Elizabethan Embroidery, here I come!

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Look at the elaborately detailed embroidery

Preparations all complete, I’m off for two days to the Gail Harker Center for the Creative Arts to learn all about and practice Elizabethan Embroidery.  I’ve really been looking forward to this, as I do all of the classes at Gail’s, partially because so much of my work is done by machine that it’s nice to slow down and have the relaxing experience of hand work, and also because I really enjoy history and costume.

My love of costume goes way back to my childhood.  Sure, like many little girls I enjoyed playing ‘dress-up’, but I guess I never really outgrew it! I remember my parents taking us to a medieval faire when I was quite young, and I’ve continued attending many of them throughout my life.  When I was 14, I had my first job… working for a private seamstress doing alterations and clothing construction.  I tore out and replaced so many jeans zippers with elaborate top-stitching, that I pretty much swore off of garments for some time (and still have somewhat of an aversion to sewing clothing.)  When I started in college, I wanted to be a costume designer.  Unfortunately, I wasn’t really ready for college at the time, so went off to work after one semester.

Nikki and I in our historical costume at
Reno Friesian horse show

I did love to dress quite wild, either in vintage clothing or items that could be considered costumes in my early 20’s.  Then I started a small business making Rock ‘n Roller costumes for bands and fans, which I kept up for a short time.

Through the vagrancy of life, my main chapter of costumery took a hiatus for some time, though I never lost my love of it.  Then I had some fun in reviving this long-lost love of mine, when I had my beautiful Friesian mare and was showing her regularly.  From time-to-time, there were costume classes at the horse shows, so we both got dressed up in Renaissance gear.

My Friesian mare and I in full Renaissance costume 

Now, with my older son being a Viking aficionado and member of the Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA), I get to play at dress-up once again.  There’s even a chance that I can do demonstrations of the embroidery I’ll be learning at the “Ursulmas” event in January.  I’m so lucky to have two sons who actually like doing things with their Mom!

Well, I’d best be off to bed, as I need to get up early and drive to La Conner for class (about a 75 minute drive from our home.)

 

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Making Fabric

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Snow-dyed and then stenciled using oil paint-sticks

 A couple of friends and fellow CQA members met at my home today to do some surface design on fabrics to be donated to Stashfest, a fundraising event to benefit the La Conner Quilt and Textile Museum.

Patricia Belyea, on the organizing committee for Stashfest, spoke at our CQA meeting yesterday and really generated some enthusiasm for the event, as well as coming over to play with making fabric today.  Patricia’s business, Okan Arts, imports yukata cottons from Japan, as well as promotes using these incredible Japanese fabrics.  She also teaches and makes artisan quilts.

Snow-dyed with Procion MX and
over-dyed with Dye-na-Flow

My other guest today, Carolyn Higgens, is one of two Washington state representatives for SAQA or Studio Art Quilt Associates, another group which I belong to.  Carolyn and I met some time ago in an ongoing Design series of classes by Lorraine Torrance.

Snow-dyed with Procion MX and
over-dyed with Dye-na-Flow

The most wonderful part of the three of us getting together was to find out the ties that we share… our commitment to promoting fiber art in our state.  Carolyn’s blog “Fiber Arts in the Northwest” showcases some fascinating artists from the area.  She hopes to expand to covering classes and events that are taking place in the Northwest.

Snow-dyed with Procion MX and
over-dyed with Dye-na-Flow

The photos here are some of the pieces of fabric which I’ve made to contribute to Stashfest on behalf of CQA.  I love doing surface design!  These four pieces were initially snow-dyed with Procion MX dyes, then I overdyed them with Dye-na-Flow.  The top one was additionally stenciled with Shiva oil paintsticks and Seta-color transparent paint.  I’m also going to be offering a tour of my studio, as one of the special “Stashfest Insider Visits” for sale as another aspect of the fundraiser.  Anyone who purchases my studio tour will be given a choice of two different one yard pieces of hand-dyed/ surface designed fabric.

Freehand machine embroidery piece I’m working
on for my 5 x7 challenge

I also started my first piece for my 5 x 7 personal challenge.  I know, I’m not really supposed to be starting this until 2013, but I wanted to get in the practice now!  So, here’s a look at the start of my machine stitched zebra which I’m creating.  I suppose I’m still a little anxious about committing myself to making something each week.  Does it count if I make something larger than 5 x 7?  For instance, if I finish a big project one week, but don’t do my 5 x 7?  What do you think?

