Art In Stitches

Last Words, solo show in Rocky Mount

2012-01-31T16:14:00.005-05:00

(Above: Last Words, my solo show in Rocky Mount's Imperial Centre. Click on any image in this post for an enlargement.)

Steve and I drove up to Rocky Mount (roughly a four hour car trip ... one way) last Sunday for the Spring Exhibitions' public reception at the Maria V. Howard Art Center in the Imperial Centre. In addition to my solo show, Last Words, four other shows were honored. (The Imperial Center is gigantic. It was formerly a tobacco factory!)

I was a little nervous. Why? Well, this was the first time my work was curated on-site but without my input. Almost all my Grave Rubbing Art Quilt Series, the Angels in Mourning Series, the Dearly Departed Series, the chiffon banners, the artificial flowers, and The Book of the Dead were sent. I was told that the banners and the book would be placed in the center of the spacious room. Otherwise, I had no idea which of my works were to be included or what color the walls were to be painted. I had to go and see for myself!

As it turned out, only the art quilts (minus a few) were hung. (The entire body of work could easily have filled twice the space ... so curating was absolutely necessary.) The art quilts were thoughtfully arranged on lovely sage green walls and filled them nicely. Everything is perfectly labelled and beautifully lit.

An exhibition sign with my statement is posted at the wide entrance. A three-page gallery listing is available to the public as a hand-out too. (See photo above!)

Several people talked to me about my work. There were even a few, local fiber artist in attendance. Everything looks lovely ... and all the work stays on view through May 13th. It is a real honor to have my work in this gorgeous facility ... especially for such an extended time.

The photo above was taken right before we left. The reception was starting the wind down. We drove home happy!

The remainder of this blog post includes other images from the exhibition. Most of the photo were shot at 1 PM, right after the Art Center opened for the day ... an hour before the start of the reception. We went "early" just to snap these pictures ... before all the people came!

Please remember ... all these photos can be "clicked on" for an enlargement!

Columbia Open Studios: I was on TV this morning!

2012-01-26T17:13:00.001-05:00

Two more pieces from the Circular Churchyard

2012-01-23T13:55:00.003-05:00

(Above: The Urn, Grave Rubbing Art Quilt. 17 1/2" x 18 1/2". Crayon on silk rubbing, vintage crazy quilt block, and assorted buttons from the South Carolina State Mental Hospital. Hand and free motion machine embroidery. Click on image to enlarge.)

Over the past weekend Steve and I drove to Washington, DC via Asheville where we dropped off more of my work at the Grovewood Gallery. It's been represented there for two full years. Yet, it still feels brand new and very exciting every time new work is needed.

(The Urn, reverse. Vintage linens. Click on image to enlarge.)

In the car I stitched on two more miniature sized art quilts made using some of the rubbings from Halloween weekend in Charleston's Circular Churchyard. I've combined these grave rubbings with scraps of vintage crazy quilts. The reverse sides are also made of other vintage textiles ... often the slightly damaged or stained pieces that no one else seems to want.

For The Urn I used a child's or doll's pillow embroidered from a kit. (The inventory numbers were on the edges inside the seams!) While cute, it really wasn't quite large enough on its own. Thus, I dismantled a pair of "tap pants" ... the name of such underclothing after "bloomers" went out of style in the 1920s. (Bloomers generally were crotchless and gathered at the ankle or just below the knee. Tap pants sort of look like baggy Bermuda shorts!) The former underwear was hand embroidered and I tried to show as much of this handwork as possible under the cat pillowcase and as a sleeve for the art quilt.

(Above, before cutting: The 1920s tap pants that became the sleeve and backing for The Urn.)

(Above: Circular Church Angel III. 10 1/2" x 17 3/4". Crayon on silk grave rubbing and vintage quilt scraps. Hand and free motion machine embroidery. Click on image to enlarge.)

I added more handwork to the quilt scraps. On both pieces, I allowed the uneven edges to remain. I don't always feel that perfect "squareness" is important when using antique and vintage material. I like the "as is" look ... the faithfulness to the authentic ... even in its imperfect state.

(Above: Circular Church Angel III. Reverse. Click on image to enlarge.)

For the reverse, I used an old dishtowel and a cotton dinner napkin with shadow embroidery for the sleeve.

While in Washington, DC Steve and I managed to buy two tickets to the Mariinsky Ballet's triple bill in the Kennedy Center. All the performances that week were completely sold out ... not even a few "singles" sprinkled through the rafter section! Yet, a nice lady walked in while we were "begging" at the ticket office. She was returning two seats in the orchestra due to a conflict! The show was magnificent ... Chopinana, The Firebird, and Scheherazade.

We also visited the National Gallery of Art, the African Museum, the Sackler, and went to see the Star-Spangled Banner and First Ladies areas at the Smithsonian's American History Museum. I didn't take many photos on this quick weekend trip ... except for two details from the First Ladies fashions. Elegant!

Work from the Circular Churchyard

2012-01-16T09:30:00.002-05:00

(Above: Circular Church Angel II. 12 1/4" x 14 3/4". Crayon grave rubbing on silk; vintage doily, silk remnant, assorted buttons; hand and free-motion machine stitching. Click on image to enlarge.)

Last Halloween I spend a perfect day at the Circular Churchyard in Charleston. It was a "really big deal" because permission is needed from the congregation in order to create grave rubbings. (I blogged about it HERE.) Since then, I've been free motion stitching on the very large "collage" of grave rubbings ... on and off between other projects. But, I've also been hand stitching on smaller pieces. I took two with me to New York City. I stitched on the plane and on the drive to the Charlotte airport and back. Last week I finished them.

(Above: Circular Church Angel II, reverse. Click on image to enlarge.)

The little bit of "black" showing in the photo above is the recycled packaging felt used in place of traditional batting. The reverse is also "repurposed". It was an embroidered, vintage hand towel.

(Above: Circular Church Angel I. 14 3/4" x 16 1/4". Crayon grave rubbing on silk; vintage doily, upholstery remnant, assorted buttons; hand and free-motion machine stitching. Click on image to enlarge.)

I can't remember where I got this piece of upholstery material. I'm lucky. Lots of people donate random pieces of fabric and other used items to me. Whoever you were ... THANK YOU!

(Above: Circular Church Angel I, reverse. Click on image to enlarge.)

(Above: Memory, a postcard. Click on image to enlarge.)

I didn't get a work juried into this year's Art Quilt Elements but I did get an email invitation to "Hang With Us", an accompanying benefit of postcards celebrating the tenth anniversary of this important show of contemporary quilts. So ... I made this piece. It's been mailed. I'm happy to support this event and hopeful that I'll have work accepted in the future! It's a REALLY, REALLY BIG DEAL!

New York City

2012-01-12T11:53:00.012-05:00

(NEW YORK CITY ... View from the Staten Island Ferry. Click on any image in this post to enlarge.)

The weather could not have been more perfect for a long, January weekend in New York City. At times, we didn't really need coats. The sky was deep blue and the nightlights of Times Square were bright and beautiful.

We arrived on Thursday afternoon, met our elder son Mathias and his girlfriend Laura-Jane in time for dinner at Bubba Gump's at Times Square ...

... followed by an evening with Bob Fosse's Chicago.

On Friday morning we visited Ground Zero and the 9/11 Memorial.

I honestly didn't think any other memorial created during my lifetime could be as powerful as the Vietnam Memorial in Washington, DC ... but I was wrong.

The place is still very much a construction zone. There are blasting signs and orange-reflective clad laborers everywhere. Security is strict. Admission is free. The place is overwhelming and ever so appropriate. One cannot see the bottom of the two pool's recessed space ... an inverted rectangle descending into the ground so suggestive of the structures taken down by terrorists. All the victim's names are organized by flight or location.

People wept. Others just stared at the new buildings going up just a block or so away, one tower reflected into another.

The museum still isn't open. I'll have to come back one day.

From there we went to Staten Island and back on the FREE ferry.

The view to the city, to the Statue of Liberty, and of Ellis Island are wonderful.

Then ... on to Brooklyn ...

... to the Brooklyn Museum of Art.

I've always wanted to see Judy Chicago's iconic feminine art masterpiece, The Dinner Party.

It was better than I dared hoped. Every guest was perfectly incorporated into the ceramic plate and the unique, embroidered tablecloth.

The lighting is low but the detail shines through.

Every little stitch! It was wonderful.

Yet, we saw all sorts of great art in this museum ... and we only visited two of the four floors! One of the ingenious works was by Mounri Fatmi, a collection of Islamic prayer rug covered skateboards called Maximum Sensation. The juxaposition of cultures in this guy's life were obvious and also wonderfully a happy mix. I didn't snap any photos at MoMa when we got there. It's FREE on Friday nights ... and packed with people, especially in the deKooning retrospective. Believe it or not, I ran into a friend from Columbia, Natalie ... who owns the local bead shop. She, too, was visiting her son. He's a model in NYC. Later I ran into Suzie Surkamer, the former head of the South Carolina Arts Commission. She was on business ... staying in the same hotel. Small World!

After MoMa, we had dinner at Bottega di Vino ... a place that served wine in the largest glasses I've ever used! Everything was beyond scrumptious!

We had to walk after such a meal ... and it was a total pleasure to see all the lights of Times Square.

We also took the subways all weekend long.

Laura-Jane got a hat to sort of "match" Mathias'. They look like chipmunks to me ... and now this one is my computer's screensaver.

On Saturday we got half-priced tickets to see matinees. Mathias and LJ went to see Sister Act. Steve and I went to see Memphis. We were all totally thrilled with the performances.

So much about being in a big, teeming city like New York is artistically inspiring. I'm not really referring to all the fantastic works in international renown museum though. Inspiration, at least for me, is more often found in cemeteries ...

... especially ones with churchyards dating to the 17th century. This was at Trinity Church ... a place with dozens and dozens of awesome headstones. I wrote down a few personal epitaphs but didn't make a rubbing. (No crayon; no fabric ... must return!)

Inspiration also comes through music and any other live performance filled with passion ... like this group singing under the Bethesda Arcade in Central Park.

Unexpectedly, however, the most inspirational time came while walking over the Brooklyn Bridge.

It wasn't just the structure or the traffic or the people enjoying the weather.

Instead, it was the number of locks left by people as mementos of their love.

I snapped at least one hundred photos. There's "something" about locks ... like keys ... that resonates with me. The graffiti was good too ... and in several different languages.

I love New York City ... its energy, its inspiration, and the sense of possibilities that seem to jump off the pavement with every passing person.

Of course, the food's good too ...

... even in the diners! What a hot dog! The menu boasted fifteen inches ... and I think it was correct!

The thing I think I like the best, however, it still the buildings ...

... like the Guggenheim, where we saw Maurizio Cattelan's incredible installation All. (The museum's website has a most amazing time lapse video showing how this enormous piece was installed in the soaring space. It is HERE.)

I took nearly 600 photos. I trimmed the selection to under 200. Most (except for all the locks and the images from the cemetery) are on a Flickr! page. It is HERE. There are over 30 "buildings" in this collection, lots more photos of The Dinner Party, etc. ...

... below are just a few!

Now ... back to work! Back to the joy of creating my own art while thinking about all the inspiration for even more artwork!

NYC ... We we come!

2012-01-04T14:29:00.002-05:00

(Above: Birch in Snow with friends Nancy Chambers and Kim Bendillo. Click on image to enlarge.)

Yesterday I posted Birch in Snow on this blog ... and realized that I didn't have a photo that clearly indicated the size of this piece. Sure, I listed the measurements ... but that doesn't always help. Fortunately two friends stopped by my studio last night and posed for this photo! Thanks Nancy and Kim!

Tomorrow Steve and I are off for a long weekend in NYC. Our elder son Mathias and his girlfriend Laura-Jane are already there. They just finished a run of The Nutcracker with Birmingham Royal Ballet in London's O2 arena. We can't wait to see them!

New Year ... new work ... new plans!

2012-01-02T12:38:00.008-05:00

(Above: Birch in Snow. 45" x 63". Discharge velvet, fabric paint, free motion machine embroidery, beading. Click on image to enlarge.)
Happy New Year!
Steve and I had a fantastic trip to Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania for Christmas. We stayed with my parents, visited Grandma, my youngest sister Sonya and her husband Vipin, and went to church for Christmas eve. (I forgot to snap many photos ... but what I did get is HERE ... on "My Family Blog".)

We also went to Oil City to check out their artist relocation program. It was an interesting experience. No, we will not be moving. Yes, it helped me clarify some of the important features that a future move will need (like a highly professional community of artists with serious goals who make quality work ... instead of just a really good buy on property!) While there I purchased a book for my sister Wanda ... a silly reminder of a childhood song called "Senor Don Gato". The melody and the little "Meow, meow, meows" from elementary school are still humming in my head. Since we won't be seeing Wanda until April when we travel to her home in Munich (which coordinates with seeing Mathias and his girlfriend Laura-Jane dancing with Birmingham Royal Ballet in the Munich Ballet Festival), I posted the book HERE. (Quite cute!)

(Above: Chocolate mice in the container I used to transport them back to Columbia!)

Over the holidays we received two chocolate "mice" ... a unique combination of a Hershey Kiss, a chocolate dipped cherry, and almond sliver ears. They were made by Sonya's friend. Steve really, really wanted to eat them ... but I saved them from this intended fate for permanent display at Mouse House. (It helped that their ears needed to be glued in place after the trip. Thus, they are now no longer tempting for Steve's palette! I wrote a great blog post ... the chocolate mice in photo ops all over our shop. It is HERE. Most assuredly cute and shows various places in our shop!)

(Above: Birch in Snow, detail. Click on image to enlarge.)

Of course I stitched in the car ... but not on this piece. This one is gigantic. It was actually started several years ago (2004) when our house nearly burnt down. I got too completely involved in beading the drifts of snow. It was a way to forget the daily trauma of the insurance claim, the nightmare of contractor's delays, and just the general chaos associated with the disaster. I rarely opened up the velvet to look at the work. I lost sight of "the whole". As a result, the bottom was saturated with beads; the top was unbalanced with a void I didn't want to address. I thought the entire project was a total waste. I shoved the entire thing into a crate and forgot about it.

(Above: Birch in Snow, detail. Click on image to enlarge.)

I forgot about the beauty of the birch trees I'd seen in Alaska the year before (2003). I forgot about owning the discharge paste I used to create the trunks of these gnarly, weathered trees. I forgot about the pitch black, mysterious nights and the softly falling flakes. I forgot that this was stitched using a layer of thick, white felt as "batting" ... an art quilt before I ever heard the term!

(Above: Birch in Snow, detail. Click on image to enlarge.)

I didn't find the piece until cleaning my studio for Vista Lights, the annual art crawl in Columbia that happens the Thursday before every Thanksgiving. I found it; spread it out; noted the problem of "balance" between "top" and "bottom"; and, surprisingly, I didn't think it was actually "horrible". In fact, it seemed worth finishing. I've been stitching on it during the evenings ever since.

(Above: Birch in Snow, detail of stitched signature. Click on image to enlarge.)

My friend Jeff Donovan (whose studio is across the atrium from mine at Gallery 80808/Vista Studios) suggested "bigger beads" to achieve a sense of balance in the upper areas ... and because falling snow generally is seen spatially ... with the closest flakes appearing larger and the further away flakes appearing smaller. He was right ... and I found all the beads I needed already in my studio.

(Above: Birch in Snow, detail ... as seen from the side. Click on image to enlarge.)

Instead of finishing this with traditional quilt binding and a sleeve for a hanging rod, I mounted the piece on stretcher bars covered with foam-centered board. This was fitted into a "floater frame" and wired for hanging. It is now hanging at Gallery 80808 with the work of the other artists who have studio space there. It is amazing how well it turned out. I really should take a photo of this area ... if for no better reason than to show scale. This piece is really, really big for what amounts to a lot of beading! I am quite happy to say that I don't have other UFOs (Unfinished Objects) any longer ... at least none that I know about!

(Above: Steve and I having lunch at the Columbia Ale House on New Years Day!)

So ... it is the New Year. The first day was glorious ... as is obvious in the photo above! I've generally used this time of year to reflect on my past and to set goals for the future. The cleaning I did for Vista Lights (during which I found Birch in Snow) carried through December. I went to the extreme of patching and painting my studio walls ... and allowing them to be bare for several weeks. (Blogged about that HERE.) I took down all the feathered shutter slats that hung above my space ... inviting "change". I've been thinking about a goal for the coming year and the changes I want to make, artistically. I've also been thinking about the title of a piece I finished last month ... a piece that needed a title.

Above: Spool Cradle. For a blog post about this work with images that can be enlarged, click HERE.)

I asked for potential titles on this blog. I asked for potential titles on Facebook. My blog post was shared on other blogs. I ended up with a very, very long list of fantastic titles. Even my Mom and Dad each had good ideas, excellent words. So many of the titles evoked beautiful, thoughtful mental images.

The most interesting part of this adventure was getting the chance to see how my work resonates with others. Some people saw the spools are symbolic of future dreams. (Layette Dreams and Weaving Future Heirlooms). Others saw them representing past dreams. (Requiem to Lovely Stitches and Before My Mother Was My Mother.) Several people related the spools to tribal drums. Various titles came from the techniques used. (Unraveled Redefined and Stitched Stories). There was a suggestion to use Oatmeal Kisses. In the end, I found that I really didn't want the title to focus on any one way of viewing the work. I didn't even want the title to reflect the way I personally saw the work. I selected a basic title, Spool Cradle, in order that everyone can relate to the work from his or her own vantage point with his or her own history. Thank you, one and all, for helping me come to this decision. The suggestions are all wonderful and I will probably refer to my list for future works!

In conclusion ... what New Year's resolutions have I come up with? First, I will continue to invite CHANGE into my artistic life. (I've been reading an "artquilt list" on-line. Many of the writers are selecting a single word for the coming year. CHANGE is mine.) In order to fulfill this resolution I will start attending About Face, a group that meets at the Columbia Museum of Art to sketch from life ... yes, that's generally a nude model. It is not my intention to draw nudes (though this might happen) but to work on paper and then to paint on canvas. I hope to dissect the canvas for art quilting raw material. I know that that dedicated time for this group will allow me to focus on exploring new ideas ... something that might not happen in my studio because I am very accustomed to "working" in there, not "playing" with hair-brained ideas. I am also expanding my new "home studio" for 3D work and will continue building "things" inside. In order to be accountable for these goals, I've made inquiry for a solo show at a local, Main Street location for later in the year ... nothing like publicly stating one's intentions and putting a public exhibit on the line in order to accomplish a goal!

