My artist talk went pretty well

 It was not perfect, but was pretty good. I’m out of practice with teaching and my mouth kept getting dry. The people that came to the talk were really nice and asked really great questions. So I think it was a success. Some photos were taken I am shocked how old I look. I’m going to be 74 this week so I guess I should look old! 

Here’s a photo. The cone flower on the board behind me is what I used to demonstrate how I create my plastic art pieces. 

Here’s an outline of my talk.

Why do I do this? How did I get here? How do I actually do it?

• Why do I choose to make art from plastic bags? Plastic quilts.
• I love participating in the recycle show and doing word challenges
• I enjoy the challenge of working with plastic bags
• Using plastic bags also speaks to my concerns about the climate and the environment.

• My background—or how one thing leads to another
• Art since a kid
• Painting, sketching, stained glass, baskets, metal punch, printing, sewing, eventually found quilting in 1986
• That eventually led to making original art quilts 2004 (2 quilts)
• That led to blogging in 2008 
• That led to making quilts from plastic bags in 2014
• Found an inspiring teacher online that got me started
• My education and teaching career were in physics, math, meteorology, and astronomy which definitely influences my art
• Determines what I choose to work on and how I work…
• My recycle pieces (some progress photos in binder and on blog)
• Cement works done in her class in time for recycle show in 2021
• Drafting Vellum 2023 and house portraits
• Denim piece with used dryer sheets 2025
• Outer Limits (wasn’t sure if I could pull this one off) 2025
• Raven 2026
• How I make my plastic quilts
• 2 different approaches to appliqué 
• Materials needed for my current method
• Inspiration photo, how I come up with ideas
• Pattern
• Plastic bags….discuss bags
• They are usually one solid color, but sometimes are multi color
• Outer limits piece
• Some are 2 for 1
• Semi transparent vs opaque
• The colors are limited 
• Sometimes won’t lay flat, ripples
• Stitching plastic is challenging…holes
• Do you have to stitch? (Sample)
• Stabilizer
• Fusible web
• Good scissors, tweezers
• Thread, needles, sewing machine
• Light table
• Patience 
• Demo
• What’s coming up for me
• Small exhibit of about 5 quilts at the Bellefonte Art Museum in July. 
• Other projects 

So today I need to pack away my plastic stuff and get back to quilting my Halloween quilt. 

Thanks for reading.

Chris