Curator In Training Program: SAQA

SAQA has a Curator In Training program that was recently opened up to the general membership. They asked for proposals with a well stated and clear theme that would appeal to their broad membership base. I saw the proposal as a wonderful opportunity to learn how a large scale exhibition is put together from developing a theme, to securing a juror, designing the exhibition space and all the details in-between!

I'm delighted to announce my submission was accepted and I'll be curating, "Color Wheel of Emotions" in 2013 - 2014! I was inspired by a sense of wonder and constant excitement when exploring color and our reactions to it. The calls for entry will be available on the SAQA website in early January. My proposal is stated below but as a training program my mentor, Kathleen McCabe, may suggest some tweaking here and tweaking there.

Color Wheel of Emotions - How do colors reflect our emotions? Have you ever seen red, felt blue or been green with envy? Spin the color wheel and your mood may encompass the full spectrum of the rainbow. The range of color used in this exhibit will convey a sense of emotion or feeling expressed by the artists. Viewers will interpret the theme based on their understanding and response to the color palette and overall design 

I look forward to the challenges ahead and the knowledge I will gain. Please look for the prospectus and call for entry as we ring in the New Year.

Start those creative juices flowing!

I Won... I Won!

I won a subscription to Fiber Arts magazine! I am really excited and look forward to the January edition coming! I encourage you all to find inspiration between their pages...

Artists Studio: Getting Organized

I was delighted to have had an opportunity to bring my collection of fabrics to a recent  meeting for the Connecticut chapter of the SAQA organisation. If you aren't familiar with the organization I encourage you to click on the links. You will meet other like minded artists and have a ball learning new techniques and making new friends! It was a thrill to receive such a positive response for my fabrics from the other artists. It helped with my confidence to have  my approach to surface design  validated, (yes - I'm still feeling vulnerable even into middle age!).

Whenever I have a big push to get a project out the studio door I return to a chaotic and crazed workplace. My personality requires calm so I took the opportunity to look at my space with fresh eyes. I framed my observations around how to get the most use of space and where to keep the materials I most frequently use. I emptied cupboards and bookcases moving things around until finally I felt like the environment was right again... my yin and yang were happy!

I can't wait to go down to the studio in the morning and start a new ice dyed project. I've had a color combination rolling around in my head for a few days and I need to get going! The studio won't look this tidy again until I go for another round of "purging" so I thought I'd document the cleanliness as most folks will never see it!

The studio looks out into wetlands. We have deer, turkeys and many other visitors each season. My gardens are just outside the windows providing endless inspiration!

This view looks towards my design wall which never seems to be empty. If I'm stuck on a design I'll leave it up and fuss with it over time until it feels done. I'm sure most of you work that way... tweaking here and moving an element there!

December Exhibit: Connecticut Landscapes

I belong to the Connecticut Fiber Arts Collective and we'll be exhibiting "Connecticut Landscapes" at the Prospect Public Library during the month of December. Please stop buy to view the artist's unique interpretation of their Connecticut surroundings using fabric, fiber and found objects.

We hope to see you there!

 

Participating Artists:

Roz Spann, Carol Vinik, Antonia Torres, Carol Eaton, Mary Lachman

 Diane Cadrain and Karen Loprete

 

 

Facescapes: Connecticut's People

Last week I posted the beginnings of a wool roving project and I'm finally done! The piece is for Connecticut Fiber Arts Collective's upcoming show, Connecticut Landscapes. Although my faces aren't a physical landscape I believe they represent the landscape of the community and culture that makes Connecticut such a unique and diverse state.

Facescapes: Connecticut's People
24" X 16.5"
The wooden slat across the top and the beads in-between the faces
were made from an old map of Connecticut!

Each face was stitched using free motion quilting so no two are alike
and many are just silly!

This was the pile of wool roving I started with when creating the faces.
So much fun with so little time!

Please stop by Prospect's Public Library to view the complete collection with all members art work on display during the month of December! 

Wool Roving

I'm out of fabric for dying which always forces me to pay attention to the rest of the wonderful materials I have in my studio. With so many creative products at my fingertips it's easy to find inspiration.  After scanning the goodies I decided to pull out my wool roving.

