Storm at Sea

Storm at Sea

The vast and increasing differences in our world climates gave me the idea for this work.

Some areas are experiencing torrential rains this summer, while we here in the southwest are counting every drop.

A family who is watching the river, worried about flooding would feel dread at word of an approaching storm, while our thirsty land would welcome it.

Many human lives have been lost due to extreme weather, but without it, very little life at all could exist.

This is made from quilted hand dyed silk mounted on plexiglas.  Mixed media materials were heat distressed, layered and painted for the clouds.  There is a small led light in the back, below the horizon, to illuminate the sky.

God Forsaken

One half of my family has been farming and ranching for hundreds of years.  It's part of our DNA.  At some level, when we look at land, we think "grow" something.  It's always been there with me...what is growing on the land?  When we visited Zion National Park, for example, what trees and plants were growing there at that moment was of the greatest interest to me.

I'm absolutely sure that's one of the reasons I fell in love with Australia.  There were so many new-to-me plants to see/touch/smell.

Conversely, when I see arid, God forsaken expanses of 'wasteland' my bent is to shudder....avoid it.  "Nothing grows here."  Preconceived, on so many levels, is that it's a place to be avoided.

Until it rains!

The desert fairly bursts with life.  Now, even though, my visceral reaction is a shudder, I look at dry, arid lands and wonder what it must look like when it does rain.  What frogs unearth themselves for their brief meetings, matings and re-entry to the underground?  What seeds germinate?  What flowers burst open?  What critters' foot prints bake in the mud?

Because of the long held preconception, just under the surface, it is always a moment of surprised pleasure when I see arid, God forsaken, no-man's land, wasteland...... after a rain.

And Then It Rained!

And Then It Rained detail

You get what you need

Believe it or not, I had quite a challenge with "Preconceptions". I felt compelled to tell the story and issue the challenge but I had no earthly idea how to represent the subject in fabric. First to mind was perspective...I considered doing something a la M.C. Escher but quickly realized that was far beyond my current capabilities. I considered the process of preconceptions: formulating an idea, holding and building upon it and ultimately confronting its accuracy. My crystal ball doesn't work too well and consequently my preconceptions usually result in a stunning moment of enlightenment. It's not always pretty, as evidenced by the story that was the genesis of this challenge. But none of that helped me with my art piece.

Off we go to puppy school

The more I thought about Preconceptions, the more frustrated and stressed I became. I read the other Viewpoints 9 artists' reactions and felt a modicum of relief, knowing it was challenging us all, but it was little consolation because I felt guilty and wondered if, somehow, I had pushed too far. Then again, isn't that the artist's journey?

My inspiration finally came (VERY late) from a completely bizarre source: Goofy, the Disney Character. There is no accurate way to trace the fractals of my thoughts, but it led me to my dog: a Rottweiler. I have never loved an animal the way I love this dog; she is, for all intents and purposes, my daughter. But it wasn't always that way, not even close.

I grew up with cats and was completely ignorant of different breeds of dogs and their reputations. When I met my husband he had just rescued a Rottweiler that was the most docile, sweet, inert animal that we affectionately nicknamed "Butterstick" because she was fat and laid around all day. A year after she died, we brought home another Rottweiler "Pink Girl" from a breeder and named her Ziva. I wanted "Purple Girl" because I'd watched and read Cesar Millan (the "Dog Whisperer") and he advised getting a medium energy dog. My husband insisted on the pick of the litter, a high energy, stubborn, know-it-all puppy.

Shortly after coming home, Ziva challenged me. And challenged me, and challenged me. I believed she was a bad seed, the perfect example of why Rotties have a bad reputation. I was petrified she would act out against someone, including me. Every story I'd heard about Rottweilers (or German Shepherds, or Dobermans or any other maligned dog) came to mind. IRRESPECTIVE of the fact that I had owned and loved another Rottweiler, I had a preconception that Ziva was not the dog for us.

We went to training and I handled Ziva exclusively. We read books, consulted experts, learned all we could. In the process, I discovered a hilarious and accurate book called "Surviving Your Dog's Adolescence" by Carol Lea Benjamin. Who knew? I was dealing with a teenager!! Almost miraculously, on Ziva's first birthday, she suddenly understood and obeyed everything she had resisted before. Things I swore she never absorbed had imprinted on her like a baby duckling imprints on their mother. To this day, if I say "Ready?" to my husband, Ziva immediately sits beside me and looks in my face - just like we learned in puppy school and just like she ignored the entire time.

The combination of my preconceptions, my early struggles and my subsequent victories, inspired me to create this piece. I still haven't determined what to name it; it encapsulates so much for me. But here is Ziva: docile, lover-girl that she has become, lounging on her bed and enjoying a dog's life. And, as my husband was quick to remind me, Cesar Millan had another saying: "You don't always get the dog you want, you get the dog you need." 

