Seasonal Leaves ... for my solo show at CITY ART!

 (Above:  Seasonal Leaves, a series of four pieces.  From left to right, Summer, Spring, Autumn, and Winter.  Each piece is roughly 27" x 15".  Each has been stitched to acid-free mat board and placed in a linen liner.  The photo was taken before the linen liner was put into a frame with glass ... to avoid unnecessary flare.  The final, framed dimensions are 33" x 21".  Click on any image in this blog post to enlarge.)

It's official!  I'm having a solo show at City Art in Columbia's downtown "Vista" area, the arts and cultural district!  More exciting is the fact that the opening is scheduled on November 17th during "Vista Lights, the annual holiday arts event.  City Art has a gigantic space for solo shows.  This is a perfect opportunity for me to act on ideas for new work ... bigger, using a limited palette, and exploring a range of metallic finishes that I've only dreamed about doing.  To celebrate, I made the first works in this vein: Seasonal Leaves.

 
 (Above:  Summer.  Scroll down for "in progress" photos of this piece.)

These four pieces are made using the same materials and techniques as I employ for my "In Box" series, but there are a couple of major departures.  (My original techniques can be found on a free, on-line tutorial.)  First, I'm eliminating any previously painted Wonder Under.  I'm using this product straight from the bolt. Second, I'm limiting the color palette to hues reflecting each season and increasing the amount of metallic foiling. Third, I'm only stitching leaf motifs. Finally, I'm not using my soldering irons to melt holes into the individual boxes. 

 (Above:  Autumn.)

Several years ago, I couldn't have made these works.  I didn't have access to polyester velvets in a wide range of colors.  I also didn't have as many metallic foils as I do now.  Plus, I didn't have confidence in my own, self-guided machine embroidery skills to draw all the leaves.

 
 (Above:  Winter.)

Time changes ... just like the seasons.  After years of practice using my own techniques, I am filled with new ideas to explore.  The upcoming solo show gives me the excuse to act on all these daydreams.  I'm really pleased with how the first idea has unfolded.

 
 (Above: Spring.)

I am to deliver the work directly after the Philadelphia Museum of Art Craft Show in November.  What an exciting time November will be!

 (Above: Detail of Spring ... showing my threaded needle as I mount the artwork to mat board by stitching.)

Each piece is stitched to a piece of acid-free mat board.  In some of these images the mat board looks "pink".  It isn't.  It's called Sea Mist ... a great grey that looks excellent with both warm and cool tones.  Below are several photos of Summer in progress.

 (Above:  The first layer of Summer with plenty of metallic foiling.)

It is difficult to get a good photo of the metallic foils.  I work under a bank of lights.  The foil is highly reflective.

 (Above:  Detail of the first layer of Summer with metallic foiling.)

I used copper, gold, fuchsia, and purple on Summer.  Autumn had copper, gold, green, and red. Winter had silver and several shades of blue.  Spring included gold, greens, and pinks.  I am now getting my metallic foil from General Roll Leaf.  Opening my first order felt like Christmas!

 (Above:  Detail of Summer, in progress.)

Much of the foil is covered by the additional layers ... but ... they still shine through beautifully!

 (Above:  Summer, almost ready to stitch!)

At this stage, I added strips of chiffon scarves ... selecting the appropriate seasonal colors for each piece.  Then I stitched.  Finally, I melted the boxes apart using my industrial heat gun.  This is a perfect variation on my own theme!  Can't wait until November to show the results off.

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

New Work!

(Above: Detail of Large Stained Glass LXXII.  Click on any image in this post to enlarge.)

I'm very excited about being accepted into next November's Philadelphia Museum of Art Craft Show and am busy making new work for this opportunity.  I have another solo show tentatively scheduled for the same time.  Thus, I need LOTS of new work!  The pieces feature here were done during the last three weeks.

(Above: Large Stained Glass LXII. Inventory # 3772.  Framed: 62 1/2" x 22 1/2". $1200.)


(Above: Detail of Large Stained Glass LXXII.)

 
(Above: Large Stained Glass LXIII. Inventory # 3773.  Framed: 62 1/2" x 22 1/2". $1200.)

(Above: Detail of Large Stained Glass LXXIII.)

(Above: Detail of Large Stained Glass LXXIII.)

(Above: In Box CCXLII.  Inventory # 3773. Framed:  33" x 21". $550.)

(Above: In Box CCXLIII.  Inventory # 3774. Framed:  33" x 21". $550.)

(Above: In Box CCXLIV. Inventory # 3774. Framed:  21 3/4" x 17 3/4". $325.)

