Planet Textile Threads

Astounding Aboriginal Art

2012-02-09T08:37:32+00:00

There's an exhibition of art from the Torres Strait (between Australia and New Guinea) at our local museum/art gallery. Mostly, the work is linocuts, some of them huge. The photos below are not in the exhibition, but are indicative of the artists' work.

This is by Alick Tipoti....

...and this is by Dennis Nona. They were the 2 artists whose work impressed me the most. Why? Because these are not ink drawings, they are prints from linocuts. I have dabbled a bit with linocut prints, and I am absolutely in awe of anyone who can produce highly detailed and exquisitely executed work like this - especially when you consider that some of the blocks could be 2 metres by 1 metre in size. The amount of control and understanding of design elements is highly sophisticated - yet these are a people who, a century ago, were considered so backward and unintelligent that the ruling British colonists controlled their lives, including their wages, their ability to visit family in other areas and other things that we take for granted. No doubt some of the reason for this was the absence of written language - like Maori, Aborigines had an oral tradition; and also their lifestyles were very primitive compared with those of Victorian England.

A Day of Running Errands and Appointments

2012-02-09T06:14:21+00:00

(BREAKING NEWS – The winner of the scarf is Janet Wright. Send me your snail mail and I will get it off to you. Thanks to all of you who chimed in!!)

I feel as if I spent most of the day in and out of the house. I had to get gas in my car, go to Kaiser for my quarterly blood work and deliver a quilt to a friend. Then, home to walk Scooter in the rain. He did not like the rain without his fluffy winter coat. We saw this Rhodie down in the Rhodie Garden. Wow, this is the earliest I have seen one in bloom since we moved here 5+ years ago.

I made a salad for lunch and spent too much time on the computer and then off to get my hair cut, deliver the quilt for real this time (I couldn’t reach her in the morning) and pick up some groceries at Trader Joe’s.

I finally got down to the studio and started cleaning up from the Metamorphosis art work. I had hoped to paint the background fabric for the next quilt I am going to make and it has to be big!! I didn’t make it!! But, I did get my tables clear so that the next time I have a free hour, I can get it done. I did, however, cut the batting so that I can plan the elements and sizes. It is 60 inches high and 24 inches wide.

Today’s 3 x 3 is felted. It is my go to when I am busy. I am going to take some fabrics for hand stitching while I am away. Not sure if I will get to post them until I get home.

Tomorrow is STASH at Gale’s house and then I must get organized to leave town for the week-end so the painting may have to wait until next week.

A conversation

2012-02-08T19:42:39+00:00

Mi: "Great afternoon for a nap."

Choco: "Oh good. Maybe the cat won't notice if I take a nap here too."

Mi: "Dog? Did someone say there is a dog here?"

Choco: "Don't look at me! Don't look at me!"

Mi: "There IS a dog here!"

Choco: "Ahhgh! I'm trapped!"

Mi: "And what is this?"

Choco: "Just ignore me. Pretend that I'm not here."

Mi: "This is a dog paw?

Choco: "Oh no. That cat is coming closer! What'll I do? What'll I do?"

Mi: "Can this dog paw play games?"

Choco: "The cat touched me! Oh my gosh! This is bad!"

Mi: "Your paw is boring. I'm going back to sleep.

Choco: "That's a great idea."

Wordless Wednesday

2012-02-08T16:42:33+00:00

mud

2012-02-08T16:10:00+00:00

Those are the fabrics that just don't work as whole pieces -- or even half pieces. Bleh colors and printed stuff you don't have time or energy to overprint -- or have overprinted so many times that they are - yep - mud.

There's only one solution: slice thinly and try to hide them by combining them with other fabrics, hoping nobody will notice how awful they are. In fact, when they are cut really thinly, they are not awful at all: amazingly, they often become little gems.

You know those packages of fabrics that have been cut into strips 2.5" w x 40" (or so) long? Some call them "jelly rolls" (why??), others like Timeless Treasures, call them "treats." (better name, IMO). Irrespective of what you call them, the 2.5" strip makes a lot of sense. It can be any length (mine vary between around 10"-20" (give or take) and the width slices nicely into two or three strips.

Yesterday I posted this picture on my Facebook page. I had cut a bunch of "ick" fabrics into strips, laid them on the table and photographed them. The arrangement was completely random but when i saw the photo, I knew they looked great together. (these do not include the swatches above)

The fabrics work together because the colors repeat elsewhere,so that despite the varied patterns there is some unity. The black and white version showed me that there is sufficient value contrast.

Now I have to decide where I am going to use it -- a task that will remain on hold for a while.

In the meantime, on another subject - I forgot to mention in yesterday's post about Lonni Sue Johnson's art exhibit, that the last thing in the exhibit was an interactive exercise for visitors. These pieces of paper were on the table near the exhit, with a bulletin board overhead, on which there were tons of wonderful drawings done by people who had come to the exhibit. I gave these to my grandchildren to complete and the results were delightful. I offer you the same opportunity: print this out, enlarge and complete it, and scan it back in or take a photo and send it to me. I'll post your creative output.

Wordless Wednesday

2012-02-08T15:38:01+00:00

Danger signs - Kew Gardens

2012-02-08T13:48:00+00:00

The Temperate House at Kew Gardens is being surveyed for repairs - £28million is needed and the repair progamme will last up to eight years. The previous repairs to this beautiful building were 35 years ago. It's the largest surviving Victorian glasshouse structure in the world ... a bit high-maintenance, then ....

Textile/Art/Intensity/Focus

2012-02-08T13:43:37+00:00

Trolling around, I found some wonderful textile art on the Internet today. I'm teaching a course at the Southwest School of Art the next couple of months -- Finding Your Path as an Artist -- and it's keeping me on my toes, looking for resources, finding interesting examples of artists' styles and series, and working with artists who work in a variety of media. However, these two (three) are working in cloth, in different ways, but with clarity, focus and commitment -- just what I am trying for in the studio.

First, A Bee, a collaboration - or collective, as they call themselves -- of two artists who work large, bold and beautifully: http://www.abeecd.com/index.html

And the artist who took me to them (a post on her blog about their exhibit at the San Jose Museum): Terry Jarrard-Dimond. Terry's is a name I had heard before -- I think we've even met here and there-- but somehow I had never before focused in on her stunning, disciplined, structural work. http://www.terryjarrarddimond.com/

Foto/Fiber 2012 – Photo Preview Begins Today!

