Terry Jarrard-Dimond Studio 24-7

Kathy Nida - A Very Personal Voice

2012-01-30T08:00:00.001-05:00

Here - 2009

46.5"w x 54.5"h

Created by Kathy Nida as a form of protection for a friend diagnosed with breast cancer.

Have you ever been challenged by the work of an artist? Challenged as to form or content, theme or approach? I have been on many occasions and what I often find is that in the fullness of time, the work which interests me most is the work that challenged me most.

Drowning Mary's Baby - 2007

50"w x 65"h

This work came from a dream. Kathy says it gives her the creeps and still doesn't know what the quilt is about.

The textile work of artist Kathy Nida is work that falls into that group. I believe the first time I saw one of her pieces was in Form, Not Function in New Albany, IN. I do not recall the specific piece but I recall being intrigued by the highly developed style and the excellent use of technique, not to mention that the work utilized figures. Many artists in our medium (fabric) aspire to include figures in their work but few do so successfully. Kathy also works heavily with very serious themes and does it well.

Since seeing that first work I have continued to look for Kathy's work and she continues to impress me in the way she addresses and uses content. I find her fearless and very clear in her thinking and presentation. I see her as an observer of life and a very good storyteller.

Drowning Mary's Baby - detail - 2007

Artist Profile - Kathy Nida

Terry: You have a very unique and recognizable style. Do you have art training (art school or college) or have you learned through some other avenue?

Kathy: I have a studio art degree from University of California, Irvine. I don't know that I came up with a style in fabric there... I mostly worked in printmaking and photography. I did a little screenprinting in Britain (I went on Education Abroad to Aberystwyth, Wales, for a year), and when I couldn't afford etching materials after college, I took a local class in screenprinting and did that for a while, even getting into a bunch of exhibits. I learned quilting on the side...my mom taught me to sew when I was young and I sewed my own clothes throughout high school. When I was pregnant, the screenprinting was an issue because of the toxicity, so I gravitated to quilting. I draw a lot too, always have. The recognizable style comes from that, because whether it was screenprint or quilt, it started as a drawing.

A Study in Flesh - 1999

33.5"w x 28"h

I ask Kathy to select a work she felt was seminal in her work and A Study In Flesh is one she chose. She says, "Even though I now work differently, in that I don't pin all the pieces down and I use a pattern, I made this quilt in a Joan Colvin class. It was the first time I really was able to see myself taking my screenprints into the fabric world."

Terry: How did you begin using fabric as your art medium?

Kathy: Whoops. See above. I did actually start with traditional quilts...took a local class. Then branched out into hand applique because I could make pictures with it. So I was making the same types of art, just switched medium from screenprints to quilting...they both use blocks of color/shape to make an image (at least the way I do it, they do).

Earth Mother - 2006

32"w x 82"h

Kathy revealed that she has always liked Earth Mother but it wasn't accepted into many shows, probably because it needed to be professionally photographed.

Earth Mother - detail

Terry: What does fabric bring to your art that is unique from other mediums?

Kathy: I like that the fabrics I choose already have a pattern or texture to them...so instead of having 10 basic colors, I have 10 trillion in my paintbox. With printmaking, I was able to mix colors, but it was more difficult to change a color within a particular shape. Plus I like the texture caused by quilting and the temptation to touch with fabric. My mom is a weaver and sewed when I was young, so there was always fabric and thread and material lying around. It's also way more portable than screenprints. That was good for when the kids were little...I could take it with me and work at the park or at soccer games (I still do that).

One Paycheck - 2010

38"w x 38.5"h

One Paycheck is the work Kathy selected that has received the most recognition. This work was selected for an exhibition titled No Place to Call Home and traveled with the Mancuso shows. The piece was exhibited without incident until a woman complained to a local newspaper in Hampton, Virginia that she was offended by the vulva of the homeless woman. Kathy's website got over 7,000 hits the following weekend. This type of attention was not the goal but Kathy feels it did put a light on homelessness AND art.

Terry: At what point in your life as an artist did you begin to use your art to comment on the human condition?

Kathy: I've been drawing people since high school. In college, I got obsessed with the Being of Woman, I think because it's so frustrating to BE a woman sometimes...our bodies seem to be working against us. I worried about being pregnant when I wasn't ready, worried about not being able to get pregnant. In writing, they always tell you to write what you know. I think I draw what I know, what's around me, what's bugging me, plus I teach life science, so I spend a lot of time on structure and functions of the body and what happens when stuff goes wrong. I've been through a divorce and I'm now a single mom of teens. I teach 7th grade, one of the most challenging years of all...I'm surrounded by human emotion on a daily basis. The drawings keep me sane.

Fallen - 2004

26.25"w x 22"h

Fallen is an important piece in Kathy's life as she began it during a Laura Wasilowski class where she was introduced to Wonder Under.

Terry: Tell us something about your process of working from idea to finished work.

Kathy: Sometimes I just draw...whatever was in my head that day or week will filter into the drawing, which is black Sharpie on white paper. More often now, because I'm so busy, an idea will sit in my head, drawing itself almost, for weeks, as more experiences draw it out and I try to figure out what the drawing is about...and then I'll have time and I'll sit down and draw it all out. That might take a few nights. At that point, the image is pretty much set in stone, so all that type of thinking is done before I ever look at fabric, although not in color. Then I enlarge the drawing, number the pieces, and trace them all onto Wonder Under. I iron the Wonder Under pieces onto fabric...this is a really strange thing. When I was a screenprinter, I would make some copies of the drawing and color it with colored pencils. I don't do that anymore. I hang the black and white drawing in my studio and I pick a background fabric, and then I imagine what the piece will look like as I look through my bins of fabric. It's all colored in my head. I can't explain that. After many hours of ironing and then trimming the pieces, I iron them all together on a nonstick sheet and then onto the background fabric. I stitch them down, sandwich (adds a batting), and quilt. Sometimes I add ink at this stage or I hand embroider or bead. This can take weeks or months to get through all these stages. Sometimes a drawing will sit in my sketchbook for years before I think I want to make it as a quilt. I may not even remember what I was thinking when I drew it.

Terry: Are you a member of a critique group? If so, what benefit do you gain from this interaction? If not, do you have anyone that you regularly discuss you work with?

Kathy: I'm not really a member of a critique group, although I do take unfinished work to my local SAQA meeting and a local quilt group. I'm not asking for input or help in finishing it, though. I don't really want that. People are always offering to help cut pieces out or quilt my work for me, and I think it has to be all me, so I always say no. Plus the image is pretty much done by the time I'm taking it out of the house, at least in my head. I like to show people my work and answer their questions...it helps me think about the piece in a different way (and ultimately write a statement about it), but I don't really change my mind about how to make it. I have a lot of online friends who read my blog and comment, and some I email privately with, but I suspect I'm a fairly private person when it comes to actually making the art. For a while, I didn't even like people to watch me draw, but having kids and nieces and nephews made that less of an issue. They ask questions like "Why does that woman have a big hole in her?" and I answer them.

Disrupted - 2010

57.5"w x 70.5"h, 23.5"w x 70.5"h plus 4 small panels 8"x8"

This work was created for Sightlines, sponsored by the Studio Art Quilt Association. The show premiered at the International Quilt Festival in Houston in 2010. The show has been touring throughout the US and will be shown at the Alexandria Museum of Art in Alexandria, Louisiana, until February 25, 2012. Kathy identified this work as one she considers among her most successful.

Terry: How much time do you spend in your studio each week?

Kathy: Depends on whether I'm teaching. I teach middle school full time. When I'm not teaching, it could be 6-8 hours a day, but when I'm teaching and dragging kids to piano lessons and soccer games, there are weeks when I do nothing...which is really frustrating. I aim for an hour a day during the school year...sometimes it's more and sometimes it's less. A lot of what I do doesn't have to be done in the studio, though. I draw a sketchbook with me to a lot of places, I can cut pieces out at meetings, I've embroidered and sewn binding on at soccer games and in hotel rooms during tournaments. Disrupted went to Las Vegas, Lake Arrowhead, and Lancaster. I don't think creating has to be limited to one room in my house, which is a good thing, because that room is small and crowded.

Kathy in her studio.

Kathy says, "I have a very small, multi-use studio...my daughter was laughing very hard trying to take this picture without going outside to do it. Plus it was after working all day and YES I'm in my pajamas. It's also missing the three cats and two dogs who are often in there as well...but that's probably a good thing. You may have the only picture of me in my studio that is in existence.....

Currently, Kathy's work can be seen at Art Quilt Elements at the Wayne Art Center, Wayne, PA. as well as SAQA's Creative Force 2010 at The Yellowstone Art Museum, and Form, Not Function at The Carnegie Center for Art & History.

***

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Hang with ArtQuilt Elements 2012

2012-01-23T07:00:00.005-05:00

Postcard by Terry Jarrard-Dimond

Hang with ArtQuilt Elements 2012

ArtQuilt Elements began in 1999 as ArtQuilts at the Sedgwick. This show has grown to be one of the premier art quilt exhibitions in the country and is celebrating it's 10 exhibit this year.

As part of this celebration they are presenting 6" x 4" fabric art postcards in the Link Gallery during the opening weekend. The pieced pictured here is my contribution to this project. It is a small piece of monoprinted fabric with handstitching and is part of the exploration I am working on now in a larger work. Each piece will be priced at $50 each and all funds raised will help support the full color catalog for the AQE 2012 exhibition.

The show runs from March 30 - May 31, 2012. For more information check HERE.

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New Monoprints

2012-01-16T07:00:00.002-05:00

Collaboration - Tom Dimond and Terry Jarrard-Dimond

watercolor, acrylic, ink jet transfers, crackle paste and more!

2011

My recent article The Start of A Family Tradition shared the great experience we had as a family monoprinting for several hours. I mentioned a couple of prints I want to share with you now.

Tom has been exploring mixed media for a couple of years and is really on a streak and making some exciting work. The piece pictured above is a collaboration using a work which he began with layers of watercolor, acrylic paint, ink jet transfers and crackle paste. The images that "float" on the surface are monoprints I made during the holiday "print-fest". These prints were made on a very think chinese paper with acrylic paint and applied to the surface Tom has created using gloss acrylic medium. The one on top was applied with the printed image face down and the image on the bottom was applied face up. This allowed us to feature more texture in the first piece and more color in the second.

Touching - Terry Jarrard-Dimond

monoprinted and overprinted with acrylic paint on textured paper

2011

This small piece is a print I created during that same session. It is acrylic paint on a textured paper and was printed twice. The paint was applied onto a small sheet of acrylic and then printed. You have to work fast as the paint dries very fast. I think this is great because you have to respond quickly. Tom has already matted and framed both of these pieces with beautiful ash frames he made. God bless you Tom ;-) Read more about our upcoming exhibition, Exploration + Evidence = Resolution.

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Three Artists - Evidence + Exploration = Resolution

2012-01-08T07:00:00.001-05:00

Personal Space - Terry Jarrard-Dimond

hand dyed, hand painted, and Mono-printed fabric

machine pieced, turned edge applique, machine quilted

42"h x 60"w - 2012

"Creativity is just connecting things. When you ask creative people how they did something, they feel a little guilty because they didn't really do it, they just saw something. It seemed obvious to them after a while. That's because they were able to connect experiences they've had and synthesize new things." ~ Steve Jobs

Evidence + Exploration = Resolution opens next month at The Arts Center in Greenwood, SC and features paintings by Tom Dimond, prints by Sydney A. Cross and my textile constructions. I'm very pleased to be part of this show not only because Tom is my husband and Sydney one of my best friends, but because they are accomplished and respected artists who have followed their passion for art for many years.

Valmonica - Tom Dimond

watercolor, acrylic, ink jet transfer, monotype,collage on paper

27"h x 20"w - 2011

As we began to plan for this show we discussed what the mutual interest was that connected our work. This is the statement which describes that connection.

The three artists in this exhibition have found their own unique solutions for presenting evidence of their awareness and the resulting effect of personal experiences, social issues, culture, history, and media on their studio activities. Using various techniques they explore their ideas to create signs and symbols that reflect their resolutions to these influences. Viewers of the exhibition will find evidence of this synthesis in the rich variety of works on display.

Many if not most of the world religions and philosophies will say that we are all connected. I like that thought and this show is centered around the idea that despite our efforts as individual artists, there is a common bond and a connection.

Really, I Insist - Sydney Cross

screenprint with hand-colored matrix

11"h x 13"w - 2011

The show runs from January 30 to February 25th at The Arts Center which is located at 120 Main Street in Greenwood, SC. The hours are 8:30 - 5pm Monday - Friday and 9:30 - 1:30 on Saturdays.

There is a reception Friday the 3rd of February from 6-8pm and you are invited. For more information you can contact the museum at 864-953-2462.

More information is available at:http://www.emeraldtriangle.sc/ArtsCouncil/Gallery.aspx

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Steam Iron System Update

2012-01-07T07:00:00.001-05:00

Several of you have inquired as to how my new Kalorik Ironing System is performing and I am happy to report that it is still performing perfectly. I have no bad things to report. It has a large water tank, heats fast, can be filled while hot and produces lots of steam but can be used dry.

As I said in my original report, Pressing Matters, you can get a lemon in anything you purchase but this little iron has been a pleasure to own. I wish you as much good fortune if you decide to try one.

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The Start of A Family Tradition

2012-01-03T07:00:00.001-05:00

My printmaking family - Katie, Adrian, Beth and Tom

Wecome to Studio 24-7 - 2012! Another year has gotten off to a fast start and I will be sharing my activities and thoughts with you as we move through the next 12 months.

It has been hard to get settled in after a great holiday break. I still have not taken our tree down or put away all the decorative objects I have collected over the past 40+ years but that will happen in it's own time.

Most families have traditions which develop over time out of habits or by design. This year we know we have started a wonderful new family tradition which involves everyone working in the studio together with a single process/medium.

Adrian and Beth demonstrating great concentration.

