Archive for May, 2014

moving art…

Friday, May 30th, 2014

The kitchen reno is 100% finished and 200% awesome! For the past nine weeks we have been living in relative chaos with art taken down and moved into carpenter’s dust-free environments. Although there is still some reno going on elsewhere in the house I am in the process of moving and rehanging art, partially to avoid completely unpacking the kitchen! Every time I think the clutter and chaos is done I turn and find it has relocated to another room.

My husband chose to repaint the hall this week because it looked so dowdy next to the new kitchen. So all the art work came down and then went back up.

This kaleidoscope has hung at the end of our front hall for at least ten years. Several times I have scratched my head in wonder as to why this would be the first thing people would see walking into our house? Granted the colors are beautiful. It was constructed from splatter painted cotton dinner napkins and table runner I bought in Hawaii. One day long ago I had the epiphany that if I made a quilt from these beautiful fabrics I could see them everyday as opposed to sitting in the linen closet waiting for a special occasion. So I made this quilt, one of the last of the traditional quilts I ever made; and little wonder seeing as how I don’t sew straight! Yet I kept asking myself was this piece with someone else’s design was holding the place of honor in an artist’s home entry?

Meanwhile I was looking for a new home for this wonderful abstract piece made primarily of vintage Japanese kimono remnants. I had designed it specifically to cover the back of our microwave in the old kitchen. The micro was mounted above the stove in a cabinet. We killed the cabinet with the remodel and moved the new micro to different wall. So I was left with this wonderful piece that had no home.

Last night it hit me that I could move this piece, that more reflects my work and style, to the front entry hall . Hubs made nary a groan when I suggested we put two new holes in the wall to accommodate a different width piece. So we hung it there and it looked sterling. Of course as soon as it was hung I thought it was too low! So wise woman that I am (something one learns in long marriages) I waited until hubs was out of the house today and then moved it higher. He will never notice!

Which brings me back to the lovely kaleidoscope piece. There was just the right size spot for it in my office/guest room. And it looks fabulous there!

 

 

Posted in patterns, wisdom | No Comments »

against the grain…

Tuesday, May 20th, 2014

I have spent the afternoon re-immersed in a very old lesson. This lesson came over 5 decades ago when I first learned to sew; the lesson of sewing with the grain of the fabric. As a textile artist it is easy to fudge on that some of the time in small unnoticed ways. Today was not one of those days! I have spent the afternoon ripping out horizontal free-motion stitching on a vertical strip comprised of scraps that were often cut with the grain or any way that fit.

It’s my intention to incorporate these strips of scraps in many of the 25 pieces in this new series. As I ripped and re-assessed I noticed that this strip in the center of the piece has skewed all the surrounding cloth. I suppose my best bet for upcoming pieces will be to stabilize the strips before I work them into the overall design, or perhaps stitch them last and not first. I certainly don’t want to fight like this with each new piece of the series. And my wrists will be eternally grateful.

My construction issues with the huge Earth Stories pieces provided my challenge for that project. Clearly this project is bringing me much of the same. Stay tuned…

Posted in new work, surface design, wisdom | No Comments »

Earth Stories debut…

Tuesday, May 13th, 2014

It’s been so long that I could not share my work for Earth Stories that the exhibit opened and I forgot all about it until I read Facebook posts this morning! Over a year ago 25 international artists were juried by portfolio into the Earth Stories exhibit at Michigan State University Museum. I was honored to have my work chosen by the juror Dr. Carolyn Mazloomi. She chose artists who she felt could best interpret the theme of environmental awareness. Once chosen we then had several months to create work to fit the theme. Additionally the work had to be linked with a non-profit which does work that benefits the planet. The exhibit opened last week and runs until November 30.

My initial proposal was about living on the Pacific Rim among shifting tectonic plates. Months of research, thought, procrastination and finally construction lead me to Torn Earth, which is two panels totaling 66″ x 72″. It took me four months from the first dye process to the final stitch.

Torn Earth celebrates the work of Architecture for Humanity, http://architectureforhumanity.org,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.

The three panels that comprise Torn Earth were created using vintage linens, African batiks, and commercial fabrics, many of which have been dye-painted and screen-printed with original imagery. Multiple panels of fabric are pieced and stitched together to form the larger work.The right panel depicts Earth’s crustal instabilities.The left panel conveys the destructive energy released during an earthquake and the vulnerability of our buildings and structures when the Earth moves. The panels are offset to create jagged edges alluding to shifting and upheaval in the planet that results in collapsed buildings and loss of life.

We were to also create a small lead piece 14″ x 12″ to summarize the larger work for venues that could not present the entire exhibit, which is the piece to the right.

A catalog was printed and is available here. The work of my good friend Marion Coleman is on the cover…a much deserved honor! The catalog shows the work of all the artists and truly it looks to be an incredible exhibit. I am enchanted by much of the work. It is a joy to exhibit my work with so many other creative souls. This exhibit will be traveling for four years so perhaps I will see it at one of the venues one day.

