bombed

Another great post from Jael, and though I have posted before on yarn bombing, as it would be hard not to it is a great perspective from her:

Crystal Gregory

As established fiber artists and fiber art lovers, I am sure that many of you are aware of Yarn
Bombing/Guerrilla Knitting. If not, you are in for a wonderful treat!

In college, I took a class on social change through public art. We had to write a paper on a
specific piece or collection of public art, so naturally, I curled up with my laptop and began
Googling “public art”. I searched for hours and found many interesting pieces of art, but nothing
grabbed me as strongly as I had hoped. While taking a walk that evening, I saw a brightly
colored design on the chain link fence around Washington Square Park. When I looked closer,
I realized it was yarn! Someone had crocheted a beautiful granny square pattern on the side of
the fence. I immediately started researching who had done this creative decorating, and I was
introduced to the wonderful world of Yarn Bombing.

Yarn Bombing (also called Guerrilla Knitting) began in Den Helder, Netherlands in 2004. Its
appearances quickly spread to the US, appearing in Texas only a year later. It has now become
a worldwide phenomenon, and can be found in dozens of countries around the globe.

Jessie Hemmon

 What most Guerrilla Knitting projects have in common is their attempt to add beauty to public
space. To me, seeing works of Yarn Bombing in a drab public space is experiencing kindness
from a stranger. We have all had those lovely interactions, where the kind actions of a stranger
on the street warm your heart for the rest of the day.

Olek

 As an art therapy student, I can’t help but correlate the medium with the affect. Using a material
closely associated with warmth, comfort, family, and relaxation is the perfect way to instantly
affect a person’s mood in a positive way.

I may just have to brush up on my knitting skills and start Yarn Bombing myself. NYC is the
perfect place to start!

~Jael

p.s. from Joetta see another great yarn bomb article here.

 Delighted to be featured in a blog post at David Stark Designs with some other super talanted ladies here.

Thanks Heather!!!

life stuff...

Ack, my life is nuts. There are so many great things that I have never shared with you because finding the time to sit down and write here on this blog just seems to become harder and harder.  In truth not necessarily a ton of artists to write about as my brain temporarily cannot seem to take in any more inspiration beside the fact that I have 22 artists to glean inspiration from because of the show.

But I have had some great teaching moments, sharing moments and making moments that never made it here.  So I am hoping to play a little bit of catch up over the next few weeks but either way my brain is spinning with ideas and my fingers are moving with words.

--I am almost, almost done with the pile piece I have been working on for, what seems to be FOREVER, and am really looking forward to pushing that series forward.

--I have been thinking a lot about the large word works I have done in the past. Mainly because galleries and collectors always have a huge amount of interest in them but at this point I have none left to share or sell.  And finally I came up with an idea for a series that I am excited about. I can see it all in a gallery together and love it. Funny it is actually inspired by peoples tattoos. More on that later.

--I am writing another awesome article on an awesome artist which is always fun challenging, exciting and hard.

and a million other little things like trying to have time and energy for the most adorable little T in the world and trying to have love and patience for the most handsome and complicated C.

 I am so excited to finally announce a project that has been in the works for awhile now but--- I am honored, proud and a little puzzled by the fact that you can now buy my designs at anthropologie.

 

A beautiful mess dishtowel. Buy it.

Yep, anthropologie.  You can currently buy a set of "etiquette" napkins and an awesome kitchen towel that I designed and they produced. These are limited runs so get your now!!!!

Etiquette napkins here.

And there is more to come so keep your eyes and ears pealed.  If you see them in a store take a picture and send them my way. That is how big of a dork I am.

But seriously I love anthropologie as any stylish woman would and am delighted that they liked my work enough to work with me in this way, It has been am exciting and interesting journey.  

so much stuff

So many wonderful things to share and no time or energy to do it. No energy because I have a f-ing fierce cold. No time - well that is obvious. Firstly the installation is going amazing. I got almost all of it done on Saturday and am heading back today to finesse some things and finish up the last 2 pieces, hang labels, place pedestals... etc. But the show looks AWESOME.

The catalogues came in yesterday and looks totally awesome so make sure to buy one for yourself!!

And... I sold a major piece of my work, you can buy some work of mine at anthropologie, I cut 10 inches off my hair and I taught an awesome workshop last week where I made this cool applique as a sample that I am kind of obsessed with.

 But more on all that tomorrow when the installation is totally over and my head is hopefully full of WAY less snot.

Down to Sleep Catalogue

Order the catalogue now....

Get an 8.5 x 8.5 in. book that documents the incredible work in the exhibition Down to Sleep.
The book is beautifully designed and has wonderful insights into the practices of the artists.

Book Options

softcover $32.00 USD hardcover $50.00 USD

when did thread become so "cool"?

This is very cool , very cheesy, very weird and sooo "hip"





Thanks to this talented lady for it sending my way.

new directions

Loving this new direction and project of artist Jodi Colella's.

Reminds me of one of my fave artists Derik Melander.