Our son and his wife, Adrian and Katie, were here for a brief but wonderful visit and on the day before they left we all gathered in the studio for a mono-printing session joined by my sister, Beth. Between the 5 of us we have lots of art education ( Art Institute of Chicago, Pratt, Massachusetts College of Art, Winthrop University, University of Tennessee and Clemson University) as well as work experience (teacher, designer, restoration, special effects artist) so it was sort of a stacked deck - but none of us are primarily printmakers.

Here you can see the print plate and the print as Katie pulls the paper off the plate surface.

This is a sampling of the prints I created. I was working with a plate that was

6" x 30" so many of my prints were done in sections.

The session was self-paced and fast paced. Generally, we used Liquitex Liquid Acrylics on plexiglass panels and printed on a variety of papers. Adrian did use some sort of print medium but I don't recall what it was....it was a little thicker.

Adrian worked only with black and really got involved in interesting textures and value.

Tom is pictured showing off his best Professorial Pointing Technique.

He is standing next to a wall on which

part of the prints we made are displayed.Actually, every wall and table

was covered with prints when we finished!

Most of the prints were done in one step but there were a number of prints that I experimented on with overprinting. Tom was our teacher/assistant and he facilitated every phase of the session from set-up to making sure we had plenty of paper and paint. He started us off with a little demo of what he has been doing and then we just jumped in. It was a blast and we made more than 120 prints in about 2 hours.

Some of the prints will become "stand alone" works and indeed Tom has already matted and made frames for 3 of the pieces. One of them is a collaboration of my work and his, one is a nice piece I did on some very textured paper and one is a print that my sister made. I'll post these later.

Tom has been working with mixed media collages lately with great success and we all agreed to giving him some of our prints for use in future work. Anything he doesn't use will go to the artist of origin ;-)

This was such a wonderful experience and will now be a Christmas Tradition in our family. There was no music (not by design - we just forgot the MP3 player), little chatter, lots of concentration, much encouragement for one another and fabulous success. What a great way to spend time together.

AND

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Ohio Snowman Revisited

2011-12-19T07:00:00.001-05:00

Greetings to You! Like many of you I am now deep into Christmas activities with a focus on enjoying my family and friends. In 2009 I posted this article to celebrate my year as a blogger as well as share something personal. I decided to repost and share with new readers.

I am suspending new articles until after the holidays. I wish you all the best for the coming year and no matter your personal beliefs I think we can agree that a time to love and celebrate our loved ones is always good.

All Best,

Terry

Ohio Snowman and Squeeky

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to Everyone!

2009 has been a very busy and fun year and I can't believe Christmas and 2010 are just days away. I need to connect with this realization, get in the kitchen and get 'cookin'. Today is also my Wedding Anniversary and we have a nice evening planned.

Like many of you, I have boxes and boxes of Christmas decorations I have collected over the years despite the fact that I have occasionally de-accessed items I no longer used. I love all of those trees, figurines, stuffed animals, snowflakes, lights, little houses, two Christmas foxes, and the beautiful Ohio Snowman pictured above. (I call him my Ohio Snowman only because I bought him in Ohio.) If you look closely, he is holding a little red plush mouse. The little mouse belonged to our son Adrian and his name is Squeeky. Adrian loved that mouse and carried him everywhere, talking to him and loving him the way only children can love.

Twelve Days of Christmas

One of my most treasured displays the past few years has been a set of 12 Decorative Plates each representing one of the 12 Days of Christmas. This set of plates was given to my parents, John C. and Lee Verle T. Jarrard, over a 12 year period by the employees of their business Jarrard Hardware Inc. Each year the wife of one of the men who worked at the store would come to the house and leave the gift to be opened on Christmas Day. The plates were kept in my mom's china cabinets so they could always be seen and then taken out for display at Christmas. A few years ago my mother make a beautiful gesture and rather than buying gifts for family members, she gave each of her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildred something from her collection of china and silver. I received the Decorative Plates.

This year I decided to carry on the tradition of sharing beloved possessions and I am giving my sister and two brothers and their families three plates each from the group. I know they will all love having these reminders of our family Christmases past and all the friends from our little hometown who were so much a part of our daily lives.

It has been a pleasure working on my blog the past 9 months and I am looking forward to continuing in 2010. The best part has been the friends I have made and I hope that continues as well. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. Terry

Shortest Post Ever

2011-12-13T07:00:00.002-05:00

Today while sitting quietly stitching, my mind was jumping around like a Mexican jumping bean. I was thinking about how my chosen medium sometimes doesn't get the respect it deserves bla bla bla and then I was considering whether or not this would be true if more men were involved bla bla bla and then I began to formulate an article bla bla bla and then I thought about The Gorilla Girls.

If you aren't familiar with the group you might enjoy a visit with them but beware, they are Gorillas - Women Artists with strong opinions.

Thank you for dropping by. Now go ape!

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One Stitch At A Time

2011-12-08T07:00:00.002-05:00

Quick Study

Like most of you I have all sorts of fabrics in my studio. Some are large pieces and some have been cut into many times. The above snippet of fabric is a piece of mono-printed fabric that came from a very productive printing session and the fabrics from that session keep popping up.

I enjoy the marks on the fabric and responded to those marks in this little study by simply stitching over them in a pinkish white. I liked it enough that I decided to try another slightly larger study with pieces of the same fabric.

Pieced fabric composition

This little composition is roughly 15" square and will serve as the base for new stitching.

Stitching in early stage.

I decided to create a square within the square and stitch inside that area, varying the number of threads I am using. You can see how the value of the stitching is changing. I'm not sure how I will proceed but I may keep it VERY SIMPLE. The stitches begin with three strands and end with one strand.

Detail

This small exploration fits in nicely with my interest in Simplicity and Complexity. I'll just have to see if the "acorn" grows into a tree or blows away with the wind.

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Simple and Unique

2011-12-01T07:00:00.013-05:00

Tied Stars - Maker Unknown

United States 1900-1940

Cotton and Cotton and Wool Embroidery

Gift of Mary and Al Shads to American Folk Art Museum

My friend Liz Anderson sent me the image of this wonderful quilt from Super Stars: Quilts from the American Folk Art Museum which will be on view until the end of December. I recently posted my completed Dots piece and Liz thought I might enjoy seeing this work. She was correct.

Last Christmas I was given a copy of Jonathan Holstein's book: Abstract Design in American Quilts: A Biography of an Exhibition. I had never seen this book and I was not aware of the show at the Whitney where these pieces were presented. (I find that hard to fathom but think it is wonderful. You can go here to read more.) In the book there is a piece titled Crazy which is one of my favorites. The piece is constructed like a crazy quilt but the quilt is essentially all white. The shapes which are pieced into the blocks which makeup the quilt are outlined with a sort of cross-stitch in brown or perhaps a dark red. The technique is a strangely sophisticated way to handle a very simple and potentially dull collection of materials. How wonderful. A nice demonstration of someone thinking outside the box.

Tied Stars - detail

I see Tied Stars in somewhat the same way. The maker employed unique thinking to create an interesting work from simple materials. I have no way of knowing of what spurred the idea of using the two shades of yellow to create a star pattern with the nubs of the knots which hold the quilt together. The stars are hard to see in the photographs but you can go the AFAM site and see a different picture. Many times the knots for tied quilts are arranged in grids or rows. I am confident this application of knots took much longer to do than the more usual rows as it had to be designed and marked and there are many more knots than is required to simply hold the layers of fabric together. This quilt-maker choose to make a statement.

The plaque next to the quilt at the museum said: The stars in this unusual bedcover are tied rather than pieced or appliqued. The pointillist effect of this technique creates a diffuse Milky Way when seen up close. At a distance the stars resolve into their defined forms.

It touches me to see the time that was invested in this work. It impresses me that the maker found a way to use this very intense red fabric. I love the hide and seek of the star pattern. I love the texture. If it was ever actually used as a bed quilt I bet it was fun to sleep under. I bet it vibrated. I know anyone sleeping under this had to sneak a hand out and stroke the little star nubs.

This work is a nice reminder that we don't need everything in the world to make art and ideas will always carry the day. Thank you Liz.

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A Change of Pace

2011-11-24T07:00:00.001-05:00

Rice Stitch

I posted an article recently about the return of The Dots. The piece was hand stitched with rice stitch. The detail I am showing today is of a much larger piece in which I am again using rice stitch. I took a very deep breath before I started this work as it is perhaps an area of 24" x 45". I love to work large but I have never committed to stitch such a large area in this way.

When I began to learn to quilt I hand quilted several full size works with a traditional quilt stitch but it is just too hard on my hands and as I began to make more work I felt pressed to "move along" so I began machine quilting. So how do I find myself with several large pieces in various stages of completion, all being hand stitched?

I think the answer is I always knew I felt connected to this process. I took the Expressive Stitch class with Dorothy Caldwell a couple of years ago and loved that. It reminded me of how much the touch of hand adds to work. During the last year I collaborated with Kathy Loomis on a blind stitching project and we are continuing that work to be presented at some point in the future.

Another large factor in this change of pace is due to my personal commitment to slow down and enjoy my studio. I decided to take a break from entering shows and just work. I had a show in the early fall at USC Upstate - Pieced Together, with my husband, Tom and we have another show coming in February at The Arts Center in Greenwood SC along with our friend, printmaker Syd Cross. so I'm not totally out of sight but I'm not having to think about show entries, acceptance or rejection, shipping and receiving etc. It's rather refreshing.

This change of pace requires that I accept the investment of time that is required and enjoy the physical aspect of the work. I hang the work on the design wall often and enjoy the progress and I also make a point of rotating which work I'm actually working on. This keeps it fresh for me. I am also continuing to keep at least one work going that is more inline with what I had been doing and just today I am preparing to put the facing on a new work that is machine pieced, appliqued and machine quilted. Mixing things up seems to help me feel productive.

Well Happy Thanksgiving to all of you. You are the reason I choose to blog and I appreciate your comments and support.

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Pressing Matters

2011-11-16T07:00:00.002-05:00

Kalorik Steam Ironing Station

For someone who has never liked to iron I sure have spent a lot of time and money on ironing since I began to work with fabric. During the past 10 years I've purchased two Rowenta irons, one Panosonic cordless iron, one $12 iron (the brand escapes me) and now I have a Kalorik Steam Ironing Station.

Just so you know, I'm not being paid to promote anything. I just want to share my experience.

The Rowenta has the reputation of being "the best". That has not been my experience. The first one I owned fell apart piece by piece until it wasn't safe to use and the second one burned up from the inside out! Both went into the trash. The $12 iron is doing it's job as I purchased it to iron out wax. It gets hot and does the job. If it dies it isn't a tragedy but it is not powerful enough to iron my hand dyed fabrics.

The Panasonic cordless iron has been good and I enjoyed not having to fool with the cord but the power/temperature button combination is one of those plastic deals that you press and it has become undependable.

I also have a non-steam iron that is at least 40 years old! It's great but I wanted a good steam iron. This summer one of my workshop students brought a steam iron system to class and she expressed how much she liked it. It was a Rowenta. I kept thinking about that iron and wrote my student and ask a few questions. She gave me lots of great information including a list of a few features she wished her iron had. As I researched the Rowenta I found that there was a model that had the features she listed but the price tag was more than I was willing to pay.

I began to research ironing systems and one day a cute, fat, PINK Kalorik iron showed up in the Google search. This was funny because just that week my sister has been telling me that Kalorik made pink kitchen appliances in the 1950's. In truth I was unaware that the brand was still around.

As I read the description of this ironing system I found that it had all the features my friend had mentioned and it costs less than the lower-end Rowenta. I decided to try it and so far I am very impressed. So what do I like:

It heats up very fast....like in 2 minutes from scratch.

The water tank can be refilled without waiting for the iron to cool down. When it gets low you can simply refill.

The water tank holds a lot of water.

The angle of the bed that the iron sits on can be adjusted.

You use tap water.

Lots of steam vents on iron.

The steam control is easy to use. It can be a shot of steam or continuous.

The electric cord and the steam hose are nice and long.

It's PINK!

I have heard a couple of people say they don't like using steam irons for fear of water spots. I have to say that this is the driest steam I have ever had from an iron. As long as you have it set at the correct temperature there isn't any dripping.

I have high hopes that this iron will have a nice long productive life. I ordered it from Sear's online but it is available from other places.

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HAPPY IRONING

Dots Return and Find True Love

2011-11-11T07:00:00.002-05:00

Blue and Yellow with Dots

It's hard to believe but this piece, or at least part of this piece, has been floating around my studio for more than 18 months. I first wrote about the yellow side side of this diptych Here and Here.

I loved the yellow tinged with orange and the way the black dots floated on the surface. I added bits of the same fabric cut into squares as well as randomly cut bits of black fabric which I hand-stitched with rice stitching. The effect of the combination of those elements is very rich however I felt it needed a second panel to make the composition work. I tried a number of approaches to creating that panel including a canvas panel with painted elements in a variety of sizes and a solid fabric with stitched bits but it just wasn't working. I introduced the Yellow fabric to every piece of fabric I had but no matches resulted. I put the yellow piece aside.

As time moved on the yellow piece would surface and I'd study it again, my desire to pair it with a good mate still strong. I sound like a marriage broker. Actually it is similar in that I had one wonderful element(a girl) that wanted to be in a long-term relationship with another element(a boy).

Prince Charming

Prince Charming finally arrived in the form of a hand-dyed piece of fabric on which I had painted dots, discharged dots, discharged a connecting line and re-applied dots with a type of ink made for graffiti artists. (Isn't that funny. Graffiti go out and buy special art supplies so they can put their art on other people's property.) ((By the way, the ink worked nicely but I'm not sure that one day these black dots won't just fall off or eat holes in the fabric.))

So, one day as I was sorting some fabric I found the blue piece and put it next to the yellow piece and it was Kismet! They belonged together and I proceeded to invest in another round of rice stitching. It's a lovely little piece and I wish them a long and happy relationship.

