Carol Larson - textile artist

My friend Liz Berg wrote on her blog about taking a collage workshop recently, and that she would be posting photos soon. A light went off for me, that I too could post photos of the recent workshop I took on “Experimental Layers” which was an expensive catch-phrase for collage! And by doing so, I am thereby doing something with them, which might help me reconcile the effort.

Part of the reason the class was so difficult for me, aside from having hives all over my body and being sleep deprived was the constant infusion of toxic substances required to make such beautiful and decorative papers.

Why, just taking them out of the plastic bag and laying them on the design table to photograph, I got a whiff-ful! I may have to lay them outside to breathe, so that I may do the same.

So here we go, the decorative paper tutorial… the first one is two papers laid side by side. The left side was a stamping with ochre gouache on Bristol board, with India ink applied on top. When the ink dried, the paper was scrubbed under running water to show the stamp beneath. The piece on the right was rice paper, shibori dyed, soy wax batik and dye painted on top. Cool!

These two images are of collages made with gel medium. The 2nd piece was designed on china silk stretched on a frame and gel medium’d to an inch of it’s life. It dried like plastic.

The next three are soy wax batik on paper. The first and third are Masa paper while the second is guess what? A sanitary napkin bag from the ladies loo!

This folded number is rice paper shibori. A very cool way to use up leftover dyes.

And the last two are dyes and bleach on watercolor paper, with a small collage laid on top.

There, you have my decorative paper collection and debut, all in one easy step! I could stitch them to cloth and truly have mixed media, but at the moment that does not appeal to me in the least, unless I can sew wearing my respirator!

Months ago I posted a comment to Rayna Gillman’s blog about working in a series. She later mentioned something about permission for publication, I said uh-ah without too much thought and next thing I know I am in print, stating that working in a series would bore me to tears!

If there were a theme to my life in this century, it would be, never say never! For just as soon as I do, I am doing what I said I would never do! Currently, I am working on three pieces simultaneously, so this might be a good time for some clarification. What I meant was, it would bore me to tears to do 472 near identical quilts.

We all know those reknowned quilt artists, who shall remain nameless, who make work that ALL looks alike. In my mind’s eye, they have mastered the technique and it is now time to move on. But clearly it works for some of them, as their work continually is juried into prestigious venues. You can’t tell me there is a juror on the planet who does not recognize their work.

Recently I have designed several pieces of work, that are inter-related. I found great joy in designing cloth inspired by ancient dwellings, such as the one at Bandelier, above, and incorporating into an art quilt design. Used to be, in the olden days, I had to finish a piece of work before I could even think about starting another. Now, I am loving designing when the muse hits, and then stitching a stack later. When I add to my website, a bunch go up at once.

I have always been characterized as being “outspoken.” When I was a girl, I did not perceive it as a compliment. Of course, I was drawn to the painfully shy. I met and married one, gave birth to another, am related to one, befriended two and have spent a goodly portion of my life playing charades and practicing clairvoyancy. Slowly, I have come to listen to my gut and not said exactly everything that popped into my head. Wow, now there’s a cool concept.

The blog comment might have been such a moment. Perhaps, I might have said instead that while I prefer to not design 472 identical quilts, I do love to dabble in creating, stretching and re-creating an interesting idea. In the meantime, I am searching for the grey poupon.

Today is day five of the cold from hell and I actually feel somewhat human again. I had acupuncture today and discussed my personal findings on the cause of all my recent health maladies. After much consternation, I had come up with a one word answer: yogurt! As a lactose intolerant gal of two decades, last fall I was enlightened as to the properties of Brown Cow yogurt by two also lactose intolerant Art Cloth Network chums. So I came home from the retreat and began my quest of Brown Cow yogurt. Although it is obviously from cow, apparently lactose intolerants are more tolerant of this brand. So I started in slowly and soon was enraptured with how much yogurt tastes like ice cream, which I also have not eaten in 20 years. (nor butter, cheese, pizza, cheesecake, etc etc etc…am I resentful? noooooo or make that moooooooooooooooooooo!) So I have had my 1/2 small container of Brown Cow with my berries and almonds every morning since. Only when I was traveling was I not consuming.

