Don't miss seeing me and my work this Saturday!!!

Join me Saturday, February 2, for a hands-on workshop.  Drop in throughout the day for ongoing appliqué demonstrations inspired by the textiles of the Gardner collection. 

Workshop is FREE with Gardner Museum admission, free for university members, and $5 for college students.

Workshop is best for those 13 and up.  No preregistration is required, but space is limited. 

Please visit www.gardnermuseum.org for directions and more information.

Seriously if you have never been to the Gardner or have not been in awhile this is the perfect reason to come!! Make a day of it get an awesome, cannot beat the price workshop with me, walk around the fascinating museum and eat lunch in their super yummy cafe!!

paper my walls with your hands...

I am sure most of you readers know that I am very lucky to have some super talanted friends and I am not sure why it took me so long to write about one of my super talanted friends newest ventures.

A very good friend of mine from graduate school and Brooklyn and a very talanted painter Marcie Paper has started to make hand painted "wallpaper."  She is actually literally doing a hand painted pattern on peoples walls. And it is looking AWESOME.

She has always been interested in the decorative and has a long relationship with artists interested in such things.  And her paintings are patterns at their best, with meaning & narrative hidden behind them too.  This has lead to this new endeavor and I think it is wonderful.

To have a hand painted one of a kind piece of work built into your home. How cool is that?  I look forward to when we actually own a place to invest in her hands to paint my walls.  Wouldn't it be great for an entryway?

If you are lucky enough to be able to you should check her out.  Also look at her totally awesome paintings here.

I feel like this turn of events in her practice was somehow affected by her public art work seen above. Inspiring people abound!!

what my soul needed.

Yesterday was one of those days where I did nothing that I should of and only what I wanted--- sort of.  I rejected my to do list and worked in my studio on something I have been wanting to do but avoiding.  It felt great to be taking a little risk, cutting, sewing, getting my machine out...

Then I ran out of thread, my daycare called and T had to come home(pink eye), we had to fit in a last minute Dr.appt and life happened. But the end of the day was much like the beginning. Ignoring what should be happening and doing what my soul needed. T joined me in my studio at my table, drawing while I stitched. Our first simultaneous art making moment. It was awesome and made me look forward to many more.

I then went to a reading of a friends and was moved by a few of the writers and reminded, once again, how important it is for my soul to go to such events. To be in a room of creative types that are trying to comment upon and share the poignancy and beauty of this life. 

But of course all of this leaves me today with a laundry list of more stuff to do that I ignored yesterday and the desire to do none of them. I would prefer to just get lost in my process of making all over again.

friday flash back- stitched lines

 This post coming to you from July 2010. Due to the busy schedule I keep as of late, my husband had a fabulous idea for this lil' blog. I was feeling guilty about not getting enough posts up each week and he reminded me that I have over 5 years (yes 5 years!!!!) of archives.  I myself love perusing through all the work that I have found and written about and thought maybe you all would too. So I introduce FRIDAY FLASHBACKS. A weekly post randomly selected from the archives.  Hope you enjoy the reminders or new artists you will find through this little experiment of mine.


I am loving the stitched work of Lithuanian artist Inga Liksaite. Her works are large scale stitched works on black fabric and super beautiful.


I really love this diptych with the simple image of plants in a window and the portrait. Something about it really evokes the emotion of solitude and longing- but not loneliness


Some detail shots give you a sense of how the works are built up by simple stitching and the images develop from the closeness of the lines.

I really enjoy these 2 triptychs- the use of the white space and the landscape of the portrait. I get very excited by the above image and how the texture of the hair changes from one panel to the next. I wonder how her working process made her decide to make that choice- as it really pushes the work further.


So in love with this one with the clouds merging into the face...

I wish I knew more about her work and her process and so wish I could see this work in person.