(Above: In Box CCLXV. Inventory # 3775. Framed:  21 3/4" x 17 3/4". $325.)

(Above: In Box CCXLVI. Inventory # 3776. Framed:  21 3/4" x 17 3/4". $325.)

(Above: In Box CCXLVII. Inventory # 3777. Framed:  21 3/4" x 17 3/4". $325.)

(Above: In Box CCXLVIII. Inventory # 3778. Framed:  21 3/4" x 17 3/4". $325.)

Anonymous Ancestors Sculptural Garment II

(Above:  Anonymous Ancestors Sculptural Garments I [finished on the right] and II [just being started on the left].  Click on any image in this blog post for an enlargement.)

Last Monday my living room looked like the photo above.  I had just happily finished Anonymous Ancestors Sculptural Garment I, photographed it, and set up two ladders in order to start the second piece.  Luckily, my entire stash of anonymous vintage photographs were already fused to fabric.  I could start right away ... and did later that same night.  Since then, every weeknight found me stitching old images onto the pleated layers of the beautiful, vintage debutante gown.
  

(Above:  Anonymous Ancestors Sculptural Garment II, in progress.)

My photos were divided into groups of the same size and orientation.  As I worked up from the bottom, I used smaller and smaller photos. At first, I sat on the floor.

Each photo was attached with a button ... vintage, of course!  I got a large box of these white buttons from Bill Mishoe's auction.

Early in the week, my view up the garment looked like the photo above ... lots and lots of pleats onto which photos would be stitched.  Around and around I sewed.  It required more photos than I anticipated but I had more than enough.  Finally, the garment was covered.  Yet while working, I realized that the dress needed "something" to fill out the shape.  In my mind, it needed crinoline.  I asked Steve what he thought.  He responded, "What's crinoline?"  I explained in terms with which I was familiar ... a steel-hooped "cage" worn under mid-19th century skirts.  I described it using words like "wire, hula hoops, and a human-sized bird cage".  Steve looked puzzled and then suggested that I make something similar using foam-centered board and rope.  He added that such a structure would have the benefit of collapsing during shipping and transport.  Occasionally, Steve is absolutely beyond brilliant!  This was one of those occasions.  He couldn't envision exactly how it would be constructed or how it would attach to the garment, but without his suggestion I still be totally stuck.  Instantly, I knew what to do!  Thanks, Steve!
  

(Above:  Five foam-centered circles divided into fifths.)

It's been since tenth grade since I used a protractor.  Yet, I have one.  It came in handy after cutting five foam-centered board circles.  Holes were poked on each line ... about an inch inside each circle's perimeter.  I glued large washers to each hole ... so that my rope wouldn't tear up the foam-core.  Five lengths of rope were cut, threaded up through the holes with knots on each side of each hole.

(Above:  Anonymous Ancestors Sculptural Garment II hanging beside it's foam-centered board crinoline.)

Once made, I discover my next challenge.  The skirt's lining was much narrower than the outer garment.  The lining with stitched to the back zipper.  As a result, I cut the lining away from the zipper.  I then stitched six rows of long running stitches down the lining ... from the waistline to the hemline.  I gathered up all the material ... which nicely fills out the bodice but still leaves a "hole" in the middle. 

Finally, I tied the ends of my five rope lengths into a giant knot. To the knot, I attached a short wire with a light-weight, metal key clasp on the end.  I strung another wire through the clear plastic coat hanger ... adding another light-weight metal key clasp to its end.  Thus, the crinoline can be removed and replaced ... and is collapsible too!

I'm really pleased with this second garment.  I've even located a new place in which to snap final images ... a place with a big white walls and a solid floor ... a rental photography studio!  Hopefully, this will be a perfect place to take finished photographs. Such a place was the only thing I truly gave up when moving out of my studio at Gallery 80808/Vista Studios.  Now ... I might not miss that advantage either!

(Above:  The photo corsage for Anonymous Ancestors Sculptural Garment II ... also showing the thin wire that holds the crinoline under the dress.)

In the process of creating the crinoline, gathering the lining, and finishing this piece, I learned something special.  I was told that the dress was once a debutante's gown.  It was donated to me by a lady who retold a tale.  She explained that the dress sat in storage for years ... long after the woman who wore it had passed on.  Her husband couldn't give it up.  The dress had been lovingly made by a talented family member.  I can't quite remember exactly how the dress came into this woman's possession but she insisted that I notice the craftsmanship. Handmade.  I loved it a first sight.  I knew immediately what I would do.  It is now exactly how I envisioned it ... but the gown's true origin revealed itself.  Inside the zipper is a Union Label.  A little research proves the garment was made post-1955.  In fact, the label looks exactly like those used between 1963-74.  Handmade or not, it doesn't change a thing.  It is still the dress that speaks of a beautiful young woman making her entrance into society, a husband's love, and a cherished gift for me to alter into art.