So what did I learn? Sometimes you just have to wait for the right answer to appear....but it helps to have some awareness that you are still asking the question.

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A Tip of the Hat

2011-11-07T07:00:00.003-05:00

Here are a couple of interesting links you might enjoy:

First a Tip of the Hat to Melanie H. for sending me a link to a wonderful exhibition at The Japan Society in NYC. The show features textile artists from Japan who work with both traditional materials and high tech materials and processes. Be sure and look at the embedded video of the show. If you live near the city this one is a "must see" according to my friend.

http://www.japansociety.org/page/programs/gallery

My second offering is for a juried show, REFUSE re-seen sponsored by the Fiber Philadelphia Venue.

This next exhibit encourages artists working in fiber to become infatuated with the idea of

exploring the possibilities of this disposable and diregarded stuff as the basis for this submission. Our challenge for fiber artists everywhere is to take the most ordinary, non-precious and every day materials and to create the most extraordinary. The reuse of every conceivable material is already imbedded in the psyches of many working artists today. This exhibit will require the use of materials which are not durable and are normally considered ephemeral and short lived.

The show is juried by Warren Seelig who holds the rank of distinguished visiting profess in the Fibers/Mixed Media program at The University of the Arts in Philadelphia.

Here is a link to the prospectus:

http://library.constantcontact.com/download/get/file/1103077498865-205/refuse_reseen_prospectus.pdf

Apply the Brakes and Enjoy the Ride

2011-11-03T07:00:00.003-04:00

Just recently Tom and I ventured a short drive up the road and participated in a Canopy Treetop Zip-Line tour. Great fun and we both lived to tell about the adventure.

For those of you who haven't tried this, you are hooked to a steel cable and you ride suspended from a little trolley through the tree tops. It isn't hard to begin the ride as the cables start from a high point and usually descent. It's the stopping that is more of an issue. Wearing heavy gloves, you hold on to the trolley with one hand and apply appropriate pressure on the cable behind the trolley to slow down and stop. If you don't do this correctly you smash into the landing platform or the tree on which the platform is attached or if you stop too soon (as I did once) you have to turn around backward facing away from your destination and pull yourself up the cable hand over hand. I did it once but could not have done it twice in a row. I'd still be hanging out there in the breeze....

This morning I am working in my studio with a piece that is almost finished. I've been having a great experience doing the dance I like most. Put something up, adjust it, readjust, look, look more etc...it is the experience that draws me to the studio. As I danced around my workspace I started thinking about that zip-line, starting, stopping and getting stuck and smashing against a tree. It seems like such a great metaphor for how I make art and likely how many of you make art as well.

We begin the trip with gusto. Sometimes we get a little push from the guide or we just slip off into the bright fall sky sailing out into space like we know we belong. It's lovely up there and you're having a great time but then you see that things are beginning to gel and the end is coming at you very fast. At this point you have to begin to apply the right amount of pressure so that you end just right. It's subtle and sometimes things don't end well. When they don't you have to try another strategy to recover. When it does end well it's delicious and you head to the next platform for another great ride. Enjoy that last 30 feet, it can be the best part.

Tom on left and I'm on the right. Now fly away little birds and don't forget to brake.

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The Healing Art of Erin Endicott

2011-10-27T07:00:00.001-04:00

Healing Sutra #15

15 x 17 - 2010

hand embroidery, walnut ink on antique dress

My first introduction to the work of Erin Endicott was in the catalog for Fiberart International 2010. I was attracted and curious about this very powerful work but also had some uneasy feelings as I studied the image in the catalog for this exhibition.

I was rather surprised by my response to this work as I like edgy work that challenges the viewer to come closer and consider what the work is about. At this point I believe my response was triggered by the mix of the delicate fabrics and stitching combined with the suggestion of damage represented by the stains. I could only read those stains as blood stains and blood stains on clothing is emotionally charged and somewhat disturbing. My interest was ignited.

The series of pieces presented here is titled Healing Sutras. I looked up the dictionary meaning of sutra as a way to more fully understand. The definition refers to stitches and stitches are at the core of these pieces. Many artists who incorporate hand stitching in their process are aware of the kind of dedication that is required to work with this technique and the quiet contemplation that is often involved.

As time has passed I began to see Erin's work pictured and mentioned in a variety of places and I wanted to hear more about her work.

Healing Sutra #25

8 x 8 - 2011

hand embroidery, walnut ink, antique lace, beads on antique doll dress

Questions and Responses

Terry: How do you describe your style of working?

Erin: The "Healing Sutras" are created through an intuitive process. Rarely do I have a pre-conceived notion of a finished piece but instead rely on the walnut ink stain to guide the process. In the past my work (mainly drawing and painting) was very planned and methodical and while it was beautiful, it lacked the spontaneity of my current work. The walnut ink flows freely when applied to the fabric - creating beautifully subtle patterns with no help from me! This underlying stain produces a wonderful "map" for me to hand stitch on. I allow the stitching to flow freely as well. It is a very slow, deliberate process (I consider it drawing with thread) but the absence of a specific outcome allows me to keep the line work organic and free flowing. It is magical to see the work grow from one single stitch.

Healing Sutra #3

20 x 20 - 2009

hand embroidery, walnut ink on fabric cut from pattern

Terry: At this point in your career, your body of work is very cohesive. Are there pieces that appear in someway to be "outside" of the current collection?

Erin: Last year I created a piece for "Merge and Flow" the Surface Design Association Members' show at "Confluence". All entries had to measure 12" x 28" to be eligible for display. Up until that time I was working almost exclusively in the "dress" format so it was hard for me to let go of that aspect of the work. The piece ("Healing Sutra #19") allowed me to expand my vision for the Healing Sutras series and gave me the freedom to experiment with some new ideas (layering of fabric, altering the cloth through cutting). Ultimately the piece won "Best in Show" at the 2011 conference so I am very grateful for the challenge!

Healing Sutra #17

15 x 15 - 2011

hand embroidery, walnut ink, antique lace on antique table napkin

Terry: Do you work from start to finish on only one work at a time?

Erin: When I began the Healing Sutras series a few years ago I worked only on one piece at a time. As the pieces became more intricate and time consuming (one piece can take several months to complete) I found it kept the work "fresher" to put a piece on the studio wall for a while while I worked on another. I will do this any time the work starts to feel forced or planned in any way. These pieces can be successful if they come from my head - they need to come directly from my heart. At this state I am almost always working on 2 pieces at a time and enjoy how what is happening in one piece can inform another.

Healing Sutra #24

16 x 16 - 2011

hand embroidery, walnut ink, antique lace and metallic thread on antique dress

Terry: There is a very strong feminine quality to your work...the types of garments, the lace the floral elements to name a few. There is also the suggestion of blood through the use of the red thread and staining. Would you please share with us how male viewers respond to these elements and references and how these responses might be different from those of female viewers.

Healing Sutra #19

12 x 28 - 2010

hand embroidery, walnut ink on antique table runner

Erin: Yes, the feminine qualities/references in my work are apparent - the work being purely inspired by my own experience would necessarily be from a feminine perspective. When I began this series it was created purely as an aid for my own healing - not to be intentionally selfish but from a place of near desperation. The first time I showed the work to a broad audience (Healing Sutra #3, Fiberart International 2010, Best in Show) I was blown away by the response and the effect the piece had on the viewers (mainly women at this venue). At this time I realized the potential these pieces had for healing others as well as myself. This was when I knew the work was important (not important in a self-serving sense but as a contribution to collective healing). As I continued the series and began to show the work to broader audiences I found that men were drawn to the more visceral qualities of the work. I think the honesty of the Healing Sutras transcends the feminine/masculine boundaries and allows viewers of both sexes to relate to their stories.

Terry: What kinds of activities do you enjoy outside of your studio?

Erin: I have made a conscious effort to keep my life very simple. I live in a beautiful rural town where I can walk out my door and into the garden or the woods or down to the river. I meditate regularly (and also consider my stitching a part of my meditation practice) practice yoga and love to spend time outdoors - especially by the water. I enjoy nothing more than spending quiet, peaceful time with my son and my loved ones.

Erin Endicott

Terry: What keeps you inspired and motivated?

Erin: As far back as I can remember I have been passionate about Art. Inspiration (which literally means "In Spirit" flows through me constantly as long as I take time to get quiet and still and allow. I am so grateful to be an artist and to have the opportunity to share my vision with the world!

Thank you Erin for sharing you thoughts and your work.

Erin is introducing a line of "Healing Sutra" silk scarves printed with her original embroidery designs. You can find updates about this project on her Facebook page which is Erin Endicott Contemporary Embroidery.

Here are some links to several upcoming shows in which Erin's work will be included and her website:

http://www.erinendicottart.com

"Crossing Lines: The Many Faces Of Fiber"

Textile Study Group of New York

December 6, 2011 - February 19, 2012

"9x9x3 : New Visions"

Textile Study Group of New York

February - March 2012

"Narrative Thread"

Wexler Gallery, Philadelphia PA

March 2 - April 28 2012

"Mending = Art"

Borowsky Gallery, Philadelphia, PA

March - May 2012

"Narrative Thread" and Mending = Art" coincide with FiberPhiladelphia and the SDA conference of 2012.

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Sale of Art by Harold Krisel

2011-10-24T07:00:00.001-04:00

Split Blue by Harold Krisel

Silkscreen

Included in the Permanent Collection of

The Spartanburg County Museum of Art

Last week I posted a three part article on the late artist Harold Krisel. At the end of each article I mentioned that some of his work would be available for purchase on Fab.com and today that sale begins.

Anyone interested in seeing the work that is being offered can register Here. If you have already registered then you will be able to see the work listed when you visit Fab.com.

Harold Krisel started his career as a Bauhaus-trained architect before becoming a world-renouned artist whose bold work hangs in museums like MoMA, The british Museum and The Whitney. This rare collection of signed, original, limited-edition prints is brought to you by Krisel's grandson Matthew Langille.

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Time to Clear the Table - Harold Krisel

2011-10-19T07:00:00.004-04:00

Guest Writer - Elizabeth Jarrard
Article Three

Harold Krisel in his "studio".

Daughter Judy Krisel Langille remembers the household a bit differently than her mother. "Our entire apartment seemed to be his studio," says Judy, "and it was a spacious apartment,"

"But I do remember my mother calling out, 'Harold, time to clear the table' before dinner every night."

Linear - Black

Silkscreen

Approximately 20" x 20"

Harold Krisel

Part of the Permanent Collection of The Spartanburg County Museum of Art, Spartanburg, SC

Now an artist living in New Jersey, Judy says she wasn't really into art until high school. "But my only toys were art related."

Harold built the girls doll houses and gave them art supplies to create the furnishings.

Middle sister Elizabeth Krisel, a graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design and now the director of innovation for Fisher-Price, loved making clothes pin dolls and other toys.

The third sister Martha Krisel is a lawyer and lives on Long Island.

Even the girls' school assignments became art projects. "No plain shoe boxes for us," says Judy. "We had dioramas made from lovely foam core board."

A House in the Hamptons

Harold loved his summers off for painting and printmaking. The family began vacationing in the Hamptons in the mid-1960s and in 1974, built a vacation home in Bridgehampton, N.Y.

Krisel at the beach.

Harold and Rose retired from teaching and moved to the Bridgehampton house in 1981, where he pursued his dream of being a full-time artists. He became friends will other artists including Perle Fine and Ibram Lassaw. He began showing at the Elaine Benson Gallery. Locals remember him wearing a beret and driving around in an old Peugeot.

Harold's decline with Alzheimer's disease was such a sad time for his family. The man who always had ideas was losing his memory. After he died in 1995, Rose began clearing out the remote house for her next move to Great Neck, N.Y.

Untitled, 1965

28" x 28"

Oil on Canvas

Harold Krisel

Presented by The McCormick Gallery

Each of the children took favorites but their father left behind a huge store of work, some of it damaged by the dampness on the island.

Rose gave some pieces to the American Abstract Artists organization and donated the remaining to a local animal rescue fund. This is where coincidence created a wonderful opportunity.

Structured Form, 1964

Silkscreen - 24" x 19"

Harold Krisel

McCormick Gallery, Chicago, Il

Thomas McCormick and Vincent Vallarino agreed to help another widow — a friend whose husband had acquired some of the art donated to the animal charity — clear out her storage locker. This is how McCormick and Vallarino describe their discovery in the catalog they produced for a 2009 exhibition at the McCormick Gallery in Chicago:

"In July 2008 we were visiting in the Hamptons and Vincent made good on a promise to help an old friend sort through the artwork left behind by her deceased husband. Early on a Sunday morning — armed with hot cups of coffee — we met the widow at a self-storage facility in Southhampton. When she rolled up the overhead door to her ten by twenty foot storage unit we beheld a tsunami of sardine-packed artwork. Canvases, frames, tubes, boxes and stacks of loose paper were crammed together as if by a deranged pack rate. ... At some point a bit of wreckage was pushed aside revealing a tantalizing site in the rubble: a dusky stack of extremely handsome paintings of the geometric sort. We expected them to be products of the 1970s but on closer inspection found a date of 1948! We also found a name, crisply inscribed by the maker. "Krisel". ... How who the hell is that?"

The trove was rescued and restored and organized into a successful exhibition. And now more and more art lovers are discovering Harold Krisel.

***

Footnote from Terry:

Earlier this month I traveled to Spartanburg along with my sister and husband to visit The Spartanburg County Museum of Art to see some of the Krisel works in their collection. They had 7 of his pieces right in the front of the gallery and I was delighted to see that the work sparkled. The colors were sharp and clear and floated on the white of the paper. The work seemed as if they had just been printed and were full of life.

Seven silkscreens installed in The Spartanburg County Museum of Art.

A closer view of some of the work.

In addition to having work in Spartanburg, here is a list of other Permanent collections in which work is included: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum, the Guggenheim Museum, the Houston Museum of Fine Arts, the British Museum (London), the Bibliotheque Nationale (Paris), the Walter P. Chrysler Museum, the Philadelphia Museum of Modern Art, the Baltimore Museum of Art, the Cleveland Museum of Art, Trinity College (Dublin), the Yale University Art Gallery, and the Princeton University Library.

