Saint Anastasia ... in progress

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

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

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

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

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

(Blues Chapel.)

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

Would I like to stitch "an icon"?  YES!
But what icon?  Who would be my saint?
 

 (Above:  Anastasia ... last spring.)

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

Anastasia.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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

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

(Above:  Saint Anastasia, in progress.)

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

(Above:  Feathers for the wings.)

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

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

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

(Above:  Detail of the wings.)

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

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

Jackie and Madonna

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

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

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

(Above:  Jackie, detail.)

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

 
 (Above:  Jackie, detail.)

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

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

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

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

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

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

(Above:  Madonna, detail.)

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

ACC Baltimore and Fort McHenry

 (Above:  Lancet Window XCV. Inventory # 3974. Framed: 31" x 11". $395.  Click on any image in this blog post to enlarge.)

Steve and I have returned from the American Craft Council's Baltimore Show.  There were 670 nationally juried fine craft artists showing their work.  That's a lot of booths!  There were over forty aisles.  It is no wonder that many people buy the three-day pass.  They walk the show on their first day; they contemplate or make purchases the next day. I met lots of people who bought my work last year.  Using their cell phone, they showed photos of my work hanging in their homes.  It was so wonderful. 

  (Above:  Lancet Window XCIV. Inventory # 3973. Framed: 31" x 11". $395)

The week before leaving, however, I sold three Lancet Windows ... and made two to replace them in Baltimore.  These are the two new ones.  Neither actually sold in Maryland but that's okay.  They'll be going to the ACC Atlanta Show.  It's coming up quickly ... March 17 - 19th.  

(Above:  Me sitting in my booth.)

This is the new design for my booth.  It worked well but will not be how my space in Atlanta will be arranged.  Why?  Well, in Atlanta I have a booth against the outer wall.  It just so happens that there is "extra space" behind the carefully measured ten-foot back wall.  One of the tricky things about doing high end craft shows is figuring out storage space.  In Baltimore, I created a space behind the Large Stained Glass Window shown above on the left.  That's my storage space for extra artwork, invoices, bubble wrap, bags, glass cleaner, my purse, coats, etc.  In Atlanta I won't have to encroach into my 10' x 10' space in order to have a storage area.  Plus, the storage area will be much larger.  Steve will actually have a place to sit.  In Baltimore, he had a seat in an aisle a couple booths away.
 

(Above:  Fort McHenry, the Baltimore harbor fort over which "The Star Spangled Banner" once waved for Francis Scott Key's poem.)

Even though Steve was several booths away for most of the weekend, we did get plenty of time together ... especially after setting up our booth on Thursday morning.  The weather was WONDERFUL, hardly like winter.  We took the free Banner Shuttle bus to Fort McHenry and toured the fortifications and buildings.  Below are just a few of the photos I took.

 (Above:  Fort McHenry, door into the interior of the fort.)

 (Above:  Fort McHenry, officers' quarters.)

 (Above:  Fort McHenry, coffee pots.)

(Above:  Fort McHenry, a small cannon with the most beautiful patina.)

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

Wonderful Weekend in Ashville!

 (Above:  Detail of Large Stained Glass LXXVI.  Click on any image to enlarge.)

The last few days have been utterly wonderful!  It started on Thursday when I drove my art-loaded cargo van to the Grovewood Gallery in Asheville.  I delivered nearly thirty framed pieces and twenty fiber vessels into the staff's more than capable hands.  Then, I was off to visit downtown galleries and museums.  For the most part, I was sight-seeing, not falling under the spell of fabulously tempting treasures until entering Chevron Trading Post and Bead Co.  There was a section offering vintage beads.  I couldn't resist a few rarities. 

 (Above:  LouAnne Jordan and Karen Kennedy ... in the room for my solo show.)

