Monday, March 27, 2017

Blog post for Invaluable about buying artwork

About a month ago, I discovered Invaluable and was inspired to make a blog post about buying art.
Invaluable is a platform that works with thousands of independent auction houses to get their products online. I'm sure they receive plenty of questions with regards to "buying art".  After all, I hear this question a lot too.  Maybe I'm asked this question because my husband, Steve Dingman and I have been buying original art for a lot longer than I’ve been a professional artist.  Plus, our “day jobs” (for the last thirty years) are as certified, professional picture framers. We’ve seen plenty … from clients collecting Wolf Kahn pastels to souvenir caricatures from Disney World to 18th century antiquarian maps to hand stitched molas from Central America and more. Unfortunately, we've also know too many clients who have bought reproductions but thought they were making a wise investment choice.  So,  I actually do have an opinion, advise, and food-for-thought with regards to buying original art.

First and foremost (and you don’t really have to read beyond this bullet point), BUY WHAT YOU LOVE. Let’s face it, artwork is personal and you are the one who will be looking at it every day.

Let me tell you about a framing client who came to my business, Mouse House, with a big blue bird picture she found in her husband’s attic. His first wife liked it; he hated it and put it in the attic. He was surprised that his second wife thought it perfect for over the sofa … if it got a new mat. It was stuck to the old, acid-laden mat with double-faced tape. My client said, “Just pull it off”.

“NO! This is an original Havell double-elephant folio Audubon lithograph. It needs professional conservation! NOW!” I dialed Ginny Newell at Renewell Conservation and managed to get my client in her door immediately.

A couple months later, my client returned. She was grateful and elated. The work was valuable. It had been restored properly; I framed it; it went over her living room sofa.

The moral of the story is this: My client loved that blue egret before she knew it had any value. She wanted to live with it, enjoy it every day. Her husband hated it; he was happy for his new wife but that didn’t mean he liked that blue bird any more than when he put it in the attic. The value was just icing on the cake, a rationalization for why it was once again hanging in his house. When buying art, be sure you love it. If it has value, let it be the icing. If it turns out to have no value, you’ll still love it … because that’s the prime reason for buying art.

Second, be informed. I started framing artwork when the rage was “signed, number, limited edition prints”. These are NOT original artworks. During the late 20th century (and continuing into the 21st century … because there’s still a “fool born every minute”), unscrupulous and/or utterly naive art dealers and greedy/naive artists touted these “prints” as investments. They often came with certificates of authenticity. Some were “artist’s proofs” and said to be “better”. None of this is true … not in the least. It was a contemporary ploy using 19th century and earlier print-making vocabulary. In the process, the very work “print” was undermined. (By the way, I never peddled any of these “prints”. I stuck to antiquarian images … real prints pulled from a real press.)

Real “prints” are pulled from a press. They fall into two categories, intaglio and lithography. There are all sorts of them … etchings, mezzotints, chromolithographs, woodcut and lino-cut engravings, steel and copper-plate engravings, stone lithographs, etc. Multiple images can be pulled from the same “plate” but no two are exactly alike.

The confusion comes with the fact that 20th century advances provided perfect ways to reproduce images … by “off-set lithography”. This is a four-color process and should not be confused with “real lithography”. Off-set lithography is easily detectable with even low magnification. A dot-matrix is obvious. (Get a photo loupe or a good, hand-held magnifier and take a look!) This printing process is exactly the same as a magazine, newspaper, most contemporary poster, etc. Thus, signed and limited edition prints are all exactly alike. The “artist’s proof prints” are exactly like the rest of the edition. The first print is the same as the last. There is no “first state” or “second state” … and the lower numbers aren’t “better” than any other image in the run. In fact, all of these prints are simply reproducing an image made by an artist in other medium … an oil painting made available for mass consumption or a mixed-media work in multiples meant to be sold for a profit.

Sure, I understand why they are made. Artists need to make a living. (I need to make at living … but not this way!) They can sell “reproductions” of their best work and don’t have to call them “reproductions”. They call them “signed, numbered limited edition prints”. Artists and publishers agree only to produce a certain number … but they can still use the image in another size or format … like a calendar, coffee mug, note cards, etc. The artist/publisher is not handing over a guarantee, copyright, or binding contract of any kind. They are selling copies, period. (By the way, photographers often number their images. If made in a dark-room, a numbered photograph should always be considered “real” art!)

