fiber fun...

another awesome artist participating in Forget me not Emily Eibel.
Her rough but sensitive appliques really pull me in...they have a strong narrative...


But they also lend just a little bit of fright... there are plenty of images with some blood and gore...which is what I love about it. Emily uses this simple,traditional, seemingly harmless practice to make some disturbing vignettes and explore contemporary issues.


You can also check out her blog here.
Plus she is another Brooklynite so she must be awesome.

thank goodness ...

its Friday. For some reason that is all I am feeling.
I am looking forward to a lazy Saturday of sleeping in, making a slow breakfast, and just hanging out!
But in the meantime I am excited about some new small pieces I am starting...
Had a great time at this opening last night.
Very happy that I had 2 new students at my yoga class last night! I am just really wanting this community to grow. I have missed teaching yoga so much and teaching this class has been so great:)
Was surprised and delighted to see myself here and really loved her selection of my work.
And really wish that I could go see this contemporary craft exhibit. If you are nearby you should.
Have a lovely Friday.

inspiration abound.

Breast Exam/ Mastectomy

Since I was invited to the Forget me not show I have been doing a little research on some of the artists I will be showing with and wow...I will not be short amazing artists to share with you for awhile.

As a women who was a Girl scout until she was 15, volunteered at Girl Scout camp, sold lots of cookies, and loved, I mean loved, earning badges I am so excited about the fabulous work of artist Mary Yeager. She creates her own version of Female Merit Badges- both a genius and a poignant project.

Female appliances
Control Panels

Fertility, Childbirth, and Breastfeeding

Mary states:

My female merit badges illustrate female "rites of passage" as well as the myriad physical manipulations women undergo to achieve cultural ideals of beauty, such as weight watching, whether or not to shave or wear makeup, etc. I've created tiny replicas of female products, such as a birth control pill pack and a pregnancy test. The miniature scale and meticulous, hand-embroidered surfaces convey my impressions of growing up female in our culture.

Truly inspiring.

Thanks to the lovely Rachel for being inspired by me- and by reading the comments I found out that I was posted about here- who knew they had a blog?

forget*me*not

I am so excited to officially announce that I was invited to join this amazing show at Gallery Hanahou in Soho. Not only am I delighted that I was invited by the super amazing and talented Kristen Rask, or that I am in a really lovely show in Soho in a really lovely gallery, but the best part is I am showing with some truly AMAZING artists that I admire and that definitely inspire me.

gallery hanahou presents

Forget Me-Not
embroidered love from the new craft movement
February 6 - 27
Opening reception: February 6th, 6-8 pm

gallery hanahou / 611 Broadway, Suite 730, NYC / galleryhanahou.com

For generations, women have expressed love of family through the painstaking art of embroidery. This February, gallery hanahou presents a new generation of embroidery artists using needle and thread to depict love in broader terms, whether idealized and simple or brutal and complicated. Curated by Kristen Rask, this group exhibit of affordable artwork will win your affection in more ways than one. A meaningful alternative to waxy chocolates.

Artists

Aimee Ray, Apol Lejano-Massebieau, Diem Chau, Emily Eibel, Emily Katz, Heidi Kenney, Jessica Marquez, Joetta Maue, Kate Durkin, Katherine Shaughnessy, Kayte Terry, Kris Garland, Kristen Rask, Mary Yaeger, Molly Dilworth, Nicole Licht, Orly Cogan, Pamela Davis, Sam Gobson, Sarah Horton, Shanna Fiorucci, Shannon Rankin, Vanessa Lauria, Vivienne Strauss

Participating artists include Diem Chau, whose minimalist works explore the periphery of narrative and moments forgotten, Orly Cogan, who works with vintage fabrics and found embroideries to create a new feminist discourse, and Shannon Rankin, who combines the visual elements of maps, anatomical illustrations, and natural forms to explore themes of travel, healing, and time.

Curator Kristen Rask has always been a crafter. From friendship bracelets, sewing, and jewelry, Kristen has tried it all. Embroidery struck her fancy a few years ago and she now has a hard time not incorporating it into all of her work. She opened up a store in downtown Seattle in 2004 called Schmancy. There she started an annual plush show titled Plush You, which just finished its fourth run. She has also curated art shows in various galleries in Seattle, San Francisco and now NYC.

