Handbag commissioned by Cyndy

It has been quite busy in the studio lately!  I worked hard and long (and I mean really long!) to get a commission done. My friend, Cyndy Kempken, asked me to create a handbag for her with special pockets to meet her needs. The main challenges were using earthtones (not usually my thing) and working with upholstery fabric, rather than quilting weight cottons or silks. Cyndy also wanted me to do something “creative and arty” on the front. It was a tall order, but I finally finished it and delivered it to Cyndy yesterday.

Throughout the process, I shared the bag’s progress with Cyndy. I first did the pattern in some inexpensive cotton fabric. We made adjustments to it and then I started to create it in the final fabric. I found that I had difficulty with the fabric, but with the help of a walking foot, I was able to complete the bag. The front flap is decorated with a hand-painted cord I used to tie up a scarf I made. I knew I needed something to just dress up the bag a bit, and the colors in this cording were perfect for Cyndy’s bag. The strap, which you can’t see very well, is made from the strap of a handbag I purchased at Goodwill for $1! It was perfect, as Cyndy wanted an adjustable strap that would allow her more versatility. I couldn’t have created a more perfect strap if I tried!

Under the front flap of the handbag

Inside fo Cyndy's Bag

design is different than you’d expect. The flap does not go over the opening. Instead it goes over the front. On the flap, there is an iPhone pouch. You can barely see it, but it’s there on the front. Under the flap are two additional pockets. The top one is a zippered pocket for change. It has a gusset at the bottom to hold the weight and bulk of coins. Below that is an elasticized pocket for Cyndy’s keys. The fabric used for these pockets matches that of the interior of the bag.

And the inside has a different fabric with a magnetic snap closure. There are pockets meeting Cyndy’s specific needs. There is a pocket for her cosmetics, another for small jars (like liquid stevia), and finally, one for glasses.

I handed the bag to Cyndy yesterday. She was so excited to finally have it! As soon as I gave it to her, she put it on her shoulder and didn’t take it off! She was going to start using it immediately. I hope she loves it as much as she did yesterday!

More to come soon!

Now that the housekeeping is out of the way, I’d like to share some exciting news with you:

I’m so excited to let you all know that my fabric and fiber art have been accepted to be one of the 35+ artists represented in the Fountain Hills Artists’ Gallery in Fountain Hills, AZ. It’s the premier co-op gallery in the Valley area. It’s an honor to be among such fabulously talented artists in this co-op.

Art Quilt & Quilted Handbag Display at Fountain Hills Artists' Gallery

On June 1, 2011 new members were officially welcomed at an evening reception. I am one of only two fabric artists in the gallery, and the only one representing art quilts and quilted handbags. It was a lovely reception and a great way to meet the rest of the artists.

To the right, you will find a photo of my part of the wall. Below the area that you can see is my purse display. All artists in the gallery get to have a 3-dimensional area for non-wall art or other art, like prints, etc. Instead of a print rack (which most of the wall art artisans have), I purchased a retail purse display. The handbags hang on it, along with some of my pouches and cell phone purses.

Handbags, totes and pouches on handbag display at FHAG

In addition to the wall space, each artist has the opportunity to put some smaller, gift items in the gallery as well. In this “store” area, I have some small journals, original fabric collage greeting cards, smaller pouches, and art dolls.

As part of the gallery membership, I will be working there at least one day each month. When I go in this month, I’ll take some more photos of the gift areas and share some of the other artists’ art in the gallery. It’s really a lovely spot!

More blogging to come, I promise!

Here is the latest progress on the man painting I showed in earlier posts:

And here is another one. I started the background on this one the same day as the one above, but I was certain that it was a lost cause. Then I saw the woman in it and she’s really developed.

]]> http://www.fransaperstein.com/2010/06/23/more-painting-to-share/feed/ 1 http://www.fransaperstein.com/2010/06/16/progress/ http://www.fransaperstein.com/2010/06/16/progress/#comments Thu, 17 Jun 2010 01:44:37 +0000 Fran http://www.artsyfran.com/?p=1077 Here is the latest on the painting on my easel. More work ahead, but more to come!

Florence Baptistry - photo reference for in-progress painting

Baptistry - Step 6 - refocusing central element and background

So, do you remember this photo I was turning into a painting? Well, I’ve continued to work on it, and it’s continued to develop. It still has quite a bit of work. I’m going to do something different with the right side of the painting so that the focus is really on that main building. I found that having the background building inserted with the windows caused too much chaos for the eye and made it difficult to focus on that beautiful doorway that I wanted to have as the focal point. And, since I’ve spent so much time on the painting and the details of this building that so inspired me, I’m willing to take a chance on the background and try something new. It will change some of the dynamics of the picture, but I think it’s for the best. I’m taking my artistic license here!