The moral of this story is: Buy original … and know what the word “original” means. When it comes to “prints”, original does NOT mean a four-color off-set lithography.

Finally (“finally”, so to speak, as I might want to write another post with additional opinions with regards to buying and selling original art), buy the best you can afford and don’t be afraid to use the Internet to vet an artist. Most artists working today have an Internet presence. Look them up. Look at their exhibition record. Look for their gallery representation. Send a potential artist an email or contact him/her on Facebook. Artwork can be so much more personal when there is a connection to the artist. If a direct connection isn’t possible, research the artist to see whether other works also resonate. The more a person learns about the maker, the more enjoyment is possible when living with one of his/her creations. Personally, I have artwork that has absolutely no possibility of acquiring any future, monetary value, but I still love the story behind each piece and the individual personality that is shared through the work. I have no regret over any such purchase. I also have artwork that has increased exponentially since my initial investment. I bought each work because I loved the image and wanted to support the artist. Every time these works rise in price, I simply feel lucky. It doesn’t change a thing about how I view the actual artwork. Investing in artwork is risky but if every investment is a work that brings daily joy, the risk is minimal.

As for me, I am writing this blog post from Florence, Italy where over the last few days I’ve seen the works commissioned by long-gone wealthy dynasties ... works I studied when earning a BA in Medieval and Renaissance Studies with a concentration in early Italian Renaissance art. I love the work of Giotto, Simone Martini, Duccio, Gentile da Fabriano, Botticello, Donatello, Brunellschi, Masaccio, Lorenzo Ghiberti, etc. I will never know if anything I ever make will last like these masterpieces. (Probably not!) It doesn’t matter. Many of these Renaissance artists were working in different directions at relatively the same time. They had patrons … people who loved there style and wanted to possess it. Everything didn’t last through the centuries. The future cannot be perfectly foretold, but the investments made back then were decisions made by people who loved the work they were paying for. That’s the important thing!

I stitch pieces that reflect my passion of architectural patterns, layers of fabric, textural surfaces, and environmental concerns. I put together installations meant to touch those who enter the space, probing questions about mortality, remembrance, and personal legacy. I live with artwork made by friends and creative personalities that are attuned to my soul whether I know them or not. I’ve run out of wall space but will continue to purchase … because I love and want to live around these works of art.

Saturday, March 25, 2017

Pilgrimage to Florence, Italy

(Above:  Steve with Dolly and Sims Patton at the banks of the Arno River with the Ponte Vecchio in the background.  Click on any image to enlarge.)

Buongiorno!

That's "Good Day" in Italian!  Steve and I are in the midst of a week in Florence.  Why?  Well ... it's all Sims Patton's fault.  She wanted to spend her spring break from Clemson University in Italy.  Her mother, Dolly, is our best friend ... the wonderful person who watches our cat Max when we travel.  Dolly asked Steve to keep a look-out for affordable airline tickets.  Early on Thanksgiving week, Steve found them and couldn't help himself.  He booked Dolly and Sims early in the week to Rome; he booked us mid-week to Florence.  Truly, the price was amazing, impossible to resist!  Dolly and Sims spent half their week in Rome and then traveled for a couple days to Florence ... where we met them on our first day for an extravagant lunch near the Bargello Museum.  

(Above:  Me near a lion sculpture at the Loggia Signoria ... with the reproduction of Michelangelo's David in the background ... just outside the Palazzo Vecchio.)

Since that lunch, Steve and I have been going full force.  Of course we are!  This is Florence1  To do Florence properly, one needs more than a week.  I know!  For me, this is a pilgrimage.  The last time I visited was during the summer of 1980.  I had just graduated from The Ohio State University with a degree in Medieval and Renaissance Studies (concentrating on early Italian Renaissance art).  I turned twenty-one years old en route to Florence (in Padua ... at Giotto's Arena Chapel ... truly a profound, spiritual, and ever so memorable experience.)  I still have my 1963 art history guide book and the very detailed journal I kept during the trip.  Steve, however, had never been to Florence.  Sure ... we once went "to Italy" in 2003 but I insisted that we NOT drive into Florence for a mere afternoon.  Florence can't be done in a day ... or even the week we now have ... but I'm giving it my best effort.  We are up and at ticket counters (using our Firenze passes) before the typical 8:15 tourist opening hours.  We are going hard until everything closes.

