Valerie White's talk to FRCQ Jan. 20, 2014

There definitely was synchronicity in listening to Valerie White's meaningful talk about her artistic journey and art with "intent".  Intentional - working with intent- is what I had chosen for my "word" for 2014.  I have come to another fork in the road with my creativity.  I have been 'playing' with techniques and challenges in 2013 and have not been as serious as I think I should be with subjects that are really important to me.  The awesome, incredible details of color, form, texture in nature were the reason I began creating art quilts.  Mixed mediums with fabric, help me show a little of what I feel and see when I view these details.  Good Grief! This has been my artist's statement!  I want to return to that goal.  I will, however, keep looking at products and techniques that will improve my artistic expression.

So, I have started being serious.  To get me back in the groove of using my sewing machine well, I am putting together a pojagi cloth.  Small French seamed silk. There were free remnants of silk from a tie factory at Front Range and I selected pieces with similar plaids.  A simple project to wake up serious sewing.

I had been  considering time of day, mood, light source and choosing ten words for  projects as I began planning the composition, techniques and materials in many of my past pieces, especially the beaded antlers.This helped me stay on course and true to my objective.  I have not been doing that this past year.  I need to get back on track and do that again in order to deliver something I am happy with.

So the fork in the road may be a return circle to a point of view I had lost sight of. I hope the circle will continue to spiral to a higher level of creativity and execution.  I am ready to be serious.

"World" challenge

Last February (2013) our art group decided to do a challenge to be exhibited in the Nov-January show.  We were to each show our version of the world in an art quilt, 40" x 28".  We have ten pieces hung the length of the wall facing the library conference rooms.  They are stunning. Each piece is different in technique, vision and message.  We are very proud of the challenge results.

I did a whole cloth quilt - Alpha and Omega.  The continents and major islands are fused applique of silk fusion which I made at Tamara's shop/studio.  The edges of the continents and the map are highlighted with Shiva oil stick. Biblical references from Genesis and Revelation are printed on the fabric.  The Tree of Life is quilted over the map to encompass the whole world.  The leaves are made of organdy to be transparent.

Here is a picture of my entry. I wish you could have seen all ten together.  They will be hung at Wild Heather in April.

Pine Cone Series

Heather Thomas gave another series class this past year.  I chose the incredible pine cone to use as my subject.   Each viewing angle of a pinecone offers different shapes and  shadows.  Only using the cone of the Ponderosa Pine I made a series of three small pieces mounted on upholstery covered wooden frames.

The backgrounds are from an unbleached canvas, painted with Golden flow and acrylic paints, spreading and bleeding into the fabric.  Pieces of the canvas were selected for the three backgrounds so they would all have the same feel for the series.  A small area of each background was free motion quilted with metallic thread to suggest tree bark.

The pinecones were machine appliqued with batik cotton petals onto upholstery fabric for form and stability, thread painted for shadowing and finished in some cases with thick acrylic paint to create hard edges or points.  In two of the pieces, pine needles made from jute and thread were added to the composition.

There has been lengthy discussion concerning hanging textiles softly or mounting them on frames, covered stiffener, etc.  Many Galleries will not accept textiles hung from a sleeve and rod system.  They prefer a piece to be framed like painted art.  Traditionalists, including many art quilt artists feel this detracts from the draping of the textile and heritage of the quilt.  Others feel it may be necessary in order to compete in the art gallery scene.

Because these three pieces are heavily textured and dimensional, and because they are small, I choose to use a covered fame to "mat" them and use the color of the "mat" to enhance the color choices of the piece.  In general, I think the piece should dictate the method of presentation. I hope textile art will be considered by more galleries and other venues as an accepted medium for artistic conversation.

Here are pictures of the pinecone series which was shown in the ExPort Art Group show at the Castle Rock Library.

 

 

 

 

 

The ExPort show and reception

Today was the closing reception for the ExPort show at the Castle Rock library.

Today it snowed.

