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.

the quilts of Ann Brauer--May showers edition

OK--isn't there a saying that May showers bring June flowers? Or something like that. After a really warm February (which did a number on my forsythia), a cool March and a dry April we are finally getting some much needed rain. Yes, I would love a couple of nice sunny days but t has been perfect weather to plant my early spring crops--lots of onions, celery, swiss chard, and of course peas.

It has also been perfect weather to make quilts--which is good since Shelburne Falls is having its first ArtWalk of the season May 7 from 2 until 6. What a perfect time to plan a trip to our little village. The Bridge of Flowers is absolutely glorious, the rain has made the flowers spectacular and the hills are turning that wonderful shade of spring green. Lots of galleries will be open with special events. And then there are the restaurants--need I say more?

I have been working on lots of new quilts that continue to explore the circles that I started creating. Don't you love how "ocean sunrise" dances above the water?

ocean sunrise--40x57 inches--ann brauer 2016--photo by John Polak

This really new quilt "it might as well…"  reminds me of the splendor of gardens in the spring. It is part of a series of imaginary landscapes I have just started to create that are smaller and more intimate. I think it is about 16 x 40 inches if I remember correctly.

it might as well--16x40 inches--ann brauer 2016

And there is the meditative landscape of "desert days". Don't you want to just fall into that horizon?

desert days--quilt--37x57 inches--Ann Brauer 2016

Meanwhile if you can't make it to Shelburne Falls this week-end, the next ArtWalk will be June 18 from 2-6. I will be doing the Berkshires Craft Show in Great Barrington August 12-14, and the American Craft Exposition in September in Glencoe, IL but more of these later. Of course my studio is open almost every day but Tuesday (although calling first is a great idea)  and I continue to keep my Etsy shop well stocked. http://www.etsy.com/shop/annbrauer

I hope you have a joyous spring.

the quilts of Ann Brauer--I'm on a roll

I know I haven't been writing for a while. What can I say? Well, actually I have a good excuse and it is not just that I need to spend time in my garden. You see, I have been on a roll. Now let me explain. Finally I got inspired as in really inspired.  Now inspiration as many of you may know can be a very delicate and tender process. You just can't tell when it is going to strike or how long it is going to last or even where it is going to take you.  Certainly I didn't want to jinx it by talking about it too early or even thinking about it too much. Instead at least for me it is a question of making one quilt and then making the next one with all deliberate speed and letting the process pull me forward.

This time I am (knock on wood) lucky. As of June 1 I will have been in my new studio a year and I am loving it. Just imagining how the new work will look in such a great space is inspiration in itself.  Right now I also have time to create. My next craft show is not until the Berkshire Craft Show in August at Monument Mountain HIgh School in Great Barrington. The Evanston Show will be in September in a new location--I keep planning how the new quilts will look in that space.

Consider this one I call "blue sun". Yes it is framed. I still need to attach wire for hanging it but doesn't it look smart on the dolly. It is all pieced and quilted, and then I quilted on top of it to give it even more substance and texture.

blue sun--quilt--40x40 inches--Ann Brauer

Then there is the companion quilt which is not quite done--red sun. Won't the two look fabulous together?

red sun--quilt--40x40 inches--Ann Brauer

And of course the flame series. Are they table runners? Wall hangings? They can be used either separately or maybe a pairing go up the stair case.

three flames--each 12 x 60"--quilt--Ann Brauer

When I need a break from such concentration, I still make my smaller items. The eyeglass cases, the placemats, pillows. Some of my older quilts have put on sale. Shelburne Falls is beautiful right now with new flowers on the Bridge every day. There are some wonderful  new shops--a great little Mexican restaurant near where my studio in exile was, the cream puff bakery and of course the kitchen store just down stream from me has its bargains. Riverfest is June 6--always a family day.

Most of the summer I will be in my studio working on these new quilts. When you are in town, I hope you will stop by to admire the view from my walkway and give me your impressions of my work. Of course do call first if you are coming from a distance. If Shelburne Falls is not in your plans, you can check out my latest work on Facebook  and I do have many of these quilts listed on my Etsy shop. http://www.etsy.com/shop/annbrauer

Have a great late spring. I look forward to seeing some of you either in person or on line.

I got it!!!

If I had a nickel for every time someone asked me "How long does it take to make a quilt?" I could probably retire. A good question. A fair question. But one that is so impossible to answer. For instance, there is a quilt I have been dreaming about for years. Maybe even decades. I will sketch it out during quiet times at craft shows. Play with the design in those early morning hours as I gradually awaken. Visit art museums and ponder how can I make it.

Now I know there are many methods of making quilts by now and some of them would allow me to create the design. However, with no offense to those who use these methods so successfully, they are not my methods. I don't fuse. I don't reverse applique. I don't paper piece. All of these methods would work--and there are many other methods that might also work. But they are not MY method.

So I continued to ponder and dream until finally it hit me. Yes, this just might work. I knew the colors. The concept. I could see a couple of tricks that might help. It has been a long cold spring. Shelburne Falls has been quiet. I might as well try.

quilt--Ann Brauer 2015

Nice colors. Although this is taking forever.

quilt--Ann Brauer--2015

Yes, this is finicky.

quilt--Ann Brauer--2015

Is it even going to work? Should I continue or put it in the UFO pile? I sleep on it.

quilt--2015--Ann Brauer

It only works from a distance.  I peer in through my window. Yes, my neighbors shake their heads and wonder.

quilt--Ann Brauer--2015

How many breaks can I take? When will I finish?

quilt--Ann Brauer--2015

Still so much to do. So many questions to answer. Can I keep the colors the same on the bottom? It was the end of the day and I was impatient--probably not my best idea. Sigh.

quilt--Ann Brauer--2015

So much more to do. So many more questions to answer. So many problems to solve. But the reward was showing the image to my DH and having him say "Wow". 

What do you think? How do you begin a new project? How long does it take? And what is next?