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.

2014 New Year's Resolution

If I am going to have a blog to read, I need to publish!  So easy. ha ha!  I decided to do a blog so my friends and family could follow what I am doing creatively.  My creativity has been stuttering and therefore my blog has stuttered as to be non-existent.  I apologize to my readers.  It is my resolution this New Year's eve to be more actively creative and to share my experiments and works of the heart on a more consistent basis.

I have been reading "The Artist's Way" by Julia Cameron.  Much to cover and good for the creative soul.  I have not been good about writing morning pages everyday nor doing an art activity once a week.  But, I have learned a lot about myself and my art.

If I was not spending my time creating, between all the other time consuming requirements and enjoyments of life, I really cannot image what I would be doing instead.  I like doing this.  Mixed media art includes everything I enjoy, sewing, quilting, painting, design and I enjoy the challenge of doing it well.  The statistics of doing a really good piece is one in ten.  So, I need to keep working, and sharing.

ExPort Challenge - bag of goodies

Our art group challenge for the month of May was to use at least 4 items from a goodie bag distributed to each member.  I really did not have a preconceived idea for how to use the items I picked out for the bags. (It was my challenge.)  Each baggie had some yarn, linen thread, small diameter hemp twine, a vinyl rectangle, 5 brass rivets, three buttons, a piece of textured wallpaper, a small rectangle of Formica. a small cupcake paper and a 2.5 x 3.5 inch index card. 

I decided to make a quilt and then dye it.  I have been reading C June Barnes' book, Stitching to Dye in Quilt Art and was taken with the concept.  I put together 5 non-straight, about the same width, panels of cotton, silk and canvas fabric, with pieces of dark blue denim (cut off from shortening jeans) on the right and left edges.  I used Shiva paint stick in orange and rubbed the wallpaper design onto the outside two panels of cotton.  I sewed pieces of the vinyl onto the canvas panel and added some rivets.  I used the buttons under the fabric and sewed them tightly like a yoyo, used the linen thread to gather some of the panels and added three strips of batting to the right side cotton panel as an embellishment.  I layered batting and backing and finished only the left and right edges up to the denim, which is a single layer. The top and bottom edges were left uneven and unfinished.  I slit the silk layer in several places to expose the batting and frayed the edges of the slits.  I made sure the piece was not square, pulling the bottom right side askew and adding more rivets to that part to pull the eye across the piece.  All in all, it looked pretty ratty, uneven, unfinished and a mishmash of whites and creams.  I planned to dye it blue when the quilt was finished.  Each panel was quilted through the batting and backing in a fold back and stitch method at the panel edge, until the last panel which was turned to finish.  I quilted a few small sections with free motion quilting to add a little more interest and texture.  The family reviews at this point were very subdued.

Here are a few pictures of the piece at this point in the process:

 

 

You will have to wait for the next step.