thank you

Thank you to all the men and women that protect and have protected our freedom so that we can celebrate and honor them with our families today!

Enjoy and be thankful.

abundance

Feeling as if my life is filled with abundance.
Enjoying a day that finally allows me an afternoon and evening of relaxation.
Looking forward to a long weekend.
And officially getting started on my new work for from the tongue - which has finally been curated to completion. Yay!

And

feeling very grateful and appreciative to all those men and women out there who we celebrate this weekend, they help protect our abundant life and country.

May you all have a very lovely abundance filled weekend.

the spiritual self

The above piece by Meredith Grimsley, pretty much took my breathe away. To me it feels like a very spiritual portrait of life and motherhood- the figure, the decorative threads and lines, the nest like shape at her feet- so beautiful.


I suspect that the work of Meredith is often self portraits since much like my work the same figure re-appears again and again, but Meredith's work seems to be very much about a spiritual self more then the physical daily self.

She also makes a number of pieces that utilize the hand as image and metaphor. Her use of texture and subtle color adds to the emotive quality.

A bio on Meredith states:

Recognizing the parallel presence of joy and pain in her life, Meredith Re’ Grimsley generates work that reflects moments of meditation over spiritual growth, faith, sacrifice and a pursuit of grace. She reveals a longing which drives her to seek God. Each piece confronts her fears, loss of innocence, intolerance's and moments of life changing transition. Examining her coupled questioning and celebration of her spiritual practices, Meredith reaches for a deeper psychological connection with the viewer through simultaneously revolting and comforting imagery.

No wonder that I enjoy her work so much. See a bit more here.

tuckered.

Here is a shot C took of me recently and with a very fussy lil't today it is exactly how I am feeling.
But oddly I am beginning to wonder if it would make a very cool embroidery.
The sheets and pillow being very sculptural and then arms and hands just coming out from the white mass??
hmmm.

I am not getting much embroidery done but lots of photos to be inspired from. Hopefully someday they will become work...

evocative black and white...

Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous is the work of french artist, Magali Rizzo. Her blog is entirely in french and so I cannot read. Technically, I can a little if I tried but not today.


I find Magali's hand and technique of stitching very unique and this is the very thing that adds so much beauty and depth to her work. I wish I knew more about her motivations and how and who she selects the faces and figures to turn into portrait.


With the contrast of thin black thread against the crisp white linen her work has a strong emotional presence that is just lovely. And my understanding is that most of these works are significant in size too.


I so wish I could see them in person as I am sure they would take my breathe away.

More of her work here.

overwhelmed for sure!!

a sneak peak into the show with this work by Eric Johanni

Seriously busy and overwhelmed with curating, from the tongue, it is going to be a doozy. But hopefully worth it and make for a super great show.


I had a very exciting meeting today at the Textile Arts Center in Brooklyn to discuss the curation of their opening show. They are a super awesome new space in Brooklyn with GORGEOUS windows and I am privileged to curate their very first exhibit- and they want edgy awesome work so get thinking. The opening is going to be huge with a live brass band- awesome!!!

More details about this show very soon. But in this super hot weather and all this work that's all I can write. I promise a super awesome artist feature tomorrow.

Stay cool, wherever you are.

gush.

Here is a piece that I made the week before lil' t was born as it is what I expected my body to do- I actually really love the piece it is quite small, maybe 5 x 5, and the bright red against the pure white is quite powerful and quite lovely.

Now my heart is just gushing with love.

I am heading to the studio to set up the lil't zone and do just a touch of work for the first time today and I am actually very excited...

curatorial duties.

from.

I am working away on my final selection for, from the tongue, SO HARD-
and drafting the letter and such so no time for much of a post today. I went to the space again today to re-visualize and get some measurements. I think the show is going to be great!!!

Cannot wait to share more details soon.

stitchin' skills

More opportunities to expand your stitching skills!!
I am teaching lots of classes this summer so check out my updated teaching schedule and maybe you can join us in class.

pidder-pat...

My heart is going a pidder pat over the work of Anne Wolf. Her denim heart series if amazing.


Anne talks about the touching inspiration behind this work:

This series began in the months that followed my second miscarriage. I became preoccupied with my child’s heartbeat. I thought: if only we could make a heart that was strong enough, the baby would be all right. I began making hearts out of my old blue jeans, some of them saved since I was a teenager. This fabric that had held the wear of my everyday life for so long began, in my mind, to take on the quality of biological material—more like genes than jeans...

My son was finally born, healthy and strong. On his third day in the world, they discovered he had Ventricular Septal Defect: a congenital heart defect that manifests as a small hole between the heart’s two lower chambers. Although the VSD was only coincidentally related to my past experiences, my son’s heart continues large in my awareness—even as he grows into an active, lively and robust little boy.

She has also made a gorgeous series of shrouds...




and wrapped figures.


and installation work...


I find Anne's work very moving and evocative. She also expertly uses texture.


See more of her work here.

home sweet home talk...

Hey New Yorkers!!!

Please come out to my artist's talk tonight-
at my solo exhibit, Home Sweet Home, in Brooklyn

Corridor Gallery
334 Grand Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11238-1924

Closing Reception 6-8pm
The talk will begin around 6:30.

The gallery is a very short walk from the G stop Clinton/Washington.

Hope to see you there!!!

teenage uncertainty...

When flipping through the Fiber Art Intn'l catalogue I was very taken by the narrative embroidery work of artist Caroline Kirton. She and I utilize many of the same techniques and are both inspired by vintage textiles- but her work touches on a very particular emotional time of our life, the difficult and emotionally rough moment of teenage hood.


Caroline is inspired and moved by watching her daughters navigate through this moment of life and creates incredibly powerful, subtle, and beautiful work from her love.


