the power of making

Outside the October sky hangs glum and grey against the colors just starting to change. Inside the news goes on endlessly as those in suits and ties talk "sincerely" of pain and then use disinformation in their quest for power.  Tempers mount. A friend is almost in tears. We all know the feeling of resignation that the want us to have.

Shelburne Falls--October 2018--Ann Brauer

Of course I turn to my beloved fabrics and sewing machine in my search for solace and purpose. After the last show there is so much I need to do. Orders to fill. I am sold out of phone cases. Yikes. I know I need more eye glass cases and place mats. A few table runners in popular colors. Of course more potholders. Time to get busy. High class worries. I have three more craft shows and one sale ahead of me, after all. So much to do. So little time.

But though I turn to classical music or silence, the clouds still hang. I like working with colors and fabrics and feel so fortunate that I can do so, but I know I need more. Then I remember--did I ever forget--that in making wall art--getting lost in that world--I can regain my sense of purpose and energy. Don't we all need art now more than ever? Maybe I can capture the colors of the trees in autumn. So I start sewing.

As usual, the questions--what comes next? Shall I take the obvious way? What about the bottom? Will green tie it together? Such questions. And yet, there is an answer and the drive to add the fabric, one piece at a time. This is why I make quilts. And why I must make another and another.

color of autumn--quilt--Ann Brauer 2018

And you--what is the power of art in your life? How do you cope with the external world and maintain your own sense of self?  Do your quilts ever just fall into place?  

go big or go home--part one

Let's face it. Chicago is big. There are lots of people. Traffic from all directions. Buildings that stretch to the sky and then reflect it.

view of Chicago from Merchandise Mart

The lions at the Art Institute are big.

lions outside of Art Institute--Chicago

One of my favorite paintings by Georgia O'Keefe is so big they had to build a special wall just to display it.

clouds--Georgia O'Keefe--Art Institute

So last year after doing OK at the One of a Kind Show I decided that I wanted to go big. Wouldn't my work look great in a larger booth? They give me the hard white walls, the carpet, the lights. Sure the show is a long hard drive from home. The lines for load in and load out are carefully controlled chaos. And the price to do the show is--let's face it--big.

Still I told myself I wouldn't know until I tried. When I was offered a larger booth I decided I had to try. Let's face it, I decided to rebuild my studio because I knew I had more quilts to make and I wanted to make them. Quilts can be more than fine craft and I want to make big quilts that transcend the medium. I spent all autumn working for this show.  I had other fairs to do and orders to fill, but I kept imagining myself in this large space.

Of course I didn't have nearly enough time to get all the quilts in my imagination done. How delighted I was to read that Claude Monet was frustrated that his wonderful stacks of wheat paintings took much longer than he wanted to complete. Don't you love to read labels at the Museum.

stack of wheat--Claude Monet--Art Institute

I set up the booth. Thought it looked great in its largeness and splendor and then waited. Is it the kiss of death if other artists think your booth looks grand?  Or was it because it was Thursday? Did I forget to convey the idea that these are quilts? Does that matter? Should it matter? After all it only takes a couple of good customers.

Or maybe there is more I need to do to achieve my idea. My concept. I'll try to keep you posted. Meanwhile wish me well. If you are in the Chicago area my booth is 4123. I would love to know what you think?

booth--OOAK Chicago--Ann Brauer 2017

red sun

Sometimes, less is more. Up close and personal. For a while I had it hanging so I could see it every day as I sewed. Secretly I have always longed to make it as one big quilt in four panels. That would be a challenge and yet it would command attention. And yet eventually, I put it aside as I moved on to more landscapes. Still, there is a power here that may demand a space in my booth at the
One of a Kind Show next week-end in Chicago.

After all,  it would be fun to look at it again, wouldn't it?

red sun--40x40"--Ann Brauer 2015--image by John Polak

the colors of summer

Does this ever happen to you? I start a new series and some of the last of my old work gets put aside. Sure I hang it occasionally but usually I leave it in the studio when I do a show. It is too big for the booth. If it hasn't sold so far, will it actually find a home if I show it. Yes, I do a cost benefit analysis in my mind at every show. Not because I am a strict business person--after all I am an artist--but I also have to think about selling the work if I want to continue to be an artist. That is just the way it is.

Still the quilt sits on my Desktop--I like to have inspiration there when I work on my e-mails or post on Etsy. It is in the studio where I see hints of it most days as I ponder the latest quilt on my design wall. Or study the quilts I have hanging on the walls for guidance and inspiration.