By Friday morning, my show was hung.  (Not everything, of course!  This show allows cash-and-carry.  I brought enough work to have some "in reserve" ... and by Saturday afternoon, they were needed!)  Fiber vessels sat on pedestals; price tags were up; and there was a gorgeous bouquet in a hand blown glass vase!  I am truly indebted to everyone at the Grovewood!  Thank you!

 
 (Above:  How the room looked on Thursday ... after delivering the work ... before the show was staged.)

I took photos of the space after I delivered the work.  I meant to snap pictures when I arrived on Friday morning ... but I got busy!  After bringing in my sewing machine, balls of cording, skeins of yarn, and one Large Stained Glass still on the stretcher bars for my demonstrations, people started to come into the space.  I talked all day and again all day on Saturday.  I met lots of great people ...

(Above Aunt Gloria and Uncle Larry ... visiting my show!)

... and enjoyed a surprise visit from my Aunt Gloria and Uncle Larry (who was celebrating his 80th birthday!)
 
 (Above:  The Omni Grove Park Inn and Resort.)

It was truly my honor to be selected for a solo exhibit from among the 400+ artists represented at the Grovewood Gallery.  Yet, the honor was heightened by the fact that this past weekend was the 30th Annual Arts and Crafts Conference at the Omni Grove Park Inn.  People came from all over the nation.  Specialty artisans and companies (like Stickley and Roycroft!) set up vendor booths in the Vanderbilt wing.

 (Above and below:  Arts and Crafts vendor booths.)

I was able to browse through some of the displays before the conference opened on Saturday morning.  There was also a very high end antique show, but it was firmly locked!

I could  likely have spent the entire day admiring the carpets, furniture, stained glass, tiles, bronze ware, and pottery ... but I had demonstrations to do! 

(Above:  Large Stained Glass LXXVI.  Inventory # 3972. Unframed: 55" x 16"; framed: 63" x 23". $1200.)

For the most part, I switched from "making cord" from several skeins of assorted yarn to "using the cord" to create a fiber vessel.  Yet, I also had Large Stained Glass LXXVI with me.  It wasn't finished.  It was still stapled to a large stretcher bar.  Holes had been melted through the layers using soldering irons but the final "zap" with my industrial heat gun wasn't done until today.  Now the piece is ready for framing.  It will be going to the ACC (American Craft Council) Baltimore Show next weekend.

  (Above:  Detail of Large Stained Glass LXXVI.)

I'll be in booth 1905, and the booth will look different.  Steve and I talked about a new set-up.  This morning we tried it out in our living room.  I think it is going to look wonderful!

Last pieces before my solo show at the Grovewood Gallery

(Above:  Seasonal Leaves: Winter, Inventory # 3839. Unframed:  16" x 12"; framed: 25" x 19". $350.  Click on any image in this blog post for an enlargement.)

Time is slipping by might fast!  I spent most of today creating an inventory list of the work headed to the Grovewood Gallery in Asheville, NC for my solo show and then packing it all into the cargo van.  The last four pieces were finished and framed over the weekend.  They were photographed and entered into my inventory book on Monday.  I can't wait to see them on display.

 
(Above:  Seasonal Leaves: Summer, Inventory # 3831. Unframed:  16" x 12"; framed: 25" x 19". $350.)

I'm especially excited about this solo opportunity because I'll be in the gallery demonstrating from 11 - 4 on both Friday and Saturday.  Also, this is the first time my fiber vessels will have gallery representation.  I'm bringing twenty of them!

(Above:  Seasonal Leaves: Spring, Inventory # 3840. Unframed:  16" x 12"; framed: 25" x 19". $350.)

For the demonstrations, I'll be making more fiber vessels.  If I'd wanted, I could have demonstrated my "HOT" techniques, the processes that turn polyester velvet into my In Box and Stained Glass series.  Yet, demonstrating the fiber vessels is much easier to do while talking to people.  I don't mind interruptions and only my sewing machine needs to be plugged in.  The "HOT" techniques require more concentration, an iron and ironing surface, the sewing machine ... and I can't even show the melting!  Why?  Well, there's fumes ... lots of toxic fumes.  I sure don't want to set off the fire alarm in the gallery!
  