She describes her work:

My work has developed into snap shots of how I view teenage life, by observing my daughters and their friends. It is an observation of my relationship with my daughters as they progress through their teenage years, and considers how this relationship is always evolving. My work is also concerned with the issues of control and how young people often feel they have no real control over their lives because of parental and official boundaries. In addition I am trying to come to terms with the issues associated with letting go, as I try to rationalise my own thoughts and feelings, of having to allow my children to grow up and become independent people in their own right.

Embodied in all my work is also the idea of unconditional love. In my practice I try to create a sense of autobiography, recording stories, feelings, emotions and moments in time...

My pieces start with a saying or an overheard conversation and can be titled or left to the audience to interpret what the starting point may have been.

I very much enjoy Caroline's color palette and the choices she makes in using color blocks and negative space. These choices add an emotional depth and simplicity to the work that adds very much to its beauty.

See more of her work here.

scraps of lace...

Yearning to get my hands on some gorgeous fibers and my eyes to be back in the world of my sun filled studio with piles of colorful threads, folded white linens, and scraps of lace.

I always appreciate when I get away from the studio as it makes me so much happier and grateful for my time there. Before the babe's birth I was so burnt out on my daily studio schedule but when I get back to the studio I will cherish every moment. I am looking forward to the first week of June when I start to ease back in- but I am forcing myself to wait so that me and the babe get our schedule a bit more down and....

I have a ton of work to do for, from the tongue. I need to stop back into the space to make my final edits of the work. I have cut the work down to about 27 artists but know that some more work will need to be edited out. I wish I could include it all- so much great work!!!!

hair-story.

from her series of wigs.

The work of Sonya Clark explores the issues of race and ideas of beauty through interesting uses of materials.

She often references hair as a signifier for race and culture-


Sometime making works from actual hair and combs.

coppertone covet

As well as referencing skin color and the western expectation and pressure to appear a certain way.

silkscreened cloth.

She often references DNA since our race and appearance is determined by this in both her writing and her work.
Her exploration of materials is admirable and her cohesion in statement is refreshing. I hope to get to see more of her work in person.

See more work and some wonderful artist statements at her website.

the snapshot stitched...

Check out my interview with the very wise and wonderful Jane Waggoner Deschner at Mr. X Stitch.

rumpled...

a little piece that I made a few weeks ago... sort of loving the words today.

Very excited as I have just been invited on very short notice to have a show next month at the very cool Basement Gallery in Oakland, Ca.

My sweet friend who curates for them will be in town very briefly next week and pick out some work. The space looks like a great space to work in and I am totally bummed that I cannot make it to the show and see it in person.
More details soon.

Artist Talk at home sweet home...

I would SO LOVE to see you this Friday...

I have an artist talk at my solo show, Home Sweet Home, in Brooklyn THIS FRIDAY, MAY 21, The closing reception is from 6-8pm and the talk will begin around 6:30 as a very informal gallery talk. I very much hope you can make it.

Corridor Gallery
334 Grand Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11238-1924

The gallery is a very short walk from the G stop Clinton/Washington.

studio time?

a photo of a sampler that I am working on for a trade, it is a famous haiku and has turned out quite nice. Of course, I made a mistake and had to rip a big chunk out- but now it is all finished- as of last night.

It has been nice to have this and a 2nd trade piece to work on the last few weeks as they have kept me working without any creative pressure. But yesterday, I stopped into the studio to get some supplies for the piece that I am working on for from the tongue and it made me crave some more creative work.

It is going to be so hard to balance my desires as an artist to make great work and my desire as a mom to just stare at Tesla and be near him all the time. The good thing is that I can bring him to the studio but I am still unsure how that will work out for either of us. I guess we will find out soon enough.
I have gotten some great photographs to get my next series started and I really want to get it going... but it is a large scale and challenging series. I hope I can find a way to work on it and love on the babe at the same time...

in my dreams...

Super cool new show, Sometimes in My Dreams I Fly, by Andrea Dezso in Houston. If you are lucky enough to be in Texas you should stop by and see this installation which sounds so cool!


The press release reveals some fascinating facts about her past and work- it states:

Growing up, Andrea Dezsö was obsessed with space travel. Dezsö explains, “There was always this idea of a possible escape place, and because we did not have passports and could not go anywhere in Communist Romania, travel was only possible in your mind. What captured my imagination was how not being able to go somewhere physically opens the possibility of epic mental Odysseys, and how we can stuff empty space with rich imaginary worlds, then move in.”

For her installation Sometimes in My Dreams I Fly, Dezsö will expand upon a technique she uses to make her distinctive “tunnel books.” Small, handmade books that reveal three-dimensional scenes, tunnel books are created from layers of paper that are individually drawn, cut out, and painted. Each layer is then stacked one in front of another in a collapsible case to create a miniature world with depth and detail that draw in the viewer. At Rice Gallery, Dezsö’s tunnel books will become life-size, with tunnels as wide as six feet. The individual “tunnels” will be placed just behind Rice Gallery’s large front glass wall, creating portals a viewer can peer into but enter only with their imagination. The human scale will be a departure point to another reality. Explains Dezsö, “I want to transport the viewer, as when you pass by a house and look into a window and see a different world from your own.”

Much of Dezsö’s work refers to, as she puts it, a “childhood, which never entirely went away.” An ethnic Hungarian, who grew up in Transylvania, Romania, Dezsö describes most of her childhood memories as “quite sweet,” despite shortages of medicine and food, censorship, and ethnic discrimination. Books were very important to her. She says, “We didn’t have access to contemporary publications so we read the classics. We lived in books. Travelled through them.” Her installation at Rice Gallery will be her first site-specific installation.

Rice University Art Gallery.