Time ... a work-in-progress

2011-12-22T12:22:00.006-05:00

(Above: Time, found art object assemblage. Approximately 40" x 25" x 20". Click on image to enlarge.)

In October I started converting a back room at Mouse House (the first floor/business area of our downtown, historic house) into a new, 3D studio. Until July 2001, Mouse House was a very, very busy custom picture framing shop with up to 14 on payroll. Up until that time, I couldn't even admit to myself that I wanted to be "an artist" ... because I knew there was no time for such a "hair-brained" dream.

Then, I fired my head mat cutter and we started to forcibly downsize. I got an off-site studio at Gallery 80808/Vista Studios and went to work with my needle and thread. Now, Mouse House still does very limited framing but we don't really have to use that back room in the business. Slowly, I'm taking over the entire room. I made a lectern for The Book of the Dead and then started on this piece. It seems very fitting that I'm created work based on the concept of time in a place that formerly had so little of it!

Appropriately, this piece is titled Time. The clock cases, gears, and almost everything else came from my favorite place for "found art objects" ... Bill Mishoe's auction. Some of the other, interesting items came from my neighbor Gita who now lives in Asheville and is in the process of getting the-house-next-door ready to "go on the market". Some things also came from Slippery Rock, my parents' old house or garage. Symbolically, all the bits and pieces are mementos of from the past ... ways we mark our days ... saved trinkets ... relics of yesteryear that serve as reminders of a certain moment that is ever more distant away. Time is moving quickly. We can hold a remnant. We can cherish a memory. We just can't still the pace of time.

Generally, I don't take a lot of photos of works-in-progress but we're about to travel to Slippery Rock, PA for Christmas to visit my parents. I can't bring the piece to share with my Dad. Thus, I took photos. My Dad taught me how to use an electric screw driver, how to pre-drill holes, how to use various types of glue, where to put C-clamps, how to measure angles, how to saw wood, how to select the size of a bolt and its nuts, and why a level was important. He'd love this piece; he has a great workshop himself!

Actually, I took loads of photos ... well over 130 of them. I saved about 38 and posted them on a Flickr set. Click HERE to see them. (As a slideshow, click here.)

There are a few places on this piece to which I want to add a few more jars of collected items and a few surfaces to which I want to collage vintage paper (handwritten notes and a few late 19th c. cancelled checks and stamps). Then, I think this will be done.

I have several more clock cases, an old step stool, a bag of piano keys, old license plates, lots more random pieces of Victorian furniture, two more cradles, about ten pairs of wooden crutches, a pile of clock gears, and hundreds of "things" that used to belong to "something". The new year is going to be great ... because this new "home" studio is going to be used even more!

Enjoy the rest of the photos! Each one can be clicked on for an enlargement!

Getting Ready for the New Year

2011-12-19T14:57:00.006-05:00

(Above: Spirit Tokens made in 2004 while coping with our house fire. Wood shutter slats, feathers from the two birds who lived outside the furnished executive apartment where we lived during the reconstruction, beads and fibers. Click on image to enlarge.)

I've set New Year's resolutions almost every year ... artistic goals.

In 2009 my goal was to find gallery representation ... a "good place": One with a knowledgeable, active staff; a website; a strong sales record; a high level of professionalism; a history in its community. It took until September of that year until I was part of Grovewood Gallery. It's been awesome ever since ... and a goal achieved.

In 2010 I decided to seek a professional affiliation ... a "good group": One headed by knowledgeable people; a website; a strong advocacy for its members; a high level of professionalism; recognition in the broader art world; juried or adjudicated. I got lucky. I was accepted as a PAM (Professional Art Member) of SAQA (Studio Art Quilt Associates) before the end of January. It's been awesome ever since ... and a goal achieved.

In 2011 I wanted a solo show in a museum ... a "good location": One headed by a knowledgeable and active board and staff; a website; a consistent record of presenting quality exhibitions; a high level of professionalism; recognition in the broader art world; with publicity contacts and the potential for networking. "Personal Grounds" ran from February through March at Waterworks Visual Arts in Salisbury, North Carolina. It was more than I hoped for and the director of Green Hill Art Center in Greensboro saw my work ... which led to my participation (and sales) in their "Winter Show".

(Above: Studio wall ... first time in years ... no holes but new paint!)

So ... now I'm approaching 2012 and my mind is a blank.

I know I want to work "bigger" ... in scale, in scope, in concept, and with others. How do I put this into words? Into a "New Year's Resolution"? I'm not quite sure but I'm in the midst of change.

What do I mean by that? I'm changing my very environment, clearing my studio space, and "getting ready" for "something NEW". For the first time in years, I patched all the holes in my studio walls (except for The Wall of Keys) and painted. I've left them blank. Part of this is a result of my upcoming solo show at Rocky Mount's Imperial Center. "Last Words" will open on January 5 and close on May 13, 2012. The public reception is on Sunday, January 29 from 2 - 4 PM. Everything is boxed, packaged, inventoried, and ready for the staff person who is coming in a cargo van on December 29th to pick it all up. I'm excited.

(Above: Spirit Tokens suspended above my studio ... since 2004 but no longer! The Wall of Keys is the only thing left ... all those lovely possibilities! The Key to Happiness, The Key to Inspiration, The Key to Success, The Key to Respect, The Key to the World, The Key to Quietness, The Key to CHANGE! Click on image to enlarge.)

Part of my desire for change comes after reading a blog post by Arlee called "Rethinks = Clean Slate". I want something "new" so creating a "clean slate" seemed logical, smart, simply ... without distraction or over stimulation. Already my studio feels new.

I went to the extreme of taking down all the Spirit Tokens that have been suspended above my studio since our house fire in 2004. I don't know what I'll do with them ... likely put them in a box, into storage. They served their purpose well. Now it is time for something new to take their place. What? Who knows!

Already the space seems ripe for change. All I've got to do is "keep working". Whatever is coming will arrive in its due time. Part of the equation, however, has to do with a Chuck Close quotation that I found on-line today when checking out an artist (Sarah Hempel) who lives near my mother:

"The advice I like to give young artists, or really anybody who'll listen to me, is not to wait around for inspiration. Inspiration is for amateurs; the rest of us just show up and get to work. If you wait around for the clouds to part and a bolt of lightning to strike you in the brain, you are not going to make an awful lot of work. All the best ideas come out of the process; they come out of the work itself. Things occur to you. If you're sitting around trying to dream up a great art idea, you can sit there a long time before anything happens. But if you just get to work, something will occur to you and something else will occur to you and something else that you reject will push you in another direction. Inspiration is absolutely unnecessary and somehow deceptive. You feel like you need this great idea before you can get down to work, and I find that's almost never the case."
-Chuck Close.

I've also been having some fun ... including going to the Ohio State vs. USC (University of South Carolina) basketball game. It was supposed to be a Gamecock home game but their only "home field" advantage seemed to be the fact that they controlled the loud speaker and continued to interrupt our wild cheering with an obnoxious rooster crow. Their band, cheerleaders, and dancing squad couldn't overpower the Buckeyes. As proof, I made a little video ... showing the Scarlet and Grey four-sided cheer O - H - I - O around the arena. It is HERE.

We had no idea that my cousin Joann and her family would venture down from Virginia for the game. Jamie graduated from USC last spring ... and wore garnet and black. It didn't help! Go Bucks!

By the way, I thank EVERYONE who contributed a title for my last piece. My list now fills and entire page. Many of the potential titles seem to suggest new work ... yes, change is in the air. I haven't yet selected a piece though ... still thinking ... but still stitching on two different art quilts and also working on a 3D mixed media piece.

This piece needs a title ,,, please help!

2011-12-13T14:12:00.008-05:00

(Above: Untitled cradle full of wrapped and stitched wooden spools. The piece NEEDS A TITLE! Click on any image to enlarge.)

I love wooden spools ... always have. I've made several pieces using them. Right now, there's a group in a fiber vessel at Lorton, Virginia's Workhouse Art Center's "Art of Fiber" national juried show. That piece even sold! It's called Ancestors. I made so many last December that I have two pieces with the same name. The second group will be on display in the 33rd annual Mesa Contemporary Crafts national juried show from Jan. 27 - March 18, 2011. Both pieces have been in exhibitions before ... at the same time. (The original blog post for Ancestors is HERE.)

Still, I seem to collect more wooden spools ... but I don't want to repeat exactly the same thing. Ancestors suggested that each little spool was like a family member from past generations. Collectively, they gave the appearance of a "family tree" and evoked memories and traditions and handicrafts of grandmothers and great grandmothers. The work is personal while still being universal. So ... what to do with the next couple of hundred wooden spools?

On the drive to Slippery Rock for Thanksgiving, I wrapped and stitched spools. While there, I acquired even more spools ... once my grandmother's. I don't really know how many there are.

Well, I got the wooden cradle at Bill Mishoes' every-other-Tuesday-night, walk-around auction of used household items ... my very favorite place for "found objects". A little glue on spindles that were literally falling out stabilized the structure. I cut old shutter slats for the cradle's bed and fashioned a "mattress" from an old pillowslip and feather pillow. (Boy was that fun ... feathers all over the living room!)

The work is done ... but I still haven't landed on the perfect title. To me, each spool is like a narrative ... a tale spun in thread ... a story told in yarn ... a yarn told to a child ... the thread of life as a bedtime fable. So ... I need help! Here are the titles I've been wrestling with:

Bedtime Stories
Family Narratives
Tell Me a Story
If Threads Could Talk
Tales from Childhood

I'm open to suggestions! Leave a comment here or email me at mouse_house@prodigy.net! Thanks!

Pinning, basting, stitching ... and a review!

2011-12-11T10:10:00.004-05:00

(Above: Three grave rubbing art quilts being pinned and basted on the floor at Gallery 80808/Vista Studios ... and my cool Indian leather slippers, pin cushion and roll of tape in the foreground for a sense of scale! Click on image to enlarge.)

On Halloween weekend I spent a day in the historic Circular Churchyard in Charleston making crayon-on-silk grave rubbings. It was a BIG DEAL. I had to get written permission. (For a blog post on this, click HERE.) On Wednesday night I took three of the collaged images and recycled packaging felt and went to work on the atrium floor at Gallery 80808/Vista Studios ... right outside my studio door. I don't know how other art quilters pin and baste ... but this system seems to work for me.

(My friend Jeff Donovan's art is hanging on the wall. His show opened the next night.) I think I started this stitching because I'm also in the midst of gathering up my other, finished grave rubbing art quilts, "Angels in Mourning" series, epitaph banners, The Book of the Dead, and related work for my solo show in Rocky Mount's Imperial Center. Of course this piece won't be in the show ... but I've got this body of work on my mind! A staff person comes to pick everything up on December 29th. The show opens on January 7 and runs through May 13, 2012. I'm quite excited.)

(Above: Free motion stitching on the large grave rubbing quilt.)

I love King Tut thread ... the subtle variations in browns. I recently ordered two extra large spools and made the mistake of having my husband pick them up. He hasn't quite recovered from the "cost of thread"! (Just kidding! Sort of!)

(Above: In Box XC. Click on image to enlarge.)

Earlier in the week I finished another two, small "In Box Series" pieces. These measure approximately 14" x 10" and are framed to 19 1/4" x 15 1/4". I love making them.

(Above: In Box LXXXIX. Click on image to enlarge.)

Plus ... I got a review for my window installation at S&S Art Supplies. The review was written by Ed Madden, associate professor of English and Women's Studies at the University of South Carolina. He's also on the staff of a local arts magazine called Jasper ... and the review was featured on the magazine's blog ... HERE!

Lately ...

2011-12-05T13:33:00.007-05:00

(Above: Me ... standing beside my artwork as shown at the Collector's Choice reception of the "Winter Show" in the Green Hill Center for NC Art. Photo by Barbara Tyroler ... one of the talented artists with work in the exhibit. Her website is HERE.)

Since last week's installation at S & S Art Supply and "Mingle & Jingle", the December "First Thursday on Main Street art crawl, I've been happily going through some of the things I got from my family over Thanksgiving weekend ... like a few thousand keys!

They weigh a lot ... easily over 30 pounds a container. My youngest Sister Sonya acquired them through one of her drivers. (Sonya has an mini-van shuttle service from Slippery Rock and surroundings to the Pittsburgh airport, bus service, etc.) This driver also works for Grove City College and knew about these old keys to dorm rooms, classrooms, mail boxes, etc.

Well ... they're now mine! Boy do they make my HAPPY!

I've sold well over 150 tagged keys from my "Wall of Keys" (above ... as shown last spring. The "Wall" is now in my studio.) I need to replace these sold keys. I have lots of ideas for the other "couple thousand" keys too. First, however, I needed to make more cord for the tags.

I use various yarns ... stuff from table lots at Bill Mishoe's "used household goods" auctions ... the remains of someone else's knitting stash. (I don't knit.) When making cord for a fiber vessel, I generally shove six or seven strands through the Bernina cording foot. When making cord for tagged keys, I use only two ... but I zigzag over the entire length twice. This makes the cord as thin as I dare create and also subtly colorful in a "used" or "makeshift" sort of way.

I also use old thread for this ... whatever I've accumulated at auction or yardsales. Most of the thread I used for this cording came from wooden spools which I'm now wrapping with wool and covering with embroidery. The "new batch" of wooden spools also came from my family ... from my grandmother's storage unit which was recently cleaned out.

Now I've got a nice sized ball of cord for the keys! (Click on any image in this post to enlarge.)

I've been stitching on the wooden spools while riding in our car ... back and forth to Slippery Rock, PA for Thanksgiving but also more recently. On Saturday Steve and I drove to Greensboro for the 32nd annual "Winter Show" at the Green Hill Center for the Arts. It was a most incredible evening. It started right off inside the main entrance where two of my smaller "Window" series works and one large "Faux-Stained Glass" fiber piece were hanging ... ALL THREE WITH RED DOTS! (SOLD!) Barbara Tyroler, a talented photographer whose work was also in the exhibit, took the photos ... this one with my camera! Her work is amazing!

Later in the evening I met the curator. She asked if I had more of the small pieces and if I would mind mailing them for potential buyers visiting the show through January 15th. As luck would have it, I'd just started another two earlier in the week.

Above is Window XXXV and Window XXXVI. I finished the stitching and melting yesterday. We put them in frames today and then into a box and then off to FedEx Ground. I forgot to snap photos before the framing ... so, above, are the two before packaging! I'm quite thrilled!

Hung By the Chimney With Care, a window installation

2011-11-29T11:42:00.004-05:00

(Above: S & S Art Supply on Columbia's Main Street ... the setting for my window installation Hung By the Chimney With Care. Click on any image in this post for an enlargement.)

Last spring, from the moment I knew about the pile of abandoned socks in the vacant laundry building on the grounds of the South Carolina State Mental Hospital, I knew what I wanted to do. I had a foggy vision of suspended socks and a make-shift fireplace and a concept of tying these found objects to Clement Moore's famous The Night Before Christmas, particularly the line reading "Hung By the Chimney With Care". I knew I wanted to suggest remembrance of all those in every community who are unable to celebrate a traditional holiday.

Serendipitously, I was asked by S & S Art Supply, a Main Street store, to create both an interior exhibit of work and mount a window installation ... in DECEMBER! My foggy vision became clearer once I saw the socks on the very dirty floor. Of course, I just couldn't drive up to the historic site (Robert Mills designed the main building) and go rummaging in the many outbuildings. I had to get special permission, sign a waiver and a confidentiality form, and be accompanied. While gathering the socks, I found the asylum's Christmas tree and tinsel ... and got permission to haul this off. Also, the alterations department's floor was littered with buttons ... thousands of them. I got these too.

(Above: Suspending socks from the SC State Mental Hospital. My studio assistant Reba and I had already attached lengths of mono-filament to each one. I just stapled and tied.)

During the summer I spent time on Main Street just looking at the two window units at S & S ... deciding exactly how I wanted the installation to take form. Then, I gathered all the materials and tools ... and borrowing Michel McNinch's Grandfather's pine mantel. (Thanks Michel! She's a talented painter whose studio is near mine at Gallery 80808/Vista Studios.) Yesterday, my plan came together. It was "installation day".

After suspending some of the socks, I taped footprints to the floor. Steve's old tennis shoes were used with acrylic paint on black kraft paper.

Then I spread out the buttons ... to resemble "snow" or to mimic the look of the asylum's alteration floor where I found them or to symbolize the difficulties in walking through a life full of mental issues (as in "walking on eggshells"). I'm not too particular when it comes to specific meanings. If a person viewing my installation is touched in any way ... that's my aim. It doesn't matter if he or she takes the exact meaning I might associate with the work.

I really like how the buttons look on the floor. I worked my way from the front/street side of the window units to the back ... knowing that access to the front would really mess up the careful placement of all the buttons.

The view above and below is the right-hand window unit as one enters the shop from Main Street. The Christmas tree, tinsel, socks, buttons, and framed photos are all from the Mental Hospital.

I completed the left-hand window unit before I tackled the other side.

Above and below is the left-hand window unit. The two framed photos are of the socks and the buttons ... as I found them in the Mental Hospital. On each 16" x 20" photo, I collaged the phrase: There But By the Grace of God Go I.

The gas fireplace was purchased at Bill Mishoe's auction. I made the makeshift fireplace from scrap wood and an old piece of Victorian furniture ... also from Bill Mishoe's auction ... my favorite place for "art objects".

The mantel was borrow from Michel McNinch ... who saved it from her Grandfather's home. Above I hung one of the mirrors Steve and I sell at Mouse House. Red acrylic paint carries the installation message.

Yet ... the "longer" statement is this:

HUNG BY THE CHIMNEY WITH CARE
a Holiday Window Installation
by Susan Lenz

This installation was inspired by a seasonal truth: NOT EVERYONE CAN COME HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS.

This Christmas some people will be working in a hospital or in another round-the-clock industry. Others will be in prison, serving our country abroad, unable to travel great distances, be sick or confined to a mental facility. Poverty or serious family issues trouble others, making it impossible to celebrate a traditional Christmas. As a visual artist, I created this installation as a reminder to keep these special members of our community in our hearts and prayers. The socks, Christmas tree and tinsel, buttons and photographic images come from the now vacant laundry and alterations building at the former South Carolina State Mental Hospital.

