Taupo Symposium, Part 1

I left home on Monday afternoon, and got to Taupo on Wednesday morning (a 5-hour flight from Charlotte to Los Angeles, a 13-hour flight to Auckland, and a 45-minute flight to Taupo, with some layovers in between).

The flight into Taupo (pronounced like "toe paw") was beautiful; I could see the volcanic mountains on the edge of Lake Taupo rising through the clouds as we got closer.

NOTE: for a clearer view, just click on the photos.)




It's was a tiny airplane, and I think everyone on it was headed for the convention. It was a bit bumpy at times, but luckily, no one need the cleverly decorated barf bags.


These mountains were shot for The Lord of the Rings movies. The Maori consider Mt. Ruapehu, Ngauruhue and Tongariro to be sacred.



Our hotel is right on the edge of the lake, which is huge (25 miles long by 18 miles wide). It was formed when a volcano erupted and formed a giant crater.


The trout fishing in this area is excellent.


Today, the organizers of the conference treated us to a fabulous bus trip to see some attractions in the area.


Huka Falls gushes through a stone canyon at 300,000 liters per second. A lot of hydroelectric and geothermal energy is harnessed in this area.









Cabbage tree:


We had lunch at Cafe L'Arte and watched a demonstration on glass blowing:











Then we headed for the Aratiatia Rapids. The water is dammed here, but it is released several times daily so tourists can experience the power and beauty of the river rushing through the canyon. It is something else to watch the calm pool quickly fill up and the water rushing through. Here is the canyon before the water was released:






The water coming in:






And the water almost all the way up:









Here is some pumice from an ancient volcanic eruption:




Giant eucalyptus:



A view of the mountains in the clouds:


A visit to a place with great outdoor art:























Classes start tomorrow at Taupo-nui-a- Tia College!

Location:Taupo, New Zealand

Thread Sketching 101 articles now available as eBook

Interweave is now offering my six articles from the 2010 issues of Quilting Arts on thread sketching as an eBook called Thread Sketching 101 with Susan Brubaker Knapp. 

You can download it on the Interweave website for $9.95.

The eBook includes tips, articles and exercises to help you learn how to add color, line, texture, dimension, pattern, and movement to the surface of your art quilts.

If you already have my DVD on thread sketching, and want to learn more, you will find this eBook to be a good addition. Some of the content is the same as in my DVD, but the articles go much more into depth about my thought process and techniques. I find that some people are very visual learners, and like to learn by watching (either DVDs, or by taking a class, where I demonstrate). Others learn more, understand more, by reading. If you are one of those people, the eBook will be great for you.

For each of the six articles I wrote for Quilting Arts in 2010, I focused on a different aspect of thread sketching (adding line, for example) and then did two new pieces to demonstrate. In the articles included in the e-book, I wrote about how I made each piece, and how I approached the technical aspects and challenges of each one. 

Headed for New Zealand soon!

I am headed for New Zealand on Monday. I will be in the center of the North Island, teaching at the Taupo Symposim. New Zealand will be the 20th country I’ve lived in or visited:

Andorra
Austria
Australia
Bermuda
Brazil
The Bahamas
Canada
France
United Kingdom
Italy
Liechtenstein
Luxembourg
Monaco
Mexico
New Zealand 
Netherlands
Senegal
South Africa
Switzerland
USA 

I still have a lot of places still to visit! If I can get to Asia and Antarctica, I will have been on all seven continents.

Right now, my biggest concern is whether everything will fit in my two suitcases: a large one that has to hold all my class supplies and clothing (and remember, it is winter in the Southern Hemisphere, so I have to pack some bulky stuff!), and a small carry-on that will hold my quilts (I’m only taking my small quilts, but I’m taking a good number of them).

I’ll try to blog from New Zealand and include information about the Symposium, and my adventures traveling for a few days afterward, so stay tuned! 

 

Join me Sept. 25-27 at ProChem in Massachusetts!

“Hope is the Thing” (2010)

I am often asked to teach wholecloth painting classes where students can do original work, but it is not just logistically possible in a one-day class. If you want a more in-depth class on my wholecloth painting techniques and approaches, and if you want to work on your own projects under my guidance, here is a rare chance!

