Only Child, Grave Rubbing Art Quilt Series

(Above: Only Child, Grave Rubbing Art Quilt Series. 16" x 16". Vintage doll's dress, antique quilt fragment, recycled felt, vintage buttons and linens. Hand stitched. Click on image to enlarge.)

While I was in Texas with Blues Chapel last November, I met many great people....including Connie Akers. Connie recently sent a package to me....full of amazing antique and vintage material. It spilled out onto my studio table in such a way that I could already "see" this little quilt. Yes, the doll's dress came in the stash!


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

It didn't take long for me to know exactly what to do. I spent Easter morning in the cemetery. Church bells chimed in the distance; the weather was warm; the sun shining; everything was perfect. I found the rubbing I wanted: ONLY CHILD. That's worth remembering...especially on Easter. I made other rubbings on another garment. I'm stitching on it now....it'll take a lot more time....it's a lot larger! Thank you, Connie, for such a wonderful gift!

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

More work for Grovewood Gallery

(Above: In Box LXII. Polyester stretch velvet, recycled black acrylic felt, previously painted WonderUnder (Bond-a-Web), chiffon scarves. Free motion machine embroidery, soldering, and melting. Unframed: Approximately 13" x 10". Framed: 19" x 15". Click on image to enlarge.)


Grovewood Gallery is about two and a half hours away. It only makes sense to bring several pieces at a time...especially since the gallery is selling well. So....in addition to the small "Stained Glass" fiber pieces called "Windows" and the one larger "Stained Glass" piece, I also made two more small "In Box" pieces. Steve drove them all up to Asheville on Saturday.

(Above: In Box LXI. Click on image to enlarge.)
Also....last week I posted information about a workshop I'll be teaching just outside Salzburg, Austria. I used a gadget on the right side bar. It looked great on my computer screen....where I use Mozilla Firefox. Fortunately, my sister Wanda let me know that my entire blog was "a mess" while browsing with Internet Explorer. It is "fixed" now....and I've reposted the information about the contemporary embroidery class with links to the Cultural Studies Academy. Check it out!

New Work for Grovewood Gallery....WINDOWS

(Above: Window I. Polyester stretch velvets and recycled black acrylic felt with previously painted WonderUnder (Bond-a-Web) and chiffon scarves. Free motion embroidery, soldering, and melting. Unframed: approx. 12" x 10". Framed: 18" x 16". Click on image to enlarge.)

Grovewood Gallery is a wonderful place! I'm so proud to have my work in this outstanding location and thrilled that WORK IS SELLING! Last week I created six new pieces....miniature "stained glass" in fiber.

(Above: Window II. To see my larger Stained Glass fiber pieces. Click HERE. To enlarge, click the image.)

My husband Steve took one of my large Stained Glass pieces and these six up to Asheville, to the gallery, on Saturday while I attended a workshop called "The Business of Art" with Tony Rajer at the State Museum. I learned a lot and will soon have a new, trimmed, more professional looking resume and CV as well as a more eye-appealing exhibition proposal for the Decision Portrait Series. Since I've already got two shows scheduled for this work, there's no reason why it shouldn't travel to additional places. Rewriting this proposal is influencing the way I'm writing one for Last Words. Promoting myself is hard....but it has to be done!


(Above: Window III. To see the tutorial on this technique, click HERE. To enlarge this image, click on it.)


(Above: Window IV. Click on image to enlarge.)

(Above: Window V. Click on image to enlarge.)


(Above: Window VI. Click on image to enlarge.)

Easter Weekend

(Above: Born an Angel, Grave Rubbing Art Quilt. 42" x 26". Crayon grave rubbing on a vintage christening gown; severely light damaged, recycled office curtain; vintage and new buttons; hand and free motion machine embroidery. Click on image to enlarge.)

This past week flew by in stitches....lots of them! For one thing, I finished another piece in my Grave Rubbing Art Quilt Series. The work is developing in a new direction. I'm incorporating garments or found objects as visible signs of a human existence. Also,the focal point is not necessarily the words. This piece took over three weeks to complete and has at least one stitch per every square quarter of an inch....yes, I know....I'm more than a little obsessive!


(Above: Born an Angel, Grave Rubbing Art Quilt Series. Detail. Click on image to enlarge.)

