I'm back. Been playing in the studio these last couple of weeks decorating a pair of 5 inch high heels. Have to say, I had never done this before and now I am wondering why not?!!!! What a blast and I love the way they turned out. Late last year, Sue Bleiweiss and Jamie Fingal contacted me to ask if I might be interested in making a pair of shoes for Kick Off Your Heels fundraiser to benefit the Barbra Streisand Women's Heart Center at Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles,
California. What a great cause! I have been wanting to try this for some time so I was
happy to be on board. These shoes started off as a black pair of patent leather, designer 5 inch heels by Jessica Simpson. I really wanted them to be wearable so comfort was a big issue in deciding which shoes to start off with plus I loved the cutout of the inner arch. I next began by lightly scuffing the shoes with a super fine 400 grit piece of sandpaper to make them amenable for painting. They were painted with white textile paint by ProChem. This stage was definitely not the fun part as it took several coats of paint to cover the black entirely.
Once done, I pencilled in my design. Next, I gave them a wash of Celestial Alchemy interference paint by Stewart Gill. The idea here was to get a very light background color. In retrospect, I should have waited for this stage to pencil in my design as it was somewhat difficult to see once the wash was applied. Next came the fun part; the decorative painting. I used a very fine brush and started painting the feathers with Silks Acrylic Glaze in a delicious array of colors including Ginger Peach, Rich Cobalt, Boysenberry, Mallard Green and Pretty Peridot. Wow, just naming those colors makes my mouth water.
Once the feathers were completely painted, I continued with the peacock's head, crown and back in a variety of Stewart Gill and Setacolor paints. Next, the underside arches of the sole were painted a Venetian Gold color and the heels were embellished with a deep cobalt blue glitter applied with Modge Podge. I have to say, I was reticent about the glitter as it tends to come off and make a mess but this method worked beautifully! Finally, I decided I needed to add a little bit of my own 3 dimensional aspect to these shoes but in a subtle way. After all, I still wanted them to be wearable. Hence a fringed feather was painted and attached to the outside of the top of the heel to complete the shoes. They were then sprayed with several coats of clear gloss protective finish.
I love the way these turned out and can't wait to try my hand at a more casual pair of shoes. How fun! I am hoping these shoes will find their Cinderella. Please take a moment to chime in and offer comments. I would love to hear from you! To find out more about how you can help with this cause, please visit
http://KickOffYourHeelsFundraiser.blogspot.com/ .
Wow, things are heating up here in Austin! I can't believe Quilt Con is just around the corner. In case you are wondering, Quilt Con is the first international quilt show for modern quilts hosted by Heather Grant of Austin Modern Quilt Guild. I think it is awesome that Austin was able to get in on the action. It is a fun town that is very amenable to showcasing art and modern movements. When I first heard the show would be held here, I was quite intrigued and had to do some studying on what exactly constituted a modern quilt. They are in fact neither art nor traditionally based but tend to be more utilitarian in nature and encompass a whole new palette of 
their own. Modern quilters employ alot of white and varying shades of gray in their work along with a predominantly solid array of fabrics which lend a very fresh and modernistic look. They may be pieced or appliqued and seem to focus on the use of negative space and minimalist design. I love working with negative space but minimalist design is quite a challenge for me and even more so, the use of solid colors as opposed to prints or tone on tones. Still, I had to try my hand at this new method of creating quilts. Time Travel is my response to the modern quilt movement. I am thrilled that it has been juried into the first ever international modern quilt guild show! How fun! Quilt Con will be held at the Austin Convention Center located at 500 East Cesar Chavez Street, Austin, Texas 78701 on Thursday, February 21st through Sunday, the 24th from 10-6 p.m. I will be helping to white glove on Thursday. On Sunday, you can find me at the Mistyfuse booth with Iris Karp. I understand she has a few new products you will not want to miss out on! Time Travel was created with Mistyfuse and my favorite Goddess Sheets. If you are in the area, please stop in and say hello. We would love to see you!