All of the artwork in Forget Me-Not will also be available for viewing and purchase online via galleryhanahou.com beginning February 11.

Hope to see some of you New Yorkers there!

quiet...

There is a quiet sadness and wonder to these works by artist Emily Katz that I am really feeling today...The hand of the artist and the characters invite me in....

I want to walk amongst these places that Emily embroideries....


Dance with the bears...

She not only makes lovely work with her embroidery needle but also makes other gorgeous work including clothes and music. What an impressive lady!

and did I mention it is all sustainable.

doubt.

feeling doubt in my belief in perseverance...is it in the air?
C has been quite down this week as well, but he has a job to deal with so it is harder for him.
Feeling frustrated by the "life" obligations taking over my day, the delays to getting to the studio, or the reasons that I need to leave early...etc.

Hoping my mood and energy change soon.
But in times when I am feeling down and low all the love and support I get in the Blogoshere means so much so a big thanks to the lovely blog here.
And if you want to read an interview of me at Scoutie Girl to learn a little more about me and my process please check it out- and thanks to Amy for asking me.

feeling uninspired so..

just going to my old standby

She has a beautiful, fluffy dress
and she has high heels, high heels.
If you have high heels people will love you.
If you want people to love you,
you have to love yourself first.
That's what it means.

Louise Bourgeois.

Some real words of inspiration found here.

trucking along...

The weeks are seeming overwhelmed by more stressful things but I am still managing to get things done.
I am very excited about this new piece (above)...I hope it turns out well.
I am getting to the point of being in need for some more linens. I really love the table runners and round ones- which seem the hardest to find:(


I finished the first of three layers on this one...but need a new quilting pen to get to the next layer...I go through them like crazy!
I am hoping today leads to the finishing off another new piece and some solid work done.
I think I am taking the day off of the computer and applications.

and a thanks to love forever.

spills and stains...

I feel like I have spoken of the amazingness of Nava Lubelski before...but cannot find the post so here goes-
I first saw Nava's work at the MAD show Extreme Embroidery...and well I loved it.
She embroideries and sculpts with the stains and holes that already exist on found linens.


She states:

My work explores the contradictions between the impulse to destroy and the compulsion to mend. I juxtapose rapid acts of destruction, such as spilling and cutting, with painstaking, restorative labor. Embroideries are hand-stitched over stains and rips, contrasting the accidental with the meticulous, constructing narrative from randomness and mistake...The work scrambles expressions of aggression with masochistic patience and sublimation and plays with the feminine through the graphic form of the "stain" and the adding of peek-a-boo, lace inlays to repair cut holes that expose the hidden space behind the canvas.

I think that the concept is genius, simple, and poetic...perfect...and the resulting work is beyond lovely...
I enjoy how the concept relates to how I approach my work... being interested in the mundane of everyday existence and the technique of embroidery - but the work itself is so different and so abstract...
gorgeous.

packed and ready to go...

I have quite a few little packages to send off today. (and they ended up being quite photogenic) Me and my local mail place are becoming the best of friends. Between me applying for shows, shipping work, and shipping sales I feel like we are dating.
I love that subtle friendship or fondness you develop for strangers that regularly come into your daily life...
the yoga teacher who learns your name...
the wine guy that always has an extra smile for your familiar face...
the mail guy who gives you discounts 'cause you spend so much money with him.
the couple down the street that we see everywhere...but have never spoken too.

Who are you stranger friends?
I know when I worked at a coffee shop I definitely had my favorites.
The friendly pregnant lady who was chatty and always got hot chocolate.
The really surly guy that everyone else hated but I loved to try to make him smile.
The cute couple whom would tease each other the entire time in line.

The world is small... if we smile at strangers.

loving this...

awesome series by photographer Diane Meyer.
The colors of the costumes, the amazing wallpapers, the deadpan faces.
Perfection in both humor and making me laugh out loud as well as...
making my heart break just a little.
Her other projects look awesome and I look forward to when her website is more complete so i can check them out...I am definitely intrigued by her playful humor and wit.

rainbows of thread and paper...