As a member of the Connecticut Fiber Arts Collective we exhibit together throughout the year. We have an upcoming show in December with a Connecticut Landscape theme. The first image that comes to mind is a physical landscape but I wanted to take a different approach. I thought of Connecticut's communities and cultures and eventually settled on Connecticut's people.

Having decided on working with felt I started creating faces using as many different skin tones as possible. I'm still working on the construction of the piece and having fun free-motion quilting the faces. When I'm done there will be about 30 little personalities. The project needs to be ready to hang by December 1st so I should really be working and not blogging right now!

I'm calling the piece "Facescape"

Look for "Connecticut Landscapes" opening at the Prospect Library on December 1st and running through the end of the month.

Snow Dying: 11" of Unexpected Snow!

What crazy weather we're having here in Connecticut! We just cleaned up after a hurricane and this week we have 11" of fresh snow... at least we have power! But what to do stuck inside with no snow plow ready yet... SNOW DYING - of course! I hadn't thought about snow dying for months but what a great opportunity to have some fun. I was out of my regular fabric for dying so I searched for a substitute. I came across a couple of over-sized tee shirt style dresses that I hadn't gotten around to dying over the summer - perfect!

Snow Dyed Sleeveless Dress

I started with a tub to catch the melting snow and inserted an
upside down pan to keep the fabric from sitting in the dye mixture once
 the snow melted.

I soaked the fabric in soda ash and water for 30 minutes.
 The fabric was wrung out and placed on the upside down pan.

I went outside and scooped up fresh snow to cover the fabric.

I placed about 3" of snow on the fabric to completely cover.

Next I mixed up some dye!

I admit this doesn't look like much more than a blob of yuck but have faith!

I decided to shake a little dye powder over the top just to see what would happen.

Now I wait... the snow was melted by evening but I waited a full 24 hours before rinsing and washing the fabric. I know from experience that if you try to rush the process the end result is muted with very light colors.

Snow Dyed Tee Shirt Dress

 A few things to remember; I don't think I needed to soak the fabric in soda ash and water if I added soda ash to the dye mixture. I'm so used to ice dying or confetti dying that I automatically soaked the fabric. Also, shaking the dye powder over the snow at the end didn't seem to have much of an impact.

Fabric Dying Hurricane Style!

My house is now warm and the lights turn on with the flick of a switch - thank goodness! When the power first went out and the wind was howling I knew the freezer would not last long so I did what any concerned homeowner would do... I got ready to ice dye! I soaked my fabric and lined up the dye pots. When it was time to sprinkle the dye powder over the fabric and ice I had to use a flashlight. It was challenging but I went for it and walked away... for 5 days! I wasn't able to finish off the fabric until the power came back so I wasn't really sure what to expect. In the end all was well and I have some fun new fabric to add to my stash.

Ice Dying: Violet and Pink

Ice Dying: Yellow, Blue and Bronze

Ice Dying: Rose, Green, Blue and Yellow

I also had a couple of Confetti Dyed pieces of fabric waiting to be rinsed and washed. I'm still curious with how the color molecules separate and never get tired of the affect!

 

Confetti Dyed: Moss Green

Confetti Dyed: Avocado Green

Darn Hurricane!

Due to the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy my Fiber Art demonstration on November 3rd is canceled.

Our power came back last night and I feel fortunate we were only without for 5 days. So many people are suffering and we will keep them in our thoughts.

The neighbors rallied round to help clear this tree across
our driveway - such great folks! 

Please be sure to stop by the Kent Memorial Library now through December 31st to view my exhibit!

Solo Show: Explorations in Fibers

"Explorations in Fibers" is on display now through December 31st at the Kent Memorial Library in beautiful Kent, CT.  Come make a day of it by visiting the historic center of town with a stop at the beautiful Kent Falls State Park. You can have lunch at one of the many little cafes the town has to offer and drop into the library to view the exhibit!

If you plan a visit for November 3rd please stop by the library to participate in my demonstration and gallery talk.

Fall in New England

I absolutely love the fall season. Having grown up in New England I've been spoiled by the annual transformation of the leaves from greens to reds, yellows, oranges and browns. The leaves can be a single color or individual leaves can take on multi colors all blending into each other.... it's just marvelous!