I want to thank Judy Langille for introducing me to her father and his beautiful art. My appreciation also to her mother Rose Krisel for speaking with my sister and sharing her memories and insights about her husband and his life as an artist. My appreciation also goes to The Spartanburg County Museum of Art for allowing me to take some photos and share them. Thank you to Scott Cunningham, Associate Director, for providing additional photographs of Krisel's work from the museum's collection. You can see more photographs here: Flickr Photostream.

I hope you have enjoyed this series of articles on Harold Krisel and...

On Oct. 24, Fab.com will be offering a selection of original prints for sale from the Krisel Estate. If you are interested you can register to view this offering via this link: Fab.com/

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Who Is Harold Krisel?

2011-10-18T07:00:00.003-04:00

Guest Writer - Elizabeth Jarrard
Article Two

Harold Krisel may not have been a household name in the art world of the 20th century, but his work was central to the household he shared with wife Rose and their three children.

The dining table was his studio where he made art — paintings and prints that appear as fresh and relevant today as they were then.

A current exhibition of this work at the Spartanburg County Museum of Art includes works from the 1960s and 1970s with sharp lines and saturated colors. They are right at home in the city that was also home to the late Roger Milliken, founder and former CEO of Milliken and Company, one of the world's largest textile manufacturers and Krisel's primary patron.

Three Obulates

Painted by Carl Tait

Greenville/Spartanburg Airport

While Krisel was working with famed architectural firm Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, from 1955-1965, Millken hired the firm to design his new headquarters building in Spartanburg. Krisel designed tapestries and carpets for the project as well as a dramatic 26,000 square foot aereation pond with a striking stainless steel spray fountain.

He was also commissioned to create murals for the new Greenville/Spartanburg Airport, championed by Milliken and built in 1962 to support this burgeoning area.

Rectangles

Installed at The Greenville/Spartanburg Airport, Spartanburg, SC

Millions of travelers have since passed through this terminal, possibly taking note of the large-scale art but not being familiar with the artist's name. But all that changed in 2009 when Chicago's McCormick Gallery presented an exhibition of his work.

Krisel's daughter Judy Langille says he would be really surprised at the attention his work is drawing, and then she suggests another word.

"He would be shocked," says Langille, who most admired her father's "intensity; his ability not to care what others thought of his work."

"He did it for the love of it," she says. "He just had to do it."

Architect, Artist, Family Man

Harold Krisel and Rose Breuer met on a blind date on the Staten Island Ferry and married in 1942. After a stint in the U.S. Army, he enrolled in 1949 at the Institute of Design in Chicago (originally known as the New Bauhaus) under the G.I. Bill.

Harold Krisel pictured in class where he taught architecture

at the high School of Art and Design in New York City.

His many influences there helped direct his course of study and his career path. Founder Lazlo-Nagy had just stepped down and the new director, Serge Chermayeff, recognized something special in this new student and committed to his education as an architect.

He met famed artist Mondrian and developed friendships with Gyorgy Kepes, who founded the Center for Advanced Visual Studies at MIT; Martin Rosenzweig, noted graphic designer; and Harold Cohen the distinguished designer and architect.

Krisel was commissioned to design the stainless steel water fountain
which is on Butler Avenue on the campus of
Wofford College in Spartanburg, SC.

During this period, he joined American Abstract Artists and maintained a lifelong membership.

To this day, he widow Rose says she has a hard time understanding the interest in Harold's work. "I don't understand conceptual art."

But she understood and appreciated Harold's devotion to his family. It is obvious Krisel was not driven by fame.

Rose Krisel, the widow of the late Harold Krisel.

After completing graduate studies at the Illinois Institute of Technology in 1952, Krisel taught briefly at MIT. Then he and Rose returned home to New York, where he pursued an architecture career, first with Kahn and Jacobs and later with Skidmore, Owings and Merrill.

During this period, he declined offers he felt would be disruptive to his young family. An invitation from Buckminster Fuller to work on the development of the geodesic dome required moving to Canada. An offer to teach at Harvard would have meant another move.

"Our dining table was his studio," says Rose Krisel. And for his growing family, extra art supplied became the children's toys. "Harold set up still lifes" for July, Elizabeth and Martha to draw," she says.

Red Circle - Silk Screen

approximately 20" x 20"

Harold Krisel

Included in the permanent collection of The Spartanburg County Museum of Art, Spartanburg, SC.

Eager for more time to pursue his art, Krisel resigned from SOM in 1965 and accepted a teaching position at the High School of Art and Design in Manhattan. Rose, also a teacher, says Harold enjoyed the regular hours and the summers off.

"He had always wanted to be a museum curator but was discouraged from this career because he was Jewish."

To see many other photographs visit here; http://www.flickr.com/photos/dimondgirl/

The article for tomorrow is: Time to Clear the Table

On Oct. 24, Fab.com will be offering a selection of original prints for sale from the Krisel Estate. If you are interested you can register to view this offering via this link: Fab.com/

Thank you for spending time at Studio 24-7. I love hearing from you and remember:

Commenting is FREE!!!

My Introduction to Harold Krisel

2011-10-17T07:00:00.003-04:00

Article One of A Three Part Article

Summer 6 - Silkscreen

20" x 20" approximately

Harold Krisel

Included in the permanent collection of The Spartanburg
County Museum of Art. This work is part of a collection
of Krisel's work presented to the museum from the estate
of the late Roger Milliken, founder and CEO of
Milliken and Company.

In October of 2010 both Judy Langille and I were scheduled to teach at Quilting by the Lake 2 in Auburn, NY. As soon as we met Judy mentioned she had something for me — a catalog of work by her father Harold Krisel. Later that evening she presented me with an absolutely beautiful book titled Structured/Forms. The 49-page full-color catalog presents paintings and silkscreens produced by her father from the 1950s through the 1960s. The catalog was published by McCormick Gallery in Chicago and Vincent Vallarino Fine Art, Ltd in New York City. It's a treasure.

As Judy and I talked she also told me of her father's connection to my area of South Carolina. In fact, just that day, I had walked past a couple of large-scale paintings designed by Mr. Krisel which are in my home airport, Greenville-Spartanburg. I was very familiar with these works but had not recalled the name of the artist. She further revealed that the late Roger Milliken, founder of Milliken and Company, had a large collection of her father's work in both his personal collection and in his corporate headquarters and that part of that collection had been donated to the permanent collection of the Spartanburg Museum of Art in Spartanburg, SC. Additional works in the permanent collection were donated from the Krisel Estate.

I knew that evening that I wanted to write about Mr. Krisel. In addition to being a fine artist, he came across as a wonderful father, family man, designer, architect and teacher. My desire to write about him was to honor all of the roles he fulfilled during his life with so much success. With this in mind, I made the decision to invite my sister, Elizabeth Jarrard, to be a guest writer for the major portion of this article. Much of Beth's professional career focused on interviewing and writing about interesting people as well as doing feature articles, so this seemed a great fit.

Harold Krisel passed away in 1995 but his wife, Rose Krisel still lives in Great Neck, NY . This week I will be posting a series of three articles (this is #1) on consecutive days which feature the art and design of Mr. Krisel as well as interviews with his widow Mrs. Rose Krisel and one of his daughters, artist Judy Langille. I hope you will join us in the celebration of a creative accomplished artist.

The article for tomorrow is : Who Is Harold Krisel?

On Oct. 24, Fab.com will be offering a selection of original prints for sale from the Krisel Estate. If you are interested you can register to view this offering via this link: Fab.com/

Thank you for spending time at Studio 24-7. I love hearing from you and remember:

Commenting is FREE!!!

From the Vault

2011-10-11T09:37:00.012-04:00

Lightening Bouquet #1 - 1990s

Welded Wire, Sheet Aluminium, Shingles, Rivets, Coated Wire

Terry Jarrard-Dimond

This morning we are once again peeking into "the Vault". During the time these pieces were made we (the world) was in a period of transitioning into the digital world and my record keeping was very poor. At this point I'm not totally confident in the title but Lightening Bouquet is close.

For some years I was represented by two different galleries in Atlanta, Ga. The Heath Gallery and The Signature Shop. Two very successful and high quality galleries with very different work and ways of working. Having work with two galleries in one town was rather unusual but it happened due to the prestige of the owner of The Signature shop, Blanch Reeves, and her relationship with the management of The Heath Gallery. The Heath showed my large work and the Signature Shop sold my smaller works.

Lightening Bouquet #1 - detail - 1990s

I made a number of pieces in this series working with very elongated "arrow-point" shapes, sometimes as single forms and sometimes in groups. I'll show you some of those another time. This work was sold to John Wieland Homes which is a large corporation which builds upscale homes around the US. The Signature Shop is still in operation and run by some of Blanche's younger relatives. Blanch was an institution in Atlanta and her shop was (I believe) the first craft shop in Atlanta.

Lightening Bouquet #2 - 1990s

Welded Wire, Sheet Aluminium, Shingles, Rivets, Coated Wire,

Linoleum Flooring and Rubber Washers

Terry Jarrard-Dimond

Lightening Bouquet #2 - detail - 1990s

The second piece, Lightening Bouquet #2 , is living a peaceful life in storage.

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Self Critique

2011-10-06T07:00:00.001-04:00

In early September I traveled to the Washington DC area to work with members of the Potomac Fiber Arts Guild. Part of that visit was the presentation of my new lecture, Self Critique.

The topic of how to critique your own work was suggested by the program co-ordinator and it is a very good topic because if you are serious about your work you are always engaged in making thousands of little decisions which determine the results of what you make. The hardest part is when you get near the end and must evaluate what you have done.

I began the process of gathering information and thinking about how I evaluate my own work. I made the decision that I wanted to slant the talk away from the usual discussion of the Elements and Principles of Design and give the audience as much "inside" information as I could gather. To do this, I composed a list of artists who work at a mature level. Each artist received a list of questions to which they responded. In addition I requested that they provide several images that related to specific criteria. These artists sent wonderful information and images and that information became the focus of my lecture. While I will not be posting specific content from the lecture I am planning a series for this blog about evaluating work.

I want to thank all of the artists who participated. It was so interesting to read their responses and hear both a unified voice on some points and much diversity on others. The artists are:

Jane Allen Nodine, Kathleen Loomis, Shelley Brenner Baird, Jeanne Raffer Beck, Judy Langille, Pat Pauly, Leslie Riley, Leslie Avon Miller, Rebecca Howdeshell, and Christine Mauersberger.

I will be presenting this talk again May 21 for the East Bay Heritage Quilters, in San Francisco, Ca. followed by a two day workshop. If you live in the area I invite you to come and participate.

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The Best Question

2011-09-30T07:00:00.001-04:00

As part of the recent Pieced Together Exhibition at USC UpState in Spartanburg, SC, Tom and I each did a gallery talk. While we did have visitors other than students and faculty the talks are designed specifically for the students as a way to expose them to people who are making art on an ongoing basis and give the students an opportunity to interact and ask questions.

I planned my part of the program with this knowledge and rather than talking about specific pieces in the show I talked about my personal interpretation of what I do and the many things I have done in my art career.

The gist of this is that for me, making is Art. It is and always has been my intention no matter what materials or processes I might be exploring. The intention and attitude is that I am an artist and I make art. I said that if I could wave my magic wand I would remove the language that often partitions certain materials and process into categories which tell the wrong story. I further told them that I try to practice "enticing" people in conversation to ask me more questions about what I do by only giving them small amounts of information at a time and by not describing my work in ways that might be easy but misleading. I was very close to the audience as we were standing in the opening area of the gallery and I watched their faces. They were attentive and interested.

During the Question and Answer period immediately after the talk there were many good questions but after this formal Q&A I was approached by a very interesting student who began by saying, "I like your work and I don't want to offend you but......" That intro always gets my attention. He continued, " I like your work and I don't want to offend you but can you usually show your work in the same places that your husband shows his paintings?"

Bingo. He got it. He understood that indeed in this day and time while GREAT strides have been made, sometimes there are still divisions that have nothing to do with the work but what the work was made from or perhaps the processes involved. My answer to him was, Sometimes I can and sometimes I can't. I can only make what I make and hope to be able to find an audience.

It was an evening well spent.

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Thoughts On Trashing Treasure

2011-09-23T07:00:00.001-04:00

In my last post I mentioned that the pictured art work has been destroyed and one of my readers/friends posted the following:

I'm enjoying your treasures from the vault. I gasped when you said you've destroyed it.

Terry, would you share your thoughts about doing that? How did you choose what to sacrifice? What feelings did you have about that? Any regrets? I'm on a quest to unclutter. I can hear my art instructor who said never toss out anything. But not everything is worth saving.

O.K., with pleasure.

First of all, if you work three dimensional it's an entirely different ballgame than working with artwork which can be folded, stacked or put in a flatfile. My work was hard to package, sometimes dangerous as it has sharp pointed projectiles, gathered dust and cobwebs like it was gold.

In my family we have the pleasure of both being artists so we also have twice the work to be stored. This was fine until we sold our studio where we had the majority of our work stored. We rented a storage unit for some work but because I was not showing or working at that time I simply had to sort and discard some work. It was not a matter of not being connected with the work, I was connected and I am still connected. It's just that I've always said that the most important part of my making art is the experience and not the product. I still have the experience.

I went through what I had, made sure I had photographs and we then took the items I was not going to keep to the dump. At that time it was a rather spectacular landfill with a cliff that you backed up to unload your items. We backed up to that, stood on the edge, threw things into the abyss and watched the massive crusher drive over the work. It was rather cleansing.

Some years ago I read a Fung Shui book titled Clearing Clutter. It's a small quick read. The one specific thing I recall from this title was that whenever you get rid of something it makes room in your life for something new. I've remembered that and I try to practice that. Right now I am sitting in my new studio room and the furniture is in place but there are piles of stuff everywhere. I have determined to sort these things before I begin to work again.

