About surfaces...

You know I have a serious addiction to books! Well, here is another one that those of you interested in textures and lines would probably love. I found about it through Irene Semanchuk, when we were both teaching at the Campbell School this fall (by the way, check Irene's work in polymer clay- http://www.good-night-irene.com . It is quite incredible!)The book is called "Surfaces, Visual research for artists, architects and designers" by Judy A. Juracek. It has hundreds of images of textures in wood, marble, stone, brick, plaster and concrete aggregates, glass, metal, tile. It also includes a CD so you can download the images directly in your computer.The same author has several other books: "Natural surfaces, visual research for artists","Soft surfaces, visual research for artists" among others. Most of these are not cheap (however it is possible to find used ones a bit cheaper) but considering the wealth of images, well worth every penny! Here are some examples from the book. (isn't Santa coming soon? So may be you still have time to add it to your wish list, that is if you have been good!)

"Iceless?"

"Iceless?" is the title of the new piece in the "Offerings" series. As usual, I had some unexpected problems crop up when I was putting the last pieces together so I had to fix them but all and all, I think it works. With this one again, everything is done by hand. The embroidery on the felted outside is done with threads of different textures and thicknesses, the embroidery inside with 1 strand of embroidery floss.

I know it is difficult to get a good idea of these pieces from pictures, particularly from snapshots like mine! But at least you get a "little idea"! I feels so good to have that piece finished when it has been in progress for so long. These last few days, which I have spent mostly in the studio, have been wonderful and I am a different woman when I can do that!

"Iceless?"

Detail of the closure

When the first part of the box is opened

View from above

Close up of the embroidered trees

View of the box when the second part is opened

...and from above
Close up of the inside panel

Close up of the necklace

A wonderful present and help for a good cause

If you are looking for a funny and moving book to give your friends for Christmas and at the same time contribute to a wonderful cause, consider "The ARTFUL BRA". This project, which started as a challenge issued to members of Quilters of South Carolina, the state quilting guild, was spearheaded by Sandra Baker, who at the time was president of the guild and went way beyond what Sandra had imagined. News of the exhibit spread all over the country and the guild received a number of requests to let it travel to different venues. Diane McLendon, editor at the Kansas City Star Books offered to record the project in a book: here is the write-up about the book on the Quilters of South Carolina website:

"Artful Bras ~~The Book
To raise awareness of breast cancer, 41 members of Quilters of South Carolina artfully decorated 50 bras, which became the ARTFUL BRA exhibit. After traveling the state of South Carolina for the past year, the exhibit is being presented in this delightful book – complete with the stories behind each entry, construction details and inspirations!
All proceeds from the traveling exhibit and sale of the book are donated to Best Chance Network to assist women who are without insurance or are underinsured and have been diagnosed with breast or cervical cancer and undergoing treatment.
Price is $24.95 plus $4.05 first class
USPS shipping and handling."

To order the book, go to the website and follow the link:

http://www.quiltersofsc.org/

"Look at Them Ther's Watermellons" by Bev Buchanan

"Sports Bra" by Angela W. Faulkenberry

progress report

I have managed to spend a little time every afternoon in the studio and so my box is progressing. I have glued the panels on the base and this afternoon stitched them. The only way to do that is with a curved needle. It took me a while to learn how to use it! By now, I have done it enough that it goes fairly well...but it can be aggravating sometimes!

I am now reaching the point where I am putting all the elements together. It is tricky because I really have to pay attention and not mess the order or I will have major problems! I am also finding out what works, what does not and I need to find out how to fix it!

Julie Blondin: a talented young artist

I am privileged to come from a family of artistic people and the new generation carries on the gene: one of these young people, my niece Julie Blondin, is a very talented painter. Like many (young) people, she has to work a day job to pay the bills, which does not leave all that much time for her art. That might be the reason why her paintings are usually fairly small. She paints attractive imaginary pictures but portraits are definitely her forte. What I really love about her work is that, even though the portraits are realistic enough that her models are immediately recognisable, she has developed a very personal style and through her choices of colors and lines her paintings are very modern. She also manages to carry out the mischievous look of a child or the personality of her model, which is not an easy task and shows her keen sensitivity. Julie paints members of her family (her niece and nephews at different ages in particular) from photographs. She also works on commission . Interested in an original portrait? let me know and I will put you in touch!

Folk Art Center

I spent the day at the Folk Art Center in Asheville, NC, yesterday "demoing" embroidery. It was fun to talk to people from all over the country who were visiting family and friends for the holiday weekend. I had another wonderful conversation with another fiber artist, Ellen Guerrant and her husband. It was nice to finally meet her. She lives in Charlotte and I had heard about her work for quite a long time but we had never connected. Check out her blog: http://ellenguerrant.blogspot.com.