I was going through my banners this week finding some new ones to work on and post...and I just could not resist how beautiful they all look together hanging on my studio wall...
Who new I was such a big fan of rainbow colors.

I finally got a nice long day in the studio yesterday after a week of dealing with more pressing "life" stuff.
And it was a great success...I got started on 2 new pieces and finished the first layer of a 3 layer embroidery that I am doing. So all in all a good day.
I wish today could be the same but more life stuff for my morning but hopefully a few hours in the afternoon...I am really excited about my newest piece... it is so wonderful beginning a new piece once you know what you are doing, you have made the hard decisions and now you just get to be lost in the pleasure of the work....

Very excited to announce that I have been invited to join this show in February. I am so excited and honored....
and a sweet thank you to made by girl.

just reminded of...

Orly Cogan's work...which I obviously love...for such obvious reasons.
So I just had to remind you all of her lovely work.

Though I am a bit terrified by our similarities conceptually... but also inspired.

more lovelies....

at bird and bear my little esty shop.
I have added a few more embroideries and some photographs.
Please visit, peruse, let me know what you think, and dare I say shop!

and a kind thank you to modish.

seeing sunlight through the snow and ice...

Though I have been like the stay puff marshmallow man- with all my layers- and my feet are always cold and the streets are icy and the sidewalks snowy....
This week each morning I have been awoken with a warm glowing sunlight...
Reminding me that there is sunshine and warmth at the end of this icy cold tunnel.

It has been so nice to wake up to that warm color again...


my geranium is so convinced by the morning light that he is as beautiful as he was in summer...

a huggable teddy bear.

I am really loving the charm and little bit of heartbreak that Kent Rogowski evokes with his work. Most know for his series Bears, which came out as a book. These bears are a tiny bit creepy, quite sad, and I just want to grab them love, them and hug them and make them hole again.


His website speaks towards the project and the bears as individuals:

They are at once hideous yet cuddly, disturbing yet endearing, absurd yet adorable, while offering a metaphor for us all to consider. These bears, which have lived and loved and lost as much as their owners, have suffered and endured through it all. It is by virtue of revealing their inner core might we better understand our own.

Perfectly said!

not to mention his other work:
His neon's which are familiar but still lovely.


His puzzled puzzle works are quite genius and beautiful too. Love = Love.


and finally his sweet, tragic, and romantic snow globes from the series Future(Perfect)

an artist with a creative mind and a romantic point of view...love it.

inspired...

I have had a nice surge of ideas this week for in the studio...which is great since I had been feeling a little dried up lately.
So I am really loving being there, getting things done, starting new projects...
But I am really trying to figure out what the next step for the text based embroideries are...I want them to somehow evolve and am just not sure how they should.
any suggestions?
how do you take the next step with a body of work?



I am also itching to get into the darkroom. I have 4 rolls of developed film that I would love to print and 6 rolls of undeveloped. Agh. I need to find one to rent and get some prints made. That would be great.

Excited about moving to my new studio in March.
Thanks to this lovely blog.
And be sure to check my shop later today, lots of new embroideries will be added!

complete.

I completed my newest embroidery this week. It is painted ironed and hung.
I was worried that it would not turn out... but I am quite happy with it.
What do you think?


I am not sure if it is exactly how I will display it in the end...but here it is now.
I am really happy with how I used the two spaces and two hoops with the negative space...trying to figure how to use it next time.


I am working away on this piece and have my ideas for the next two... so feeling pretty good in the studio.
Except I am so sick of all the time I have to spend applying to things...but that is the"job" part of being an artist....and when it results in a show or a sale it is all worth it.

So hopefully it will....

Happy Inauguration Day!

Here is to a wonderful inauguration for our new president.
It is wonderful to see the world changing and opening so much. Lets hope that we as people keep moving toward a more loving, accepting, and caring world.
Keep that positive energy and positive change flowing.

storybooks of thread...

Stories that have the magic of the hand are stories that I would like to get lost in...
Artist Jessie Chorley makes some truly lovely and embroidered story books...what a great idea.


and the illustrations are so lovely.


Jessie states:

They (the stories) are always hand embroidered directly in to the fabric as I like the concept of stitching my emotions straight in to the cloth thus making this unraveling story more meaningful. These books are carried around with me and are constantly added to on the go