Soulful Journey - CT Fiber Arts Collective Exhibit!

CT Fiber Arts Collective opened the Soulful Journey exhibit March 12th but I wasn't able to get to the Windsor Art Center until now. It's an inspirational show with over 30 fiber art pieces on display. The Windsor Art Center was great to work with and they've had strong attendance all month. I encourage you to stop by if you are in the area. The exhibit comes down April 24th. 

CtFAC members: Carol Vinik, Karen Loprete, Mary Lachman, Me, Christina Blais, Linda Martin and Wanda Seldon. Missing from the photo: Rosalind Spann, Antonia Torres & Diane Cadrain

The SAQA CT Chapter held their meeting at Windsor. The group is always so supportive when members have an exhibit. You can see some of the work on the walls behind the crowd. Co-Reps Kelly Caldwell and Christina Blais gave an enthusiastic update on a recent International SAQA conference hosted in Philadelphia. 

I had 2 pieces in the show. The first is Leaf Study I. I started by pressing the leaves onto cotton with thickened dye. Next I over dyed some of the leaves and added Inktense pencils. The individual leaves are lined and attached to 2 layers of organza. The organza provides transparency and is designed to move lightly as the wind blows. 31" X 44" 

The second piece is titled FaceScapes. The design celebrates the diversity of the Connecticut population. Each face is hand dyed wool roving and wet felted into faces. Next I used free motion stitching to give each face a personality. The beads separating each face were made from a map of CT. Background fabric is confetti dyed. 19" X 30" 

The SAQA meeting gives me a unique opportunity to
chat about surface design with other artists!

The SAQA CT Chapter is a warm and welcoming group. Each meeting I learn from other artists and get a better idea about upcoming events - lots of networking and giggles! Have you thought about joining your local SAQA Chapter? 

Exhibition Jury Day!

I am so lucky to be part of the SAQA CT organization. The Connecticut chapter is active and full of like-minded artists who support and encourage each other. The group is putting together it's second traveling Local Colors exhibition. This year the tag line is Connecticut Stories. This was completely open to the artist's interpretation and yesterday the artist's work was juried by Carol Padberg, Associate Professor at the Hartford Art School, University of Hartford (pictured above). 

Co-curators, Kate Themel and Diane Wright were on hand (and me too!) to assist the juror but once the theme overview was provided Carol needed little direction. With her trained eye and knowledge of fiber Carol pulled together a beautiful show. She stated the pieces needed to be well constructed and looked for a clear relationship between the design and overall use of textiles.  Carol said she chose both abstract designs as well as precise or structured work to create a more engaging show. She also mentioned looking at the use of color and contrast as it related to the design. Carol said the decisions were hard given there were so many fabulous pieces. With this particular theme the "story" is important to the overall exhibition but when choosing works the artist's statements were not part of the process. The exhibition was limited to 35 pieces so decisions had to be made and some great pieces were not able to be included.  

I was delighted to find 2 of my works in the accepted category... definitely more in the abstract arena! The premiere opening is February 5, 2016 at the Guilford Art Center. The exhibit will travel to varies venues throughout the state with plans for a bi-coastal exhibit with a Californian chapter but you will need to sit tight for details! The exhibition will include traditionally hung work and pieces mounted on stretcher bars - it's going to look great!

Seasons Pass

Birch Grove

You're Doing What? = SAQA CT Trunk Show Piece!

I just completed my piece for the "You're Doing What?" challenge. Betty Warner and her counterparts are putting together a regional trunk show. The title made me stop to think about how many times I've used that phrase in my life... You're doing what? Usually directed towards my son's but this time I thought about Scott Jurek who ran the full length of the Appalachian Trail last summer. Most people take months to complete the trek from Georgia to Maine but Scott did it in 46 days... that's 2,180 miles of running - sometimes 24 hours in a row. I think Scott's goal was worth a "You're Doing What?"

 The requirements were to create a fiber art piece 6" X 10" which will be mounted on an 8" X 12" black mat. The collection will look really sharp when hung together and can be reserved by organizations for exhibition.

To check out Scott's full story click here! 

To learn more about the Appalachian Trail click here! 

Here is a detail photo that's shows a little tiny Scott reaching Mt. Katahdin in Maine - CONGRATULATIONS super man! 

Fiberlandia in a Nutshell!

I am just getting back to my typical routines after a wonderful whirlwind trip to the annual SAQA conference in Portland, Oregon - appropriately titled Fiberlandia! The SAQA organization puts on a fabulous conference with workshops, speakers and hands on activities to satisfy our need to play and work with textiles while away from our studios! 

You know when you see the iconic Mt. Hood out of the plane's window it's time to get excited!

