Welcome to my new digs. A new domain, that is!

It’s high time for the “Pokey’s Ponderings” blog to retire, and I am moving things over to this domain (pokeybolton.com), which will be an easier way for people to find me and frankly, Google likes a lot more! (If you were an email follower to the Pokey’s Pondering blog, your email subscription was automatically redirected here.)

In the Monaluna booth at Quilt Market. Monaluna is down the road from Napa in Walnut Creek…if you come to Napa, be sure to take a side trip and visit them, too, as they have a store downtown!)

As this website migration took place and I was blog-silent for a while, I have received a lot of emails, some several times over, so I thought while I initially settle in, I would host a quick Q & A.

The most popular question:

When are you having retreats in your art barn?

The first retreats will be taking place in tandem with Craft Napa, January 12-15, 2017. During that time both Leslie Jenison and Melanie Testa will each have their own workshops here in the art barn. (All of the info for Craft Napa can be found here and registration is still open!)

After Craft Napa, there will be some smaller retreats that I will be announcing shortly. I am thrilled with the talent that is scheduled to come, and I am collaborating with some fantastic, forward-thinking people in the quilting, art, and textile industries to bring them here. I should note, that these retreats will be small so they can be immersive, and we can enjoy the valley.

Do you rent out your art barn?

No, I do not. This is my own working studio and space, too, so the retreats are very controlled, small, and sparsely scheduled.

How do I submit a proposal if I’d like to teach?

If you would like to pitch an idea, email me! This is an informal process to see what might work for both of us. There is a more formal proposal process for Craft Napa; the next round of proposals will go out February 2017 and be available on my business site: craftingalifellc.com.

So…did you vote for Clinton or did you vote for Trump?

OK, no one actually asked me that question but I want to clarify the direction of this blog. The only politics you will find here are about our industry (and there is plenty of controversy and points of discussion in our industry right now). The focus of this blog is fourfold: 1) about art, mostly textiles, 2) my thoughts about our industry, 3) enterprising ventures, 4) and techniques and projects I am working on.

You moved to Napa…are you going to grow any grapes?

Nope.  Living in the Mt. Veeder part of Napa (which is closest to Sonoma too), I am surrounded by expert vintners who know what they are doing. I do, however, have a lot of mature fruit trees here: lemon, orange, apple, walnut, olive, fig, pear, plum, and persimmon (blackberry bushes too). I am hoping that we have another wonderfully wet winter so they get nice and plump, not just for eating but for fabric printing and eco-dyeing!

And speaking of printing…

The first book that we are publishing, Playful Fabric Printing with Carol Soderlund and Melanie Testa will make its debut in January 2017. This book is 144 pages chock-full of inspiration and everything you need to know to dye fabric, print, and create your own fabric collection. This book is just about ready for press, minus the cover. (We had about 20 options for covers and we have winnowed it down to three.) I’d love your opinion on the cover, so that post will be forthcoming this Friday, which is Black Friday, and while most business will be selling, selling, selling, I will be giving away 5 copies (when it’s printed) that are randomly selected from the comments section when you make your cover choice.

In the meantime, I am so happy to have you here, and on this Thanksgiving week, I thank you sincerely for visiting me.

Pokey

View one morning this past August from my art barn porch.

At long last we had a photo shoot this past weekend to showcase the interior of the art barn, and I am really thrilled to share with you detailed shots of this building that took just about two years to see to fruition.

The front of the barn has three glass garage doors (they are all open in the above shot). I wanted glass garage doors so 1) the view can be enjoyed while working inside, 2) lots of natural light can come in, and 3) the porch can essentially be an extension of the work area.  What is lovely about the Bay Area/Napa, is the climate is very mild here (I don’t even own an a/c unit in my house or in the barn). So more often than not, I have those glass garage doors open.

Here’s a shot from the right side of the barn with the closest garage door open. The upstairs leads to my office and sitting area with a sleeper sofa. (I’d share a picture of that area but it is my office space…nothing to see except files of paperwork and a very cluttered desk.)