This is the very last of the severely light damaged curtain that I recycled from an office located near Gallery 80808/Vista Studios. There were three, very long (nearly16') panels in the trash. I took only one....and walked back to my studio thinking, "What are you going to do with this old, dirty thing? Why are you taking it? You don't need it or have room for it!" But, I did shove it into a storage box....for a short time....until I realized that it was the PERFECT COLOR for my grave rubbings. Since then, I've used it on about fifteen art quilts. Now there's no more. I'm going to miss this material...but I'm also on the look out for other post-consumer fabrics, especially those that have a little "history" to it, signs of wear and use!


(Above: Born an Angel, detail. Click on image to enlarge.)

This is the first Grave Rubbing art quilts that I've designed while in a cemetery. I put the grave rubbings directly onto the garment instead of making rubbings on separate material and collaging them. Fortunately, I'm familiar with the local cemetery...a place where I've collected epitaphs. So, I knew exactly where to get the poem. I walked around for over an hour....looking...searching....selecting the other three rubbings: our baby, infant daughter and born an angel. There is a special feeling making grave rubbings this way....awareness of very specific memories. I saw and felt new things in a familiar spot.


(Above: Born an Angel, detail. Click on image to enlarge.)

The poem is quite touching. It was written for a child who died more than one hundred years before I was born....and the grief and memory are still alive and now transformed into art that will continue to speak for years to come.


(Above: Born an Angel, detail. Click on image to enlarge.)

The poem reads:

With a low and narrow bed
Our darling Infant sleeps,
And on its sweet unconscious head
Fond Nature often weeps.

But while our burning tears of love
To the cold sod is given,
We lift our eyes of faith above,
And see our Babe in Heaven.

(Above: Born an Angel, reverse. Click on image to enlarge.)

The reverse of this art quilt has its own story too. It was created from an old, damaged tablecloth and a colorful doily I bought in a "box lot" at a local auction house. The pillowcase, however, arrived a little over a week ago. My parents were on their way to a time share in Florida and spent two days visiting us here in South Carolina. They brought several "treasures" with them, including my great grandmother's pillowcase. It had been washed and ironed so many times that the seams and fold are threadbare. It is significantly discolored. So....it now lives on as "art". I love incorporating the handwork of former generations....anonymous and known!

I also met up with one of the nice, young girls wearing one of my cemetery flower dresses at Runaway Runway on April 23. The sides are "open". I laced her into the dress....right over her shirt and jeans. At about six feet tall, she looks like a model wearing a very stylish Easter dress. I can't wait to see her in it "for real".

And....finally....I put a few quick stitches in these dyed-to-match recycled wedding party shoes. My sister Sonya wore them at a friends nuptials, years ago. I "saved" them from the trash, added a yellow-green artificial flower recycled from the cemetery dumpster along with a bead and a few sequins. They are PERFECT for my "leaf dress". By the way, Sonya is the person who now owns and operates The Cultural Studies Academy, a summer studies program to Salzburg, Austria where I'll be teaching a contemporary embroidery workshop....please visit the information on my blog's side bar!!

Fantastic Fibers 2010

I am very, very pleased that two of my pieces were accepted into Fantastic Fibers 2010 at the Yeiser Center in Paducah, Kentucky. It opened this weekend and wonderfully each piece is featured on a Flickr! page. More than that, installation photos were also included. The page is HERE. The photo above shows my two works on the pretty orange walls at the back on the left....right beside Jill Rumoshosky Werner's Extruded. (I'm a total fan of Jill or her work!) My two pieces are Menopause and Weep Not for Me. Wish I could have gone to the opening....the show looks FANTASTIC....just like it's title!!

Undefined Magazine covers Blues Chapel

Undefined is a great arts magazine here in Columbia, South Carolina. Cynthia Boiter wrote an article in this edition called Susan Lenz and Blues Chapel. It starts on page 38. Thank you....everyone at Undefined!

Father and Mother, Grave Rubbing Art Quilt in Quilting Arts Magazine

I'm thrilled to say that my Grave Rubbing Art Quilt, Father and Mother, is featured on a full page in this issue of Quilting Arts Magazine in the article covering the upcoming Art Quilt Elements 2010 international juried show at the Wayne Art Center!!

Recycled Cemetery Flower dresses

(Above: Two flower dresses made from blossoms recycled from cemetery dumpsters and trash cans. Click on image to enlarge.)

In less than a month the fourth annual Columbia Design Leagues' Runaway Runway fashion show will be held. It's on Thursday, April 29th at the 701 Whaley Street. I've never been to one of the earlier events. I've never actually been to a fashion show....much less a fashion show of recycled garments. Yet, this year I'm entering the competition with a dress created from recycled flowers and leaves from local cemeteries. (NO...I never take flowers from the graves...just the dumpsters and trash cans! YES...They've all been dissected and thoroughly washed. These are the flowers I used in my recent solo show at Gallery 80808/Vista Studios!)

