"Sheer Delight or Hubba Bubba"-Jan Girod-Ebullient

This piece has been a struggle from beginning to end. The word itself was a challenge all on its own, I searched through multiple definitions, I tried multiple color combinations and as you can see by the title I could not even choose a name for it.

When I saw phrases like "full of joy, unrestrained high spirits, effervescent bubbles" as well as a definition of "boiling", I latched on to those and began my creative meditation....this is not the same as procrastination. Mainly my work is realistic, however "ebullient" is an emotion and I could only see it as abstract, not my strong suit.

Over the last several years I have been experimenting/playing with techniques where synthetic fabrics are distorted using heat. I knew that nylon organza would give me the look I was envisioning, however I tried three different colorways before making my final decision. My dog was not thrilled, as he followed me up and down the stairs to go outside to do this technique (safety first...proper ventilation for me and the dog), he really just wanted to lay in the sunshine but you know that phrase "curiosity killed the cat", well that applies to him.

First I ripped the organza in strips of varying widths, took them outdoors and used my heat gun on them, which caused them to bubble and shrink lengthwise and a bit widthwise. After trying to weave them I realized I would need to seal the edges or all those stray threads were going to drive me crazy, so I took out the soldering iron and sealed all the edges of my strips. I choose to use the "ombre" organza because once woven I could adjust the colors back and forth, up and down to get various color combinations.
To accentuate the bubbles, a simple running stitch with metallic thread around the perimeter definitely gave me the look I was striving to achieve. Then in the "concave" bubbles I beaded circles. Try as I might I could not trim the edges straight and even, they needed to be irregular. This decision was certainly one of those times when I waited for the piece to tell me what it wanted. I think this piece represents my "ebullient" personality.
If you would like to see the whole groups pieces please go to www.12connected.blogspot.com

Last Weekly Sale of our Birthday Month!!

Our last weekly sale of our birthday month is HUGE!!! Scoop them up now at www.fiberonawhim.com before they are all gone.!!

Our weekly sale 9/26-10/3: an additional 45% off select fabric categories. They include Amy Butler (quilting cottons and Nigella), Joel Dewberry, Textile Creations, Kona Bay, and Robert Kaufman (Color Theory and Another Iota).

Also 45% off Art Gallery purse patterns and kits.

Birthday Sale

Our 5th birthday sale is as follows 9/15-9/17:

5% off all Books, Magazines, Inkjet Fabrics, Shiva Paintstiks, and Mixed Media/Scrapbooking Supplies

10% off all Fabrics, Silk Products, and Threads

15% off Patterns, Lumiere, Setacolor, Dye-na-flow, and Tsukineko Inks

25% off all Notions, Beads & Accessories, Misc Clearance Items, and Foil

35% off Art Gallery Purse Kits

We will be running doorbuster sales each day from 8-10AM EST and 5-7PM EST.

Creativity Explodes...maybe it was just me!

Would you believe this studio was cleaned recently? Really it was. Usually I do this before I start a new project, there is something about touching all those fibers and “stuff” that stimulates my creative juices.

Surprise!

We found it was time to create examples for our proposals for MIU (Make It University) this November at the International Quilt Festival in Houston. The ideas began percolating a couple of months ago while brainstorming over soup and salad at Chili’s. No time left to procrastinate (favorite pastime)….the deadline is now. Help! The only thing to do is dump all those “bitz” of stuff out in plain sight. That’s my excuse for this mess and I’m sticking to it.
The last few years I have really been into journals (yeah I know they are hot right now...I have years of them on the shelves). However I am only happy when I incorporate “bitz”, those can be anything from papers, fabrics, random fiber, found objects and words. While prepping for vending at the Believe Retreat in Blowing Rock, North Carolina I rediscovered Glimmer Mist…somehow those bottles just appeared amid my mess, but the shimmer was just what my project needed.

Kristin needed a place to work (sharing space isn't what we do well)….a sweep of her arm and she cleans a corner of the table for her work space. She’s into collage using fabric, paper, together or on their own…nothing is safe when she gets in the groove. But first she makes up a product sample….have you seen Jess Italia Lincolns’ Altered Metal Journals in the September/October 2010 issue of cloth.paper.scissors magazine? Great project!

My 12 Connected Challenge Piece for "Reminiscence" theme; "Family Stories" by Jan Girod

This is my latest challenge group piece it was due on August 1st and somehow I made that deadline; however I did not get it posted here in such a timely manner.

Family stories, listening to the elders of our families tell the tales about their ancestors, we aren't always sure if they are accurate or a "tall tale". I became the caretaker of those reminiscences and the treasures of their lives for both my husbands and my own families several years ago.

After moving to Georgia 30 years ago I made the trek each summer to Minnesota with my two children so that they would know their great-grandparents, grandparents, uncles, aunts and cousins. This was an important part of my childhood and I wanted my children to have those memories. Breakfasts with my husbands grandfather became a highlight of those trips. He was a natural born story teller, his life was full and long. His stories about his father's family were wonderful, entertaining and a bit farfetched at times, but nonetheless his family "stories".
In more recent years my daughter expressed disbielf that she would not be included in her paternal family tree as it only reflected "male" names back to 1491. I innocently began my search for those womens names, facts and stories, very slowly learning a few names. Some of her great-grandfathers stories we have been able to establish as true, we have gained additional stories from distant family members and others may only be best equated to "big fish tales", but they are still part of our family stories.

This piece was made by printing old Swiss documents and photographs onto TAP (Transfer Artist Paper) and transferring them to a batik and copper metal. I coated the paper map with Golden Matte Medium, giving it more strength so I could easily sew through it. Then I dug around till I found vintage laces, tatting and watch parts as many Girod's were watchmakers.

Our Birthday Month!!!

We are celebrating our 5th birthday this month and we want to celebrate in style! Here's what you should look forward to:

1) Weekly Specials - This week's is 25% off bead mixes, silver beads, beading accessories, and cabochons.

2) One lucky winner per week will receive an extra "goodie" in their order. (ie- the 5th order of the week)

3) From 9/15- 9/17 we will have blue light specials that will be huge discounts (40% off specific item) but for a short period of time.

Keep in mind that domestic shipping starts at $75. Also there are several of you that are close to the 2500 inches! Lonni Rossi's Asian Harmonies line is double inches this month. The first person to hit the 2500 mark will receive a prize basket valued at approximately $50!!! Happy Shopping!