2012-02-08T12:59:52+00:00

Foto/Fiber 2012 opens in just a week. Now you can go ahead and start making your wish lists! All of the beautiful and inspiring Foto/Fiber photos (a very limited edition of three each of 30) by Karen Stiehl Osborn, Cynthia Wenslow and myself are now available for your preview here.

When you are thinking about Foto/Fiber, think ahead to upcoming gift-giving events (Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, birthdays). No one will know if you keep your Fiber BONUS for yourself and gift the photo. Each photo will have a sticker on the back of its clear envelope indicating its purchase supported the American Cancer Society.

We did choose a lot of nature photos, but you will also find photos of an old truck, a beautiful handmade pot, a coffee mug and spoon, and other objects we found interesting and textural.

Journey by Virginia A. Spiegel

There is also a link on the photo pages to the DIRECTIONS for Foto/Fiber 2012. Three things of note about the directions:

1. I’m really not a bossy boots (OK, maybe a little), but fundraising for the last seven years has taught me that organization is the key to a fun fundraiser. Please read through the directions NOW and shoot me an e-mail if you have any questions or if you want to make sure your e-mail doesn’t go in my junk mail file on February 15 or 16.

Morning Flight by Karen Stiehl Osborn

2. Notice that the direction page includes, about one million times, directions for WHEN Foto/Fiber is open. Not today! Wednesday, February 15 at 10 a.m. Central is when the gate opens. There is only one place to donate on February 15 and 16 and only one button to click to donate directly to the American Cancer Society. All donations are made by credit card directly to the American Cancer Society through Fiberart For A Cause/Forest Lake Relay For Life. It’s easy-peasy really, but don’t be shy about asking questions now.

Waiting by Virginia A. Spiegel

3. Our goal is $7000 to add to the $215,000 we have already donated directly to the American Cancer Society. We have several drawings for fiber artwork that I hope will encourage you to donate a bit more than the requested minimum if you are able, but also some drawings that are open to all patrons. Be sure to check out the artwork and the requirements to participate for each of the Fiber Art DRAWINGS before making your donation plans.

See you next Wednesday, February 15, and thank you for your support of this fundraiser for the American Cancer Society.

it worked!

2012-02-08T12:36:00+00:00

not the best sewing i've ever done, i was not even concerned with the process. and the toile's not even finished; no hems no zipper, no waistband. i wanted to see the fit, the product, the results. here it is from a size 10 to a size 12! the system works and i can fit in the pattern again.

here is one more link, this time for altering pant patterns in troublesome spots.

those well treasured vogue patterns of mine are coming back into use!

neki desu

A wish come true

2012-02-08T08:58:50+00:00

Ground coffee available locally - all of a minute's walk away! This is "Blake" blend - 50% Sumatra, 40% Indonesia, 10% Mexico - fairly meaningless, but it smells very chocolately and takes just fine. For historical reasons, we keep it in the Illy tin.

wordless wednesday

2012-02-08T07:00:08+00:00

bare..

Finished!

2012-02-08T06:36:03+00:00

I am so happy to have the metamorphosis piece finished and photographed. I just have to write the blog post and set it to publish on Sunday morning while I am in San Francisco. Here is what the back looks like!! That is all I can show you for now.

The blue 3 x 3 for today is a layer of painted silk organza over painted silk, fused to blue wool felt with free motion quilting.

Today Scooter got a much needed hair cut.

Tomorrow, I am getting mine. Also, tomorrow, I will do a drawing for the scarf and post it Thursday since tomorrow is Wordless Wednesday!

Revisiting Earth Sky

2012-02-08T05:30:01+00:00

I've been plugging away on this series that consists of collaged fabrics overprinted, then quilted - it's been going well for a couple of months.
I've been using my Janome 6500 to free motion zig zag the edges of the collage together before adding the printing. Now my machine is on the blink. I called to schedule a repair, but they can't get to my machine for several weeks.

Yes, I know I could be fusing everything, but I don't want the expense or trouble of putting fusible web on the back of all my fabrics. My 200 yard roll of Mistyfuse is dwindling and I don't want to replace it right now.

Soooooo . . . I have decided to work instead with the printed surface on whole cloth quilts for a while and see how that goes. As a starting point, I am returning to this painted whole cloth piece that I started working on last year and set aside.

I am really in love with this horizon line where the ground paint meets the sky paint. I've been hesitant to add block printing - for fear it would be ruined, but I forge ahead with my plan. Stay tuned.

art and the brain

2012-02-07T21:42:00+00:00

For those of us who wonder about how/where the brain contributes to art, scientists at Johns Hopkins are doing an ongoing study of an artist whose career was interrupted by brain damage.

Sunday afternoon I attended one of the most remarkable and fascinating exhibits I had ever seen: An Artist's Journey Through Amnesia. I would never have known about this exhibit were it not for an artist friend of mine who had encountered Lonni Sue while she was recovering (an ongoing process) and was working on her art. He knew about her struggles because she was from the Princeton area, where the exhibit is currently taking place. The exhibit had been at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore and is now in New Jersey at Morven in Princeton (the former governer's mansion - now a museum).

In 2007, Lonni Sue Johnson, a talented, whimsical, prolific artist and illustrator who had illustrated books, New Yorker Magazine covers, and done art art for the NY Times, was stricken by encephalitis which left her with permanent brain damage and amnesia.Also, click on this link to see the video about her. She is not only an artist, she plays the viola, which she had no memory of ever having played.
It is amazing to track the progress of her work and how it has changed (and yet retained many of the elements it had before her brain damage). If you are anywhere within driving distance of Morven in Princeton, NJ it is worth seeing.

Fiberart for a Cause, coming 2/15

2012-02-07T15:27:57+00:00

FYI and fabulous art, too.

Foto/Fiber 2012
90 Photos AND 90 Fiber BONUSES

Gold Donor Day - February 15, 2012
Make a minimum donation of $100, choose a photo by
Virginia A. Spiegel, Karen Stiehl Osborn, or Cynthia Wenslow
and choose a Fiber BONUS by a specific artist
from the following list of fiber artists.