Detail of the left side of the barn. All of these tables rise and lower for either sewing (sitting) or screen printing (standing). I have 15 of them, and they are so lightweight and easy to move around. (Note: if you are looking for tables that rise and lower, you won’t typically find them in a big box hardware store, you have to order them online. I purchased mine online from Home Depot.)

Panoramic view of the barn from the bar area.

And yet anther angle.

My bins of fabric are about as organized as I will ever have them.

This antique hutch (anchored to the wall in case of an earthquake) houses all of my fabric yardage. I’ll come clean and tell you I took a lot OUT for this photo so it looked organized and neat, and you can’t see what a fabric hoarder I really am.

Above is an old antique workbench I found and where I house my ironing station. You can’t get a sense for how big this table is in this photo but it is enormous and great to put projects-in-progress on. The art quilt above is by Betty Hahn; it reminds me of my beloved city by the bay.

The sitting area for scheming new ideas.

Behind some very tall sliding barn doors is my wet studio with a deep, wide sink for fabric dyeing. To the left of that sink is a stacked washer/dryer and a shelving system where I store all of my printmaking materials.

The Pokey Pour bar area for wine and coffee, with a (smallish) Pokey Pour of a wine from a vineyard up the street.

Thanks for having an initial look! I have a lot more pictures that I’ll mostly be sharing on social media. All of the offsite workshops for Craft Napa 2017 that are taking place here at the barn are sold out, so shortly I will announce some other smaller offerings here and there.

Now I am going to do what I have wanted to do for a LONG TIME, and that is I am going to go turn this place into an arty mess.

*Photo credit for all photographs: Indigo Perez

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For those who may not be aware, one of SAQA’s (Studio Art Quilts Associates) traveling exhibits is entitled “People and Portraits.” Here is SAQA’s narrative and overview of the exhibit:

This exhibition celebrates the expressiveness of the human face. The diverse designs focus on a variety of both emotional states and the ways in which people interact: contemplation, joy, community, work and play.  Based on the companion book, Art Quilt Portfolio: People and Portraits, the exhibition shows two works by each of the book’s 20 Featured Artists.

Two of Kathy Nida’s quilts were juried into this exhibit, which has traveled a number of places, including previous Quilt Week ® (AQS) venues.

Kathy’s inspiration and narrative for her quilt that caused quite the commotion in Grand Rapids last week reads as such:

“This quilt is I Was Not Wearing a Life Jacket, completed in September 2010, touring with the People and Portraits exhibit since October 2013. The title comes from a radio ad I was listening to while pondering the meaning of this quilt, which came almost entirely out of a running nightmare I had for over a week, where I was losing things in the water and people were standing around not helping, and I was diving down and trying to find the things I lost, which ranged from my phone to babies, actual babies, and I’d wake up panicked and breathing fast. Here’s the official statement (which I found very difficult to write…almost as difficult to explain the piece)…”

Two sisters in a strange land. A lost life jacket.
 A nasty oil spill.
 No explanation needed.

My dream inhabited by strangers.

Circling back to the purpose and narrative of the exhibit as a whole, I can certainly appreciate why this quilt was included. It’s about human emotion–panic. It’s not comfortable to look at. It is a nightmare; it’s about fear, about sisterhood and motherhood, about our future, the future of our children. It’s not meant to be a pleasant quilt. Let’s remember the context of where this quilt was placed: in an art quilt exhibit, with the specific title “People and Portraits.”

This quilt–after being shown at other Quilt Week® venues–was pulled after the Grand Rapids show opened, allegedly because one or more attendees complained about it (and allegedly because one or more persons saw a penis in it).

From what I have read, the response from the show producers was to take it down. Kathy Nida, understandably, has been very upset. When I asked Kathy, she told me AQS did not reach out to her directly. In all my experience in this industry over the last nearly 20 years, this takes the cake.

And I know this whole issue brings up the debate of censorship. I think we have to be careful about that term: it’s a show produced by a private, for-profit company, not the government censoring per se. But in my opinion, pulling the quilt after the show opened (knowing this quilt was a part of the exhibit and had been shown in previous venues) it was an ill-thought, knee-jerk response to an attendee or group of attendees. Given my experience both as a founder and editorial director of an international publishing company and also former executive of an international events company in the quilt industry, if you, as a quilt venue hung the quilt already (or published a quilt), and the show is open (or the magazine or publication is printed), stand by it. You knew it was going to be included.

