Archive for the ‘textures’ Category

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musings…

Saturday, January 7th, 2017

detail of screen-printed wedding dress, lace and bridesmaid dress

In 2012 right after my Dad died and I was recovering from my second knee replacement, I felt like I needed a lifeline. I had been ruminating for at least two years beforehand about creating a mixed media women’s art group. So I chose 7 regional artists to join me, and six accepted. One from my past life in fiber, another three I knew from the arts council and functions there, while others I knew of their work but had never met them.

It was important to me that they be working in different media than I and that they were already established, with a list of juried exhibitions, website, sales history etc. I had been in groups where I was the only one with that history and there was nothing for me to learn. I wanted more! We had our first meeting, set up ground rules and started right in inspiring each other with our work and process.

Now nearly 5 years since, the group has redefined our intention, seen changes and moves, lost members, gained members, retaining three original and settled into a very comfortable dynamic. Now we are a group of six, three here and three in Sonoma and it just feels so right. We rotate each month, meeting in each other’s homes and/or studios. Although my original intention was fewer fiber and more other media, we now are comprised of five who work with fiber (paper and cloth) and one who works with metal; yet none of us does exactly the same work. And all of us have long marriages, which that in of itself in today’s world is both unusual and spectacular! One of the things I enjoy most about this group is the wisdom that transfers between us as we each move in, out and through our individual creative processes.

Last week I had been asked, by a visiting artist friend, how much time I spend in the studio? She asked me if I work in the studio every day? I laughed…hardly! It varies I said but I guesstimate I work in the studio on average 7-10 hours a week. And yet that seems so completely inaccurate to me so perhaps I should keep track. Or maybe count the times I walk past the door?

In yesterday’s art group meeting the subject of studio time came up. Not so much from the how much time do you spend in the studio part but more from the how much time is spent in contemplation and research for each new work? It was then that I really comprehended that so many of my waking hours are spent contemplating the message for each piece in the Defining Moments series. In addition there is thoughtful consideration of how, as in technique to implement that message so when the viewer looks at the piece they understand what I am conveying.

A lot more time goes into thinking about the construction. I used to be very spontaneous in my work, and still am to some extent; but there is also careful thought of just how to construct it to get the most impact; and that thought occurs everywhere, in the shower, at the gym, while driving, ‘watching’ TV, when I should be sleeping, etc. Then there is the stitching. As I am incorporating more hand-stitching into my work I ponder a lot about that.

Most recently I have also dealt with my inner perfection critic… just how perfect these stitches must be?! I used to say I was a recovering perfectionist but clearly there is more work to be done on that front! I find it rather remarkable that I am so drawn to hand-stitching, and sometimes actually crave it, yet when I do it, it’s so tight. A good metaphor for the state of my brain perhaps. So there is more thinking about relaxing which is truly ironic, although a good overall trait to possess. When all of this is added up it seems I spend hours and hours and hours on the process, but maybe just 7-10 hours a week actually applying hand to fabric.

hand-stitching my headscarf through 4 layers of lace, cloth and batting

That said I am putting the final stitches, by hand, onto #16 which is about our marriage, which truly was a defining moment in my life. Because I thought I would be through by now, #17 is being drafted and #18 insisted on 3 am contemplation last night. So progress is being made on the final 9 pieces of this series, which I still very much enjoy even if it takes up most of my headspace.

So how much time do I spend on my art weekly? How many hours are there in a week?

 

 

Posted in Defining Moments, documentation, procrastination, textures, time management, Uncategorized, vintage linens, wisdom | 2 Comments »

it’s the little things…

Monday, December 19th, 2016

the image I wanted to stitch to cloth…just married (1971)

One of the things I most enjoy about this series work is I am continually challenged by how to convey my message or tell the story. The piece I have been working on (#16) these past weeks is about our marriage. A couple months ago I began the prep work by dismantling my wedding dress, which my mother had sewn from heavy cotton pique, lined with cotton flannel. This dress was so well constructed & sturdy, I could have gotten married in the Arctic in January, instead off spring in the Bay Area. After I took the dress apart, I made Thermofax screens of our vows from a fill-in-the-blank book gifted by the preacher.