Regular Foto/Fiber - February 16, 2012
Make a minimum donation of $50 and choose a photo by
Virginia A. Spiegel, Karen Stiehl Osborn, or Cynthia Wenslow.
Your Fiber BONUS will be chosen at random for you
from the following list of generous fiber artists.

Artists donating Fiber BONUS include: Natalya Aikens,
Frances Holliday Alford, Pamela Allen, Liz Berg, Sue Bleiweiss, Nancy G. Cook, Jane Davila, Vivika DeNegre, Diane Rusin Doran, Jane Dunnewold, Jamie Fingal,
Leonie Hartley Hoover, Leslie Tucker Jenison, Lyric Kinard, Susan Brubaker Knapp, Lynn Krawzcyk, Jane LaFazio, Susan Lenz, Jeanelle McCall
Linda Teddlie Minton, Karen Musgrave, Gail Myrhorodsky
Karen Stiehl Osborn, BJ Parady, Cate Coulacos Prato, Yvonne Porcella
Wen Redmond, Sue Reno, Lesley Riley, Cynthia St. Charles,
Susan Schrott, Suzanne Silk, Lura Schwarz Smith (with Kerby C. Smith),
Sarah Ann Smith, and Terri Stegmiller

Drawings for Fiber Art throughout the event.
All patrons of Foto/Fiber 2012 will also have multiple chances throughout Foto/Fiber to win fiber art donated by:

Leonie Hartley Hoover
Lyric Kinard
Lynn Krawczyk
Yvonne Porcella
Susan Schrott
Mary Ann Van Soest

More information on how Foto/Fiber 2012 works:
http://www.virginiaspiegel.com/FotoFiberHowItWorks.html

Our goal – Raise $7,000 for the American Cancer Society

Fiberart For A Cause has already donated over $215,000 to the American Cancer Society through the generosity of fiber artists and their patrons.
Contact
Virginia(at)VirginiaSpiegel.com
for more information.

Onward to Festival -- Save the Dates

2012-02-07T15:04:46+00:00

I've received my contract for teaching at the International Quilt Festival in Houston in October, 2012. It's an honor to be among the 100 quilt/art/mixed media instructors selected to teach this year -- I've been off the roster for two years, and just squeeked in with my application this year!

So if you are planning to attend and want to take one of my workshops, here are the relevant dates:

Wednesday, October 31, full day workshop, Shaping Symbols into Art Quilts

"Master design skills with free-form patterns, cut-paper shapes, and original stamps as you explore personal imagery and iconic symbols. Simplify photos for original quilts, printing and more. Thermofax screen mailed later."

I'll tell you more about this as the time approaches, but the picture above provides a bit of info, too.

Sunday, November 4, Inspiration is in the Cards, half day workshop 9-noon.

"What inspires you? Create a one-of-a-kind card deck to spark creativity, take you out of your creative rut, move you into art-making and imagination. Collage and design your way to a new studio ritual with a variety of mixed media techniques."

This one is part of my annual agenda in the January Artist's Journey workshop (usually), but its a fun way to make a mixed media deck using collage, paint, paper and an inkjet copier.

In between, I'm on the circuit of the Mixed Media Miscellany, 2-4 on Thursday, the Friday Sampler, 10-noon and Saturday Sampler, 10-noon, with stamping and inkjet transfer demos.

Hope to see you there! And if you know someone who is planning on attending and taking classes this year, please reccommend these if you think they would suit. I'm looking forward to the wild, wacky, inspiring, overwhelming experience of festival, and I think everyone in our community of textile artists deserves the experience at least once in a lifetime. It's our tribe.

Writing lines

2012-02-07T13:30:01+00:00

Seeing this work by David Shrigley (here) brought to mind a time on the 210 bus, years ago, when the scruffy-looking man in the seat ahead of me was bent over a notebook, writing intently and intensely. I had a glimpse of the same words being written again and again, on line after line. He seemed more of a troubled person than someone making "a piece of art" - but sometimes they could be one and the same, could they not?

It also reminded me of a recent exhibition at the Freud Museum where Sharon Kivland paid her teenage son to copy out some lines from Freud's writings -- sentences about the mother-son relationship. The notebooks, each with one quote written again and again, were displayed on music stands in a circle at the centre of the room.

But mostly it will take people back to the punishment of "writing lines" at school. (What a waste of time! but so easy to measure the results, to ascertain that the task has been done.)

Yet Shrigley's lines are not "written" - not in joined-up (cursive) writing, with its smooth, rhythmic flow. With each letter drawn separately, they look stabbed onto the paper. "Writing lines" might help with venting anger or frustration, or grappling with obsessiveness, but do they soothe a troubled soul?

Foto/Fiber 2012 Fiber BONUSES and More by Léonie Hartley-Hoover

2012-02-07T12:40:15+00:00

Léonie Hartley-Hoover has taken a thematic approach for her Fiber BONUSES for Foto/Fiber 2012. The BONUS detail below is from Ocean View and includes beautiful batiks and hand-dyed fabric, hand-dyed thread, one medium and one large quality ocean-themed lampwork bead ($30 value) and more. Read more about this BONUS on Léonie’s blog.

Léonie’s second Fiber BONUS is Raz-Ma-Taz. It includes batiks and hand dyes, wool roving, silk sari ribblon, overdyed cotton flow, and a lampwork bead (valued at $30) by German artist Karen Hruza. More details here.

Léonie has also created an artwork specifically for the drawings to be held among the 90 Patrons of Foto/Fiber 2012. Love You to the Moon and Back is 9 inches x 9 inches and shown below. It is a hand-beaded art quilt on silk base. The focal face bead is by Kristie Brigham, Lancaster, PA. The haiku in lower right corner:
Remembering you… The fireflies of this marsh Seem like sparks That rise From my body’s longing. Izumi Shikibu

See more details from this artwork here.

All patrons of Foto/Fiber 2012 are eligible to win this artwork. You will be entered once for each Photo/Bonus for which you donate.