Artistic Soul Mates- notes from the intern

Every so often, I stumble upon an artist that compels me to get lost in their work. It is like getting a song stuck in my head - all I want to do is look at images of their work, read about them, know what inspires them. Sometimes I ponder what it is like to be a thought in their mind, flowing through their body, through their hands, and into their work. What a magical experience that would be.

I recently stumbled upon artist, Alice Pasquini. Her work jumped off the screen and into my mind like a bug. I spent the day visiting and revisiting my iPad just to look at images of her art. 

In her  bio, she shares that she strives to demonstrate the small moments between people and their connections to one another. No wonder I became so enthralled with her work. To me, looking at one of her paintings is like connecting to a stranger- beautiful and simple, yet it leaves a lasting impression on your soul.

Perhaps the most alluring component to Alice’s work is that she strives to portray strong and independent women. Pairing that aspect with the fact that her prefered canvases are city walls, finding her work was like finding an artistic soul mate. 

Isn’t it an inspiring concept that a woman, living halfway across the world, can create a work of art that makes its way into a camera, onto a computer, through the internet, onto my iPad, and into my heart? And yet despite the vast distance between us, her work inspires my work, which will hopefully inspire someone else. What a magnificent thing.

See more here http://www.alicepasquini.com/

-Jael

changing standards

Yesterday I was hoping would be a constructive get stuff done day. And it sort of was and sort of was TOTALLY not. The day got off to a very slow start for multiple reasons. I finally got into my studio knowing that my number one must do was to get some work packaged and shipped to NYC. So I pulled out an older piece that they had requested and...

one it was not the piece that I thought it was. (I thought is was this one but all still worked out.)

two my standards as an artist have changed, changed, changed-  I looked at the piece and was simply like "oh my I cannot ship this as is."  I ended up unexpectedly spending the next 4 hours repairing and tweaking the work to meet my new standards.

I was actually really confused as to why I did not do it the way I was now the first time around, but I guess that just shows how much I have grown technically as an artist.  So it was a good thing- but a way of loosing 4 hours that I was not prepared for.

And then I went to UPS, I hate UPS.  Did I say I hate UPS. So that was my Valentines. But I do have a big date tonight.

Flashback Fridays-home sweet...

 This one is actually not that old of a flashback just from last May but in a recent search I found it and well I just seriously love her work. Her website also has some awesome new work that I added on to the end of the post.




oh my awesome, work by artist Kay Healey.



Love the banality of the objects, the hand me down aesthetic of the furniture.



I obviously love the fabric works and they get me super excited...


but the juxtaposition of the graffiti with the "home" object is also so interesting.



From her statement:

"Through my art I investigate themes of transience and the search for stability in an ever-changing world. I am by nature a nostalgic person and am very interested in how an object as mundane as a plastic salad spinner can embody vivid memories of people, events, and periods of someone’s life."


See more here.

Ok, here is the add on:
She did a recent project where she gleaned from the stories of native Philadelphian's from different backgrounds to make an installation. You can see interviews with her muses and an over view on her website.

mess mode

 My studio is in total mess mode right now. I have an extra day in the studio this week and am SO happy maybe just a little bit of my life can get caught up.  Or most likely I will spend the day throwing myself in all there is to do for down to sleep or working on an overdue project.

This is a pile of all the work that has been returned to me that needs properly put away but I need to actually re-organize and re-pack most of it so it can go right back out. The rotating display/pile of work in my studio. Not what I really want to be doing on my precious studio days but also part of the process. The good thing is it means my work is getting out there. 

Where to you ask?  A designer show in Manhattan an exciting exhibit at Dowd Gallery, SUNY Cortland where I will be doing an artist talk in April.  Also on the burner another awesome article for the SDA journal and someday, someday an updated website.  I also have lots of cool classes coming up so keep your eyes on that. I will get them all posted up very soon. Who knows maybe today.

On another note we got hit with a blizzard, Lots of winter boot wearing.

back to work.

image and identity

After a comment on facebook the fab Ellen Shinderman intro'd via email me to the work and person Katherine Lawrie Craft. Awesome last name for a stitcher, right?

 I really like her simple technique and style of drawing and how she plays with negative space.

 Her statement says "Through narrative self-portraiture, she explores discovery, confrontation, and preservation of image and identity. "

It appears that she had a recent show of new larger scale works but no images online yet. They look intriguing so hopefully she will get them up soon. But I know how hard that can be since my website is now officially over a year out of date.

Check out more of her stuff here.

friday flashback-----drawn fiber

 I still love, love, love this work originally posted on April 2010 (right before t came into the world.) Make sure to check out her website as her new work still explores textiles through drawing but quite differently. I really love this newer series.




I saw the gorgeous work of Alyssa Pheobus in the fall at an open house tour of a big collector and immediatly fell in love. Alyssa uses graphite and text to reference textiles in her large scale drawings...



So many wonderful things about the work, the words are powerful, the textures she creates remind us of domesticity, and her choice to often leave things unfinished allows the work to have a powerful ambiguity.



I am so glad I got reminded of her work this week.



and wish oh wish she would submit to my show in Tribeca.



See more of her work here.