Tag: quilting

Posted in Fabric, Fiber, Photography, Quilts

Auditioning Fabric

Posted on by debthumanblog

Frequently, I can’t make sense of what is going on inside of me until it comes out of my hands. The murder of a mother by storm troopers in Minneapolis left me numb and crying. I needed to put my feelings into a quilt.

Once I had the design, I had to think about a background. So far, I’ve gone through 5 different background fabrics. This one, I think, will work.

Next, I looked for red fabric. The only red fabric I have in my stash has tape measures printed on it. Not appropriate for what I want to show.

I was surprised that this one kind of worked. Both are lights, but maybe having what I want to say blend into the background would be a good idea.

Maybe this will work. The print is big and I’m thinking of using small pieces. The print would be broken up in a strange way. That might say some of what I want to say.

Maybe. There’s enough contrast to make the design pop, but I’m not sure I like the fabric.

I’ll leave the background and the fabrics I’m auditioning on the table for a couple days. I may use one of these. Or I may reject all three. Or I may decide to use a different color for the design.

We had some wild weather the other day. Here’s what I could see from my back yard.

The Robledo Mountains to the west of my house.

The Dona Ana Mountains to the north of my house.

On the other side of the barbed wire fence looking northeast.

I have been having good luck with my Spoonflower shop. I had a couple sales this week. My shop is here: https://www.spoonflower.com/profiles/deb_thuman

My online store featuring one of a kind jewelry, Deb Thuman Art, is here: http://www.DebThumanArt.com

I’m linking with Nina Marie here: https://ninamariesayre.blogspot.com

Posted in Abstract Art, Child abuse, Judiasm

Trying to figure out what’s next

Posted on by debthumanblog

Some people wear their heart on their sleeve. I wear my heart on my art. I know what I want to say, but I haven’t figured out how I want to say it although I have some ideas.

I have my grandmother’s candlesticks. We always had candles on the table for holiday dinners. My family came from Dittersdorf, East Prussia cleverly disguised as German Lutherans. It took a lot of research, 120 years, and pure dumb luck discovering my grandmother’s bad German was Yiddish to see past the disguise. It wasn’t safe to be openly Jewish when my great-great-grandparents arrived in America although Jewish traditions were kept. Sort of. Cleaning had to be done on Friday and only on Friday. When I was little, we didn’t go anywhere on Saturday. And lit candles had to be on the table for holiday dinners. Jim’s family was different. On the rare occasions there were candles, they weren’t lit. We lost sight of who we are and what we believe since 1888 when my great-great-grandparents arrived in America. But we’ve kept our traditions. Now, I keep our faith and I don’t hide the fact I’m Jewish even though being openly Jewish right now is dangerous. This piece could work as either a quilt or a painting.

This is about child abuse and how I would hide from my mother and The Drunk. I would like it to be on three levels. Blue on the bottom, gray in the middle and green on the top. After the inauguration in 2017, I was so angry, I made a quilt featuring a life-size, nearly anatomically correct, 3-d depiction of a vulva – complete with a Swarovski crystal for the clitoris. It was quite the challenge to figure out how to sew it onto the quilt and then to actually sew it onto the quilt. I don’t think I want to try a 3-d quilt again. I’m not sure this would work as a flat quilt.

It could be a painting. I’d need Jim to make the “canvas” out of wood and float the gray and green levels. My painting teacher would like to see more work where Jim helps me fashion the “canvas.”

Eventually, I’ll get it all figured out.

I’m linking with Nina Marie here: https://ninamariesayre.blogspot.com/2025/01/american-art-and-portraiture-on-off.html

My store, Deb Thuman Art, is here: http://www.DebThumanArt.com

My Spoonflower shop is here: https://www.spoonflower.com/profiles/deb_thuman