stormy coast--an old friend returns for a visit

Sometimes I get the chance of revisiting an older quilt which I had almost forgotten about. In this case, the quilt had been safely tucked away in a closet at a gallery. I had barely remembered it was there when I went looking for something else.

What fun it was to see it again almost like reuniting with a friend you haven't seen for quite some time. So much in common although your lives have also changed. Don't you love all the different colors and fabrics. The sweep of the ocean and the curves of the coast. It was fun to see how I had worked three separate panels together to tell a story. And of course it was fun to remember some of the fabrics which I had used up years ago.

stormy coast--quilt--Ann Brauer--2015--37 by 39 inches--photo by John Polak

One of the aspects of this quilt I had forgotten was that the quilt could be rotated for a different effect. This one almost looks like grasses coming into the sky doesn't it.

stormy coast--Ann Brauer--quilt--2015

And this orientation could be a gentle rain. I am not sure. What do you think?

stormy coast--quilt--Ann Brauer--2015

Here are a couple of details for those who are curious.

detail--stormy coast--Ann Brauer 2015

detail--stormy coast--Ann Brauer 2015

Would I make the same quilt again? Of course not. Even if I tried for the same effect, my knowledge of how to manipulate fabric and the effect of different patterns has changed. Of course I also don't have the same fabrics. Need I say more. But I still like this quilt and put it on my Etsy shop so maybe it can find a new home. http://www.etsy.com/shop/annbrauer

What do you think? Do you ever get a chance to contemplate older pieces and see if they still hold up.

explorations--I begin

It did sound like an interesting show to enter. About twenty quilt makers were selected to each create a quilt that was 30 x 50 inches and highlight a particular process. So I entered and was among the chosen.  Of course my technique is quilt as you go--can you imagine my being selected for any other method? That was the easy part.

Unfortunately though I had to make the quilt. The first step of deciding what to make is often the hardest. What would illustrate the method, look artistic and fit the size requirements? My mind was alive with ideas. But....

I kept sketching. Would it look good at 30x50 inches? Oh why had they not chosen 32x48 inches which I find a much more satisfying size?  Or given us the option of making a horizontal quilt--again a size that can look great over the sofa or bed?  But this was taking up valuable mental energy.

I had to start. Many were already finished with their quilts. I couldn't let them down. I got gentle reminders. from the volunteer working on the project. She was so kind and patient.  Still I fretted.  Why did I agree to do this? I don't even like the focus on process?  Shouldn't it be on the artistic expression instead? Isn't process just the tool to say what you want to say? I could delay forever but I had promised. I was just procrastinating. I needed to make a quilt I could be proud of. Then it dawned on me.  My quilt "mountain sun" was 30 x 70 inches and I liked it. If it could work at that size, then surely it could work at 30 x 50 inches.

mountain sun--30x70 inches--ann brauer--2018

--image by John Polak

Now of course I didn't want to make a quilt just like this. That would be no fun. But I had customers through who had wondered about the quilt in plum--or maybe burgundy. That would be a fun challenge. I was curious to see what would happen.  Wouldn't I love to develop that colorway and then maybe make a couple of longer quilts for my booth. I feel such a need to go large these days. But more on that later.

Time to start. I press the back fabric. Amazing how wrinkled it gets on the bolt.

explorations--pressing the fabric--ann brauer 2018

Then I baste the batting onto the back. After all this is quilt as you go so the batting is included in the sandwich.

explorations--basting the batting to the fabric--ann brauer 2018

That always feel like a major step. I am committed. How do you decide what quilt to make? How do you begin? How do you show process? How much do you think process is relevant?

only 13 more days--tra la

OK--only 13 more days until spring. Repeat after me. Thirteen more days. Yes, I am trying to ignore the snow falling around me. We could get 18 inches!!! Maybe we should be celebrating this snow. Thinking of winters past where it snowed into April or even May. After all it will help preserve water for the summer. There are no mosquitoes. I can't weed the garden. And it is beautiful.