My family has their share of fabled fantasies too.  When I was in upper elementary school studying the civil war, I asked about my ancestors.  This meant "my mother's side of the family".  Why?  Well, Dad came to the USA as a seventeen-year-old in 1952.  I was told to ask my Grandpa Baker in a letter.  (Most of my mother's family didn't immigrate to the USA until long after the Civil War ... just one branch was living in America during the mid-19th century.)  I got an answer.  For years I believed that I was related to Lafayette Curry Baker, a government intelligent agent who was in charge of the posse who apprehended and killed President Lincoln's assassin, John Wilkes Booth.  None of it is true.  In fact, my mother's side of the family was from West Virginia ... and fought for the South!  Grandpa just wanted me to have a great story from the "winning" side. LOL! 

Frankly, I love the stories, the exaggerations, and the myths that are bigger than life.  They speak with love of family.  The embellishments make the ordinary as special as the memories really are.

Anonymous Ancestors Sculptural Garment I

 (Above:  Anonymous Ancestors Sculptural Garment I.  Vintage dress with under-skirt of anonymous snapshots.  Click on any image in this blog post to enlarge.)

I've been working on this sculptural piece for weeks. It turned out as very well, as perfectly as my vision for it had been.  (This doesn't always happen!)  There will be two other "sculptural garments".  I'm already working on the second piece. All three will be featured in my September solo show at the University of South Carolina's-Beaufort campus.  The show is called Anonymous Ancestors. Everything in the exhibit includes anonymous vintage photos.

 (Above:  Another view of Anonymous Ancestors Sculptural Garment I.)

The exhibit will take the form of an installation.  What do I mean by that? Well, an installation is a temporary, site-specific arrangement that intentionally transforms the space.  Obviously, the show is "temporary". It will only be on view from September 2 through October 1.  It is being developed to fill the provided gallery.  So ... how will it "transform the space"?  That will be achieved by turning the interior space into a nostalgic parlor, complete with a Victorian rocker, an altered chair, a marble-topped end table, a round glass topped table, and an Oriental carpet.  The tables will function as if pedestals for the altered photo albums.  All in all, the interior space will create the environment for viewing the wall mounted art, transforming an ordinary, white-walled art gallery into a place for contemplation on one's own family photos and ancestral memories.  Yet, it is important to me that this special place feel inhabited.  Thus, the sculptural garments will lend a personal touch ... the suggestion of "people" ... perhaps long gone, perhaps yet to come ... but nevertheless, the universal sense of ancestors.

 (Above:  Anonymous Ancestors Sculptural Garment I, detail.)

The vintage garment was donated to me by a friend-of-a-friend.  Originally, it must have been for a very, very tiny woman.  The lace top is extremely small. It was the two-part skirt, however, that inspired me.

 (Above:  Anonymous Ancestors Sculptural Garment I, detail.)

There are TWO skirts ... an under skirt with a wide, gathered hemline ... and an outer skirt with a wide gathered hem featuring tiny pleats and rows of ruffles.  The material for both is rather sheer.  I'm guessing that the sheerness accounted for the need to have two layers.  For me, the two sheer layers immediately looked like a layer of photos could be inserted.  The underskirt would help support the photos.  The outer skirt would provide a sense of fading memory ... the sense that all these people's names are being forgotten.

 (Above: Anonymous Ancestors Sculptural Garment I, detail.)

It took hours to iron the two skirts.  It took a day to stitch the grid of photos.  It took three days to mount all the photos on fabric and cut them out.  It took over a week to remove the stitch-and-tear paper on which the grid was created.  Scroll down ... I have photos from this laborious (but worthwhile!) project.

 (Above: Anonymous Ancestors Sculptural Garment I, detail.)

I got the small torso mannequin from Bill Mishoe's auction.  I don't think my vintage dress form can be manipulated to be as small as needed for the little blouse.  With a couple blocks of wood, I permanently rigged the mannequin to be tall enough for the skirt-of-photos to spill out from under the ruffled hem.  Once in the gallery, I will probably pin some of the photos to the Oriental carpet.  This will allow the skirt to be more fully rounded.

 (Above:  Anonymous Ancestors Sculptural Garment I, detail.)