(Above: Leaf Dress. Click on image to enlarge.)

I'm a little intimidated. I've never made up my own pattern and I haven't stitched anything remotely wearable in over two decades. Even when I attempted to "make some clothes", it wasn't a serious pursuit...probably because I wasn't very good at following directions! The event, however, isn't a "serious" competition. There's a video from last year. It looks fun and very well attended. I have a model. I have two dresses. Why two? I asked a nice young lady to model for me. She's at least six foot tall and a size two; she looks like she is a professional model instead of an assistant art gallery manager hoping to get into a good school for an arts administration master's degree. She'd already agreed to help with the judging for the event...but she said she'd wear one of my dresses! Thus....the longer one for her; the shorter one for a dance major about to graduate from the University of South Carolina who will walk the runway for me.

But....I didn't know what I ought to wear to this event. Finally, I decided to be a "leaf" and made the totally green dress. After all, this is supposed to be a fashion show with a conservation conscious. What better garment that a "green" one. I also have a pair of dyed-to-match green shoes recycled from my younger sister Sonya. Sonya must have worn them in a friend's wedding party. They are PERFECT. By the way, Sonya has invited me to teach in Salzburg, Austria...for the Cultural Studies Academy. Check it out HERE!



So....how did I make these dresses? Well, first one must have a bag full of artificial flowers from the cemetery. These were collected over several months....by dumpster diving and searching the insides of all the trash bins....NEVER from a grave site. All the artificial flowers were dissected and the fabric carefully washed and dried. I used them in my recent solo show. They've been stored in clean kitchen trash bags.


(Above: First layer of flowers laid out on the adhesive coated, water soluble stabilizer. Click on i image to enlarge.)

Next, I used Mobuka's adhesive coated, water soluble stabilizer. I cut out two dress shapes and attached flowers to it. Above is a view from one direction; below is a view from the other direction.



Then I stitched a grid. This grid worked to attach the ground layer of flowers to one another...forming a fairly solid piece of floral fabric.


(Above: Stitching a grid over the first layer of flowers. Click on any image to enlarge.)

After stitching the grid, I switched to free motion embroidery....stitching little circles in the center of the assorted flowers directly on top of the grid....covering the entire surface.


(Above: Free motion stitching assorted flowers on top of the grid of flowers. Just a little spiral in the center....clip the thread....go on to the next flower....covering the entire surface. Click on image to enlarge.)


(Above and below: The reverse after all the flowers were free motion attached to the garment. Notice the circular shapes. The flowers will protrude on the front. The grid will hold the first layer of flowers together as a "ground" underneath. The "interface" looking "white" material is the adhesive coated, water soluble stabilizer. It dissolves and rinses away when exposed to a lot of water with agitation. Click on images to enlarge.)


I attached flowers all over both sides...then stitched the two sides together at the shoulder. I left both sides open. Then, I dissolved the stabilizer. It took lots and lots of water....more than one rinsing....lots of agitation.....and finally everything was melted away. Thus, the dresses are entirely made of recycled artificial cemetery flowers and thread. Nothing more. Totally washable. Very wearable. Perfect for spring. Photos with the models are coming!

(Above: The reverse of one side of the dress before being dissolved....notice the grid that holds the foundation flowers together and the little free-motion spirals that attach the blossoms. Click on image to enlarge.)

I hope this event goes well. I'm excited!

Catching up....Part Six: FIBERS!

(Above: Artist, Grave Rubbing Art Quilt. 12" x 16". Crayon on silk grave rubbing collaged with vintage linens and recycled material. Hand and free motion embroidered. Click on image to enlarge.)

Anyone reading on a fairly regular basis will see all these blog posts today and think, "Isn't she stitching?" Well....YES! Of course I'm stitching! I stitch every day...no matter what....on the plane to and from California and England, every evening before bed even when traveling, and also while Steve drove the big rental truck to Charleston to pick up the oil paintings rescued from the River Course Clubhouse fire!

(Above: Artist, Grave Rubbing Art Quilt, detail. Click on image to enlarge.)

During the past two weeks I finished these two pieces in my Grave Rubbing Art Quilt Series. One is a special gift to my mentor Stephen Chesley....who helped Steve and I install and dismantle my recent solo show at Gallery 80808/Vista Studios, who talks about art concepts and ideas with me nearly every day, who continually supports me (even listens when I'm whining and feeling sorry for myself), and who painted an oil for me on my birthday last summer....which totally blew me away! It was high time for me to create something unique for him.