I don't know why we need to keep ALL of our artwork. Why not keep the best. We usually know which pieces fall into that category. I don't think it's necessary to give it away. I actually prefer to destroy it than have less than my best out in the world. The world has plenty of stuff. If you sell like hotcakes you don't have to worry about this but if you are stockpiling your art there will come a day when someone will have to make some hard decisions as to what to do with it all. Why not do them and yourself a favor and manage your inventory. You might be surprise by how refreshing it feels.

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From the Vault

2011-09-20T07:00:00.005-04:00

Danger Danger

Terry Jarrard-Dimond

The idea of a singular expression of your creative self is a foreign concept to me. Danger Danger is made of welded wire, aluminium flashing, fabric, wire and roofing material. This piece was made in the 1990's. Due to lack of storage space, the work has been destroyed.

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From the Vault

2011-09-15T07:00:00.002-04:00

Terry Jarrard-Dimond

The idea of a singular expression of your creative self is a foreign concept to me. This work is part of the Mark P. Coplan Collection and is now part of the work maintained by the South Carolina State Museum. Mark collection P. Coplan lived in Columbian, SC and was an avid collector of work by artists from South Carolina.

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From the Vault

2011-09-10T07:00:00.002-04:00

Delicate Balance

Terry Jarrard-Dimond

The idea of a singular expression of your creative self is a foreign concept to me. Delicate Balance is made of wood, asphalt roofing and a stone and was made in the early 1990's.

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PIECED TOGETHER Opens at USC Upstate

2011-09-05T07:00:00.002-04:00

Reunion - Tom Dimond

August 19th marked the opening of Pieced Together, an exhibition of work by my husband, Tom Dimond and myself. This is the first time we have exhibited together in many years.

The exhibition is at the Curtis R. Harley Art Gallery on the campus of the University of South Carolina Upstate and will run through September 23.

Tom and I are have chosen to present work in this exhibition which showcases some of the new ideas, materials and processes we have been exploring. While Tom is best known for his large acrylic geometric abstractions, he has recently been working on paper with mixed media and has incorporated some subtle imagery. Each piece has numerous layers of color, marks, and printed imagery. The structure of the work is inspired by tile patterns designed by the Florentine artist Paollo Uccello. The work is developed in layers, cut apart and resembled. Additional layers are often added at this point.

Nude in the Dark - Terry Jarrard-Dimond

The work I have chosen include works that incorporate the use of dye-painting, monoprinting, pieceing, applique and stitching. This body of work is the result of my desire to have numerous ways to manipulate fabric and dye. The approach to the development of this work has been what I call natural expression. For me this simply means allowing yourself the freedom to explore and experience the pure joy of the creative process.

Tom and I are looking forward to Thursday, Sept 15 at 4:30 pm when we will each give an Artist Talk in the gallery. You are invited and there is a reception following the talks!

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Stationary Nomads On the Move....Part 2

2011-08-30T09:19:00.006-04:00

Here comes the sun.

The Stationary Nomads are still stationary but the refurbishing of my old studio room continues. You can see that all of the furniture other than this work table was removed. Cracks in the plaster have been repaired and sanded multiple times. Missing pieces of molding have been replaced and there has been lots of caulking applied. Yesterday we took down the lighting fixtures and today Tom will caulk the screw holes from that.

I thought there was a door here.

One of the big changes we are making is the removal of the doorway next to the fireplace. This door connected the front room to this middle room but we felt we needed the wall space more than the door so it has been covered. Because there is a brick chimney in that wall, there was a space between this door and the door in the next room and I'm going to make this passage into a closet for the front room. In the picture you can just see a set of doors on the right of the mantel. This is a tiny closet, one of only 2 built-in closets in this house. Free standing clothes closets were the fashion years ago. Certainly makes you understand all those attics full of stuff you read about from times past. While the room is a generous size, arranging furniture can be a real puzzle. In this room there were 3 doorways, 1 closet, a fireplace, two over sized windows and a heat panel running up one wall to the upstairs. OK. Now arrange a bed, 2 nightstands, 2 chest of drawers and a freestanding closet....I dare you. Just kidding. It can be done but it isn't simple.

We've purchased our paint....on sell by chance.... and we're hoping to start that adventure today or tomorrow.

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Fashion and the Female

2011-08-24T07:15:00.002-04:00

Work by Morgan Sayer

The Arts Center of Greenwood, SC is currently featuring a show titled: FASHION AND THE FEMALE: A Visual Dialogue About Fashion and Its Impact On the Female in our Society.

The exhibition features the work of 13 artists working in an array of materials and approaches as diverse as sculpture to photography. The show materials state that Fashion and the Female is a collective body of works which attempts to create a dialogue or social commentary about the enduring and provisional effect of fashion in culture, media, and the domestic life of the female. For details on exhibition dates and other activities please click HERE.

There were several works which stood out for me starting with the piece pictured to introduce this article. The work is by Morgan Sayers. The show materials states that: Using everyday materials such as food wrappers or kitchen utensils, she forms experiential and conceptually charged sculptures, exploring questions of beauty, power, perfection and how these affect the human body.

I understand that Morgan is currently enrolled in the MFA program here at Clemson University.

I Do/I Don't by Susan Lenz

I Do/I Don't by Susan Lenz - detail

Susan Lenz of Columbia, SC had an interesting installation piece made from bridal veils on which she had done free-motion embroidery with statements about marriage and divorce. I loved the fact that it was very difficult to read exactly what the statements said. (sort of like real life.)

Sotto Vestigia by Jane Allen Nodine

Jane Allen Nodine of Spartanburg, SC had another interesting and large installation made from alternating images of slips and real slips which had been stiffened so they would be very uncomfortable to wear. Jane states: Sotto, is Italian for underneath, and vestigia is used as it relates to vestige, a sign of something that once existed but has passed away or disappeared. " She explains that the ephemeral quality of fabric, such as staining, tearing and wrinkling, must constantly be managed by washing, cleaning, ironing and folding. The cycle of attempted control over fabric garment shapes, and wear-ability, seems to serve as a metaphor for daily struggles.

Image from Dolls Endangered Series by Randy Pace

Photographer Randy Pace from Greenwood, SC presented a group of works in a series he calls Dolls Endangered. The entire series is well done and both whimsical and surreal. The images are created through what Randy calls "digital montage" however, every part of the composted final image is from a photograph he has taken. He has created dangerous situations into which he places Barbie. The juxtaposition of Barbie and the danger she is in presents a single narrative and allows the viewer to complete each story using their own imagination.

One interesting detail of the installation of Randy's work was the use of huge push pins to attach the photographs to the wall. It was somehow very appropriate.

Back Gallery in The Art Center

The community of Greenwood should be very proud of the wonderful facility represented by what is called The Emerald Triangle. This refers to The Art Center, The Museum (which is a history museum) and The Greenwood Community Theatre. The building in which The Art Center is housed was previously The Federal Building and is celebrating it's 100th birthday this year. The facility is in a very accessible location with excellent parking and a beautiful enclosed garden area which area groups can rent for events. Congratulations are in order for this triad of non-profit cultural organizations on the recent award of monies connected with attracting visitors to the Greenwood area.

Tom Dimond, Syd Cross and I will be showing work here at The Art Center in February of 2012 and I will tell you more closer to the date.

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Stationary Nomads On the Move....Sort Of

2011-08-18T08:43:00.006-04:00

Clearing the studio.

Yesterday while telling a friend about the current activity here at my home, I coined a new name for how Tom and I have lived in our home....Stationary Nomads. We're always on the move but we never go anywhere.

I have mention before that our home is just a couple of years short of celebrating it's 100th Birthday and because of the time frame of it's construction, many of the rooms are a nice size, have 10 foot ceilings and the rooms can be used for bedrooms, sitting rooms or in our case, studio spaces. We have taken full advantage of that flexibility and have used almost every room in the house at some time for those purposes. Well, we're moving again....inside the house.

I shared a picture of my long-arm studio a while back. Now that equipment has been moved upstairs to a room that was our guest bedroom and the guest bedroom has now been moved downstairs. Next on the list is the switch of our current bedroom with my current sewing studio which is pictured.

The reasons for this switch is two fold. While we love the front room as a bedroom it has proven to be noisy. We get a fair amount of street noise which isn't a problem during the day but can be annoying in the middle of the night. I used this same room as a studio for several years. The noise will not be a problem for me as a studio and this will also give us an opportunity to refurbish the middle room.

The walls in the house are plaster and the ceilings are bead board. I love both materials but they do require touchups from time to time......all old "dolls" need that ya'know. All of this upheaval means I will be spending any studio time for the next couple of weeks in the wet studio. I'll be sure and share an image of my "new" studio room when we have things ready.

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Are You A Finisher?

2011-08-10T10:00:00.005-04:00

One of the questions I posed to recent students was, "Are you a finisher?"

The question relates to the syndrome of starting work but not staying with the work to completion. I asked the question because not completing work kills our ability to move forward. How can you go to "the next" piece without knowing how the previous one was resolved. The resulting artistic limbo produces fear and anxiety and erodes our self-confidence.

This morning I was re-reading a chapter in one of the books I listed in my recent Reading List. The book is Maximum Achievement by Brian Tracy. In Chapter 8 he discusses the concept of The Master Goal which he defines as inner peace and how we might work toward that. One of the major elements that robs us of inner peace is the "Incomplete Action". When I read that it reminded me of the issue of not finishing our work. Brian says, "Each of us has within us a "compulsion to closure" or an "urge to completion." We feel happy and contend when we finish a job, or achieve a goal. We feel Unhappy and stressed when we leave something undone or incomplete."

I think this is true. It's that nagging worry that you can't identify. It's that feeling of dissatisfaction that doesn't go away. Are there works that are not "worth" your time and effort? I think so but if you have a history of not completing what you begin I recommend making a list of those things. Evaluate the list and make some decisions as to either finishing them or discarding them. The very act of making a decision will feel good and feed that feeling of inner peace that Brian Tracey speaks about. You likely will also find you feel lighter and more focused.

I have a stack of strip pieced fabric that is just sitting on the floor staring at me. I'm not going to use it so I'm making the decision to pass it along to some of my friends. I'll feel much better.

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Reading List

2011-08-05T07:00:00.001-04:00

In preparation for teaching assignments during the past two years I have done a good deal of reading and I want to share some of that reading with you.

I think all of these books can be easily located and often you can find very nice used copies.

There is something of value in all of these book but my favorites are in BLUE. Good Reading!

The View from the Studio Door - How artists Find Their Way In An Uncertain World by Ted Orland

Creative Is A Verb - If You're Alive You're Creative - Patti Digh

The War of Art - Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles by Steven Pressfield

Trust the Process - An Artist's Guide to Letting Go by Shaun McNiff

I'd rather be in the studio - The Artist's No-Excuse Guide to Self Promotion by Alyson B. Stanfield

The Creative Habit - Learn It and Use It For Life by Twyla Tharp

Art & Fear - Observations On the Perils (and Rewards) of Artmaking by David Bayles & Ted Orland

bird by bird - Some Instructions on Writing and Life by Anne Lamott

Chance - Documents of Contemporary Art edited by Margaret Iversen

Design - A Lively Guide to Design Basics for Artists & Craftspeople by Steven Aimone

Expressive Drawing - A Practical Guide to Freeing the Artist Within by Steven Aimone

Why Is That Art? - Aesthetics and Criticism of Contemporary Art by Terry Barrett

Digital Essentials - the quilt maker's must-have guide to images, files, and more! by Gloria Hansen

Maximum Achievement - Strategies and Skills That Will Unlock Your Hidden Powers to Succeed - by Brian Tracy - This book is excellent. I might not have been interested because of the title but it was recommended to me by someone I really respect and it is a gem. Read it with a friend and let me know what you think.

There are a few more which I will add to my list when I've finished reading. I'm adding this as a permanent part of my Pages which appear at the top right corner of the page.

What are some of your favorite books relating to art, artist and life?

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Christine Mauersberger: Threadlike Marks

2011-07-31T09:17:00.000-04:00

Christine Mauersberger: Threadlike Marks

Margaret Leininger Takes Her Art To The People

2011-07-29T10:20:00.001-04:00

This tiny sweater is hand knit by Margaret Leininger and is part of her on-going Found Objects project.

About a year ago I received an email from Margaret Leininger. The email was special because I had taught Margaret one summer at the South Carolina Governor's School for the Arts. That was in 1989 and since that time she has pursued her art through first earning a BFA at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago and then an MFA at Arizona State University. She is currently a visiting professor at ASU teaching woven structures, 3D fibers and and art introduction class.

It is very exciting for me to learn about how Margaret has become such a successful and productive part of the art world. I had many students during the 10 years I taught in that program but know almost nothing about how many students went on to follow their art dreams. Thank you Margaret for taking the time to contact me.

Margaret Leininger Takes Her Art to the People

Margaret Leininger has been a very busy artists. She combines her love of textile materials and processes with her interest and concern for social issues through installations and interactive projects. She calls her approach ARTinvention which is the umbrella for her many projects. She says, "With all ARTivention projects, a collaboration evolves between the artist and the audience which in the words of Suzanne Lacey, is where the real art exists. To date, each project has highlighted a specific social concern, and has asked the viewer, audience, participant to not only interact with the work, but by doing so taking action to alter or make an impact upon the specific issue."

Here are just three examples of the projects Margaret has created.

Found Objects is an ongoing project which involves the knitting of tiny sweaters which Margaret leaves in public places. Each sweater has a tag with instructions for the finder to make a contribution to the National Coalition for the Homeless.

If you would like to participate in this on-going project, please check out my pages for directions for knitting and how to participate.

This Much I Know involved Margaret walking near Scottsdale Arizona and attempting to interact with people along the route. Notice her very bold tee-shirt "invitation". It says "Talk To Me."

