Saturday, September 29, 2012

"Off The Hangar: Form & Surface" Exhibition opening October 12th!



"LBD:  She Wears It Well"
detail

Eight That Create Art Group is having a mixed media show in conjunction with several other art groups at the View Art Center in Old Forge, New York.   Here are the details:


View
3273 State Route 28
Old Forge, New York
ViewArts.org
315.369.6411

Exhibition Admission: $8/$4 members & groups of 6+; children under 12 Free
Hours: Mon - Thurs 10am-4pm; Fri - Sat 10am-5pm; Sun Noon-4pm

Opening Weekend Festivities
Friday, October 12
5-7pm Preview Reception. Enjoy music, refreshments, and a silent auction

Saturday, October 13
10am Quilting Lecture/Luncheon "uniquely You" led by Mary Knapp $20/$15
members
10am-3pm Quilt & Quilted Garment Appraisals, Vendors, Demonstrations
2pm Award Presentation - Fat Quarter Drawing Following Awards
"LBD:  She Wears It Well"
36 inches by 18 inches

Sunday, September 23, 2012

"She Has An Eye For Detail": Mixed Media Work

Greetings from the studio!  I haven't been posting as much because I am busily finishing several pieces for an upcoming show with the 8ThatCreate group.  Please stop by our blog to check out a couple of other pieces I created for this show, which will open next month at the Art Center in Old Forge NY.
I will create another post about a collaborative piece, called "Little Black Dress":  a triptych with Jamie Fingal & Sue Bleiweiss.  That post will go live in two days, so stay tuned.

Many of you know how obsessed with shoes I am.  This is a genetic trait that I inherited from my mother.  That's my story and I'm stickin to it!  Therefore, it seems only fitting that I would incorporate a couple of shoe pieces into my body of work for this show.
The following pair of shoes were, indeed, harmed in the production of this work.  One is playful, one...not so much.  Believe it, or not, the idea for the first two pieces came from a decorative element in our Hyatt hotel room in Long Beach!  A side-note:  I rammed my face into this *@#! thing in the middle of the night as I was coming out of the bathroom.  The recently remodeled room added a small wall.  I forgot.

What can I tell you?!
This shoe was cross-cut with a band saw, courtesy of my husband.  Each half was mounted onto a 6x6 inch cradled panel.

The base and the shoe section were covered in clear gesso.


Working with small clippings of cloth, the surfaces were covered using gel medium.


The shoe was covered by two different patterns of white with black print.
The interiors of each will be filled with silk rose petals (photos to come).


The front of this shoe will be done with white on the base, and black print on the shoe.
Finished!
These pieces are named "American Beauty, Heel & Toe"
I will mount the heel piece directly above the toe piece.


Next, I will show the end-result of my shoe that was cut lengthwise.  I posted about this one earlier.
I stretched a piece of hand-dyed, batiked cotton broadcloth over the cradled panel and covered it with self-leveling gesso.  I marked into the surface as it was partially dry to create some striations.
The shoe was glued, then screwed onto, the surface.
After painting the surface of the shoe with metallic paint I wrote various things in black & red ink.
Then, using an awl, I punched holes through the leather and pushed the painted nails through them.

 Here is the inspiration for the look of the shoe:
Poor thing:  a close encounter with a porcupine.  Yowza.

Do your feet ever feel like this?  Enough said.

After stretching the cloth over the wood panel and stapling it in place, I spread self-leveling gel.

My tool of choice?  I hotel room key card.




When partially dry, I marked into the gel to create these striations.  I love the smooth, glossy finish
the self-leveling gel provides.
I filled the shoe with drywall paste, which turns pink when dry, to 
maintain the "fill" of the shoe after it is mounted onto the board.
I opted for glueing some loose thread into the center of the shoe.
This piece is entitled "A Small Price For Glamour".




Monday, September 17, 2012

A few images from New York

Behind the reception desk at the Hilton (in the NY Fashion District)
is a "Mondrian" image replicated in spools of thread!

Amy Milne (executive director of the Quilt Alliance) holds up a
sample of the Quilter's Take Manhattan bag.  The image shown is
of Jamie Fingal's quilt, "Metal Measures".

The Quilt Alliance board and a few volunteers are briefed in the basement of 
City Quilter, where we are collating goody bags.

Staging all the bags and supplies to be transported from City Quilter to 
the Fashion institute of Technology, where the "Quilters Take Manhattan" event was held.
Lisa Call's show is hanging in the gallery!

Meg Cox interviews Denyse Schmidt for "Quilters:  Save Our Stories"

At the evening event at the loft of Bumble Beans owner
Victoria Findlay-Wolfe, Meg Cox plays around with die-cut fabric shapes.
Please stop by her blog to see her photos of the event (much better than mine!).

Jamie's daughter, left, chats with my daughter (right),
at the party.

Sunday:  Jamie sees the interior of Grand Central Station for the first time





Friday, September 14, 2012

"Spirit House: Honoring Those Who Ran With Scissors"

I made this house-shaped quilt for auction to raise money for the Quilt Alliance.  It is to be sold during the events for "Quilters Take Manhattan".  Board members' quilts will be sold at the evening event.
I had a lot of fun making this piece because I wanted to create a black and white quilt with a play on the Day of the Dead.  Usually anything I make for this theme is very brightly colored.  Using only black and white gave me a specific challenge.
First, you must know that I collect commercially printed skeleton fabric, particularly Catrinas, those
skeletons dressed up in their finery.  I have a "thing" about human skeletons, and, well, any type of bone.  I understand why Georgia O'Keefe was so attracted to them.  They are lovely and sculptural.
I get a huge kick out of Catrinas, so here we go.
Using a thermofax screen I printed over this black and white commercial cloth with opaque white paint.
I wanted the white paint to sort of "ghost" over the underlying print.

