(Above: Fiber Art Options, an invitational group in the Charlotte North Carolina area. Going around the table from the left, front to the back, right: Debbie Langsam, Susan Brubaker Knapp, Linda Stegall, Nancy Cook, and PJ Howard. Click on any image to enlarge.)
For about a year-and-a-half I've been proud to be a member of Fiber Art Options, a select group of professional artists in the Charlotte, North Carolina area. Membership has been limited to six. We meet every month. The experience has been totally inspirational, educational, and lots and lots of fun. Last Thursday we visited a new fiber art business called Meridian Fibers. (Update: 2021. This business is now closed but it was nice while it lasted. The owner is changing her business to high end home fabrics with no more workshops.)
(Above: Debbie and Linda discussing important fiber matters with Meridian Fiber owner/artist Laura Sutthoff.)
Laura's business may be new to the Charlotte area but her history in the textile industry goes back for decades. Meridian Fibers is now becoming a place for workshops, experimentation, and an exciting new location for fiber artists to find inspiration.
(Above: Material room at Meridian Fibers.)
How could a fiber artist NOT find inspiration when the material room has this sort of stash ...
... and dozens of threads and drawers of ribbon and trim ...
... and a glass case filled with vintage findings and buttons ...
.... and too many decorator fabrics (the kind one cannot find in any chain store) and all sorts of yarns ...
... and personal attention for a professional!
There were all sorts of wearables and accessories too!
Plus ... a very neat and tidy room for stitching! I highly recommend this new business!
So ... what have I been doing? Well, it was time to do a little prep work for my "In Box" and "Stained Glass" series. The available work has dwindled recently. (The pieces that are available are HERE.) Why? Well, I sold well during the ACC Baltimore Show last February, have a couple pieces in the upcoming South Carolina Arts Commission's annual Award Gala and Art Sale, have another accepted into the juried Palmetto Hands Show ... and just got picked up for representation at Iago Gallery in Blowing Rock, North Carolina! So ... I need to make plenty new work, especially smaller sized pieces. I start with recycled black acrylic felt. It used to be the packaging material for a kayak or canoe being shipped from Legacy Paddlesports, a manufacturer, to River Runner, my local outdoors shop. Guy Jones, the owner of River Runner, has been donating all this felt to me for years. I cut up two canoe's worth of felt into the sizes needed for 12 "Windows", 10 "Small In Boxes", 8 "Medium In Boxes, 4 Lancet Windows, and more. The paper piece of paper in the photo above has all my measurements for all my sizes on it. Currently, I have two Lancet Windows and five, small "Windows" under construction. I'll share them soon.
(Above: In Box CXLVII. Inventory # 3122. Unframed approximately 17" x 13". Framed: 21 3/4" x 17 3/4". $325 plus tax and shipping. Click on image to enlarge.)
I did finish this medium sized "In Box" piece. Tomorrow I'm installing The Grid of Photos at Artfields using brand new brackets created by John Sharpe's new business Sharpe Creations.
(Above: New brackets for installing The Grid of Photos.)
I'll be taking photos of the installation in progress ... can't wait. This month is filled with installations. For Artista Vista, I'll be installing Threads: Gathering My Thoughts at Studio Cellar and also The Wall of Ancestors at Gallery 80808/Vista Studios.
(Above: 125 individually framed pieces for The Wall of Ancestors.)
Over the weekend, I moved all the pieces for The Wall of Ancestors to my studio. There are 125 of them. Installation day is on Tuesday, April 22nd.
(Above: Collection of three dozen or more assorted baskets for Threads: Gathering My Thoughts.)
The installation day for Threads: Gathering My Thoughts might be earlier on the same Tuesday ... but it might get changed! It will depend on a film crew! My fingers and toes are crossed that this might happen. In addition to all the unraveled thread, I've been collecting assorted baskets for this installation. I hope three dozen will be adequate! LOL!
(Above: Opening of Studio Art Quilt Associate's Radical Elements exhibition at the Cafritz Foundation Arts Center of Montgomery College's Takoma Park campus in Silver Springs, Maryland. The show runs from April 3 - May 9, 2014)
With all these installations and activities, I wasn't able to attend the opening of Radical Elements outside Washington, DC ... but I loved finding this photo on Facebook from the opening reception. My piece is the brightly colored one depicting the element Promethium! It is made from cut pieces of Rowlux Illusion Lenticular film hand stitched with very thin red and hot pink copper wire.
Busy, busy and things sound very exciting at the moment :-)
ReplyDeleteI don't see how anyone can go into a store such as Meridian Fibers and spend less than 3 hours there! It looks absolutely amazing. Truly one that understands, not just someone who wants to. I was thinking about what energizes you and inspires you. I have come to the conclusion that it is waking up in the morning. Life itself. You may like a cup of coffee in the morning but you don't really need it to get moving.
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