(Above:  Steve snapping a cell phone photo from the edge of the Duomo's cupola.  I stayed nicely flat against the building instead of venturing to the edge of the overlook!)

Thus far, we've visited The Palazzo Vecchio, including the tower, the Museo Nazionale del Bargello, San Lorenzo, San Miniato at Monte and the historic cemetery, Piazzale Michelangelo, Santa Maria Novella, Santissima Annuniziata, Santa Maria del Fiore (the Duomo) ... including the cupola tour, the archeological remains of the prior structure, the museum, the Baptistry, Giotto's campanile (bell tower) ... and the church itself (all separate tickets!!!), The Chappelle Medicee, the Galleria Dell'Accadmia, the Museo di San Marco, the Ognissanti Church, and walked through too many gorgeous public squares to list. 

(Above:  My gorgeous husband ... posing as if Michelangelo's David.  Please note, he's carrying my purse ... he might not be an innocent, youthful, sling-shot-thrower but he's truly a modern man!)

Please don't get me wrong!  Although I'm dragging Steve to all my most beloved haunts from thirty-seven years ago, we are having FUN!  Steve posed for me ...

 (Above:  Me with the bronze wild boar at the near by market.  People rub the nose for luck.)

... and I posed for him beside the bronze wild boar.  Why?  Well, on the Chinese astrological chart, I'm a boar. Don't we look alike? LOL! Steve and I have a full agenda for tomorrow which is before our three-day Firenze card expires.  We have other locations to visit on Monday and Tuesday before heading home.

 (Above:  The Duomo from the tower of the Palazzo Vecchio.)

Because it is already late here in Florence, I had to select just a few of the over 800 images I've already shot for this blog post.  Thus, below are some of the images from the past three days with brief captions. We'll be up early tomorrow for the Uffizi, Santa Croce, and to see Bill Viola's installation/video exhibition at the Palazzo Strozzi ... before Orsanmichele and the Pitti Palace on Monday.  When I return, I'll blog more images ... as I'm obsessed with graffiti, doorways, and unusual details.  Enjoy the rest of this post! 

Arrivederci!

 (Above: We might be in the city ... but the landscape includes view of nature, especially the trees that are so very indicative of Tuscany.)

(Above:  The Ponte Vecchio at night.  We have crossed this bridge every evening.  The nearest grocery store is just over the river from our lovely, fourth floor Air BnB apartment.  The rental unit includes a full kitchen.  Steve has cooked for me every evening while I look out the window to watch street vendors push their sales carts to storage units ... while I map our next day's outings.)

(Above:  Scene inside the Santissima Annnziata during festive services honoring the Annunciation.  This was a most serendipitous occasion.  We came to this church on the once-a-year festival day! Believe it or not, today marks this religion occasion.  It was quite remarkable to be part of the prayers, hear the music, and see more candles lit than there were holders to carry them.)

(Above:  A liturgical art show in the courtyard at San Marco's.  Amazingly, we came across a contemporary art show ... looking at mostly modern, amateur artwork set in a historical courtyard decorated by by-gone masters.  Inspired!)

 (Above:  Giotto's early 14th century campanile ... aka "bell tower".  Steve and I climbed over 400 steps to the top of this amazing structure ... on the same day that we climbed even more steps to views off Bruneschelli's Duomo cupola!  The views were worth it!)

 (Above:  Steve in the largest room at the Duomo's museum.)

Much has changed since the eight or nine days I spent in Florence in 1980.  The Duomo Museum is unbelievable!  Totally new and an architectural masterpiece to rival the Duomo itself!  It was wonderful to see Lorenzo Ghiberti's Gates of Paradise in a protective, conserved state ... up close ... personal and with school groups studying them while guides explained the Biblical stories and Renaissance achievements!

 
 (Above: Patina on a bronze angel at the cemetery near San Miniato.)

