Lancet Windows Based on St. Martin's Cross

(Above:  Lancet Window XXXVI based on St. Martin's Cross.  Framed:  31 1/4" x 11 1/4".  Polyester stretch velvets and previously painted Wonder Under/Bond-a-Web on recycled black acrylic felt with metallic foiling and melting.  Click on any image in this post to enlarge.)

Margaret Blank is a talented fiber artist in Alberta, Canada.  She's followed by blog since "I don't know when" and we've corresponded about several fiber art interests over the years.  Recently, she suggested that I consider making a piece based on St. Martin's Cross.  It is a favorite of hers and her late husbands. 

(Above:  St. Martin's Cross.  A modern jewelry design based on the medieval cross on Iona, off the coast of Scotland.  This design reflects the original 8th century stone cross that is the only stone still in one piece.  There are others on the island, but broken ... now repaired.)

The name seemed familiar but I couldn't immediately place it.  I googled and then everything came flooding back to me.  Of course I remember!  How could I have forgotten!  My major in college was Medieval and Renaissance Studies.  I love these Celtic knots, the ancient histories, the illuminated manuscripts, and everything about the spread of Christianity to this beautiful, remote area.  I knew immediately that I wanted to try this motif.


(Above:  Iona Abbey.  Iona is a small island off the western coast of Scotland.)

Considering the great height and the narrow width, I knew I wanted to try a St. Martin's Cross as a Lancet Window.  These are appropriately "long and narrow".

(Above:  My pattern and the first level of polyester velvet shapes with previously painted Wonder Under ironed over the top.)

I drew my patten on a piece of paper.  The design is highly stylized because the intricate carving just doesn't work well with bulky polyester stretch velvets!


(Above:  Lancet Window XXXVI, under construction.)

More polyester velvet circles were added to reflect the basic placement of shapes on the St. Martin's cross.  After this, I added scraps of chiffon scarves.


(Above:  Free motion machine stitching.)

I use only 100% black cotton thread for the machine stitching?  Why?  Well the next step is poking holes in it with various sizes of soldering irons and finally subjecting it to the intense heat from an industrial heat gun.


(Above:  Lancet Window XXXVII, under construction.)

I liked the design so well that I immediately started a second one ... a variation on the same theme.



(Above on left:  Lancet Window XXXVII stitched and stapled to a stretcher bar ... ready to be melted. On right:  Lancet Window XXXVI stitched to mat board and beside its frame.  By the way, a large "In Box" piece is hanging on my gallery wall to the far right!)

 
(Above:  Lancet Window XXXVII, based on St. Martin's Cross.  Framed:  31 1/4" x 11 1/4".)

This is the second one.  It is now in its frame too.  A client came by today shortly after these were in their frames and said she's coming back on Saturday with her husband ... to purchase one or the other!  Thank you, Margaret, for a great suggestion!

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

Volumes: Women Bound By Art 2

(Above:  General view of the Curtis R. Harley Gallery at the University of South Carolina Upstate, Spartanburg, SC of Volumes 2: Women Bound By Art, an altered book invitational show.)

I am part of a unique group of women periodically altering specific books and exhibiting the resulting work together.  Last Thursday our show opened at the Curtis R. Harley Gallery in Spartanburg.  It couldn't have been a nicer day.  Most of the eighteen artists car-pooled to a luncheon arranged by Jane Nodine, a talented artist and professor of art.  This was followed by a panel discussion in front of at least four college classes.  Doni Jordan and Susan Livingston, "our leaders" who founded and curate our work, spoke briefly about the group's history, the books we've altered, and our plans for the future.  Each artist then got a few minutes to discuss their own piece(s) in the show.



(Above:  Ball Bearings thru Cables, an altered book. 14" x 9" x 2 3/4". Discarded library tome, old cables and ball bearings, clipped letters from vintage sheet music, found paper, engraved plates, wood, plexiglass, screws. Click on image to enlarge.)

The first set of books that the group altered was a discarded 12-volume set of Thomas Register of American Manufacturers Products and Services.  These were shown in two exhibits last year.  Only some of the pieces from the first shows were included in Volumes 2.  I was fortunate that my Ball Bearings thru Cables was among them.  (To read more about this piece, CLICK HERE.)

 

(Above:  Volume Nine: Hobbies to Irrigation.  74" x 8 3/4". Altered book. Rolled and tied pages stitched to recycled felt attached to the original book's cover.)

For Volume 2, we were each given a book from an old set of encyclopedias.  I got Volume Nine: Hobbies to Irrigation.  Since I used the original cover, I kept the original name!  To read more about this piece, CLICK HERE and scroll down.  

 
(Above:  One wall at the Curtis R. Harley Gallery with photos of all the participating artists.)

The show is amazing, especially in its details ... like a wall on which each artist has a profile picture.

 

(Above:  The group shot of the artists in attendance for the panel discussion with the gallery director.)

We had a great time.  The show is up through February 21st.

 

(Above:  The signage for the show.)

Hope, CLAWS, and Elizabeth Siddal

(Above:  Elizabeth Siddal, 24" x 18". Image transfer, artificial flowers, paint, sequins and beads, self-guided free-motion machine quilting. Hand stitching. Click on any image to enlarge.)

Just after the start of 2012, I joined a national group called CLAWS (Crossing the Line: Artists at Work).  Membership is limited to just twenty art quilters.  Every six months each member creates a 24" x 18" art quilt in response to a theme.  Karen Musgrave heads up this group and is seeking traveling exhibition opportunities for the work.  Our first deadline was August 15, 2012.  The theme/title was:  Women Who Broke All the Rules.  I stitched a portrait of Skirt! Magazine founder and editor Nikki Hardin.  I couldn't blog about the piece I made because this group had one of those very silly rules banning Internet exposure.  For some strange reason, much of the art quilt world still has a foot stuck in the 19th century with the notion that some "grand unveiling" of new work generates more interest than the technology available today.  I don't get it; I never did; nonetheless, I followed the rules!


(Above:  Elizabeth Siddal, detail.)

THANK GOODNESS!  This group came to its sense and has lifted this silly rule.  I can blog again!  Please know, I'm very happy I joined this group because I've learned quite a bit ... like the fact that trying to organize a long-distance group of creative women is pretty much like attempting to "herd cats".  I don't really know any of the other members.  I don't even know their artwork, but I've come to know that some are late, miss deadlines, quit, and change their minds after initially selecting a response to a given topic.  I also learned that I am certainly NOT a typical art quilter.  I've made mistakes too!


(Above:  Elizabeth Siddal, detail.)

One of the more recent themes for the CLAW group was "Rewriting History".  Each member was supposed to select a professional female artist who isn't generally found in art history books and/or major museum collections.  I volunteered to stitch Ana Mendieta (scroll down to see this work).  Karen Musgrave accepted my subject; I made the piece; I sent it a month before the deadline. Later I learned that only twelve art quilts were submitted before the deadline and others weren't necessarily coming.  Thus, I volunteered to stitch another piece (because this theme has actually been my favorite one!).  Karen Musgrave accepted my subject, Elizabeth Siddal.

 

(Above:  John Everett Millais' Ophelia.)

I knew exactly what I wanted to do.  Of course I did!  The image for the art quilt is of me ... but it is also entirely inspired by Elizabeth Siddal.  So, who is she?  Well, Elizabeth Siddal was a favorite model and muse for several of the Pre-Raphelite painters including John Everett Millais who painted one of my favorite pieces, Ophelia.  Elizabeth Siddal posed in a tub of water for this in 1852 ... day-after-day ... into the winter ... never complaining ... even when the lamp heating the water went out.  This painting and my obsession with artificial flowers collected from cemetery dumpsters triggered a hair-brained idea for my first performance art piece.  I blogged about preparing for this adventure HERE.  There was a "dress rehearsal" too ... during which time several people photographed me in the claw-footed tub inside the Main Street storefront window of the Tapps Art Center.  I blogged about this too!  One of the photos was taken by my mentor, Stephen Chesley.  It was his image that I used for the art quilt of Elizabeth Siddal. 


(Above:  Ophelia, performance art piece at the Tapps Art Center, June 2011.)

In addition to collaborating with a couple of photographers, I also worked with Michael Krajewski, a local graffiti artist, who covered the walls in pencil and red paint ... truly reflecting the thoughts of a lovesick teenager about to commit suicide.  One of the best parts of this experience is Heather Bauer's time-lapse video of the people watching.  It is HERE.   So, Elizabeth Siddal inspired me too ... and her life saddens me as well.  During her brief and unfortunate life, she wrote poetry and painted.  Unfortunately, she was a woman.  The men in her life thought she was the ideal of feminine beauty but they didn't really treat her right.  They certainly didn't allow any aspirations she might have had for making art to flourish.  A few of her works still exist but are rarely exhibited.  She inspired but was stifled. Her features grace art history but rarely her name.

(Above:  Elizabeth Siddal, reverse.)

I am very pleased with this piece.  For the reverse, I used a piece of dirndl material I bought in Salzburg, Austria two decades or more ago.  I loved it then and still do.  While rummaging in my "vintage" stash for this fabric, I happened upon a piece of needlework that I stitched at least fifteen or more years ago.  It was finished ... in the sense that the stitches were all there.  It was unfinished ... in the sense that I threw the piece into the plastic bin with everything else.  Why not use it for something?

(Above:  Elizabeth Siddal, reverse, detail of signature.)

It is very likely that I'll never do any needlepoint again, especially anything that requires counting. So, I took that piece, stitched on my name (without counting! LOL!) and date, put it on a crochet edged doily, and put it on the back of Elizabeth Siddal.  There's something fitting about a very ornate addition to a work inspired by the PreRaphelites!

(Above:  Hope. 24" x 18".  Xylene photo transfer on muslin combined with scraps of a vintage pink kimono and other cotton fabrics; beads, sequins and upholstery trim. Hand stitched.)

I am sending Elizabeth Siddal off to Karen Musgrave.  In the box is yet another art quilt.  (Both were made during the last week.)  This is Hope.  It is for another CLAW group theme ... Twenty Words That Can Change Your Life.  Karen provided a list of twenty words.  I volunteered to create Appreciate.  (Scroll down to see it!)  I finished it last month and sent it in early.  The deadline with these quilts is actually on February 15th.  As I mentioned earlier, this group has had its share of problems ... and Hope became available a couple of weeks ago.  I snapped it up!  Again, I knew exactly what I was going to do.    


(Above:  Hope, detail.)

No ... I didn't throw this together inside of a week.  I did it in a single day!  Of course, I was already working with a finished piece!  In May 2011 I created The Face of Faith in the 21st Century.   It was high time to remove it from its frame, cut it down, and turn it into something else.  The funniest thing about this piece is that fact that at first I forgot the name was "Faith", not "Hope".  For me, these two words require one another.  They are also entirely interchangeable ... and also names for a girl!  This is not only the face of "faith", it is also the face of "hope" ... for all things spiritual, for all things good, for the future!
 

(Above:  Hope, reverse.)

The reverse of Hope is actually a crinkled gold foil paper.  My signature is on a pink dinner napkin that doubles as a hanging sleeve.  I added buttons ... assuring that all three layers are connected ... more than just on the side which is my normal blanket stitching.


(Above:  Nikki Hardin. 24" x 18". Xylene photo transfer on tea-stained muslin, white recycled felt, Thai stucco decorative paper, paper, beads, thread.  Hand stitched.)

So ... now I have a bit of "back-blogging" to do!

The first theme for the CLAW group was "Women Who Break All the Rules".  Of course, I did just that ... I broke the rules on my first attempt! LOL!  I selected Nikki Hardin, Founder of Skirt! Magazine.  I was honored when she agreed to this project and sent photos and a model's release. 

(Above:  Nikki Hardin, detail.)

My problem started after reading the ideas for this group's hopeful exhibitions.  The initial information requested that all the pieces be 24" x 18" so that they could easily be shipped together ... neatly in one box.  Slats for hanging would be packaged separately.  Thus, I thought my "skirt hanger" didn't count toward the finished size of my first piece Skirt! Is a Rebel.  Karen rejected it.  So I made Nikki Hardin as a replacement piece.  This was easy enough.  After all, I've created 108 works in my Decision Portrait Series.  All the single portraits are basically 24" x 18".  I know how to do this! I'm happy that I can now show this piece!

 

(Above:  Skirt! Is a Rebel, an art quilt. Photo transfer on tea-stained muslin, two skirts, hand embroidery.)

I did, however, share my first attempt.  That early blog post is HERE.  This piece was also recently part of Art Quilts XVIII: ARTrageous, a juried national show at Vision Gallery in Chandler, Arizona.

 

(Above:  Skirt! Is a Rebel, reverse.)

As far as hanging this piece goes, it is actually easier that just about any other art quilt ... and can be done "in the round" since the reverse is finished with a collage from Skirt! Magazine!  I will continue to submit this piece when appropriate for a call-for-entry!  I like it a lot!

(Above:  'Til Death Do Us Part. 24" x 18". Gay pride flag, polyester velvet, beads.  Machine and hand stitching.)

The second theme for the CLAW group was "Art Can't Hurt You" and members were supposed to respond to a social issue.  I volunteered to create a work about same sex marriage. 

(Above:  'Til Death Do Us Part, detail.)

By this time, the group decided that one could blog "in progress" images and a "detail shot".  So ... I was able to write a post HERE ... just not show the full, finished work. 

(Above:  'Til Death Do Us Part, in progress.)

This was sort of ridiculous because "in progress" pictures along with the "details" on a piece this small make the final outcome sort of obvious!  Still, I'm happy to finally be able to show the WHOLE thing!

(Above:  Ashes to Ashes; Dust to Dust.  26" x 20".  Image transfer and artificial flowers collected from cemetery dumpsters. Trapunto. Self-guided, free motion machine embroidery with hand stitching and beading.)

Speaking of "showing the whole thing", the third installment for the CLAW group was the "Rewriting History".  As mentioned above, I volunteered to stitch a piece on Ana Mendieta, a pioneer of earth/body art.  Of course, my first attempt got away from me.  The artificial greenery extended several inches beyond the 24" x 18" required border.  So this one became part of my I Am Not Invisible solo show last November and December. 

(Above:  Earth to Earth. 24" x 18".  Image transfer and artificial flowers collected from cemetery dumpsters. Trapunto. Self-guided, free motion machine embroidery with hand stitching and beading.)

I controlled my urge to allow the flowers to be more organically arranged on my second attempt.  Because Karen also might need a QR code for potential exhibitions, I did blog about this piece ... on a support blog ... trying very, very hard not to break any more rules especially since I was sending a nude.  It has additional information about Ana Mendieta, who still inspires me, and about my reasons for creating these two pieces. That post is HERE.


(Above:  Earth to Earth and Ashes to Ashes; Dust to Dust, reverses.)

I really liked using the vintage material for the background.  It likely dates from the time when Ana Mendieta work alive, well, and working!


(Above:  Appreciate, 24" x 18").

Finally, this was my "other word" for the Twenty Words That Might Change Your Life.  I was able to blog about it ... because the silly anti-Internet rule was finally dismissed!  That post is HERE.

I am linking this post to Nina-Marie's "Off the Wall Fridays", a site for sharing fiber arts.  (I'm happy that this week I had a choice of blog posts from which to select!  I'm planning on keeping up my promise to blog more than once a week!)

A Wonderful Weekend!

(Above:  Steve and I at the Columbia Museum of Art's Fire and Ice Ball.  Click on any image in this blog post to enlarge.)

Recently I've fallen into the bad habit of blogging only once a week.  It is a problem.  Why? Well, by the time seven days have past, I've generally got too many images I want to share and too many things I'd like to say.  Blogging, as a result, seems to take too much time.  From now on, more blogging ... like sharing this past weekend!  It was a super time!


(Above:  Steve and I at the Fire and Ice Ball.)

The weekend started with the Fire and Ice Ball at the Columbia Museum of Art.  One of my pieces was part of the silent auction.  There was dancing, gorgeous floral arrangements, exotic food, valet parking, and lots of people ...



... including Elizabeth and Sam Crews who have been our friends since we moved to Columbia in 1987.



A photographer from The State newspaper took the photo with Sam and Elizabeth and this nice one of the two of us.  I pulled these photos from the newspaper's website.  There were hundreds of them ... all of very well dressed art lovers!


(Above:  The Girl Scout's Powerful Women Summit at the Capital City Club.)

The next morning found me on the 25th floor of Columbia's tallest building.  This is the Capital City Club and the site of the local Girl Scout's annual "Powerful Women Summit".  The panel included a chemist, a State House legislator/attorney, an F-16 pilot, a nuclear licensing engineer, a high school head coach, an image consultant, a captain from the sheriff's department, a staff person from Harvest Hope Food bank, several others ... and ME ... a professional studio artist.


(Above:  The Powerful Women Summit.)

Prior to this event, all the panelist provided an in-depth biography from which the emcee drew for introductions.  She selected information about us from our own days in middle and high school.  Unbelievably, more than half wanted to be a veterinarian ... and yet there wasn't a vet among us.  This was important and helped guide the conversations as we rotated from round table to round table.  The career options one hopes to accomplish while in high school might not be exactly what one ends up doing ... but planning, determination, an education, and strong leadership qualities will always manage to navigate a girl into a "powerful woman"!  (By the way, Dad ... the emcee mentioned the fact that when I was a high school Girl Scout, you were our troop leader!)


(Above:  Talking to some of the girls.)

Every girl in the room has her eyes set on college.  Many hope to be veterinarians.  I'm not sure any will actually do this but it was obvious success is on the horizon no matter what!  


(Above:  View of Columbia's Vista from the Capital City Club.)

For me, one of the most important, personal impressions from this event was undoubtedly the view.  This is Columbia's Vista, the arts and cultural downtown district of the city.  When walking the streets, I'm aware of the slight elevations, the enormous buildings, the busy traffic, and the feel of a lots and lots of space.  From the 25th floor, however, the area is remarkably flat.  The buildings don't look very big, the traffic is minimal, and the area really isn't that big.  Viewpoints make all the difference.  The building in which my studio is located is easy to find.  It is the former warehouse that now has a partial wall painted bright blue.


(Above:  The former Vista warehouse that is now owned by Moltan/Lamar Architects.)

My studio is a sacred space.  When I'm inside, it is "my world".  I've made almost everything within the four walls.  The walls don't actually rise to the ceiling.  I can look over mine and see the four skylights above the gallery's atrium area.  It wasn't too long ago that I hung The Canopy there.  It seemed huge!  From the Capital City Club, however, it is like a tiny bird's nest, a quiet place in the middle of a busy city ... a place to work ... my itty-bitty piece of the art world.


(Above:  Max, our cat, sleeping in his new "nest".)

Mentioning the word "nest", I seem to be creating one for Max, our cat.  The unraveling of thread for the upcoming installation is going along wonderfully.



Max, of course, thinks I'm doing this for his benefit.  I have a meeting on Wednesday to finalize the location for the installation!  I'm excited.  (To read more about this project, click HERE.)

(Above:  In Box CXL.  Unframed:  Approximately 28" x 16". Framed:  33 3/4" x 21 3/4".)

Of course, I am also going to my studio ... daily ... no matter what!  So, In Box CXL and In Box CXXXIX were finished and framed recently too!


(Above:  Detail of In Box CXL.)

I've also finished and photographed two more 24" x 18" art quilts.  I'll blog them in a day or two!  Check back often.  I promise to write more frequently!

 

(Above:  In Box CXXXIX. Unframed approximately 17" x 13".  Framed:  21 3/4" x 17 3/4".)