I dyed cotton earlier to mimic fall colors.  I traced leaves collected from the yard and created the below "Fall in New England" piece. Sewing the multi colored leaves to a black background really made the colors pop.

The piece is 13" X 27.5" and wrapped around canvas stretchers. It felt peaceful to create and I hope it brings viewers pleasure when it's shown at "Explorations in Fibers" at the upcoming Kent Library Show.



Fall in New England
13" X 27.5"
 

This detail shows the quilitng and french notes added for interest.

Explorations in Fiber: Artist Talk and Demonstration

I have a solo show at the Kent Memorial Library in November and December with a gallery talk and demonstration on November 3rd from 3:00 - 5:00. I'm excited to share my techniques and design process with visitors and look forward to their questions.

Please stop in to see the show and if you're in Kent on November 3rd

you must stop in to say hi!

 

 

 

Ice Dyed Fabric: Autumn Inspiration

Yesterday I pulled my dye immersed fabrics from the dye pots and today I pulled out the ice dyed fabrics. Once again I was influenced by the beautiful autumn colors from my recent trip to Vermont. The ice dyed results are always a surprise when the fabric comes out of the pot. I have no real way to determine how the colors will migrate because they are controlled by the way the ice melt flows.

Here are the results:

I see a piece of art with colorful leaves floating

all around in my future!

 

Brown and Red
If I were Goldilocks I would say this one was just right!

Orange, Yellow and Brown
Hard to believe there was orange used!

Orange, Yellow and Green
Again, the orange or lack-of was a surprise!

Red and Gold
For me the red was a little too bright and I'll try again with more gold

 

Fabric Dying: Ode To Autumn!

I was lucky enough to spend some time in northern Vermont recently and the fall colors were beautiful! I knew I had to come back to the studio and try to recreate the color combinations I saw. My favorites were the many shades of green, yellow, red, a wonderful soft orange and browns... OK, they were all my favorite!

This batch was created with the dye immersion technique. I took four individual yards of fabric and scrunched them side by side in a large plastic bin. Next I mixed up batches of red, yellow, bronze and green. I poured each color over the top of the fabrics allowing them to blend together and then walked away. At the end of the day I rinsed and washed the fabrics and here are the results!

I'm going back to the studio this morning to take my fall inspired

ice dyed fabrics out of the dye pots... yippee! 

Mixed Media: Dragonfly

"Dragonfly" is a 10" X 21" piece I created by combining a few different methods. I started with a white piece of artists canvas which I dyed using the ice dye technique. I started quilting by meandering in-between and over the various colors... basically I wandered wherever the canvas seemed to need some texture. I wasn't quite satisfied so I started stamping with gold ink... still feeling it needed more I added crystals and beads. I put the piece away for a while and when I came back to it I knew it needed purple a dragonfly... or two! The canvas is stretched over a wooden frame. It was fun to create!

The Holiday Shopping Season has Begun!

My work will be available at the Norfolk Artisans Guild through October 26th!

Is there anyone on your shopping list who would like to receive a vintage gift? I have table runners and pillows made from a combination of vintage and reproduction fabrics for sale! There is also a collection of more contemporary fiber art on display!

Stop by to shop at the Norfolk Artisans Guild, Station Place, Norfolk, CT

with the added bonus of the beautiful fall foliage at peak season!

 

 

Fabric Dying and Manipulation!

I had a wonderful weekend experimenting in my studio! I created 10 yards of iced dyed or confetti dyed fabrics as well as about 4 yards of manipulated fabric using the discharge method. I had a few "duds" and some "yeahs" which are both good for learning and growing. Of course we all want to be enamoured which each piece but when the fabric doesn't turn out as planned you learn something about the process that can be applied to the next project. Perhaps the "duds" are just not quite finished yet... I'll keep working on them. Maybe I'll discover a new technique by not giving up?!

Here are some fun pieces; my focus was on color combinations.

 

Confetti Dying: Cobalt Blue & Fuchsia

Confetti Dying: Blue (only one color used)

Confetti Dying: Blue & Yellow

Confetti Dying: Blue, Red & Yellow

Iced Dying

Iced Dying

Iced Dying

Discharge