the quilt speaks for itself

Sometimes I wonder if the story of the quilt is even needed. Maybe it is enough to be in its presence and just absorb it without the words to describe it. I am not sure. I do know I made this quilt in the depths of winter. That period when I was tired of cold and snow. Tired of grey skies and early nights. You must know the feeling, don't you? Whether it is the skies or the grey inside you. But now I am telling a story and I wanted to let you and the quilt tell your own tale.

summer will come--30 x 60 inches--ann brauer 2019--image by John Polak

detail--summer will come--ann brauer--image by John Polak

detail--summer will come--ann brauer--image by John Polak

sometimes it is about color pure and simple

Sometimes I long to fall into the colors until they surround me. To inhale them until they become part of me. That is the story of my quilt "ocean sunrise".

Enjoy!!!

ocean sunrise--37x46 "--ann brauer 2019--photo by John Polak 

ocean sunrise--detail--ann brauer 2019--photo by John Polak

ocean sunrise--detail--ann brauer 2019--photo by John Polak

it's a new day

Sometimes titles just come to me. The promise of dawn with the sun rising in the clear morning sky. The New Year. The open possibilities of fresh starts. The sun lingering longer in the sky. Here's wishing everyone a happy and joyous journey.

it's a new day--17x63"--quilt--Ann Brauer 2018

detail--it's a new day--quilt--Ann Brauer 2018

it's about color

OK--I know that my next show is the Baltimore Craft Show February 23-25 right when people are thinking the bright happy colors of spring. Indeed many people even now want the bright clear colors of hope and light. And I have several orders lined up ready to be filled.

And yet sometimes I just have to see what will happen. Color after all does reflect the depths of my soul. (Yes, that sounds maybe a bit profound but it still can be true for me.) Winter is just starting here in the North East and it is dark and cold. The holidays are over and so I decided to create.

What do I need to make? What intrigues me? For some reason it is the complex nature of browns in all their glory. Soon I know I must begin anticipating the season and moving on to light and warm days but I couldn't resist. Interesting how color can just lead me on.

brown flame--quilt--Ann Brauer--2017

Don't you love all these fabrics? Can you see what I had so much fun?

detail--brown flame--quilt--Ann Brauer

Does this ever happen to you? For more information on the Baltimore Show check out their web site. I'm in Booth 1309. https://craftcouncil.org/shows/acc/american-craft-show-baltimore And of course I listed it on my Etsy shop http://www.etsy.com/shop/annbrauer

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

it's always something

Just when I thought I had my Etsy shop organized and humming along getting ready for the holidays (yes, I do think ahead or at least I try to) Etsy comes along and makes a change. Instead of the five photos that I am accustomed to, I can now show my buyers TEN!!!!  I am sure they did it with the best of reasons. After all, the buyer can't really see the item except in the listing and so the buyer probably does want more information. At least that is their rationalization.

But TEN!!! images. What can I show? I have realized that I don't have any more of these wonderful green place mats. If I don't have them, it must be because they are popular so I make more. They are a wonderful color, aren't they?  Front. Back. Two placemats. Placemats with a plate. For me these are standard.

two green placemats--Ann Brauer 2017

I read the helpful tips. OK--maybe buyers want to see the inside of my studio. That works. I love my studio. I can also show them the outside. After all, it is a wonderful shade of green itself. That also works. Now if I had a nice table I could set it and show the mats in use but the truth is that I don't yet. So I read more suggestions. A work in progress. I do hand stitch the bindings. I can show that. Maybe next time I can show another detail of the construction. Who knows.

green placemats--Ann Brauer 2017

Customers do like to mix and match. That would be a nice image. Let them see what else they could order. Maybe I should do more of these pictures. That could be fun.

two green placemats--Ann Brauer 2017

But for now that will have to do. After all, I also need to make some more placemats. This time I think I will try burgundy. Another  color I don't have. They will look good with the green. I will have to see what other sellers are doing for images. More to think about. More to learn. It is after all, always something, isn't it? If you want to see my finished listing, it is here. https://www.etsy.com/listing/542491075/quilted-green-placemats-washable-table?ref=shop_home_active_1

What images would you add? I do welcome suggestions.

return to hidden lake

Hidden lake was a quilt I made a number of years ago. A really nice quilt with a great story. I was hiking in the White Mountains of New Hampshire one summer. The trees were green and lush. The trail delightful--just enough of a challenge to make it fun but not so hard that every step was a trial. We had a destination--a lake--and kept getting glimpses of it as we turned a corner or hit a high clearing. This quilt is about that experience.

Lovely isn't it?

hidden lake--quilt--Ann Brauer

The quilt is long since sold but I just got an order from a major health care facility in Minnesota to make one like it. It is one of those orders that while I may not like repeating the past it is such an honor that of course I will.  The quilt ordered is smaller which will require its own issues but first I constantly get requests for explanations on my basic technique of quilt as you go. So I decided to use this as an example as my holiday gift to you.