What is most problematic in my mind, is AQS has not addressed this issue yet (anywhere I can see). Many people have posted online, including me, writing them directly on Twitter, asking for clarification. No response, just more requests to sign up for their e-newsletter, etc. on Facebook and Twitter.

I am not a contentious person, I don’t normally post such grievances (this is the first), but for this…I just don’t get it, and as an advocate for quilt artists, I can’t be quiet on the sidelines.

AQS, if you are reading this, please address this issue. And if I am wrong on anything on the above, just please correct me.

UPDATE: AQS issued a statement. (And I wonder how this statement resolves anything.):

American Quilter’s Society released a statement. “After receiving numerous complaints from attendees about a quilt in the SAQA exhibit, AQS removed the quilt from the People & Portraits exhibit at the Grand Rapids QuiltWeek event.

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Printed books eclipse ebooks for me, every time. As someone with a publishing background, I am so happy to at long last share that Crafting a Life, LLC, is publishing. Yes, publishing, as in print.

First up, a co-authored gem of a book by surface design, colorists, and quilters extraordinaire, Carol Soderlund and Melanie Testa. The content is a must-have for anyone interested in making or designing their own fabrics—or an entire collection–from scratch. It’s about combining your own pictures, sketches, drawings, ideas, or favorite color schemes with low-tech, inexpensive and readily available tools to create one-of-a-kind fabrics for quilts (art, modern, traditional) or sewing projects.

Carol and Melly also illustrate (in great detail with step-by-step photos) how to creatively use a variety of surface design techniques to achieve just the fabric you are seeking.

It’ll be full of recipes for color, techniques, and exercises, and yes it will be an e-book, too.

This book will also be manufactured in the United States, which means we wont be waiting months for a ship from overseas to deliver the content. Furthermore, I am teaming up with talented people with whom I used to work at Quilting Arts/Interweave––Larissa Davis and Larry Stein––as well as Indigo Perez, among others.

Will there be other books or printed offerings down the line? Yes. But I am going to be a bit choosy, and I am not dependent on churning out a number of books or special interest publications in a given time.

Release date will be announced shortly. For now, I just want to celebrate that I can finally share this news, to toast these two talented artists, and the team of people who are helping bring this endeavor to life!

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There is still plenty of time to enter your quilt (18″ x 26″) for the Live Your Brightest Life: A Tribute to Yvonne Porcella (all of the information can be found here), but I thought it would be fun to share a sampling of some of the completed entries so far:

“Pulse” By Laurie Ceesay

“A Toast to Yvonne (And Strong Women Everywhere)” by Cindy Cooksey

“Planting a Seed” by Judy Coates Perez

“Daily Joy” by Victoria Findlay Wolfe

“YP & Me” by Jamie Fingal

“A Tree for Yvonne” by Sue Bleiweiss

“Adios Amigo” by Therese May

“Uplifting” by Deborah Boschert

There is still just about three weeks left to enter a quilt and celebrate the life of this beloved and prolific artist. This tribute exhibit will debut in Northern California at “Quilting in The Garden” taking place September 24-25th in Livermore, CA at Alden Lane Nursery where C&T Publishing, Alex Anderson, and myself will be on hand. Please help spread the word and, I hope you will join us!

Many found out last week that Quilters Newsletter is shuttering (if you hadn’t heard, read Abby Glassenberg’s post). Current subscribers will now be getting Quilting Arts for the remainder of their subscriptions.

As the founder of Quilting Arts, I scratched my head on this decision, but out of the choices the parent company, F&W, had to offer, those at the helm thought this was the best fit.

Many of us—myself included—are incredibly disappointed and saddened that QNM is shuttering. It was an industry icon and leader—more so (in my opinion) than any other magazine in quilting.

No publisher wants to shutter a magazine; they want them to thrive. If an outside company acquires a magazine, the goal is to get a return on their investment and grow that investment, much of which includes leveraging the brand to create other offerings: special interest publications, TV shows, patterns, online communities, books, events and retreats, etc.

