Another week at the MacNamara Foundation!

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My time at the MacNamara Foundation is going by at the speed of light. I've learned many, many things about the larger world of art but also about myself. I really could stitch all day, all evening, every weekend, all the time, for the rest of my life....and never exhaust my own creativity or my passion for needle and thread. In fact, my ideas just seem to expand. Having this time is wonderful. Being around other artists is fascinating. If possible, I must find a way to incorporate more time in my "normal" life. Also, learning "art ease" or the ability to communicate effectively in a group of non-fiber artists is essential. I'm working on this....with a list of nouns, verbs, and adjectives that will hopefully become part of my daily sentence construction! With practice, I'll soon sound like I belong in artistic conversations! One of my "new words" is EXECUTE....and nothing dies! This blog post concerns recent work EXECUTED at the MacNamara Foundation!

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Westport Island Series: Acorn Cap Double Vessel. I couldn't be more pleased with this piece! In fact, I'm totally thrilled. The two vessels I made and covered with acorn caps fit together perfectly. I didn't even realize this until both were finished....a few stitches more and they became one, wonderful vessel.!

Above is the cording created by zigzagging over five strands of acrylic yarn. This cord is zigzagged into a vessel. Unfortunately, my Bernina 1630 went out of alignment right after I finished. The needle do longer enters the bobbin casing in the proper location. Steve, my wonderful husband, actually borrowed the neighbor's car (he'll only got the moped while I'm in Maine) and sent my Bernina 1008 via FedEx Ground! It arrived in two days!

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Westport Island Series: Single Shell. Embellished ground. Wool fibers under sheer netting. Hand beaded.

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Westport Island Series: Beaver. Embellished fibers, fabrics, yarns and real beaver fur. The fur was clipped from one of the roadkill discoveries. I'd never been so close to a beaver before. They are awesome animals. Silently, I told the poor corpse that he'd not died in vain because I'd use the fur to create something lasting!

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Westport Island Series: Chipmunk. This is another example of roadkill art. Oh, yes, I'm not the only artist here being influenced by roadkill! The photographer, Lisa Robinson, is creating amazing cynotypes. This chipmunk was used for several of these images. Lisa and I buried the little body on a bed of leaves and with a nice acorn. I clipped some of the tail fur which is embellished into the background. The silhouette was based on one of Lisa's cynotypes.

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Westport Island Series: Birch Trees. This piece started as a piece of embellishment. I liked both sides equally well so cut it into strips. I reversed every other strip and embellished them back together on while felt. Finally, I stitched a piece of real birch bark onto it with a bead.

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This postcard and ATC were made to replace a CYBER FYBER trade that unfortunately never arrived in New Hampshire....to Michelle Goldsmith. I hope she likes them!

Teenage Mother: I Kept My Baby

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Teenage Mother. Decision Portrait Series. Xylene transfer on tea-stained muslin. Hand embroidery and beading, artificial flowers, ribbon and trim, chiffon. Stitched words: In LOVE at 15 but didn't THINK. Sorrow. Grief. Joy. Happiness. Many tears. Much love. With help from Mom and Dad. I Kept My Baby. My baby is now the mother of my grandsons. 25" x 18" Unframed.

This portrait was such a joy to stitch but it was so much more than pulling a needle and thread. It was an entire experience. From the moment I received Emmy Schoonbeek's first email volunteering for this project, I knew this would be special. Our email correspondence confirmed this. The photo simply couldn't be more perfect. This is Emmy at nineteen, on her wedding day, with her three year old daughter. I pulled phrases from her messages and asked her permission to use them. Emmy received an email attachment of the finished work yesterday and approved my use of her name and blog link.

I am honored to have stitched this work. I am grateful for Emmy's willingness to share and trust me with her image and story. I am especially happy that Emmy likes the work...especially since Emmy is such an amazing embroiderer! Thank you, Emmy....from the bottom of my heart.

