'Jamie Believe' Tutorial

Dear Ones ~
Today is my baby sister Jamie's birthday. She is nine years younger than me and has always been my "baby" sister. We grew up together. I rocked her when she was a toddler, and she in turn babysat for my children when the time came. We have a bond that goes deep. We have always 'been there' for each other through thick and thin. She has my unconditional love. Since I am the 'first born' in our family, I always felt the pressure of being a good example to her and the rest of my siblings. Now that we are reaching our 'golden years', it is an honor to be referred to as the 'Wisest Sister' and not the oldest. It is our family tease.

A couple of years ago, as a Christmas gift, I created this LoveLight for Jamie.  Her favorite color is blue. She had always admired an earlier piece that I created called 'Believe ~ Think Outside the Box'. (view it here by scrolling down). So I decided to create an original design that is uniquely her own mandala.

This design began with a blue cotton hand dyed spiral that represents our life's search, the journey to our 'center' and was set into the background fabric.

Next came the stencil design for her name which was cut out of lame' fabric and later bonded to the background layer.

Before her name was bonded into place, organza "light rays" were attached using metallic threads to add sparkle and illumination to the design. The piece was then layered and quilted in a circular pattern to suggest the spiral movement. The word BELIEVE was added to the top section of the piece as a gentle reminder to the viewer that we are all 'spiritual beings having a human experience.'




She accepted this gift with squeals of delight. Hopefully, she can feel the Love and Light that went into it's design and creation. It hangs in her home in a prominent place where I know that she can see it daily.

 Happy Birthday Sis, you now have the distinction of having a blog written just for you!

Until next time~
Live Your Light!

The Flourish Studios Exhibit Countdown Has Begun!

KASIA’s LoveLights

Please join us in celebrating ‘Colorful art that lifts the Spirit!’
 Using a conventional sewing machine, fabric, specialty threads and paint,
 Kasia creates breathtaking, one-of-a-kind
Mandalas—symbols for healing, prayer, and meditation.

Opening Reception

Friday, June 18, 6:00-8:00 PM

Free and open to all!

Exhibit Dates

June 18—July 17, 2010

Mon - Thur: 10 am – 7 pm

Fri & Sat: 10 am – 5 pm

Flourish Studios’ Envision Gallery

3020 N. Lincoln Chicago, IL 60657

www.icanflourish.com

10% of the proceeds from all Gallery and retail sales during the Opening Reception will be donated to Imagination Theater, a local touring company offering interactive theatre programming to address social issues, educate communities and improve life quality for participants of all ages.

Michelle's LoveLight

I was recently commissioned to create a memorial LoveLight. The project consisted of creating a mandala featuring the name Michelle. It was to be presented to her parents, so their hand prints were embedded into the design. Then as a special gift, her eight siblings were to be presented with a 'limited edition'. I was given tracings of the siblings along with the parents hand prints and a batik 'tie dyed' effect fabric was selected. Then my work began.

I started by making a stencil of the name Michelle. I do this on folded freezer paper. When the stencil is unfolded, snowflake style, it reveals a design that is unique to the name. The stencil is then pressed into place on the fabric and the design painted. Colors are selected intuitively. When the stencil is removed from the fabric, I am always completely surprised by the design that is revealed. After drying for a day or two, the design is ready to be layered and stitched with decorative metallic threads. Again, I intuitively work with the color selection and placement of the stitches in the design. I can't really explain how this is done. It is a leap of faith, every time a new LoveLight is created. I simply give myself over to the project and do the next step that presents itself. Not much thinking goes into this practice as I allow the piece to speak to me and tell me what it next wants for it's completion.

To create a 'limited edition', a photo image is taken of the completed piece before the hand prints are stitched into place. Then I print the image on fabric, layer it with batting and backing fabric, and stitch over the quilting lines of the original design. I was then able to trace and stitch each individual hand print of the siblings to give each their own unique mandala of the original design. This technique makes a truly personalized, unique gift for the recipient. The pieces are then signed, dated, and framed.

I delivered the commission this week and am waiting for the comments from the family and friends. Hopefully, they will be touched by the work of my hands and their spirits lifted with the healing color mandalas. At least, that is my prayer.