Foto/Fiber 2012 opens on February 15. Information about the photos, the fiber, and all the drawings is here.

the sewing pattern mines

2012-02-07T10:22:00+00:00

and so i went down to the sewing pattern mines searching for my beloved geoffrey beene 2031 vogue pattern . there are lots of places that trade with discontinued sewing patterns some of them actually quite good, others give you the shivers. one thing to applaud is the ingenuity in setting such a business. who would know vogue patterns would be so coveted amid the burda reign.

i still don't understand why vogue discontinued the career patterns. those 80's and 90's vogues are absolutely gorgeously drafted, timeless and elegant. no flounces ! the pattern in question is from the late 80's , but the shape is very contemporary, sort of julian roberts avant la lettre.

found the pattern in size 6-8-10 which is the one i have-i'll never be that size again.. sigh! and located a size 12 -14-16 which unfortunately had been sold. as a result, i was with the possibility of testing some newly acquired skills; those of pattern grading.

as a precaution i had collected information available on line here and luckily for me because it's extremely cold i didn't mind the sweating. after copying the pattern on to paper i started charting the measurements to then slice the pattern according to the new size. just out of sheer luck i ,the frugal textilian, had saved an old bed sheet which has become handy in making the toile.

i had never in all my sewing years made a toile because i was size 10 *without hesitation*, no alterations except maybe skirt length sometimes. and since i had to alter and make a toile going all the way sounded exciting so i edited the pattern at the waist and will be working on a skirt instead of the whole dress..i feel so very st laurent because he never cut any garment without making a toile first.

the dress will come in its due time because i love it. but i'll keep trying to locate the pattern in my size and at a decent price. only if i do not succeed i will attempt perfecting my newly acquired pattern grading skills ;-)

how did the saying go? necessity is what???

neki desu

"Stacked journalling" - and graphite

2012-02-07T09:18:29+00:00

The "over-writing" technique I'm using has many possibilities - they are exhaustively set out in a tutorial here (thanks, Sandy, for pointing it out). It's fun fun fun - do have a go!

My over-writing project arose from journalling in two ways - from the crossing-out of old journals, and from the delight in making textures with handwriting, initially writing down my secret (and very boring) thoughts . Now my focus is on copying out plangent* texts - with a view to suiting the medium to them. I'm still at the stage of trying to define and refine my intention - and if I continue, I'll have to "explain" how this fits into my "everyday journeys" project.

*plangent (it felt like the right word but I had to look it up) = loud and resonating, often melancholy.

Another strand to this project is to be aware of subtle things and " meaningful accidents". For instance, using a fine pen that was running out of ink needed really hard pressure, and the paper underneath ended up covered with impressions - and the sheet of paper under that one still showed some marks - so before covering it with graphite, I used the defective pen to write another text, which bit deep into the paper. After 9B graphite was added and polished, it became reflective and almost readable -

On the other side, a light coat of graphite on the raised texture of the writing, and denser graphite around the edges to try to pick up the fainter marks of the ghost writing -

It looks like "nothing" - and in a way, it is...

Weekend activities

2012-02-07T09:11:03+00:00

Tetsu and I are still making the rounds of recycle shops. Tetsu absolutely hates shopping BUT he loves recycle shops. Maybe even more than I do! He says he feels like he is on a treasure hunt and never knows what may be hidden away on the shelves and racks. In the department stores he knows to go to his size rack and that is that...BORING!! Everything is right there and everything is expensive. But in the recycle shop he has to LOOK and occasionally he finds something in his size that only costs a piddling amount.

While Tetsu went through the racks of men's clothing I stayed in the kimono section. There is almost NOTHING that I can wear in the women's section of a recycle shop. Everything is too small! (Or I am too big....) So it is a waste of my time to look at clothing. But since I've been helping a blog friend look for a kimono I've been in seventh heaven. Look what I found the other day and bought for my friend!

This is a little boy's ceremonial kimono. I just love the castle and samurai helmets on the kimono back. It has a couple inner kimonos too so at whatever price I bought it, I thought it a real bargain. (and even contemplated keeping it around for someday grandchildren of my own... but since neither of my children are married I'd really be jumping the gun!)

And this weekend was Setsubun, a holiday associated with the beginning of spring. I have no reason why but these beautiful little Japanese sweets were being sold in the supermarket in honor of Setsubun so I bought a set for Tetsu's mother. Let's see... a treasure boat on the left, a spinning top in the center and a nightingale in a plum tree on the right. Tetsu' mother decided not to eat them (they are made of candied jellies) and will leave them on her table as a decoration...

Stitched writing

2012-02-07T09:00:13+00:00

"Continuum" by Denise Moraze, 2010 (from here; see a closeup of her stitched "writing" here).

Another Canadian artist using indecipherable writing is Sylvia Ptak

(photo from here)

Commit, Fuse and Stitch

2012-02-07T06:45:26+00:00

I am running out of time to get the Metamorphosis piece done. I am leaving on Friday morning to fly to San Francisco with Steph and Mia for a baby shower for Mark and Jayme. The reveal is on Sunday, so there will be no last minute work for me.

Today, I had to stop rearranging fabric and fuse the piece and start stitching. Whew! It felt good to get moving on it. Here is a detail of the stitching. I am doing more precise stitching than I normally do. I am happy this small. I think it will go quickly. It has bating fuzz that I need to remove.

I messed around making today’s 3 x 3. I had to reject the first 2. I ended up with a simple square in a square. Works for today.

Don’t forget to leave a comment on yesterday’s blog for a chance to receive a pretty hot pink scarf . I will do the random drawing on Wednesday morning, PST.

We continue to have sunny days, but they are tempered by the cold west wind blowing out of the gorge. Wreaks havoc on my sinuses, but all in all, I am feeling great.

Peroglyph Point in Lava Beds National Monument

2012-02-07T05:30:01+00:00

One of the highlights of our time at Lava Beds National Monument was our time at Petroglyph Point. From the visitor center, it can be seen as the hill in the center of the picture above. The road to Petroglyph Point is a gravel road that passes along the shores of a Lake Modoc.

The petroglyphs are quite varied and can be seen all along the base of the cliff.

back to work

2012-02-07T03:50:00+00:00

It has been more than a week since my grandson Josh's bar mitzvah and the requisite family celebration a week ago Saturday. Here is Josh reading from the torah.

And here I am on Saturday night at the party, getting rare kisses from Josh and Ben.

It was great to have my cousins and my kids staying here and since midweek, I have been scrambling to catch up with my work.