And yes, I think I need to see it again. It may work at the One of a Kind Show. I'm not sure. In my mind I revisit again and again on the white walls. This time my booth is 10x15. What a luxury. Should I have gone for the larger booth? I will never know unless I try. It just felt like the right thing to do.

And yes, "colors of summer" feels like the right quilt to bring. I love the complex colors created by piecing so many thin strips of cotton fabric. I love the change in size that affects the design of the quilt and that tells a story. I love the memory of choosing that bottom green row. Such a hard decision to make--I lingered over that colorway for days-- and yet I feel it anchors the quilt.

Who knows if it is the right decision? I may change my mind at the show and tuck it away. But for now I plan to pack it and hang it and enjoy it in all its geometric beauty.

colors of summer--quilt--Ann Brauer 2013--image by John Polak

What do you think? Does this ever happen to you? And if you are coming to the show please drop by my Booth 4131 and check it out. Thanks.

gentle morning

Sometimes a cloudy morning. The sun rises, the sky brightens but there are no shadows. Still there is a beauty in calm. There is subtle quiet--a time to breathe and relax. A time to admire all the subtle colors and changes. The little stories that combine to create a day, a place, alife.

This is another in my landscape quilts that I plan to bring to the One of a Kind Show in Chicago December 7-10.

gentle morning--40x40"--Ann Brauer 2017--image by John Polak

What do you think? Do you ever just sit and enjoy the moment?  Do you let your mind wander?

and the mountain

Sure it is not a large mountain. In the west it would probably be considered a foothill. Indeed the peak is only 1588 feet above sea level.  But to me, Mt Massamaett is like a friend that I welcome every day as it rises just beyond the Deerfield River in such a friendly and almost protective manner.

In the spring I can watch the green move up the slope. In summer it is green with the occasional bald eagle soaring above it hunting for a meal in the river. Of course autumn has the many colors of the trees from the first brilliant golds to the rusted reds of the oaks at the end of the summer. As the days darken I watch the line of the sun shine creep up the slope earlier and earlier. And of course there is the moon rising above it shining bright and full.

So many views. So many moods.

This quilt "mountain and sun" is one of new works that celebrates this mountain and the sky above it. I am pleased that it was chosen to hang in the Fine Art Gallery at the One of a Kind Show December 7-10 at the Merchandise Mart in Chicago. Yes!!! Quilts are art.

mountain and sun--40x40"--Ann Brauer 2017--image by John Polak

What do you think? What inspires you?

I get inspired

Sometimes I get inspired. Finally this summer I had time to create a new series of quilts. What a wonderful feeling that is of freedom and adventure. Concentration and excitement. Where will the new work go? How will others see it?

Where did this vision come from? I must say I don't know. For me that is the fun of it. Clearly it is part of my line of landscape quilts that evolved from my new studio. And yet there is a feeling of light and joy in them that draws me forward.

As I get ready for the last day at the Paradise City Arts Festival in Marlboro, MA and then do final preparations for the One of a Kind Show in Chicago I have decided to begin a series of posts that highlight some of the new quilts.

And what a way to begin with mountain sunrise. Sure I have made quilts that capture the glory of the rising sun. One of the best parts about the darker days of winter is that I get to witness it more frequently. This time though I am also influenced by the gentle power of the mountains containing and defining the light. At least that is how I see it. What do you think? What inspires you?

mountain sunrise--40x40"--copyright Ann Brauer 2017--image by John Polak

from both sides now--Day 30

Recently I have been working on one of those on-line interviews. You may know the type--you get a bunch of questions and type in your answers. A nice way to get publicity so I really can't object although of course it takes longer than I would like to write my answers and make sure they are coherent,  fresh and interesting.

One of the questions that this particular interview asks is what are my plans for the future. Now, I don't know about you but I am always hesitant to commit myself to the future. Who knows what tomorrow may bring? Will I have a new crisis to deal with? Or maybe a new commission? Will I get inspired and switch my direction slightly? Even after all of these years, I am always a bit worried about jinxing myself.

Instead I keep notes on new quilts on various pieces of paper in my studio and leave quilts that interest me on my desk top as a gentle reminder that I have more to explore.

Last winter when I was in Chicago doing the OOAK Show, I made a pilgrimage to the Art Institute to visit Clouds by Georgia O'Keefe. So large and wonderful. The clouds floating above the earth. One of my all time favorite paintings.  I just sat there and tried to absorb its splendor.