Our Mayor, Steven Benjamin, wrote a most fitting Thanksgiving message that beautifully sums up the concept behind this artwork: “Let us not forget those less fortunate than ourselves. Let us keep them in our hearts and in our prayers and let us dedicate ourselves."

(Above: View into the right-hand window from the shop.)

The opening reception for this installation and the interior artwork (which I blogged about HERE) is on Thursday, December 1 during Main Street's Mingle and Jingle celebration 5 - 9 PM.

(Above: View of S & S from Main Street ... during a slight rain but with the installation FINISHED!)

Thanksgiving 2011

2011-11-27T21:55:00.007-05:00

(Above: Wrapped and stitched wooden spools. This photo was taken while en route to Pennsylvania ... in the car ... of my lap full of fibers and stitch!)

Steve and I traveled north for Thanksgiving this year. We stayed with my parents in their lakeside log cabin but went for dinner at my youngest sister Sonya's home. Sonya and her husband Vipin live in town (Slippery Rock) ... in the house where my parents raised us. Yet, this was not a Thanksgiving like any of the occasions from the past.

(Above: Sonya adding the final touches to a most beautiful Thanksgiving dinner.)

Why? Well, Sonya and Vipin introduced us to TURDUCKEN ... a turkey stuffed with duck stuffed with cornbread and a hen! It was a delicious new tradition. I blogged about it on "My Family Blog" with more photos and even created a little video of Vipin carving this exotic "bird".

(Above: Me ... standing beside my art quilt Handed Down. Click on image to enlarge.)

Steve and I left on Friday morning in order to attend the Black Friday opening reception of "Art of Fiber", a national juried show at the Lorton Workhouse Arts Center. Candance Edgerley was one of the two jurors for this show. She attended the reception and was most approachable and so nice. Several of the artists with work in the show also came to the event. It was so much fun to chat with other like-minded artists ... especially people like K. Velis Turan and Joan Hutten who is part of the fiber cooperative at the Lorton Workhouse. I was thrilled that one of my pieces, Handed Down, was hung right beside the exhibition signage. I was also invited to briefly speak about this art quilt at the reception. Quite an honor!

(Above: Ancestors ... SOLD!)

I was also stunned that Ancestors was SOLD!

(Above: The Cemetery. Click on image to enlarge.)

I actually got all three pieces accepted into this exhibition. The other piece was The Cemetery.

(Above: Alex at Mother Ginger in Carolina Ballet's The Nutcracker.)

We returned to Columbia by Saturday evening. I spent most of Sunday preparing to for Monday's window installation and exhibition at S&S Art Supplies. Yet, Steve and I also attended Carolina Ballet's matinee The Nutcracker. Why? Well ... that's our estranged son, Alex, in his eleventh year with the production. We haven't seen him in months ... but he was terrific as a party gentleman in act one and as Mother Ginger in the final scene. He's alive ... something to be thankful about!

Returning to the "In Box Series"

2011-11-22T11:18:00.005-05:00

(Above: In Box LXXXII. Framed: 17 1/4" x 15 1/4". Unframed 11" x 8". Click on any image in this post to enlarge.)

I've returned to my "In Box Series" ... creating seven small pieces. They aren't all the same size though. The first three were made to fit into frames from older work ... 2004. I just couldn't stand seeing these three pieces anymore. It's not that they weren't "good"; it's just that they haven't found a home and it was high time to "shake things up a bit". Something "new" was in order. Perhaps this is a result from cleaning my studio for last week's Vista Lights Holiday art crawl.

(Above: In Box LXXXIV. Framed: 17 1/4" x 15 1/4". Unframed 11" x 8".)

Vista Lights went very well. I saw lots of nice people and even sold two from the "Dearly Departed Series". Yet, I really think it is the cleaning that makes the most difference to me. In the process, I found a piece I started in 2004 ... but never finished. This is highly unlike me. I generally finish things. I didn't even know I had a UFO (Unfinished Object). Now, however, I remember thinking, "I hate this piece! Why did I ever start this?"

(Above: In Box LXXXIII. Framed: 17 1/4" x 15 1/4". Unframed 11" x 8".)

Well, I was tired of looking at three older pieces from 2004 but I'm no longer displeased with the unfinished one from that same year. I'll be working on it during our trip to Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania for Thanksgiving. Photos coming as soon as it's done!

(Above: In Box LXXXVI. Framed: 19 1/2" x 15 1/2". Unframed 13 1/2" x 10".)

(Above: In Box LXXXV. Framed: 19 1/2" x 15 1/2". Unframed 13 1/2" x 10".)

(Above: In Box LXXXVIII. Framed: 19 1/2" x 15 1/2". Unframed 13 1/2" x 10".)

(Above: In Box LXXXVII. Framed: 19 1/2" x 15 1/2". Unframed 13 1/2" x 10".)

Muses Series

2011-11-15T12:50:00.004-05:00

(Above: Muses Series, True to Life. Click on image to enlarge.)

Several years ago Steve and I bought an old book ... a really old book! It was published in 1655. The title is TABLEAVX DV TEMPLE DES MVSES, (Tirez Dv Cabinet De Fev Mr. Favereav). We still have the title page. The book had been rebound at least once ... and the existing binding was broken. Some of the engravings and pages were missing. We took the book apart, framed and sold the engravings (personally keeping two ... hanging in our living room), and were about to throw out the pages. I just couldn't do it. To touch these pages was like "touching history". I kept them ... and now I've finally used all 88 pieces for art. (This antique book can be seen in its entirety on line ... just click HERE.)

(Above: Muses Series, Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep. Click on image to enlarge.)

First I fused a canvas-like upholstery fabric to the back of every page. I used Fusion 4000, an acid-free mounting product from the framing industry. It works using heat and pressure in a professional dry-mount machine. The bolt of fabric came from Bill Mishoes' auction, my favorite place for used household "stuff". My studio assistant carefully cut the excess fusion and fabric away from the edges of the pages. Now ... I could both hand stitch and free motion embroider on the paper.

(Above: Muses Series, Any Minute Now. Click on image to enlarge.)

Before stitching, however, I used ink and watercolor on each page. The marks were done using Zen-like gestures, each color reacting to what came before it. This is how I painted The Book of the Dead. I found that the brown "wing-like"/abstracted willow tree/gateway symbol is something that flows almost from my unconscious. I started with this, then added the other washes of color and luminous gold "moon" orbs.

(Above: Muses Series, The Time of Your Life. Click on image to enlarge.)

I drew my hand on a piece of paper, cut it out, and used it like a stencil on all 88 pages. I free motion stitched the "hand print" using a beautiful, variegate purple thread .... Oliver Twist ... a special purchase from the Knitting and Stitching Show at Alexandra Palace in 2006. Then I started stitching by hand using mostly pearl cottons in running stitch. As I finished a few, I began collaging random adages (especially about "time") onto each page. I also collaged bits and pieces of ticket stubs from family trips in 1974 (Kenya, the UK, and Austria) along with 19th century cancelled stamps, words from letters written before I was born, and other assorted ephemera ... then I started free motion machining, especially around each vintage clipped letter. Finally, I added beads and a button from the now vacant laundry department of the South Carolina State Mental Hospital.

(Above: Twenty-five framed "Muses Series" pieces and two piles of them shrink-wrapped! You can see the "label" on the back of two of the framed pieces ... a photocopy of the original book's title page with a block that includes my name, title, inventory number, pricing, etc. Click on image to enlarge.)

At one point, I had stacks of these pages all over both the house and studio ... in various stages of completion! Finally, I started mounting and matting them. Because of the buttons and beads, I decided that each mat needed "fillet", a wooden insert at the mat window opening. (Thankfully, this champagne colored fillet has been discontinued and was at a ridiculously low price ... since I needed nearly 400 feet!) The fillet simply "raises" the mat above these embellishments. It took several days ... but (except for a few stragglers because I ran out of mat board!) ... THEY ARE FINISHED and ready to be shown at S&S Art Supplies next month. Steve selected twenty-five for framing. (I like them all and just couldn't pick! The ones pictured in this blog post were randomly selected too!)

Okay ... I admit it. Twenty-five of them don't have any hand stitching or collage work! I did not photograph them ... just mounted and matted them as they were ... color and stitched hand print. I call these Touching History I - XXV. Some of the others have been photographed. I'm not about to upload them all here ... but I did post them on my "Strata" blog ... a place where I "bury" things in the layers and tiers of my personal planet! There are approximately 55 of them HERE!

Getting Ready for Local Shows

2011-11-10T11:05:00.004-05:00

(Above: The "Dearly Departed" series hung abutting one another as if a single unit. Each piece includes one of my photos of cemetery angels in an original page from a Victorian album and a collaged epitaph made with vintage clipped letters. Click on image to enlarge.)

(Above: The "Dearly Departed" series and Anonymous hanging on the wall just outside my studio door. Click on image to enlarge.)

November is always a busy time in the Columbia art scene. My studio is at Gallery 80808/Vista Studios ... an "anchor art location" for the annual Vista Lights art crawl, Thursday, November 17 from 5 - 9. There's another event every spring. The two occasions function like mandatory deadlines for cleaning up the studio ... which I'll get to next Wednesday with Reba, my studio assistant. (Boy does it need it!)

(Above: View into my now "messy" studio and the wall just outside.)

This week, Reba hung sixteen of the eighteen pieces in the "Dearly Departed" series as a "unit" on the wall just outside my studio door. It takes quite a bit of time and measuring to get the works to line up perfectly. Details of each can be seen HERE.

(Above: View down the hallway at Gallery 80808/Vista Studios ... to my #4 door.)

Anonymous, a grave rubbing art quilt, hangs beside the grouping. I'm really pleased with how these works look together. The Book of the Dead will be part of the exhibition in the larger gallery space.

(Above: But By The Grace of God. 35" x 19". Original but altered laundry/clothing issue index cards from the South Carolina Department of Mental Health, buttons from the asylum, and ink. Machine and hand stitched. Click on image to enlarge.)

While getting ready for this art crawl, I'm also working toward an installation and exhibition that will happen at S & S Art Supplies in December. The work uses found objects from the former South Carolina Department of Mental Health historic asylum ... which is about four blocks from my house. South Carolina was the second state in the nation to provide funds/facilities for the mentally ill ... hiring noted architect Robert Mills in 1821 to design the central building. The now vacant property is in the midst of development plans. I was granted access to one of the "out buildings" ... the former laundry and alterations department ... and permission to collect several items for my artwork.

(Above: Detail of But By the Grace of God. Click on image to enlarge.)

I was required to sign a waiver promising to keep patient information confidential. Thus, the laundry/clothing issue cards I found had to be altered. Clipped letters were collage over the names. I used the thinnest Koh-i-nor rapidograph to write on each card ... tiny green words including the piece's title. (In order to stitch on the cards, they were first mounted to upholstery canvas ... recycled from another auction purchase!) The buttons were collected from the mental institution's laundry floor.

(Above: Detail of But By the Grace of God. Click on image to enlarge.)

The orange fabric came from Bill Mishoes' auction ... and was likely a leftover from some anonymous stitchers stash from the mid 70s. The reverse was folded over to create a binding. It was a piece of batik donated by Libby Gamble before she moved to California to study photography. Thus, everything about this quilt is "repurposed" and had a life before I turned it into an art quilt.

Two Hours at the Beach, Window Installation

2011-11-08T10:53:00.005-05:00

(Above: Two Hours at the Beach, Window Installation at the Tapps Center for the Arts on Columbia's Main Street. Click on image to enlarge.)

Last spring I went to Folly Beach and collected trash for two hours. I knew what I was doing. I was savaging for an art quilt's "raw materials". I blogged about the art quilt HERE. The piece was accepted into Art Quilt Lowell 2011. But ... I wasn't really done with the concept. I don't know if I'll ever be done with recycling and related ecological issues in my art. (I wish the world would eliminate the need to draw attention to pollution!) So, how could I resist another opportunity to creatively "scream" .... DON'T LITTER! I signed up for another window installation at the Tapps Center for the Arts. It opened this past "First Thursday on Main Street".

(Above: Two Hours at the Beach, Window Installation at the Tapps Center for the Arts. Click on image to enlarge.)

The window installation takes its name from the art quilt that inspired it. To create the installation, I returned to Folly Beach for another "two hours worth of raw materials" ... blogging about that experience HERE. I hung the quilt in the center and flanked it with water-inspired batik material, netting, and a metallic blue lacy polyester. My statements hang on the two side "wings" and read:

Last spring Columbia fiber and installation artist Susan Lenz spent a mere two hours along South Carolina’s coastline collecting beach trash. She resisted cigarette butts, aluminum cans, dog poop, and debris of enormous size. In June, Lenz combined her “trash stash” with recycled acrylic felt, netting, and thread. She called this unique art quilt Two Hours at the Beach. It was accepted into Art Quilt Lowell, a prestigious, national juried exhibition in Lowell, MA and then became the centerpiece for this window installation. Lenz collected another “two hours” worth of shoreline pollution to convey her anti-litter message. She says, “South Carolina’s beaches are a precious natural resource. They are the home of a diverse wildlife population and a major source of our state’s tourist industry. Even though Columbia is two hours from the beach, many Midlands’ residents visit regularly and litter is something that needs to be addressed EVERYWHERE ... even on Columbia’s Main Street.”

It is amazing just how much trash washes ashore or was left in the dunes. I hope people see the window, the quilt, and think about pollution ... about littering ... about our precious natural resources and responsibilities toward them.

(Above: November 2011's "First Thursday on Main Street". Photo by Alex Smith.)

I forgot to snap photos while walking around on "First Thursday". Fortunately, Alex Smith didn't! He works at the Tapps Center and posted several on their website. The day before this evening art crawl was the official "grand opening" and ribbon cutting for the Tapps Center. For the past year, the building has been jumping through financial hoops, under "art studio" construction, and basically transforming itself from a former department store into a professional arts incubator! I'm proud to have been involved all year long. This is my fourth window installation!

The Minstrel, A Grave Rubbing Art Quilt

2011-11-03T10:18:00.002-05:00

(Above: The Minstrel, Grave Rubbing Art Quilt. Crayon on fabric rubbing. Vintage quilt scraps. Hand and free motion machine embroidery. Click on image to enlarge.)

I couldn't resist making a grave rubbing of the unique marker to a bygone character, a minstrel. The tombstone is in one of the historic cemeteries in Hot Springs Arkansas and I designed the art quilt during my August artist residency at Hot Springs National Park.

(Above: The Minstrel, detail. Click on image to enlarge.)

On and off since then I've been stitching. The scraps are all that was left from a battered antique top sent to me by Connie Akers.

(Above: The Minstrel, detail. Click on image to enlarge.)

I wanted this piece to reflect a raggedness, a patched together world that I imagine as the life of a minstrel. It is not square or totally flat or "perfect" in anyway. The stitching is intentionally varied and haphazard ... rough, rugged, held together by a thread ... or a few thousand stitches!

(Above: The Minstrel, reverse. Click on image to enlarge.)

The back is all that was left from a purchase made over a decade ago at Bill Mishoes' auction ... back before I ever started stitching as an artist ... back when I spent everyday framing pictures and managing a staff that numbered up to fourteen strong. Back then, I dreamed of time to ply a threaded needle. I'd buy beloved, vintage fabric just to touch occasionally ... as the physical manifestation of a half hidden dream. The buttons came from the floor of the abandoned South Carolina State Mental Hospital ... and I intentionally selected the worst looking ones ... the ones with the most character and sense of "being used". They hold the most "life". (Click here for a blog post about collecting "found objects" at the SC Mental Hospital.)

(Above: Bessie's Quilt. Probably the first quilt I ever made ... when I thought it would be the only quilt I'd ever make ... December 2007.)

I used the patchwork strips on Bessie's Quilt ... back before I ever thought I'd "really quilt". This was supposed to be a one-time-only experiment. (The link is to the blog post when I finished this piece.)

Now ... I'm ready to start several more quilts using the grave rubbings I made last Saturday in Charleston's Circular Churchyard. Who would have ever thought I'd quilt!

Grave Rubbing in the Circular Churchyard

2011-10-31T09:25:00.006-05:00

(Above: A composite crayon-on-silk grave rubbing. I used two different markers. Click on image to enlarge.)

There's no place on earth that I'd rather be on Halloween/All Saint's Day weekend than in a graveyard creating crayon-on-fabric rubbings! That's exactly how I spent this past Saturday. Rising at 5:45 AM, I drove through light rain all the way to Charleston ... with fingers crossed that the weather would improve during the coming hours. IT DID!

(Above: Carolyn Thiedke, the Circular Churchyard, and grave rubbing supplies. Click on image to enlarge.)

I met Carolyn Thiedke, a long time church member and quilter, at 8:30 AM. We toured the unique sanctuary ... Circular Congregational Church. It is one of the oldest, continuously worshiping congregations in the South, dating to 1681. (The current building was finished in 1891.) The churchyard is Charleston's oldest, with unmarked graves dating to1695 and the earliest inscribed stone from 1729.

(Above: The start of my collage of grave rubbings in front of some of the rare 18th century medallion portrait markers. There are more of these unusual slate stones in this graveyard than anywhere else in the country! Click on image to enlarge.)

Most of the downtown Charleston churchyards have signs posted forbidding grave rubbings. Carolyn, however, secured permission for me ... in writing ... which I had "on display" for the many tourists who came and went all day long ... often snapping photos of me at work! I cannot truly express my thanks in mere words, so I'll keep Carolyn informed while working on these future art quilts.

(Above: Collage of grave rubbings on silk made from dozens and dozens of markers in the Circular Churchyard. Click on image to enlarge.)

My first task was to create one, large "future whole cloth art quilt". I started at around 9:30 AM and finished it around 2 PM. I am excited to pin it to recycled felt, baste it, and free motion machine the entire surface.

(Above: Individual grave rubbings and two "composites" ... made combining two stones into one "unit" ... these are the "top" and "bottom" ones on this panel of silk. Click on image to enlarge.)

From 2 PM until just after 4 PM, I used another piece of silk and recreated these individual and composite rubbings. All in all, I used more than half the ten yards of silk I bought at Forest Lake Fabric. Now ... time to stitch! Happy Halloween!

Ready for Christmas!

2011-10-27T08:51:00.002-05:00

(Above: Approximately 140 Christmas ornaments with one of my fiber vessels. Click on image to enlarge.)

Almost everything came from my "stash" ... a collection of "stuff" mostly bought at a local auction house, on sale at a fabric store, or acquired through the generosity of friends who leave things by my studio door. The front and back of each ornament is felt. The edges are mostly "fuzzy" yarn. The "centers" are scrap mat board from our business, Mouse House.