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A Day of Art

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Great news!  Today at our Contemporary QuiltArt Association board meeting, I presented the information and ideas for the Mighty Tieton show coming up in May.  The board was very excited about the show and potential of concurrent events, and voted to accept Art-Cloth as entries, as well as quilts.  Next, I’m going to need to figure out the logistics of putting out a call to artists outside of our organization, for outdoor / installation pieces.

From Mandy Greer’s “The Silvering Path”

Our speaker today, Mandy Greer, makes incredible huge installation pieces, costumes and performance art, mainly crocheted.  She recently returned from an artist residency in Iceland and has created some incredible new work.  Mandy shared a look at sources of inspiration with us, as well as luscious rich photos of her pieces, such as these shown here.  She had to leave rather shortly after her presentation, but I plan to get in touch with her to find out about the possibility of her being interested in coming to Tieton.  
“Dare alla Luce”- Mandy Greer 2008 at Bellevue Arts Museum
After our meeting, I swung by Nancy’s Sewing Basket on Queen Anne hill in Seattle, which has an incredible supply of fine fabrics, mainly dressmaking/ tailoring types of collections.  I needed to pick up some wool felt for the Elizabethan Embroidery class I’m taking up at Gail Harker’s Center for Creative Arts next week.
Jessica Dodge at her studio
From there, I headed to West Seattle, to go to the Open Studio/Sale of an artist friend whom I’ve known for  almost 30 years, Jessica Dodge.  Jessica actually gave me art lessons when I was in my early 20’s, in drawing and painting.  Her incredible oils painted in reverse on window glass vibrantly engage the viewer.  
To complete an already full day, I’m working on dyeing and painting fabrics tonight for a Play-date with other CQA artists here at my home tomorrow.  Our organization has partnered with Stashfest, a fundraising effort for the LaConner Quilt and Textile Museum.  CQA artists are making hand-dyed, painted, printed, silk-screened or other specialty fabrics to see at Stashfest, with the proceeds of the sales being split between the museum and CQA.  So, back to the dye studio for a little more late night fun!
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My favorite tree: Pacific Madrona

Here in the Northwest, beautiful trees and greenery surround us.  Having such a lush environment sometimes makes me a little unaware of the splendor of the amazing foliage I see each day.  However, the Pacific Madrona (or Madrone) stands up and screams “Look at me!” The distinctive red-rust bark is noticeable from afar, yet gets even more interesting as you get closer.  The bark seems to go in cycles with the rusty outer layers peeling off and uncovering an under-layer of nearly florescent lime green bark.  It has dimples and crags, as if it has been through really rough times.

Now, the Madrona tree does often grow along the rocky Pacific coastline, so it can see its share of harsh winds and weather.  However, seeing these majestic beauties in areas surrounds with other trees, where they aren’t subject to undue forces from Mother Nature, they still show all the pock marks and unique characteristics which make them so fascinating.

I hope you enjoy these photos I’ve taken of a few Pacific Madronas.  Expressing them in fiber is on my list!

You might also enjoy:
Skagit Skies
Sunshine and Sand
Finding Inspiration Every Day

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Photoshop Fun

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WA State Convention Center

I’m spending the day at a Photoshop for Photographers workshop, held in a giant ballroom at the Washington State Convention Center in downtown Seattle. I’ve been coming to these specialized training a in Adobe Photoshop for about 12 years now… Generally one happens each per year in Seattle. Some are geared for photographers, as this one is, while others for designers in either print or digital media. As my professional background has been in website design and development, I’ve been a member of NAPP (National Association of Photoshop Professionals) and always love to learn a few more tricks in this amazing program.

At the Photoshop CS6 for Photographers Class
(about 400 in attendance)

I love taking photos… whether on a trip or around my home. I see beauty in many minute details. Years ago, I was an avid scuba diver, and my favorite things to see were some of the very small and delicate creatures. I’d dive with macho guys who were always searching for big 4 foot long ling cods or 3 foot across sun stars (Pycnopodia helianthoide) while I was content to watch a delicately feathered iridescent nudibranch.