I printed not only the dress fabric but some of the flannel as well. Additionally, I had retained one bridesmaid dress which was also made by my mother. The wedding theme was based on my Russian heritage. The bridesmaids and I wore headscarves and their dresses were of a flimsy, but lined, cotton voile in a red/white/blue paisley print.

the headscarf upon which I wanted the image

The dresses were ‘granny’ style with a wide ruffle at the bottom. Initially I thought to incorporate the ruffle into the new piece but nothing about that spoke to me. I decided instead to fuse different size squares onto the now pieced wedding dress background. That gave the entire piece a bit of a whimsical feel which certainly was not my intention, but worked!

I hand-stitched a piece of the dress lace vertically to the piece. Then I basted my great grandmother’s hand crocheted lace headscarf to the base and hand-stitched that down. Only in doing so did I find a few areas of disintegration that previously were invisible to the eye.

My idea was to then layer and hand-stitch my headscarf on top; but something was missing. It didn’t quite feel right as the headscarf was a large triangle bound in trim and essentially blank in the middle. So I decided to hand-stitch the image of hubs and I walking down the aisle onto the headscarf before I stitched it to the base.

the reverse showing the image printed to silk organza

That became my challenge. I didn’t want to trace it and potentially ruin the one and only priceless heirloom. I thought of several options but none seemed right, so I asked an artist friend and a mentor for their opinions. And voila, from that came the solution. I printed the image onto silk organza which I pinned onto the back of the headscarf heirloom. Then I gingerly placed it into a hoop and stitched the image through to the headscarf. Only after I lost the light when the sun went down did I realize I could perfectly see the image from the reverse side, so I flipped it over and stitched from the reverse, remembering to knot accordingly. Ah success.

the finished stitching of the image onto the headscarf

In today’s morning light I cut away the printed organza on the back side and voila! I have exactly what I wanted.

It’s the little things that bring so much joy! Onward to the next layer…

 

2nd layer showing part of GGM’s headscarf and bridesmaid fabric on top of screen printed dress…stay tuned!

 

Posted in aging, Defining Moments, documentation, knee surgery, new work, shapes, textures, vintage linens, wisdom | 2 Comments »

15 down, 10 to go…

Wednesday, November 2nd, 2016

Defining Moments 15: Finding Mr. Right

I recently finished no. 15 in the Defining Moments series! Now with just ten more to meet our goal I am really feeling the momentum. However, I must pause to whip up some small bags for the arts guild so have pieced the background of no. 16 to inspire me from the wall.

The interesting part to me of no. 15 is I probably would have given the box to charity if I had come across it before I was working on this series. Thirty years ago we moved my mother-in-law to assisted living and cleaned out her home to sell it. I had long forgotten that we brought a box of hubs’ scouting stuff, old photos and stuck it in the attic. Only last year when we performed a massive attic cleansing did this box reappear. It sat for a while in the basement, the other out of sight, out of mind location. Then the box came upstairs and I began to look at the treasure within. By that time I had started this series and knew these items would be invaluable to it at some point. To think I might have otherwise donated to charity for some Halloween costume makes me shutter now.

detail, Defining Moments 15, Eagle Scout sash

So no. 15 is about meeting my husband aka Mr. Right. This piece contains his Boy Scouts of America shirt, which was pristine as it had been mounted to cardboard by his stepmother.

Defining Moments 15: detail

I also used his Eagle Scout sash and shirt, print transfers of the Eagle Scout commendation dinner, newspaper articles and a journal article about this achievement, photos of him as a teenager, high school graduation, in the Army and the insignia patch from his fire department uniform. And since we met by a computer match in 1970, I added a custom image of data cards as well.

It seems each piece I do I am learning something, gaining new perspective which is really something I did not anticipate. For example no. 9: The Homemaker was about my mother’s occupation as homemaker who had a black domestic who did many of the tasks. The epiphany in doing that piece was that my mother pretty much solely raised three children as my father traveled on business about 80% of the time. How she did that and survived is way beyond me!