Until next time ~ Live your Light.
Kasia

Flourish Studios Exhibit

Dear Ones,
The excitement is building. The dates have been set for the upcoming, 'Kasia's LoveLights' exhibit. Mark your calendars. Opening night gala is Friday, June 18th, 6-8pm. The Envision Gallery is located inside Flourish Studios,  3020 N. Lincoln, Chicago, Illinois 60657.  As I have explained in a previous post, the invitation to exhibit here was a bit of a 'Godwink' to me.  I am counting the blessings! Thank you.

                                                                                     'Hamsa' (c)  2009 Kasia

The  exhibit will be a retrospective taken from the past few years work.  This is the time period where the 'LoveLights' really found their form with the hidden names and words designs. These personalized mandalas are being collected from private collections for this exclusive exhibit. And I am busy working on creating new pieces that will be seen for the first time on opening night. 'Transformation' is the inspiration for some of these new works. Several pieces will be available for purchase. The exhibit will run from June 18th thru July 17th.


Spring is in the air. The birds are singing. Enjoy your day. I'm off to the studio to play with my fabrics.


Love & Light,
Kasia 

Amazing Grace

Dear Ones,
I'm ba a ck ~ with great news of a new focus for my art and energy.  An opportunity has presented itself.  It is a dream come true and a leap of faith all rolled together.  A solo exhibit in the Chicago area!  WOW!!  Pinch me. The miracle of this new venture is that it came to me from a referral by Cathy, one of my Dearest Ones.
The dates have been set for an opening on June 18th.  Now the work begins; creating new art, deciding which current pieces to include, finishing the new brochure that has been in the works for months, and keeping my efforts focused on the end goal; Showing and Sharing my LoveLights.

'Kasia I Am' (c) 2009 Kasia

This mandala  'Kasia, I Am', is my new logo.  I intend to use it on my business cards and notepads, etc.  If you'll look closely, you will find my name in purple around the center red/purple 'I AM'.  I used the green background color for it's healing energy and fresh spring-like appeal.  Embedding names and words into the LoveLights is the focus of my newest work.  What do you think?

Kevin's Star

The family gathered.  The gifts were exchanged.   Now that we have had our Annual Family Christmas Celebration, I can reveal the LoveLight that was consuming my time and energy for the past few weeks. 'Kevin's Star' LoveLight was created as my gift to my youngest sibling which was well received with rave reviews.

Inspiration actually can take months for me to incubate.  I get an idea, sleep on it, roll it over in my mind, add a few details, roll it over again and probably sleep on it several more times before it finally comes together in a matter of hours or days.  When I think about this, it is very much like incubating a baby.  There is the moment when you realize that a new creature is waiting to be born.  Then comes the planning and preparation and waiting, . . . the dreaming of how it will look and thinking of names before the perfect moment of birth has arrived.  Then there is no stopping the "idea" from presenting itself in the physical form.
 
Music appreciation is a thread that plays throughout our family.  My grandparents were all musically talented.  Dad played the violin and piano following in his folks footsteps and the genes were passed down to my baby brother who plays keyboards in a local band to his heart's delight.   It was only natural that a musical theme would become the inspiration for his LoveLight.   Since I view him as a rising star, the focal point of this piece is an eight pointed star with rays of light pouring out.  In personalizing my mandala designs, I often stitch an outline of a hand print or hide a name in the painted design which is true of this LoveLight.  Brittany is Kevin's daughter and the light in her dad's eye, so it was an easy design detail to include her name along with a tracing of his hand print into this mandala design.  Both the name and the hand tracing are invisible at a distance, causing the viewer to move in for a closer look. 

One morning, while still incubating this design, I awoke with this poem sounding in my mind.  I was compelled to write it down on the pad of paper that I keep on the nightstand.  Convinced that it was divinely inspired, a copy of it was affixed  to the back of the framed piece.  It reads:

                      "Kevin, my brother, is a shining star                       

With his love of music, he'll go far.

He lifts the Spirits of those he sees

when he touches the piano keys.

His love for Brittany everyone knows,

She's in his heart wherever he goes.

You are the inspiration of this LoveLight.

May it fill you with Joy

and your future by bright.

Merry Christmas 2009

Love, Kasia"