I love taking series of photos on particular topics. For instance, I have many remarkable doors, mainly from Europe, as a collection. I’m excited by trees, particularly their bark, and must have hundreds, if not thousands, of detailed shots. I’ve thought for some time that my photos would help me move more to series work in my fiber art. One of my struggles is that I’ve tried many styles, but haven’t really found my own discernible style in my art. I’ve already determined that my number one goal for 2013 is to develop my voice as an artist.  In fact, one of my purposes for having my 5 x 7 personal challenge is to work on developing my artistic style.

After a great day full of learning, I’m looking forward to applying the tricks and techniques shared today on my photos.  I’ll share some soon!

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Designing for a theme

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Do you shudder with fear or turn away with disdain when you see a show that has a theme?  It seems that many calls to artists request the artwork to meet an aspect of a theme, and some jurors are stricter than others about how closely a piece meets that criteria or not.

Moulin Rouge Deux (on right) at the Airport Appetizer show

As the Co-chair for Exhibitions for the Contemporary QuiltArt Association, I’ve seen both jurors who would drop a piece for not seeming to have anything to do with a theme, and others who were open to a very broad interpretation (such as the title had a word that related to the theme, but there was no other discernible connection.)

 Being more of a representational artist, working with a theme usually works well for me.  I like having a launching pad for my ideas.  For instance, at one show at the SeaTac international airport, my quilt “Moulin Rouge Deux” was displayed, along with other quilts with international elements.  You can clearly see the pyramids in the other quilt alongside mine.

Currently, SeaTac has another exhibit from CQA, this one with the name and theme of “Journeys.”  In this show, we had some fabulous entries which took many different interpretations of the theme.  I have two additional pieces in this show.  Here are some photos from this exhibit:

 Many interpretations of a broad theme.  After all, we can take literal journeys, by foot, car, horse, rail, air, boat, etc. or we can take spiritual journeys, journeys of the heart, or journeys of our imagination.

Rainier: Two Views by Colleen Wise

But what about when the theme is more difficult or restrictive?  I’ll go into that more tomorrow.  Pleasant dreams…yet another type of journey!

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La Conner Art Walk, Dec 2012

Piece I purchased by artist Gwen Lowery

Last Friday, a new favorite of mine, fiber artist Gwen Lowery, had a special showing of her work at Gail Harker Center for Creative Arts in La Conner, WA.  I became aware of Gwen’s work lately, when I purchased a piece she had made from an auction to support the new gallery being built at Gail’s center.  To find out more about this auction see my post “52 Weeks of Art- a Personal Challenge.”

Gwen’s work is incredible dense machine stitching. She was in one of the first diploma classes given by Gail here in the United States, and holds a City & Guilds Diploma in Design and Embroidery from the Gail Harker Center for Creative Arts.  Her pieces she has been working on currently are quite large.  One of the pieces she shared with us was approximately 12 x 15 feet ( 4 x 5 meters).  Gwen’s work is being shown internationally.  Unfortunately, since the pieces she shared with us are committed to shows, so I can’t share photos of them.  However, you can see some of her work on Gwen’s website and also on a page as an award winner from the Artist Trust Edge program for 2011.  Gwen was also a guest writer on Gail Harker’s blog with her post “Going Big“.  I look forward to keeping an eye on her progress as an artist and as an inspiration to my work, personally!

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The Fiber Funster’s 10 x 16 Group Challenge

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Last night I worked on finishing up the machine embroidered piece I started for my small art-quilt group, the Fiber Funsters.  This is the first piece in a series of challenges our group is doing, based on the book Twelve by Twelve: The International Art Quilt Challenge.  Each of us in the group will have a turn choosing a word to base the challenge on.  Then, the group members will make a small art quilt, sized 10″ x 16″, which somehow reflects that word, which we then present to the group in 2 months.  Why did we pick 10 x 16, rather than following the example of the 12 x 12 group?  We wanted to base our compositions on the Golden Mean or Golden Ratio.  This is where you use the ratio of 1 : 1.618 for your composition, making it more appealing to the eye.  If you’re interested in finding out more about about the Golden Ration, check out this YouTube video.