This is not the first time I've created such ornaments. I've been doing it for a couple years. They are sold at the South Carolina Artisan Center. They've been $10 each ... but now the commission rate has changed from 60/40% to 50/50%. So, I'm raising the price to $12 just to net the same amount. Times are tough! Hopefully, the coming holiday season will brighten the economic picture. One way or the other, making the ornaments is fun and now I'm "ready for Christmas".

"Famous Last Words" at Vision Gallery

2011-10-24T17:15:00.008-05:00

(Above: My show at Vision Gallery, Chandler, Arizona. It's up through November 5th! Click on any image in this post to enlarge.)

Steve and I had a wonderful, long weekend in Arizona. We flew out on Thursday afternoon, arriving that night. This allowed us to visit Vision Gallery shortly after it opened Friday morning. I took most of the photos then ... before the crowded reception that night.

The gallery-wide exhibits were collectively called "Dia de los Muertos", (The Day of the Dead). This mostly Mexican and southwestern holiday focuses on prays and remembrances for those who have died. The celebration officially takes place November 1st and 2nd, in connection with the Catholic holidays of All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day ... although the origin dates to the indigenous people, especially the Aztec. Some towns have elaborate parades. Many families erect household altars with special trinkets, candles, and other offerings for their departed loved ones. There is a cross cultural mix of Catholic symbols, skulls, flowers, cartoonish/demonic skeletons, special foods, and visits to the cemetery.

Hank Tusinski, a local Arizona artist, created a large "Dia de los Muertos" altar in the gallery.
(Above and below ... Hank's altar seen through several of my chiffon banners with free-motion machine embroidered epitaphs.)

His work and mine sort of "headlined" the show. My part is called "Famous Last Words". (I honestly don't know who added the word "famous". It wasn't in my original exhibition proposal. Yet, that's how I felt while there!) Many of the other artists represented at Vision Gallery produced theme appropriate work. Everything was beautifully displayed together in a large space. This was due to the great work by the Vision Gallery staff, including ....

Eric Faulhaber ...

... and Yvonne Torres.
(Thank you both!)

One of the most important elements to tie together all the work was the use of the artificial flowers. They lined all the display areas, the pedestals, the exterior walls ... and added a brilliant, festive color ... plus they were quite appropriate!

The reception included a fantastic Mariachi band. I create a 30 video clip. It is HERE.

Yet, there was another, wonderful part of the day ... getting to meet two local fiber artists!

Lynn Kough (left) bought my piece from the recent SAQA auction. Traci Paxton Johnson (right) found my work through this blog! We are also now Facebook friends! We went to lunch at a nearby microbrewery ... and talked and talked. It was wonderful to learn about art quilts in their area and to be among new friends.

Now ... scroll down for the rest of the photos! I generally don't post so many ... but this is still the best way to share this amazing experience with people, especially my family. Hence, I'm posting a lot of images!

Listing in TSKW catalog

2011-10-20T07:52:00.004-05:00

This coming March I'll be enjoying a month long residency at The Studios of Key West. I've always wanted to go to this exotic, bohemian location, visit the Hemingway House, and experience "island life". On March 8th I'll be conducting a workshop called "HOT. It is advertised in an incredible catalog. CLICK HERE to access ... I'm in very, very good company!

Now ... off to catch a plane to ARIZONA ! I feel like a jet-setter! I could get used to this!

Exhibiting!

2011-10-18T13:09:00.005-05:00

(Above: A selection of Decision Portraits at the Tapps Center for the Arts. Click on images to enlarge.)

I forgot to post these two pictures. They were taken on October 6th, "First Thursday", a monthly art event on Columbia's Main Street. Since October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, I chose these six pieces: From left to right: On Fighting Cancer I, Leukemia Decision, On Fighting Cancer II, (signage), Solidarity, Advocate, and Voter. Click on any link for more information on the portrait.

People stopped, read, and were touched by the artwork. Few knew I was the artist. It was quite rewarding to watch their facial reactions, see their emotions, and feel their otherwise private responses to these portraits.

Perhaps I'll feel this way on this coming Friday night from 7 - 9. Steve and I are headed to Arizona for the reception of Vision Gallery's 14th annual Dia De Los Muertos (The Day of the Dead) exhibition featuring my solo show "Famous Last Words", a curated selection of my grave rubbing art quilts, epitaph banners, and "Angels in Mourning" series. I can hardly wait. I'll be blogging about it soon!

A Week of Variety!

2011-10-14T12:16:00.011-05:00

(Above: Book of Covers, altered book(s). 12 1/4" x 19" x 19" Click on image to enlarge.)

Although I haven't posted in just over a week, I absolutely have been working! In fact, I've got several projects going and at various stages of completion. Some have been photographed (just scroll down); some haven't been ... like a new grave rubbing art quilt, my small sculptural unit of old clock cases, and a mixed media series on mounted book pages dating to 1655. (These last ones include both hand and machine embroidery.) I'll post images soon!

(Above: Karen showing an interesting accordion fold. She used the covers of the current undefined issue as a "learning piece".)

Last Wednesday was my final book arts class. We created interesting accordion folds and shared projects that each participants made ... including my Book of Covers.

(Above: The Book of Covers. Click on image to enlarge.)

The first experiment with old book covers failed miserably. I attempted making more holes using an awl. For this piece, I used a drill ... with bits graduating from very small to rather large. The "interior" of each book cover includes vintage clipped letters with definitions and variations on the word "cover":

Cover, an entry fee
Dust Cover, a plastic machine or equipment shield
First Day Cover, a special stamp
Cover, a dramatic or operatic or dance understudy
Cover Crop, erosion prevention
Slip Cover, sofa protection
Cover, as in a blanket
Cover, a collection of mathematical subsets
Cover, a lid or seal
Cover Girl, the lady on the front of a fashion magazine
Covered Wagon, primitive transportation
Cover, a form of protection in combat
Cover alls, a work garment
Run for cover, getting out of harm's way
Cover, what one tells the boss for a co-worker
Cloud cover, overcast
Cover, singing someone else's song
Cover letter, the introductory page for a business proposal or an information packet
Covered, an insurance claim
Cover, to traverse or to travel over
Blow One's Cover, inadvertently give away one's secret identity
Cover up, a loose outer garment
Snow Cover, the white stuff
Cover, how a stallion mates a mare
Cover up, a type of cosmetic make-up
Break Cover, suddenly emerge from hiding
Take Cover, seek protection
Cover, the ability to pay for something
Under Cover, disguising one's identity to gain the trust of another
Cover up, an untrue explanation for an action or motive
Cover, a relatively common last name
Cover, as in concealment
Cover, a fielding position in cricket
Cover, a poor way to judge a book

(Above: Bookmarks. Click on image to enlarge.)

I guess this book arts class prompted me to make another batch of bookmarks ... plus, the South Carolina Artisan Center was out of them.

(Above: Two Hours at the Beach. Click on image to enlarge.)

Yet one of the most exciting things I've done this week was to work on the materials I'll need to transform a display window at the Tapps Center for the Arts. The window will include this unique art quilt and will also be called Two Hours at the Beach. What I needed was MORE BEACH TRASH.

(Above: Trash collected from Folly Beach in two hours. All "washed" with a garden hose and packed tightly into containers. For some reason, my husband Steve thinks this shouldn't be brought into the house! Click on image to enlarge.)

Yesterday I had a picture framing delivery outside of Charleston. I took advantage of the drive by visiting Folly Beach ... both before the delivery and after the delivery. I needed the "recovery time" between the two, hour long tasks. Why? Because it's HARD WORK! I'm pretty sore today. Lots of muscles are aching! Plus ... I couldn't park anywhere near the end of the island where most of the trash washes ashore. Folly Beach was totally devastated by Hurricane Irene. The County Park at the end of the island is closed due to severe erosion. If I hadn't known where I was, I wouldn't have guessed it to be the same location at which I collected all the trash for the original art quilt. The dunes are almost all gone. "Relic sand", the kind that oozes between bare toes ... a combination of soil and sand generally found where the sea has most recently claimed solid ground ... was everywhere and right beside the tide lines. All the signs of a beach in poor health were obvious. It was so sad ... and also quite full of trash.

It was also covered with some amazing shells. I couldn't resist these two. The presence of so many nice, big shells made clear the underway force from the hurricane.

Yet it was the beach trash I came to collect ... to add to the art quilt in the storefront window. I was shocked to fine such fragile glass bulbs still in tact. The strangest piece, however, was undoubtedly another dental floss tool. I found TWO this spring during my "two hours". They are on the quilt. At the time I wondered, "Who flosses at the beach?" To find another one was just plain strange!

Most horrible were the black "rocks" littering the beach. I picked up a few small ones but couldn't manage to haul back any of the larger ones. They are lighter weight that "real rocks" but still heavy. I don't think I would have figured out what they were if it hadn't been for a kind gentleman out for his seven mile jog. He explained that these are "tar balls", and he broke a small one with his bare hands. I picked up one and could easily do it too. They have the consistency of water logged charcoal. Some were larger than bowling balls. They leech coffee-like stains back into the ocean. This is undoubtedly the remains of an oil spill ... now washed up on an already devastated South Carolina beach. (PS THANK YOU to the gentleman ... who also carried most of the first haul over half the way back to my car. I couldn't have done it without you!)

I made a video of Steve breaking one of these small "tar balls". CLICK HERE to view it.

The Book of the Dead

2011-10-06T10:58:00.006-05:00

(Above: The Book of the Dead. As shown: 12 3/4" x 23 2/4". Closed: 12 3/4" x 11" x 4". Altered book filled with collected epitaphs. Click on image to enlarge.)

IT'S DONE !!!

(Above: The Book of the Dead on it's lectern, front view. Click on any image in this post to enlarge.)

There are 696 individual pages in this altered book. I didn't count the epitaphs but the best estimate is "over 1200". They were collected in the United States: in pioneer cemeteries in Oregon, cowboy cemeteries in Arizona and Texas, historic churchyards in Charleston and Norfolk, famous places like Bonaventura in Savannah (featured in John Berendt's Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil), military resting places in Arlington and San Francisco, and in all sorts of other cemeteries located in Richmond, VA; Washington, DC; Slippery Rock, PA; Colma and Napa, CA; Hot Springs, AR; all over South Carolina ... and beyond. They were also collected in England: from Bath and Westminster Abbeys to churchyards and public cemeteries in Manchester, Eccles, Birmingham, Dudley, Plymouth, London, Chester, Exeter, and beyond.

The original sketchbook was a Christmas gift (2009) from my mentor Stephen Chesley. He’s filled at least two since then! I hadn’t put a single mark in mine …until my residency at Hot Springs National Park. Why? Well, it's GIGANTIC! It came from Art Alternatives ... 348 blank sheets of paper. That’s 696 pages of 75 lb. acid free paper measuring 12 ½” x 10 ¾”.

On and off, it took three days to fill the book with washes and splatters of ink, coffee filter stains, and watercolor gestures … in a “zen like” process of simply “marking the paper” and then responding to the mark with the next color. I did this during the first week of my residency. The pages dried quickly; the high temperatures were up to 106 degrees that first week!

For the remaining time I was in Arkansas, I wrote in the book at least three hours a day ... morning, afternoon, and evening. This allowed my wrist to recover from all the calligraphy.

Since returning to Columbia, I worked on the cover ... altering a cover from an 1880 Bible and attaching it with weathered, brown microsuede fabric, thread, and beads.

(Above: My work table at Hot Springs National Park's residency program.)

My studio assistant Reba spent over five hours erasing the light pencil lines that I drew for the calligraphy. Three "magic rub" erasers are now little nubs. Fortunately, we have an air compressor to blow away all the eraser residue.

Some of the pages are rather densely covered. The spread above is probably my longest epitaph. It's from Hilton Head!

At the front of the book I added vintage, clipped letters ... for a title page. For some reason, I couldn't resist using both my potential titles: The Book of the Dead and The Book of Death. This photo was taken in the main "gallery" room at Mouse House, Inc., our business. I guess that's where it will sit until opportunities for exhibition hopefully come along. I do plan to share it in Columbia at Vista Lights, the annual fall art crawl, at Gallery 80808/Vista Studios ... where my studio is located.

Right behind the title page, I added "Collected Epitaphs by Susan Lenz". Of course, I'm still collecting ... though I'm not sure why or "for what"! Time will tell.

The next page is a combination of various on-line definitions for the word "epitaph". The last page lists the places from which the collection came. Otherwise, all the pages are ink and watercolor washes with calligraphy.

(Above: The front cover.)

(Above: The back cover.)

Unearth and new studio

2011-10-04T12:44:00.005-05:00

(Stitching on a grave rubbing art quilt. Photo by Kristine Hartvigsen.)

Sunday was "unearth: A Celebration of Naturally Inspired Art" at Saluda Shoals Park. Along with 25 other juried artists, I sat at a table along one of the many wooded trails and demonstrated my art and showed off various creations.

(Above: Me talking about art and nature. Photo by my husband Steve Dingman.)

I talked about how nature is a constant reminder that society needs to preserve its precious resources and how my artwork is thereby influenced through repurposing fabrics and other materials. The weather was glorious. Music filled the air. (Some of the artists were musicians and the Lake Murray Symphony was also there for a free concert.)

(Above: Wayne Thornley and me. Photo by fellow artist, Lisa Donovan.)

Lots of people were out walking their dog. Others came as entire families. There were even bicyclists and power walkers. I heard over 3000 enjoyed the day. I got to catch up with several friends and fellow artists. Some took terrific pictures too.

(Above: One of my acorn vessels. Photo by Wayne Thornley.)

(Above: Acorn cap gems. Photo by Kristine Hartvigsen.)

It was fun to wake up on Monday morning and find photos of my work and me on Facebook. Otherwise, Monday was the day that my husband Steve left for a week in England. He'll be visiting our elder son Mathias and his girlfriend, seeing them dance in Birmingham Royal Ballet's triple bill.

So ... I'm "stuck" at Mouse House, our business. Yet, it isn't that bad this time! Why? I turned one of the back storage rooms into a NEW STUDIO. This space is intended for 3D sculptural art. After all, the drill, miter saw, screw drivers, vises, clamps, wood stains, dremel and all our other tools and materials are here. I don't need to carry these back and forth from my off-site studio. There's no more space there anyway! I've been "hunting and gathering" things for this project for almost a year ... odd assortments of Victorian furniture parts, clock cases, antique objects, etc. It was high time to START MAKING SOMETHING!

(Above: The new 3D studio at Mouse House. Click on image to enlarge.)

Monday was productive! The first thing I created was a lectern for The Book of the Dead ... which is very nearly finished! I'll be posting photos soon.

(Above: Lectern for The Book of the Dead. Click on image to enlarge.)

The lectern was made from Victorian furniture parts and used a piece of beveled glass (all purchased at Bill Mishoe's auction during the last year). I wanted the book to rest against something transparent ... so that the cover will show from the other side. I can't wait to put the book on this lectern!

Anonymous

2011-10-02T09:09:00.008-05:00

(Anonymous, Grave Rubbing Art Quilt Series. 49" x 47". Crayon grave rubbing on 1930s child's slip collaged with scraps of vintage household linens on old drawn-work tablecloth. Hand and free-motion machine embroidery. Click on image to enlarge.)

(Above: Anonymous, detail. Click on image to enlarge.)

This piece developed slowly. My stash of vintage household linens had grown too large but I couldn't part with any of the pieces ... even the stained or damaged ones. Someone had stitched these tea towels, pillowcases, table runners, and napkins. I cherished them. While visiting Elmwood Cemetery (which is only three blocks from my house), I noticed the tombstone erected in memory of unknown family members. There seemed to be a connection between the anonymous stitches and the almost forgotten burial site. The 1930s era child's slip sealed the mental design ... my vision for this work. I bought the slip in a "table lot" at Bill Mishoes' auction. The grave rubbing was made last Easter morning. The quilt was designed earlier this summer.

(Above: Anonymous, detail. Click on image to enlarge.)

In a July blog entry, I posted the photo above. This is the atrium area at Gallery 80808/Vista Studios. (My studio is directly behind the wall in the back). At that time I wrote:

I had my last studio assistant snip a pile of linens apart ... filling the box with just the sections containing stitches. The background is a damaged, vintage tablecloth. The "batting" is a piece of recycled acrylic felt ... from a outdoors shop ... once packaging material for a kayak on its way from the manufacturer to the local distributor. I clipped and arranged all these pretty embellishments around the garment. Then I pinned it. Now I'll have to baste it because I can't stand that many pins while I'm working. Plus ... this is the piece I planned on taking to Hot Springs National Park for my one month residency in August. It seems like a perfect way to show the legacy of remembrance in stitches, my grave rubbing art quilt series, and also talk about the women who would have come in the heyday of the springs ... bringing their crazy quilts and embroidery with them for the healing experience of the hot waters.

(Above: Anonymous, detail. Click on image to enlarge.)

It took an entire day to baste this piece, and the work really was perfect for stitching in public while at Hot Springs National Park. People loved touching it and remembering the fabrics from their childhood. Between the central section and the edge, I plied dense running stitches ... consciously aware that this form of quilting is directly related to early West Bengal and Bangladesh kantha. Women layered their worn saris and stitched light blankets and other household textiles via the running stitch. It was a perfect thing to do while riding back from Arkansas and in the evenings in front of the television!

(Above: Anonymous, detail. Click on image to enlarge.)

After countless hours, the front was finished. The reverse was made of other vintage household linens. The edge is blanket stitched. I'm very, very happy with this piece. For me, it bridges history and it perfectly blends "traditional" with "contemporary" ... a modern art quilt made of 100% recycled fabric that sings of yesteryear without losing a present day viewpoint.

(Above: Anonymous, reverse. Click on image to enlarge.)

At Rest in Arkansas and other art

2011-09-26T16:02:00.008-05:00

(Above: At Rest in Arkansas, Grave Rubbing Art Quilt Series. 16" x 17". Crayon rubbing on silk collaged with vintage household linens. Hand and free motion machine embroidery. Click on image to enlarge.)

A recent SAQA (Studio Art Quilt Association) newsletter included information about the Texas Quilt Museum and Karey Bresenhan's (of Quilts, Inc.) request for small quilt donations for its gift shop. I thought I'd make something using one of my grave rubbings made in Arkansas; but the piece sort of "got away from me", growing in size and complexity, and becoming something I could use in my upcoming exhibition in Rocky Mount next January thru May.