 

Posted in gallery, new work, shapes, surface design, Uncategorized | 3 Comments »

just start…

Monday, May 12th, 2014

If you ask any accomplished artist how to break through the procrastination and get going they will usually say something like...just start! Today after months of researching my ancestry till the 8th century when names were only consonants, sewing strips till covered in thread, designing screens in PhotoShop, trying to decide if I needed to dye some fabric for the first piece or if I had some in stash (I did), writing about the process on my blog, having a couple Skype conversations and various other interesting aspects of the project, I just started.

I was planning to just start last week but a combo of procrastination and jet lag forbid it. Then I was going to just start this weekend but jet lag and Chinese food met head on and took me out for a day…and not into the country either! So today I woke up early enough to get my walk in before the forecasted heat wave and was nearly set to hobble downstairs to just start with some discharging when I decided I really should make one more screen for this piece so off to Kinkos I went for the copy. While I was out I picked up a few groceries and the dry cleaning.

I came back ready to just start, gathered up my supplies to go downstairs where it is cooler…further enticement. In my arms were the roll of screening mesh which I now keep upstairs to interfere with vermin snacking on it; the two panels of cloth I want to discharge and paint with one distinctly marked so I knew which screen to use on it. I was very grateful for my cleared print table so set some supplies on it before I headed off for an adjacent room where my Thermofax machine patiently waits. I couldn’t see it though as all of hub’s ski clothes and ski luggage had been piled on top of it. WTH? I knew he would not do such a sacrilege thing but soon figured out the contractor must have when pulling wire for the new kitchen lighting. So once I rearranged the ski department I was able to just start on the screens. Three screens down and the carrier got stuck in the machine reminding me to pay attention to what I was doing.

So I pulled up a stool and put together the six new screens, then opened a new bottle of dishwashing gel and just started in. The first piece instantly proved to be stunning. So inspired I quickly moved on to the second piece noting the aforementioned mark that required a different screen. It also came out beautifully but it was not until they were hanging side by side, drying over the boxes of pots and pans on the basement floor, did I realize I screen-printed the 2nd one upside down! I had laid the cloth on the design wall to make an interesting composition and here in one fell swoop just made it average.

The important part though is this piece is all about the message. It is not so much about the messenger. And while I anticipate it to be an interesting and moving start to this series of 25 works with its surface design and imagery I doubt anyone will notice or say she shoulda’ printed that going the other direction! At the same time it disturbs me that I screwed that up.

Why am I so distracted? (how much time do you have?) Oh yeah I remember, the reason I have not been able to just start for weeks now…week 7 of the ongoing kitchen remodel. Since I just started to work again, I am going to just start retraining my focus and think about the free space in my brain once the kitchen is finito. After all we are closer to the finish line than the just start line on that project.

 

Posted in new work, procrastination, surface design | No Comments »

where i’ve been…

Wednesday, May 7th, 2014

Where have I been you might ask? Good question! We have been in kitchen chaos for over a month now as we update our mid-century ‘heart of the house.’ It is difficult, anyone will tell you that. I think it is most likely the chaos and unpredictability of many factors that create the stress. Yet I try to keep my eye on the prize, that we are closer to the finale than the beginning and that this too shall pass.. hopefully soon!

metro ceiling, DC

And we just returned from ten days in the Washington DC area. We had last been there over 20 years ago so when the chance came to go to another textile conference we jumped on it. There were new monuments and museums to visit!

We spent five days ‘in the district’ exploring arts, history and botany. From wonderful art collections to great dining finds on Yelp! to drenching monsoons we experienced all DC had to offer. Then we moved on to Alexandria, VA for the conference which was both scenic and enlightening, yet probably not in the way one might assume. Our final day we headed back to a hotel by the airport for an early flight. We took the Metro into DC and visited one more museum and feasted on Russian fare in a fun and quirky restaurant near Dupont Circle. That was such a great reminder to me to honor my heritage more often and go to Russian restaurants locally.

So I share with you some reflections of our DC trip. I did not take my usual hundreds of photos but did find some gems while out and about… public art both authorized and not. I noticed much less graffiti there. There must be some unwritten code about destroying others’ artwork.

incredible night sky into SF the night before we left, taken on the new bay bridge

view from our room near SFO

intriguing texture at spy museum

this aerial shot looked so much like a stitching pattern…somewhere over the midwest

reflection caught from restaurant window

downtown DC…

national geographic museum

subway art, arlington, VA

subway art, arlington, VA

subway art, arlington, VA

subway art, arlington, VA

mosaic, terminal C, MKE

mosaic, terminal C, MKE

closeup of copper panels at FDR monument

incredible copper inlaid panels at FDR monument, depicting workers in TVA projects

sidewalk in front of gov’t building

FDR’s index well worn index finger, FDR Natl Monument

Posted in color, patterns, photography, shapes, textures, travel, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »