Daily Courage

You have to know courage to recognize it. In today’s case, creative courage knows no age.

I knew I had met courage square in the face when I rang the bell and Freddy Moran opened her front door. There she stood with her white hair pulled back, and brighter-than-ruby-red glasses crowning her face. In spite of white hair, and at that time a borderline portly figure, she seemed much younger than I was at the time. (Quick note: she decided to “lose some weight” and lost about half of herself which you see in this shot. That pretty much says it without words.) If we’d have swapped driver’s licenses to check ages, I think we’d have discovered about a 28 year divide. But her demeanor, enthusiasm, and whole ‘tude’ made me feel stale and kind of stuck. Entering her house, you are blasted with color.  :)  The inside is painted about 47 1/2 different vibrant hues. (She loves telling you that hers is a perfect marriage, her husband, Neil, is colorblind.)

 She read my energy – or lack thereof. I was there to direct a magazine cover shoot. We quickly raced through the niceties, and were seated in Neil’s office (bright orange and teal, but he doesn’t know the difference). She pinned me emotionally, and called me on being at a creative crossroads. She recommended some reading that I have referred to in previous posts – “The Artist’s Way”. When Frederica speaks, you to listen. She told me she didn’t start quilting until she was past 60 years old. “I had said, I don’t do threads,” she proclaims. Her daughter-in-law invited her to take a quilting class.

The rest is history in Technicolor. Freddy has broken many rules along the way, and while doing so, she teaches us that its better to ignore conventionality and to follow your muse than to conform. In her case its about vibrant color and pattern and not worrying about all the points coming together in perfect symmetry. The best part is that she a world class quilter, author and teacher. And she had not even thought of it until she passed her 60th birthday. 

We give Freddy the Kiss of Courage!

As promised here is a little peek inside the newest book from Freddy Moran and Gwen Marston. If they ever decide to take a show on the road, their agent is going to have a hard time trying to decide whether to book them as a quilt act or standup comedians. These two play off each other so hard you won’t need to do sit ups for days because your stomach muscles get such a workout. You can see for yourself at The Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show in July in Sisters, Oregon. They will be appearing with some of the Gee’s Bend Quilters. This is big, big, big. Maybe someone should warn the ladies from Gee’s Bend who they are sharing the limelight with!

The UPS man dropped off a box today with copies of Freddy & Gwen Collaborate Again, or as we call it Collaborative Quilting 2. Whoooo Hoooo! It’s a beauty. Darra Williamson, quilt book editor extraordinaire edited this one. Photographer Gregory Case, who we consider the best fabric photographer ever, and Elena Morera did a fabulous job capturing the colors and patterns that Freddy Moran and Gwen Marston so fabulously combine.

We’ll post an short excerpt from the book over the weekend, in the meantime, enjoy “Pyramid.” The large French tulip border is just the best finishing touch, don’t you think? Very few designers would have the courage to combine all this color excitement. But it sure works.

You’ll learn how easy it is to do these projects when you make the parts ahead of time. You’ll enjoy making these either with a friend or alone, whatever suits your style.

Months since the last post…It seems ditzy, but I cannot tell a lie… I lost the username and password to the blog and couldn’t get any help from Wordpress, so I just let it go. Nearly five months to be exact. After some digging and determination, I found it all by myself. Hurray for dyed blondes! In the meantime, the book with Freddy and Gwen is coming along wonderfully.

We are just finishing up design comps, and have spent weeks tossing around the title. Here is the winner:  Freddy &  Gwen Collaborate Again: Freewheeling Takes on Traditional Quilt Designs

They have lots in store! Here is a quilt they call Spider Web. 

We are just about to go into production on another wonderful quilt book by Myrah Brown Green. http://www.myrahbrowngreen.com  Myrah is a scholar of cultural symbols and fabric as well as an avid quilter. She shares how to make pieced blocks of cultural symbols from around the world. Here is one of the finished quilts that will be in the book and below it is one of the instructional spreads showing the Ankh symbol. She’ll teach readers the meaning and origin of the symbol, and provide patterns and precise instructions on how to make the blocks. It will give quilters their very own take on going global! 

It’s sure fun to be in popular company! News of a new quilt book from Freddy Moran and Gwen Marston sparked a great response. Neither of them are wired, so I will print out the nice comments and send them off. It’s sure to make them smile.  Speaking of smiles, here is something to chuckle over from Freddy and Gwen. Someone gave Gwen this fabric, and the two of them used it in one of their new quilts. We giggled trying to come up with captions for the images. (Disclaimer: these were taken with my phone camera. A far cry from the professional work of Gregory Case.)

We decided this must be the Booby Hatch. Have any other funny ideas?

Don’t know about you, but I am battling a little Spring Fever. It’s Good Friday and I am trying to  finish up in the office so I can observe the rest of the day in contemplation of this important day. The work of author Teena Flanner comes to mind just prior to this weekend holiday. Teena’s work has been featured in many magazines, and we have always admired her wonderful paper mache figures. 

Teena uses vintage chocolate molds to form her figures. This bunny is a beauty, and I love this glittered egg.

Teena’s book has many wonderful ideas for other holidays too. If you like these you will love it.

Happy Easter!

Toodles… 

Many creative souls are fans of The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron. I was introduced to the book and the author’s philosophy in 2002 by one of the most colorful people to inhabit the wonderful world of quilting.  Freddy Moran lives in Technicolor and has as vivid a personality as you will ever meet.  

We were photographing Freddy’s home for a feature story, and I was there to be sure the cover shot was just right. Freddy, sensing I had a little creative conflict going on, suggested I read the book. I did, and it gave me the courage to make some changes in my life. That change became Red Lips 4 Courage Communications, Inc.

Out of that first meeting, with a little help from The Artist’s Way, came Collaborative Quilting by Freddy and Gwen Marston. Gwen is a quilting guru of great reknown. The quilts were photographed by Gregory Case, who has emerged as great talent in getting the color just right. He took the candids I am sharing here.

The book has been a hit.

Freddy and Gwen play off each other so well because their styles are so different. If they ever decide to stop quilting, they can tour the world as comedians. They can work a crowd better than any professional performers I have ever seen. 

Don’t these two look like fun, fun, fun?! 

I am delighted that we are working on a second book with Freddy and Gwen. It is going to be filled with design tips and strategies for making wonderful quilts guaranteed to bring a smile to the face of even the most color. There will be over 70 quilts featured, and its going to pop and sizzle in blazing color! Along the way, I learned to have courage, creative courage…the kind that gives you the strength to take a leap of faith and go for it. Thank you Freddy. And thank you to both Freddy and Gwen for working with us and keeping us in literal stitches. Toodles