(Above: At Rest in Arkansas, reverse. Click on image to enlarge.)

Giving this piece a title was momentarily difficult. I already have a piece called At Rest. The title At Rest II was considered ... but it sort of implies a "series" or at least two "related" works. The only thing similar is the concept. I suppose the same name is possible. My mentor, Stephen Chesley has several pieces with the same name. Yet, each one of these grave rubbing art quilts is unique ... even if the image (as in this case) can be found on multiple tombstones. I've seen variations of the "picket fence"/"pearly gates" under an arch with a dove many times. The "anchor" motif in the upper corners were new to me though. I've only seen this combination in Arkansas ... hence the title.

(Above: At Rest. Shown as an example for why I just couldn't call the newer piece At Rest II. This piece is currently at Vision Gallery in Chandler, Arizona for my solo show ... opening October 7th. I'm going for the reception on the 21st!)

(Handed Down. Vintage, off white kid leather glove on antique quilt scraps. Hand stitched.)

So ... what did I finally decide about a donation to the Texas Quilt Museum? I sent Handed Down. There's a bit of serendipity to this. First, I actually do have two pieces with the same title: Handed Down! Second, the antique quilt scraps for this small piece were given to me by Connie Akers ... of Texas! The piece is sort of "going home".

(Above: Handed Down. Vintage gloves and cutwork tablecloth, antique paisley. Hand stitched. Two pieces, one title ... now I don't have to worry about this as the smaller one has been donated!)

(Above: Reba, my new studio assistant. Click on image to enlarge. Please note: At Rest in Arkansas was "in progress" by my Bernina.)

There's plenty of other art being made in my studio ... including some of the "paperwork" that happens with various installation. Last spring I showed "I Do / I Don't". The public was invited to share their statements about marriage and divorce before the installation ... but also DURING THE INSTALLATION. I still had four large pieces of mat board with all these collected statements (leaning up against the wall in the photo above). My new studio assistant Reba spent hours typing them into a "word document". Thank goodness this is now done ... months after the fact. I hope to use these statements in future, related work.

(Above: Stitching on Anonymous in my studio. Photo by friend and art patron Nancy Chambers. Click on image to enlarge.)

I've been busy with Anonymous, undoubtedly the most labor intensive grave rubbing art quilt to date (with the possible exception of My Epitaph Quilt.)

(Pinning the reverse to the quilt in the hallway at Gallery 80808/Vista Studios ... just outside my studio door. Photo by Nancy Chambers. Click on photo to enlarge.)

The front/top is finished. The reverse is in progress. I'll be blanket stitching the edges. Hopefully, within a few days it will be done.

(Above: Book Arts Class at City Art Gallery taught by Chris Johnson. Click on image to enlarge.)

My book arts class is going very well. Last week we worked on ways to embellish pages. I've never really gotten into stamps, especially those purchased at hobby and craft stores ... but I LOVE carving my own!

(Above: Some of Chris Johnson's hand carved wine cork stamps. Click on image to enlarge.)

I really liked carving wine corks ... especially the plastic ones which we first cut down the middle an used the rectangular "inside". We also carved linoleum and a soft, thick piece of white rubber. I may never use this idea ... but perhaps I will. It really was easy!

Now for some good news ... REALLY GREAT NEWS! The October/November issue of Quilting Arts Magazine includes a six page "artist profile" article on my work and me! The staff was so professional and wonderful to work with. Ellen Seeburger chose perfect words to compliment the photos ... which were taken "in house". The magazine selected which pieces they wanted and paid for them to be shipped for their "photo shoot". I'm totally over the moon about the article ... and the magazine is available all over the place ... like Barnes and Nobles and Books-a-Million, etc.

(Above: Sissy, our rescue cat ... may she rest in peace. She left pawprints on our hearts.)

Finally, some sad news. Sissy, our rescue cat, had to be put to sleep on Friday morning. Something terrible was wrong with her sweet little heart. Fluids were building up and literally suffocating her. It was so sad and we will miss her.

Jillian's aka The ReFashionista

2011-09-19T07:49:00.003-05:00

(Above: Jillian and me at the Jasper Magazine launch party.)

Last Thursday Steve and I went to the launch party for a new arts publication called Jasper. I ran into Jillian, aka The ReFashionista. She looked amazing ... in a "brand new-to-her" dress. A photo was snapped and I ended up on her blog ... which isn't just any ordinary blog! Jillian is using her blog to document a year-long challenge. She's altering a garment a day! Last Thursday was day 78. Check out her full blog post for this dress HERE. To visit the entire, on-going blog, click HERE. Jillian has altered all sorts of outdated outfits ... even a soccer jersey into a skirt and she's made mouse-shaped cat toys from big, '80s shoulder pads. Very cool! Very talented!

(PS Jillian ... If you don't want to continue with the cat toys ... please pass the shoulder pads on to me. I've got three cats and no toys!
PSS Jillian will accept donation of slighted used, out-of-style garments. I'm raiding the back of my closet! She said I could drop them off at the South Carolina Arts Commission where she works.
PSSS I met Jillian when she posed for my Decision Portrait Series. The piece is called Bald is Beautiful. Jillian had her head shaved to benefit kids with cancer. Click HERE to read more about this amazing decision.)

Coming up for air!

2011-09-18T08:52:00.006-05:00

It's been two weeks since my last post ... which is a rather long time for me to neglect my blog. Please don't think, however, that I've been neglecting my art! I've actually been quite busy! Of course, there was a pile of custom picture framing and other "work" waiting from my attention after the month of August in Hot Springs National Park as the "artist-in-residence". That ate up a lot of my time. Then ... I had a few special projects to tackle ...

...like washing and sorting all the buttons collected from the alteration/laundry facility in the former State Mental Hospital ...

These thousands of buttons were scattered all over the dirty floor.

Why was it dirty? Well, the buildings haven't been occupied for decades.

Chipped paint from the ceiling, inches of dust, and general dirt was literally scooped up by hand and broom.

(Photo by Fred Delk, Executive Director of the Columbia Development Corporation, who helped arrange for me to visit this unique, otherwise "off limits", historic site and collect socks, buttons, and other materials for my use in art!)

I was given permission to collect them for my art. I plan to use them for an installation at S&S Art Supplies December. It was high time to wash them ... and the water turned BLACK ... but the results were worth it. I sorted them into two groups: white and multicolored.

Buttons weren't the only things in need of washing. I had artificial flowers collected from cemetery dumpsters to dissect, wash, dry, and package!

Here's the spare bathroom tub ... the rinsing station for the flowers. (I hand wash by the sinkful!)

After draining the water from the tub, I spread old towels on the floor where the flowers can dry.

All these cemetery flowers joined the bags I'd already collected over a year ago. These are the "previously collected flowers" in two JUMBO "space bags" ... the kind from which a vacuum cleaner or shop-vac sucks all the air. We'd never used them before.

... but they sure work! That's Steve (above) with the same two jumbo bags of artificial flowers. (We used our Shop-vac in the framing garage!)

Those two bags then fit into the old box for our miter saw!

The box joined six others filled with a total of 175 pounds worth of artwork now on the way to Vision Gallery in Chandler, Arizona! My solo show "Famous Last Words" opens on October 7th. The reception is on October 21st ... and I'm very excited to by flying out for this exciting part of the annual Dia de los Muertos celebration.

(Above: Killed Instantly, 24 1/2" x 24". Running stitch in wool. Vintage doily with embroidered poppies and vintage lace and linens on severely light damaged material salvaged from an old office window. Grave rubbings made with crayon on silk with words: Born 1817. Killed instantly in front of Petersburg, Va. June 22, 1864. Brave Christian Solider Fare Thee Well. For more about this piece with images that can be enlarged, click HERE.)

One of the art quilts, Killed Instantly, was on Vision Gallery's curated list. It will be sent directly from the McMinn County Living Heritage Museum in Athens, Tennessee where it just won Best of Show for art quilts in The 29th Annual National Hertiage Quilt Show with the theme: "Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow: The Civil War"! I wish I could have gone; I love these sorts of historic museums.

In addition to "washing" my raw materials and shipping artwork, I've also been enrolled in a book art class at City Art. The first week we learned several types of Japanese stab bindings. Our homework was to create two, coordinating books using these stitched bindings. I decided to make three ... partly to use all three bindings taught ... but also because I really messed up and had to redo pages from one of the books ... which eliminated the planned "coordination".

The small book now has cemetery angel photos stitched with antique bookend paper that coordinates with the more colorful book. The cover was made from leftover Thai Stucco paper, the "third layer" of all my Decision Portraits. (All photos can be enlarge.)

The "more colorful" cover was made from the title page of an antique book with a collage of bookend paper and an antique engraving. The paper was really was too brittle for this purpose (hence some of my initial problems). I ended up taking the entire book apart ... ruining the original pages (they were salvaged for another use!). I glued antique red brocade fabric to the inside of the covers and finally managed a "fern stitch" binding ...

...with a second batch of pages. These "new pages" used some of the Thai Stucco paper with angel images ... hence "coordination".

Finally, the third book is filled with larger (6" x 4") photos of cemetery angels. It has a Thai Stucco paper cover ... and just doesn't coordinate with any of the red tones or bookend paper. Oh well!

It does, however, show the tortoise shell binding ... which was totally new to me!

During the second class we learned COPTIC BINDING! (There are four more classes ... but this is what I really, really wanted to learn ... and I LOVE IT as much as I hoped I would!)

There was absolutely no way for me to "read" instructions for Coptic binding and figure it out. Yet, once shown the steps, it is rather easy. For homework, we were told to "make a book using the Coptic binding".

I am NOT considering this "homework" to be a "class project" and it certainly isn't a "kit". I took apart two early, mixed media pieces on 5" x 7" masonite panels. Holes were drilled, folios torn and folded into signatures, thread was waxed, and He Said, She Said was created.

My original titles for these two works were: He played and She Listened. Obviously, the poses are very suggestive. Although I'd never before created an intentionally provocative piece, this is what the images suggest ... and I had a blast putting all my vintage clipped letters together into a sexually charged piece.

Above it the title page.

Above is one spread ... using the original titles. To see/read the entire book, please visit the video that includes Ravel's Bolero. It is HERE. Who knows what the homework for week three will be!

Quartz Mining, Final Residency Presentation, and HOME again!

2011-09-04T20:32:00.003-05:00

(Above: Hiking on the Hot Springs National Park trails.)

My wonderful husband Steve flew into the Little Rock National Airport last Wednesday afternoon. I was thrilled to have him with me for the final few days in Arkansas. We hiked several trails in Hot Springs National Park, cleaned the cute "ranger house" in which I'd been living for a month ...

...presented my work during "First Friday", the monthly "art crawl" in the town of Hot Springs ...

...officially donated three pieces to the National Park's permanent art collection, ate in the finest local restaurant, waded in the creek, took a scenic drive, and WENT QUARTZ MINING at Coleman's Quartz mine!

It was 96 degrees outside. We met all sorts of fun people digging through the dregs from the "professional" mining, found lots of gorgeous quartz pieces, and had a total blast. I even created a two-minute video of the experience. It is HERE. Then, Steve drove me back to South Carolina. I stitched on my Grave Rubbing Art Quilt piece, Anonymous, the entire way. There will be photos coming ... but for some completely insane reason, I decided to add very, very dense running stitches (kantha style ... like the beautiful work from India) to the piece. I'm estimating a minimum of 45 hours more stitching to complete the quilt top. Thank God I love hand stitching! Tomorrow ... I tackle the mountain of work that piled up in my month-long absence.

Tying Up Loose Ends

2011-08-30T17:36:00.004-05:00

(Above: View through nine epitaph banners hanging in my residency studio. Click on image to enlarge ... especially to see just how incredibly sheer these banners are!)

Although I truly thought about starting a new "In Box" or faux-stained glass fiber piece, I had to come to the realization that my time in Hot Springs National Park is quickly coming to an end (plus my adorable husband Steve is flying in tomorrow for two days of fun before driving me home!) So, yesterday was time to turn my attention to finishing projects which were already in production ... like my epitaph banners on the sheerest material I've ever used.

On an earlier blog post, I wrote: " ... each one takes about three hours from start to finish ... I can get one done before lunch." Something was wrong though. It was taking much, much longer! For a while, it just didn't make sense.

(Above: Decision banners hanging in last year's "Personal Grounds" exhibition in Charleston, South Carolina. To read more about this show, click HERE.)

Then I realized that I "timed myself" last year when creating the 43 "Decision Banners" for my show at City Gallery at Waterfront Park. "Decisions" could be written in a line or two. I free motion "wrote" hundreds of lines like: Should I wear the red shirt or the blue one? Should I tell him I'm pregnant? Do you want fries with that?

(Above: Nine epitaph banners hanging in my residency studio. Click on image to enlarge.)

Some epitaphs are short ... but most of the really, really good ones are at least three to six lines of my stitching! How can I resist ten lines about a girl who died saving her child after their clothing caught fire or a Barbican fisherman described as "Big, brave, bold, bald and some times bloody difficult" or a man killed by Apache Indians while "battling for the right"? It takes a lot more time for an epitaph banner just because there's lots more words to stitch! I finished all nine banners that I brought ... but each one took a minimum of four and a half hours ... some took almost six. I stitched the last one today instead of starting something new!

I did, however, whip up ten sympathy cards using the extra paper from my art books and some of the photos of my cemetery angels. Now, I'm working on Anonymous ... though, I admit it, I did lay out a new Grave Rubbing Art Quilt ... one using a rubbing from one Hot Springs' cemeteries. It will be called The Mistral. How could I resist these words, "I've told my last joke".

Breaking the Mold

2011-08-28T16:45:00.004-05:00

(Above: Spring Experimental Vessel. I've always tried so hard to keep each coil firmly zigzagged to the one preceding it in the spiral. It occurred to me NOT to do this. I'm not wildly "in love" with this work ... but the possibilities are now endless. Click on image to enlarge.)

During the first few days here in Hot Springs National Park, I was sorting out my focus for the monteachh … setting up a work area … exploring the unique, natural environment … and coming to term with what materials and supplies I brought vs. what I thought I might actually need … plus I was feeling the pressure to create art inspired by the park but also worthy of a permanent, national collection.

(Above: Spring Experimental Vessel, interior. As long as I was "experimenting", I poured a glossy, acrylic glazing medium into the vessel along with an assortment of bead. It took several days, thin layer at a time, to build up a wet looking "spring" in this Hot Springs National Park inspired work. There must be a better way/material to pour into one of these vessels ... an idea worth future exploration. Click on image to enlarge.)

On August 10^th I wrote: My mentor, oil painter Stephen Chesley, advised me to create at least one “break the mold” piece … something “out of the box” … something truly unique, experimental, cutting edge, adventuresome, and honestly “me”. I continued with an acknowledgment that this was “good advice” but it was also not what I was supposed to be doing. My plan, at the time, was to stick to tried-and-true approaches to fiber, comfortable techniques, and time-tested talents. I went further and said I’d create a few “special ‘In Box’ series and faux-stained glass series pieces” that would reflect the ornamentation, patterns, and decorations of the bathhouses. I was, after all, drawing these details in my sketchbook. I scrapped the “break the mold” advice.

(Above: Spring Experimental Vessel on door step to my "ranger house". Click on image to enlarge.)

Well, so far I have not stuck to the plan. I haven’t created a single “In Box” or faux-stained glass piece (though I still might do this … just for the fun of it). I have, however, broken the mold! I really don’t know how this happened. To what was I responding? At what point did the departure begin? When did the hair-brained ideas formulate? Why did I actually have on hand exactly what I needed? I don’t know!

(Above: Muses, In the Blind of an Eye. Mid 17th century book page with gessoed reverse mounted on upholstery fabric; ink and coffee stains; hand and machine stitching; collage, including distressed antique photo and vintage clipped letters. The title word "Muses" comes from the title of the original book. Click on image to enlarge.)

Figuring out “inspiration” is largely a mystery but this much I can relate: The gift of time and space are magical. I don’t listen to music and haven’t turned on the television for days. I’ve been thinking. I’ve heard quite a lot of talk about “art” too … mostly from people who haven’t a clue that craftsmanship isn’t content. Art, true art, must be a dialogue between maker and material, maker and viewer, viewer and the work, the work and the world ... Art must touch the mind, the eye, the soul. Art SAYS something that words fail to capture (even if every piece doesn't say the same thing to the same people or to all people!).

(Above: Muses, Can You Hear Me Now. Mid 17th century book page with gessoed reverse mounted on upholstery fabric; ink and coffee stains; hand and machine stitching; collage, including distressed antique photo, vintage clipped letters, and snippets of original 1950s era handwritten letters and stamps from Italy. Click on image to enlarge.)

“Breaking the Mold” isn’t generally a planned activity; it is the result of inspiration. Inspiration is both elusive and constant, a rare combination indeed! I’m not necessarily saying that the pieces included with this blog post are my “break the mold” work … but the mental conversations I’ve been having with myself, my materials, and about my future have certainly shifted, changed directions, and have made the time here in Hot Springs more worthwhile than any of the art made during the month. I’m not quitting anything I’ve been doing; I’m adding the chance to try new, totally different work in the future. Hence, the mold was shattered.

(Above: Muses, The Check is in the Mail. Click on image to enlarge.)

This also happened when I was on Westport Island, Maine during the autumn of 2008 while in residency. While there, a seed was planted and art quilts resulted. Here, a seed has been planted. I’m not totally sure what will grow but it will be new. It will be art, not just another pretty picture and not a twist on an old trick. I wanted such an experience; I got it. What I needed to bring was simply me.

(Above: Muses, Secrets from the Past. Click on image to enlarge.)

(Above: Muses, Over the Line. Click on image to enlarge.)

(Above: Muses, Touched. Click on image to enlarge. My husband Steve will get me the exact date and full title for the Muses book. We still have the title page. Please note, the book was NOT in tact when we got it!)

More books!

2011-08-26T15:54:00.004-05:00

(Above: Four more new artist's book responding to Hot Springs National Park. Click on image to enlarge.)

I’ve finished making artist’s book for some of the photos taken here in Hot Springs National Park. The exercise has been important. I’m signed up for a bookmaking class this fall and want to go into it ready to learn more than the basics. It seemed wise to “brush up” on my limited skills. There are “mistakes” here, which isn’t a “bad thing”; I’ve learned so much!

(Above: Along the Trail. Click on image to enlarge.)

