Just what you need, more fabric…right? Of course!

Contemporary Cloth
Fabrics from all over the world!

Marbled Arts
Hand-dyed marbled cottons.

Fibers by the Yard
No need to buy reams and reams when all you need is a handful.

Dharma Trading
All the raw materials ~ cotton, silk, dyes, paints, marbling supplies, etc.

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Adding to your fabric stash…

Lots of times in mixed media projects, we’d like to add a bit of hand-stitched elegance! Sometimes we can get away with just winging it, but other times the pattern is a bit more crucial. Here’s a great little tutorial from Melissa at Elemental Stitches on how to transfer your pattern to fabric. I’m going to guess that it would also work really well to transfer to paper as well, whether you plan to stitch or do something else with your design. Not sure, though, as I haven’t tried it yet…so many products, so little time

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Transferring your pattern for embroidery

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Recycle your blankie into a rug!

***FREE STUFF ALERT***

Have you seen Art Doll Quarterly? I’m sure if you’re a fan of art dolls, you probably have. Dolls are not an art form that ever really entered my realm or tugged at my imagination…until I saw this magazine! WOW!! The things you can make, and this is the magazine with both the eye candy and the instruction to get you going if you’ve thought about trying it out.

So, now I have a free copy of Art Doll Quarterly to give away to someone who needs this magazine! Leave me a comment and let me know how much you love dolls (or how much you want to try this), and on Friday, April 25, I’ll be randomly picking a winner. This giveaway is a part of The Bloggy Giveaway promotion, so make sure you visit the site to see what else you might like to enter to win!

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Art Doll Quarterly

Even better, Lenore shows us how to make the swap. Sweet!

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Replace your straps

She also sells her wares through an Etsy shop, and one offering that caught my eye was this mobile:

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Bugs & Fishes

Don’t you just love the name of this blog? Joan Hawley is the Lazy Girl, and she has generously shared many free lazy tutorials. Since I happen to be a person who is always in seach of the perfect bag, her quick and easy style really appeals to me. I especially like this one yard, one hour tote bag pattern! I didn’t get around to making them for holiday gifts, but I think they are just the thing for me to use up some of my Guatemalan fabrics! What do you think?

Joan’s Bag:

My fabrics:

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Lazy Girl Designs!

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The cutest tote bag ever!

Heather Bailey has provided a really neat one-page tutorial on how to bind a quilt with that professional mitered corner look. There are several ways that like to bind my fabric projects, but the mitered style is by far the most polished. Heather’s directions are clear and well-illustrated! Thanks so much, Heather!

You can visit Heather’s blog and have a cuppa with her too. She has some beautiful photos there

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Continuous quilt binding

Artist: Colette Copeland
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Website & Blog:
Pomegranate Place
A Bird in the Hand blog

Junque Figures: um, junk, but interesting junk!

How do you describe your work, Colette?
Mixed media. Privately I call it eclectic, because I like variety. I love to paint on large canvasses, and I also like smaller work: collage is my bliss, assemblage is fulfilling! I get bored doing the same thing, although I believe I’ve developed my own style no matter what form the art takes.

What is your creative process like?
Now that’s the $64-million question. I’ve lost count of the times I’ve finished something, stepped back, and asked myself: “How did I do that?!” Often it’s some of my best work. I work when the spirit moves me, which, luckily, is pretty much every day. I alternate between the chaotic and the ordered. I usually don’t work anything out, except in my head, and that’s usually sketchy. An image will gel in my mind and suddenly I’ll get up and go to my worktable (yes, even in the middle of watching my favorite TV show). And I’ll keep going until the piece is finished, easy to do because I lose track of time. Said worktable is usually strewn with stuff. I’m one of those people who, if I don’t see it, I forget I have it. So everything is out, despite my efforts to be tidy and have my supplies in bins and drawers and so on. I should point out that my workspace is small, so I don’t have the luxury of shelving and cabinets and whathaveyou.

I work usually in total silence. I don’t need outside stimuli, since for me it comes from within.

Dragonflies: acrylic on stretched canvas

What kind of training did you have which helped you achieve your current level of artistry?
I was and still am (on a freelance basis) a magazine journalist who had to take her own photos. Photography, which involves a good eye, composition and balance, helped me on the way to my artistic endeavors. One day, out of the blue, I decided I wanted to sketch with a brush and watercolors. I didn’t think I could do it, but I didn’t question the impulse; I went out and bought a small box of watercolors and a brush, and to my delight I found I could. Eventually this led to my illustrating a monthly food column that I was writing at the time. Before long I was in the grip of it all, and progressed from small watercolors to bigger ones, which people wanted to buy. Eventually I graduated to acrylics and big canvasses, which sold out of a couple of local galleries. And then – I discovered collage and mixed media. The possibilities there were endless and I’ve been having a grand old time ever since. My goal is to become a full-time artist.

Is there a tool or material that you can’t imagine living without?
I could never pick just one tool; I mean, what good is a brush without the paint, the paint without the paper, the paper without the…I want all of it. But, if you twisted my arm? Paint, probably. I love smooshing paint all over a canvas!

Birdhouse No. 3: collage on mat board

What inspires you to create?
It’s an impulse, call it intuitive. I’m not sure where it comes from. It’s just there inside my head. Other than that, I find other artists inspiring. When I first discovered Lenore Tawney’s postcard collages, I got really fired up, I wanted to do that kind of collage.

What inspires you to keep going when the work gets frustrating or tough?
If something gets frustrating, I don’t fight it, I leave it alone and go on to something else – even if it means not working for a day or so. Kind of like a mental health break. It will usually work out later, and if it doesn’t, then no harm done. This works very well for me, so as a result, I don’t get frustrated much.

What is your best piece of advice for those who would like to rise in their level of artistry?
Practice, practice, practice. Do it for you, do it for the love of it, do it regularly, and don’t censor yourself. And do what you love, not what everyone else is doing. You get better with time and practice. It’s also necessary to develop a critical eye, so you know what’s good and what isn’t, what’s finished and what isn’t.

My Daughter’s Dress: Mixed media on stretched canvas

What takes up the majority of your time besides your art?
I work three half-days a week at a national publication, and the rest of the time I work on my art. I also take a daily walk in a park near my home, to clear my mind and “touch the earth.” And I spend time on the computer managing the business side of my art. Once a week, I go to flamenco dance class, which I’ve been studying for five years now, and I do yoga three times a week.

What are your favorite things besides art?
Comfort food: Crème brûlée.
Books: I read every day, at night before going to bed. I haunt my local library for mystery novels, art books, historical fiction, and more mystery novels.

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Artist Profile: Colette Copeland