I have 3 pieces going into a gallery in Philadelphia for the week of Fiber Philadelphia and still have to put a sleeve on one. I am working on a large project with a tight deadline and still have to make something for the ugly fabric challenge on Karen Musgrave's blog and do a tutorial for another blog. Phew! Bitten off more than I can chew? What else is new?

Over the weekend, went to a couple of art exhibits that were very special. One was an exhibit of paintings and drawings done by the A-Team Artists who are members of the Trenton Area Soup Kitchen. Self-taught artists who work with donated materials, they do remarkable work filled with poignancy, humor, and energy. The reception was packed, quite a few pieces sold, and the proceeds went directly to the artists. Some of the artists provided music and poetry to accompany the visual art.

The second exhibit deserves its own blog post, so I will bid the full moon goodnight and head upstairs to pull down the shades. Tomorrow, the next exhibit.

Lovely lady

2012-02-06T22:55:49+00:00

My friend, Del Thomas, has had a gallery at the Visions Art Museum in San Diego named in her honor. First, I must tell you that the Visions Museum is one of the few art museums in the world, and probably the best known, that is dedicated to the art of the quilt. Then I must tell you that Del, a collector and dedicated supporter of quilt art and quilt artists is probably the best friend a quilt artist could ever have. Her Thomas Contemporary Quilt Collection is large and eclectic. Here she is at the opening, last week, of the newly named gallery, and an exhibit of some of the small quilts from her collection.

Del has been such an incredible motivator for me, personally. She owns several pieces of mine and has been generous with her praise and encouragement. There are two of my pieces in the photo above. "Laurel" is in the top row, third from the left, and "Tillamook Rooster" is the first piece in the third row down on the left. Del's sponsorship made possible the Twelve by Twelve exhibits at the International Quilt Festival shows in Houston, Cincinnati and Long Beach this year—not a small thing! In addition to her incredible generosity and patronage, she is a dear and lovely person. The last time I saw her, she was passing through Portland and we met for coffee. She brought along a new quilt acquisition to show me. A beautiful quilt that she was so excited to share. Such enthusiasm and passion for our medium. I love hearing her talk about it. It is fitting that her name will always be attached to such a prestigious quilt art gallery.

Join me in a toast — "Here's to Del!"

My quilt, "Douglas Fir Cone" is the latest addition to the Thomas Contemporary Quilt Collection.

theater arts

2012-02-06T22:21:10+00:00

This year our Russian school play has gone by in a blur... but I promised pictures, so here they are. Very few full costumes actually came to life in my studio. I mostly made parts of costumes.

a hat here

some painted tights there

the evolution of a party dress here

A few scenes from the play... several of the months with the heroine of the story; step mother and step sister; the bratty queen; snowflakes; and winter, scaring everyone..

Book du jour - more copying

2012-02-06T20:21:00+00:00

The book is the catalogue of an exhibition at the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art in 1999. Artists (listed here) include "process artists" like Marcia Hafif, Sol LeWitt, Robert Smithson, Mel Bochner, Gordon Matta Clark, Agnes Denes, Eva Hesse, Barry Le Va, Bruce Nauman - late 60s stuff - and there are thought-provoking essays by Pamela M Lee and Cornelia H Butler. One way to read the essays (and think about them) is to copy them -

One of the benefits of transcribing every word is that there's opportunity to stop and look up the words that sorta make sense when you're reading quickly (or can be overlooked) - but can be seen to need explanation when you're reading slowly, and when you're reading art-speak... I should be keeping a list of them. One was "Heraclitean" (Heraclites was an ancient Greek philosopher who maintained that strife and chaos are the natural order of the universe); another was "entropy" (the natural tendency of the universe to fall into disorder - Second Law of Thermodynamics and all that).

The essay on "duration" includes the word "temporality" rather a lot, and indeed the function and use of the time factor in making and viewing art is of considerable interest to me -

In choosing this text for copying/transcribing, I'm using a considerable amount of time in a way that (by my criteria) doesn't "waste" it, and I'm learning about other artists' use of time - indeed, this slow reprocessing of "old" text about "older" art makes for many layers of time. The over-writing makes the time used in the current work double back on (or reinforce) itself. The illegibility aspect ... well, it just IS. I don't think the viewer needs to be able to read the actual words...the only person deriving didactic benefit is the (re)writer; hopefully a viewer would find the aesthetic, and perhaps conceptual, dimension to be sufficient - and there would be some sort of title to help them with this.

Winner

2012-02-06T18:29:02+00:00

Hello, I nearly forgot it was time to draw a name, where has the week gone.

I put all the names in a bowl and my husband pulled out a name,I didn't take a picture as it wasn't a very fancy bowl :)

and the winner is

Gill in Gloucester,

if you email me your address I will send you your prize.

Sorry to those who didn't win.

Winter at Kew Gardens

2012-02-06T16:44:12+00:00

The snow was starting to melt by the time we got to Kew Gardens yesterday (trains don't start running till 9.30), but there was time to get some of the usual snowscene photos -

Didn't expect to see any peacocks, though -

Families had built snowmen in various places - an echo of the Henry Moore sculptures at the gardens several years ago -

Because of flight cancellations at Heathrow, you could hear the birds rather than the planes. A real feeling of stillness, no wind and the muffling effects of the snow.

Attempts in printmaking

2012-02-06T16:17:55+00:00

A rather smudgy drypoint. And of course I could not resist using fish

because I wanted to try putting them with some swirling water I'd printed using a polyester litho plate.

From drypoint we went on to stumblings around etching:

This first version on a slate plate benefited from chine colle - tissue paper with residual ink from another printing. Then I tried a hard ground to add more details.

I do love inking up with more than one colour for a single printing - laziness perhaps?

In the Studio with Gail Myrhorodsky

2012-02-06T13:33:36+00:00

Gail Myrhorodsky

Gail Myrhorodsky creates unique hand-painted art cloth in wonderfully saturated colors as well as fiber art using her own fabric. Creating art fabric is a very time consuming process as the fabric is first washed and prepped for dyeing and then individually painted. After dye or paint has set, all fabrics are rinsed thoroughly (some over 10 times) to remove excess dyes. Then all the fabric is washed in very hot water and Synthropol, and rinsed several more times. Many of the bright and darkly intense pieces undergo a hot wash with Retayne as well, which helps prevent bleeding. Then they are dried in a hot dryer and steam pressed. Gail’s silk and cotton fabrics are available for purchase through her GailForces studio as well as at quilt events.

