Advice Needed - Thread Lace

Nearly all of my work has been realistic or representational and I have wanted to try my hand at some abstract or simplie collage work. I am finding that I am being drawn to really well-executed collage with simple lines and not a lot of extraneous "stuff". I have been experimenting with different techniques to use in collage, but now find that they are pretty "important" pieces (to me) in themselves and I am really unsure of where to take them. I need some advice/suggestions/HELP! on where to go with these pieces that seem to be "whole works", for want of a better description.

The first piece I'm posting is Thread Lace. I took handfuls of thread that I had been saving in its own wastebasket along with some ribbons, trims, etc. and laid it all out between 2 layers of Vilene (heavier water soluble stabilizer). I machine stitched it all together with several different threads - a green/blue variegated, orange, and clear monofilament. When I thought it was stitched enough to not fall apart when I immersed it in water, I put it in the sink and dissolved the stabilizer. Here is what remains:



I love this on the black background and I love how it turned out. But what do I do now? I love it, but it needs something more. Yet, not so much that it detracts from the main body of lace. Perhaps a particular edge treatment would help? Hand stitching? I wouldn't know where to begin. Beading? The trim in the lace already looks like beads, but I guess more could be added. I'd love to work this into something to enter a show, but it's just kind of "there" right now...
Here is a little more detailed image:


Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated!

Watch Your Language by Christine Kane

I don't know how many of you are familiar with Christine Kane, but she usually has pretty good advice in her newsletter. Like this, which I absolutely believe:

Watch Your Language
by Christine Kane

A few years ago, I was in a car with the promoter of one of my performances. He had picked me up at the airport and was driving me to my hotel. On the way, we talked guitars. We got onto the subject of Olson Guitars, arguably the best guitar in the whole world. At one point, the promoter said, "Yea, well, in my entire life I'll never own an Olson guitar."

There was a time when I'd let a remark like this slide on by, even adding my own "me either" to the mix.

Now, I can't. Yoda steps into my head and says, (in his Yoda voice) "So certain are you. Always with you it cannot be done."

So, I turned to the promoter and said, "You are NOT allowed to say that!"

This is because I know the power of language. When you know that words become things, it's hard to let language slide.

I can't help it. I have a rule:

Friends don't let friends speak crappily.

Language is powerful. Words can create reality. Even if my promoter friend doesn't know how on earth he'd ever get his guitar, it doesn't mean he should cut off the possibility with his own words.

If you're wondering how to begin watching your words, here are 7 practical language principles for becoming a better creator of your life.

1 - Eliminate "never" and "always."

Never and always are words of hysteria. "I always mess everything up!" "I'll never figure this out!" "I'll never get an Olson Guitar."

First off, it's not true. If you always messed everything up, you wouldn't have made it out of the womb.

And second off, extreme words are designed to hook you. It's just your emotions taking a joyride. You're more powerful than that.

2 - Use AND instead of BUT.

"But" dismisses the statement before it. "And" includes it. For instance, "That's a good article, but it needs some editing" isn't nearly as encouraging as "That's a good article, AND it needs some editing."

"I love you, but..." is another great example of the dismissive power of "but."

3 - Avoid "Should."

Should is a heinous word for many reasons. It is victim-speak. It disempowers its object. It negates desires, thereby making it harder to make choices. It adds a nebulous energy to the decision making process. Use empowered language instead: "I could..." "I would..." "I am choosing to," "I would like to," "I don't want to," or "You might consider..."

4 - Stop calling yourself depressed.

Also stop allowing anyone to tell you that you are depressed. When you call yourself "depressed" or "obsessive compulsive" or "ADHD" or whatever - you're claiming this thing. You're calling it forth with the most powerful two words in our language: "I am." That creates very little option for the transformation of this condition.

5 - Delete the word "hate" from your vocabulary.

"Hate" has lots of energy. When you use it, you send lots of energy out into the very thing you "hate." Even if it's negative energy, it's still a powerful force, adding its charge to that thing. You're also depleting this energy from your own spirit as you say it.

6 - Be "great." Or "wonderful."

A disease of the creative temperament is a belief that we must be authentic at all costs. So we can't answer a simple "How are you?" without delving into an in-depth scan of our emotional temperature.

Try this instead: When people ask you how you're doing, just say, "I'm great!"

I used to think if said this, then I better have a good reason for saying it, like I just won the lottery or something. I thought it would make me look suspicious, and people would start to wonder if something was wrong with me. But then I did it. And you know what? Most people don't care why you're great. You're saying it for you.

7 - Pay attention to the music of your speech.

You know how some people? They talk in question marks? And you have no idea why? But it makes you think you shouldn't really rely on them? And it makes you not want to hire them?

The music of your language says a lot about you. If you let your sentences droop like Eeyore, ("Thanks for noticing me.") or if you do the uncertain question mark language, take note of what attitudes are causing this. These patterns are created for a reason. Even if it feels like faking it at first, generate confidence as you speak.



Performer, songwriter, and creativity consultant Christine Kane publishes her 'LiveCreative' weekly ezine with more than 4,000 subscribers. If you want to be the artist of your life and create authentic and lasting success, you can sign up for a FRE*E subscription to LiveCreative at www.christinekane.com.

Sacred Threads! and New Work

I'm so thrilled that my quilt, The Stories of Women Are Told in Their Hands was accepted into Sacred Threads 2009. This is of the hands of my mother, myself, my daughter, and my granddaughter. Steve took the photo of all of our hands on the coffee table on a piece of fabric. Our hands weren't entwined. I desaturated them in PhotoShope, posterized them, then colored them. I printed them out individually on fabric, stitched them down to the background and threadpainted them. I created "continents" on the background with free motion threadpainting and stitched that to the night sky background. Then I stuffed the "earth" from behind to make it 3D.


I have been wanting to paint Wonder Under after watching Pokey Bolton do it so effortlessly on her Quilt Art Workshop dvd, so I tried it using Lumiere paints. It wasn't quite so effortless for me. The WU wouldn't come off the paper without the fusing. After ironing one piece again, the paper backing wouldn't come off the fusible & fabric except in small sections. Very disappointing and frustrating. Some of the people on SAQA digest suggested trying other fusibles (most of them hadn't had problems with WU so it must have been a bad batch.) I did manage to pull enough small sections off the paper backing to fuse it to a piece of hand-dyed fabric and it was pretty cool. I decided to put some beads on it, but I haven't beaded much and this is as far as I've gotten with that. Where to go from here?


I wanted to try painting Misty Fuse, which I love anyway and today I painted some on a piece of parchment paper. It was like a dream! And the bonus was that the paint that stayed on the parchment paper was wiped onto a paper towel and now I have that for my paper stash - for someday. Here's the MF painted and fused.


I've been doing a lot of doodling with pen and ink - mostly at work, go figure. I've been looking back at them and trying to figure out how to work them into fabric. Here's one of the doodles I decided to play with:

I saw on a website somewhere - Zentangle - where they create boxes connected together and doodle inside them, sometimes connecting the doodles from box to box. It's really fun and easier to play with on a small scale. So - I took one of the doodles from that box and enlarged it, then traced it onto fabric twice. On one I painted it with Golden Acrylic paint and still have to stitch it:


And the other I stitched and am considering how to paint or finish it. Not sure yet. But it was fun playing with them.

Any suggestions on how to finish this?