For instances, I should have double hinged Along the Trail. I did fold back the edge of the paper to create a “spacers” so that the photos wouldn’t bulge the thickens … but I didn’t realize so many pages really needed the back cover to have more flexibility … plus … the antique paper I used for the cover really isn’t strong enough!

(Above: Man and Nature. Click on image to enlarge.)

In Man and Nature I should have created an album with “spacers” … it bulges a little due to the added thickness of the photos … but not too badly! For the front of the book, I used one of the pieces I made last week.

(Above: Photo of Hot Springs National Park water fountain. Click on image to enlarge.)

I also learned that I love faux-suede for the covers. I experimented with different binding ideas … one’s I totally made up! It was fun. Also, I’m very thrilled with another exercise that I might not have done back in Columbia. I experimented with my camera, changing the shutter speed, the lighting, and using manual focus.

(Above: In and Around the Bathhouses. This is the book on which I also used one of the "volunteer patches" on the brown, faux-suede cover. Click on image to enlarge. The photo on this page is the gorgeous stained glass ceiling in the Fordyce Bathhouse.)

I tried really hard to capture the water here at Hot Springs National Park. It’s what makes this place special. Yet, it is elusive and difficult to photograph … hot, pure, shimmering, odorless, fluid, colorless, fluid, reflective, and subject to change with the passing wind or unseen pressure sources. One of my favorite images came from a public fountain. It occurred to me that man-made structures showcased the water best … the fountains, the display springs, the fancy gadgets and knobs in the bathhouses, from the bridges over nearby creeks.

(Above: Rusted Relic in nature. Click on image to enlarge. This photo is in Man and Nature.)

Man and nature co-exist here. Unfortunately, man doesn’t always appreciate nature. My artist book has no words except its title, location, and my name. It is filled with photos showing how man has interacted with this natural park … both the preservation of the water and the discarded trash left in areas generally out of sight.

(Above: Broken Gate. Click on image to enlarge. This photo is in Man and Nature.)

Hot Springs National Park is a special place. It deserves all the respect it can get and I’m glad the government is here doing its job! I wish everyone did ... I wish everyone recycled and no one ever discarded some piece of junk to rust in the woods!

Book Art in Hot Springs

2011-08-24T17:24:00.005-05:00

(Above: The first four artist books created using photos from Hot Springs National Park. The one with the twig along the spine includes pictures of trees. The one using formerly rusted, vintage damask is called Rust and includes photos of rusty water valves. The two-tones green striped one includes photos of the animals I've seen ... turtle, snake, doves, butterfly, and two skinks ... but not the chipmunks and squirrels; they're too fast! The one on the top is called Slate and includes those photos. Click on image to enlarge.)

(Above and below: Rust and Wildlife, open. All the books also include my clipped letters. Click on images to enlarge.

I’ve taken truckloads of photos since arriving in Arkansas and it occurred to me that I could have some of them printed at the nearby pharmacy for use in handmade albums. This seemed like such a great idea because I brought a nice stack of fawn colored printing paper with me for all the pages. The rest of the plan has been an exercise in improvisation.

(Above: Trees and Slate, open. Click on image to enlarge.)

This is a good thing, of course. In fact, my artistic mentor, oil painter Stephen Chesley, told me I was bringing too many things out of my studio. He suggested that I “simply go and be myself … making art from whatever is on hand”. While this is an interesting and likely worthwhile idea (especially for a gifted painter whose draftsmanship skills are unparalleled), I brought lots of stuff … but not necessarily the things I’d end up needing.

(Above: Slate. I made this one a horizontal opening book!)

I’m used to having plenty of scrap mat board and a professional cutter; clamps, weights, a hammer and an endless supply of nails; Yes paste; two-way tape; and photo corners. I had to purchase the last two items … but

… I talked my way into getting a free straight-edged razor from the framing department at Hobby Lobby and then cut apart my pizza box and other “trash” for the boards …

… used clothes pins to hold my album pages in place …

… and to continue as makeshift clamps while lining up the covered boards …

… and the stack of provided dinner plates as drying weights.

This worked for the books with fewer pages, but I wanted one larger album too. I used the spare tip from my fine-tipped soldering iron as a nail and a charcoal grill utensil as a hammer. It worked and I’ll post this book when it is finished! (The clothes pins fail me ... so I tied up the pages and covers with extra thread! That kept all my binding holes in alignment.)

Plus, I’ve started two multi-signature books … trying to use what’s on hand … improvising! So, what I brought wasn’t what I really needed … but it was close enough. It’s been an interesting experience. Also, I plan to post all my photos on Flickr! once I’ve returned home to Columbia! More photos of the newer, larger books coming!

New quilt and LINKS!

2011-08-23T16:30:00.004-05:00

In my last blog post I mentioned the fabulous time with Denise Felton and Anne Weaver. Well ... the wonderfulness of it has simply continued to roll through great Internet pieces! Denise wrote an entry that still has my blushing. It is HERE. Anne also blogs for the statewide newspaper, the Democrat-Gazette. The on-line article ... with even more photos ... is HERE. Mere words cannot adequately express my thanks ... especially since both of them advertised the fact that I'll be back in the lobby of the Fordyce Bathhouse here in Hot Springs National Park next Saturday, August 27th, from 1 - 5, stitching for the public. If you're in this area, please come visit. I'm also participating in Hot Springs' "First Friday" art crawl, September 2 from 5 - 8. Both events are in the Fordyce Bathhouse.

(Above: National Landmark, 26 1/2" x 17". Fiber and paper collage, free motion machine and hand embroidery on a vintage guest towel with a crayon rubbing. Volunteer patch and metal badge. Click on image to enlarge.)

Since then, I've finished another small art quilt. This one is appropriately called National Landmark. The title words are actually a crayon-on-fabric rubbing from one of the signs outside the seven historic bathhouses. The center collage was created by ripping parts of all the brochures and paperwork I could find in the various buildings inside the park. Using previously painted WonderUnder (Bond-a-Web) and layers of chiffon scarves, I tried to give the impression of the stained glass dome and third floor ceiling in the Fordyce. I found the metal badge at the park's gift shop and I was given volunteer patches. Technically, I'm considered a "volunteer" for insurance and governmental reasons ... so I stitched my name on the larger of the two patches and stitched it onto the reverse.

I'm now working on a few "artist books" ... photos coming! Speaking of new photos ... please note the profile photo change. I needed a "high resolution" head shot for my upcoming March residency at The Studios of Key West. I didn't have one. This photo was taken using my tripod and a delayed shutter action while outside my little "ranger house" here in Hot Springs National Park. I even put on make-up!

New Work from Hot Springs

2011-08-21T15:05:00.008-05:00

(Above: Another Saturday stitching on Anonymous, a Grave Rubbing art quilt ... crazy quilting vintage household linens together ... in public at the Fordyce Bathhouse in Hot Springs National Park. Click on this or any image to enlarge.)

I've been keeping a sketchbook here in Hot Springs National Park. For me, this is HARD! I'm not really comfortable with drawing but every day seems to improve my weak skills. I know that the quality of the marks aren't the most important thing; the way attempting to draw forces one to LOOK, really observe the visual information, is the point! As a result, I've documented all sorts of ornamentation and details in the bathhouses as well as along nature's trails.

Some of the pattern and decorations informed these pieces. I actually didn't plan on making such work, but I need high resolution images for the next residency program! What does that mean? Well, I'm teaching a class called "HOT" on March 8th during my artist-in-residency at The Studios of Key West (TSKW). "Hot" is a class that teaches heat activated processes for creative embroidery ... using previously painted WonderUnder (Bond-a-Web), metallic foils, chiffon scarves, polyester stretch velvets backed with more WonderUnder, etc. TSKW needs images for their printed workshop literature ... and they need them NOW. Since I don't have such images, I made new work ... as if demonstrating for the class (and I always finish my demonstrations!). I simply used my Hot Springs National Park sketchbook for the designs!

Naturally, I didn't bring any "background material". I generally use scraps of upholstery material ... the kind from swatch books that interior designers have donated to me. So, I went to Material World here in Hot Springs and bought five swatches for $2.50. Here's what they became:

(Above: Hot Springs Relic I. Heat activated processes, free motion embroidery, hand stitching and beading. Click on image to enlarge.)

Hot Springs Relic I is loosely based on all the hexagonal shaped knobs .... like those in the Fordyce Bathhouse ... below!

(Above: Hot Springs Relic II. Click on image to enlarge.)

Hot Springs Relic II is based on some of the patterns on the DeSoto and the Indian Maiden sculpture in the Fordyce Bathhouse. Most of the original pattern from the upholstery material is obscured ... but it does have subtle impact, especially as a foundation color and texture.

(Hot Springs Relic II under the sewing machine. Click on image to enlarge.)

(Above: Hot Springs III. Click on image to enlarge.)

Hot Springs Relic III is based on the decorative hinges in the "Sweat Room" of the Fordyce Bathhouse. Below is a photo of these interesting "personal saunas". If you enlarge the image, you can clearly see the hinge! The little triangles and lines come from one of those large, schoolroom like clocks .... along the rim ... a line for each minute between the triangle marking every five.

(Above: Hot Springs Relic IV. Click on image to enlarge.)

Hot Springs Relic IV is loosely based on the mosaic tiled floor in the Fordyce Bathhouse lobby ... where I got to meet Denise Felton of Needlework/Craft Gossip and Anne Weaver who drove down from Little Rock while I was stitching in public! I am so honored!

The final piece I just "altered" with heat activated process!

Hot Springs ... It's all about the WATER!

2011-08-18T15:05:00.006-05:00

(Above: Water Vessels II and III. Click on this or any image in this blog post for enlargement.)

I’ve been thinking a lot about the water here in Hot Spring National Park. It is the very thing that makes this place special … for over 4,000 years. Yes, it’s hot … averaging 143 degrees when it hits the surface. The National Park collects 700,000 gallons a day for public fountain and the bathhouses. So … how to capture the essence of this water in fibers and stitch?

(Above: Hot Springs' Water, an art quilt. 26" x 25". Click on image to enlarge.)

Walking along the Promenade Ramp behind the bathhouses, I noticed lots of metal boxes … places used to collect/gauge/monitor the water? Man-made “covers” for the springs? I’m not really sure, but there are lots of water meters too … including one round metal lid with the single word “WATER”. At the base of the Hot Water Cascade, there’s a large manhole type cover with a center star. I used a gray crayon to make rubbings of these two metal covers. Why gray? Well, the water is pure … absolutely perfect … and colorless. Knowing that both “black” and “white” are “neutrals”, not really “colors” on the “color wheel”, I decided that the perfect “neutral” for the clear, perfect water was gray.

(Above: Hot Springs National Park water information sign.)

Free motion embroidery put all the information from a National Park sign about the water onto the art quilt. The little circles for the rest of the stitching represent “bubbles”, of course!

(Above: Reverse of Hot Springs' Water.)

I’ve made a sleeve for a hanging rod … just haven’t attached it to the back yet. All this water comes from 47 springs. Most of these are under protective covers. One spring is on view in the basement of the Fordyce Bathhouse, the National Park Historic Museum and Headquarters. So, I’ve been thinking about “springs” too. It’s funny that we tend to think of springs as being round objects … like wishing wells or bathroom sinks. Even the “display springs” here in Hot Springs are fairly round and are “circles” on the official literature’s map. Also, we tend to think of “water” from springs being collected in “vessels”. So, I made a large quantity of cording and then four vessels.

(Above: Water Vessel I. Click on image to enlarge.)

The first one is bluish green to represent all the lushness of nature that results from life-giving water. Of course, the coloring is mostly due to the zigzag stitching used to turn the cording into a three dimensional shape.

I start out with just a little spiral of cording which I hold together with a few hand stitches.

Then, I start zigzagging on using the machine … attaching the cord to the spiral … around and around. (Yes, this is my “back up” Bernina. How lucky can I get having two machines set up at the same time!)

When the circle gets larger than the flat area under the presser foot, I start “shaping” it, curving it.

Finally, the “bowl shape” starts to appear and I must carefully position the machine to accommodate the vessel. Often, the end of my machine is off the edge of my table. The vessel rotates almost like a clay pot on a potter's wheel ... just really, really slowly and not wet!

To end the cording, I remove the stitching that holds the individual strands of the yarn together and cut each one to a different length. This allows a smooth transition for the rim. The rim is heavily zigzagged, finishing it off. I took the photo of the first vessel, Water I, (further above) on the stone steps to my cute little “ranger house”.

Then I decided to take Water II and Water III to the nearby creek for a "photo shoot" with some of Hot Springs water. These were made using the same cord. They are totally different in coloration because I used metallic silver embroidery thread to create the vessels. This thread was selected to represent the shimmer of clear water in the sunshine … just like it appears all around this little snake that was also enjoying the creek.

I’m told that it is a baby water moccasin … and from what I learned using my “smart phone”, I think it is one!

Stitch, stitch, stitch!

2011-08-16T19:15:00.002-05:00

(Above: Detail of Anonymous, a Grave Rubbing Art Quilt. Click on image to enlarge. Work in progress.)

Hot Springs National Park is inspiring and I’m hard at work. Every day sees the completion of a new chiffon banner covered in free motion embroidered epitaphs and a couple dozen or so pages in The Book of Death. I’ve also started a small art quilt (approximately 26” x 25”) based on WATER. After all, it is the water that makes this national park so unique. The average temperature when it bubbles up from the ground is 143 degrees and it is pure … absolutely perfectly pure, colorless, odorless, hot water. Hopefully there will be photos tomorrow.

(Above: A ball of "cord" made by free motion zigzag stitching over five or six strands of yarn. This is the first step in making one of my fiber vessels. Click on image to enlarge.)

I’ve also decided to create a fiber vessel. My intention is to make a three dimensional work abstractly representing the forty-three “springs” … which are actually all covered here … protected … although there are a few “display springs” and an exhibition window to one in the basement of the National Park Headquarters (The Fordyce Bathhouse Museum).

(Above: Anonymous on the living room sofa at Hot Springs National Park's "artist-in-residence" house. Click on image to enlarge.)

Every night I’m also stitching on Anonymous, the Grave Rubbing Art Quilt designed to stitch in public … which I will be doing this coming Saturday from 1 – 5 in the Fordyce Bathhouse lobby. Thus far, the tiny vintage embroidered pieces along the edge are completely finished … all 125+ of them. I’m over halfway done with the “crazy stitching” on and around the vintage pieces that surround the child’s slip with the grave rubbing. Hours and hours to go … no problem finishing with nothing to do in public! Stitch, stitch, stitch! This is a "month of Sundays" dream come true!

Hot Springs National Park ... The Gifts of Time and Space

2011-08-14T14:39:00.004-05:00

Things are going wonderfully here in Hot Springs National Park! Of course they are! This is the GIFT OF TIME! It is also the GIFT OF SPACE. Although I probably could work at only one project, day after day, it is fantastic to divide my attention between several on-going projects … which means that I can easily put in twelve to sixteen hours every day without ever feeling the slightest bit bored or weary of any one project. So ... that's what I'm doing!

(Above: The Book of the Dead, in progress ... under two, provided Ott lights on a "proper", titled drafting table ... obviously, "heaven"! Click on image to enlarge.)

In the front “studio room”, I am currently working on The Book of the Dead. There is no way I could easily, quickly, efficiently work on this project in Columbia. The sketchbook was a Christmas gift (2009) from my mentor Stephen Chesley. He’s filled at least two since then! I hadn’t put a single mark in mine …until now. This oversized sketchbook is from Art Alternatives and contains 348 blank sheets of paper. That’s 696 pages of 75 lb. acid free paper measuring 12 ½” x 10 ¾”. It’s GIGANTIC … and too overwhelming for me to have tackled until now.

(Above: The Book of the Dead, in progress. Click on image to enlarge.)

On and off, it took three days to fill the book with washes and splatters of ink, coffee filter stains, and watercolor gestures … in a “zen like” process of simply “marking the paper” and then responding to the mark with the next color. My fingernail are still stained with black India ink. Now, I’m using a calligraphy pen and writing my collection of epitaphs on the pages … responding to the arrangement of color and marks … as if casting the words into a physical space. I gave hundreds upon hundreds of epitaphs from all over the USA and England. I can only write for about an hour at a time before my wrist hurts. Fortunately, I don’t have to put anything away. I just leave this desk as it is … returning in a couple hours to write some more. I plan on creating a unique cover and spine when all the pages are filled.

(Above: The kitchen counter/sewing center! Please notice the cupboard is a perfect place for my notebook in which I recently jotted down epitaphs from four different Hot Springs cemeteries! There's even natural lighting!)

Now … my sewing machine had been on the dining room table. This worked for the initial stitching on my Cemetery Flag quilt (sorry … no photo) but it was too “shaky” for my next project ... epitaph banners. Thus, I’m now sewing at the kitchen counter. This works, of course, because I’m the only one here!

(Above: Stitching an epitaph ... I've already snipped the threads between various letters and words in the first line. After an epitaph is complete, I turn the banner over and clip the bobbin threads. Every other epitaph faces the opposite direction on the banner ... so it can be half read from both sides. Please notice just how sheer this chiffon is ... especially by clicking the image to enlarge.)

I saved these banners to stitch while here in Hot Springs. Why? Because each one takes about three hours from start to finish. At home, that’s almost my entire weekday in my studio. Here, however, I can get one done before lunch and then move on to another project! This is the sheerest material on which I’ve ever stitched! I love it … but unfortunately, it’s been discontinued.

(Above: The front "studio room" with the first epitaph banner folded over a coat hanger, hanging from a non-working fan in the ceiling. Click on image to enlarge.)

The banners are headed for my solo show, “Last Words”, in Rocky Mount, NC this coming January … where the ceiling is easily fourteen feet off the floor. I started using the epitaphs I collected here in Hot Springs on my very first day!

(Above: Hot Springs paper and fiber collage on vintage guest towel. Work in progress. Click on image to enlarge.)

I’m also working on my first piece directly related to Hot Springs National Park. Mimicking both the look of the Fordyce Bathhouses’ stained glass and the mosaic tiled floors in all the bathhouses, I’ve created a collage from the pamphlets and information sheets in the park with previously painted WonderUnder (Bond-a-Web) and layers of chiffon scarves. I have more plans for this … including quilting it.

