:)
You can find this painting here.

Cow Painting of "Pearl"

Pearl

20x16 Oil on Canvas

Cheri Wollenberg

Pearl is named after a dear friend of mine and my husbands.  We knew him for 10 years and our lives were blessed because of him.  This painting is in his memory.  The cow painted here has a very sweet and pensive look.  I am pretty happy with the design and color of him.  His Hereford coat is red, rusty browns, and his face has whites of beautiful blue, warm beige and browns.  Pearl has sold; however, prints can be bought of him at Fine Art America.    If you are interested click here.....Pearl.