bluurrr.

 Oh my goodness where did the week go. Blur. Blur. Blur. After this week my schedule gets SO much more open and hopefully that means a few more posts on this sadly neglected little world!
But needless to say NYC was great last week and though nothing blew me away in Chelsea there were many solid things to see for sure. I will post a review of them tomorrow.  Above image from a really nice photography show at Yossi Milo.

I also taught a sold out class on Sunday to a super wonderful group of folks, including a mom and her 2 teenage daughters love that!  The class had a great energy and was great fun though I wish we could have had it outside as it has been GORGEOUS the last few days. (images of student work) My classes have been selling out so make sure you sign up fast if you are interested in any of the upcoming ones.  Details here.

And the drive to the class, about an hour both ways, gave me some thinking time which is always nice. Conclusion from thinking time is:  that even though I am not getting all that much studio work done this month due to crazy schedule circumstances that the space from my work has felt good and I feel really excited about the shift I am having and ... it makes me look forward to my first FULL studio day in almost a month next week.

train to teach

I am on a train heading to nyc to be a guest artist at NYU again. I am so looking forward to working with the students as they are always such an incredible & intelligent group.  This week I will do more of a lecture and basic embroidery demo and then next week they will bring in the projects they created and we will do a crit. So fun!! as you can see from the images in this post the students really come out and make some great work.

My fantasy of getting work done on the train such as stitching on my work or editing an upcoming article have been dashed by my level of exhaustion and instead I have slept for 2 hours (I must say it felt amazing.) But I have an hour left and am pulling my stitches out soon.

I will also be having drinks in Brooklyn with friends and seeing this intriguing show in Chelsea tomorrow morning- I have a fantasy of seeing this one at the MET but doubt I will have time. Next week I am going to the Brooklyn museum. Anyone know of any other not to be missed shows in nyc right now?

all images are nyu student work from last year.

down.

 

 It was sad to see this show go down as it was truly a lovely group of work. But in truth the de-install was kind of a nightmare of issues with artists, fedex, car availability and my schedule. So it is also a relief to have it finally done. I have a pile of boxes that still need dropped off at the post office and a handful for fedex. So that is one more small thing left. But... hopefully all done soon.

I always forget how much work all this is, thought I also love it.

Peruse some of the inspiring work below...

 

Get details on the artists and links to their sites here.

or get a catalogue.

not to be repetitive but...

 

this sums up my month and it don't equal nearly enough stitching time.

threaded talk.

It was wonderful and welcoming to be a speaking artist at SUNY Cortland in NY last week- as part of the current exhibit Threads.  The exhibition looked wonderful. I was humbled and delighted by the company my work was keeping, the space was totally lovely and the curator generous.

I was able to finally see some of  Clay McLaurin's work in person, which was nice as we had back to back solo shows last year at the Textile Arts Center in NYC.

Always wonderful to see the work of Orly Cogan (above) & Andrea Dezso and Kent Henrickson, (below.)

Nava Lubelski's newer work was of a delightful larger scale.

 

Angelo Filomeno's was astoundingly gorgeous and technically awe inspiring as usual...

 

 

and new to me work by Tom Lundberg & new to me artist Karin Birch (below).

 

 

 The talk itself was interesting for me, they had a very nice set-up and a good crowd that came...

 but it was the first time I talked about my work while in a total state of transition. I feel a bit disconnected from my recent work as in my actual studio I am definitely shifting and am not totally sure where I am going. I do not even know if I would show what I am currently stitching on. So it was very enlightening to me as an artist and speaker how much that affected my talk. It is both an exciting and terrifying time for me in the studio as my recent work has gotten a fair amount of attention and praise... but I know I need the shift. As an artist you always question will people respond to you new work as much. I indeed hope that in the end they do. 

As an artist, to me, it is even more dangerous to not let yourself change.  So hopefully things will keep moving forward in my studio and I will be happy with the results.

You have one more week to see the show so if you are anywhere nearby go, it is worth it!

printed multiples.

Lovely work to ponder by Teresa Cole.

see more here or here.

Friday Flashbacks-

 

Still gorgeous work first posted about back in 2009...

 

I am enthralled by the work of artist Karen Savage- who mostly works with the simple process of the photogram. In a recent press release this was stated:
  
The starkness of black --the cool of white --and the translucent grays make the photogram sublime. It's one of the most compelling and beautiful in the world of contemporary art and photography. Karen Savage is a master of metaphorical poetry and aggressive in the execution of this medium.

I have always been a fan of the photogram from the beginning of my photo days in high school, I have done a number of photograms and cyanotypes myself of crochet doilies, old dresses, and my most ambitious one was a cyanotype of my wedding dress. Something about the floating nostalgic object is so powerful. So you can see why I love Karen's work.

 
In one series Marriage lessons- Karen explores the social constructs of marriage. In her series Seven Sacraments she explores femininity and the experience and tradition of being feminine through ladies objects.


Her current show at Packer Gallery, Growing up, uses found old children's clothing to explore childhood and loss.

Children's dresses are grounded in culture, garments which symbolize innocence, promise, optimism, and hope for the future; especially a cherished christening dress, representing a state of grace, milestone, and a ritualistic event. These translucent and empty dresses express loss and growth.

 
I highly encourage a visit over to her galleries website to see more if her work. Look at these gorgeous photograms of linens.

long drives and bling crits

 
It was such a delight to drive out to Cortland, NY last week and do some crits with a handful of advanced students, see the amazing show at their gallery and give my artists talk. As a mama I welcome long car trips by myself, space to get lost in thought and let my mind wander. I thought a lot on my studio practice and what is happening in it.  How I feel about the directions of things, the progress and how they all go together. So that was great.


I arrived to the small town of Cortland and checked into my lovely inn then was off to the fiber studios. I was privileged enough to give 5 current students a critique,

 They ranged in where they were at from a senior going into her thesis project to a sophomore working to apply to the art program.  What was obvious from their work and the work hanging about the studio was that their professor Jenn McNamara is pushing them to think conceptually and approach fibers with a highly contemporary point of view.

LOOK at those french knots!

They had some impressive examples of surface design along with fiber sculpture and weaving.

It is always a challenge but joy to do blind critiques and I hope for the artists always helpful.  I wish I could get more of that for my own studio practice. And as always being in the presence of excited college students makes me want to get the opportunity to teach even more.  Hopefully life will keep leading me that way.

More on the show tomorrow.