Commune-ique explores what community means, how we represent ourselves and interact with each other. Made from hand-felted wool in collaboration with students from Rossevelt Univesity, the School of the Art Institute, ASU and clients of Lincoln Part Community Shelter, as well as other community participants, the portable structure was installed at various parks, green spaces and vacant areas throughout Chicago during the summer of 2010.

Interview

Terry: Tell us about the origins of your interest in textile processes and materials.

Margaret: I began my investigations into fiber as a freshman at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. When I enrolled, I begged Anne Wilson (the instructor) to let me into her class. Later in the semester, I realized that I needed to focus my studies. SAIC does not require students to major in a specific field, so, for one week I spent 12 straight hours in each of my studio courses to see which one I woke up to the next morning wanting to go back and do more work. Weaving won out hands down. I still get a major thrill out of throwing the first shot of weft across a new warp and make strings turn into a physical malleable object.

Margaret working on her spinning wheel while wearing her Talk to Me tee shirt.

Terry: Do textiles and textile process have some special quality that makes them rich for interactive art installation and projects?

Margaret: I think people tend to be more receptive to textile processes as most of us have been raised around a family member who quilts, sews, knits, crochets, needle points, etc. So, the level of fear or anxiety one might have towards painting (for example) is somewhat diminished when you ask the same individual to cut fabric or manipulate yarn. The inherent processes of fiber practices do lend themselves to installation formats due to the repetitive actions that they require. Also, artists such as Warren Seelig who manipulate non-fiber materials in a fiber oriented manner are able to encompass space, texture and pattern that often are architecturally experience.

Terry: For your Found Objects tiny sweater project, has anyone helped in the knitting of the sweaters?

Margaret: I have had many contributors to the Found Objects (and welcome more!) as I see this as a collective collaborative effort to invoke awareness about social issues related to housing, especially after the housing melt-down, and some basic precepts I have regarding accessible art. ARTinvention allows me the umbrella to work within socially engaged public practice that I find very fulfilling as it incorporates social justice outreach as well as breaking from the tradition of gallery/museum/institutional practices of the art world.

This image shows the final installation relating to This Much I Know.

Terry: Is there any component in the project that gives you any follow-up on what happens to these objects?

Margaret: I have been in contact with the person from the National Coalition for the Homeless regarding an up increase of on-line donations, especially during the summer when they are usually rather low. However, unless a finder responds via the blog or makes a notation along with their donation, the impact is unverifiable. I do hope, though, that this project raises awareness for the issues described and that it helps people to be more open minded about the struggles and difficulties that many people face, especially since this is an issue that isn't always visible. I have had positive feedback on the blog from finders and contributors, so in that respect, I see this project as successful.

Terry: What, if any, differences have you observed in viewers interest in interacting with you on projects based on being in either an urban or more rural location?

Margaret: Since I really haven't done any projects in rural locations, I cannot directly comment. However, what I have noticed from the two projects that really invited public interaction, Commune-ique and This Much I Know, is that site, location and culture all play a part in a society's level of interaction. Commune-ique was Chicago based and consisted of a portable tent structure made from hand made felt resulting from community collaboration. I installed the tent at several public locations throughout Chicago. Some people came by and chatted, interacted and photographed the structure. I am almost certain that if the same project was installed in the Phoenix metro-area that no one would approach the structure. It's a completely different culture, one built up of individualism and is re-enforced by the car and limited public gathering spaces. This Much I Know involved me walking 26.9 miles along a road that unites Scottsdale, AZ. I wore a Shirt that read, Talk To Me hoping to engage pedestrians or passer-bys. Only two people engaged with me on this journey, and one was a gentleman from Singapore. While un-verified, I do think that this project would have been completely different if done in other cities such as LA, New York or Chicago. I am hoping that the future will provide me the opportunity to prove this hypothesis, and I am sure some component of future work will continue to play with these observations and sociological conundrums that I find so compelling.

***

A big thank you to Margaret for taking time to share her story and her art. It was great to see what all you have accomplished and I know there will be much much more.

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Why I Enjoy Workshops

2011-07-25T11:54:00.025-04:00

Sarah is studying her sketchbook.

I returned Saturday from a week teaching at Quilting By the Lake on the campus of Onondaugh Community College in Syracuse New York. As I reflect over the week I jotted down a few notes about my experience.

Penny is exploring how to create texture.

I attended QBL two years ago as a student and had a great time. I enjoy the workshop format and I love being a student. It is an opportunity to pack a lot of exposure to new information and new people into a short amount of time. I also have enjoyed being in the position of instructor and I have spent a huge amount of time during the past two years in preparation for my teaching assignments this year. My preparation took the form of reading, writing, experimenting and more writing and rewriting. This supports my idea that teachers often learn more than the students because you can never share all that you prepare.

Suzanne works on her black and white shape study.

Carol is now ready to sew.

Being in New York state is always fun. I feel a special affinity for NYC as well as the Auburn/Syracuse area. My husband and I lived in NYC when we were first married and our son was born there. Since becoming involved in the "quilt world" I have made many friends who live in NY state and it's always fun to touch base with them. There is much interest in that area in quilts and fiber in general.

Mary is just starting on the work utilizing interpretation as a source.

I have always been impressed with the women I meet at these workshops. Smart, educated, accomplished and talented. The members of my class were all of this and there was a wonderful age range of 40ish to 80ish. Both the youngest and most senior were delightful and fun.

Julia is exploring line in black and white.

Debbie is just finishing up this colorful study in line.

While I revisited old friends I also met friends face to face for the first time. These are people I have interacted with online. I am always struck by the doors that the world wide web has opened.

Melanie is pictured working on a piece which investigates

slicing through many layers of fabric.

I also had the opportunity of meeting internationally know faculty and seeing a beautiful exhibition by Jane Dunnewold. I won't try to describe the work from her Sacred Planet series but it was excellent and I can't wait to see where she goes next.

Carol constructed a grid to help her in the placement of elements in a new composition.

There were lectures, vendors, a participant exhibition, show and tell, and an apron auction to raise money for scholarship! My apron sold for $200.00! I was very pleased.

Stephanie is pictured adding some final touches to her composition.

This was the second time I had taught: Ask: What If? so I was able to refine the program and will refine it even more. I came home with several ideas for new classes.

Pat working on some design concepts.

I thought this week in NY would give me a break from the heat but things didn't work out that way. They too have been having a heat wave and one day it was 100 degrees which was only 1 degree less than the all-time hight of 101. Heat is heat and I was happy for the AC.

Linda at the design wall.

I'd also like to give a little nod to the staff of OCC and to Donna Lamb, Executive Director of the Schweinfurth Memorial Art Center and her staff. The facilities were beautiful and well cared for. The campus is a little jewel and very pleasant. Donna and her staff are great organizers and I appreciate all the work they invest to make this event one that has lasted for 31 years!!!

***

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Workshop at QBL Coming to A Close

2011-07-22T07:00:00.003-04:00

Melanie is pictured having a great time checking her fabric collection.

My week of teaching at Quilting By the Lake is coming to a close tomorrow. It has been successful and fun week. Great students, wonderful facility along with perfect organization by Donna Lamb and her staff.

Pat is hard at work locating just the right spot to begin her composition.

The event is held each summer on the campus of Onondaga Community College. The QBL workshops have been held for more than 30 years and brings in faculty and students from across the US and abroad.

I'll post a few more images of the workshop very soon.

***

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Quilting By the Lake Apron Auction

2011-07-15T07:00:00.002-04:00

Auction Apron

This weekend I head to Onondaga Community College to teach a class for Quilting By The Lake. This event is organized by The Schweinfurth Art Center in Auburn, NY and is a well respected and beautifully run series of workshops, exhibitions and lectures.

One of the fun events every year is the auctioning of studio aprons embellished by the workshop instructors. The money raised from the auction goes toward scholarships for deserving students to next's years' workshops.

I decided to stitch a section of a pieced composition under the apron pockets along the hem. The fabric is hand dyed and machine pieced. It has also been quilted. If any of you attend I hope you bring your checkbooks and are ready to get in on the fun.

I'm hoping to be able to post a few images from the workshop so I'll see you next week from New York State.

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Where Are the Writers? Part Two

2011-07-11T07:00:00.001-04:00

Since writing Where Are the Writers? I have continued to think about the need for more quality writing about art made utilizing textile materials and processes. Several bloggers did comment as to their reviews of such work and left links. I appreciated that.

What information, skills and talents contribute to making it possible for someone to write a good review and/or critique of an art show? (I do see reviews and critiques as two different things. The review tells us what is there and who made it while a critique makes observations and evaluations.)

First I believe the writer needs to have a good idea of what's going on in the art world at the present time and historically. How is it possible otherwise to have a foundation on which you evaluate work? It isn't enough to say you like something or don't like something. It may be true you find work you "don't like" but of course that doesn't make it good or bad nor does that response make or exclude an object from being art.

Hopefully, the art writer is looking at lots of art. All kinds of art. While they will likely have preferences as to medium and approach, all work informs you about what artists are thinking and what is being made. This looking gives you insights as to the crossover between different art areas. It allows you to see connections and make associations.

The writer also needs to be reading; reading art history, current art magazines and art blogs. Most galleries and museums now have excellent websites on which they post statements about their shows. These statements are often written by the curators of the show and explain the focus of the show and why specific artists were invited to participate. Juried show catalogs are great sources of information as to how jurors made decisions and what they observed in the work submitted.

The looking and reading and observing serves to build the "eye" of the reviewer/critic. It gives them a platform from which they can begin to form opinions and make observations.

The last skill I want to mention is the skill or talent of being able to write! Just because I have a blog does not make me a writer.....I do not claim that title. I am an artist who has chosen to share my thoughts and images with you but writing is not my talent. Having said that, I am always delighted when I find well written and informative writing, especially when it involves art made with a textile element.

In my first article I included some links to a few sites I consider places to read solid articles about contemporary art. One of the links was Too Much Art:Writings on Visual Culture by Mario Naves. Mario is an artist, teacher and art critic. His writing has been published in The Wall Street Journal, New Art Examiner and ARTS Magazine among others. Currently he writes reviews of contemporary art for City Arts and The New Criterion and his artwork is represented by Elizabeth Harris Gallery.

With permission I am reposting a review Mario wrote this spring about a show at Five Myles in Brooklyn. The show, Art/Sewn: Tradition, Innovation, Expression, features work by a group of artists who use textile processes, materials or have been in some way influenced by textiles. This group show was curated by Ward Mintz who is the Executive Director of the Coby Foundation. The Coby Foundation, Ltd., located in New York City, funds projects in the textile and needle arts field. However, Mr. Mintz was acting as an independent curator for this event.

I chose this article because I enjoyed Mario's comments, it relates to the materials and processes I embrace, and it is well written. I hope you enjoy it as well and will take time to check out some of the links I have included.

Art/Sewn: Tradition, Innovation, Expression

by Mario Naves

In their 1978 essay "Femmage," the artists Miriam Schapiro and Melissa Meyer posited collage as a medium inherently suited to women, linking it to scrap booking, quilt-making and other creative outlets typically pegged as "craft" or "woman's work."

In the brochure accompanying Art/Sewn: Tradition, Innovation, Expression, an exhibition at Five Myles, curator Ward Mintz iterates similar points about Feminism, "women's pastimes" and art historical hierarchies, even managing to slam, albeit obliquely, that perpetual arch-villain Clement Greenberg for daring to distinguish between craft and art. Mintz is worried the viewer won't see the aesthetics for the stitching.

Forgetting for a moment that it's a critic's job to make distinctions, it's worth pondering if categorization does matter particularly in a culture where "anything goes" is a rule of thumb. Mintz states that the eight artists featured in Art/Sewn - Emily Barletta, Denise Burge, Elisa D'Arrigo, Linnea Glatt, Janet Henry, Cyrilla Mozenter, Jessica Rankin and Anna Von Mertens - "inevitably (raise) the question, "But is it art?"

Given the quality of the pieces on view, it's clear that each artist is cognizant of the associations and preconceptions engendered by working with needle and thread. How could they not be, particularly when D'Arrigo cites her grandmother's embroideries as a touchstone and Mozenter confesses to having once felt "sort of snooty" about craft?

Categorical distinctions do matter, if only because every creative endeavor has its own peculiar imperatives; without a thorough grounding in them, an artist is nothing more than a dabbler. D'Arrigo's haunting effigies, Mozenter's stoic deflations of Minimalist precedent and Burge's goofy meditations on the environment aren't hampered by this reality; they're powered by it. And so it goes with the rest of the artists. But is it art? Methinks the curator doth protest too much.

The more pertinent issue raised by Art/Sewn is "When isn't it art?" This seems an altogether more fruitful, if potentially uncomfortable question that Mintz shimmies around. Happily, the artists simultaneously embrace and trample over it.

***

Thank you to Mario Naves for permission to repost this article and Thank you for spending time at Studio 24-7. I love hearing from you and Remember:

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Sandra Palmer Ciolino - Fabric Is Her Medium

2011-07-04T11:23:00.027-04:00

Sandra Palmer Ciolino

detail of quilting on several works

Many of you will relate to how Sandra Palmer Ciolino has found her way working with fabric. Beginning as a child, she has warm memories of her mother and how she was inspired to take up needle and thread and begin to learn the time honored skills and joys of working with fabric.

I first met Sandy at Form Not Function which is held each year in New Albany, Indiana and I continued to get to know her through communication online. You may recognize her name or her work through another blog, artwithaneedle as she and Kathy Loomis have collaborated on some projects.

Sandy's work is beautifully executed and her free motion quilting is flawless. She teaches in and around her home of Cincinnati, Ohio and I found out recently that she will be teaching a 3-day workshop at the Crow Timberframe Barn in Baltimore, Ohio. The course is titled: Machine Quilting and Finishing: A Contemporary Approach and is scheduled for Oct. 23-25, 2011. This might be just what you need to polish your skills.