Also, I spent Saturday afternoon from 1 – 5 PM stitching in the Fordyce Bathhouse (which is the National Park Headquarters and the park’s restored bathhouse museum). I designed Anonymous, a Grave Rubbing Art Quilt, for this purpose. It allows me to demonstrate handwork techniques that would have been done by women coming to the area during both the Victorian era (earlier bathhouses) and during the first part of the 20^th century (later/current bathhouses). Basically, I’m crazy quilting … the Victorian rage. Yet, I’m crazy quilting snippets from actual, vintage household linens … exactly the sort of embroidery women would have done probably sitting in the same place in which I sat! What’s really great about this piece is that it is also indicative of my own, contemporary work … it includes a grave rubbing and is part of my concept of recycling and focusing on universal mortality! The grave rubbing is on a child’s slip … likely from the 1930s … and reads: This is for the memory of unknown family members. I’ll post some detail photos on another day! Now … back to work!

First days in Hot Springs

2011-08-10T13:56:00.010-05:00

First things first! I’ve hiked over the “mountain”, seen a baby water moccasin, touched the extremely hot water issuing from the display springs, toured the Fordyce Bathhouse Museum, and met a few campers living in RVs and tents all around me.

The Fordyce Building (above) is operated as an exhibition center/museum by the National Park. It showcases the heyday of “taking the waters”. I love all the architectural details …

... like the matching "planters" on both ends of the lobby. I also love the ornamental details ...

… like the Men’s changing room fountain of explorer DeSoto being offered the spring water from an Indian maiden ….

… under a mermaid inhabited stained glass dome …

… near the “ultra modern” baths …

… with their sleek, highly calibrated stainless steel knobs … lots of details! Lots of patterns and decorations!

This is a place that was at the cutting edge of fitness, as is seen in the third floor gymnasium. (Men were even allowed to sunbathe in the nude here!)

(Above: In Box LXXXI. Click on image to enlarge. 14" x 10".)

Setting up my studio here at Hot Springs National Park was a breeze. My car was totally full but the house was virtually empty. Getting to work was easy too … because I brought a piece that was almost finished. I did this intentionally, as a way to “jump right in” with something familiar. Thus, the first work I completed was In Box LXXXI.

(Above: Dearly Departed IV . 11" x 8 1/4". Click on any image to enlarge.)

I also brought a special project with me, one that simply needed enough time to tackle. Everything was ready to go: Victorian photo albums, hundreds of photos of cemetery angels, thousands of clipped, vintage letters, pages of collected epitaphs, matte medium, and a paint brush. Although I’ve got six complete albums, I started with eighteen individual pages from various broken books. I was able to coordinate the colors of the letters to suit the images and the decorate album pages … mostly because I recently clipped an entire stack of old, colorful sheet music. This new set is called “Dearly Departed”.

(Above: Dearly Departed III . 11" x 8 1/4".)

While making these fun pieces, I thought a lot about the work I’m supposed to be making … work reflecting Hot Springs National Park. There’s a bit of pressure on me … to seek inspiration, create quality art, translate something special in fibers … something that can become a suitable part of the permanent art collection. Most of the former artists-in-residence have their work on display in the Fordyce Museum.

(Above: Dearly Departed II . 9" x 7".)

My mentor, oil painter Stephen Chesley, advised me to create at least one "break the mold" piece ... something "out of the box" ... something truly unique, experimental, cutting edge, adventuresome, and honestly "me". This is really good advice ... but it is also not what I'm supposed to be making! There's time enough for my planned projects, Stephen's suggestion, and something that reflects Hot Springs National Park. I know that I should play to my strengths ... create something strong but using a reliable, time-tested, and comfortable technique ... something I'm already good at ... something I can count on since it will be park of a national, permanent collection.

(Above: Dearly Departed I . 9" x 7".)

So, while applying clipped letters, I formulated a workable plan. I’m already hard at work … sketching all the architectural details, ornamentation, decorative patterns, and interesting motifs in the bathhouses. These will be used to create some very special “In Box” and faux-stained glass works … reflecting the park. The bathhouses ARE part of Hot Springs National Park.

(Above: Dearly Departed IX . 11" x 8 1/4".)

For now, please enjoy “Dearly Departed” … all eighteen of them! Each image can be “clicked on” for enlargement.

(Above: Dearly Departed VI . 11" x 8 1/4".)

(Above: Dearly Departed V . 11" x 8 1/4".)

(Above: Dearly Departed VII . 11" x 8 1/4".)

(Above: Dearly Departed XII . 11" x 8 1/4".)

(Above: Dearly Departed XI . 11" x 8 1/4".)

(Above: Dearly Departed X . 11" x 8 1/4".)

(Above: Dearly Departed VIII . 11" x 8 1/4".)

(Above: Dearly Departed XIII . 11" x 8 1/4".)

(Above: Dearly Departed XVII . 11" x 8 1/4".)

(Above: Dearly Departed XVI . 11" x 8 1/4".)

(Above: Dearly Departed XV . 11" x 8 1/4".)

(Above: Dearly Departed XIV . 11" x 8 1/4".)

(Above: Dearly Departed XVIII . 11" x 8 1/4".)

Artist-in-Residence ... Hot Springs National Park!

2011-08-07T17:44:00.005-05:00

(Above: The former park ranger, historic house at the Gulph Gorge National Park Campground on the grounds of Hot Springs National Park ... aka ... HOME FOR A MONTH! Click on any photo in this post to enlarge.)

I am now the official “artist-in-residence” at Hot Springs National Park in Arkansas. It is a privilege. It is an honor. It is an awesome opportunity. The orientation took a full two hours and was filled with all sorts of governmental paperwork … like agreeing not to carry a firearm, litter, or sexually harass anyone. Most of the paperwork was really helpful ... like emergency telephone numbers and personnel contact information. I was provided with an official name tag and nicely monogrammed park shirt that I’m not even required to wear! The people here couldn’t be nicer. The park is beautiful … hot … but I’m very used to that!

I came early to Hot Springs so that I could go to the monthly “First Friday” art crawl through the historic district. Next month, I’ll be part of it … and I wanted to get a feel for the evening in a leisure way. It was so much fun. There’s plenty of great art on display and the gallery owners were all so gracious and easy to approach. It was 9 PM before I knew it! (Actually, the event lists hours of 5 – 8 but each place was still busy when I left for dinner at 9 PM. This is a great, supportive arts community!)

Even before "checking in" to my new home/studio, I was busy pursuing art inspiration. I went to four historic cemeteries … Calvary, Greenwood, Hollywood, and Friendship (a historic Black cemetery established in 1924.) I scouted for rubbings, wrote down epitaphs, and snapped photos. My orientation was at 1:45 that afternoon. I was moved in before 6 PM.

So … here’s a look at my quarters for the next month! Art photos and "Hot Springs Park" photos coming soon!

(Above: The Kitchen.)

(Above: The Living Room.)

(Above: The other side of the living room. I will not be using the lovely fireplace. It topped 100 degrees here today!)

(Above: The closed in front porch ... which I'll use for melting fabric ... perfect for ventilation!)

(Above: The "dining room" ... which, obviously, has been set up as my "sewing room". I found two folding tables in a closet ... which elevated my Bernina to an ideal height. I actually stand while machine stitching.)

(Above: The "studio" ... through which you can see the "dining room/sewing room".)

(Above: Another view of the "studio" room!)

(Above: The bedroom ... linens provided!)

(Above: The bathroom ... complete with a water-saving flush toilet! Our government believes in water conservation!)

Fashion and the Female

2011-08-03T10:27:00.002-05:00

(Above: Fashion and the Female, Greenwood's Art Center.)

I'm thrilled that my free motion embroidered wedding veils are now hanging in the Arts Center in Greenwood, South Carolina alongside work by Miranda Mims Sawyer, Hamed Mahmoodi, Randy Pace, Morgan Sayers, Jane Allen Nodine, Abby Funderburk, Laretta Houston, Karen Johnson, Ashley Walker, and Hannah Poe. The photo above was provided by Jennifer Smith, Programs Director and curator of this invitational exhibition. My veils are actually hung in two locations across from one another.

This contemporary exhibit creates a visual dialogue about fashion and its impact on the female in our society. It is open August 1-27, Monday-Friday, 8:30am-5pm, Saturdays 9:30am-1:30pm. Free admission. Reception is Thursday, August 25th from 6 - 8 PM. The Arts Center is located within the Federal Building, 120 Main Street, Greenwood. (864) 388-7800.

I will not be able to visit the show. I AM GOING TO HOT SPRINGS NATIONAL PARK ... to be the "artist-in-residence" ... leaving tomorrow and not returning until September 4th! I will have my laptop, "smart phone", an external hard drive of all my photos and computer documents with me ... Thus ... I'll still be blogging and sharing this wonderful experience.

I'd better think about packing now!

Pins and needles ... and buttons and spools!

2011-08-01T08:34:00.005-05:00

(Above: Detail of Angels III, mixed media on recycled wooden mirror panel. Click on image to enlarge.)

I don't pretend to know how much money the first trillion dollars is. I don't understand the economics of the debt ceiling or the battle lines drawn on Capitol Hill. I am worried though. Why? If the country defaults, the national parks will be immediately closed. I'm supposed to be leaving on Thursday morning for Hot Springs National Park ... to be the "artist in residence" from August 7th through September 4th. It is hard to get excited, to plan my departure, to determine what "goes" and what "stays" in my studio. I've got fiber projects ready and a hotel reservation for my night on the road. Am I going? Have they voted? Who knows! I'm on pins and needles!

Of course, I'm still stitching! The following work was completed over the weekend:

(Above: Lancet Window VII. All these pieces are: Unframed 28" x 8"; Framed 31" x 11". Click on any image to enlarge.)

(Above: Lancet Window VIII.)

(Above: Lancet Window IX.)

(Above: Lancet Window X.)

(Above: Angels III. Mixed media on recycled wooden mirror panel and frame. Click on image to enlarge.)

The other week I started working on three mixed media angel pieces. I finished the pair on linen canvas but continued to work on this one. I used an old mirror frame and its wooden backing panel. Once this mirror was attached to a dresser. It was fun pouring various acrylic glazes over the collaged surface ... to resemble tears of grief, appropriate to the xylene photo transfers of cemetery angels. I distressed the frame too.

So ... I'm on "pins and needles" about this week ... waiting to know if my residency is going to happen. Yet, I'm also into buttons and wooden spools! Last Tuesday I hit the jackpot at my favorite auction of used household items ... for just $19.00! The car to overflowing with the contents from three "table lots". It took nearly two hours to remove all the buttons from the paper cards and the safety pins and the carefully strung together threads. Obviously, these buttons once belonged to a seamstress who needed them neatly sorted. I prefer them like this! Okay ... not all the white ones came from this stash ... and these are the only ones I "sort"! The wooden spools will become more of my "ancestors". I also ended up with a nice stack of damask tablecloths and assorted linens. Plus ... I ended up with two giant boxes and three white plastic trash bags of material ... some ladies' sewing stash. I gave it all of my former studio assistant! It was too much to use, too much to handle, too much for me but the bonanza for her.

Invited and Accepted! Way to go!

2011-07-29T07:06:00.003-05:00

(Above: Weep Not For Me, Grave Rubbing Art Quilt Series. To visit the blog post with additional images that can be enlarged, CLICK HERE.)

Two of my Grave Rubbing Art Quilts have just been accepted into the National Juried Quilt Exhibit at the Delaplaine Visual Arts Education Center (DVAEC) located in historic downtown Frederick, Maryland. The show runs from September 3 - 25, 2011 and includes a reception from 3-5 PM on September 3.

(Above: Never Accurate But Never Dull, Grave Rubbing Art Quilt Series. To visit the blog post with additional images that can be enlarged, CLICK HERE.)

(Above: I Do / I Don't, installation as seen during Artista Vista 2011. To see more images from this exhibit, CLICK HERE.)

Also ... my installation of free motion embroidered wedding veils, I Do / I Don't, were invited to be part of an exhibit called "Fashion and the Female" at the Arts Center, Greenwood, SC. August 1 - 27, 2011. I've been to this location and it is very different from the ornate room in which I mounted it this past spring. The Arts Center is in a former bank ... with high ceilings and flooded with soft light ... and with an impressive view from the board lobby area into the gallery space ... very open, very clean and elegantly formal. I am very excited to see photos ... because I'm not mounting it! The staff is probably busy ironing and stringing up the veils and ribbons right now! What a thrill!

Yesterday my window installation, Ophelia, at the Tapps Center for the Arts was dismantled. The rented, porcelain bathtub went back to Chic Antiques. The artificial cemetery flowers were bagged. Today I apply Kilz to the "I Love You Hamlet" suicide note. It is a little sad to take such pieces down ... so I signed up to do another window installation next October! I need another project like a whole in the head ... but ... why not!

A week of work!

2011-07-25T14:17:00.003-05:00

(Forever, Grave Rubbing Art Quilt Series. 22" x 26". Crayon on silk grave rubbing, recycled wedding gown, free motion machine and hand embroidery, beading. Click on image to enlarge.)

The last time I rummaged through the plastic tub in which I keep my grave rubbings, I found one without words. It was just the two heart shapes, flowers and leaves, and a place for a name above ... in brown crayon. (I rarely ever make an impression of people's names.) I don't remember making this rubbing ... which cemetery ... for what idea ... or when ... but, I liked it. So, I didn't put it back in the tub. It sat around my studio for about a week until a good idea formed.

I went to Elmwood Cemetery. It's only about three blocks from my house. It was surprising how long it took to find our names ... both of which are rather common ... and the years of our births (looking for smaller than average sized numbers). It was peaceful though. It was hot, above one hundred degrees.

(Above: Wedding dress from Bill Mishoe's auction. Click on image to enlarge.)

When creating I Do / I Don't, my installation of wedding veils, I went to lots of thrift shops and also bought items at Bill Mishoes' auction house. On two occasions, I had to buy the entire wedding ensemble ... dress and veil. So ... I happened to have this beautiful, ornate wedding gown. It was recycled into the background, trim, and the entire reverse for this art quilt.

(Above: Forever, reverse. Click on image to enlarge.)

It took hours with a seam ripper to remove the complicated, bead-and-lace appliques. I wanted these to have a little contrast with the pretty brocade fabric ... so I tea stained the material.

So ... what did Steve think? He laughed. This will be our only headstone. We're both going to be cremated but haven't decided what to do with the ashes. That's another project!

The art quilt was made in the late afternoons during the week. By the weekend, my studio was being littered with polyester velvet, previously painted Wonder Under (Bond-a-Web), and snippets of chiffon scarves. The following "Windows" were created!

(Above: Window XXXIII. Each piece in this series is approximately 12" x 10" unframed, 17 3/4" x 15 3/4" framed. Click on any image to enlarge.)

(Above: Window XXXII.)

(Above: Window XXXI.)

(Above: Window XXX.)

(Above: Window XXXIV.)

(Above: Window XXIX.)

(Above: Window XXVIII.)

Key West ... a March 2012 residency!

2011-07-23T07:08:00.006-05:00

(Above: The Armory Building at The Studios at Key West ... a place with which I'll become comfortable during my March 2012 residency! I've been selected to occupy the Ashe Street studio and give a workshop on heat activated processes on March 8th ... in this building!)

Before leaving the MacNamara Foundation in October 2008, I knew I'd want the experience of an artist residency program again. I've applied to many since then. Vermont Studio Center has twice offered partial scholarships ... but the remaining fee is still too high for me to consider. I was "wait listed" last year at Caldera. (I've applied again!) Mostly, I've been rejected. The competition for these programs is fierce; the talent pool is deep; plus ... it takes time and an application fee to apply.

Several months ago I was thrilled to learn I'd finally been accepted for one ... Hot Springs National Park! They only accepted four artists this year! I leave on August 3rd ... after cramming everything I think I might need into the car. My residency officially starts the following Sunday and runs through September 4th. My only obligation is to leave them a piece of artwork. Otherwise, this is a "gift of time". Time to make art and find new sources of inspiration. I'M SO EXCITED! I've already got more projects lined up than I can possibly do ... and I have to leave room in my days there to soak up the unique atmosphere. I need to be open to new ideas, new insights, and new directions for my work.

Before even getting to Hot Springs, I know I'll want to experience yet another residency program after it is over ... and I WILL! I was just accepted for a March residency at The Studios at Key West (TSKW ... They accepted 25 artists this year ... from five different countries!) I have positively, absolutely, most assuredly wanted to drive to the "center of the world" ... the bohemian, independent Couch Republic ... the Hemingway House with its 60+ polydactyl (6-toed) cats ... and soak up the atmosphere that only an island steeped in history can provide. The Studios of Key West is located right in the middle of "Old Town" ... within a few blocks of the historic cemetery and walking distance of ... EVERYTHING! I'm over the moon with excitement! Who knows into what all the opportunities for creative growth will bud! In exchange for this amazing "gift of time", I will conduct a one-day workshop and also head up another "Looking for a Mate" sock art quilt project! What fun!

(Below: Photos of the Armory Building ... now the hub of TSKW)

Another Productive Weekend!

2011-07-18T14:37:00.008-05:00

(Above: Angel I, mixed media on 24" x 24" linen canvas. Click on image to enlarge.)

I love my studio! I love the quietness, the energy, and especially the instant concentration that comes with being in a space completely dedicated to art making. This weekend was wonderfully productive.

(Above: Angel II, mixed media on 24" x 24" linen canvas. Click on image to enlarge.)

First, I finished up two experimental, mixed media pieces. I had the frames ... which honestly was the entire reason for these pieces. "Something" had to go into these unique "floater frames". I bought two gallery wrapped, clear gesso-coated linen canvases that fit. They've been gathering dust in my studio until I finally decided to adhere two xylene photo transfers of cemetery angels and paint ... later more paint and buttons (stitched through the canvas) ... and even later the halos. I used a very glossy varnish onto which I blew a small amount of silver, iridescent powder before it dried.

The halos are really only seen from various angles ... depending on the lighting. I like the affect, sort of appropriately mystical.

I also created four new pieces in my Window Series. These are all approximately 12" x 10" before framing. Click on any image to enlarge. This series, the "Lancet Windows" (one of these was also created this weekend ... scroll down!), the large "Faux-stained Glass", and my "In Box Series" pieces are wonderfully carried by the Grovewood Gallery in Asheville.

(Above: Window XXIV.)

(Above: Window XXV.)

(Above: Window XXVI.)

(Above: Window XXVII.)

(Above: Window XXVI before being subjected to my soldering iron and heat gun. It is simply stapled and/or laced to the inside of an empty picture frame or stretcher bar. For a free tutorial on how the entire "In Box" technique is done, click HERE.)