We were first challenged with “Opening”.   Any time I’m designing for a theme, I start with my sketchbook and brainstorm ideas for the concept or topic.  Opening invoked the following ideas for me:

  • Doors
  • Imagination
  • Portals
  • Beginnings
  • Writer’s Block
  • Purse/Luggage/Briefcase
  • Court (opening arguments)
  • Flower
  • Presents
  • Hands
  • Mail
  • Body language (open arms vs open legs)
  • Containers (boxes, food storage, etc.)
  • Windows

Since I love plants and flowers, I decided to go with an opening Stargazer Lily, my favorite flower, and fairly accessible to get at the grocery floral department. After taking photos and thinking through what sort of composition I wanted, I made some sketches. Since I have done a lot of machine stitch, I thought it would be fun to make this completely through thread painting. I broke out all the colors Of pinks that I had for the flower, and chose some spring greens as a complement to the pinks. The background I decided on is blue, to complement the dark rust/orange of the flower’s stamens. Here is a close-up of my stitch work:
Although the threadwork is time-intensive, I do love the result.  I will be practicing this more with my personal 5 x 7 challenge this year!

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Viking Apron Dress

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I promised I’d post pictures of my Viking Apron dress when finished, so here’s the whole costume, as well as my elder son Ryan and younger, Coleman, in their gear. The golden apron dress is made of linen, which I hand-dyed. I purchased the two Turtle brooches from Raymond’s Quiet Press, who makes historical recreations (from jewelry to helms.) I already had the strings of beads, which I hand-stitched onto the apron dress, in the Viking fashion. We had a fine time at the “Good Yule” feast, with a fantastic smorgasbord of both old Norse and Byzantine food.

Now that the Good Yule celebration is out of the way, I can get back to my regular creative life, at least until Ursalmas, the next big area event from the Society of Creative Anachronism, which my sons want to attend in the end of January. At least I already have a costume made now, so I won’t have to do that, although it looks like Coleman may now also be interested, so he may want to have me make a more authentic outfit.

More to come later tonight. Now that I have this out of the way, I can focus on more of the creative efforts closer to my heart!

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52 Weeks of Art- a Personal Challenge

OK, I know this has been done before, in fact it’s been done in a much bigger way that I’m going to suggest. But you have to start somewhere and I know personally what my bandwidth might be able to withstand.

I’m so hesitant to type this out… I feel a tightness in my belly… fear. Can I really say that I’ll do this? Will it compromise my other art and goals that I want to do?

Artist: Gwen Lowery

As part of my journey this coming year, I’m going to make one 5″ x 7″ composition each week. I’ll post pictures along the way, here on my blog. Notice I didn’t say fiber composition. Part of the reason why is that I consider myself a fiber and mixed media artist. While fiber is my favorite chosen medium, I think I can learn a lot through using different materials. I also think combining techniques can be quite effective. Why did I choose this size? It seems doable, but it’s also more than an artist trading card… it feels like it can be be art in and of itself, rather than just a practice piece. Not that these items will necessarily be successful- that’s part of the process. But I do hope to find satisfaction with some of these pieces I create. I think that having a manageable size will help me really work at producing, something I think I need to do, to increase my skills.

Artist: Deborah Zibrik

One of my favorite teachers, Gail Harker, had an exhibition and online auction of some of her student’s work. The show was called Black White and Red and it was all 5″ x 7″ works in values of those colors. She still has the pieces up on her online gallery. I was extremely happy to be able to purchase three of these small works, which are pictured here, and which I am displaying as artwork in my home. I had planned to do a piece for this show/auction, but didn’t end up making it a priority. When I went to the opening, I was somewhat ashamed that I hadn’t. I could see that making a 5 x 7 piece wasn’t all that unattainable, even with the demands of work, a family, my volunteer work for other fiber organizations (CQA and SDA, primarily), and everything else that puts demands on my time. So, it’s time to put it to the test.



Artist: Judy Alexander

In case you’re wondering about my fascination with windmills or ‘moulins’ in French, I am passionate about France and Paris. My husband, Randy, works in the international aerospace industry, and travels abroad regularly. He proposed to me on the shores of the Mediterranean and we’ve enjoyed visits to Paris and many areas in France numerous times. I started studying French in the fall of 2008. Between the beauty of the French countryside and the iconic portrayals of the Moulin Rouge in late 19th century art, I’ve developed a fondness for the imagery of the windmill. Guess I should add Holland to my list of places to travel someday!

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