Regardless it is time for the Count Down to Spring quilt. This is the other river quilt that I have left. Don't you love the colors in this one? Wouldn't it look great in a country home--maybe with lots of wood and views to the forest outside. Just saying.

autumn river--38x38"--quilt--Ann Brauer 2018

The river flows through the center of the quilt with the green outlining it. Have you ever seen rivers in dry areas? This is actually what happens with the water creating a wonderful respite from the drier land.

autumn river--detail--ann brauer 2014

The browns are a wonderful rich color in long even rows.

autumn river--detail--ann brauer 2014

Of course it is signed. Hanging is simple since I have attached looped tape on the top and bottom. I provide the customer with the matching hooked tape and thin strips of faux wood that can be attached to your wall.

autumn river--detail--quilt--ann brauer 2014

I do like the simple colors in this quilt. However, I have had it for several years and it needs a new home. So I have reduced the price in my Count Down to Spring sale from $675 to $375. You can see more about the quilt on my Etsy shop HERE.

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

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.

selling on Etsy

autumn sunset--40x40 inches--Ann Brauer 2016--image by John Polak

I was honored to be interviewed by Clara Nartey on how I use Etsy as part of my marketing plan.

I hope you enjoy. Let me know what you think.

https://claranartey.com/sell-textile-art-etsy/

The answer to SCAM is:


Nothing can protect you from all scams--sigh. I do use Etsy though as a barrier from most of the scammers. As far as I can figure out, Etsy will not confirm an order until it has confirmed the payment. I have had orders pending for some time as they work on establishing the legitimacy of the order.

I almost always ship using USPS Priority Mail or UPS or FedEx with a tracking number so I can prove that the shipment was received. Etsy does offer a money back guarantee so if they are not satisfied they can return the item. If the same person orders more than one item consecutively I do not ship them together even though it would save them money unless it is someone I have dealt with previously.

There is also a forum section where you can read about the other scams that sellers have encountered and ways to work around them. 

the memory of red hills

Sometimes a quilt is more than a quilt. At least that is my latest thought. Those who have been in my studio recently--or those who follow me on Facebook or Instagram or Etsy--may have seen that I am starting to mount some of my quilts on stretcher boards. What a different look it gives. In the once sense the quilt takes on an added importance. Each stitch seems to become more significant. The quilt is also a given size.

Now I have occasionally mounted quilts before. I used to frame a few of them just to show people they could. Customers have also had quilts framed. They do look great.

On the other hand, I miss the immediacy of quilts as fiber art. Something that everyone can relate to.  For a long time I have resisted the preciousness of mounting quilts. Does it make them more than they are. I can feel a different reaction to the mounted pieces when customers view them in the studio. And I know that it will be harder to display them at a craft show. I can't just lay the extras out on my shelves to have customers go through them. I can't fit them so easily in my plastic boxes for transport. I haven't even thought about shipping yet.

It will be interesting to see what happens. Certainly I will bring a number of them to the Berkshire Craft Show August 11-13 at Monument Mountain High School in Great Barrington. What a wonderful place to test them out.

Is this a method I will continue? I don't know. But for now I can feel an energy and life in the new works that is pushing me forward. What do you think? Do you mount your work? Do you appreciate mounted quilts or would you rather they were just quilts.

the memory of red hills--12x36"--Ann Brauer 2017

the memory of red hills--12x36"--Ann Brauer 2017

my mother's mother--day 34

When I think of my mother's mother, the word I would use is "nice". She had wonderful white hair. She did not live with us but would come and when she came to visit us she would sit on the porch and count the number of white cars that went by on the highway. She would bring my sister and I color by number sets with pencils and then sit at the dining room table and help us complete the images. After all she had attended the Art Institute of Chicago when it was a finishing school for young women.

When she left my sister and I would redo her coloring since it was always too light. We called her Grandmother.

And yes, she also made quilts. Not the intricate original quilts of my other grandmother but the carefully pieced quilts that women did back then just because it was the thing to do. The Grandmother's Flower Garden and Trip Around the World. The appliqued flowers. All in wonderful soft pastels.