All the other artists here at the MacNamara Foundation watched the piece as it took shape. Everyone was touched by it because it resonates with truth and love. Emmy acknowledges the hardships but celebrates the miracle, the gift, the love and happiness. I celebrate with her. (Details below can be enlarged.)

Atheist

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Atheist. Stitched words: Atheist. No Creator in the Sky; No Damnation...just Evolutionary Phenomena. Xylene transfer on tea-stained muslin. 25" x 18". Hand embroidery. Smaller words: I just don't believe that there's anyone out there...no creator with a plan...No being watching, listening, guiding us through the darkness. God just isn't one of my stories. There is no God...No Meaning in the Chaos.

Maria Robinson is one of the other artists experiencing the generosity and time provided by the MacNamara Foundation here on Westport Island, Maine. She is a writer. She excels in strong characters, evocative phrases, and attention to significant details. She went with me to see the Come Springs Quilt show in Union, Maine which made the day trip so much fun. I got the chance to see the work through her eyes, explain construction methods, and simply to talk during the drive. Maria's an atheist and the perfect person to articulate this decision to me.

Though I don't pretend to understand this decision, Maria was easily able to convey her thoughts and feeling in a way that made stitching this piece not only possible but a joy. I don't want any value judgments reflected in these works....even my own. I want each piece to be a straight forward depiction of a personal decision. I want each person presented in a flattering way, and I'm really, really pleased with how this one turned out. It was also the first time I've created a piece with the model present! This also added to the overall feeling and the excitement over each stitch. Maria's husband visited over the weekend. He, too, said I'd captured Maria. What a compliment!

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Now to change the subject entirely! My cell phone plan now includes the ability to call England! This means I finally got a chance to talk to Mathias in Birmingham....and scold him for not sending me any recent photos with his brand new iPhone. He laughed. He's busy. The season has opened but he found time to click a few buttons for me to receive the image below: Laura-Jane and Mathias ready to dance in Concerto!

Design Board: New Ways to Look at Art and the World

(Click on image to enlarge. My studio space at the MacNamara Foundation.)
When first arriving at the MacNamara Foundation, each artist was assisted in setting up his or her "studio" space. Every need was met....even ones not yet anticipated! It was amazing. I felt unworthy and nervous with a staff just vying to bring electrical needs, lighting equipment, and just about any supply on hand. It seemed "too much". It was too much, overwhelming. I was asked if I "needed" a design board.

Needed? As a parent, I spent too many days explaining the difference between a "need" and a "want". There was nothing I needed! I'd been granted six weeks in which to create art...uninterrupted...in a paradise location. How could I need anything else? Well, the photographer and painter got these boards....and lights for them...and have been pinning up their work ever since...sharing their creations...standing back to consider changes. I've been shoving my work into the large (extremely nice!) drawer.

Well, today I got two large panels....a design wall! I pinned up everything except Crazy Blues. I've never worked in this manner. I've never had the luxury. Of course, now all my embroidery looks rather poor in comparison to the surroundings. This feeling has haunted me often. My work seems unsophisticated and lacking. Maybe it is. Generally, time goes by and I look again and think, "It's not that bad!"

Well, just as an experiment. I'm going to force myself to LOOK at my work...every day...until the end of the month when this paradise comes to an end. Maybe I'll improve? Maybe I'll learn to be satisfied? I really don't know. I'd love to hear from those who use design boards. How has it affected your work?

It has been very interesting being around the other artists here. The photographer, Lisa Robinson, is quite accomplished and working with large format images, digital scans of the big negatives, and creating a series of cynotypes from many of the natural wonders here on Westport Island (like a dead bird, a dead snake, the bones of a mouse, all sorts of feathers, a dead frog, various plant pods, grasses, the skeletal autumn leaves...we've all been collecting things for her!). Lisa has just had a book published called Snowbound. It is glorious, a new way of looking at the world.

Well educated and quite fluent in what I'll call "art ease", Lisa can describe her work, her thoughts, and her vision in most amazingly brilliant ways. She's currently working to capture the etheral essence of fog. Through her eyes I've been made aware of climate, atmosphere and the need to express not only physical artwork but the proper words to describe it. I have so much to learn. Fortunately, there's lots of "teachers" here in the form of professional, working artists. With my new design board, they'll likely be more, interesting conversations.

Above and below are two images I took as a result of Lisa Robinson's inspiration. The fog truly is mysterious and beautiful. Ordinarily, these days were ones in which I'd have left the camera at home!

More Work from Westport Island, Maine!

The days are flying here on Westport Island and the work is coming along stitch by stitch. To be honest, I was both excited and nervous about the prospects of having so much time for art. It is a dream come true....but I really didn't know how I'd be able to handle it, emotionally, physically, mentally. Well...no problems! Having so much time really is my heart's desire!

With that, here's the next batch of work that's been recently completed!

(Click on image above to enlarge. Miniature In Box....the title is a "work in progress" as I haven't decided whether to just continue the numbers in the series or not. Approximately 12" x 9".

Next, the second miniature "In Box". Above is the full view. Below is the detail. Both images can be clicked upon for closer inspection. Also, approximately 12" x 9".

I've also completed two pieces in the new "Westport Island Series". Below are three images of Moss. I spent quite a bit of time investigating the moss in the area. I wish I knew more botany, but I don't. There seems to be "lichen" looking moss, a type that looks star shaped on the end, and lots of moss that resembles miniature ferns. I've used tyvek, hand stitching, and free motion machine embroidery on chiffon to mimic these kinds of moss.

Above: Westport Island Series: Moss. Approximately 12" x 9". Below, detail. Further below: angle shot taken to show the texture.


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Nearby to the MacNamara Foundation "barn" is a lovely cove. I've visited it on several afternoons to see the tide changing and to collect seashells. Of course, I only pick up the ones that already have holes. Above is Westport Island Series: Seashells. The background is an embellished fabric made of wool rovings, scrim, silk fibers, and chiffon. I also attached a layer of acrylic felt to the reverse for support. The seashells were stitched into place and the beads were added later. Below is a detail.

I'm happy to report that I'm now working on three pieces all at the same time! A digital file, model's release, and a few emails of correspondence has allowed me to begin on I Kept My Baby from the Decision Portrait Series. I also got confirmation and an image for Atheist! Both are now transferred. I also took ordinary crayons and a piece of tea-stained muslin to two of the local, family cemeteries in the area and did rubbings. After ironing the fabric, the coloring is heat set and a new art quilt is taking place. Words include: Lost at sea; Died; Patience (actually the deceased's first name), drowned, There is rest in Heaven, and Memory. This could be the start of "something" as I'm truly fascinated with how well kept and isolated these burial plots are. There's a sense of history, family, and eternal grace.

Also, I did the Bonnet Stitch for TAST (Take a Stitch Tuesday). I didn't read all the messages closely. There is a chance this was a "bonus" stitch. Whatever! It's done. At hated it at first but finally grew to enjoy its possibilities.

Not everything has been "work, work work" or "stitch, stitch, stitch". Last Saturday I drove with on of the other artists to Union, Maine for the Come Springs quilt show. It was very interesting viewing the quilts with someone who, as a writer, was curious about everything. On the return trip, we stopped at Beth's Farm Market. My friend shot this photo of me with the longest ear of Indian corn in the place!


I've also taken scores of photographs. I won't try posting them all but directly below is the tidal marsh that backs the MacNamara Foundation property. It is peaceful and full of autumn colors.

The coastline is also amazing. I'm particularly inspired by the seaweed that flows like luxurious fibers adrift in the tidal current. The photo below really does seem to capture the world both above and below sealevel.

Westport Island Series and TAST

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Above: Westport Island Series: Sky Meets Sea. Approx. 12" x 9". Polyester velvet shapes on acrylic felt with free motion machine and hand embroidery. Melting.

I've started a series of studies based on my impressions of nature here on Westport Island, Maine. There's so much to see, feel, and absorb; and I'm constantly remembering the changing seasons from my youth. In South Carolina there really aren't four distinct times of the year. Autumn doesn't last very long and doesn't have the same shifting temperatures, decay, hibernation, and overall sensations as it does here in the northern part of the United States. The night sky is a Milky Way of stars....seldom seen outside my downtown home. Also, I've never had the time to simply enjoy a fall landscape or fog gathering in the early morning.

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Above: Westport Island Series: Maple. Approximately 12" x 9". Polyester velvet on acrylic felt with hand and free motion embroidery. Melting.


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Above: Westport Island Series: Seaweed. Approximately 12" x 9". Decorative "moon crater" paper on acrylic felt with painted tyvek, assorted hand stitching, background machine embroidery, and real seaweed. Detail below.


Thus, each new piece reflects on the texture, color, and unique features of the environment around the MacNamara Foundation. I've adopted my "In Box" techniques for some of the pieces but have expanded the approaches as needed. I've already finished Seashells (on an embellished ground of wool, chiffon, millnery netting, and silk fibers) and have started Milky Way.


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Above: Detail from the first piece in this series. I posted a full view earlier. This is Westport Island Series: Acorn Caps. Polyester velvet on acrylic felt with free motion machine embroidery and hand stitching, acorn caps, and beads. Melting.

I've got plans for several other works....including something for the porcupine quills. There might be a beaver in my future too as there's more roadkill just begging for art options. One of the artists here has already clipped some fur for experimental paint brushes. I've been thinking all day about how beaver fur might embellish....but I've never actually seen a beaver (dead or alive) up close and personal!

Below: Westport Island Series: Autumn Elm. Approximately 12" x 9". Polyester velvet on acrylic felt. Free motion machine embroidery and hand stitching. Melting.


Okay, I'm behind on my TAST (Take a Stitch Tuesday) Challenge but I'm trying to catch up. Here's my examples of COUCHING and the KNOTTED CRETAN STITCH. Please notice that there are a few porcupine quills on the couching example. Anyone who's slightly familiar with my work knows I LOVE COUCHING. The knotted cretan stitch does not engender such enthusiasm but it is completed!

(Above: Couching...including a turkey feather from my parents' home outside Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania and eight porcupine quills from here in Maine. Click on images to enlarge. Below: Knotted Cretan Stitch.)

Marked for Life and other work

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Tattoo Artist. Stitched words: Marked for Life. 25" x 18", unframed. Xylene transfer on tea-stained muslin. Hand stitched and beaded with free motion machine embroidery and snippets of lace.

I've been working on several pieces this week including this piece in my Decision Portrait series. It was my intention to bring out the sitter's youthful beauty and femininity. I'm pleased with the result but not necessarily the photo. It has been nearly impossible for me to take photos here at the MacNamara foundation. I generally like natural lighting. Its often been rainy and there's no place for me to really hang the work outside when it isn't raining. However, if you look closely, I think the pastel pinks and sea foam greens are there. The coloring adds to the sense of femininity as does the lace on her bodice...which really looked like the lace she was wearing.

I know this single mother, business owner (Body Rites of Columbia, SC), and artist from last year's Skate and Create exhibition at Gallery 80808/Vista Studios. Without her skillful organizational skills and discerning eye, the art show would never have looked as professional as it did. It seemed fitting that I was finishing this piece this week. Earlier Friday evening, the 2nd Annual Skate and Create exhibit opened. I'm actually the "sponsor" but obviously couldn't attend. I finished my altered skateboard before leaving for Maine. In my absence, my wonderful husband Steve filled in. I hope the show opening went well; actually, I know it did.....this talented tattoo artist hung the artwork again this year!