Those of us that made it to Castle Rock had a great time.  Seven of the ten artists were there, some with husbands, some with family.  Thank you to Will, Patty, Stephanie, Don and Sierra for joining us.

We cancelled our Dec meeting because it snowed. At that meeting, we had planned to take a walk through with the group to hear about each piece from the artist.  We did that today and it was so nice to hear about the evolution of ideas and techniques from the beginning concept to the end results. Interesting background and stories were shared and enjoyed, making the experience all the more meaningful.

The 2012 show at the library and this show have validated the artists in our group and inspired even bigger dreams.  Both shows have been very well received by the public and the library staff.  Many of our members have visited the show on several occasions bringing friends and family members.

Our group is an art group, a group of artists with many different mediums and techniques in their box of supplies and a support system.  I think each of us has grown through the group and through the shared experience of this show.  I am pleased to be a member and to have such good friends.

ExPort Art Group show in Castle Rock

This year our art group was given another opportunity to display their art in the Castle Rock library.  Their space is wonderful and we were able to hang 80 pieces.  We also gave 6 demonstrations of art techniques for library patrons.. Our closing reception will be this Saturday, January 4th.

I hung eight pieces this year:

A series of three pine cone pieces
My three acrylics with paper and fiber, representing thermal runoff
The Thermal runoff #6 in fiber with embellishment
and the 3D skyline of Denver.

We chose one or two pieces from each of the ten artists to show in the main library and tried to represent as many subjects and techniques as we could to engage the patrons.  I especially enjoyed two modern pieces, a self portrait and a giraffe which I hoped to catch the attention of the young readers.  I put the 3D skyline there, as well, to bring a little curiosity to the viewers, especially the children.

The hall to the conference rooms and offices was lined with larger pieces, usually 3 or 4 by 5 feet in size.  Again there was quite a variety of subjects and techniques, from large red lips which zipped open to traditional/modern quilting.

Our "World Challenge" was hung along the entire wall facing the conference rooms.  Ten pieces, all 40" wide and 28" high, hung end to end.  It is very impressive!  Between the conference room doors were hung pieces grouped mainly by artist.

As of three weeks ago we have sold two pieces of art.  We may have sold more.  We find out the day after tomorrow.  More on the show later.



  

3-D Skyline

One of the groups I meet with is hosted by a local fiber art shop.  There are about ten regulars who share their work, request critiques and have participated in two challenges where we all work from the same photograph and present a 16" by 20" fiber art piece.  There were some very awesome results.

The first photo chosen by vote, was the Denver skyline.  I knew before I left that day I wanted to do a piece  with dimension.  Rectangular sky scrapers were fairly easy to fold and/or raise off the surface.  It was a fun piece to do.

 

 

 

Blue All Over

Using the ExPort bag of goodies I connected five undyed fabrics, embellished, folded, tore and generally created texture.

The resulting panel became " Blue all Over".  It was dyed with procion dye as one piece.  The canvas and the cottons  each took the dye  a little differently.  The raveled edges of the tears took the dye differently than the woven pieces.  The orange rubbings acted as a resist and show well against the blue.  There are five sections, each worked differently and  seamed together. The piece is edged with blue jean material.

I covered and sleeved a piece of heavy pellon with white cotton and mounted the paned, unquilted.  I am please with the experiment and I hope to dye after quilting and/or embellishing  in the future.

Artichokes, peas and cucumbers with a little lemon

One of our art group members suggested we open our refrigerator and use what we see as inspiration.  I used this opportunity to try a few new techniques.  Golden acrylic products include a product that causes their acrylic paints to bleed and spread on fabric.  I started this piece with a white foundation painted with Golden Flow and green acrylic paint, making heavier coverage in places.

Using upholstery fabric I thread painted and appliqued artichokes, fabric peas and cucumbers covered with shiny organza to make them appear wet.  I finished with pea vines and appropriate quilted details.  It was a very whimsical piece, a big stretch for me.  I love the painting technique and I am very satisfied with the final result of our refrigerator inspiration.