See more of Inga's work here.

meet the intern.

student work from NYU

So as I have mentioned a few times this semester I have the privilege of having an intern working with me.  Jael is a current NYU student that I worked with as a guest artist in May. (a few of the images are from this visit.) I was delighted when she contacted me and am so happy to have her help and get to know her over the next few months.   And of course this here little blog is a huge part of how I function as an artist so I thought it was a great place for her to learn and share too. While she is working with me she will be writing a once a week post featuring artists that inspire her. I look forward to seeing the work that she shares with us.  But first I asked her to introduce herself to all of you. So meet Jael...

What a va va voom picture! love it!

"First and foremost, I am honored to be able to be a guest writer for Joetta’s blog! I look forward to contributing my thoughts to the art community, and I hope you, her readers, will look forward to hearing from me as well!
   
 My name is Jael, and I am a student of the arts; more specifically Creative Art Therapy. I am currently a senior in college, preparing to graduate and move onto graduate school for my masters degree in Art Therapy. 

I met Joetta nearly a year ago when she acted as a guest lecturer for my class, Women’s Textiles at NYU. Our final project was to create a textile piece that somehow represented our experience of the course as a whole. Joetta joined our class for three sessions, teaching us basic embroidery and applique techniques and inspiring us with her work. She also helped lead our final critique offering us feedback and encouragement. I was instantly struck by Joetta’s work. It has inspired me to expand my own artwork into the vast and intriguing world of fiber art. I have included a couple pictures of my artwork along with a picture of myself so you can hopefully get to know me and what I love to do! 

I contacted Joetta about six months ago inquiring about an internship- finally the time has come! In addition to being a guest writer for her blog, I will be assisting her in preparation for the Down To Sleep exhibition. I look forward to learning along the way, both from Joetta as an artist, but also someone who brings many different artists together. I chose to intern with Joetta in particular because her work is often deeply personal, which connects beautifully with my love of art therapy - which is an inherently personal form of artistic expression. Working along side of her while building and shaping the Down To Sleep exhibit will hopefully inspire and inform my work with art in  the community. My plans for the future not only include working as a creative arts therapist, but I also intend to invest myself in community art projects and programs.

As a guest writer for Joetta’s blog, I will be sharing the stories of young and new artists. The majority of these artists will be students, some independent artists, and hopefully a few prominent artists who have inspired me and my work.  It will be an honor for me to be able to share these artists’ stories and work in my weekly blog post. Some of the artists I feature will run in the same vein as Joetta and be connected to the fiber art world in some way or another, others will be artists whose work contains various other mediums, but has touched me and inspired me to share their art. 

I am chomping at the bit to begin sharing my thoughts and words with you through Joetta’s blog, and I hope you enjoy my writing, musings, and photographs!
-Jael

more piles

I had so many blue lines on my current work in process that I was getting lost. So I finally gave in and did a quick rinse.

As a result I was able to see the piece a little bit better and I am pretty darn happy with it. It has been a struggle working with the "piles" as I get totally lost and confused in all the repetition and curves and lack of figurative reference. But it seems once you pull away it actually works out.

The big "white" spot in the middle is where I am working now. I needed to start new with the drawn lines but have made good progress today. 

Next up will be a little easier on my eyes, an overhead shot of a pile of toy cars. I am looking forward to getting started on that one.  Piles, piles, piles.

foosball? let's play!

Embroidered Foosball table by designer Yaroslav Galant.

"Traditional Ukrainian art is embroidered by hand in 54,027 holes. The table’s textile elements required a staggering 32 kilometers of thread. The designer considers this pattern to be both energetic and protective."

I might be more inclined for the table and bench or this gorgeous embroidered chair...

 Cool stuff!  I have always wanted to somehow do an embroidered piece of furniture. Someday when I have all that "extra" time.

hands on...

Go watch this video and be inspired by my next Future Heirlooms featured artist Kelsey Viola Wiskirchen.

GO GO GO watch it and then feel bad that you are not making better art, just joking, sort of.

Her stuff us seriously awesome.

the event of the thread...