Skate and Create isn't the only show I missed on Friday night. Sharon Dowell curated a show at Mark's Gallery, 2908 Crosby in Charlotte, North Carolina. She selected me! Four of my Strata Series and one of my Geodes went on view today! The name of the exhibit is Iterations. It features four female artists: Julie Benda, Petra Carroll, Jennifer Parham Gilomen, and me! Also, in Greenwood, SC there was an opening at Meridian Gallery. I have one "In Box" piece there and was sent a photo which is below.

In the meantime, I've been busy creating art everyday...all day...heavenly. This has included some rather odd experiences including harvesting porcupine quills from a recent roadkill near Damariscotta, Maine. Below are two of my fellow artists here at the MacNamara foundation and the dead porcupine.

I think someone else got to this dead animal before we did as there were no really long quills....but there were more than enough short ones. I pulled only a small fraction of the quills...hundreds and hundreds of them. How many quills does a porcupine have? It took me a full morning to wash and separate the quills from the fur but it was worth it. They are beautiful. I have several ideas for them.

Another natural wonder here in Maine is the abundance of acorn caps. After creating my "In Box" variation using a few, I went "nuts" for them. Below is a basket full. Each one's stem has been snipped off and a hole was made. Thus, this is a basket of acorn cap beads! I have ideas for these too! Hopefully, I'll get some sun and some good photos of my latest work. I promise to post these works soon!

Crazy Blues in Quarters!

Everything here in Maine at the MacNamara Foundation is wonderful....except that I can't seem to find a place in which to photograph this quilt! I'm not complaining. I'll take the "full view" in November when I can hang it on the gallery wall, light it properly, and enter it into my catalog as a finished work. In the meantime, here are the four quarters. Yes....I put the quilt on the gravel and used the side of a parked truck to brace my camera. Yet, the images are relatively clear, the colors look fine on my laptop screen, and each image can be clicked upon for a closer inspection of the million or so stitches, including the kantha cloth inspired, off white section between the image of Mamie Smith and the crazy quilting.

The center is a xylene transfer on tea-stained muslin of Mamie Smith, the first African American female to record a blues song. The title: Crazy Blues. Hence, this quilt is also called Crazy Blues. The reverse includes handstitching that reads:
CRAZY BLUES
Mamie Smith 1920
Susan Lenz 2008

I didn't do any of the tatting or crochet. They are vintage scraps of lace. The material includes scraps of old Austrian dirndl skirts and aprons, a batik I found in Thailand in 1987, part of an old hand stitched quilt top, part of in Indian scarf that my sister Sonya and Vipin got me (but I accidentally ripped it on the car door), and a Japanese handkerchief that my son Mathias brought back after dancing in Sapporo. Some of the trim and buttons were left in my Grandmother's treddle sewing machine which I inherited. There are four blue beads that were a gift from Pat Thornhill. Most of the button are vintage. There are some 19th c. jet beads too. The entire background of the xylene portrait is done in seeding stitch. The portrait itself is stuffed, trapunto style from the reverse. Therefore, the work is very dimensional.

Death Wish, Decision Portrait Series

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Death Wish. Stitched words: I just wanted to lie down and never wake up...Ignored...Social Outcase...Cut wrist and a bottle of aspirin...Loner...Psych Ward...Beaten...At 16 I thought it would just be best if I wasn't around at all...Attempted Suicide. Unframed: 25 " x 18".

A few months ago Arlee Barr emailed me privately (mouse_house@prodigy.net) volunteering for this portrait. I sent her a standard model's release. She signed and returned it. She scanned a photo taken of her when she was sixteen and emailed it as a high resolution image. We also corresponded about this time during her life. I selected and altered several phrases from her message. Of course I shared these with Arlee first.

