Ali George Artist

Priority #2 - Turn up Our most recent exhibition, Connected by Thread , opens at the Old Schoolhouse Gallery , Cleveland on Saturday 2 March 2023. So excited to be exhibiting again with Broadstrokes .  Six of my art quilts are included in the exhibition, as well as bags and bowls made from repurposed art quilts and samples.  Read about the Broadstrokes artists and our individual inspirations on our blog  and take a sneak peak at the exhibition pieces. Hope you can join us for this fun event.

Priority #1 - Create Progress on the upscaled block created for Symposium2022 (Wellington, NZ). This queen sized version builds on the Symposium challenge of using Reseene paint chips (Kandinsky and Half Tuna) to create a single 30cm x 30cm (12" square) block.   My exhibition piece was inspired by a Kandinksky painting - strong lines, curves and inspirational composition. The larger version comprises 9 blocks made in the style of the challenge piece. The finished quilt top will comprise a 9 patch (3 x 3)  framed in black and brought together by a wonderful green Kona cotton that was selected after the blocks were made.  The dilemma of finding the "right" fabric was solved using an app ( A Quilty Solid ) by Steph Skardal.    I uploaded an image of the constructed border which I made from block remnants - anything the size of a square inch (2.5cm squared) or larger was used. So far, about 9  metres  The app then gave me 20 colours from the image, an...

  Priority #1 Create: Making zippered bags from some of my art quilts is getting them out of storage and transformed into something useful. I'm using a technique from Design Matters TV whose re-imagined purse pattern is a delight to make. Every time. Each bag is lined with hand dyed and printed fabric. I'm enjoying saying "goodbye" and "thanks for your service" as I cut into quilts that, at the time, consumed every creative moment of my life. I'm enjoying the wooo hooo that accompanies the letting go. It's good for my (creative) soul.

  Priority #1 Create: Experimenting with a new carving inspired by brilliant Australian designer Francis Burke , Finnish artist Maija Isola and Swedish designer Stig Lindberg.  I am experimenting on a former hotel tablecloth. It is one of many end-of-life hotel linens I purchased through a disposals agent. They are mostly a cotton/poly blend. They are invaluable for test prints. The process ground to a halt when my assistant  tried printing with his inked up wirehaired haunches. After a few days of drying (the cloth, not the assistant) I'm ready to continue. Many lessons and tweaks from our session. The solid rectangles overwhelm the more delicate stem and bud shapes. An issue with scale perhaps. I'll continue without re-carving the block. Repetition of itself is pleasing to the eye and the registration quality could, in the wisdoms of Shunryu Suzuki, do with a little improvement. Textile: used tablecloth, 75% cotton and 25% polyester printed with original linocut design...

  #1 priority - create. Every day.  E V E R Y single day.   #2  priority - turn up. Participate fully in the things I have already chosen. Be creative in the promise of something new and untried,  with artists I admire and respect.  #3 priority - ditch. End one way transactions disguised as relationships. Excesses, duplicates, recognising when I should know better.  #4 priority - removal from the things that are no longer healthy investments of my love, care and time. Vigilance in the ongoing decluttering process.  #5 priority - self care and respect. The new year dawned full of promise yet January 1 is only the day after the night of December 31. Not much has changed overnight and yet it has. New year, fresh start as the old year's door quietly shuts. Time to reflect on how to spend these upcoming 52 weeks.  It must be doing what's important with the people who really matter. Perhaps there is truth in Picasso's view that art is chaos ta...