Sedona Photo Reference

Sedona Landscape in progress

And I’m also working on a painting from a photo I took when  Joanne and I went to Sedona. Joanne and I ended up taking the same photo, and both put it on our MacBook desktops. Mine has been that way consistently since. When we were there, I was incredibly inspired by the rock formations, but I didn’t work on anything on canvas. I knew it was time to take this photo and try to render it on canvas. It’s not done yet. I still have some additional work to do on it. But It’s coming along.

Four Abstracts

In the meantime, I’ve been working on a small series of paintings. Each panting is 10″ x 10″ and they all developed together. Each took on a life ot its own, but they’re all related. I will likely put them all on the wall in this order. I have another mini-series of four more in progress.

So there’s the update for a while. I hope I have more to share soon!

Today is Easter Sunday and it’s quiet in our Jewish home. While my husband is preparing to do a talk, I figured I have some time. SO much has happened since I last blogged. I’ll get into much of that at a later time. Let me share with you some art, since that’s what I most wish to share.

Untitled - Abstract Intuitive Painting - Acrylic and Colored Pencil on Canvas Board

A while ago, I sat down and painted some canvas boards. I didn’t have any expectations of where they were going to go, or what I was going to do with them. I went the intuitive route. With all the impressionistic work I’ve been doing based on my travels, this is a good thing for me sometimes – to just get out of my head and let the paint do its thing. I worked on two canvases simultaneously and each came out completely different – different color schemes, different shapes, different composition, different subjects. It is one of the things I love about intuitive work. I start with no expectations and I find little gems in the painted surface that lead me to my next step. I really don’t start with anything in mind.

The Couple - Abstract Intuitive Painting

The most interesting part of working this way is that I tend to see things that come out of me I didn’t know were there. It’s a good way find out what is really going on in my own head, so to speak. These paintings took several weeks. Each one was on its own schedule, really. And I’ve learned that sometimes, a painting needs to sit for a while – weeks or months (sometimes even years!) – before I feel it’s ready to share in any way.

Travel Pack Front before painting - BORING color and not a good color to go with my wardrobe!

In addition to these paintings, I also found some time to do some decoration of a leather travel pack. I bought this leather belt bag for $4 because it was missing the strap to convert it to a cross-shoulder bag. The color is a beige – not my color at all. I tend to wear a lot of pops of color with my wardrobe. It needed something and I knew what I wanted to do! I might add a strap, but I wanted to test the waters of decorating leather by using some fabric paint and then decorating with Sakura’s Permapaque Pens. I just played with shapes and color to add interest to this travel pack.

Travel Pack Front post-painting

I found that I really liked working with the Permapaque pens. I’ve used them in the past, but mostly in my visual journals. I’ve never used them on leather and so this was a risk. But it was one worth taking!

So, I’ve been keeping busy. My hands have been active, my mind has been creative. I’ve also created some journals and I’m working on two more realistic paintings. I always have my journal close-by. I will photograph some art and share some photos from visits with family and friends in the next few days and try to get those to you, too. None  of the art pieces are finished, but they’re either on the easels or sitting and waiting for me to figure out what’s next.

Travel Pack Front Inside - post-painting

Times like this remind me that art is really a journey. The destination for me is the exploration of what I can do and what is possible. It’s not always the finished painting. I’ve learned to accept that. I know it’s hard for friends and family who don’t do art to understand that. They often ask me when they’re getting a piece of art from me or hint that it’s their “turn”. Well, really, my art is, at its heart, for me. It’s something I do to feed my soul. If something comes out of it that is worth sharing with the world – whether on my own walls, on this blog, or in my Artfire Shop, that’s a bonus. But so much of my art goes un-shared. When it starts, I never know what I’ll end up doing. I just start, playing with paint, line, and color. I play and art follows. Whereas when I try to plan out a process for a particular piece, I get caught up in the perfectionist mindset. The art loses its magic. It loses its draw for me. It loses its soul. That is the exact opposite of why my art is what it is.

Pincushion Doll to #84, Ria Nirwana! Congratulations, Ria!

Arty doll to #111, Alice Stropel. Congratulations, Alice!

Ladies, please send me an email with your address so I can get these off to you!

Thanks to everyone for visiting. I hope you’ll visit again soon!

Once again, I am participating in the annual One World One Heart event. This is an international blog event that started back in 2007. It’s HUGE!

For some background on the event, I’m posting exactly what Lisa, the fabulous organizer of the event has to say:

WHAT IS ONE WORLD ONE HEART?

