There have been many distractions this holiday season that have kept me from my studio but I've tried to use my time wisely! During the November Connecticut Fiber Arts Collective meeting fellow member Carine Greene gave a workshop on weaving with paper. It was a fun and freeing exercise and I transferred her ideas over to fabric.

Below is my finished piece, "Woven Memories".

I started with a piece of my "ice cube" painted fabric and wove it with my green dyed fabric- both cotton. Next I wove my elderberry dyed silk with tulle to create the flower heads and ended up with dyed cheesecloth for the leaves. 

It was fun playing with the weaving and learning how the waves would work and to try to create a sense of dimension with it.

Lastly fellow artist Diane Wright told me how to finish the piece without a turned edge - love the technique!

CFAC Identity Show

Although the venue is tiny we hope to share our love of fiber art with the community. If we can challenge one budding artist to try a new approach than it's all been worthwhile. The Identity pieces will be on display through the month of November at the Levi Coe Library in Middlefield, CT.

Diane Cadrain's "Sanctuary"

Levi Coe Library Presents

IDENTITY

A collection of small art quilts created by the

Connecticut Fiber Arts Collective

on display through the month of November at 414 Main Street, Middlefield http://www.leviecoe.com/Main/Home.html

i·den·ti·ty ~ (-dnt-t) The distinct personality of an individual regarded as a persisting entity; individuality.

The collection is unique and inspirational

Special Event November 3rd

5:30 – 6:45 Artist Reception: We invite you to meet the artists for an opportunity to learn more about the design process and techniques used when creating their pieces.

6:00 – 6:45 Hands on quilting demonstration by nationally recognized fiber artist Mary Lachman and sale of hand dyed fabrics, hand painted silk scarves, and felted purses by artist Carol Eaton.

Cher Hurney's "I Dream in Color"

Karen Loprete's "Identity"

Carol Eaton's "Wants vs Needs"

Participating artists: Carol Vincik, Diane Cadrain, Rosalind Spann, Mary Lachman, Carol Eaton, Diane Wright, Cher Hurney, Antonia Torres and Karen Loprete

More Felted Purses

I'm having the best time creating felt and turning it into little purses! It's so much fun to combine my hand dyed wool and silk roving and ending up with completely different colors for a new piece of felt.

Give it a try yourself - you'll be hooked! 



This clutch has a magnetic closure

Connecticut Fiber Arts Collective

Mary Lachman has been busy creating a blog for our fiber arts group! Please visit the site for the latest informaiton on the group and individual artists at Connecticut Fiber Arts Collective.

Identity!

The Connecticut Fiber Arts Collective is putting together our 3rd show with an "Identity" theme. We're creating small works that relate to our perception of Identity. It's difficult to portray yourself in such a small space... I felt like I was tweeting in fabric! The show will be hosted by the Levi Coe Library in Middlefield, CT for the month of November! I came up with 4 designs... remember they are not a likeness, they are a suggestion!



This piece is tilted "Self Indulgence" and represents my love of

all things coffee and chocolate!

The second piece is titled "Wants vs. Needs". I was feeling rather pouty

because my desire to spend all my waking hours in my studio

was interrupted by my real-life responsibilities!



Here we have "Granola Girl" because I'm happiest when I feel

a connection to nature and all that she offers!

Finally we have "Firmly Planted" which represents the strong family ties

and connections I have with me at all times; my family is amazing!

Please join the Connecticut Fiber Arts Collective for a meet the artist reception at the Levi Coe Library on November 3rd. Mary Lachman will be giving a hands on demonstration of quilting from 6:00 - 6:45 followed by the artist reception. I will also be there with hand dyed and hand painted fabrics for sale... it's going to be quite a night! I hope you can stop by!

Felted Purses

These are sweet little purses! The size is just right for your cell, wallet and a few other must have items.I start with white raw wool roving and dye it using fiber reactive dyes from Dharma Trading. The technique is called wet felting which turns the raw product into a solid and durable fiber. The flowers are made using the needle felting technique and attached to the purse. Availability information is located by clicking the "felted handbags and scarves".

Hand painted silk scarves!

I've been busy creating a series of hand painted silk scarves. I start with a piece of white silk and Pueblo paints from Dharma Trading. I love the freedom that comes with painting on silk - the colors instantly move and migrate with surprising results. I created a few different styles... some are long and thin... some are wide enough for a wrap and others add just a splash of color without the bulk. Availability information on the "silk scarves" tab. 

More Ice Cube Painting!

I had a chance to visit my son in northern Vermont this weekend... wow... did it ever rain! For my weekend walk series I wanted to recreate the feeling of being cold and wet. Thankfully the sun was shining today so I thought I would use my ice cube painting technique to capture the feeling I had up in Vermont.

I was going for a stormy feeling so I mixed up some "storm cloud" paint and

 laid out the fabrics in the beautiful sun! 

 

I painted the fabric a solid blue and then placed ice cubes randomly across the surface. I sprinkled salt across the fabric because it helps the paint migrate creating interesting patterns.

Once the fabric was dry I heat set the paint with a dry iron. I'm not sure the fabric will remind you of my cold and rainy weekend but it was fun to play with paints, fabric and ice cubes!

Weekend Walk Series Returns!