(Above: Artist, Grave Rubbing Art Quilt, detail. Click on image to enlarge.)

I knew exactly where to find the one, special word for this gift. It came from a local artist's grave in Elmwood Cemetery. I took this piece with me to San Francisco.....where, in the historic cemetery in Napa, I found "wise mentor". If I hadn't already started...and nearly finished...I would have put "wise mentor" on the front. It had to be part of this piece. So, it went perfectly on the back with my free motioned inscription. Stephen loves it!

(Above: Artist, Grave Rubbing Art Quilt, reverse. Click on image to enlarge.)


(Above: In God's Care, Grave Rubbing Art Quilt. 27" x 26". Crayon on silk collage with vintage linens and recycled felt "batting". Vintage crochet covered buttons. Hand and free motion machine embroidery. Click on image to enlarge.)

I also finished In God's Care. The vintage linens and the running stitches were worked to the point where the individual pieces became too integrated. I'd managed to stitch it so heavily that I lost the contract between the large, circular doily and the small table covering on which I'd placed it. In my studio I considered several solutions but selected additional free motion embroidery....using button hole thread to bring out the outline of the doily. I'd never used such a heavy thread for free motion stitching....but I might do it again! It worked like a charm!

(Above and below: In God's Care, detail. Click on images to enlarge.)

(Below: In God's Care, reverse. Click on image to enlarge. I'm very pleased with the reverse of this art quilt. The recycled black felt gives great contrast for the delicate withdrawn work on the vintage tablecloth....something I lacked on the front until the button hole thread was applied!

I don't remember if I mentioned that I got a piece into the national juried show in La Grange, GA. It's the 26th biennial. Juror J. Richard Gruber, PhD, selected only 24 pieces for the decorative arts exhibition. Our Darling Sons, one of my Grave Rubbing Art Quilts, received a merit award! No money this time....but there's a catalog being produced that will include the image of the art quilt! I'm thrilled of course!

Catching up....Part Five: River Course Clubhouse Fire

(Above: The River Course Golf Clubhouse, Thursday, March 18th at approximately 2 PM. Click on any image in this post to enlarge.)

Once upon a time I was a major custom picture framer. My husband Steve and I ran Mouse House, Inc., our shop, with up to fourteen people on payroll. We offered full health insurance, a retirement plan, paid vacation, and over-time. The first person clocked in at 6 AM. The last left at 6 PM. Our best hours were after dinner, 9 PM until 1 or 2 AM....except from Halloween until December 24th. During Christmas, if awake, we were working and we tried to stay awake as long as possible. Of course the pace nearly killed me after about fourteen year. At one point I stopped sleeping for six weeks before finally seeking medication. In the summer of 2001, I finally admitted to myself and the world that I wanted to be an artist "when I grew up". I was forty; we forcibly downsized the business. I got a studio and despite lack of professional training, I set off to become a fiber artist.

(Above: The former front door.)

Yet, we can't quite make a living on my artwork. I kept one client....one very important client....the kind of client that trusted me with some amazing projects, the ones I've always been most proud. About fourteen years ago Mouse House framed EVERYTHING in the very exclusive, very expensive, very posh River Course Golf Clubhouse on Kiawah Island. It was loaded with original art, antique furniture and oriental carpets, hand-painted wallpaper, the finest wine, the best Pro Shop, and everything else one can imagine to appoint the best golfing facility.



Well, on Wednesday in the early afternoon I got a call from this one, important client. Calmly, he said, "The River Course Clubhouse burnt down last night at 3 AM. I need you to rent a truck and pick up the only things saved, six mural sized oil paintings by Linda Fantuzzo and Bill McCullough." I was in shock. I was in shock the next afternoon too....seeing the building in ashes, still burning, firemen pouring water on the flames, loading the rental truck.


(Above: The "side" door used to exit the building to the golf course. The Pro Shop was once just inside on the right.)


(Above: The back of the building...still burning.)



There's something about this....spiritually....artistically....like a sign. I had looked at this place as the site of one of my greatest achievements. Now it's gone. It's high time for something new, another stellar example of accomplishment but this time it'll be my own art, not just framing someone else's work!

(Above: The back of the building.)







In the meantime, my foyer looks like this (below). We've deodorized the moulding and the stretcher bars on the back. The smell of smoke is all but gone. (Steve also painted the Mouse House bathroom this weekend.....the lingering scent of smoke, deodorizing solution, and paint created a brand new, original aroma!)