Coming from early spring in CT to this luscious green flying into Portland made my heart sing! 

I was excited for the vendor market. Here we are getting set up - yes all of this fabric traveled across the country! Marianne Williamson is getting a head start picking out some choice fabrics for one of her future designs!

I had 5 fun giveaways from products donated by some very exceptional artists: Lynn Krawczyk, Julie B. Booth, Lesley Riley, Terri Stegmiller and Deborah Boschert! 

Margaret Phillips from the CT. Chapter was on hand to help get the vendors set up!  

Portland artist Wendy Mamattah stopped by to say hello! Wendy and I connected over Facebook and have been cyber buddies for a while now. It was a delight to meet face to face! Please visit Wendy's Etsy shop to view her beautiful fabrics, patterns and other fun products! 

Here I am with the lovely Carole Staples who I had the pleasure of meeting at the 2014 conference in VA. Carole is not only a talented artist she is the SAQA rep for the Ohio chapter. I wanted to give Carole a shout out because she was dedicated enough to hit the gym while at the conference - very impressive!

OK - it's let loose time! 

Thursday evening Lyric Kinard hosted an ice breaker. She had us going around the room and eventually settling next to someone we didn't know who we had to create a self portrait of in about 10 minutes. It lead to some hilarious portraits... as you can see. The exercise allowed me to meet the wonderful Erika Close who will forever make me smile when I look at my blue faced, green haired portrait! Of course I will hang it in my studio! Sorry Erika but I am seriously the worst selfie taker of all times! 

Friday evening was the first ever MAKER SPACE event for SAQA. This was the brain child of Kate Themel and Martha Wolfe. I know it was a lot of coordination and planning leading up to the event and boy was it ever a great success! At this table we have Carol Ziogas owner of Kimonomomo Inc. who showed folks how to stitch in the traditional Sashiko manner. 

Betty Busby shared her approach to designing with paint sticks! Seeing artists use tools and techniques in a way most of use never thought to do was such an eye opener and a treat!  

President Kris Sazaki is sharing a laugh with Georgia French. Georgia brought multiple felting machines for folks to try. For those of use who hand felt seeing the machines quickly felting the roving was a bit mind boggling - it's kind of like seeing spray adhesive for the first time after hand basting a queen size quilt!  

Laura Jaszkowski shared her approach to creating miniature landscapes. Who knew what beautiful creations could be made using small scraps of fabric and limited time.

Nancy Turbitt put her own spin on using fabric markers. She had baskets of markers to share, a light box and lots of energy to help people get started on making beautiful art! 

Reconnecting with peeps met at last years conference was a highlight for me! Lottie Smith was one such friend who I can now reach out to the next time I'm in Oregon! 

Maria Shell came down from Alaska to be the keynote speaker on Saturday morning! Maria kept everyone engaged and motivated by her openness to share her experiences and her ability to connect with the group. I first "meet" Maria when her work was accepted into the Color Wheel of Emotions exhibition that I curated. Being able to meet Maria face to face at the conference was a bonus! 

Gerrie Congdon and I became acquainted when we were invited to join The Printed Fabric Bee group. We are a group of 12 professional fiber artists who create custom fabric collections each month for one chosen "Queen". In addition to creating a collection for the Queen we also include a piece the Queen gives away to some lucky person. This happens each month so follow along and enter to win your own fabric pack by visiting our blog! 

Lastly it was a treat to meet Hsin-Chen Lin face to face. Just like Maria I first "meet" Hsin-Chen through the Color Wheel of Emotions exhibition. In addition to being an internationally renowned fiber artist Hsin-Chen also founded the 
Taiwan Art Quilt Society.
At the conference Hsin-Chen participated on the International Panel. It was a delight hearing from artists around the globe discussing influences and trends of fiber art in their cultures. 

Thank you for taking the time to get to the end of this very long blog! I tired to self edit but truly the whole conference experience was such a great adventure I didn't want to leave anything out!

I look forward to 2016 when SAQA hosts in Philadelphia! 

It's time... the SAQA Fiberlandia Conference is This Week!

Come say "hi" on Thursday, April 30th at the vendor mall! I'll have piles of hand crafted fabric for your pleasure and of course fabric fondling is encouraged! 

Don't forget to enter to win my awesome giveaway! 

Some fabulous and generous artists donated their wonderful products so we could have even more fun... books, DVD's, screens, stencils, TAP, fabric packs, a tee shirt and tote - come down to enter before 5:00!

Giveaway items donated by Lesley Riley, Lynn Krawsyck, Julie B. Booth, Terri Stegmiller, Deborah Boschert and me! 

I look forward to chatting with you about your work and of course what's new in fabric design. The vendors will only be available Thursday between 12 - 5:00 so make sure you allow time to shop. 