She died when I was still in grade school. Only later did I learn that while she may not have been much of an artist, she was a sound business woman who guided my Grandfather's string of grocery stores through the Great Depression. When they finally closed, she then ran the Candy Stores which supported the family for many years after that.

I also learned that rather than dreading her regular visits to us on the farm, she looked forward to being in the country which was where she had been raised.

As an adult I wish I had gotten to know her a better. What was the price she paid for being both nice and a business woman back then? How did she balance every thing?

In many ways, this quilt--Summer Garden--which I made a number of years ago is a tribute to her and that generation. Its sister is actually in the collection of the American Museum of Art + Design in New York (although they don't usually show it)  and was part of the Six Continents of Quilts Show in 2001. How hard this quilt was to make--can you see the roots not only in Grandmother's Garden but also in the log cabin pattern. Each of the seams had to be tied off at both ends. I even used different colors of black fabric to give even more substance to the piece.  Of course each block was different. And yet the whole is certainly more than the sum of the parts, at least in my opinion.

summer garden--about 90x90 inches--Ann Brauer--2001--image by John Polak

from little mug rugs-day 24

Once, many years ago I won a couple of very nice grants.  A regional grant from the National Endowment for the Arts and I was runner-up for a Massachusetts Artist Grant. It was about the same time I made quilts that got into Quilt National. I was "hot". The sky seemed to be the limit. Of course I shouldn't be taking up my time making any of the smaller items--the potholders and placemats, the table runners and mug rugs that would sell at almost any craft show I did and keep me going.

There were certainly arguments to support that point of view and maybe if I had gone to Art School I could have developed a career teaching. Or maybe I could have pushed the quilts until I  sold them at a high enough price to not need the smaller items. I don't know. Could have? Should have? I knew though that I did not enjoy sitting at a craft show as the masses walked right past my booth realizing that even if they loved my work, today was not the day to purchase a more expensive quilt. I am not always a patient person.

But I also realized that there was nothing in my booth that I could afford. So I returned to making potholders and placemats. It wasn't my main business but of course if I was going to make them, they had to be well made and distinctive since they were part of my reputation. They had to be fun for the customers and for me. It was a balancing act to not get too many orders that I didn't time to make the larger more intricate quilts that I wanted to make.

For me it worked. At the studio I even sold small bookmarks and mug rugs. And in a round-about way, one of those mug rugs resulted in the order for all 12 quilts for the Federal District Court House in Springfield, MA. You just never know.

Quilts--Federal District Court House, Springfield, MA--Ann Brauer--photo by John Polak

Quilts--Federal District Court House, Springfield, MA--Ann Brauer--photo by John Polak

Do I still have those internal debates? You bet. When I get into that creative flow, when I get inspired and I just don't have time to make all the quilts I can envision, it is hard to finish an order for potholders. But then I get tired and need a break. Or the quilts are being a bit ornery and there is nothing like the quick satisfaction of a set of potholders that are DONE and will create a bit of joy in someone's life.

time for new postcards--day 23

Sooner than I can imagine, it will be time for the Berkshire Craft Show in Great Barrington, MA August 11-13. Yikes. This summer is speeding by although it is still only mid June.  Luckily I love doing this show. Small. Great work.  Easy to do. And the best volunteers around.

I figure if I am doing a show, I might as well work to promote myself at this show. Sure I will mention it on the various social media sites--my viewers may even get a wee bit tired of hearing about it. And for those in the area, I will send out a postcard as time draws near. Often this is still the best way of reminding my customers to plan on coming and checking out my new quilts. Or if they can't come that day, they can still go on line and see what I have that they might want. Just saying.

After all, I do have to market my work to stay in business. So I chose a quilt that I still own, added information about the show and its web site http://www.berkshirecraftsfair.org and ordered the cards. Sometime in the next couple of weeks, I will print my mailing list and send the cards off at the end of July. Always something isn't it?

autumn sunset--quilt--40x40 inches--Ann Brauer 2017--image by John Polak

the frame job--day 16

Quilts are art.  At least quilts can be art. By now that is an uncontested statement. Still sometimes a quilt needs to be formally mounted for a specific look or location.