(Above:  Seasonal Leaves: Autumn, Inventory # 3832. Unframed:  16" x 12"; framed: 25" x 19". $350.)

Of course, I do have a "sampler" of the "HOT" process.  I take it with me when selling at a craft show.  It is a long piece of black industrial felt on which each step is shown.  Plus, I'm bringing a large Stained Glass piece that is still on the stretcher bars.  Holes have already been melted through the many layers using my three sizes of soldering irons.  It just hasn't been zapped with the industrial heat gun.  It will serve as an excellent example as to how the pieces are made.  Hopefully, I'll remember to snap a few photos from the demonstrations.

(Above:  Khaldoune Bencheikh and his rangoli at Comparing Religion: A Group Exhibition of Artwork Inspired by Religion, Benedict College.)

Some times I forget to take picture, even after I promised to blog them.  About two weeks ago, I went by Benedict College during the installation of Comparing Religion: A Group Exhibition of Artwork Inspired by Religion.  I promised to take more photos at the opening, but I only remembered to take two of them.  Oh well.  Suffice it to say, my Virgin of Gone and Forgotten Triptych is in the background (above) being inspected by my seriously talented friend Tyrone Geter.  Other walls include most of my Angels in Mourning Series, the Book of the Dead, the Nail Triptych, and my Pardoning Altar. 

 (Above:  Rice flour outline of the rangoli with my Pardoning Altar and some of my Angels in Mourning Series in the background.)

I guess the reason I forgot to snap more photos was because I know what my work looks like! LOL!  I was really only anxious to see how the rangoli would turn out.

 (Above:  The rangoli.)

Khaldoune worked with students at Benedict to come up with and carry out the design.  It looks great!

 (Above:  Three-quarters of an old oval frame at Columbia Antique Mall/Chic Antiques.)

I meant to snap more photos on Saturday.  I went to the second part of the Columbia Antique Mall/Chic Antique liquidation sale. It was bittersweet.  I came home with a box of old printer's type, an antique wooden chamber pot commode, and four boxes of old 45 records.  I didn't want the records; my husband Steve did.  He previewed the auction with me and said, "Bid $10 a box.  If you get the bid, take two boxes.  It will be worth twenty dollars for the hours of sheer entertainment I'll spend sorting through them all."  Well, I got them for $5 per box and took all four.  Steve had a blast.  I told him it was his Valentine's Day present.  He said my present was sparing me from listening to any of them! LOL!

 (Above:  The Wall of Ancestors, Never Went Out of State.)

Unfortunately or fortunately ... depending on how you look at it ... old Victorian frames aren't bring much money either.  I got these two for $10 each.  Last week I got three for $10 (but they weren't quite as nice as these two.)  They've been transformed into new pieces for my Wall of Ancestors.

(Above:  The Wall of Ancestors: The Best Day Ever.)

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

Working and Reminiscing

(Above:  Wrapped and stitched wooden thread spool Christmas ornaments.  Click on any image in this blog post for an enlargement.)

For the past week, I've been spending my evenings transforming some of my wrapped-and-stitched wooden thread spools into Christmas ornaments.  It is an excuse to sort through and use some of my hundreds of vintage buttons.  There's a shank button on the bottom of each.  I really like stacking several, colorful flat buttons on the top and adding a bead or two. 

 (Above:  Several wrapped-and-stitched wooden thread spool Christmas ornaments, hanging.)