No. 15 really reaffirmed what an all-American guy I met and married. A Boy Scout and Eagle Scout, Army vet and firefighter. It doesn’t get much more all-American than that, and he has been my personal hero for 45 years.

wedding dress screen-printed, background for no. 16

In preparation for the next piece no. 16 which is about marriage, I screen-printed and embroidered our vows to my dismantled wedding dress. I was one who never wanted to renew my vows as it seemed all too redundant. And yet in stitching and printing them I felt a sense of renewal. This is the start of no. 16 which is the upcycled dress fabric.

detail, screen-printed wedding dress fabric

In the aforementioned box of treasure was an old photo envelope. The photos were relocated but the negatives remained and were mostly of hubs as a young lad.

I decided these also were too precious to toss so I stitched them to screening and have now hung it in the bathroom window. It is really fun!

vintage negatives stitched to screen

Posted in Defining Moments, new work, patterns, surface design, textures, vintage linens, wisdom | 2 Comments »

long arms vs. my arms which are also long…

Saturday, October 15th, 2016

detail stitching, no 15

For most of the time that I have been working on this series of 25 large pieces, I have been ruminating about my machine. I actually have three at present. I have a Pfussy Pfaff workhorse which does great free-motion stitch, I have a Janome 3000 for when the workhouse is in the shop and I have a Baby Lock serger that threads itself.

Yet everytime I stitch large work I get into a tug of war with the small apron on the workhorse through which passes a lot of fabric. Last time I took Pfussy in for service I was seduced by a mid-arm placed strategically by the door. Oooh, aaah I thought, for a mere $6K I could stop fighting with Pfussy and acquire this dream machine with its three foot table and my life would be perfect! And hey it is a lot cheaper than a long arm machine, I rationalized. I didn’t buy it, but I have given it a lot of thought.

The long arm, for example, would take up a lot of real estate but I could put it in the basement, as in out of sight, out of mind; which of course would mean standing on that cold hard concrete floor to stitch. Ok, a rug would fix that but must I stand to stitch, really? The mid-arm would allow me to sit but where would I put it?

There is nary three square feet of space available in my studio, let alone for me to pull up a chair and sit next to it. I suppose I could put it in the living room but then would have to move it for entertaining, or I could also put it in the basement, but then would have to put in better lighting to use it there. And so it goes.

This weekend is PIQF, the big Mancuso quilt show in Santa Clara, which is a perfect chance to see all my choices front and center, to tear and compare. And yet I decided to stay home and stitch #15 on Pfussy. Apparently I don’t want one bad enough!

Today I encountered even more challenges such as the machine and slanted board on which it sits, hitchhiking near the table’s edge; the dog having a corner of the quilt in her mouth thinking this was a game and my ongoing covet of the slick pulley system to lift the quilt’s weight, for which I put in my order to the honey-do list at least 3 months ago. I trudged on. I fretted about my curved stitching on this manly piece. I envisioned my conversation at the hardware store asking in clear mud for just the part I need…I need one of those do-hickeys that cord wraps around in a figure eight. And I need a thin mat of rubber, like those round jar openers that realtors sent out twenty years ago, to put under my machine so it doesn’t walk. Huh?

Why am I procrastinating on buying a machine & table that will greatly enhance the quality of my life as textile artist? The real reason is I don’t know how much longer I will be doing this type of work. My brain is overflowing with ideas of work to do after this series but I don’t know how they will manifest so I don’t feel like investing in major equipment that I may or may not be using for another decade.

Or in plain English decluttering has taken possession of my brain.

Posted in color, textures, time management, wisdom | 10 Comments »

great news…

Monday, September 26th, 2016

detail, Defining Moments 12: No Means NO

Apparently I did not blog post earlier about this piece and now I have very wonderful news. The Cliff Notes version is Defining Moments 12: No Means NO has been juried into the biennial Quilt National 2017.