The conference will be awesome with lots of activities, workshops and speakers. I'm looking forward to all of it! 

See you there!
Carol

Doubletree Hotel, 1000 NE Multnomah Street, Portland, OR 

SAQA's Fiberlandia Conference Will Be Here Before You Know It!

I'm looking forward to another great SAQA conference May 1 - 3. This year the gathering takes place in Portland, OR so the conference is appropriately titled "Fiberlandia"! As attendees arrive on April 30th I'll be vending fabrics so please stop by to say "hi" and fondling fabric is highly encouraged! The vendors will be there only between 12 - 5 so make sure you allow time to shop.

Doubletree Hotel, 1000 NE Multnomah Street, Portland, OR 

SAQA Conference Debrief!

This was the first SAQA conference I've attended and it exceeded my expectations! The presenters were relevant, the networking was priceless and the two local exhibitions I saw were inspirational; "Tarnish" in Rockville and "Radical Elements" in Silver Springs, MD are highly recommended. 

The conference gave me an opportunity to offer my fabrics to a national audience and the ability to meet other artists to swap ideas and network - just fabulous. I can now put a face to names I've seen on websites and social media over the years and feel more connected to the creative arts community. I would be remiss if I didn't mention how wonderful it was to reconnect with artists I already knew - it was fun to spend uninterrupted time with them!

I can't wait for artists to send photos of the creations they made from my fabrics! 

Thank you to Diane Write and Mary Lachman for helping me transport
and manage my inventory! 

It always feels like we eat and drink more than usual at these events - yippee!
Lower left: Mary Lachman, Roxane Lessa, Diane Cadrain, Carol Vinick,
Rita Hannifin, Lesley Riley and Christine Adams! 

The Printed Fabric Bee babes!
Lesley Riley, Julie B. Booth & Me

We are off to explore and view the exhibition!
Morna McEver/Keynote Speaker, Mary Lachman/Best Buddy Extraordinaire, Christine Adams/Co-Curator for the Tarnish exhibit, Me and Lesley Riley/Presenter, Co-Curator for the Tarnish exhibit & Printed Fabric Bee member

SAQA Conference Here I Come!

I'm off to the SAQA conference... I'm having studio withdrawals already! I'll come back with energy and inspiration to dye, dunk and manipulate fabric! I ordered 2 bolts of white fabric which should be waiting for me when I return.... swoon! 

Upcoming SAQA National Conference = Fabric for Sale!

I'm delighted to be participating as a vendor at the upcoming SAQA "Capitalizing on Fiber" national conference next week! The vendor mall is open from 12 - 5 on May 1st so please be sure to stop by to say hi and fondle some fabric... you know you can't resist the textures! 

The conference is May 1 - 4 with exciting speakers, workshops and time for networking. How cool to have so many fiber lovers in one place to chat and share ideas!

Crown Plaza

Alexandria, VA 

May 1 - 4

Awesome Technique!

Most of you know I am curating a traveling exhibit, Color Wheel of Emotions which opens in August. I created a Facebook page dedicated to bringing the readers into the world of the artists by sharing interviews, tips and techniques. Recently I shared Peggy Brown's unique approach and it's just so cool that I wanted to share with you as well! Please feel free to go to the Facebook page to read more and view the artists stunning artwork... it's a treat!



Changing Colors III

 

Peggy Brown Shares Her Techniques for Combining Mediums! 

I want to thank Peggy for sharing her techniques with us. The end results are beautiful and with her fearless approach perhaps other artists will venture into the arena of combining mediums for unexpected results!  

PB: The materials used to create “Changing Colors III” include archival tissue paper, cotton flannel, a few pieces of silver leaf and  interfacing - all painted with transparent watercolor paint. The darker pieces which compose the center of interest are digital transfers which I fused to the painted background and edged with hand embroidered blanket stitch.  The image in the transfers (which in this case is mostly just textured color) was cropped from one of my watercolor paintings (on paper) using Photoshop to crop and print on treated fabric.

The process: I started with the three orangeish paper sections. I tore pieces of archival tissue paper, placed them on a painting support board, and sprayed them with water until wet thru. Next I painted them with watercolor and let everything dry flat on the support board. The paper and paint worked together to make various textures and the pigments ran and blended.  I never know how a piece is going to look until it is dry - watercolor does wonderful things when left to be itself!  (Refer to photo of Peggy in her studio in below photo) 

When dry I fused the painted tissue to larger pieces of cotton flannel and repainted everything including the whitish sections. When dry I gave the paper parts a coating of Acrylic Mat Medium. 

