Monday, November 28, 2011

do you bump?


I am not normally one to post on this type of work but I will admit I love me some pop culture and good old fashioned "bad" tv--- and since we have decided to only get basic, basic, basic cable at our new place I am in mourning of all my terribly tv shows.


So the embroideries of Katie Beary are hitting the spot see more here.

What Box?


Delighted to have a work accepted into...

Outside/Inside the Box
Part of Fiber Philadelphia

"Outside/Inside the Box showcases innovative fiber/textile art that transcends disciplines and combines historic concepts with contemporary perspectives. This juried exhibition represents 68 artists working in media with fiber/textile reference. 516 artists from 15 countries applied with 1,316 pieces of work. Countries represented are Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Chile, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Sweden,Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom, and the United States."

See all the details and a full list of accepted artists here.

chaos, boxes, and piles.


Just a little note...this is just a little sample of my current state. We are in the process of moving.
Out house is a mess, my studio is chaos, my hair has not been brushed, and it was just Thanksgiving.
Needless to say - I am not in the blog mind this week but please send positive vibes to the insanity of moving with a toddler, 2 cats, and a husband that gets REALLY grumpy when we move.

I cannot wait to show you how my new studio takes form, my work once I get back to it, hopefully by the end of next week, and reviews of ALL the shows I saw last week on my whirlwind day of art seeing. Until then....

Thursday, November 24, 2011

thankful.


“Whatever our individual troubles and challenges may be, it’s important to pause every now and then to appreciate all that we have, on every level. We need to literally 'count our blessings,' give thanks for them, allow ourselves to enjoy them, and relish the experience of prosperity we already have.”
Shakti Gawain

Thank you for being part of this little community. My heart is filled with abundance and gratitude.
Happy Thanksgiving.

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

lights, camera, action



Last Thursday Kecia Coles from Bric Arts Media came into my studio to interview me for a feature on Neighborhood Beat. It was so much fun her and her grew were very nice, totally professional, and gracious.

They were in my studio for about 3 hours and took a ton of b-roll. Which from my previous tv interviews I always love. Film of my stuff and my hands at work. She will be editing it to show in January. I am looking forward to seeing how it turns out. I will be sure to share the link with you of course.

This week I have family in town so am busy watching my son get spoiled with love. Good Stuff.

beads and patterns oh my!


Recently while I was perusing the website of Lyons Wier Gallery I came across the work of Jan Hulig and though her work does not utilize fabric in a direct way- you can see through her patterning and use of color that she looks at it as an inspiration regularly.


Her works are 3 dimensional mixed media works using glass beads to cover and "decorate" the objects with patterns and colors that reference her world travels and the play and fantasy of childhood.


They are gorgeous, meticulously crafted, and oh so joyful.



Her recent press release stated:

Neither sketched nor planned, Huling's three-dimensional works draw
inspiration from her travels to India and Mexico, as well as imagined, playful
scenes reminiscent of childhood fairy tales and fantasies. Huling's work is
approachable yet evocative, incorporating spiritual iconography alongside
humorous artifacts of contemporary popular culture. The armatures for
Huling's sculptures are an unpredictable mix of forms ranging from Kewpie
and Munny dolls to birds and tiny life-sized insects. This exploration of
shape and scale adds to the whimsical charm of her work.

In addition to seed beads, Huling's colorful sculptures incorporate a variety
of found objects, such as buttons, coins, tokens and costume jewelry.
Huling's slow and meticulous beading process, the intricacy of her swirling,
hypnotic patterns, and the spontaneous manner with which Huling
approaches each new project results in sculpture that is both delicate
and alluring to touch.

Blythe.
Little pony

See more here.

Thursday, November 17, 2011

wanting to get inspired...


Scott Andresen

Lots of fiber fabulous exhibits in Chelsea this week. I have yet to see them as they just opened this week and with the holidays am keeping my fingers crossed that I will make it at all but...

At Kathryn Markel Gallery
Uncommon Threads:A Survey of Contemporary Quilts

November 17 - December 17, 2011

Eliza Fernand

Did you know that there is a gallery in Chelsea that specifically focuses on quilts? Who knew?
The Art Quilt Gallery at 133 West 25th Street has:

Daphne Taylor
Paula Nadelstern
Material Witnesses: New Work from the Manhattan Quilters Guild

November 15 – January 7

Ludmila Aristova, Teresa Barkley, Benedicte Caneill, Beth Carney, Randy Frost, Iris Gowen, Luke Haynes, Tatiana Ivina, Katherine Knauer, Emiko Toda Loeb, Ruth Marchese, Paula Nadelstern. Elizabeth Poole, Jeri Riggs, Diana Goulston Robinson, Robin Schwalb, Arlé Sklar-Weinstein, Daphne Taylor. Melanie Testa, Ludmila Uspenskaya, Erin Wilson, Adrienne Yorinks


Get yourself some embroidery at Lyons Wier with the amazing work of Cayce Zavaglia:


Multiple Stitches

Exhibition Dates: Nov 17 - Dec 17, 2011

If you are in Brooklyn stop by the A.I.R Gallery in Dumbo to see some work by embroiderer Jan Johnson:


I did not provide the cup

November 2 - November 26, 2011

and if you want to head uptown DO NOT MISS Fiber Futures at the Japan Society:

Fiber Futures: Japan's Textile Pioneers

Friday, September 16 — Sunday, December 18

You can see a video of the exhibit here.