So putting this all together, I discovered that after two recent trips when I was abstaining from the Cow, I returned home to indulge and voila! had a reaction of some bizarre sort. What I learned today is that the change of the seasons in the evolutionary cave(wo)man’s body also created havoc. Apparently, this does not happen in fall because (wo)man is pre-disposed to hibernation, so going into winter is not a shock to the body’s digestion. But coming out of winter is. There is so much energy and so much blooming (if caveperson lives in decent climate) that the evolutionary body is overwhelmed and in my case, being one of sensitive physiology just went wacko.

With this brilliant consensus I did allow her to stick needles in my sinuses and already I am feeling like a new cave(wo)man. The other incredibly interesting tidbit about all this (yes, I can tell you are hanging on every word) is I probably can enjoy the Brown Cow yogurt year round, except in Spring! Well, OK, then.

On another note, I read in my local weekly rag this morning that the 22 yr old kid next door left in March to walk across the US, in an effort to shed the 60# he put on in the previous eight months . He had returned to the nest after hitchhiking through Europe, and resumed his former nerd habits of videogame playing and junk food. So I logged onto his blog and read all about his journey so far. What I particularly love about this story is how isolated we have become, that this kid who lives just yards from my front door walked past my house on his walk across America and never bothered to mention it! He is a great kid; yet his blog exempflies the sarcastic wit of kids who have been over-indulged and how efforts to educate him, failed. Perhaps this is his best educational effort so far.

My personal wish for him is that he finds his own passion while he is out there, and it changes his life . And I am more than grateful that I am not his mother! I thought I had worries when my college-aged daughter drove across the country. Sheesh. Imagine your kid out there walking?!

Is the flu virus male? Look at this copyright-free photo and one might think so. Rather I guess it means I am getting better that I even have the energy to search for such things.

Right after I wrote about finding balance and embracing our beautiful spring weather, a chill blew in, in many forms. What I thought was initially a touch of pollen allergy morphed into a cold, or so I thought, until it ratcheted up into the flu. After now four weeks on ongoing body stuff, I say ENOUGH ALREADY!

There are distinct advantages to being sick. One can languish in bed indefinitely, get out of exercising, miss scheduled but necessary business appointments and watch hours of mindless television, which ordinarily could not be tolerated. Did you know you could learn more about current subjects watching four women talk simultaneously for 40 minutes on The View, than you can in watching six hours of “the news”?

It is however quite difficult to stitch much without shoving tissue up one’s nostrils. Last night the fever broke, so now I am patiently waiting for the rest of it to vamoose, at precisely the moment my car is released from the mechanic.

I realize there is nothing fabulous and fascinating about my having the flu, so I will stop. This is one of those times when I miss my mother. Husbands lack those nurturing skills that only Mom possessed. Why last night I made my own chicken soup and my soul was quite grateful for it!

Today I finally got the rest of my Philadelphia paperwork done; receipts filed, class notes translated, mail sorted etc. The next step is to do the same in the studio, where I unpacked my luggage and much still remains on the table. But alas, it is a glorious springy Saturday in the other P-town, so instead I went outside to read mail on the deck, where it is currently 82 degrees! Fabulous.
Hubby’s organic art quilt is in full bloom, so I share these shots with those who are still stuck in the throes of winter back East. If it seems you too cannot resist the call of the West, bring your wallet and patience. We just paid a record $4.09 for gas that was $3.21 last weekend in PA and the traffic here is never-ending. One wonders how high the gas must go before people stop driving.

I have stopped, temporarily. Yesterday my car died and I had to have it towed to the mechanic. Of course it was Friday afternoon, so nothing can be done until Monday. I am enjoying a no excuses weekend at home. I could take hubby’s car, or even rent one, but I am enjoying just being back in my nest. And who knew, there might be some incredible designs on the garage floor? This one was right beneath where my chariot rests. Another print screen in the making!

So while I was reading mail on the deck, I came across Quilting Arts magazine. I love this magazine, but the more I read it, the more I became aware of just how overwhelmed I personally have become by the constant onslaught of visual imagery. For most artists it is essential to be somewhat of a recluse, in order to create work. However, it is also important to have quiet and reflective time, time with friends, develop community, etc etc etc. So as part of my own process I have subscribed to 3 (at present) textile magazines.