(Above: Lancet Window VI. Unframed: 27" x 7". Framed: 31" x 11". Click on image to enlarge.)

(Above: US Flag on a layer of recycled black felt with a stack of 61 cemetery flags collected from the trash ... ready to be designed ... on the floor at Gallery 80808/Vista Studios ... right outside my studio door. Click on image to enlarge.)

Even though I've got Anonymous, a new grave rubbing art quilt, to stitch on for the next several weeks ... I lay out a new project on Sunday afternoon. This one has been milling around in the back of my mind for quite some time. When gathering artificial flowers from cemetery dumpsters and trash bins, I've come across too many US flags ... especially last Memorial Day weekend and on Father's Day weekend. In all, I had 69 of them but decided against using the eight really ugly nylon ones. I carefully and gently handwashed all of them ... ironed them ... and got them ready for my design. The giant American flag came from Bill Mishoe's auction house ... in a "table lot" with a bunch of other stuff some household was getting rid of. I have no idea who the veteran was that had this flag draped over his/her coffin. It was still triangle folded in a plastic cover with the funeral parlor's address. It became the "background" for the cemetery flags. The black felt is recycled packaging material from the local kayak shop.

(Above: Cemetery Flags, in progress ... designed and basted ... ready for stitch. Click on image to enlarge. Angel I and Angel II can be seen on the wall flanking my The Cemetery, a grave rubbing art quilt. My studio door is just beyond ... under the number "4".)

It took an hour to lay out and pin in place. It took several more hours to baste. It's ready to stitch. At first I thought of machine stitching ... but it just doesn't "feel" right. I'm thinking that a combination of both hand and machine stitching will be better: semi-sloppy, off white perle cotton, hand straight stitches ... like a child's knee patch ... around the edges of the flags; neat red and blue lines of machine stitches ... the red around the blue area and the blue between the stripes. Either way, I've now got more to stitch that I can possibly handle for the month of August ... when I'll be the ARTIST IN RESIDENCE at HOT SPRINGS NATIONAL PARK!

Why I Love DC

2011-07-14T11:49:00.004-05:00

(Above: One of the many GREAT signs from the Guerrilla Girl exhibit at the National Gallery for Women in the Arts. Click on image to enlarge and enjoy!)

Last weekend we went to DC ... well ... we dropped off sixteen crates of antiquarian prints at an auction house and then metroed into the city for four hours of fun....

...like the Guerrilla Girls exhibit at the National Museum for Women in the Arts...

... and the Folk Life Festival on the mall ...

... where we also saw a Peace Corps recycling idea from Guatemala...

... and watched mud cloth being made by excited kids .... ALL FREE!

A former high school classmate asked on Facebook, "Why would you like to live in DC?" Well, I made a video from some of the photos during the four hours. It is HERE. I LOVE DC!

Faux-Stained Glass XXVIII

2011-07-13T13:26:00.002-05:00

(Above: Stained Glass XXVIII, detail of top. Framed: 64" x 24". Polyester stretch velvet collage with metallic foiling, previously painted heat activated adhesive and chiffon scarves on recycled black acrylic felt. Free motion machine embroidery and melting. Click on image to enlarge.)

It's been several months since sticking my soldering iron through layers of polyester. So, I turned my attention that way and came up with this new "faux stained glass" fiber piece. I love making them. This series and my "In Box" series (from which the "stained glass" is derived) are carried by the Grovewood Gallery in Asheville. I've also been asked to show a few in a Christmas exhibit in Greensboro, NC. I'm excited. Plus, I'm submitting for a show in Fredericksburg, VA ... called "Fiber Architecture: Buildings in Stitches". Keep your fingers crossed for me!

(Above: Stained Glass XXVIII, full view. Click on image to enlarge.)

(Above: Stained Glass XXVIII, detail of middle section. Click on image to enlarge.)

(Above: Stained Glass XXVIII, detail of bottom. Click on image to enlarge.)

Plus ... one more thing! This is a pile of old photos that I was able to rescue for artistic purposes. They came from a better children's clothing shop that had been in business for 40 years but recently shut its doors. I have a great idea for these ... a part of a future installation focusing on the loss of childhood dreams.

Productive!

2011-07-05T10:57:00.010-05:00

(Above: Gone But Not Forgotten, Grave Rubbing Art Quilt Series. 14" x 22 3/4". Crayon on silk grave rubbing, leftover material, recycled acrylic felt (batting), vintage linens (reverse) and antique/vintage buttons. Free motion machine and hand stitching. Click on image to enlarge.)

Between the time I stitched in the car while going to Pennsylvania, the time I stitched on the plane going to England and back, and the glorious time spent in my studio over a three-day, Fourth of July holiday weekend, I can now post quite a few finished pieces! Yippee!

(Above: Gone But Not Forgotten, detail. Click on image to enlarge.)

First up is Gone But Not Forgotten, a small Grave Rubbing Art Quilt made using a rubbing from the angel on top of Charles Otis' tombstone in the Unitarian churchyard in Charleston. I don't generally record the name of the person under which the grave rubbing was made ... but this one was different. (Click here for the earlier blog post.) I used the leftover material from a ballet costume made for Mathias in 1999. He was so little and cute ... almost ten years old. Though now a fiber artist, I never really enjoyed making costumes (and was thankful that I never had to again ... after he went to the Kirov Academy of Ballet in 2000 at age 12!) The only thing I liked about making this little "vest" was adding some vintage, jet buttons. So, naturally, the vintage buttons I bought in the Czech Republic when taking a workshop under Sara Lechner seemed like the best trim for this little quilt. (Click here for a blog post about this amazing experience!)

(Above: Gone But Not Forgotten, reverse. Click on image to enlarge.)

The reverse is a collage of vintage linens through which the recycled, black acrylic felt can be seen.

(Above: The Weeping Willow, Grave Rubbing Art Quilt Series. 26 1/4" x 34 1/2". Crayon on silk grave rubbing, fabric donated by a friend, recycled acrylic felt (batting), and vintage household linens (reverse). Free motion machine and hand stitching. Click on image to enlarge.)

Next up is The Weeping Willow. I made the rubbing during the same outing as Gone But Not Forgotten ... but it was from St. Lawrence Cemetery near the famous Magnolia Cemetery just outside Charleston ... a place where no permission is needed for making grave rubbings. Willow trees have long been associated with perpetual mourning and grief.

(Above: The Weeping Willow, detail. Click on image to enlarge.)

Shakespeare's Ophelia (from Hamlet ... and one of my current "favorite characters") fell into the water from a willow tree. Even in ancient Rome, the willow tree was associated with Persephone, the queen underworld goddess. In the early 19th century the weeping willow was a popular motif on tombstones in the western world.

(Above: The Weeping Willow, detail. Click on image to enlarge.)

The background fabric was a donation from a friend. The vintage crochet pieces were once a tablecloth or bedspread that had been made in two different shades of off-white ... from the way it was done, this was probably an accident that only became apparent after washing/bleach. My last studio assistant took the entire thing apart. There's about a million little seeding stitches on this quilt too!

(Above: Vintage fabric from Bill Mishoes' auction. Click on image to enlarge.)

For the reverse, I used a piece of fabric found in a "box lot" with several pieces of vintage, household linens. I have no idea how to research it ... so, if anyone reading knows anything about it, please let me know!

(Above: The Weeping Willow, reverse. Click on image to enlarge.)

There was just enough of this fabric to create the both the background and sleeve for a hanging rod. I added the vintage linens and crocheted heart. This is the first time I included the title and the series' name.

(Above: The Cemetery, Grave Rubbing Art Quilt Series. Approximately 63" x 55" ... I'll have to measure more accurately later. Whole cloth quilt of crayon grave rubbings, free motion machine embroidered; recycled acrylic white felt (batting); vintage household linens (reverse). Click on image to enlarge.)

Third, my large Grave Rubbing Art Quilt to date! This is The Cemetery. I planned this quilt more than many of my others. After a trip to Nottingham with Julie, I knew I wanted to return to the hundreds of perfect slate stone with a really big piece of silk.

(Above: The Cemetery, detail. Click on image to enlarge.)

I got that chance last March ...

... when I basted it on the Gallery 80808/Vista Studio atrium floor.

Above: The Cemetery, detail. Click on image to enlarge.)

Generally I only post one or two detail images ... but I can't decide which of these I like best.

Above: The Cemetery, detail. Click on image to enlarge.)

It took an hour and ten minutes to create the rubbings, running from tombstone to tombstone (with Steve holding the fabric taunt across the slate's surface for me). It took hours and hours to free motion machine stitching ... but I loved every minute!

Above: The Cemetery, detail. Click on image to enlarge.)

Slate is the absolute perfect material for a quality grave rubbing. Evidently, it is also the perfect material for someone to chisel extraordinarily complicated and ornate details too. I've confirmed that slate was being quarried in the Nottingham area during most of the 19th century. The graves dated from the early 1840s through the 1890s.

Above: The Cemetery, detail. Click on image to enlarge.)

I generally don't "square up" my grave rubbing quilts. I'm not fussy about perfect right angles and absolute measurements. I get enough of that in my "day job", picture framing. Yet, this piece had two totally parallel sides ... the selvages. Using the 4' x 8' plywood boards that make up the Gallery 80808/Vista Studio floor, I cut a little off both the top an bottom .... sort of "squaring up" the finished size.

(Above: The Cemetery, reverse. Click on image to enlarge.)

Creating the reverse and attaching it with blanket stitches around the edges and slip stitches around the smaller pieces of vintage linen (stitched into the felt "batting" but not all the way through to the front!) was a labor of love ... and over eight hours. The vintage, damask tablecloth was nearly perfect ... but had a large stain ... now covered. I loved the delicate embroidery on the place mats too. The sleeve was from another damask tablecloth ... which I intentional scoured with my iron for contrast.

(Above and below: Two 4" x 6" fiber postcards made from scraps cut from The Cemetery. Click on images for enlargement.)

Since I trimmed The Cemetery, I ended up with a few scraps from which I made two fiber postcards. One is for Julia in England ... with thanks for the introduction to the Nottingham Cemeteries and especially for later sending Steve and me a copy of Birmingham Royal Ballet's Christmas BBC broadcast of Cinderella. (No, my elder son, Mathias, who dances for the company didn't bother to tape it!) The other postcard is for Dawn Goldsmith ... who wrote the fabulous article for the on-line HandEye magazine and another one for The Quilter which I haven't seen yet ... but it is on its way!

(Above: Four Square. Fabric and fusibles. Machine embroidery. 6" x 6". Framed to 9" x 9". Click on image to enlarge.)

Over the weekend, my husband Steve decided to flip the mattress ... and vacuum under the box springs. (I have no idea why!) It's a king size ... so I sort of helped ... and found a small fiber piece and several half read books among the "desert dust hares" (too large to be "dust bunnies"!) I decided to brush this one off ... and finish it.

(Above: Anonymous, in the process of being designed on the floor at Gallery 80808/Vista Studios ... just outside my studio door.)

Since so many projects ended on the same weekend, it seemed right to start another one. I've been planning this for months. The grave rubbing was made on Easter morning from a stone that read "This monument was erected for the memory of unknown family members buried here". I captured only the words I wanted on this vintage, muslin slip. My concept is to stitch all the anonymously made embroideries from dozens of vintage household linens with it ... a symbol of half forgotten women ... all those unknown relatives who stitched all those neglected tea towels and doilies.

(Above: Anonymous, pinned in place and ready for basting. Click on image to enlarge.)

I had my last studio assistant snip a pile of linens apart ... filling the box with just the sections containing stitches. The background is a damaged, vintage tablecloth. The "batting" is a piece of recycled acrylic felt ... from a outdoors shop ... once packaging material for a kayak on its way from the manufacturer to the local distributor. I clipped and arranged all these pretty embellishments around the garment. Then I pinned it. Now I'll have to baste it because I can't stand that many pins while I'm working. Plus ... this is the piece I planned on taking to Hot Springs National Park for my one month residency in August. It seems like a perfect way to show the legacy of remembrance in stitches, my grave rubbing art quilt series, and also talk about the women who would have come in the heyday of the springs ... bringing their crazy quilts and embroidery with them for the healing experience of the hot waters.

Dawn Goldsmith's article in HandEye

2011-06-30T08:48:00.002-05:00

(Above: Young, Strong, Beautiful, Grave Rubbing Art Quilt featured in HandEye magazine!)

I'm thrilled to have my Grave Rubbing Art Quilts featured in HandEye magazine. Dawn Goldsmith did a tremendous job finding the perfect words, flow, and balance for the article! Read it HERE!

Back to work!

2011-06-29T12:40:00.006-05:00

My time in Pennsylvania and England went by so quickly. I shared lots of photos on "My Family Blog". Click HERE to access the post.

(Above: Father's Day in Foxburg, PA. Left to right: My Dad, my husband Steve, my Mom, my youngest sister Sonya and her husband Vipin, my sister Wanda, and me.)

In a nutshell, we celebrated Father's Day in Foxburg ... riding segways. It was a blast!

(Above: The Weaste Cemetery outside Manchester, England.)

I flew to England on Monday and spent Tuesday in Manchester, England ... checking out the Weaste Cemetery and making grave rubbings at the parish church in nearby Bury. I took the train to Birmingham later that night.

(Above: Laura-Jane and Mathias in their costumes for BRB's Carmina Burana.)

In Birmingham, I was treated to three performances (out of six) of Birmingham Royal Ballet's Carmina Burana (choreography by David Bintley, Artistic Director). My son Mathias danced the role called "Boiling Rage". He was one of three fallen seminarians featured in the piece. It was AWESOME. Laura-Jane, Mathias' talented girlfriend, was in every show. Each time meant five costume changes. Undoubtedly, her favorite was the one above! The usually subdued English audiences were quite responsive ... giving standing ovations.

(Above: Two Hours at the Beach, art quilt made of trash collected during a two hour period at Folly Beach outside Charleston.)

While away, I learned that Two Hours at the Beach was accepted into Art Quilts Lowell 2011: The Sea, a juried show in Lowell, Massachusetts at the Brush Gallery. This exhibit is part of the Lowell Quilt Festival. I'm thrilled with this news! (To read the blog post with several detail images, click HERE.) Soon I'll have images of several new works. None are quite finished; all are managing to get done at the same time. I don't know why this happens. Nor do I know why there seems to be three weeks of work piled up waiting for my attention when I was only gone for less than two weeks!

Going out of town ... again!

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(Above: Photo by Joanie Battaglia of me as Ophelia in my performance art piece/window installation. Click on image to enlarge. To see an entire collection of photos ... mostly shared on Facebook ... from this "First Thursday" art event, CLICK HERE. This is a link to a Flickr! set ... all images include photo credits if I didn't snap them!)

Although I haven't been blogging more than once a week, please don't think I'm not busy! I am! Steve and I went to Washington, DC last week, came home to a pile of work, and are now preparing to leave town again! This time we are headed to Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania. My youngest sister Sonya and her husband Vipin live in the house my parents raised our family. My parents now live in a beautiful, custom-built log home by a 10-acre lake that they own! My sister Wanda and her husband Reinhard are coming from Munich. We will all have a blast.

Yet, I'm not returning directly to Columbia. I'm flying out of Pittsburgh next Monday for a week's visit in Birmingham, England. My elder son Mathias has a principal part, "the second Seminarian" in Carmina Burana. He's a first artist with Birmingham Royal Ballet. I'm hoping to see the show several times during my stay. (This is my all time FAVORITE piece of music ... and Mathias is dancing this role on my 52nd birthday, June 24th!)

Last weekend I stitched during the car ride. I finished hundreds of little running stitches on the rest of the antique scraps of quilts that I got from Connie Akers in Texas. The light blue leather gloves are vintage and came from a local auction of used household items. I've decided NOT to make this into an art quilt diptych. I've got another plan ... for later in the summer! While in my studio (yes ... I go every day when "home" ... even if for just an hour or two!), I've been working on the free-motion embroidery for my largest grave rubbing art quilt to date. Thus far, I've got well over 15 - 20 hours into it! I'll finish after my return on June 27th.

Well ... I put the two "glove" pieces into the share bedroom. I don't know why I call it that. It really doesn't have a bed in it. I should start calling it the "In Process" room. This is also where I store all the artificial flowers recently collected from cemetery dumpsters. Some of the giant black trash bags are filled with dissected flowers ... waiting to be washed. One bag is fill waiting for me to remove all the wire and plastic stems. Yet, one of the other bags is filled with the hundreds of socks from the remains of the State Mental Hospital laundry. (They've all been washed already!) The big box contains the neglected Christmas tree and decorations from this former facility. Please note the pile of tattered American flags. I retrieved them from the cemetery dumpsters ... and have another plan for them too!

Trip to DC and Rocky Mount

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(Above: Steve in the courtyard of the Textile Museum in Washington, DC ... at the very beginning of the "Urban Picnic". Within a half hour, the whole place was filled with people!)

This past weekend Steve and I traveled to Washington, DC. We arrived on Thursday night in time for a really cool event called "PM at the TM: An Urban Picnic". Hosted by the Textile Museum, this was a great time for young, local professionals to "hang out" and listen to some great bluegrass music while sitting on provided packaging blankets in the courtyard ... eating BBQ. We arrived early and sat in the gardens with a beer until two of my fiber Facebook friends, Lorie McCown and Elizabeth Woodford, arrived. They live in the Fredericksburg area and joined us on the first of three tours through the "Green: A Color and a Cause" exhibition. Lee Talbot was one of the curators. He led the tour, starting with an explanation about the participating artists. Evidently, 35 pieces from over 1000 were selected. The artists come from five different continents. Before this, I was really thrilled to be included. With this information, I nearly fainted! Of course, Lee Talbot didn't know one of the artists was on the tour. I wanted to see which pieces were singled out during such a program ... and I was beyond excited when he talked about Wasted Words: Global Warnings. Lorie and Elizabeth then told him that I was the creator of the work. Later we took photos! Such fun!

On our return trip, we stopped at the Imperial Art Centre in Rocky Mount, NC where I'll be mounting "Last Words", my solo show of Grave Rubbing Art Quilts, epitaph banners, and mixed media photo transfers of cemetery angels. This is also the show in which artificial flowers will line the perimeter of the space.

It's a gigantic room. It is the space for which I hoped my work would hang. Now, all I have to do is more than double my collection of artificial flowers collected from cemetery dumpsters! I've been working on it. Mother's Day evening and Memorial Day evening were great dumpster diving times!