The skirt-of-photos was created using the same techniques as my Gird of Photos (which will be on display during the exhibit).  I stitched an off-white ribbon to the photos at the ends of the waistline.  This allowed me to tie a bow, attaching the skirt to the waist ... between the two layers of the vintage skirt.  Below is how this skirt-of-photos was created.
 

(Above:  My stash of black-and-white anonymous photos fused to fabric.)

First, I divided all my anonymous photos into two categories:  Black-and-white and colored.  All were fused to fabric in my giant dry mount press.


(Above:  Two boxes of photos ... black-and-white and colored.)

Once fused, all the photos had to be cut out ... and placed in the appropriate box ... black-and-white or colored.  For this first sculptural garment, only the colored photos were used.  For the second one, I'm working with just the black-and-white ones.

 (Above:  Arranging the fabric-backed, colored photos on a "skirt" made from Pellon's 806 Stitch-N-Tear stabilizer.)

Using the vintage garment's under-skirt as a rough pattern, I created the appropriate shape using Pellon's 806 Stitch-N-Tear stabilizer.  Photos were arranged on this paper pattern and adhered to it with a tiny drop of glue.

 (Above:  Detail of fabric-backed, colored photos gently glued to the Stitch-N-Tear skirt pattern.)

It was fun arranging all the photos.  The glue was allowed to dry overnight.

 (Above:  Me at my Tiara sewing machine ... stitching all the photos together ... linking them to one another in a grid.)

The next day I took the piece to my Tiara sewing machine ... linking all the photos together ... stitching them into a giant grid.

 (Above:  Detail of the fabric-backed anonymous photos stitched together on Pellon's 806 Stitch-N-Tear stabilizer.)

Here's the resulting grid ... from the front.

Here's the resulting grid from the back ... which is the side needing attention at this point.  It took over a week to tear away all the paper ... from behind all the photos and between all the threads linking them.

Steve helped!  For over a week, neither of us could watch television without also tearing away the paper.  Finally, it was finished ... and worth the effort.

So now the living room looks like this.  The second garment is now under construction.  It's different process altogether but has the same potential to be another stellar addition to the upcoming exhibition!

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

Infant, a miniature Grave Rubbing Art Quilt

 (Above:  Infant, a miniature Grave Rubbing Art Quilt. 11 1/4" x 11 1/2". Crayon grave rubbing on silk appliqued onto an embroidered vintage handkerchief with buttons and clear beads. Self-guided, free-motion machine embroidery and dense hand stitching.  Click on any image to enlarge.)

When teaching a workshop, I feel it is important that my demonstrations are also examples of how I work in my studio.  So, instead of creating a "sample", I strive to create pieces that I intend to finish and include in my inventory.  This small piece was designed in early May during my "Second Life" workshop at the Georgia Agriculture Museum.  (Click here for a blog post on that workshop!)  I actually designed a couple of pieces at that time.  They've come in handy for the hours I spent riding in our van for my art installations and for in front of my laptop streaming Mad Men on Netflix during my art residency in Minnesota. 

 (Above:  Infant, detail.)

The tiny grave rubbing fit so sweetly on this embroidered vintage handkerchief even though I knew the fabric was quite light-weight.  As expected, my free-motion machine embroidery was confined to the middle ... shrinking that area and leaving the edges rather floppy.  Thus, I knew it would need miles of running stitch to flatten out the whole.  Unexpectedly, the area around the dove motif puckered up because it wasn't stitched at all.  That's when I attached hundreds of seed beads.  This was an effect I thought I wanted for another project.  Funny, that project didn't need an "encrustation of beads" at all.

 (Above:  Edinburgh, an altered Victorian photo album featuring images I took in the ancient cemeteries ... as shown in May during my art residency in Minnesota.)

In Minnesota I envisioned one of my cemetery images surrounded by hundreds of clear beads ... to fill the indentation in this Victorian photo album. Once home, I selected the image ...

(Above:  Edinburgh, now finished.)

... made it the right size ... and ordered it from Spoonflower.  When I got it, I realized that it didn't need beads at all.  I quilted the black edges instead.  The angel motif puckered up, was filled with batting, and the piece was inserted into the Victorian album. I cut a mat board to cover the edges and glued the cover back onto the album.  Finished!

 (Above:  Infant, detail of edge.)

So ... I beaded one project instead of another.  Amazingly, they both got finished on the same day.

(Above:  Infant, reverse.)

The reverse was made from other vintage household linens.

Interview by Marisela from my workshop at the Workhouse Art Center!

BILINGUAL!  Okay ... I only speak English but the amazing Marisela translates everything!