With just 11% of the entries chosen for the 2017 exhibit it is a highly competitive process to have one’s work accepted. I have entered other years and my work never made the cut. The last time I entered was 2009 as knee replacements stole my attention after that. This year I entered just the one piece as I felt it conveyed a very important message as well as good crafts(wo)manship. Traditionally the rules have disallowed online publication of said work before the exhibit opens, so the piece is not on my website nor have I posted it in total anywhere. But I will give you a taste, a detail of the hand-stitching which made this work so remarkable.

The design evolved when the Stanford swimmer got such a lenient sentence for his sexual assault on campus. His ‘victim’ wrote a very profound letter which stirred my repressed feelings about my own campus rape over 50 years ago. I got really angry, and I felt shame (for not reporting it). I was just about to commit to fight for social justice for women on college campuses nationwide when I realized I hate being an activist! I’d rather make art. So make art I did. I made a new #12, squeezing it between two previous pieces in the series.

I screen printed my own story to white cotton, slashed to represent the shattering of my sense of personal safety and trust, and then hand-stitched like crazy. As I neared the bottom of the piece my stitching became much more intense and deliberate. Afterwards I realized that was old emotion leaking though.

There has been some rumbling on social media from artists whose work was declined. Some say no one wants to see narrative work, no one wants to be told a story. They want to see only beautiful quilts, work they would love to hang in their home. To these artists I say three things.

One, everyone is different. If we were all the same and made all the same work, how bloody boring would that be? Secondly, while I appreciate a beautiful quality piece suitable for the living room as much as the next person, I feel storytelling/narrative work also has a place. It takes great courage to excavate these old stories but in doing so we give others permission to think about and tell their own…and everyone has a story! This work starts conversation. Just think what a different world we would live in if more people felt permission to speak their truth instead of bury it in addiction or aggression. And finally, it is simply good karma to be happy for your colleagues’ success.

 

Posted in Defining Moments, exhibitions, knee surgery, new work, surface design, textures, Uncategorized | 4 Comments »

this and that…v.12

Sunday, May 22nd, 2016

morning walk: rotted wood, roses, yarrow, red cabbage, potholes

I have been preoccupied with life for the past month. I continue to work on #12 in the collaborative series, with 13, 14 and 15 fermenting in my cranium.

And we continue to work on dog training. Mops is coming along so well, aside from the times when she chews up something important. I work diligently to stay one step ahead of her. Most recently she chewed the straps off the face mask I wear to breathe when I sleep! Not very helpful…but we love her anyway!

Mopsy, in witness protection program

We regretfully postponed a big trip but in doing so got to add more on to it, so in the end it will be a better vacation. We would have been away now so this opens up my studio time. Abundant free time however often makes self-discipline much more difficult!

morning walk: Mops, pond scum, bbq grate, goose poop, weeping willow reflection

One thing I have been doing a lot of is taking photos of interesting textures, patterns, colors, etc on my morning walks. I then collage on an app and post to my Instagram feed. Many have told me they love my morning walk photos. For me it trains my eye to see the art in everyday living.

Of course medical science would say that to stop and photograph while walking is not exactly stellar cardio. We all have our priorities! ART is mine.

Posted in color, Mopsy, patterns, photography, shapes, textures, time management | No Comments »

stories of migration…

Thursday, April 21st, 2016

Stories of Migration at GWU Museum & Textile Museum

A week ago today my daughter & I were winging our way to Washington DC for a long weekend & the opening of Stories of Migration: Contemporary Artists Interpret Diaspora at the George Washington University Museum & Textile Museum.

I am honored to have my work Defining Moments 7: Fleeing the City chosen for this prestigious venue and exhibit, which runs until September 2016.

Defining Moments 7: Fleeing the City

Most of the artists whose work was juried into this exhibit ‘migrated’ to our nation’s capitol for the opening. There were many festivities including a videotaping of artists talking about our work, an opening reception for artists, their guest and members of the museum; an artists’ talk during the public opening, a private lunch with the director of the museum, a walk-through with the museum’s curator and a group photo.

In addition we took in three highly-rated vegan establishments for yummy fare, had dinner with good friends of mine also ‘in town’ for the weekend, visited with my long-time peers, artists from all over the country; explored DC by Metro, walked a lot, slept little and tried to get into the Renwick for the new WONDER exhibit, for which we were unsuccessful & and had martinis at the Hay Adams Hotel bar called Off the Record! Then we turned around early Sunday morn and flew home.