Fractures #3 - Intersections

Sandra Palmer Ciolino

29" W x 27.5"H

Machine Pieced, Machine Quilted

INTERVIEW

Terry: Tell us about how you developed your expertise in the area of machine quilting.

Sandy: Soon after finishing my first few small quilts in 1996, I purchased the book, "Quilting Makes the Quilt," by Lee Cleland. This book features several groups of five identical traditional quilts, each machine quilted in a different way. I was amazed at how the various quilting styles dramatically changed the look and character of each quilt. The author's concept made a huge impact on how I began to think about quilting my own work.

For the next decade, through trial and error and with the help of technical advice offered in my growing library of quilt books, I taught myself to machine quilt. In 2005, I took a machine quilting workshop from Diane Gaudynski (as well as her advanced workshop several years later), and my skills improved by leaps and bounds. But as my more traditional style morphed into a more abstract viewpoint, I realized that a new quilting design approach was in order.

Detail
Fractures #3 - Intersections

Sandra Palmer Ciolino

Terry: What do you take into consideration when deciding how to quilt a new work?

Sandy: I ask myself two questions. Will the quilting design I am considering enhance and elevate the artistry of the composition? And do I want to emphasize stitch or texture - or both - in the finished quilt?

Terry: At what point in the creation of your work do you begin to think about the quilting pattern?

Sandy: The moment I see some indication of a roughed-in composition on the design wall, my brain begins to formulate and audition possible quilting designs. As I refine and then piece the composition, I mentally edit the possibilities. Gut instinct almost always determines the final design choice.

River Birch 1 & 2
Sandra Palmer Ciolino
17"W x 17"H (each piece)
Machine Pieced, Machine Quilted

Terry: How do you develop your ideas for quilting patterns?

Sandy: I see inspiration everywhere - in nature, architecture, graphics, and interior design. For example, a simple linear pattern carved into a wooden vase became the inspiration for many quilting variations of the original design.

Detail - River Birch 1 & 2
Sandra Palmer Ciolino

Terry: Do you make full sized patterns to see how these new patterns will look on a particular quilt before you actually apply the pattern?

Sandy: I have never used this approach. I prefer to trust my ability to visualize the finished result and then begin to stitch without agonizing or intellectualizing the process. I do audition quilting threads, check machine tension and "warm up" on a small test quilt made with scraps left over from the actual quilt.

Terry: Is all of your quilting done on a home-style sewing machine as opposed to a long-arm machine?

Sandy: I have machine quilted all of my quilts on a Bernina 1260, a sewing machine my husband gave me in the mid-90's. It is solid, dependable, and has beautiful stitch quality. A few years ago, I felt the need to own a second machine and spent a lot of time test-driving newer models. After searching and testing, I decided to purchase a second Bernina 1260. I now own two identical machines and enjoy the bonus of interchangeable parts and accessories. A hi-tech sewing machine is not a requirement. What is essential is having access to a dependable, well-maintained machine that is capable of producing beautiful, balanced stitches.

My Metier
Sandra Palmer Ciolino
30.5"W x 20.5"H
Machine Pieced, Machine Quilted

Terry: What do you see as the biggest challenge for artists when deciding how to quilt and "art quilt"?

Sandy: I see two challenges: artists thinking of their quilting designs as flowing naturally from their compositions rather than as afterthoughts; and artists choosing quilting designs they are capable of executing and that also challenge their technical and conceptual skills.

Detail - My Metier
Sandra Palmer Ciolino
Machine Pieced, Machine Quilted

Terry: How do you view your role as a teacher?

Sandy: I think of myself primarily as a learner and then as a teacher/facilitator.

Terry: What do you enjoy about teaching?

Sandy: For me, the highlight of teaching and facilitating is witnessing the process of learners becoming increasingly responsible for directing and managing their own development in ways that are meaningful to them.

Terry: What special qualities or abilities do you bring to your teaching?

Sandy: I bring to the classroom a sense of humor; a deep respect for diverse viewpoints, skill levels, and learning styles; a passion and enthusiasm for the subject matter; and a desire to structure the learning environment in ways that offer the support necessary for individuals to progress beyond their expectations.

My thanks to Sandy for sharing her work and responses with me and my readers.

***

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Where Are the Writers?

2011-07-02T07:00:00.016-04:00

One of the issues I hear discussed frequently is the lack of articles and reviews relating to art quilts and other contemporary textile art. One of the sources for articles, Fiber Arts magazine, just published their last issue and a wonderful book publisher, Telos, has stopped publishing.

These publications were likely "victims" of the world wide web and the easy access to images. There will never be a lack of interest for thoughtful and well written articles on art of all kinds but it appears that where you find this information is changing.

I see an opportunity here for anyone out there who loves to write, is knowledgable about textile arts or who would love to learn about the subject. Many artists, like myself, have blogs and we write and post but I am suggesting something a little different. I am suggesting a blog that really focuses on reviewing textiles, textile artists and textile exhibitions.

It can be very difficult for an artist to review shows and work of other artists, especially others who are working within the same sphere. The world tends to become very "small" in that you meet many people and become involved with them professionally therefore making it more difficult to view their work objectively.

There are some sites that do present great articles but I don't think the field is at all crowded.

Ragged Cloth Cafe is the first site that comes to mind. Right now there is an excellent article by Olga Norris on the topic of the vanishing publishers. This site has multiple contributors and the articles are fresh and relevant. Bravo to you all! Readers can subscribe to their feed and comments are allowed.

The Textile Blog is the site of John Hopper. Currently he is writing about historical textiles but in the past he featured wonderful articles on contemporary quilt artists. In those articles he shared his observations about the work and shared many pictures of work by a single artist.

Textile Designss is a site I mentioned earlier this week. The articles here are also well written and very broad. It does appear to have very general topics but if you read several you may begin to spot names and references to museums and galleries of interest.

Joanne Matrera Art Blog is the type of blog I would love to see focused on textile art. Joanne does present work on her blog that is textile related and inspired but that is not her focus. Her site and her articles are very impressive in the quality and quantity of work she presents and the number of shows she visits. Thank you Joanne.

I know that part of the issue is that there isn't a place where there are clusters of galleries or museums featuring textiles. Researching and writing reviews and surveys of shows is very time consuming and most people who do this type of work aren't being paid for their effort.

What to do? First I applaud all the artists who do review shows they attend. If you have a blog and don't write about shows you see, I encourage you to do so. Encourage any writers you may know to use their skill and talent to write about our art and please, let me know about good writing relating to compentary textiles. I'll promote that for sure.

***

Please check out the comments as I have already heard from readers who review contemporary textiles.

Lisa Quintanaq's blog: http://michigoose-life-quilts.blogspot.com/
Kathy Loomis' blog: http://artwithaneedle.blogspot.com/

UPDATE: Another excellent blog: http://sevenpinesdesigns.blogspot.com/

Vivian Zepf writes about all types of art exhibitions and currently has an article from one of the Quilt National Jurors, Pauline Verbeek.

I also forgot to mention the Surface Design Association's excellent magazine The Surface Design Journal. This magazine is published quarterly and is one of the benefits of membership in this very professional organization.

***

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New Feature - Favorite Links

2011-06-29T07:00:00.005-04:00

Cultural Assimilation - Detail

Terry Jarrard-Dimond

Not too long ago I posted several links to some of my favorite websites. I love receiving recommendations from my friends to sites they find interesting and so I have decided to make Favorite Links an on-going feature.

The Links will all focus on some aspect of art that is made from textile materials, process, techniques or appear to have been inspired by or influenced by textiles. The featured links will also include articles relating to textiles of all forms and I am going to start with just such a site.

Textile Designss is new to me but it features nicely written articles on everything from African Textiles to Zoffany Textiles. (I had never heard the word zoffany either so I'll just let you read the article and learn for yourself.) The site appears to be new, listing articles starting in April of this year but there is already a long list of postings.

In light of the recent demise of a couple of excellent publishers of articles on textile arts, I was pleased to find this site. At this point I haven't read all the articles but I hope there are some reviews of shows.

The second suggestion for today is Textile Arts Center. This organization is located in Brooklyn NY and the following is part of their mission statement for their gallery.

The Gallery at Textile Arts Center aims to offer a view into the not-always-soft-and-plushy world of fiber and dispel preconceptions that limit fiber art to craft. It showcases solo and group shows, as well as student work.

I like that statement...alot.... so I hope you enjoy the links and I'll have new suggestions for you next week.

***

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What's In Your Closet?

2011-06-24T07:45:00.001-04:00

Art Square - My best UFO

I've never had much of an interest in UFO's after seeing the movie War of the Worlds, however, if you are like most people I know, you have a few UFO's(unfinished objects) in your closet or stashed somewhere in your home.

Most of the fabrics in the center of the blocks came from shops in Italy

while the supporting fabrics came from the sales bins of local fabric

stores, wonderful weird victorian patterns that

most people must not like.

Most of my UFO's are artworks which I began but saw they weren't going anywhere and I just folded them up and put them aside. Eventually they will be discarded or cut up and some of the materials reclaimed. Sometimes when you have invested so much time and money into making a piece it's hard to admit that it's time to stop and regroup and cut your loses.

Art Square - Block A Detail

There are two UFO's in my closet that I do want to complete and both ended-up in the closet as a result of the projects taking a great deal of time to complete and finding my interest going in different directions. One is a somewhat large hooked rug (first one I even did) and likely this will never be finished but I can't discard just yet. The second is a beautiful traditional quilt I started some years ago when I was just learning how to construct a quilt. The pattern for this quilt is called Art Square and is on page 36 of Rotary Roundup by Judy Hopkins and Nancy J. Martin. This was one of the first books on quilt patterns I purchased. The pattern was far too complex for my skills at the time but I didn't let that stop me and I learned a great deal by making this piece. There are several beautiful patterns in that book that I'd still like to make.

Art Square - Block A Detail with different fabric.

How did this quilt get started? My husband, Tom, went to Italy with a group of students and I asked him to buy fabric for me as they traveled around the country. I had no idea of what a difficult thing I was asking him to do. The fabric shops in Italy are not like our fabric stores here in the US. First he had to find the shops and once there, he had to figure out how to interact with a much more formal atmosphere than you find in our fabric shops. There, customers must have a clerk take the fabric down off a shelf, show the fabric and then cut the amount you want or have them return the item to the shelf.

Tom did all of this and brought me a beautiful assortment of things from many of the towns the group visited. I would have loved to have heard how he requested the amounts of fabric. I'm thinking there were lots of hand gestures.

Sawtooth Star - Block B Detail

I added coordinating enough fabrics from my stash of victorian style fabrics to make a queen-sized quilt. My piecing skills were not great but I managed to complete the construction. Then I decided to hand quilt the piece. My quilting improved as well and looking at the quilt you can see how the stitching improved as the quilting progressed. That being said, I won't be winning any awards for my technique.

Today this quilt is about 95% finished. My interest went to art quilting and the piece was put in "lock-up". All I need to do is finish the quilting on the boarder, do the binding and I'm done. The color in the actual quilt is much richer than it appears in these pictures and despite my lack of craftsmanship at that time, this will be a special piece when I complete the work.

Back of quilt with quilting.

So how do I get this piece completed? The first step is to get the quilt out of the closet. (That happened when I photographed the piece which is still on my design wall) Now I need to find the thread I was using for the quilting and then ......oh yes. Now I remember. I couldn't decide how I wanted to quilt that boarder. Well, maybe if I get it out and have a good look I'll figure that out. I will get this done Tom. I promise.

So what's in your closet?

***

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Anna Torma - embroidery

2011-06-20T08:00:00.012-04:00

Since my collaboration with Kathy Loomis which used blind embroidery and my post on the Boy Code work of Wendy Osher, I have been investigating the work of artists who use embroidery as their primary technique. The work of Anna Torma has been high on my list and today I found a wonderful article on her work by Elvis Robertson.

Here is a link to the article: lovely textiles: Anna Torma - embroidery

I felt this article was so excellent that I would share it with you. The blog is titled Lovely Textiles and is maintained by Elvis Robertson whose work is also wonderful. During this investigation I also found an interesting interview with Elvis that you might enjoy. Our English sisters certainly have a way with embroidery.

Here is another link you will enjoy from Christine Mauersberger on Anna: http://cmauers.blogspot.com/2010/09/anna-torma.html

If you enjoy the articles on the blogs, please let the bloggers know by leaving a comment.

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Ellsworth Kelly Continues to Inspire Others

2011-06-18T10:48:00.008-04:00

Brushstrokes Cut into Forty-Nine Squares and Arranged by Chance

by Ellsworth Kelly

This morning I received a nice note from Swiss artist Beata Keller-Kerchner relating to my last post on Chance. You may recall that I used an image of her piece Chariots of Fire when I posted an update on Color Improvisations. Beata has posted a nice article on her exploration into Chance and the famous Ellsworth Kelly composition titled "Brushstrokes Cut into Forty-Nine Squares and Arranged by Chance."

You are invited to Click Here to read the article and see how Beata has used this process.

***

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Taking A Chance

2011-06-15T08:00:00.006-04:00

Mixed Media work from Fran Skiles Workshop

I will be teaching at Quilting By the Lake in a few weeks and I have been reviewing my lesson plans. One day will focus on the value of chance in opening doors to new ideas and new work. The pictured mixed media composition is a piece I created in a Fran Skiles Workshop about a year ago and it demonstrates chance, faith, and process.

Sometimes, after an artist has developed a known style, it can be difficult to move away from the known, the sure thing. You know how to do whatever you do, you know what will happen if you do certain things and while there will always be varying degrees of success, you aren't always surprised by the results.

One of my favorite passages on chance is from an interview with Nancy Drew by John Baldessari in a book titled Chance. The book was edited by Margaret Iversen and is one of a series of books called Documents of Contemporary Art.

The passage reads as follows:

(It would) be unbearable if our intentions were regularly frustrated. Yet there is something terribly arid, not to say mechanistic, in the idea of a world where all our purposes result in predictable consequences, where we are completely transparent to ourselves and where intentions always result in expected actions. We value the degree of interference in human intentional activity offered by the unconscious, by language, by the apparatus of the camera or computer, by the instruction performed 'blind.' In short, we desire to see what will happen.

