Susan's Eclectic Art Projects (often with the help of Randy).

[Susan & Randy's Kate]

[Susan & Randy's Kate]

Alzheimer's a very deadly and sad disease.  

[Susan & Randy's Kate]

Sassy was a nine foot at the shoulder giraffe for my daughter's kindergarten class. It was made of PVC pipe and painted fabric.  She had a long curled tongue and eyelashes.  The mural was painted on a remnant of vinyl wallpaper.  One of the scenes of young African girls was taken by a pathologist I worked with.

[Linda and "Toby"]

That's amazing! (Btw, if you click the "image" icon - to the right of "link" - your images will show up in the thread.)

[Susan & Randy's Kate]

Is that when I am first uploading them or can I fix it.  It is annoying this way.  Thanks.

[Linda and "Toby"]

When you're first creating a post, type your message (in the text area as you normally would) then click the "image" button to add images below your text. You have a few minutes to make edits to your post before they become permanent. (Although you can always delete a post and re-post it.) 

For your primary post at the top of the page, however, you can go in and make edits at any time.

If you need help with this I'll be happy to Skype or do a Google Hangout with you and I can share my screen with you to show you how to do it.  :D

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

Oh wow....so creative!

[Lynda Kamrath]

I just love, love, love your giraffe, and you got me going on wanting to do something special for our Art Share in March and my FILs 100th birthday party in February.  I am thinking of doing some special printing on fabric with my printer - 7870 Epson - and then making something like a quilt or banner.  I tend to think large also but your giraffe is really something special.  So the mural was painted, not printed?  I really need to play around with what kinds of things I can run through the printer.  My son says I can print on anything, but I really don't believe him.

[Susan & Randy's Kate]

I just now saw this reply.  I loved my Epson R1900 and I did print a lot of fabric.  It had problems not detecting ink.  I think I will try again because it's pigment based.  It worked great for wall hanging but the one quilt looked like it faded.  I may reprint those pictures.  I got another Epson 860 but had soo much trouble.  It wouldn't attach wireless, sometimes had lines, got confused when asked to print more than one sheet and it wouldn't recognize the black ink often.  I found out there was too much play where the black ink was located but if I pulled toward contact it worked.  It was a dye based ink and the colors weren't as pretty on cloth but that may have been because I didn't have it set right.  I replaced with a Canon MG7520 (I think).  The black is pigment based but the rest are dye based.  It connected wireless.  It was half price and lower tech (it doesn't have feed for multiple pages).  I haven't tried fabric sheets yet.   

My new thing is I bought word processing software for Mac or PC called Scrivener.  I want to write down info for genealogy because it gets hard to remember hundreds of people.  I also want to do a family cookbook and write random memories while I still remember.

Stay warm.  Susan

[Lynda Kamrath]

Yes, it is a continual process of learning with printers.  I am very satisfied with my 7880 printer and have had no problems with it at all, except for learning to use it correctly.  I practiced with doing some printing on Aida needlepoint cloth and found that the printing does go through the holes.  We used a backing of white paper and photo sticky tape behind the needlepoint cloth and that was good because it did print through the holes.  We printed the same photo in different sizes on canvas, cloth, and needlepoint.  I have the one on canvas painted with acrylic.  I am working on the needlepoint but may opt for a larger fabric (10 per inch instead of 16 per inch) now that I know how to print them.  I can print the cloth on my regular printer as it is 8 1/2 x 11 inch cloth.  However, I have a place that makes 8 1/2 in x 120 in rolls and I may go with that if I like working with cloth.  Right now I am just doing some pillows.  I plan to have them all done by our Art Share in March.  It is my project for this year.  We also have been doing a lot of family stuff with old photos and I love genealogy. (Check on my page here at Art Cafe - it is on page 6 - and you can see some of the things I did for my SIL's celebration last Thanksgiving.)  I have  a cousin (rather removed) who lives in North Carolina and does a lot with genealogy.  She keeps me informed and her family tree is humongous. 

[Lynda Kamrath]

My husband is working on a cookbook for his gallery.  Everyone in the gallery is making a contribution of their favorite recipes.  He is making a photographic cover with one of his  manzanita  bowls filled with colorful fruits and veges.  It is in the first stages right now.

BTW, you have been a real inspiration for me.  I am stepping out of my little world of comfort and trying new things.  The pillows turned out great and the needlepoint is in progress.  I really enjoyed painting on the canvas with acrylic to give the photo some texture.  We are very happy with the poster in front of our house.  And it just keeps going!

[Lynda Kamrath]

So is this your quilting?  Rather unusual style but very nice.  So you paint on fabric, then photograph and put a border on the photograph?  Just need some clarification.  I love giraffes!

[Susan & Randy's Kate]

No I took a photograph and changed the coloring.  Printed both on 100% cotton with my Epson printer.  I then did a piecing technique and quilted with color and metallic thread.  The border is pink fabric.  It sold for over $100 to raise money for Alzheimers.  Combined my love of art and science.    You can see the neurons dying (black and the tangles deposited in the brain.  I love it in a weird sort of way.  The photo's of hairy dogs turn out the best.  I think I will take a headshot of Kate soon and do one of her.