1. How do you find/make time to be in your studio?

After work, dinner and clean-up, it’s time for my art. No questions asked. Even if it’s only for an hour, I make the time to do something I love.

2. Describe your studio in five words.
Way too small for stash!

3. If you could pick only one thing from your studio to represent your art practice, what would it be?
Organization – or lack of it thereof. My studio is actually the upstairs apartment of our 2-family home. The fabric room (bedroom) is overflowing with my hand-dyed fabrics. The kitchen has the storage of all the paints, stamps, stencils, bleaching agents and all theother tools for surface design except dyeing. The dining room is my work space – several “my height” cutting/work tables, my sewing machine, serger and embellisher, iron and design wall. When any of these rooms starts to overflow, it’s time to re-organize. One cannot create if one cannot find the supplies!

Gail is donating three fiber-licious BONUSES to Foto/Fiber 2012.
All three start with a fat quarter of hand-dyed cotton and then Gail is choosing coordinating items from among this list:
Coordinating dyed cotton, yarns, dyed threads and dyed cheesecloth andcotton batt, personally made clay embellishment, beads, dyed vintage doily, dyed silk and wool fibers, yarns, dyed threads, a super inchie, fun foam sculpted, embellishment, glue on petal jewels, sample of Misty Fuse, fat quarter hand-dyed and stamped, stenciled and painted,, metallic netting (gold & black), Angelina, beads, and more.

4. What is the best/worst space you have ever had as a studio?
My worst was a bookcase-separated corner of a living room. The best is my current setup – an apartment with plenty of storage shelves and cabinets.

5. What would make a “dream studio” for you?
I would love a studio on the first floor with lots of windows and about 3 times the floor space. I could also use some extra space to store and use my spinning wheel.

6. What would you advise someone setting up a studio for the first time?
I would advise to plan carefully for the work space for the type of work you enjoy doing. Have plenty of storage and as much “spread out” floor space as you can manage.

7. Any unique features/studio pets you would like to share?
It’s not unique, but one of the smartest things I did was raise the main work table to my height so I don’t have to lean over all the time.I’m 5’8″, which isn’t all that tall anymore, but raising the table has saved me lots of pain. I’m a pretty functional/practical kind of person, so Ialways think of the usefulness of my work tools before aesthetics.

Running?

2012-02-06T13:04:02+00:00

Tetsu and I went to an interesting convalescent care lecture this weekend. We know the man who was speaking and so went to say hello and hear what he had to say.

At one point in the lecture, the speaker had us (about 100 people) imagine that we are at our former elementary school getting ready to run a 60 meter race.

"Run as fast as you can! Put all you have into it! Don't lose sight of your goal! Ready? Get set. Go!"

And we all sat in our seats imagining the race we were taking part in.

"You're almost at the finish line! You're doing great. 20 more meters. Only 10 more! Here comes the finish line tape.... You're about to cross it... Oops. I made a mistake. This is a 100 meter race! Don't let up steam now! You've got 40 more meters to go!"

And most of the people at the lecture "stumbled" or "gave up" and collapsed in their seats.

"Did you manage to go the extra 40 meters? Did you lose your momentum and think 'what the heck!'?

This is what people in society are facing today. 70 years ago the average lifespan was 50 or 60 years of age. We were told to work hard throughout life and if you even managed to MAKE 60 years you were doing good. But now, reaching the centenarian mark isn't unheard of. In 2010 there were nearly 50,000 centenarians in Japan.

So if you are planning to retire at age 60 it is very likely that you've got more time ahead of you... Now what are you going to do with that extra time?"

In the past few months this has been a running conversation between Tetsu and me. I tell him that he needs to start thinking about what he'd like to do after retirement but he always retorts that he won't be able to afford to retire. Tetsu's whole life has been devoted to working long and hard in a company or organization and it is only in the past two years that he has made it a habit to come home before 9:00 at night. He has no hobbies, and doesn't seem to want to expand any of his flitting interests (like wonky carpentry).

"Cooking? Wouldn't you like to take up cooking as a hobby?" (You can see my brain working here... I'll let Tetsu take over the kitchen in our old age.)

"How about photography? Wouldn't that be fun?" (And then I could buy a professional style camera without any guilt feelings.)

"Heaven forbid that you suggest we do golf together and by the way, no one says we have to have a JOINT hobby. I am perfectly happy doing patchwork and blogging until I'm 100 so you can think about something that YOU'D like to do."

So far Tetsu has come up with Visiting Hot Spas.

Anyway food for thought.

Meeting Montaigne

2012-02-06T11:33:17+00:00

"If you belittle yourself, you are believed; if you praise yourself, you are disbelieved."

That comes from Michel de Montaigne, the man who invented "the essay". I first read him in my late 30s - when old enough to appreciate his insights.

Yesterday I picked up a small book to read while travelling and it turned out to be The Consolations of Philosophy by Alain de Botton. Opening it midway, I found myself reading about Montaigne's 17-month journey in 1580-1 through France, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, encountering different practices in different places and viewing them with an open mind: "I enter into discussion and argument with great freedom and ease, inasmuch as opinion finds me in a bad soil to penetrate and take deep root in. No propositions astonish me, no belief offends me, whatever contrast it offers to my own. There is no fancy so frivolous and so extravagant that it does not seem to me quite suitable to the production of the human mind."

He re-wrote his Essays several times, and didn't worry about contradicting himself. (Your thoughts change over time, right?) Here's his annotated copy of the 1588 edition, the last one printed during his lifetime -

The revised edition was published posthumously. Montaigne wanted to write "as long as there is ink and paper in the world", and kept amending the Essays right up till his death in 1592. First published in English in 1603, they exist in many editions -

Downloadable versions are available via Project Gutenberg.

