Not fiber.

The work of Jonggeon Lee is not fiber but often references it and is oh so beautiful either way.




He often works on wood and other materials with engraving techniques that reference the patterns often found on textiles. Oh so lovely.

And his series that questions structure and space is really gorgeous, with its simplicity of the raw wood and simple lines.


His work deals with space in a way that makes space and place much less tangible and reliable reflecting on his feelings of displacement as a Korean American.

He states this about his work:

No possessed space is a solid space,
but merely an empty space that is constantly changing.

In my work, I explore both domestic and public architectural structures, such as staircases or historic monuments that have been displaced from their original contexts. Having lived both in Korea and the United States, my sense of belonging to either one of these cultures has been continuously disrupted. As a result, I have come to view historic architectural structures through the lens of cultural dislocation; I realize now, that when these architectural structures are displaced, the cultures that they represent are also dislodged from their origins.
In my work...in each of the pieces, time becomes fixed and isolated from its conventional cycle, creating memories of space.

See more work here.

a new day.

My day yesterday did not go as planned and was not productive at all. But today the sun is shining and we will be heading out on our walk to the studio soon enough so it is a new day.

But of course since yesterday was a bust I still have lots to do on my applications. BUMMER.

One good thing was that I did get the drawing onto the linen for my "kimono" inspired piece and am super happy with how it turned out. I will take pictures today to share. Above is the image I decided to use as resource material, it will just be the female figure not the environment (which is my embarrassingly messy kitchen and full sink.) But I am struggling with a placement issue for the work that I just cannot figure out and since the work is on an AMAZING linen and will be featured in the catalogue...
I really want it to turn out well. I am hoping that just sitting with it today staring at it on the wall will help to enlighten me, sometimes it does work the staring.

Off to feed the kiddo and then to the studio we go.

layers of white and meaning.

Being moved by the work of Iranian American artist, Golnar Adili.


The simplicity of the palette, the obvious and impressive understanding of structure and designs, the spare choices, and the moving meaning.


This work is has includes a diagram of the words weight of sadness built by more densely layering the words with gray strips. I love seeing it installed above the bed.





Golnar says this about the above project:

I investigated the inside of the airplane as a sensuous site which is surrounded by the crisis of the naked sky.

and this in general about the personal journey as an artist:

...my recent works have become progressively autobiographical. As an Iranian American growing up in the post 1979 Iran, I have experienced separation and longing in its different manifestations. Through my art, I am compelled to formally investigate, express, and decode the ways in which these events have marked me.

Golnar's drawings have the textural quality of fibers and pattern making which makes them just as appealing as the sculptures.

See more here.

uninterrupted

oh, the day in the studio yesterday was sublime. After a VERY fussy baby would not got to sleep he finally did and I had over 2 hours of uninterrupted studio stitching, with a sleepy babe, and the soft sounds of slushy rain at the windows.
It reminded me of why I love what I am, an artist.

I made a ton of progress appliqueing on the above piece.

Started the applique on this one and it is looking awesome.

Picked out the linens for the Kimono piece and totally ended up changing my direction for the work.

So it was great to feel like progress was being made. So great.

Today I sucked it up and have a babysitter for a few hours so I can tackle these applications. Not fun work but it will feel like a huge weight is lifted with them done and my mind can just focus on the work for a bit.

I forgot my camera so new images coming soon.

do not miss.

For those of you in the Boston area do not miss...

SHEILA PEPE

COMMON SENSE AND OTHER THINGS

JANUARY 5 – FEBRUARY 19, 2011
CARROLL AND SONS
450 HARRISON AVENUE



You can follow this link to an article I wrote about her work a year or so ago.

Stellar

Someone posted this bizarre and strange video by quilter Jimmy Mcbride sometime last week and it is, as I said, bizarre and strange but wonderful. He has created quite the story behind his gorgeous works.

But what I was even more excited about was the archive in general over at the etsy blog of "Handmade Portraits" where they make a very mini documentary of film about an artist or crafts person making by hand. I have only watched a few but have enjoyed them immensely as I know you will. You can see them all here.

next?