Now I have both.

This wholecloth piece is handpainted with India Inks, Inktense pencils and a lot of love.

What the…

This challenge stumped me.  Even though I had a couple scenarios and memories to draw from, I could not imagine a way to put them into a visual design.  So instead, I decided to use the process of making this quilt to challenge my own perceptions.

I'm a planner.  Especially in the studio.  I never cut fabric or start sewing until I have a vision of what the completed piece will look like. (or at least what I hope it will look like).

This month's challenge for me: create a quilt in such a way that I'd have NO IDEA what it would look like when finished. The process of making this piece was a direct rebellion against my meticulous, control-freak, pre-planny nature.



A few years ago, I bought a kit that included a bunch of African-themed fabrics cut into squares.  But I never used it.  The fabrics were so different in style, color, pattern and texture from what I am used to, I had no idea how to organize them. I couldn't picture the finished piece in my mind – everything was too random.  Perfect for this challenge!

Here are the ground rules I gave myself:
1. I had to cover roughly a 18x24 area
2. I had to use each fabric square in whatever order I took it out of the bag. NO looking, no skipping.
3. The only editing I could do was to flip the fabric so it would be face up.

Several squares struck me as downright ugly and I was tempted to leave them out. But I used all the squares. I thought the result would be something wildly busy, jarring and without logic. However, when all the squares were together they seemed to make sense.  Even with the random patterns and colors, to me the composition seems joyful, even soothing in a weird way.

For the quilting, I wanted to continue with this unplanned, spontaneous experiment.  I did some of the quilting from the back and some of it with my eyes closed.  This could possibly be the ugliest, most incoherent quilting I've ever done.  Still, I can't bring myself to NOT like it.



I made it, but it doesn't feel like it speaks for me. It has a life of its own.

Some viewers might say "That doesn't look like Kate Themel's work". They'd be right. It's not what most people (including myself) would expect from me.  I guess that was the point of this challenge, in a way.

Preconceptions

When I first moved to Florida, I drove a rust-bucket Jeep Cherokee I affectionally called: The Heap. I loved that car so much I wasn't even bothered that the A/C didn't work. Sure it's hot in Florida, but that's what car windows are for, right? One day I came up to a busy intersection with shops on four sides and multiple turn lanes in all directions. I had a choice to stop short of the car in front of me and leave a space for oncoming traffic to turn left, or I could squeeze up tight and block their path.

I chose to stop and leave the path open; far be it from me to create a worse log-jam at an already convoluted intersection. Suddenly, from out of nowhere, a huge, black Mercedes illegally crossed three lanes to jump in front of me.  I couldn't believe it! How arrogant! He blocked the space where others could turn left, just to jump ahead in line. Why couldn't the driver wait (like me) until the light changed?

Who was he? Just because he drove an expensive car didn't give him the right to violate traffic rules. I guess he thought he was better than I...or at least my car. Well, I figured I'd show him. The Heap might've been ugly, but it had a fine, big engine and it loved to go fast. When the light changed and we both turned left on the highway headed back to the barrier island, I gunned the engine and sped around him.

Yeh, definitely not my finest moment, but it is what I did. We raced onward, one darting in front of the other, changing lanes and trying to move ahead. I was determined to stay in the lead and block him from cutting in front of me again. I'd show him!
Suddenly, he burst through an opening in traffic, swung around my right and immediately cut in front of me across three lanes into a left turn lane...into the hospital.

Uuunnnggghhhh! What had I done?! Was he a doctor, called for emergency surgery? A family member, summoned unexpectedly to the bedside of a loved one? A husband whose wife just went into labor?

There are no words to describe how I felt. My actions were based on incorrect assumptions. I had a preconception about a driver and his behavior. I had personally observed the facts but I didn't have the complete context. Consequently, my conclusions were wrong. How many times had I done that?!

A less dramatic example was my preconception about Sea Salt Caramel ice cream. My friend showed me the container and said "This stuff is addictive! It is so good, you can't resist!" I wrinkled my face and made some remark about the twisted mind who had ever put salt on caramel, and assured my friend that I wouldn't like it. Well, I am literally eating my words!

Do not try this ice cream unless you are prepared to be addicted! Preconceptions aside, salt and caramel work together like the A-Team. It is so good, I have to eat it with an espresso spoon to make it last longer! True confessions.

So, have you ever had a situation about which you formed an opinion that was later disproved? Maybe you were dreading a get-together and it ended up being the best time of your life. Or you were certain you wouldn't like an item on the menu but were surprised when you had a taste. What was it like? How did it feel? I invite you to consider one of your past preconceptions and depict your experience in an art quilt.