How can I create the feeling of light and expanse that she achieved?  Wouldn't it be wonderful to make such a grand quilt? I look at an image of my quilt "notes on the twilight" and wonder if there is just a bit of this freedom in it? How I would love to play with this design some more.

notes on the twilight--40x80 inches--Ann Brauer 2017--photo by John Polak

It's a new day and a new year

It's a new day and a new year. I think there is a song that goes something like that. One of those ear worms that I can barely hear but I think is there. Finally though it is 2017.  Nuf said about 2016.

This is a blog about quilts after all. Now those who know me realize I am not great for setting goals or making lists. I don't do resolutions very well. Indeed I find that it just frustrates me since I can never live up to all my goals or resolutions. Instead I try to set out tasks. One task at a time. I get it done--or as done as it will be for now--and then move on.

One of the tasks that had been lurking over me for years has been a new web site. I loved my old web site--I could do it myself. It was simple to update and while it was not the most elegant web site out there, it had come to have a presence after so many years. Alas though Apple had quit supporting myself, it was not Google friendly and certainly did not work on Mobile devices. (Yes, I had had it for a l-o--n--g time.)

It takes time and energy though to update a web site. Sure I could have paid someone but let's face it--quilt makers don't earn a lot of money. Even if they have been in business for 35 years. At least I don't. I wanted to be able to update it when I needed to--not when I had the money and could hire someone to do it. And I had no clue what I wanted it to look like--even that takes time and energy.

So it sat on the back burner through the studio floating. The new studio. My new quilts. Until finally I could no longer do even the most simple updates. UGH!!!!

OK--time to take matters into my own hands and find a decent template system. One I could manage. That would be SEO friendly. And one where I could understand how to operate it. I tried first one template system. And tore my hair out. Then another that a friend had recommended--no dice. Finally I realized that I was thinking in the same language as WIX and opted for that. Now this is not an ad. Or even an endorsement. But for me it worked. It lets me add my Etsy shop which has been my saving grace throughout this whole experience. It even lets me add my blog post from blogger. I can do this.

So now--I can actually think about what I want to say in my blogs. And I do have a lot to say about inspiration and art. I haven't given my loyal readers input on the OOAK Show in December or my recent trip to Mass MoCA. (Now that was inspirational). I do have a lot of catching up with old friends and making new ones. New quilts to add to the web site. Work on it in my spare time.  And best of all I was able to bring over my old domain so it is still www.annbrauer.com.

Theoretically I can do this while preparing for the Baltimore Craft Show in February, the Paradise Marlboro Show in March, a wonderful gallery show of quilts I am honored to participate in this spring and of course the many events of the Shelburne Falls Business Association.

Which comes full circle to the concept that it is indeed a new day. Get the pun in the quilt.

Happy New Year. Together we will survive.

Finally.....

Yes, it is Thanksgiving Day. I do have a turkey to cook and a pie to make. But still I finally get a chance to update my blog with a few "new" images. Well, actually these were take by my wonderful photographer John Polak last March. Well, except for "desert days" which I snapped myself. Can you tell I have been going non-stop since then?

Still I have one more show--the One of a Kind Show in Chicago December 1-4 at the Merchandise Mart. This should be an adventure. So I decided to add images to my blog post (and even send a note off to my photographer to make an appointment after I return.) Don't we all need color and art in our lives right now?

First here is "two suns." I am not sure of the story of this quilt but I do love the colors and the exuberance.

two suns--quilt--ann brauer--2016

Then there is "prairie sun." Can you tell that I grew up on a farm in the Midwest and love the power of the sun against the horizon?

prairie sun--quilt--ann brauer--2016

"Ocean sunrise" has the reflections of the sun on the water. What do you think?

ocean sunrise--quilt--ann brauer--2016

Then there is "abstractions on the night". I am not sure of the story here either--sometimes I like quilts that express something that I can only ponder and imagine. Maybe you know what I was trying to say?

abstractions on the night--40x40 inches--quilt--Ann Brauer--2016

Finally there is my quilt "desert days". This is the start of a new direction for me where I create complex but simple quilts that read as landscapes. This quilt is already sold although I am working on a new one for the OOAK Show.

desert days--quilt--37x47 inches--Ann Brauer--2016--SOLD

So what do you think? An interesting progression from where I was at the beginning of the year to my more recent landscapes. Hmmm. If you are in the Chicago area, I hope you will consider coming to the OOAK Show. It should be fun.

For more information on that show, please visit their web site: http://oneofakindshowchicago.com/

I am Booth 5121 toward the back.

Then in February I will be doing the Baltimore Craft Show at the Convention Center. March sees me at the Paradise Arts Festival in Marlboro, MA. And of course you can also visit me at my studio in Shelburne Falls, MA or check out my Etsy shop http://www.etsy.com/shop/annbrauer