A serial print magazine has a lot of current pressures, competition and platforms that even 10 years ago did not exist. Anybody producing or publishing a specific piece of content—whether it be a news story, a technique, a pattern, an op-ed piece, in today’s world has to seriously consider how efficiently, cost effectively, and quickly they can deliver the content and be a cut above the competition. They have to take on rising print costs, competing online tutorials and classes (some deeply discounted or even free), free YouTube videos, blogs, podcasts featuring art & craft celebrities and industry leaders, free downloadable articles and patterns, and content that can be sliced and diced into bite-sized pieces where folks can pick and choose–and purchase for a smaller price than an entire subscription.

And herein lies the paradox: a lot of content is driven these days by SEO and Google Analytics. Editors and content managers take analytics very seriously, and also factor in the number of social media followers someone has in order to make a decision about whether or not to make a sizable investment such as producing an online class or a book (as examples).

But as consumers, sometimes we don’t know what we want…and we rely on the vision, knowledge, and passion of an authority to help guide and expose us to content that will be interesting to us.

Bonnie Leman had both the knack to drive an industry and the editorial foresight to expose us to stories, quilts, and happenings we may not necessarily know we wanted…but were sure glad we were given. I have the deepest respect for her and the support of her family for creating an incredible empire and a legacy.

I really do feel there are a lot of exciting possibilities in publishing today, serial print publishing included (have you checked out Flow or Uppercase?). Having said that, unfortunately a lot of things do have a life span. And, yes, I had wondered—and no, I do not know—if QNM was at all ever an option to be sold to another entity so it could keep going.

I am with everyone that I am deeply saddened about this magazine shuttering. I hate to see it.

I have a lot more to say on this subject but I’ll close by suggesting that if you like a magazine, go support it, then grab a cup of tea, coffee or glass of wine and enjoy the quiet, reflective time. Just think…there wont be any pop-ups or text alerts.

Breaking my silence to finally be able to say…

My art barn is done.

It took, from concept to design to construction, two years. But it’s at long last complete (minus a backsplash and a chandelier, but hey, those aren’t necessarily requirements for making art).

There were some sizable setbacks, like the 6.0 Napa earthquake just two weeks after I closed on the property, and learning–after a soil test during pre-construction–that I needed to excavate thousands of tons of dirt and truck in engineered dirt that was more stable for a foundation. Tantamount to all of this was what I placed on myself: very high expectations. I have felt on shaky ground getting to this point, consistently asking myself, did I take on too much?

Upon reflection, all of those mornings over the past two years calculating every construction cost; waking to the skull-rattling sound of hammering and sawing on the hill; watching (and worrying) as construction workers balanced themselves on narrow wooden beams 30’+ above ground; and the rare, startling occurrences like the emergency landing of a hot air balloon have all collectively been the key part of the journey. Building anything is risky, but the exhilaration during the process and at the end is heady stuff!

I am looking forward to hosting small art gatherings here as well as a few offsite workshops during Craft Napa, but as my office is headquartered in the loft, I’m eager to execute other ventures too.

For the moment, though, I am pretty happy that the building part is finally behind me.

Cheers,

Pokey

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The short answer is if someone asks: “It’ ALIVE!”

I have poured myself into this event–blood, sweat,  tears, social media, etc.–and taken into account what people want at a focused retreat  in this digital day and age, and that is community.

I’ve launched the registration for CRAFT NAPA 2017 this afternoon and classes are filling quickly. I am so thrilled and trying to spread the word as much as I can about this event with the goal to make this retreat experience even better and more meaningful for all in the future.

Here’s one new edition where Craft Napans have the opportunity to ask candid questions of the teacher panel regarding favorite materials, best practices for studio work, favorite shows to enter, etc.