Wow that is a whirlwind of work to see. I hope I get to see it all....




Wednesday, November 16, 2011

"Redefintiion"



How have I never seen the work of Matthew Cox, perhaps because he just started to work with the stitch? But I know I like what I see. (thanks to the reader that emailed me his link.)



Matthew's current work is combining stitching with x rays.


Sometime he goes for the obvious but I prefer the more conceptually thought out and pushed works. But since this is a new direction for him I am sure it will end up developing very interestingly.




He says this about his work:

Redefinition motivates me to create my embroidered x-rays. The stark clash of two such divergent materials, cloth and plastic, is the simple catalyst. One tactile and labor intensive, the other technical, and quickly a finished product. There’s a wide historical context, one ancient, decorative, and artisanal, the other contemporary and devoid of aesthetic intention. By simply placing one of these materials on top of the other the understood purpose of each is redefined.
For me, stitching has a nurturing aspect and acts as care giving or healing to the injured, a socially feminine sort of action, while the x-ray itself can be considered masculine and unemotional. Finally, my own recognition of what is beautiful [these separately became appealing to me at about the same time]. As an artist who takes on tedious, labor-intensive projects, I am also reacting to the ever-increasing presence of photography in contemporary art – by introducing the process of labor over the quick, slickness of film.

And no one can say he is not prolific as for only doing this particular process for the past year he has a ton of work to show for it. See more here.



Ok WHY is my blogger page blue while posting? IT sucks and I can barely read it as my eyes are being blinded
.



the human form.


I finally got to see the images of my work at the exhibit Human Form installed at the Ann Street Gallery. They were a wonderful gallery to work with and it appears they put on a lovely show with a great turn out for their opening.

This is the best detail of the hair I have seen yet.

I love seeing my work with more traditional mediums such as drawing and painting and wish that would happen more often. I also love the detail shots they took.


waking with you... was installed in a way that I was surprised by. I expected it to be raised up and was surprised to see it on the floor and am not so sure my feelings about that. But I love how the bed is a little unmade at the top.

How does it look to you? See the entire exhibit here and some more details of my work.

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

ack, crazy, stress, studio, and tv...



I swear I have not fallen off the face of the earth I am just insane with stuff. It has been a change filled, stress filled, busy schedule filled, last month or so and I feel frustrated as many things in my life are getting neglected: my house, my body, my nutrition, my work, and this here little blog. But I am hopeful that life will come back into a rhythm soon.
Until then please be patient with this little blog here and me and my lack of attention to it.


I did get lucky enough to spend a few hours in the studio yesterday and actually work, I am looking forward to teaching at the textile arts center tomorrow, we will be embroidering "alternative materials," and Thursday morning I will be filmed and interviewed for a feature on the Bric Arts television show Neighborhood Beat. I look forward to seeing how it turns out and will end up with a link to share with all of you. So even amongst the crazy there is much good.

The top image is of my most recent work for the Sleepers series. I am trying to decide what I think about the bright red sheet... I am wondering if it should be a darker color?

I will eventually update you on all the crazyness of life at some point just not yet.

Friday, November 11, 2011

friend me!


I wish I could see this show in Chicago at Packer-Schopf Gallery. I love Kathy Halper's work and was delighted to have exhibited her as part of the exhibit Play here in Brooklyn.



The press release states this :

Halper's series of embroidered drawings explore teenagers in their private world. The world now available to all online. The images in this series began as Facebook photos of teens engaged in typical yet sometimes disturbing explorations of sex, alcohol, drugs and celebration. She then randomly paired them with comments found on various networking sites. It is this duality of the past and present, innocence and loss of innocence, privacy and the demise of privacy that fascinates and drives Halper to continue exploring this subject.


You can see all the work here.
And their will be a 2nd reception this Sunday:

November 20 · 2:00pm - 5:00pm



Thursday, November 10, 2011

teach, trudge, stitch.


So the last post was actually meant to go up yesterday but I forgot to actually post it. So I have already taught and taken the train to Boston. The class I am teaching is so much fun it is the Push inspired class at the Textile Arts Center and it is an awesome group of students and since we do a different technique every week it has been super fun for me. 2 more weeks so I am excited to see what they come up with next. Next week we will work with alternative materials...fun.


I am working on the applique of this piece in the studio and was able to fit in a few hours this week before I headed out of town. Trudging along.
And I brought my house plant piece to work on. I got all the "stems" done and have moved on to the leaves now. I am really enjoying doing the piece and in the end think the collection of houseplant images will turn out beautiful.

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

lacey and lovely

This is a fast post as I am off to teach in a few minutes and then catch a train to Boston. So....
This is the work of Canadian artist Lizz Aston. I love her combination of materials, especially porcelain with fibers...

She makes sculptural work with or that reference fiber materials and I love it all.



It has a simplicity that I appreciate.


She also has a rarely posted on but great blog that features shows and artists.
See more work here.