On our first day in Florence, we walked up the steep hill to see the city from Piazzala Michelangelo.  We also went to vespers at the nearby San Miniato del Monte which is beside a gorgeous cemetery.  Yes ... we will return here on Tuesday as I didn't have enough time in this fabulous final resting place.

(Above:  Detail of a reliquary ... and I can't even remember exactly which church had this particular one!  I am sure that if all the relics of "the Crown of Thorns" were amassed in one place, a forest would exist!  It doesn't matter.  The ornate containers are all fascinating and every church seems to possess dozens and dozens of them.  Artistically, I am inspired by Florence.  Familiar themes run through every church's inventory in the form of these reliquaries ... especially ones with recognizable bones or even a skull of a small child.

 (Above:  Detail of a woodworking shop.)

I am also inspired by the many craft media traditionally associated with the city.  From marbleized paper to fine leather goods, artisans are at work everywhere.  One turn down a less traveled street brought us into a furniture restoration workshop ...


... with people working late into the evening ... like professional artists everywhere.  Like me, these hard working creatives are struggling to make a living ... and living to work their magic!

 (Above:  View to the Uffizi Gallery from the tower of the Palazzo Vecchio.)

Well ... tomorrow the Uffizi calls.  I can hardly wait.  My very favorite painting ever is there.  Gentile da Fabriano's Adoration of the Magi, the height of the International Gothic period (and the fabrics depicted are as fabulous as the many pieces of liturgical textiles I saw today ... for real!)  I look forward to posting more photos when I return or perhaps from our last evening here in Florence!

Arrivederci!
Buona Notte!

Tuesday, March 21, 2017

Electrical box wrap

(Above:  Me at the corner of Lincoln and Gervais in Columbia's downtown Vista neighborhood standing beside the newly wrapped electrical box featuring my artwork.  Click on any image to enlarge.)

Last weekend was a blast.  Steve and I set up booth 1408 at the ACC (American Craft Council) Atlanta show with enough time to visit the zoo.  The six-month old twin giant panda bear cubs were totally adorable, and we loved looking for the snakes and frogs hidden in their glass enclosures inside the reptile building.  Best of all, the craft show was great.  Some of my artwork found homes!  Yippee!  We came back to Columbia ... and to good news!

 
(Above:  Electrical box wrapped in an image of In Box CCLXXIII.)

A digital image of In Box CCLXXIII was used as "a wrap" for an electrical box at the busy corner of Lincoln and Gervais Street.  This project is a joint venture between the Vista Guild and Vista Neighborhood Association.  It was supported by a Connected Communities grant from Central Carolina Community Foundation, by an Action Grant from the City of Columbia, and with additional fund raising coming from area businesses, including Thirsty Fellow and Twisted Spur.  The graphics were by Rob Barge at Hardware Graphics and the printer/sign installer was Signarama

(Above:  The electrical box ... very, very early in the morning ... because this really is a very busy intersection and a well traveled covered walk for lots of businesses.)

Early this morning Steve and I walked to Starbucks.  It's a mile from our house.  Across the street is the electrical box!  I was thrilled to see it and ...


(Above:  In Box CCLXXIII ... framed and available at Mouse House for $550.)

... thrilled to learn that it is still available for purchase at Mouse House!  All I really had to do was upload a dozen or so images to a DropBox folder.  I had no part in the selection process and didn't know which piece was selected until seeing the title beside my name on the finished project.  It has truly been my honor to be part of this project.  I was one of the first two artists selected.  The Vista Guild and Vista Neighborhood Association hope to have as many as a dozen more "wraps" by the end of the summer ... but it depends on funding.  One way or the other, my work will be seen every day by lots and lots of people.  Excited!

I am linking this page (from Florence, Italy !!!) to Nina-Marie's "Off the Wall Fridays", a site for sharing fiber arts.  

Tuesday, March 14, 2017

Ideal packing and other news

(Above:  Lunette XXVII.  Inventory # 3981. Framed: 22" x 28". $495.  Click on any image in this blog post to enlarge.)

Later today Steve and I will pack the rental cargo van for tomorrow's trip to Atlanta for the weekend American Craft Council Show at the Cobb Galleria.  I'll be in booth 1408, same location as last year.  Right now, most of the booth is sitting by the back door ready to be loaded.  After all, we did the ACC Baltimore Show less than a month ago.  It made no sense to lug the Pro Panel walls upstairs to the spare room/storage area.  We'll do that next week!

(Above: In Box CCXCII.  Inventory # 3979.  Framed:  33" x 21".  $550.)

Since the Baltimore show, I've been making work to replace some of the things that were sold ... especially since having an even number of certain works is important when packing the cargo van. My larger pieces fit nicely atop the booth walls only if loaded in pairs.  If I have an odd number, the stack gets wobbly ... which isn't the best way to drive over bumps and uneven pavement!  

(Above: In Box CCXCII, detail.)

The smaller works fit into several boxes with carefully cut pieces of corrugated between each one.  I like the boxes to be full ... so that they don't shift back and forth during the drive.

(Above: In Box CCXCII, signature block.)

 So this post is the result of the work I made to fill the boxes and keep the stacked artwork "flat".  This is likely a strange approach to making art, but it works for me!

(Above: Seasonal Leaves: Winter.  Inventory # 3980.  Framed: 25" x 19".)

It is probably obvious ... but the decision to make Seasonal Leaves: Winter is because I sold "winter".  How could I go to Atlanta with just Spring, Summer, and Autumn?  LOL!

(Above: In Box CCLXXXIX.  Inventory # 3976.  Framed:  19" x 15". $235.)

The rest of this post is the smaller works made during the last two weeks.  I'm amazed that my "In Box" series is approaching THREE HUNDRED.  It seems like only yesterday when I started.  At the time, I thought it impossible to reach one hundred, the goal my mentor Stephen Chesley suggested as an exercise in the exploration of color, theme, design, and artistic voice.  The series still inspires me and I've been offered a solo show at Waterworks Visual Arts Center in Salisbury, NC with this work.  The show will run from September 9, 2017 through February 3, 2018.  I will be making all new work for it ... including a new twist.  I'm going to explore circles ... which will not be framed but gently tacked to the wall as if a constellation of orbs.  I'm excited!

(Above: In Box CCLXXXVIII.  Inventory # 3975.  Framed: 19" x 15". $235.)

(Above:  Bucket List, fiber vessel filled with ripped, rolled, and stitched pages from 1940s issues of National Geographic Magazines.)

I'm also happy to report that Bucket List was accepted into All Things Considered IX: Basketry in the 21st Century, a national juried show presented by the National Basketry Organization.  This show opens at the American Art Company in Tacoma, WA and runs from July 20, 2017 through March 30, 2018.   

(Above:  Our Baby Beloved, Grave Rubbing Art Quilt.  34" x 33".  Photo by Jeff Amberg.  Crayon grave rubbing on a vintage child's garment; vintage tablecloth and buttons.  Hand stitching with self-guided, free-motion machine outlining of the letters.)

Plus, Our Baby Beloved was accepted into the biennial Sacred Threads, July 7 - 23, 2017 in Herndon, Virginia.

(Above: In Box CCXC.  Inventory # 3977.  Framed:  19" x 15". $235.)

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

(Above: In Box CCXCI. Inventory # 3978.  Framed: 19" x 15". $235.)

Wednesday, March 08, 2017

Saint Anastasia ... in progress

 (Above: Saint Anastasia, in progress.  Click on any image to enlarge.)

I'm very proud to be a member of Through Our Hands, an international group of contemporary artists working primarily in layered textiles.  The group's Portfolio is amazing.  (It has eighty-four, full colored illustrations showcasing work from the twenty-seven Affiliate Artists and several well written articles ... and it is available for a very low purchase price.)  This book came out about the time of the last group exhibition.  The next group exhibit is scheduled for The Festival of Quilts in Birmingham, England ... at the NEC (National Exhibition Centre) ... this coming August.  This is a fabulous show, attended by thousands.  I'm excited. Yet, for the first time, Through Our Hands has a theme:  Portraits.

Initially, I wasn't excited about "portraits".  Despite having stitched 108 pieces in my own Decision Portrait Series, I don't really consider this approach part of my personal repertoire.  I certainly didn't want to make something similar to my past work ... but I also didn't have anything else in mind. Steve and I talked about it.

He asked me, "What sort of portrait would you like to stitch?"  My answer, "Something that goes way over the top ... like the twenty-four portraits in my Blues Chapel ... but those weren't in fabric.  There weren't any stitches at all."

