Rachel Sews Quilts

Stitching together, a celebration of crating, community and friendship.

If your last name is Tennant, Anderson, Hotchkiss, Densmore, DeAngelo, Grimes, Philips, Calabia, Leopere, Lando, Spielman, Moore or Cain-Rollings you will likely find familiar imagery in this book. An epic computer crash and time at home has provided the inspiration to catalog my quilt making mania.

Now is the time, if you are welcoming a new baby into the family contact me about creating a custom offering. I will stitch you a matching tiny keepsake from the same cloth as the splendid welcome quilt. You get a mini art momento to hold close while apart thank is a link to the full sized art quilt.

Click the photo to link to the book.

Additionally the “pitch in a patch” is still available for groups who wish to create a good luck, welcome, or make up a gift “from all of us”. Have everyone contribute cloth to mark a special occasion. See my book as it is full of ideas and examples of past work. Some quilts use photos, creative themes as narratives. Others are artistic visionary pieces built fro wild dreams and twist into previously unseen unforeseen directions.



Let’s Start Drawing

Build a lifelong practice.

Book cover

Are you thinking “I can’t draw”?

Do you wish you had gone to art school but didn’t have access to that privilege? Here’s a glimpse of what I learned about drawing from years of studying art and teaching design to high school and college level students.

For years I have been planning, sifting, perceiving, composing and choosing the very best practices to build this simple but comprehensive visual guide for you. All of the images and words are my own. Writing the book I imagined what I would say to you if we were sitting together over our papers with pencils in hand to help you succeed. May you enjoy this gift, what I have brought together to share with you my student, my friend, my earlier self.

Precocious students of any age are invited to check out this comprehensive, sequential college level exploration. The text divided into a 10 unit curriculum, opens each with a rubric table of goals for self assessment. This tool allows individuals to synthesize deep thoughts on new ideas while studying independently.

Use pencil and paper (mostly) so no fancy supplies are needed to get started. Set aside your excuses as no previous skills are necessary. This instruction can be a refresher for strengthening hand eye skills and keeping the mind sharp or walk you forward from the very beginning of your visual education.

Playfulness is a key value of this practice.

Tune into the social opportunities for drawing with friends or honoring relatives. Share this information with a group of friends or maybe other students. Gain access playful games to strengthen visual perception while having fun. (Check out my previous post, dedicated to an e-book all about fun and games).

Draw because you can’t take a picture.

Dream can not be photographed, but what fun they are to document. Access the life of the mind with a drawing practice. Get started now. Begin with step instructions to build confidence. After completion, the final step is to build a portfolio to feature and show off your finished work.
Drawing Illuminated, Beyond Basic is a great tool to use independently or as the foundation of a drawing workshop or class.

Enjoy strengthening your creative practice. I look forward to hearing from you and seeing what you build along your journey.