Vista Lights, Slippery Rock football, and new art!

(Above:  Window LXXXVI.  Framed:  17 1/2" x 15 1/2".  Click on image to enlarge.)

So ... I haven't blogged since the November 14th account of the Philadelphia Museum of Art Craft Show.  It isn't like me to leave this site neglected!  It isn't like I haven't been busy!  I'm busier than ever!

First, I returned to a studio that looked as if a polyester velvet bomb had gone off.  Second, my stash of previously painted Wonder Under (Bond-a-Web) was less than two feet in length.  Third, the piece above needed to be melted and framed.  Plus, I had follow-up email messages from people who regretted not purchasing my work while attending the Philadelphia show.  Wow!  I hadn't expect that!  To assist with their Internet orders, I updated an older blog with available work.  CLICK HERE to access it.  Three pieces are already gone!  I'm in awe of the power of the world-wide-web!


(Above:  A bolt and a half of painted WonderUnder drying at Gallery 80808/Vista Studios.  Click on image to enlarge.)

So ... here's the Wonder Under I had on hand ... painted with very light washes of watered-down acrylic paints ... crimped on the sides to prevent it from rolling up under the moisture.


(Above:  Detail of painted Wonder Under.)

My stash has recovered but I am otherwise out of Wonder Under.  I am actually planning on shopping during "Black Friday" ... taking advantage of coupons!

(Above:  In Box CXXVII.  Unframed approximately 17" x 13".)

To cope with all the scraps of polyester velvet littering my studio table, I decided to make another "In Box" series piece.  Yet, this is different.  It is a totally new size.  I have two more already composed and stitched ... ready for melting.  New picture framing moulding is on the way.  Soon I'll have photos with the framing and with the smaller pieces as a size comparison. 

(Above:  My studio ... ready for the annual Vista Lights art crawl.)

As much as I would have liked to just continue making new work, I really needed to clean my studio.  Every November there's an art crawl through Columbia's downtown Vista neighborhood.  All the galleries and shop stay open late.  There's musical and dance entertainment and restaurants serving up samples.  A giant Christmas tree is lit surrounded by carolers.  It is really festive.  Gallery 80808/Vista Studios is an anchor location for this event.  That's where my studio is ... and it really needed to be cleaned.

I cleaned and cleaned and cleaned ... and found the floor ... on the bottom ... and it is still blue! LOL!  It is great to have both this event and springtime's Artista Vista art crawl for mandatory studio cleaning and purging!

(Above:  My little Christmas palmetto tree frond with ornaments.)

I brought a dried palmetto frond in a large blue wine bottle to act as a Christmas tree.  I decorated it with my fiber and wooden spool ornaments.  A few even sold during Vista Lights!

(Above:  Three large, stained glass fiber pieces hanging in the atrium of Gallery 80808/Vista Studios for Vista Lights 2013 ... beside one of my mentor, Stephen Chesley's, seascape oil and my friend Sharon Licata's limestone sculpture.)

Although I had a few smaller pieces elsewhere in the gallery, three of my large, stained glass fiber pieces were hung in the atrium.

(Above:  The atrium at Gallery 80808/Vista Studio for Vista Lights 2013.

I meant to take more photo that night but it is hard to be both "one of the exhibiting artists" and also casually taking pictures!



I did get one photo from Eileen's studios ...



... and one photo up the street where wheel thrown pottery was being demonstrated.  My husband Steve helped "studio sit" so that I could also go to Ellen Taylor Interior's up the street.  My work is also sold there.


(Above:  My studio ... the day after Vista Lights!)

By Friday, however, I had already pulled out my palette of polyester stretch velvet ... all of it with Wonder Under already ironed to the reverse.  I started new work!


(Above:  This is the basic design of a new, large stained glass piece.)

I started a total of three, new large stained glass fiber pieces.  All are being made on a "first refusal" basis for clients who have already purchased work from me.  The one above is being designed as as four units, each with its own motif.  I plan on further dividing the spaces and stitching the work using "four" as a determining factor.  The client's favorite number is obviously .... FOUR!  I hope she likes it.
 

(Above:  The same piece ... now with a layer of previously painted Wonder Under and distressing using gold and silver metallic foils.)

This piece as already progressed to include touches of gold and silver metallics ...


... and the lower two quadrants are under construction!

 

Here are the basic designs for the other two pieces ...



... which then got covered with previously painted Wonder Under ...



... to which metallic foiling was added.  I'll post more "in progress" photos as I continue to work.  By the way, the free on-line tutorial for these heat-activated techniques is HERE! 

(Above:  Our row from left to right, Aunt Gloria, Uncle Larry, my mom, my dad, me, and Steve ... with Tony's girlfriend Mara sitting in front of us!)

On Saturday, I didn't work in my studio.  Why?  Well we went to watch Slippery Rock University's football team in the NCCA-II division playoff game against Winston-Salem State University.  Steve and I had never seen our nephew, a defensive linesman, play football.  Tony is a senior and is graduating at the end of this semester. Unfortunately, "The Rock" lost the game.  After everyone else left the field, however, Tony came over to the sidelines to meet his personal fan club.  It was an honor to see his final appearance on the gridiron. 



I am linking this post to Nina-Marie's "Off the Wall Fridays", a site for sharing fiber art in progress.