One the Design Wall

2012-02-06T10:49:54+00:00

This design is from Sarah Nephews book. It is piecing together nicely.

beyond words

2012-02-06T09:30:00+00:00

this stitching arrived at the end of last week and let me speechless. blandina and i were partners in the aix en provence adventure and have become good friends ever since.we often communicate and text when there are important news to share and so we've become very close in a short time.

i still look at the piece not really knowing what to say, the feelings it provokes being so intense. out of shyness i won't discuss the message she wrote but i can tell you it's one of the most beautiful things i have been told.

i am surrounded by beauty and pleasure.

neki desu

Welsh Quilts, Part 3 of 3

2012-02-06T09:19:55+00:00

The two most recent additions to my small collection of books on Welsh Quilts came from the Jen Jones Welsh Quilt Centre. Jen Jones, by the way, is an expat American who moved to Wales, married and has made her life there. The first is A Towy Guide (according to the acknowledgements, the idea is/was a series of guides covering various aspects of Welsh heritage) called Welsh Quilts by Jen Jones.

Jen Jones' 1997 book on Welsh Quilts

Sixty-six pages and about 7×9 inches, this small book has a LOT of great information. I just checked Amazon.com, but the price is a ridiculous $68 (US) and up, and you can get it for a reasonable price even with postage from the UK and a foreign transaction fee! The chapters include:

Introduction
History
Making a Quilt
Method
Types of Quilts
Joining and Finishing
Provenance
Buying a Welsh Quilt
Caring for Quilts
Conclusion
Blankets
Types of Blankets
Public Collections of Quilts and Blankets
Bibliography

As an aside, I’ll note that Wales also has a wonderful weaving tradition, and for EONS I carried a Welsh tapestry (woolen cloth) coin purse that I think I bought in the UK in 1978; I recently found the little mousie made of the same cloth, and he’s now sitting on the small table on our stair landing. Photos in the Towy Guide are both color and some black and white, but in all cases the detail of the stitching is wonderful, as is seeing the old implements used. Antique quilts in the photos date back as far back as 1830.

The second book, Welsh Quilting Pattern and Design Handbook by Marjorie Horton, is one that covers what I had most hoped to find: information about the most typical motifs and designs of the quilting.

Marjorie Horton's book on design for Welsh quilts

To my utter surprise, when I opened it up, Marjorie Horton lives in Rainier, Washington! I googled her and found several mentions, and it appears she is still active in the Pacific Northwest and giving lectures and teaching, but could not find a website or blog for her. Although there is an Amazon listing, it says the book is currently unavailable. Not quite–I bought mine a month ago, albeit from Wales.

Table of Contents and inside cover

This book, at least the incarnation that I have, is published by the Jen Jones Welsh Quilt Centre. From what I’ve been able to gather, the book was originally self-published with a comb/spiral type binding. All black and white, the illustrations are hand-drawn, which I find refreshing after all the slick graphics you see. I love seeing the designs in Marjorie’s hand! There is a TON of good information about designing your own, special things to note (like parallel lines to define segments), and a lot of visual imagery for various widely used motifs.

Sample pages from Welsh Quilting Pattern and Design Handbook

If you want to design your own Welsh-inspired quilt, as I do,this book is JUST what you need. Now I realize that this may be a niche of a niche within a niche of a small corner of quilting, but oh what a find! And if you love the quilting and traditional Amish-style quilting, I’m guessing you will find LOTS of inspiration in this book.

So I guess I might be well advised to read these books carefully, take notes, and start sketching, eh? And oh yeah…dye that fabric so I have a 105 x 105 inch (about 3 metres to a side) top to quilt…EEEK! On a sit down machine? Am I nuts? Clearly the answer is yes. A hazelnut, please.

Mail Art Project - Week Seventy Two

2012-02-06T06:32:01+00:00

This week's Mail Art. Randomly pieced hand dyed scraps. Machine quilted.

Today's quote:

"Experience is one thing you can't get for nothing."
-Oscar Wilde-

Happy, Happy!

2012-02-06T05:54:11+00:00

I almost missed my 7th Blogiversary which was the 3rd of February. Seven years is a lot of blabbing and creating and making new friends. To celebrate, I have a gift for one of you. Just leave me a comment. I will do a random drawing and someone will receive this hand dyed silk scarf with a subtle shibori design.

It was a busy week-end. On Friday night, we went to the opening of Lisa’s show with her friend Trish Grantham — Wild at Heart. She sold a piece – always a good thing. On Saturday, she hunkered down and did many more illustrations for the cookbook. On Saturday night, she, Steph and I put on a delicious meal for vegans and omnivores. Trish, who is a vegan, joined us. It was a fund evening.

Lisa left this morning and after church, I worked on my desktop Mac which had a disk problem — I couldn’t open any files in Word or Photoshop – eek! I was able to repair it and everything is working again. So, I didn’t get much else done today.

Up above is yesterday’s 3 X 3 from silk scraps. Today’s is one of the stencil prints that I did with white paint on hand-dyed cotton.

The Twelves hatched a plan to gift Del Thomas with a 12 X 12 quilt from each of us with nature as the theme. We have kept them under wraps until now. Del was honored to have a gallery in the Visions Art Museum named after her. For the unveiling, they are displaying 40 of the 12 X 12 quilts that she has acquired. Some of ours are amongst those on display. I have previously posted my quilt, but did not say what it was for. Here it is, again, California Poppies. I am thrilled to have it on display.

Don’t forget to leave a comment if you would like to have a chance to receive the scarf!

What an Artist and an Owl need to Have in Common

2012-02-06T01:05:34+00:00

Focus.

From Vurtrunner's Youtube channel.

Copper Shade Tree Gallery Opening

2012-02-06T00:33:21+00:00

Just a few photos from the jam-packed opening, and the interesting and always inspiring art from other Texas artists who participated:

Houston artist Peggy Sexton next to one wall of art -- the turquoise and yellow cactus piece is mine.

A gloomy, but still not too cool afternoon. The weather did not keep the crowds away!

This one, Agave and Madrone Leaves, is the piece I have in the show catalog -- you can buy it from Gerald and Debbie on line at the gallery site.

My large piece about the summer's drought in the middle above.

The two two orange and magenta pieces on this wall are Lisa Kerpoe's work.

Super Bowl Sunday

2012-02-05T23:25:43+00:00

I'm such a non-sports fan. I didn't watch the Super Bowl. I went to the studio. I swept and mopped the floor. It has been a moisty, muddy winter. Then I worked on the shweshwe fabric project. The fish is coming along swimmingly. (har har). This is a not-great phone photo, but you get the idea.

I am quite liking the way the colors are working. I really had my doubts about those colors in the shweshwe fabrics. They are crayon box colors—kind of the basic, predictable shade of each color, which is never my choice, but I like what the black and the acid greens do with them. Now I need to figure out what kind of background will work.