I have now appliqued this on and should finish the applique for this piece today in the studio, though it is uber slushy and gross out. I then need to do the Vandyke step and have yet to buy that so perhaps I need to buy that today too. I am excited to play with it again - before graduate school I used alternative processes a lot.

Then I start my new piece. Hopefully I can get the drawing done later tonight???? But the issue is I need it to be dark and my studio is NOT dark. So I am planning to stop back into the studio after I teach tonight because I have to get started.

We will see.

pile.

Here is a pile of linens waiting to be ironed and photographed... and still waiting. I always want to take as much advantage of my studio time as I can so documenting work always seems to go on the wayside. But I need to get around to doing it so I can share it all with you.
and
the dreaded website update NEEDS to be done. I am applying for a few great things but need to have my website in ship shape before the applications get processed so...babysitter here you come?
Today not in the studio but getting caught up on things, but tomorrow I hope to get started on my piece inspired by the Kimono. I took photos for it today and am actually getting pretty excited but that needs to be done by March and I would like another new work done by then for a "private" exhibit that I am participating in but that is most likely not going to happen. So I will probably end up using an older piece or finishing one of the new ones already close to done for that exhibit.

Oh well, back to my paperwork and mama-ing.

threaded tears.

I saved a little blurp on the French artist, Francesco Vezzoli because the work image included seemed interesting and just now, probably months later discovered the little piece if scrap and looked him up. Apparently he is a very successful and quite provocative artist who is having his premier exhibit in the U.S at none other then Gagosian Gallery.

His work is kind of like a mix of Andy Warhol as he plays with and recreates images of pop culture figures by printing images on canvas, and Damien Hearst, as he seems to like the bad boy image, a little sparkle, and to shock the audience just enough to keep them gossiping.

His signature work is to have images printed on canvas and then add tears in embroidery.

He states this for his press release:

Whatever great artist or thinker we choose to look at, they’ve all used whatever weapon they might have to attract interest to their thoughts. I don’t see anything wrong with using celebrities to make clearer, more understandable statements or, in my case, simply to reflect a reality that has a huge power over our lives. I insist that the taboo surrounding my work comes from the fact that people get stuck on the presence of Gore Vidal or Cate Blanchett. I’m kind of stuck...too.

I personally am quite excited to see the show as this image of an installation makes me curious to see how he will tackle the cavernous and high ceiling space of Gagosian.

Rather then write much about him myself I will lead you to an article in Vogue, the Times, and his press release.
But I must say I find it very interesting that his work seems to be all about the beautiful people and he himself is one of them.

The show opens February 5th. I will be sure to check it out.

inspired?

So I had mentioned the piece that I need to make for an exhibit that I am in and finally am getting around to thinking and therefore talking about it. I am extremely excited to be one of the artists in the exhibit Self-fabricated at the Duxbury Museum in 2012. The exhibit features 7 artists, many of who work with fabric or the domestic experience. This exhibit has been a long time planning by the hardworking and wonderful curators.


One of the aspects of the exhibit is that each artist is making a piece in response to a work from the historical collection of the museum. Initially I was very excited as I have done this before for an exhibit at the Peabody Essex Museum and enjoyed it immensely. But then... I got the images. I have to tell you I was not inspired. The work selected was a historical kimono, which normally would be a good thing, but this particular work was so bright in color and so full of details that I was lost.


But knowing that generally in Chinese embroidery there is a lot of symbolism I had hope and have now found out that the robe has a ton of symbolism with motifs that represent happiness, purity, perseverance, longevity, and abundance.


So finally I have my plan which I will reveal a bit later but one aspect of my response is that since I was totally overwhelmed by the brightness and color of the piece, I am taking that away in my work and doing a white on white response. I am actually starting to feel pretty excited about that.

But need to get started as I am on a pretty tight deadline as the work needs to be finished in time to be included in the catalogue. Agh. MUST START THIS WEEKEND.