In this case, because it was an order, I created a sample card that needed to be approved before I began work. This is the cheat sheet.

hidden lake--quilt--Ann Brauer

Was I remembering the quilt in all its green glory? I am not sure. Do I have all the fabrics--nope. But what can I do. I go through my stash and pull out what I can find. Is it enough? I am not sure. Is it too dark--I am not sure. The quilt does start off dark green. I always tell myself to make what I know.

I cut fabric for one row of the quilt. If I cut too much, it becomes hard to find just the piece I need. If I cut not enough then I am constantly getting up and searching for more. This is my pile for now. The light was not good for photos but you get the idea. This helps me see what greens I have for the quilt.

hidden lake--quilt--Ann Brauer

I then sew the first two pieces together. In this case I am starting at the bottom. I have a layer of cotton batting on top of the back of the quilt. I then spend time finding just the right fabric to add next. How bright should it be? I am not in the swing of things yet and the quilt as not absorbed my mind so it takes a while.

hidden lake--quilt--Ann Brauer

hidden lake--quilt--Ann Brauer

I always estimate that I reject at least five fabrics before finding just the right one. When I do I lay it with the right side of the strip against the right side of the pieces I am working on.

hidden lake--quilt--Ann Brauer

Then I sew a seam.

hidden lake--quilt--Ann Brauer

The stitches go through onto the back.

hidden lake--quilt--Ann Brauer

I press it open and keep building.

hidden lake--quilt--Ann Brauer

Eventually I finish the block and pin it on the design board to begin the next one.

hidden lake--quilt--Ann Brauer

Are the colors right? Does this have the liveliness of the original? Sometimes it is much harder to make a piece that I have already made since I must absorb the quilt as it was taking into account the effect of photography and the different fabrics that I have now. I also have to listen to the desires of the client. Time will tell. In this case, I will keep building the quilt until I see the whole. This is where the fun begins. One block at a time.

And for those who ask, this is my most recent variation of a tutorial how I make my quilts. As you can see much of it is intuitive. It requires practice and looking at what you have made before to see where to go next. It also requires getting into the mindset of the quilt that you are making. What are you trying to say? Where do the fabrics lead you? How do they work as a whole? Sometimes the only way through is to start. How do you begin? What tips do you have?

Happy Holidays to you.

I'm a cover girl

I'm a cover girl and the featured artist in the lates tissue of Art Quilting Studio. What more do I need to say?

I will have copies of the magazine available at my studio in Shelburne Falls, MA and will be open on Friday November 27 for Moonlight Magic--the village's annual celebration of the holiday season with candelaria on the sidewalk, a parade past my studio, performers throughout the town and the annual cookie sale for the Shelburne Falls Womens Club. Yum.

If you can't make it there, you can check out my Etsy shop http://www.etsy.com/shop/annbrauer
To celebrate Black Friday, Moonlight Magic, Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday use the Coupon Code MOONLIGHT15 for 20% off through November 30. It will also work in my studio although it does not apply to previous purchases, custom orders and work that is being reserved.

I will also be showing at the Holiday Craft Show in Morristown, NJ on December 11-13. If you follow this link and fill out the coupon you can get COMPLIMENTARY ADMISSION to the show--be sure and print out and submit one form for each person coming.

https://artrider.wufoo.com/forms/holiday-craftmorristown-2015-comp-admission-coupon/

the quilts of Ann Brauer--November edition

Dear all,

All I can say is wow. We are having the most glorious autumn I can remember. After a couple of killing frosts and even a report of S*** in October, the weather has turned beautifully mild and sunny. Every day I try to do finish a few more chores in the garden before heading to my studio to finish orders and create a few more items for my studio. Of course, even there I spend a lot of time gazing at the colors on Mount Massamet and the reflections on the Deerfield River knowing that soon it will indeed change.

Meanwhile there is so much going on. I am getting ready for the Paradise City Arts Festival November 20-22 at the Royal Plaza Trade Center in Marlborough, MA. I can't say enough good things about this show--there is so much fun work from stocking stuffers to major wall art and sculpture here--as well as live music, good food and even plenty of free parking. To find out more about this show and to get $2 off your admission ticket please check out their web site: www.paradisecityarts.com The wonderful show promoters have been using an image of my quilt "red sun" for some of their promotions.

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

Then the next Friday--which conveniently is the day after Thanksgiving--Moonlight Magic returns to Shelburne Falls. What a great family event this is--there are candelaria on the sidewalks, cookies baked by the Women's Club at the Information Center, the stores are open late and there is even a parade with Santa through the center of the village. I do hope at least some of you will drop by and say hi. I plan to be celebrating the publication of my new quilts in the Winter Edition of Art Quilting Magazine due out on December 1, 2015. I can't wait to see the article and all the images of my work in this publication.

You can also see one of my quilts in the exhibit  at the Fuller Museum of Craft in Brockton, MA. Finally I will be doing the Holiday Morristown Show in Morristown, NJ in December. Let me know if you would like to receive a postcard for one free admission to this show.

Whew. That was a lot of news, wasn't it?

Of course you can always find many of my quilts and accessories on my Etsy shop http://www.etsy.com/shop/annbrauer or feel free to contact me directly.

May your autumn be filled with plenty of sunshine and warmth with just the hint of the colder days and longer nights to follow.

Thanks so much for reading.