I know I already mentioned this installation and it has already closed. But this video just reminds me once more how I wish I could have seen it. And how what I miss most about being in NYC is being able to see such brief and lovely things.

down to sleep

Congratulations to all of the selected artists. As always I was overwhelmed by the quality and number of submissions to the exhibit and am honored and excited that so many gifted folks give me the opportunity to share their work.  I know this one is going to be great and the beauty of the gallery space will only compliment the high quality of the work.  I hope to see many of you at the opening event so mark your calenders.

down to sleep

An exhibit curated by Joetta Maue.

 Chester F. Sidell Gallery, Essex Art Center, Lawrence, Massachusetts

 
March 1 - April 12, 2013

Opening Reception: March 1, 2013,  5-7pm

Participating Artists:

Bren Ahearn, Caroline Kirton, Hagar Vardimon, Jenne Giles, Jen Pettus, Jody Oesterreicher, Julia Elsas, Karri A Dieken, Karri Dieken, Kristin La Flamme, Laura Bisagna, Laura Mongiovi, Marissa Fisher, Marissa Lehner, Mary Goldthwaite-Gagne, Maureen E Patrick, Micha Michelle Melancon, Michelle Urbanek, Paula Chung, Rebecca Fricke, Sabina Hahn, Sherry Aliberti, Susan Lenz, Susan Moss, Tamar Stone, Tom Whitton

A stitch... with me

Join us Saturday, February 2, for a hands-on workshop with artist Joetta Maue. Drop in throughout the day for ongoing appliqué demonstrations inspired by the textiles of the Gardner collection. Workshop is FREE with Gardner Museum admission, free for university members, and $5 for college students. Workshop is best for those 13 and up. Children must be accompanied by an adult at all times.

The Studio is open Saturdays & Sundays from 11am to 4pm. No preregistration is required, but space is limited. Please visit www.gardnermuseum.org for directions and more information.

office or studio?

Lately my studio has felt more like an office then a studio.  I feel like I am at the computer more then at the hoop, actually I don't feel, I know.   But today atleast felt productive.  I am finally caught up and getting organized on the down to sleep exhibit. Tomorrow I will finally get the announcement with artists names posted. 

It is going to be a truly wonderful show and I am so excited to see it come to culmination, meet some of the artists and build more community.  But woo-hoo every show I seem to forget how much work is was to mount the last one.  It must be that the pay off is so worth it I decide to do it all over again.

I am also really attempting to get more teaching happening as that is what I really want to be doing, really love doing and am pretty damn good at it. Anyone want to offer me a teaching gig?  HA, that would be nice. Until then I keep watching precious hours slip by applying, looking, proposing etc.  But I actually have some great things coming up so I am happy for that.

I am hoping tomorrow turns into some actual studio work.  How do we do so much?

meditate

Awhile back I saw the work of Patti Roberts-Pizzuto on Hand/Eye.  I was immediately drawn to the repetition and meditative state of her work.

I  prefer her more abstract and ambiguous works.

At their best moments the work reminds me of my friend and a favorite artists work, Emily Barletta, which can only be a good thing.

To see more check out her website  http://robertspizzuto.com/home.html and her blog, http://www.missouribendstudio.blogspot.com/

cast.

Interesting glass work by Jen Blazina.  

 

Soon to be on view at the Wexler Gallery.

goings on

Finished this one last week and am almost done with my second piles image.  Then I think I will focus on finishing 2 "in process" works. Tie up loose ends you know and I need to work on the other commission I have going on. I might be in avoidance mode with that one.

Otherwise knee deep in trying to find the time to get all the curatorial stuff in order. So much work to that- but the show is going to be awesome. And preparing for my upcoming visiting artist workshop at the the Isabella Stewart Gardner museum. Details.

oh how we wish for more hours.

Future Heirlooms- Sally Hewitt

In case you missed it check out my recent interview with artist Sally Hewitt.