"Can't you stitch some sort of 'over the top' portrait?," he asked.

(Blues Chapel.)

My mind started churning.  Hadn't I added sequins, beads, costume jewelry, millinery lace, and all sort of things to those early, female Blues singers?  Hadn't I added gilded halos?  Made them appear as if "sainted"?  As if icons?  Wasn't the concept to pay homage to these singers who lived in a male dominated world, a segregated country, and worked in an industry that took advantage of them ... depicting them as "saints"?  YES!  They changed the world for today's young, African American vocalists.  They sang with PASSION.  They were icons!

Would I like to stitch "an icon"?  YES!
But what icon?  Who would be my saint?
 
 (Above:  Anastasia ... last spring.)

Who did I know living a life meant to make a difference?  Who was filled with passion?  Who possessed the qualities of a saint spreading love? I really didn't have to think for long.  

Anastasia.

(Above:  Missing Holly from the Decision Portrait Series.)

Anastasia had posed for me before ... for the Decision Portrait Series.

 (Anastasia and her Decision Portrait when it hung at City Gallery at Waterfront Park in Charleston, SC.)

CLICK HERE to read Anastasia's profound decision. But even more than saying "I Love You" in place of "good-bye", last spring Anastasia was changing people by facing cancer with an amazing dignity, grace, and ethereal spirit.  She fought to the very end.  Last week would have been her fiftieth birthday.

(Above:  The beginning of Anastasia's altered photo.)

While Steve and I were talking about a new icon and my potential portrait for the upcoming exhibit, we were in Washington, DC.  It was Easter and we went to the National Basilica for high mass. We've been to this gorgeous house of worship many times. It is very near the Kirov Academy of Ballet where our elder son went to school. So, we knew how to avoid the parking lot ... finding a street space near the other end of the large structure. As we were walking up, I saw a side door ajar. We went inside ... at the lower, crypt level. The very first, ornate side chapel (totally done in glittering mosaic) was for Saint Anastasia. That sealed it.  Anastasia was contacted soon thereafter ... already battling cancer, already having undergone chemo and lost her long golden locks of hair, already in pain but happy to pose.

(Above: Saint Anastasia, in progress.  Hand beading and stitching.)

Not only did Anastasia pose but she was happy to talk about my other plans for the piece.  After all, I want to convey the reason I think she's perfect as a "saint", an icon, a role model for life.  I knew I wanted to put the finished portrait into a triptych.  I already had the antique mirror frame, but I didn't know exactly what I wanted in the two side panels.  Anastasia knew.  She suggested two phrases:  Live to Love and Love to Live. Perfect.  


(Above:  The antique triptych frame for Saint Anastasia.)

I spent hours working with layers in Photoshop ... changing the orientation, abstracting Anastasia's face to better coordinate with the graphic icon image, developing ideas for the halo, and leaving a space for her name at the bottom.  Finally, the results were uploaded to Spoonflower and ordered.  The printed fabric came but I was too busy when it arrived.

(Above:  Saint Anastasia, in progress.)

I didn't start stitching until my recent art residency to PLAYA in the remote Oregon Outback.  Serendipitously, I left Columbia while family and friends gathered at Anastasia's bedside ... staying until the day she died ... the day I did the free motion stitching.  I started seed stitching the golden background with a metallic thread on the day her life was celebrated with a party at The Art Bar.  The timing for this blog post is also important.  I started taking pictures last Thursday, the Anastasia would have turned fifty years old.

(Above:  Feathers for the wings.)

While in Oregon, I had time to think about how this icon would come together.  I decided that the wings needed to be more three-dimensional.  I ordered images of just this area from Spoonflower, stitched them, cut them, and covered each with gel medium to prevent the edges from fraying and to add an appropriate stiffness.  To dry them, they were pinned to a piece of foam-centered board.

(Above:  Detail of the feathers ... with gel medium.)

Gel medium dries clear.  The wings were then applied to the portrait. 

(Above:  Detail of the wings.)

Since these photos were taken, I've continued stitching.  I've also ordered the fabric for the two side panels and am working out ideas for the "name" at the bottom of the portrait.  I will continue to post as this work progresses.  Until then ... this is how my living room looks ... lots of beads and a beloved angel on the floor looking up.