I created this event in 2007. The original idea behind this giveaway event was to bring bloggers together from around the world who may never ordinarily meet. It closes the gap of the blog community and enables us to interact, discover new and wonderful people, and in the process possibly win a prize or many prizes along the way. 2007 had roughly 85-90 participants and many connections were made because of it……friendships that are still going strong.
We had a strong showing the first year for sure, and then in 2008 we had just about tripled that number. In 2009 there were 911 participants, to say I was amazed is an understatement. 28 countries were represented in the 2009 event as well.
This is more than wanting to win something…….that is only the means…….in the end it’s about finding kindred spirits. Someone who may be fairly new to blogging, not sure how to navigate, find others and have others find them….Some are long time bloggers and in some cases well known in the blogging community. Whatever the case it brings all of them together. This is an INTERNATIONAL event that has and had participants from the US, Canada, France, Sweden, Germany, Finland, Malaysia, Brazil, The Netherlands, Australia, New Zealand, Scotland, Ireland, England,Wales, Slovenia and more. It transcends geographical location, socio economics, political affiliation, religious beliefs……it’s a coming together like the giant community we are on this planet. If only it took a simple giveaway to create PEACE everywhere, in the mean time here we give from our hearts. We are not solving the worlds problems nor are we curing anything nor are we changing the world. We are merely generating a closer community between humans through blogging. What more could I ask for, my little idea has surpassed my wildest dreams of what it could become.

WHAT IS FRAN GIVING AWAY THIS YEAR?

Now on to the good stuff: What am I going to give away this year? This year, there will be two gifts available. Both are art dolls I made.

Doll pin-cushion

The first: For an artists’ holiday exchange in 2008, I made these funky doll-pin cushions. They were well-received by the recipients and we all use ours all the time. So, when I was talking with my friend Angie about what I should give away, I remembered that I had one of the doll-pin-cushions that I hadn’t gifted to anyone! Well, that made my decision easy!

I’m giving away this lovely doll pin cushion. She is hand-made by me. The face is a face I painted myself and then scanned and printed onto fabric. I added the hair, beads, embroidery, and buttons by hand. She was truly a labor of love. I’ve enjoyed having her here in the studio, but she’s ready for a new home. Perhaps it will be your home!

Funky Doll

The second is another doll I made. Like the other, she is hand-made by me. I made a few of these and intended to sell them, but they remain here in the studio. So, this one is up for you to win! Like the funky doll pincushion, she is hand-made by me. The face is another face I painted and printed onto fabric. I also drew the main image in the center and printed it on fabric. Some people have told me it looks like a rubber stamped image, but it’s not! I drew this when Dave and I went on our first trip overseas. It’s the ironwork from our first hotel in Paris, France. After printing the image on fabric, I added color to the fabric. The additional fabric on this doll’s front is from Vintage Kimono Fabric. She is sewn my machine with some quilting, but the beading is all added by hand.  She, too, is ready for a new home!

THE FINE PRINT:

To enter the drawing, please post a comment on THIS POST on my blog (Facebook comments will not be accepted for entry). Your email is required, but will NOT be published! It will only come to me – I need a way to reach you if you win! I will accept comments until noon Eastern time on February 15, 2010. At that point, I will add up the comments and use a Random Number Generator to choose the winner. The winner will be posted by 5 pm Mountain Time on February 15, 2010.

For the past two years that I’ve participated, I’ve made several new friends online. We correspond regularly. I look forward to “meeting” you and to becoming a part of your world! I’ll be stopping by all the websites of those who stop by mine so we can all get to know each other! Take some time to look at the main OWOH site to participate and to meet some other bloggers who are participating.

I’ve been a bad blogger. I can’t remember the last time I sat down and typed up a post. Well, I’ve been busy! No excuses here, just busy and not in a mood to share.

But, I have a lot of art to share, so over the next few posts, I will share it. Here we go!

Inspiration Photo

First up: A custom painting!

This summer I donated a custom painting to the Phoenix Chapter of the American Diabetes Association. I was worried, because I’m not usually good about feeling inspired by other people’s photos. Well, I was glad I challenged myself! The woman who purchased the custom 16″ x 20″ painting is an employee of the ADA. She bought it for her mother.

Custom Painting

I got to sit down with her mother and meet her when I picked up the photos. That helped me to get a sense of who the painting was for and why I was doing it. Gerri wanted a painting of her front door. It’s a beautiful front door and she has some lovely ceramic bells and cactus in the corner. The photo she took is to the left. I had to rework some of the elements because the picture was going to have too many focal points if I didn’t. After several weeks of work, I completed the painting on the right. Just the other day, I was able to deliver the painting to Danielle, Gerri’s daughter. She will give it to her on Christmas. I sure hope Gerri likes it!

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