It was wonderful to arrive at the MacNamara Foundation's location on Westport Island in Maine with a familiar series on which to start work. After finishing Blood Donor, I got to work on this piece. Tomorrow I plan to start Marked for Life (Tattoo Artist). Once this piece was finished, I sent an image to Arlee. I wanted her to see it before I posted. At this point, I also asked Arlee whether she wanted me to blog about the work with or without her name. The choice was hers.

I'm very pleased with the portrait. I wanted the words to swirl around her head as if visualization of the internal thoughts. The phrase at the top and bottom are therefore couched straight across and in a different shade because it is a current reflection.

I tried to post this piece earlier today....but I couldn't manage it. It seems that Hurricane Kyle interfered with the broadband connection. Otherwise the storm was just lots and lots of rain. I miss high speed! On that note....I thank each and every person who has kindly left me a comment but beg for understanding. I really can't navigate quickly to blogs to return the compliments. The support, however, has been my strength here in Maine! Thank you all!

Work Created during the first week at the MacNamara Foundation

(Above: Blood Donor. Stitched words: Saving Lives One Pint at a Time. Xylene transfer on tea-stained muslin. Hand stitched and beaded. 25" x 17" unframed.)
I've settled into the routine of working in the new space and in the midst of the other artists. I've created some work, photographed it, and now it's time to share some of the pieces created thus far.

Above is the first piece I worked on. I'd already created the xylene transfer before leaving South Carolina but hadn't put the layers together or even thought about stitching it. Still, this is a piece in my "Decision Portrait Series" and was something with which I was familiar....something perfect on which to begin working in a new setting.

I'm honored to know this business man who have donated over 75 pints of blood and often holds blood drives in the parking lot of the Biscuit House, a breakfast restaurant he owns. I shot the photo as he stood in the window for "take away" orders.

I've finished Death Wish too but need to email the image to person who submitted the digital data before posting.

(Above: Elements. 13" x 10". Hand stitching on heat transfer painted polyester. Polyester velvet shapes, previously painted Wonder Under...Bond-a-Web....metallic foil, chiffon scarf, free motion machine embroidery, melting.)
I brought along a piece of polyester with a heat transferred architectural design on it. This started an experiment....combining my "Elements of Architecture Series" with bonding and melting. I'm very happy with the results. Generally, I hand stitch these pieces heavily, apply a sheer chiffon scarf on top, and free motion stitch. This time, I didn't stitch every little space but added shapes of polyester velvet then added the Wonder Under, foil, scarf, and finally the stitching.

Continuing my experimental mode and with interest in the natural surroundings, I made three little studies with plant life. Above and below are two small ferns from the woodlands around the MacNamara Foundation. I sandwiched them between previously painted fragments of Wonder Under and chiffon scarves. A snippet or two of fibers and a few strands of angelina were included on one. I put the sandwich on a piece of water soluble, adhesive coated fabric and free motion embroidered. Each was dissolved in warm water. They are perfectly light, diaphanous, samples. I might build on this idea.

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Above is an autumn oak leaf created like the ferns but using some copper foiling too.

The second piece I created here in Maine was also something with which I am really comfortable. Working in a new setting and among such accomplished artists is more than a bit daunting. Making an "In Box" is sort of like relying on a "security blanket" but I do love making them. I'm planning on creating several small ones too....just because I'll finally have the time to really make smaller works for potential sales. Not everyone needs a big piece and many people have asked if I ever made these in smaller sizes. Now I will.

(Above: Detail of the In Box....I forgot which number was next in the series and my catalog is at home in South Carolina!)


(Above: In Box with Acorn Caps. 13" x 10".)
I also challenged myself to use "something" of Maine when creating an "In Box". Above is the result. There are literally MILLIONS of acorn caps here. I think they are SO CUTE. I discovered that they could easily be fashioned into natural beads. After stitching this small work, I collected hundred of acorn caps and spent last evening turning then into a stash for another piece....I haven't decided what sort of piece but time will tell!