We were dazzled by spring in DC…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As always I took many aerial photos along the way. I am particularly inspired by salt ponds, around Salt Lake City and on San Francisco Bay. People always say to me, there’s a ‘quilt’ in that; although a photo often serves its purpose by just being. So many ideas, so little time!

various salt retention ponds

Back to Diaspora…if you plan to be in the Washington DC area before September 4, 2016, go see this exhibit. You will not be disappointed. There are two floors of exquisite work, many pieces 3-D as well as video presentations and many personal family stories of migration. It is a fascinating & interesting exhibit of which I am so proud to have my work included.

Even the staircase is artful!

staircase, Textile Museum

Posted in color, Defining Moments, exhibitions, patterns, photography, shapes, Textile Museum, textures, Washington DC | No Comments »

field trip

Monday, January 25th, 2016

Torn Earth, detail

Today hubs and I took a field trip to see Earth Stories at the San Jose Museum of Quilts & Textiles. The stars aligned with a dry forecast, moderate weekend traffic as opposed to heavier weekday traffic and best of all no Super Bowl festivities! We returned through San Francisco on a gorgeous clear, sunny winter’s day. It was well worth the trip and a fun date!

All the work juried into this exhibit dealt with an environmental issue. My work Torn Earth celebrates the work of Architecture for Humanity, a non-profit firm dedicated to building a more sustainable future through the power of professional design. The organization’s projects focus on post-disaster development, design and reconstruction of seismic resistant housing.

Torn Earth

 

 

 

I had perused the exhibit catalog but there is nothing like seeing the work up close and personal. It was really intriguing to see how each artist dealt with their own particular cause. I was really pleased that my work was installed correctly and that the journal of my work was holding up well despite lots of travel and handling. Several of the journals were falling apart; some were detailed and interesting while others left me wondering about the artist’s process.

Light Towers by Mirjam Pet-Jacobs

 

 

The pieces I most wanted to see did not disappoint, like Dutch artist, Mirjam Pet-Jacobs’ Light Towers about energy saving lightbulbs. The piece was silk organza with lights wired within the layers. The engineering feat alone was impressive, and made an impact; yet it had to be flexible enough to pack and ship abroad.

Another that had caught my eye was Alternative vs. Fossil Fuels by Cynthia St. Charles. Her extensively screen-printed background was stunning and engaging using different texts, in varied fonts but in similar color paint.

Alternative vs. Fossil Fuels by Cynthia St. Charles

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kathy Nida’s Wise Choice was a piece was one that could be examined for hours. There was so much intricate detail. Just beautiful and intriguing work!

Wise Choice by Kathy Nida

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Both Kathy York’s Crowded House

Crowded House by Kathy York

 

and Paula Kovarik’s Stream of Consequences were chock full of surprise. Kathy decided to count the stuff in her house which took her six months. She then wrote all the 56344 items on the work. After the exhibit will she have 56345?

Crowded House by Kathy York, detail

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One could’ve breezed by Paula’s and think, oh, pretty work, until stepping closer to examine the stitching which was remarkable. The story lie in the details!

Stream of Consequences by Paula Kovarik

Stream of Consequences by Paula Kovarik, detail

 

 

Hope is The Thing With Feathers by Mary Pal, detail

Mary Pal’s cheesecloth image of Dr. George Archibald in Hope is the Thing With Feathers was really gorgeous.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

While Valya’s He Knew That She Knew That I Know was stunning on a bright red wall. The detail was as interesting as the entire piece.

He Knew That She Knew That I Know, by Valya

He Knew That She Knew That I Know by Valya, detail

Tender Gardens by Marion Coleman

 

I also loved Marion Coleman’s Tender Gardens about community gardens in San Francisco’s Tenderloin where there are no grocery stores.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And Leni Levenson Wiener’s It’s A Shell of a Problem about the endangered turtle and tortoise species worldwide

It’s A Shell of A Problem by Leni Levenson Weiner

Lynn Krawczyk’s Latte Landfill was about 40% of stuff in the landfill being paper products and coffee cups.