The orientation for this piece is landscape:  24" W by 18" H.

S-T-R-E-T-C-H-I-N-G creatively

Lisa Marie, I have to say this is one tough challenge for me:  In the beginning of our Viewpoints9 Challenges, "exploring sources of inspiration and creativity" sounded like such fun, who knew it would be such w-o-r-k.

"Preconceptions" Hmmm, which modality to I switch on?  I have to thank you for the task....I think...it has been an interesting one.

I don't have a fun, poignant story like our Kate's last posting.  Being a concrete, non-abstract thinker, I've been racking my brain, digging into my past for something amusing.  Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending) the personal instances I can think of are largely rated non-PG, filled with tales revealing that my protagonist has to learn all her lessons the hard way.  While there are many funny, awkward, revealing, embarrassing tales, there are few I'd share here. Maybe told over a glass of wine sometime.

So, no good Kate tales.  I looked passed the personal to the political.  You remember:  the preconceived idea that the guy you voted for (and 85% or so ARE guys) would represent your district and it's interests.  Instead he somehow goes for some lobbyist's idea of 'greater good'.  Usually means someone other than the voter is getting greater.  However, I had explored this theme before when I vented about our Congress as it tumbled into a do-nothing house of words.

Yes, looking at political preconceived notions lead to severe cynicism.  To quote comedian Lily Tomlin "As cynical as I get, I can't keep up."

I then turned to much more general topics.  I can tell you this:  I'm done. (!)  The piece is completed and has been photographed.  And,  it is rated v-e-r-y G.  General audiences will not be offended and my cynicism will not show.


Here is a detail shot.

V9 Challenge 8 detail

Oh, and please celebrate with me that I completed this challenge a month early....as opposed to the last one that I finished one month late.  There:  balance reclaimed.  Noteworthy for me.

Awkward Beginning

This is a tough challenge, I'm not sure if I have a grip on it even now.  But an old story came up during a conversation with friends - the first time I met my now-husband, Tom.

Before we met, Tom's reputation as a serious sailor preceded him.  My team decided to recruit him to help us win Spring Regatta.  Tom was on the Yugoslavian National Sailing Team before moving to America.  He had his own racing boat and was described as a ruthless tactician, focused, professional, disciplined, and NOT a fan of shenanigans during a race.

To put it nicely, our team "2 Thirsty" was pretty relaxed on discipline during races.  There was always a lot of chatter and joking around.  At one point we actually had a keg on board.  No way was Tom racing with us like that, so we had to get rid of the keg.

When the race began, it was clear who was calling the shots.  Those of us on the rail were there for weight and not to share our opinions about strategy.  I don't think I said a word the whole time.  I was so nervous that when we crossed the finish and heard the gun, I didn't even realize we had won!

Everyone was yelling and moving around, so I started to relax a bit.  I saw Tom coming over to me, but before I could think he hugged me!  I just froze.  He picked me up with this big smile and said "Wooo hooo! Nice job!"  I almost said "for what?" but I was too shocked to speak.  A second later, he had moved on and was congratulating everyone else on the boat.  Once I saw how much he was able to let go of stress and celebrate a victory, I felt kind of stupid for being afraid of him.

The image I had of him was correct, sort of.  It was only one side of him.  He was totally focused and serious during the race, chasing a goal and making decisions.  But once the goal was reached, he transformed into a fun-loving, smiling, cutie pie.  Hmmm… quite cute, in fact. 

He still kids me about it, teasing me that I tried to jump into the ocean to avoid talking to him.  Not true!  But I admit back then I didn't handle unexpected hugs too well.  I'm better at it now. :-)

Travel preconceptions

The challenge set by Lisa-Marie is just as difficult as any other our group has tackled! Lisa-Marie was very open and honest in talking of her preconception in regard to the driving incident of the past.
I am feeling uncomfortable thinking about preconceptions I've had in the past related to people- how wrong we can sometimes be! I've now adopted the attitude that most people have an interesting story to tell if we have the time to listen.

However I can also relate the preconceptions theme to travel, having just arrived home from 5 weeks in Europe, mainly France and Slovakia.

The Eiffel Tower, such an iconic symbol of Paris and indeed France. It is used to death on t-shirts, posters and a multitude of souvenirs. We waited in line, like other visitors, to reach the second floor for a magnificent view over  Paris. Before we arrived at this level we had imagined sitting with a cup of coffee, quietly relaxing and taking in the view.

How wrong could we get! The atmosphere was one of push and shove to get the view and the café area was very uninviting and unappealing to us. We could not get to the third level, as this was very popular and closed to further visitors for an hour or so.
Instead we chose to go elsewhere for our coffee and had a great lunch too, without the crowds!