I stated that the piece I have pictured demonstrates chance, faith, and process. For me that was true because I made elements for the piece without knowing how they would be incorporated into a work, faith because I knew that Fran had a bigger view of how this would work and I followed the process as presented by her.

You might try this approach for yourself. Make some elements, make a lot of elements. Enjoy the process of making. Do it freely and without too much of a critical eye. Don't think too much about how you might use them. Try something new. Use something old in a new way. Then look at what you have done. You might be surprised. Take a chance.

*****

Recently I had some correspondence with Jane Davies who designs a wide array of products for many prestigious manufacturers. She is also the author of several books on collage and mixed media. I have enjoyed her book Adventures in Mixed Media as her illustrations and directions are very clear. You can check out her site at: http://www.JaneDaviesStudios.com.

Thanks Jane for all the great information!

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Jane Nodine - Fire and Wax

2011-06-10T16:06:00.014-04:00

Jane Nodine

Trace.105

encaustic wax, iron oxide on panel

This week I finally made it up to Greenville SC to visit the McDunn Gallery which is currently showing the encaustic paintings of Jane Allen Nodine. The show is titled Fire and Wax.

The show opened a couple of weeks ago but the good news it that it has been extended so you still have time to drop by and see this exciting new work. Here is a link to the gallery for hours, location and dates:

http://www.mcdunnstudio.com/index.htm

Jane Nodine

Venetian Lace .02

encaustic wax, oil pigment, resin, iron oxidation on panel

Jane is well known in South Carolina as well as the southeast and she is now making her name known on the national scene with her encaustic paintings. The work is rich and has the look of exotic stone. There are flashes of rust, gold and deep browns and many of the works have interesting pitted surfaces. These surfaces are played against the soft sheen of the buffed wax. Jane's elegant sense of composition is pulls all the parts together making a very cohesive collection.

Jane Nodine

Trace.104

encaustic wax, ink, iron oxidation, resin on panel

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Un-multi-tasking: 10 things I want to say about Quilt National 2011

2011-06-09T08:53:00.000-04:00

Un-multi-tasking: 10 things I want to say about Quilt National 2011

Art by Jeanne Beck: Enjoying the Moment

2011-06-09T08:46:00.000-04:00

Art by Jeanne Beck: Enjoying the Moment

Color Improvisations in Karlsruhe Germany

2011-06-06T07:22:00.003-04:00

Chariot of Fire by Beata Keller-Kerchner

Color Improvisations is currently on Exhibit in Karlsruhe, Germany. Beata Keller-Kerchner, one of the artists in the exhibition, has posted two videos on You Tube which show all the pieces in the exhibition and the beautiful space where they are exhibited.

Here are the links:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJikrNpxFFw&feature=BFa&list=ULPCIeXwIK9YQ&index=1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJDad703xxY&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL

To see one of Beata's works, visit her blog at:

http://www.keller-kerchner.blogspot.com/

Thank you Beata for sharing this great view of the show.

*****

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Parallax: Views of Contemporary Quilt Artists

2011-06-03T11:28:00.000-04:00

Installation view of:

Parallax: Views of Contemporary Quilt Artists

Evidence by Terry Jarrard-Dimond

2011 - Hand painted and collaged fabric

Detail: Evidence

The opening reception for this exhibition will be held June 3 at Kunstler Gallery in Rochester, NY from 3-6 p.m.

This exhibition features work of 19 contemporary quilt artists and was curated by Pat Pauly. To read more about this exhibition follow this link: www.booksmartstudio.com/gallery

The following is my statement for Evidence.

Parallax can be defined as the apparent displacement of an observed object due to a change in the position of the observer.

Art can be much the same. A work may be seen as successful through the lens of one viewer and of no interest to another. One viewer may be drawn to EVIDENCE and see the beauty of the marks and spacial relationship and be engaged. Another viewer may walk past without more than a quick glance. The marks are still there. The relationships remain.

Thank you Pat for creating this wonderful opportunity and thank you also to the Kunstler Gallery for their support.

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Monet Speaks

2011-06-01T07:45:00.002-04:00

Detail of Monet waterlilies painting

During the Masterclass I recently participated in with Dorothy Caldwell, Dorothy shared a list of questions that French artist Monet wrote relating to his art. I loved the list as it is so timeless.

Questions

What is that dam thing out there? (Imagine the aged whiskered man saying/writing this...in french.)

What does an idea look like? (I always imagine that art legends know even if I don't.)

How does this whole mess fit together? (Repeat....I always imagine that art legends know even if I don't.)

Does this line have integrity or is it girlie? (I suppose "girlie" as in Not Strong.)

What have I made up and what have I observed? (Think of his waterlilies. I saw them in person for the first time last summer and I'd say it is about 50/50 for the waterlilies.)

Of all the things I can do what shall I do? (Now there's a question! This is the reason teachers give assignments and why it can be so difficult making work when you have everything from which to choose.)

Will I ever get it right? ( Does it surprise you that Monet would ask himself this question? I am somewhat surprised and it makes me think he was rather grounded.)

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Dorothy Caldwell Masterclass

2011-05-29T08:00:00.002-04:00

Pictured left to right front row: Tama, Sally and Pamela

Pictured left to right back row: Kressa, Terry, Dorothy, Shelley, Kathy and Sharon

I returned home yesterday after a wonderful week of study at the Crow Timberframe Barn with Canadian artist Dorothy Caldwell. It was inspiring and I came away with new insight as to my work and with many new ideas about how to continue.

The class was small with 8 students so we had a rare opportunity to work with Dorothy one-on-one everyday.

I am not posting images of work from the workshop out of respect for my classmates but I'm sure each one of them would confirm my feelings that it was an exceptional experience.

Thank you Dorothy for your insight, willingness to share your work and your thoughts on the making of art.

For more about Dorothy you can visit:http://www.ccca.ca/artists/artist_info.html?languagePref=en&link_id=180

You are also invited to read my article on Dorothy's Expressive Stitch workshop: http://studio24-7.blogspot.com/2009/08/expressive-stitch.html

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My Process for Hand Dyeing

2011-05-23T08:00:00.004-04:00

Hand-dyed Fabric

Like many of you, when I began working with fabric I used printed commercial fabric. As my vision grew in regards to what I wanted to do with fabric, I realized I wanted to learn to hand dye my own fabric and my search began.

I own and have read many books on the topic but after experimenting with many processes I have settled on one that suits me and gives me great results. This process uses many standard mixes and processes but perhaps not in the exact way that you will find in print.

My Process and Materials

Kaufman Prima Cotton fabric - Kaufman no longer manufactures this fabric so I'll be fabric shopping soon. You will want to purchase 100 percent cotton fabric which is PFD which means it has no surface treatments such as permanent press. Scour the fabric by washing it in hot water with 1 tsp synthrapol and a 1/2 tsp of soda ask. You can was several yards at a time.

Soda Solution - A mix of 1 gallon warm water and 9 Tbs of soda ash. Place this in a bucket with a lid as it will keep and be used many times.

Dye Concentrate - 1 Cup Warm Water + 2 -4 Tbs Granular Urea + 2 Tbs Dye Powder (double this for Black) Make your concentrates and store in plastic bottles. Unused concentrates can be kept in the fridge for sometime before it loses it's potency.

Chemical Water - 1 cup warm water + 7 tsp urea. Place this in a plastic container. It also can be kept and used as needed and it is not necessary to refrigerate.

Dye Solutions - I am not going to cover exact dye mixes here - but using your dye concentrate and chemical water you make the quantity of dye solution you need for each piece of fabric you plan to dye. Example: 1/2 C dye concentrate + 1/2 C Chemical Water = 1 Cup dye solution for 1 yard of soda soaked fabric.

Painters Plastic Pail + 1 Baggie per piece of fabric you will be dying

Scour the fabric and then immerse it in a bucket of Soda Solution to soak for a minimum of 10 minutes. When it has soaked, remove from the soda solution and squeeze most of the liquid out of the fabric. Place the fabric in a small holding pail.

Prepare enough dye solution for each piece you will be dying. Each will be in it's own small container.

Using a 3 gallon container, place the fabric loosely in the bottom.(remember, the fabric has already had most of the soda solution squeezed out) Pour the selected dye solution directly onto the fabric and squeeze, swab, press, swirl, etc. the fabric in the dye solution. This is not a gentle swishing of the fabric, it is a workout on the fabric to make sure the dye gets into the fabric.

When you have really worked the dye into the fabric, squeeze most of the dye out of the fabric and place the piece into one of the baggies and then into one of the pails. The pail is placed outside in the sun to batch. If it isn't sunny, put the fabric in the bag without the pail in a heat box which consist of a 30 gallon storage container with a lid and a 60 watt light bulb inside the box. The fabric is allowed to cure for at least 24 hours.

When the fabric has cured, give it a rigorous hand washing in cold water and synthrapol and then hot water and synthrapol until the run-off is mostly clear. The fabric is then washed in hot water in the washing machine.

This process does not produce perfectly flat color. There will often be dark areas but it does eliminate heavy texture. Some dye colors are more prone to making the dark areas than others.

I do not know Ann Johnston but I recommend her two books on dying. The information is very clear and in both books she presents many options for dying fabric.

Color by Accident

and

Color by Design

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The Question of Automation

2011-05-16T08:00:00.008-04:00

Recently I met an artist who has just gotten serious about quilt making. During our discussions about technique and process she mentioned that she might have an opportunity to try a quilting machine that has the capability to automatically quilt a design which the quilter creates via a computer. I thought this sounded like a very exciting opportunity as I had read about this technology but have never seen or tried one of these machines.

As I thought about this I recalled seeing references to work which utilized this technology being excluded from participation in a show. At the time it didn't have much impact on me because I don't have access to this type machine but it made me begin to think about why they would exclude such work.

We are in the computer age. We design on computers, create images which we then print on fabric from the computer, people who use patterns created and printed from computers, so where is the line and what is the line protecting?

Before I became involved in the world of quiltmaking and art quilts I had no idea of the improvements in quilt making tools. I recall being completely puzzled when purchasing items to make my first quilt and the store clerk suggested I buy a rotary cutter. I bought one, along with a plastic ruler, but I left the store sure I had been encouraged to buy things I really didn't need. I had a nice pair of scissors at home and had no idea of the usefulness of a rotary cutter. Boy was I wrong!

Since that time I've purchased many items designed to assist in the creative process, some great and some not so great. I have nice sewing machines and a small but nice setup for machine quilting on a frame. I even have a stitch regulator. I don't use it much, but like the rotary cutter, sometimes you don't know how a tool or a piece of equipment will work until you try it in your studio.

I suspect if we could go back in time there might possibly be quilt makers who would object to some of tools and equipment we use today. I have, however, read that quilters embraced machine quilting from the very beginning of widespread home sewing machine ownership. Some quilt makers might feel pride and ownership in their skill of cutting with scissors or being able to hand piece and quilt a work with nothing but a needle and thread. They might scoff at the necessity for a sewing machine. They might not want to allow machine-made work to be included in a quilt show. (Actually I believe many traditional shows do have categories which separate work by the techniques used to make the work.) They might consider work made with a machine lesser than..... These are just suppositions I'm making based on my perception of the pride women have taken over the years in "hand work".

As an artist, I believe I could create the quilt stitching image and allow the machine to quilt it automatically while still having ownership of the work as a whole. Think about artists who design the quilt stitch but have someone else do the quilting either by hand or machine. Artists who work in other mediums pretty much do whatever they like and use technology in any way they like. What is the difference for art quilters or is there a difference?

I suppose the biggest question involves software with built-in patterns. While some might object to the use of that technology, I'm confident that there are ways that these pre-programed built in patterns could be used in very interesting and unique ways.

So what are your thoughts about automated quilting?

If you haven't read about this technology here are links to just two of the many companies who are marketing this technology. I have no hands-on knowledge or affiliation with either of these companies and I am not making an endorsement of their products.

http://www.abminternational.com/index.php

http://www.hinterberg.com/qbot.aspx

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Easy Technique for Dying Values

2011-05-09T08:00:00.003-04:00

Samples of 8 Values of One Color

Creating your own hand-dyed fabric is one of the joys of working with fabric. Mixing the dye solutions for a full strength dye solution isn't difficult but sometimes it can be confusing when you beging to think in terms of a range of values for a single color.

With that in mind I want to share a process for dying 8 values of a single color.

Equipment and Supplies:

1 Large container that will hold double the amount of dye solution to dye the size cut of fabric you are working with - in these directions we will dye 1 yard in each cup

8 cups that will hold the amount of dye solution to dye 1 yard of fabric

Dye Solution - Mix twice the amount of full strength dye solution needed to dye 1 yard of fabric or the size cut you have choosen

For this article I am not going to discuss an exact dye application. Use whatever technique you like best.

PROCEDURE

1. Mix the amount of dye needed to dye 2 yards of fabric a dark value. Put this amount into your large container.

2. Pour half of the solution from your large container into Cup 1. This will be used to dye your first yard of fabric.

3. Now add enough plain water back into the large container to bring the amount back to the original amount.

4. Pour half of this new diluted solution into Cup 2. This will be used to dye your second yard.

5. Again, add enough plain water back to the solution in your large containe to bring the volumn back to the original amount.

6. Continue this process until you have dye solution in all 8 cups with each successive cup being more and more diluted.

Once you have 8 cups of dye solution you are ready to dye your fabric. There will still be solution in the large container but it can be discarded or you can dye another piece of fabric that will be the same value as Cup 8.

This card shows samples dyed from a blue but I chose to dye only cups 2,4,6 and 8.

This card has samples of all 8 values as well as samples of two fabrics which were dyed and then overdyed in a second color.

I am not a technical dye artist. I do keep notes but it is seldom my desire to replicate a color precisely. This process suits my way of working and I encourage you to try it out.

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