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

Monday, March 06, 2017

Jackie and Madonna

 (Above:  Jacqueline Kennedy (Onassis), aka Jackie.  30" x 24". Altered digital image from public domain with millinery netting and beads.  Mostly free-motion stitched.  Click on any image in this blog post for an enlargement.)

 Several months ago my talented and super organized friend, Susanne Miller Jones, was putting together a call-for-entry.  The title of the upcoming show is HERstory: A Celebration of Strong Women.  Art quilters were asked to select one of the many ground-breaking women who have accomplished significant forward movement since 1920, the year women were finally allowed to vote.  I really didn't think I would enter.  Even though my Decision Portrait Series is obviously a collection of 108 portraits, I don't really see portraiture as part of my repertoire.  Lots of other ladies were signing up though.  Facebook was a flurry of interest.  Then, Susanne posted some of the unclaimed names.  Among them ... Jacqueline Kennedy (Onassis) and Madonna. 

What?  I would have thought these two would have been snatched up very quickly.  I could see black millinery netting, a pink suit, and strings of faux-pearls.  I could see a racy corset with tasseled bra cups and a pose so provocative that the jurors would blush.  I signed up ... first for Madonna.  Then, when Jackie was still looking for a stitcher, I agree to her art quilt as well.
  
(Above:  Jackie, detail.)

While these art quilts didn't have to conform to the format of a realistic portrait (or even include a portrait ... they could be abstracted or depict items/words/symbols associated with each woman), I always envisioned a face.  I culled through hundreds of images in public domain and then severely altered each one.

 
 (Above:  Jackie, detail.)

For Jacqueline Kennedy (Onassis), I went with iconic images and ideas.  I vaguely remember the day when her husband was shot.  I was three-and-a-half years old.  My mother ran into the street.  So did every other housewife on the block.  They huddled crying.  I cried too ... out of fear.  This was unknown territory.  That horrible day marks the beginning of my American history lessons.  I learned our country had a name, that we had a president, and that he was shot dead.  Likely, this is the first time I truly understood what "dead" meant and why we fear it.

When thinking of Jackie, I think of the pink suit she wore that day.  I think of the strings of pearl she often wore.  I think of the black chiffon veil through which she viewed the streets of Washington, DC on the way to Arlington cemetery.  To convey these things, the photo was altered for pinks and the pearls were multiplied for effect.  Instead of black chiffon, I used millinery netting.  It was very popular then, a fashion statement from 1950s Easter bonnets to Sunday school accessories (despite the fact that I couldn't find a single image in which Jackie wore any of it! LOL!)

 (Above:  Gloves from my cousin Monika ... used as "labels" for the reverse.)

Another fashion accessory from this era were white gloves.  Jackie wore gloves often but there was no easy way to use a pair on the front, near her face.  Thus, I used a pair donated by my cousin Monika on the back ... as my required label.  Monika gave me three pairs.  One pair is even more elaborate.  It has tiny beads all over the surface making free-motion embroidery impossible.  I'm still looking for a perfect place to use that pair.

 (Above:  Madonna, 30" x 24".  Altered digital image from public domain.  Mostly free-motion stitched with hand beading.)

As much as I would have preferred some spread-eagle pose and/or a sexy corset, I knew better than to stitch such a work for this sort of opportunity.  I played it straight but probably shouldn't have.  Why?  Well, signing up for this opportunity was not a guarantee of inclusion in the exhibition or in the forthcoming Schiffer publication.  The works were to be juried.  Jackie made the cut.  Madonna didn't. Perhaps this is because when I flipped the original public domain image, I forgot to move her oddly attractive mole from one side back to the other ... but I doubt it!   

(Above:  Madonna, detail.)

I have no plans for this piece and no plans to make the one I had in mind.  It was simply fun to be part of an on-line group working toward a common goal.  I don't mind Madonna's rejection.  Rejection happens all the time.  The only think I didn't like was the ban on blogging and/or sharing to social media until very recently.  These two pieces were done quite a while ago.  The arrangement with the publisher forced everyone to "keep a secret" (as if lack of publicity is a bad thing and will result in fewer book sales! LOL!)  Thankfully, the ban has been lifted.