Once dry, I used my Pentel Gel Roller Fabric pen and outlined elements of the screen print.
It doesn't "read" well from a distance.
I'm fine with that.
I like the little surprise of discovering the additional printing when the viewer gets closer.


Using another thermofax screen I created, the skull/scissors was printed with
more white paint onto this lovely piece of Japanese cloth

Using the same thermofax screen, I printed black paint onto white cloth.
This was subsequenly fused on the back, then fussy cut.

Here is the quilt back...

The skeleton/scissors piece was fused in the center of the quilt.
After fussy-cutting the white cloth with black paint, I fused
segments around the central element.
I found this cool chain trim with black microsuede threaded through it.
Perfect for the roof accent (although I did not enjoy stitching it on)!
Next, I embellished the top with a variety of beads and metal objects.

I tied a variety of keys, etc., to the base with silk ribbon
There is SO much stitching on this quilt with both black and white thread, 
and even I cannot see it!  It is lost in all this pattern.  Oh well...
Finished, except for a sleeve on the back!



Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Quilt Back Fun

Now that the baby has been born I can show the back of her quilt.
Really, this is a two-sided quilt.
Here is the front:
And here is the back:
Her name was screen printed on the back, then outlined with Pentel Gel Roller
Fabric Marker, as were the citrus


This image is rather "bleached" out due to the flash.
The truer color is seen on the ones above...
Because the quilt is very low-loft I decided to make a small envelope for it, thinking this might be something to tuck into the diaper bag and use as a lightweight coverlet on the go.

The loop is a stretchy hair band!


I'm so happy to meet you,
lovely Clementine!




Friday, September 7, 2012

A Tribute to Virginia Avery (and an e-burst from Quilt Alliance)


I am shamelessly cut/pasting a portion of an e-blast from the Quilt Alliance. 
I was fortunate to have taken a workshop with Virginia Avery in the early 90's called
"Move Over Matisse".  It was a very liberating and fun experience, and I enjoyed every
 minute of my time with this amazing woman.  The quilt world owes much to this
creative force of nature, who certainly walked this world to the beat of her own unique drum!
color logo gif
www.QuiltAlliance.org
Weekend eBurst  September 7, 2012   
 
Why We Do What We Do:  
The story of an incredible life, documented safe and sound.  
Virginia Avery with wearable
Virginia Avery in her home in Port Chester, New York,
showing one of her quilted wearables.

Virginia Avery, a pioneer in the American Quilt Revival period beginning 
in the 1970's, passed away yesterday, September 6, just three weeks
 shy of her 100th birthday. "Jinny" was internationally known for her quilts 
and wearable art, and was also an accomplished jazz pianist--her band
 played on the Today Show and for UN delegates.
 Explore Jinny's Quilt Treasures web portrait to watch her video interviews
 and mini-documentary, and see photos of her quilts. The documentation 
of this incredible life is what the Quilt Alliance is all about.  

We thank all of our supporters who allow us to save quilt history for future 
generations. Funding for Jinny's quilt story was generously provided by 
Jinny Beyer, Lake Mills Studios, RJR Fashion Fabrics, Karey Patterson 
Bresenhan and Nancy O'Bryant Puentes. In-kind support came from Michigan 
State University Museum and MATRIX: Center for Humane Arts, Letters 
and Social Sciences Online at MSU. Thank you for investing in this project 
to document the life of this great artist.

Here is a short excerpt from Jinny's Quilt Treasures web portrait-- a testimonial
 from Jinny's longtime friend (and fellow Quilt Treasure) Bets Ramsey recounting 
a special visit to Jinny's studio in Port Chester, New York:
The studio was stacked high with all the necessities for a fabric artist. 
Orderly chaos. Jinny was working on a vest for her granddaughter's
 present and other projects were in sight. Jinny has a love of bold, 
bright colors and uses them to great success in her work. With years 
of experience she is sure and quick in planning and executing a design 
and the results is always smashing. I am sure her enthusiasm guarantees 
success in her classes.

Wearable art by Virginia Avery
"Of Thee I Sing Baby." Circular cape made as an invitational piece for the birthday of the Statue of Liberty, sponsored by the Museum of American Folk Art in New York City, 1986 - from March 1998 issue of Quilters Newsletter Magazine.
We also recommend:
 

Cruise & Use the Quilt Index: Browse by Pattern 
Cruise & Use the Quilt Index: Browse by Pattern video on The Quilt Index Youtube Channel

We hope you will be doing some actual traveling next week to 
attend our Quilters Take Manhattan event in the Big Apple. 
And if you can't make the journey this time--you can attend 
virtually by purchasing a "Home Ticket." For $25 you'll receive
 the event goody bag and first access to video footage from the day. 
Tickets still available but going fast: reserve your spot today!
Taxi graphic  

Hope to see you soon!
Amy

Amy E. Milne, Executive Director
The Alliance for American Quilts

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