Although I haven't been posting finished product from my "Weekend Walk" series in a few weeks I have been out walking! There is nothing more refreshing then getting out to walk and have the tensions of the week fall behind you and letting the beauty of nature take over. It's taken me some extra time to produce this series because it has multiple layers.

Let me walk you through it...

I first painted a couple of fat quarters using colors that reminded me of how the sunlight dapples through the tree canopy - kind of light yellow-green near the top and as your eye moves towards the ground the greens become deeper and blend with earth tones. Next I stamped leaves I had collected onto the fabric.

The next step was to paint some tree silhouettes. I used a couple of different browns, black, blue to represent lichen and finally I took the fabric outside to lay across a tree trunk and used Shiva Sticks as a rubbing.

The final step was to stamp more leaves as a final layer. It was fun to attempt to create a piece with depth. I was thinking about treating the fabric a mini whole cloth quilt... maybe add some 3-dimensional leaves for interest. The quilting would provide a lot of depth and make the whole piece pop!

I'll add the fat quarters to the hand dyed and hand painted fabrics tab if you're interested in purchasing a piece to quilt for yourself!

Another Identity Piece

I just completed another piece for the upcoming identity themed show the Connecticut Fiber Arts Collective is putting together. This one represents my love and admiration of the mighty oak tree! I know it sounds silly when I say it out loud but to me the oak tree is strong, solid and lives a really long time. It reminds me of my family... my role models have strong personalities, they are dependable and man-o-man they live long and healthy lives!

I'm not sure if I have time to do another piece but I still have some ideas in my head. Identity is a hard theme when you really think about putting your idea of identity on a 10" X 10" square!

25 Ways to Tie a Scarf!

http://youtu.be/5LYAEz777AU

Many people love scarves but aren't quite sure how to wear them. I found this fantastic link on YouTube that has 25 options for wearing a scarf! It's a quick and fun video that will show you how to tie, wrap and knot your lovely scarves with confidence.

Have Fun!

Identity in Fabric

As a challenge from our Connecticut Fiber Arts Collective group I created a piece on identity. I chose to do a small self portrait which was quick and fun! I didn't have to worry about recreating an exact replica but instead focused on the fabrics and positioning to represent my portrait. The group will host a show tilted "Identity" with the artists showing pieces that relate to their individual personalities. The pieces are no larger than 10" X 10" and mounted on core board. The show will be presented by the Levi Coe Library in Middlefield during the month of November. I have some other designs in mind for this challenge.... more fun to come!

Great Show!

The Chatham Historical Society presented a lovely quilt show yesterday... lots of traditional and antique pieces! I had an opportunity to chat with many interesting people about their approach to fabric using both traditional quilting techniques and those who want to incorporate non traditional fibers into their pieces. For all my new friends please have fun looking at the blog entries and as I mentioned take a peek at the fantastic art quilters located on the right side of the page as you scroll down. There are some links at the bottom of the page to sites I buy supplies from as well as YouTube clips of creative ideas. I look forward to hearing from you and let me know how your new projects work out with the hand dyed and hand painted fabrics you purchased!

Happy Creating!

Hand Dyed and Hand Painted Fabrics on Sale Tomorrow!

I hope you can stop  by the Chatham Historical Society's Quilt Show Saturday the 17th! I have three pieces in the show and will be participating as a vendor. I'll have many hand dyed and hand painted fabrics for sale from my own collection as well as felted purses, hand painted silk scarves, and two original quilt patterns; Little Mittens and Norah's Garden. For those who want to try something new I'll be available to demonstrate the needle felting technique with kits on hand so you can create your own unique autumn leaf piece! Please stop by and say hi!

The First Congregational Church

59 Main Street

East Hampton, CT 06424

September 17^th from 10 – 4

Admission: $5

Quilt Show on September 17th!

Chatham Historical Society presents a quilt show at

The First Congregational Church

59 Main Street

East Hampton, CT 06424

September 17^th from 10 – 4

Admission: $5

For one day only come view the 150 quilts on display. There will be an onsite appraiser so don’t forget to bring pieces you’d like reviewed by an expert. I have three quilts in the show and participating as a vendor. I’ll have fat quarters of my hand painted and hand dyed fabrics, original patterns and a variety of other goodies for sale.

Please be sure to stop by my table to say hi!

Connecticut Fiber Arts Collective reception was a success!

The Noah Webster Library in West Hartford is currently hosting our "Fiber Harvest" group show through October 15th. On Thursday the 8th we held a reception and had a wonderful turnout of visitors! So many folks were interested in the techniques used for creating the art work and where the design inspirations came from. As artists we're always happy to share our stories and processes with others so we were delighted with the 50 or so folks who attended.

 Rosalind Spann explains her piece which was inspired by the memory of her

Grandfather's fantastic gardens.



 Meet the artists in attendance: Antonio Torres, Carol Eaton, Carol Vinick,

Rosalind Spann and Mary Lachman

 

Carol Vinick explains the quilting detail in her piece.  She hand dyed many of her fabrics using natural products such as grapes and dandelion flowers.  

 Visitors are taking a close look at the details in my piece, "Harvesting Wheat".



 We were delighted with so many visitors and thank everyone for coming and posting comments in our booklet.

On behalf of the Connecticut Fiber Arts Collective we invite you to visit the show at 20 South Main Street in West Hartford. The art work will be in place through October 15th.