The next step in the process included fusing the strips of interfacing you see on the sides of the paper sections. I cannot remember if I painted them first or after they were applied to the flannel but either would work. Then I fused my center of interest - the darker transferred pieces.  Lastly I quilted thru everything. The paper doesn't tear because the mat medium makes it strong. Please visit my website gallery for more examples of my work.

 

Peggy Brown happily creating in her studio!  

 

Please "like" our Facebook page!

 

Color Wheel of Emotions opens at the

 World Quilt Show - New England XII

700 Elm Street, Manchester, NH

August 15 - 18!

 

 

Color Wheel of Emotions Exhibit ~ August 15!



Exhibit catalogues available click here: SAQA store!

 

 

I am so delighted to have my first nationally curated exhibit ready to open! The Color Wheel of Emotions show premiers at the WORLD QUILT SHOW: NEW ENGLAND, August 15 – 18, 2013. I’ll share updates as the exhibit travels the US and hopefully you will have the opportunity to view this wonderful exhibit in your community. If you can get to the grand opening at 700 Elm Street, Manchester, NH in August I promise it will be a treat!

 

The Color Wheel of Emotions has it's own FaceBook page and each week I’ll bring you exclusive interviews with the 19 artists juried into the show. They allow us to peek into their studios and learn more about their approach to creating art. The interviews bring out the artists personalities complete with tips, humor and inspiration! Please click this link and “LIKE” our page. Check back frequently to learn more about the artists.

 

We have a limited supply of exhibit catalogues available at the SAQA store for purchase. Be sure to order early before it's too late!

 

 

 

 

Last Call!

The "Color Wheel of Emotions" exhibit is accepting submissions through April 30th at midnight. This is my first national exhibit as a curator and I'm really excited to see how the artists interpret the theme. The exhibit will travel nationally during 2013 and into 2014 with the premiere opening at the World Quilt Show in Manchester, New Hampshire on August 15 - 18! Below are the details:

Color Wheel of Emotions: SAQA Exhibition: Open to all SAQA members

Traveling Exhibit:

• Premiere Location: The World Quilt Show: New England XI, Manchester, New Hampshire, 8/15 – 8/18
• Pennsylvania National Quilt Extravaganza XX: Greater Philadelphia Expo Center, Oaks, PA, 9/19 – 9/22
• Pacific International Quilt Festival XX: Santa Clara Convention Center, Santa Clara, CA 10/17 – 10/20
• Additional venues may be added; work must be available to travel through the end of August 2014

Exhibition Concept:

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.

Juror: Terry Waldron

Terry Waldron is an award-winning fiber artist whose work hangs in art museums, galleries, and in patrons' homes, too. Her work has been published in several books and magazines, and she has curated and judged fiber art exhibition and loves doing it! Terry holds degrees in both art and English Literature and is a Fellow in the UCI Writing Project. As a life-long high school teacher and now a busy fiber art teacher traveling all around the country, Terry loves to show others that they, too, are born artists!

Managing curator: Carol Eaton

Please be sure to finish your piece in time and log into SAQA for the complete prospectus.

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!

More Fun with Ice Cubes!

I'm at it again! I can't resist the unusual twists and turns the dye makes as the ice cubes melt - it's my new favorite method! I fell so lucky to have sat next to Carol Ludington at the recent SAQA meeting. She gave me the direction to get started on this unusual way to dye fabrics!

The inspiration for this batch of fabrics were photos taken with the Hubble telescope. The gases in outer space are amazing and the color combinations unexpected!

Fabric + Dye + Ice Cubes = Awesome!

At a recent SAQA meeting I met fellow fiber artist Carol Ludington. She was so enthusiastic about the results of her dying with ice cubes that I needed to learn more! Carol was kind enough to share her knowledge with me (taken from an article in Quilting Arts Magazine) and very supportive of my desire to learn. Let me return the favor by sharing our combined ideas and results.

Soak fabric in warm water and soda ash for about 30 minutes to prepare the fabric for dying. Fold or scrunch fabric into a bucket.

Place a layer of ice cubes on the top of the fabric

Sprinkle a layer of powdered fabric dyes over the top of the ice cubes. Choose whatever colors appeal to you - think about how the colors will mix and what secondary color you might get.

It's really hard but you'll need to wait for 24 hours... you can peek but you can't touch!

It was soooo worth the wait! Once the 24 hour period was up I rinsed the fabric in cold water until the water ran clear. Next I tossed the fabric into the washer with hot water and Synthrapol.

  

Here are two more pieces of cotton. The piece on the right was put into the bucket first. I layered the ice cubes and powdered dyes. Next I placed a second piece of cotton on top of the ice cubes and dye and repeated the process. The bottom piece defiantly had deeper colors but I love them both. I also dyed silk and silk gauze with great results.