Lately, I have begun to feel that maybe I should be cancelling these subscriptions and instead be reading Archeology Today (which hubby subscribes to) or House Beautiful or Interior Design or anything that does not have one single hot idea, tip, technique, conference, seminar, class, workshop, tour or competition. How can we create beautiful, unique work when we are constantly bombarded with imagery of other people’s beautiful and unique work? How can we create beautiful, unique work when we are continually seduced by this class, that workshop, this cruise, that retreat? One could in reality just go to classes and workshops and never do their own work! (says she who has been to two classes in two months after a 6 yr hiatus)

My other big beef, and then I will be silent once more is that there are much too many fiber books on the market. It seems everyone who sneezes writes a book. Enough already!!! The market is saturated with stuff: books, classes, retreats, exhibitions. And then I remember, oh yeah, quilting is an industry! The life of a recluse becomes more appealing by the day.

Very late last night I returned from a week in the Philadelphia area, where spring has barely sprung. It was a wild and crazy time as I battled sleep deprivation, stress, and hives. I attended the SDA-SAQA Symposium, a 3-day Experimental Layers workshop and the opening for Art Quilt Elements. The best part was a chance to schmooze with many of my cross-country chums from the various groups to which I belong…. the Art Cloth Network (Maggie, Judy, Rayna, Barbara and Sue), CFA (Deborah, Susan, Marina), local SAQA region (Marina and Cara) and the SAQA Board folks with whom I have ongoing relations. Additionally meeting lots of people whose names and e-mail conversations I knew, but not their faces.

I attended two great lectures; one by Jason Pollen and Michael Olszewski on breaking through creative blocks. They were really interesting as two art professors with very differing ways of working and dealing with down time. They spoke about finding our voice in our work (or rather it finding us) and how it continually changes. The keynote speech by Susan Brandeis was fabulous. She spoke very eloquently, calmly and softly on Living a Creative Life.

Cara and I went AWOL from the tardy school bus field trip, and took her rental car with GPS to several galleries on Sunday as well as the Design Center, the CAD and digital design lab at Philadelphia University. My daughter got her BS Fashion Design there in 2001 when it was called Philadelphia College of Textiles and Science. It was interesting to see that several new buildings had sprouted up in addition to the name change.

All in all, it was an educational field trip. Some of what I learned was…

1. GPS will always take you through the ghetto

2. It is quite possible to forget in 7 years how to find your daughter’s alma mater.

3. East Coasters still believe Californians are wacky, but do acknowledge that all good trends start here

4. East Coasters throw out recyclable garbage because it is not yet picked up curbside

5. I am not the doormat I was 30 years ago

6. I am more flexible than most

7. I love spontaneity

8. I met some really great artistic women by inviting them to join me for dinner

9. Class descriptions are open to many interpretations

10. Brand new art centers do not appreciate artists spraying fixative on their new stone walls…oops

11. There are three Rite-Aids in one mile in Wayne, PA

12. Old society still rules on the Main Line in PA

13. If you take anti-histimine only at night, it is possible for hives to never go away

14. The bathroom walls in an art gallery may be as fascinating as the commercial space
this is the loo at the Snyderman Gallery

15. It is always possible to push one more thing into a suitcase…the heavy tag said it weighed 58 pounds! Who knew I could heft that?

16. Textilians are always willing to buy more fabric so the vendor does not have to ship it home.

17. If I ever win the lottery again, I will buy a private plane and hire a pilot, so that when I am thirsty in flying cross country, I can have something to drink!

18. If you are going to upgrade to first class, it’s best to know how all the equipment works so you don’t come across as some hick.

19. People who often are annoying at home become very intriquing on holiday, and vice versa

20. Not everyone is as environmentally aware as I am. Imagine a classroom setting inhaling polyurethane, beeswax and gloss medium fumes x 3 days. Yuck!

21. Never ever ask your spouse if you were missed; for he may only smirk and not answer the question. Hmmmm…