Progress

I have spent the last 2 days in the studio and I am intending to spend the next 2 in the same place! I did need this to keep my sanity. So, that also means that I have made some progress on my box (finally!) and I am beginning to put things together. This afternoon, I had to figure out some hinges and I am thrilled. I found out that by using gray non-woven stabilizer and rust Lumiere paint,

then adding a coat of polyurethane on top, I end up with something that really looks like old metal and blends perfectly with the panels.

The last thing I want is for the hinges to be obvious...so I am pleased.

Focus meeting

Focus, the fiber art group I belong to, met at my house this morning. For the first time in a long time, we all could make it and it was nice to see everybody. Since I had not been able to go to any meeting in such a long time, it was very nice to catch up. As always, it is so motivating to see what everybody is doing and how they are doing it. We welcomed a new member, Judy Heyward, and she showed us some of her work, which is fabulous!

Both Marilyn and Judy Simmons took pictures, so check them out on their blogs:
http://www.judysimmonsfiberart.blogspot.com/ and http://www.marilynhwall.blogspot.com/
They both take great pictures!

Studio time

I gave myself Sunday afternoon to spend in the studio regardless of how much (other) work I still had to do....and it was wonderful! I felt so energized even after just a few hours. I am really very unhappy if I cannot spend any time creatively. So I did make a little progress on my new box, which was started....many months ago! I can start gluing some of the finished panels on the shapes. These panels (photos below) are for the outside of the box and are made of wool roving needle felted into wool fabric (with lots of texture) then embroidered and embellished. The little blue thing is actually a little stone I collected on the beach in France and it is more gray and less blue than it shows on the picture.
The colors of the photo above are more accurate, those on the close up picture below are not.

I have also decided not to include any pop up elements in this box. The shape of the box is already fairly complex and I just feel that it would take me a lot of thinking and experimenting, for which I do not have the mental energy and freedom or the time right now. I want to finish this project, which has been in progress far too long. BUT I will definitely use the pop up idea in another one!

Lark books contest

My blog has been quite silent lately. That's because I have not been able to work in the studio at all, I feel that my creativity is all dried-up, and I have nothing new to share with you. Sad!!!

One thing I would like to pass along: the following contest announcement from Lark Books. Check it out.

"W’re very excited to announce an online Quilt It! Contest running from October 15 to January 5. The contest will be open to the public and invites crafters to create and submit a photo of a quilt. And there’s a cool catch: the quilt has to be made with 3 of 5 elements-birds, mountains, silver, recycled materials, and paper. Sound like a fun challenge? We hope so! Read more about it here http://www.larkbooks.com/crafts/quilt-it-contest"

Fiber Fun at the Campbell school

The class I was teaching at the Campbell school is called Fiber Fun: and yes, it is just what the title says, playing with fibers and different materials in ways that can only be succesful! So no stress and just a chance to experiment with techniques and products that we may not otherwise take the time to try out. I had a wonderful group of students, very enthousiastic and creative, ready to try everything and see where they could take it. The class was not about working on a project but more making samples of the different things but most students did put a few of those techniques together into small sampler or decorative pieces. As a teacher, I get such a thrill when I spend a week with a group of people that generate so much interaction, exchange and emulation.

Here are some of the things these ladies did:

A technique sampler (left) and a small "magic cloth" with wool and free motion stitching by Audra C.

Magic cloth, foiling, real leaves by Diane B. (left)

Layering of different material, in progress by Donna H.

Jenna C. made a smaple book. Y0u can see some of her pages above.

And this is a "magic cloth" done by Karen N. (above right)

Martha H. did the small collage left and Sandy K. the technique sampler on the right.

A collage/sampler made by Sharon M. (left) and another by Trish S. (right).

And a photo of the quilting studio and everyone hard at work:

And our dyed silk roving drying outside:

Many other samples were produced during the week and I hope the class will lead to many wonderful projects!

At the Cambpell School

The weather last week was not always great but the drive to the Campbell school was just gorgeous, with the sun shining on the colorful leaves. I just wanted to stop just about every few miles to take pictures...unfortunately there were not that many places to stop! Here are some of those images, as well as some views of the parts of the school ground. Now, can you dream of a most peaceful and beautiful setting to spend a creative week?

And here are some of the views from the school:

This is the view from the back of the fiber studio! It was a foggy morning as you can see.


And this is part of the school vegetable garden...and a faithful scarecrow keeping watch!

For those of you who may not know what the John C Campbell Folk School is, let me tell you quickly: it is a place in the most western point of North Carolina, in the mountains, where you can spend an entire week learning things from painting to knitting, weaving, dyeing, basket making, blacksmithing, woodworking and turning, music playing, cooking, stone wall building.... the catalog is quite thick and the classes many and varied.

The atmosphere is also conducive to creativity since every one can visit the other studios and see what is being taught and what other students are doing. Besides class time, lots of activities can keep you busy from before breakfast to after dinner if you wish. As for the food....yum! Why don't you check them out at www.folkschool.org.