Years ago I would have a framer mount the quilts for me. It did help sales since customers could picture the quilt in a more formal setting but it was also expensive and time consuming. Then the framer I had used moved on to different things.

I read detailed descriptions and tried to do it myself from scratch.  After all, I was smart and should be able to figure this out by myself. But that took a long while to do and was frustrating. I could not recoup the time I had put into the quilts. Not a good business plan.

Finally though, as I have frequently found, if I keep toying with an idea in the back of my mind, I may come across a solution to the question. Doesn't persistence pay off? This time it was my friend Cindy Grisdela who wrote about her method for framing. I might be able to do this. Certainly I had to try. Check out her tutorial on her blog. https://cindygrisdela.com/mounting-art-quilts-on-canvas-tutorial/

It was scary after making the quilt to then cut it apart. Wouldn't the flow of the quilt be different? But this was an experiment. What was the worst that could happen?  I would destroy a lovely quilt in the process. And it was lovely, wasn't it?

prairie memories--wip--quilt--ann brauer 2017

Still I had to know if her ideas would work with my quilts?  I had already invested in the frames and other supplies. So I mumbled a few words of encouragement to myself and cut. Very different isn't it?

prairie memories--wip--quilt--ann brauer 2017

And I proceeded to frame the quilt. What do you think? And now I need to make another and another until it becomes not just Cindy's way of framing but also my way as I tweak the method to make it look great for my quilts. That is what is fun about it, isn't it? There is always something new to explore. Some new path to learn.

prairie memories--12x36"--quilt--ann brauer 2017

What do you think? Do you try something new? How do you make it your own?

it gets personal--day 12

August 28, 2011

I was standing at the American Craft Exposition in Evanston, Illinois when friends of mine came running down to my booth.

"Ann," they said. "Is there anyone who can get your quilts out of your studio? Shelburne Falls is flooding."

Soon, as they say, the rest is history. My beloved studio which had stood since the 1930's floated down the river as a result of Tropical Storm Irene.

Don't tell me that climate change is not real. Period.

While I waited for my new studio to get build I made a series of quilts based on the Deerfield River. Much better than fretting when it would get finished, wasn't it?

green river--38x38"--quilt--Ann Brauer 2015--photo by John Polak

don't stop thinking about tomorrow--day 3

Yesterday I got to accept the shows I will do for the rest of the year. And what great shows they will be. Sure--I didn't get into everything I wanted.  Rejection hurts but it happens. I knew it might so I applied to several shows that I also wanted to do. They can reject me but they can't keep me down. Always have Plan B. Don't stop thinking about tomorrow.

For those who wonder how I choose, I try for a mix of some shows that I have done before where the audience anticipates that I will be there, some "new" shows or at least shows which I haven't done for a long time but where I do have an audience and shows where I can expand my market by introducing my quilts to people who may not have seen them before.  Of course I consider where the shows are, the ease of doing them, the mix of artists.

My first show will be the Berkshire Craft Show at Monument Mountain High School in Great Barrington August 11-13. This is the sweetest show that has been going on for 44 years run by  teachers for the benefit of students. Sure the booths are small and spread out but there are some wonderful craft artists who participate and a dedicated following of locals and people who are in The Berkshires to go to Tanglewood and all the other wonderful cultural activities. I have done it for a number of years since it so easy and friendly and I get to sleep at home !!! Check out their web site--you will be amazed at the quality of the work in this show. http://berkshirecraftsfair.org/

Later I will tell you about the other shows and even get them posted on my web site.

For now though it is time to close with an image of my quilt--one fine day.

one fine day--quilt--ann brauer 2017

Baltimore postcard

I love the fact that the American Craft Council now gives you a template with their log so you can design your own postcard. Thanks to the help of my DH, my cards are now being printed. Great idea, Craft Council. Hope to see some of you there.  For more information:  Baltimore Craft Show.

Here's the front. What do you think?

Baltimore postcard Copyright Ann Brauer 2017

 And the back.

Baltimore card--copyright Ann Brauer 2017

Now to get more work done.