These ornaments sold very, very well during the Philadelphia Museum of Art Craft Show.  Of course, it was November, a time for holiday shopping.  I'm not sure if anyone will want to buy Christmas ornaments in February at the ACC (American Craft Council) show in Baltimore or the ACC Atlanta show in March ... but I'm ready!  Steve and I do buy Christmas ornaments year-round.  We have collected them since our first Christmas together in 1981.  At that time, we gathered all our nickles and dimes to purchase our first, small tree.  Proudly, we got it home and then realized that we owned no ornaments.  We also had little to no additional funds.  That first year, I decorated the tree with artificial flowers bought from a yard sale.  We've been collecting Christmas ornaments ever since.  In 2000, I commissioned the Saluda Forge in Tryon, NC to create a wrought iron Christmas tree.

  (Above:  Our Christmas Tree.)

Our Christmas tree stays up year round.  Until this past season, our fireplace was also decorated every day of the year.  As a special gift, I sent all my hand-stitched Christmas angels and stockings to my son Mathias' family in England.

(Above:  Twelve Christmas angel ornaments that I stitched in the 1990s.)  

The angels were all Joan Thomsson needlepoint kits.  Nowadays, I wouldn't consider stitching a design by someone else and I haven't done any needlepoint in years ... but I truly loved making each and every one of these angels.  It was while stitching them that I got a hair-brained idea to design a stocking, something more elaborate and larger and totally my own.

(Above:  The only Christmas stocking I ever stitched.)

I meant to make more Christmas stockings but I never got around to it.  It was while stitching this one that I realized I wanted to "make art" instead ... but I truly loved stitching just the one.  It is now in England.  I am hoping that in Baltimore there are other people who celebrate Christmas year-round, buy ornaments, and appreciate handwork!  If not ... I just might hang the wrapped-and-stitched wooden thread spools up for myself.

 (Above:  Seasonal Leaves: Winter.  Inventory # 3965.  Framed:  33" x 21.  $550 plus.)

In anticipation of my solo show at the Grovewood Gallery in Asheville, NC which starts on Friday, February 17th, I made Seasonal Leaves: Winter.  It replaces a very similar piece that sold during my solo show last November at City Art.  I'm very excited about the upcoming event because I'll be in the gallery doing fiber arts demonstrations from 11 - 4 on both Friday the 17th and Saturday the 18th.  I'm almost ready!

(Above:  The Wall of Ancestors: We Took on the World.)

I might have gotten a little more work done since my last blog post but I didn't spend most of Saturday in my studio.  Why?  Well, Columbia Antique Mall/Chic Antiques is being liquidated.  I felt compelled to go to the auction.  It seemed as if this business' demise signaled the end of an era ... at least for me.  When Steve and I first moved to Columbia, South Carolina in 1987, we scouted out all the antique shops.  This one was "the best".  It was filled with exotic furnishings, Persian rugs, ornate glassware, fine china, and a vast array of oddities, ephemera, and curiosities from past cultures and distant eras.  This is the place where I rented a claw-footed porcelain bathtub for my performance art piece called Ophelia.  The man who owned the building and collected most of the antiques also owned another building, the Mais Oui ... where I once hung my installation I Do / I Don't.  Well ... both building were recently sold.  The antique malls will be demolished to make way for new student housing.

(Above:  The Wall of Ancestors: Inseparable.)

These places and the people I knew there were fixtures in my community, but we all get older.  Places change.  Buying habits shift from generation to generation.  What was once precious might not be valued any longer.  Names on the back of old photos become forgotten people.  I guess that is why I went to the auction but also why I make much of my found object artwork, especially The Wall of Ancestors.

(Above:  The Wall of Ancestors, Lonely Child.)

Saturday's auction provided several inexpensive lots.  (Basically, the auction was what many sadly call "a fire sale".)  Among my purchases were two Victorian photo albums full of antique images, several nice, deep Walnut frames, pressed botanicals, and lots of artwork.  By the end of the day, I had transformed four photos into four frames.

(Above:  The Wall of Ancestors: Died Within Days of One Another.)

Unbelievably, the auction only dispersed half the property.  The other building sells this coming Saturday.  That's where I'll be ... trying to rescue a couple other, precious possessions.

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