PLEASE TAKE A SECOND TO VOTE FOR MY FABRIC ON SPOONFLOWER.COM!!!!!

I am a design-finalist in Spoonflower.com's Christmas Fabric Contest, and I need votes to try to win some free fabric!

You are only allowed to vote once, and it will only take a second (REALLY!!!). PLEASE CLICK ON THE TITLE OF THIS POST WHICH CONTAINS A LINK TO VOTE for Amy Kuhl Cox's "Christmas Lights". (I am hoping this takes you immediately to the voting page.)

...If that doesn't work, try this: http://blog.spoonflower.com/
Scroll down until you see the header, "Vote in the final round of our Christmas Fabric of the Week." Then click on any piece of fabric, & it will take you to a page where you can vote. (The photo of my design doesn't represent the fabric too well unfortunately - it is too much of a close-up. :) But vote for me as #1 anyway!!!)

YOU ARE THE BEST!!!! I think each computer can vote once. Do you have a computer at home AND work or does your spouse/fiance/boyfriend? I need as MANY votes as I can get!!! Are your parents, siblings, friends, strangers on the street willing to take just a second? Can you send the link to them or whomever you feel comfortable asking? I would be VERY GRATEFUL!!! :)

THANKS!!!

New Exploration with Fabric for Educational Quilts

I've had so much fun being creative during my son's naps this summer! Having designed a number of batik, educational quilts for children over the last year, I have been researching ways to make these quilts more effectively, retaining quality while bringing the price down for teachers.

It seems like a new website in Beta testing may be my answer. Previously, I was cutting out individual shapes of batik fabric and fusing them together into a unique collage. While I enjoyed the process, I am currently seeing whether I might be able to photograph my designs to have commercially printed onto fabric, thereby eliminating the time-consuming labor of love that is piecing the quilt together!

Three of my educational quilts are available for sale on www.amykuhlcox.etsy.com
I have also been designing some new, language, educational quilts that focus on the beginning sounds in words - they are "I Spy" phonetic quilts. (Hopefully these will also be available on www.amykuhlcox.etsy.com come fall.) I have discovered one of my biggest pet peeves is a phonetic material that is designed poorly! So, no airplanes to represent the "a" sound here. And away with you, consonant blends at the beginning of words, when we are trying to isolate a single sound for instruction! :)

I have been so intrigued by fabric design, that over the weekend I designed a Christmas/holiday fabric for Spoonflower.com.
www.spoonflower.com/explore/76413
Now, to see whether I get chosen as a finalist in the contest.... Alas, no matter what, it was a learning experience in Photoshop! :)

Artist's Bio

A native of St. Louis, Missouri, Amy Kuhl Cox received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Art Therapy and Photography from Millikin University in Decatur, Illinois, and a Masters degree in Modern and Contemporary Art History from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Amy has served as an artist-in-residence at a Montessori Infant-Toddler Community and Preschool in St. Louis, an adjunct instructor in Modern Art History at a university in Anderson, SC, as well as the Education Director at the Anderson County Arts Center. Amy received her American Montessori Society Primary certification from Lander University in Greenwood, SC, and served as a Primary Directress at a Montessori school in Simpsonville, SC. Amy has presented on children’s creativity and handmade classroom materials at American Montessori Society and South Carolina Montessori Alliance conferences.

In 2008, Amy launched several websites with her colorful designs to promote peace, an appreciation of diversity, and an awareness of Montessori education. Merchandise with her designs is available at:
www.zazzle.com/peacemontessori*
www.cafepress.com/peacemontessori
www.printfection.com/peacemontessori
These designs abound with bright, fun, bold colors to appeal to primary-aged children whose creativity is the source of her inspiration.

Amy has exhibited her photography in national juried exhibitions and has completed several series of self-portrait photography, exploring the varied sides of a single personality. She has enjoyed black and white photography in a traditional darkroom setting, creating Polaroid transfers of color slide film, as well as digital photography. In college, Amy used liquid emulsion to apply her photography to ceramic vessels. Most recently, she has combined her original photographic images with polymer clay and resin to create pendants and earrings.

Amy’s jewelry and hand-made fiber accessories, including scarves, hats, and felted purses, can be found at her website www.amykuhlcox.etsy.com as well as at Bay 3 Gallery in Anderson, South Carolina’s Anderson County Arts Center Warehouse and Blue Connection Gallery in Decatur, Illinois.