Latte Landfill by Lynn Krawczyk

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And Noriko Endo’s Woodland, another intricate and stunning piece from her woods series

Woodland by Noriko Endo

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The exhibit is up until February 28. You might want to go see it!

Earth Stories

 

 

Earth Stories

 

 

Posted in color, documentation, exhibits, patterns, shapes, textures, travel, Uncategorized | No Comments »

on old dawgs and new rugs…

Wednesday, August 5th, 2015

Last week we bade farewell to our aged pooch. Millie came to live with us 13 years ago when it was estimated she was about a year old, maybe two. She was a rescue which I believe affected her personality to being one of the sweetest and most grateful creatures ever.

We started with her sleeping in a crate at night but then she became too big to fit so her accommodations became more casual. Her behavior 95% of the time was on point yet that remaining portion she was whack-a-doodle! In her last 2 years she would frequently tear through the bathroom garbage, claw at the toilet roll unwinding several feet at a time, and nest at the foot of the stairs, shredding whatever rug was there. Then she would go back to being normal for some months and we would forget that her whack-a-doodle days might be approaching. We went through two area rugs in the family room and last winter I just decided to keep the floor bare there and replace the rug when she was no more. After all she was an old dawg!

So imagine my surprise when about a month ago, in the night, she took to destroying the last vestige of area rugs…an exquisite red bamboo area rug in the living room. The first evidence showed up as a bald spot. Apparently she pulled the tuft and ingested it in the night. I was annoyed and perplexed but the damage had been done so I left the rug in place to discourage her further pillaging the upholstery. A couple nights later she woke me when she actually tore strips from the base of the rug. How could I scold her? She could barely walk!

Fast forward ten days and now I am spending hours online looking at area rugs to replace the two most recent victims of Millie. I have spent considerable hours looking at rugs and at this point I am thinking…wha? we will likely rescue another pooch in due time. Is anything pooch proof really?!

And then suddenly I realize how my ideals and standards have changed. I used to believe that one day I would have nice things, things not destroyed by kids or animals. And now I believe that it is the kids and animals that are the nice things which fulfill us and make for a wonderful life. The rest is just decoration.

That said…the search continues…

Posted in color, patterns, shapes, textures, wisdom | 2 Comments »

Artists Culture

Wednesday, July 8th, 2015

cover, Artists Culture, July 2015

Some time ago one of my fellow artists at the Arts Guild of Sonoma, an “ad man” in a previous life, mentioned ‘casting a wider net’ in our business marketing. As an example he sent a link to Artist Culture an ezine with over 400,000 circulation. I looked at the current month’s issue and decided to send in an artist submission. I gathered some images and answered a dozen questions and sent it off.

All throughout the questionnaire were suggestions that the submitting artist be thorough in their answers, as readers want to know more…where, when, why, how etc. So I was very thorough in my responses, so much so that dinner that night was quite late. I seem to often do my best work when I would otherwise be whipping up some gourmet delight.

I had an immediate response that my work and I were accepted and that we would be in the June issue. June came & went and no article so I checked out July and there it was! I ordered a hard copy which arrived today. It’s a Blurb publication, which is well done, with accurate color and clarity on the images.

The ads are a bit humorous though; an alternative for Viagra and Cialis, a steak company and a come-hither gal for a chatline that is also available in Spanish. And I love the cover because until emoji became the norm I pretty much hated the smiley face! Now I am often looking for the perfect emoji to sign texts but never choose Mr. Smiley. I think it a rather odd cover for an ezine about art and yet it makes me happy so go figure!

The other artists featured in the July edition are a woodworker, a painter and a photographer. I am overall pleased to add this hardcover/ezine to my collection. Artist Culture is produced by Steve Bryan, a commercial photographer at Cygnus Studios. He continues to look for other artists to feature in future editions, especially wood and ice sculptors, photographers and glass blowers. You can find out more by emailing the ezine.

 

Posted in color, documentation, patterns, publication, shapes, textures | No Comments »

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