 

Please join me Sept. 25-27 at PRO Chemical & Dye in Fall River, Massachusetts for a three-day workshop on wholecloth painting. You’ll learn the basics by working on a small piece based on one of my botanical subjects (above) the first day, and then you’ll have the opportunity to do original work based on your own photographs. I’ll cover:

1. selecting the right photos for great results
2. which paints, brushes, and fabrics to use and why
3. how to make a line drawing from a photo
4. how to transfer a design to fabric
5. painting and blending techniques
6. basic color theory
7. how to make tints and shades of paint colors
8. quilting considerations 

I’ve taught wholecloth painting over several days, and it is wonderful to see how much these students grow, find ways to make my techniques work for what they want to do, and create amazing original art. This is a rare opportunity to really dig into this technique and learn a lot. I’ll break everything down into easy steps, so this is achievable even for beginners. You do not have to have any drawing or sketching experience to use this technique; I promise!

Registration will close within the next few weeks, so if you are interested, sign up soon!

The three-day class is $325 plus a $15 kit fee that includes the fabric, brushes and patterns. More information is here on ProChemical & Dye’s website. 

Here are some more samples of my wholecloth painted work:

“Hope is the Thing” (2011)

“We All Swim Together” (in progress, 2013)

“Friso” (2012)

Datekeeper: Quilted Masterpieces

I got a nice surprise in the mail yesterday:  two complimentary copies of C&T Publishing’s new “book of days,” Datekeeper: Quilted Masterpieces. It is a perpetual weekly calendar for keeping track of birthdays, anniversaries and other special events, and it features 60 beautiful quilts, including two of mine!

It is beautifully printed with hard covers and a spiral binding inside to make it open completely flat for writing. It retails for $16.96, and you can purchase it on C&T’s website.

How I spent my summer vacation

Me, on top of St. Rule’s Tower, St. Andrews, Scotland

You haven't heard from me in a while because I’ve been in Great Britain for the past two weeks. When I travel abroad these days, it is usually to teach, but this time it was an actual family vacation. We hadn’t had one in years, and it was so nice to be together. 

Next week, I’m off to teach in New Zealand at the Taupo Symposium, and I’ll try to blog from there. 

In the meantime, I thought I’d share with you some of the photos I took in England and Scotland. Just a few (I took more than 2,600!). Photography has become so much a part of my artistic process. I'll be working from some of these photos in the future to make sketches and fiber art. I’d love to know your thoughts… which ones you like the most, and which ones you think have the most potential. I am partial to the sheep... I think there is a definitely a sheep art quilt in my future.

Little Moreton Hall, Cheshire, England

Performer at Little Moreton Hall, Cheshire, England

View from an upstairs window, Little Moreton Hall, Cheshire, England

Courtyard at Little Moreton Hall, Cheshire, England

Roof and window, Little Moreton Hall, Cheshire, England

Vines and wall, Little Moreton Hall, Cheshire, England

Ferns at Little Moreton Hall, Cheshire, England

Wonderful window at Little Moreton Hall, Cheshire, England

Mow Cop Castle, Cheshire, England

View from Mow Cop Castle, Cheshire, England

I took many shots of the iconic British sheep; I just love them! The year I lived in Scotland I was told that there were more sheep in Scotland than people. I can believe it.

Sheep shot #1

Sheep shot #2

Sheep shot #3

Sheep shot #4

Sheep shot #5

Sheep shot #6

Sheep shot #7

Sheep shot #8

I spent my junior year of college at University of St. Andrews in Scotland. I studied Old English language, English literature, and Scottish history. It was a fabulous year in a truly magical place. I hadn’t been back in almost 30 years, and it was wonderful to get reacquainted.
 

Road out of St. Andrews, Scotland

University of St. Andrews, Scotland

Royal & Ancient, St. Andrews, Scotland

Castle ruins, St. Andrews, Scotland

Cathedral ruins, St. Andrews, Scotland

View to the sea, St. Andrews, Scotland

Castle ruins, St. Andrews, Scotland

West Port, St. Andrews, Scotland

View from St. Rule’s Tower, St. Andrews, Scotland

Graveyard at St. Andrews Cathedral ruins, St. Andrews, Scotland

Sea view from the castle ruins, St. Andrews, Scotland

Cathedral ruins, St. Andrews, Scotland

Southern view from St. Rule's Tower, St. Andrews, Scotland