And another excursion to close out the event and be together one last time (on a choo choo train with wine):

Hope you can join us,

Pokey

Thanks to all for your kind comments from my last blog post. I am more than ready to move past all of that and focus on the fun and important work ahead! It’s been an industrious last couple of weeks creating, celebrating, and scheming some fun endeavors for the future. Cases in point…

Recently I helped celebrate a dear friend (not without holding back a lot of tears at the podium). I was invited to be a part of the tribute for Yvonne Porcella and speak at her life celebration and tribute at the San Jose Museum of Quilts & Textiles. What an emotional but celebratory time together. This woman was clearly and dearly loved by so, so many.

At long last I finished a baby quilt for the daughter of a former co-worker and friend. I wanted this quilt to be all about color and whimsy and I hope I achieved both with my fabric selections (pattern by–and adapted from–Michelle Tucker in the first issue of Sew Moderne):

I finally have my industrial sink installed in my wet studio! Cabinets to come, but it means I am now in business and my hands will be (from here on in) a mottled mix of purple, chartreuse, teal, red, lemon yellow, and every color combination I can devise…

And I have a designated sink to wash the dogs, too.

We are about to announce the CRAFT NAPA 2017 schedule on the Craft Napa website…

A sneak peek at some of the art that will be taught:

Brought to you by…

This will be a fun time next January 12-15 with instruction both at the Embassy Suites/Napa and my art barn; a candid (and telling) panel luncheon; an artists’  market; wine blending; and wine excursions in Napa Valley and neighboring Sonoma.

I am also putting together smaller programs (when I say small, I mean small) for the art barn, too.

And I am rather excited to announce something in one month for a new endeavor for Crafting a Life, LLC— something with which I am extremely familiar.

It’s going to be a gorgeous weekend here in Napa for dyeing, sun-printing, and overall creativity. Hope you have an inspiring and creative weekend, no matter what your weather may be.

To all good things ahead,

A year ago, Yvonne came to my groundbreaking party in Napa. She had just gotten her nails done, and  she said to me, “This is a Groundbreaking Party, right? I just got a manicure, but I thought it was important to get my hands in the dirt…you know…to break the ground. I am willing to sacrifice my manicure, and get some dirt under my nails!” And then she walked up the hill to the dig site (escort in tow), came back, and put her dirt-ridden, yet freshly manicured hand in mine…

I introduce to you an exhibit to be held this fall:

Live Your BRIGHTEST Life: A Tribute to Yvonne Porcella

Whether you knew her or knew of her, Yvonne Porcella was one of the brightest lights in the quilt world.

Yvonne unabashedly loved color, whimsy, and was a person of incredible strength and fortitude. Having founded Studio Art Quilts Associates, exhibited in countless exhibits worldwide (including the Smithsonian), authored books, served on a number of boards, taught hundreds (possibly thousands) of students, she embraced every challenge with strength, wit, and humor. Not even a diagnosis of Stage 4 cancer, which she fought for six years, could slow her down.

Yvonne was a class act, and she knew what it meant to really live.

“Live Your BRIGHTEST Life: A Tribute to Yvonne Porcella” will be a featured art quilt exhibit hosted by Pokey Bolton at “Quilting in the Garden” at Alden Lane Nursery in Livermore, CA, September 24-25, 2016. With fabric and thread, this is your opportunity to celebrate an amazing icon in the quilt world, and convey what living a bright life means to you.

As part of this exhibit, we are asking quilt makers to include a written tribute to Yvonne and share how she has influenced your art our touched your life–whether you met her in person or not. This entry will be placed in a book and given to Yvonne’s family.

Quilt Entry Specifics:

• Quilt Size: 18”(W) x 26″ (H) (You may submit up to two entries.)
• Must include a sleeve for hanging and your information on the back.
• 2 narratives: 1) Narrative explaining your quilt. 2) A tribute to Yvonne to be placed in a book for her family.
• Digital Images (72 DPI) and accompanying narratives due: August 6, 2016, emailed to info@craftingalifellc.com. Subject to read: YVONNE PORCELLA ENTRY
• You will be notified by August 12, 2016 regarding inclusion and given shipping instructions.
• The quilt must be received by September 9, 2016 in order to be included in this exhibit.

You are invited to have your quilt for sale, all proceeds to go to her founding organization, Studio Art Quilt Associates.

Cheers to Yvonne, our collective, incredible mentor and friend…