.......................................................

I like to go back in my blog to see what I wrote on this same date one year ago, or three years ago, four or five. I was looking back today and came to this entry on February 5, four years ago. What an intense, sad and strange 2 weeks I had been through. Makes me sad all over again.

Special announcement!

2012-02-05T19:25:52+00:00

Due to the change in dates this year (March 7-10), the Grinnell Iowa, 4 day Master Class has three openings. This is a highly individualized Workshop, with a very limited enrollment .

More info here.

Grinnell is a wonderful and friendly College Town with lots of great buildings, wonderful food and a super discount on the accommodations. Email me to register.

Seriously, this is one of the highlights of my teaching year and time is of the essence. These few spaces will go quickly.

Off to Singapore Tomorrow

2012-02-05T18:10:24+00:00

I am off to Singapore to teach for a couple of days. It has been a fair while since I have been to Singapore and I am looking forward to having a few free days there (it was too expensive to fly back on friday) to explore Arab street, and other parts.
I have been dyeing some fabric to take with me to Singapore- it really has been a while since I dyed fabric- and then of course it had to rain whilst I am trying to get the last of the fabric dried ( we don't have a dryer as they waste too much energy) I always love the colours that emerge when you iron the fabric- it looks so different to the unironed fabric.

I also needed a new bag- the one I have been using, had started to wear through on the corners and looked rather scruffy.I guess these are my little gypsy bags

I have also been stitching another sentinelle panel and will take it with me to stitch on - though I have just found a bit of fabric that would make a very nice travellers' blanket. And I received the little doily doll and brooch from Penny in the mail this week- I won her as a giveaway and really like her- it's so lovely to get surprises in the post!

And good news- the tour to France is going ahead after all- we still would like a few extra people if anyone is interested! it really is a good tour and you are bound to find plenty of inspiration and hopefully I will be able to inspire you to put the inspiration to use! If you are interested in coming on the tour please email me.

There is also still time to book into the On-line Travellers Blanket Class- it starts on 17 February and already there are people from different parts of the world booked in! I can't show you my most recent travellers blanket which I completed at the end of January as it was selected in the Beneath the Southern Sky exhibition curated by Brenda Gael Smith. You can follow the exhibition on facebook. I am rather excited to be part of the exhibition as entering exhibitions seemed to have fallen a bit by the way side these last years. But here is a little detail photo!

Something fishy ...

2012-02-05T15:21:19+00:00

I have been working on a new image: Chasing fish (work in progress, above), and am feeling positive about it. But what is it about me and fish? They seem to surface regularly.

A grand catch

Facing the fish

Fish grey

Boisson, poisson

Flying tonight

The goldfish bowl

I have used fish in my printmaking exercises:

and I have a design on file which I have not yet had printed:

Plunge pool

Whatever the mood, the fish seem to be there with me, lurking somewhere not very far away.

Book du jour - and some thoughts on copying

2012-02-05T13:58:39+00:00

Trying out various formats for the over-writing - using a strip of masking tape to make a blank area in the page, for example. The text is from the catalogue of an exhibition we saw at the Fondation Cartier in Paris in December (the exhibition goes till mid-March) - "Mathematics: A Beautiful Elsewhere" -

Above, large writing with a pale pen, needing a lot of pressure, on onion-skin; below, small writing added with a pen that gave a darker line and flowed nicely over the paper. Writing on both sides, held up to the light, with and without the strip of masking tape -

Writing out other people's words is a pleasant thing to do, though old habits die hard and I'd like to edit a little here and there (after all, who would know?). You get very close to the words - not as close, though, as with copying other people's drawings, where there is so much that needs attention - the direction of the mark, the pressure on the pen, the relation to adjacent marks. The marks in the drawing are so direct; the connection to the artist is so immediate. With words there are many levels of processing before the words reach you - from the author's handwriting/typing and its revision to the printed page and finished publication. Copying the marks of handwriting - the immediate words - would be a different experience. It might feel a bit like trying to become that person? How close to, or far away from, that do you get by borrowing their words and putting them in your own handwriting? Why am I using someone else's text? How would I feel, re-writing various kinds of text - what to do next, what to do first?

Where is this going and what's it about .... ah, don't know yet ...

Fair share chocolate

2012-02-05T11:46:00+00:00

Yup, that seems fair to me! Encountered here.

Choco time

2012-02-05T09:51:54+00:00

I decided that I should be fair and give Choco some blog time.

Because it is so cold outside I've been feeling sorry for Choco out in the yard. When I'm not home during the day she just has to bear with the cold and sleep on the blankets we've left out for her (that she has ripped to shreds.) But this week I decided to let her in the house when I didn't have children around. Choco can hold it together when the ladies come for English (if she is in her kennel) but she comes completely undone when children enter the house!

Okay, lock the door to make sure nobody steps into the house unannounced (that has happened! A child came for English on a no-English day an met Choco head on. No blood but a very scared child!)

Slip Choco's leash under an armchair leg otherwise Choco will wander around the house staring at cats and getting into their litter box and waste baskets. Such a nosy dog.

"Now, SIT quietly and be grateful that you are not out in the cold and not shut in your kennel."

A few jumps and starts at passing cats (the cats know they have the upper hand over Choco) and finally quiet. Too quiet.

Ah ha! An interloper! She knows that she is not supposed to be up on the chair.

"Maybe Mom won't notice..."

Ah well. An old armchair, a fraying chair cover. Why not?... If Choco doesn't claim the chair then the cats will.

"Inconsistency on the part of the dog trainer will only lead to an untrained dog"

I know... There are times when Choco drives me crazy and times when I want her to have the same privileges as the cats...

Despite her many behavior issues, we do love her.

Orange Printed Foot Square

2012-02-05T05:30:00+00:00

Yesterday I showed the strips of hand dyed fabric that were block printed in orange and yellow. It is quilted and I have printed more strips for the binding (above). I am doing a fused binding, so I have cut the strips and (below) they are fused to the front. I will fold them back and fuse them in place.

Here it is (below) with the fused binding in place.

I added a few more yellow block prints to create a little contrast (below).

For the finishing touch, I fused, then stitched these screen printed butterflies in place. Another foot square done!