What's New?

I started taking a class on how to create Fabric Collage at LillStreet Art Center several weeks ago. It was a short five week session that ended just this past week. The new session starts this coming up week. It was an excellent class and I highly recommend it if you live in the Chicago area. More information can be found here http://www.lillstreet.com/class-detail/5774 .

Below is a picture of how far I have gotten. The next step is to embroider on it. I haven't decided whether I want to try machine embroidery on it or not. The class gives you a brief introduction to freehand machine embroidery but I think I need more practice before I actually use it on this piece.

The piece is a bit abstract, it is based on a drawing I did of the cracked and plastered sections of my bedroom ceiling (goes to show you, you can find inspiration in anything...lol). I used sheer silk over cotton in some places to illustrate where plastered portions had been replastered a couple times (plastered ceilings can be very interesting in the layers that can build up in touched up spots).

I also managed to get out and get some spring photos during the Easter weekend.




All in all it was a nice weekend. There was an Easter Egg Hunt at my husband's Aunt's house for my niece a and nephew on Saturday (my Husband and Mother-in-law were the bunny's hiding the eggs while I mostly took pictures). And, a Sunday brunch with the cousin's at my Aunt's house. The weather here in Chicago is finally getting spring like after a "mostly" cool start (there was one day a while back that we hit almost 80 degrees and then it promptly dropped back down into the 40's). We have actually been in the 50's and 60's since Easter weekend (and the trend is supposed to continue according to the weatherman). The downside is we have had a lot of rain (all kinds of flooding in the southern part of our state). Which of course it not as bad as the killer tornadoes that hit the southern part of our country. I feel so bad for those who lost their homes and/or loved ones. My thoughts and prayers are with them.

Starting the New Year off right

...so, in the vein of starting the year as you wish it to proceed, I have been doing some blogging, some stitching on felt, some sorting of photos, some reading, some facebooking, some exercising (went swimming), some more blogging and facebooking, some rearranging, and finally some more stitching. All in all I think it has been a good start to the New Year. Next I plan to do some sketching.

I Have Been Very Busy!

Hi!
I have been so very busy. I have been working a lot, taking a class, and working on my first installation project. I was asked back at the very end of April to make four flags to fly from the top of LillStreet Art Center in June. I decided after much thought and some sampling to do nuno-felt flags. I am not entirely sure how they will weather, but I am keen to find out. I have decided to consider this project (beside being an experiment) interactive art (or maybe collaborative art would be a better term) between me, my art, and Mother Nature. I have decided that once the flags come down (and have been worked over by Mother Nature) I will go in and rework what I am left with creating something similar but new. The theme for the flags are the four elements (Earth, Fire, Water, and Air). Each flag will represent one of the elements. I blogged a sneak peek of one of the flags in progress on the LillStreet blog http://lillstreettextiles.blogspot.com/ go over and take a look.

Here are a couple of pictures from my print and dye class.




Thank you for reading. I hope you all have a great weekend!

The Sun is Back!

The sun came back out to play today. It is back to being very cool but as long as the sun is out I don't mind so much (it is spring after all). I have been making scarves this week. So far I have just been printing and dyeing scarves. I even did a couple pole wrapped shibori scarves. I haven't taken any pictures yet because they still need to be overdyed. I plan to get to that this weekend. I also really need to make some more nuno-felted scarves as my supply is really low at the moment. So I should have pictures up soon. In the meantime here is a picture of one of my kitties enjoying the sun.

What I have been doing the last couple weeks.

So, what have I been doing? Well, just before Valentines weekend I dyed some lace and vintage textiles found at one (or a couple) of the many local thrift stores. I was in a green mood so inspired by one of my fellow LillStreet monitors I mixed up an immersion bath of a sort of chartreuse color. I like how the color came out.



Then for Valentines weekend my husband and I got away for a romantic weekend in Saugatuck, Michigan. There is a lovely antique mall just outside of Saugatuck in Douglas, and of course I just had to stop by. I went a little bit nuts. It was a vintage-textile-and-textile-supply-palooza! They have these nice people who wander through the mall who's only goal is to help you or run your stuff up to the front to be put in a numbered cubby (this place is huge - it takes at least an hour to walk through it if you are hurrying). Needless to say you don't realize how much you have actually collected till you get up to the front...lol. Anyway this was my haul (not sure what I am going to do with it all yet, but I will think of something).



I bought tatted and crocheted lace, a tatting shuttle, lots of thread on wooden spools, two bags of edging and piping, a vintage heart pin cushion, thread on a wooden spindle, a vintage wood grainer, and a vintage mirror and brush set (I wanted the mirror to use at craft shows so people can look at themselves wearing my scarves or my mother's hats - the mirror we have is way too big).

I also have picked up my silkscreened-embroidered piece again and have been working on that (you can see some of the progress I have made on it below)



The last thing I think I will show you is a rough sketch that I am thinking of adapting for an embroidered piece.



I am thinking of embroidering it against a green cloth. It is really kind of an organic image and green make me think organic. Maybe I will use one of the ones above that I have already dyed. I will have to think more on that. Right now I am thinking that I am pretty tired. I woke up fairly early this morning for no reason. I didn't have to work until the afternoon I could have slept in, but nooooo, my brain wanted to wake up and be active. My body said "hey more sleep would be good", but my brain would have none of it and just had to have things its own way. The result being a nightowl who is tired early. So, I say unto you "Goodnight".

Texture Tuesday

It is snowing here in Chicago. It has been snowing since last night and it is still snowing. It has not been a heavy snow but is has been fairly steady. We will supposedly have between 8 and 12 inches when all is said and done tomorrow (and I believe it). This was what it looked like looking out my back door earlier this afternoon:



I decided to venture out in the snow and see what the rest of the backyard looked like. I was fascinated by some of the textures I found in the snow.
Like footprints...


and curves created by opening the gate...


and water droplets dropping into the snow from the eves...


and lastly you can almost see individual snowflakes on these red berries (such a wonderful contrast)...


All this wonderful texture to think on. I wonder what tomorrow morning will bring?

Inspiration Monday

I am looking for inspiration to get my buttocks moving. I have spent most of today surfing the net and only doing a little of the organizing I planned (and so far not even a lick of art making...maybe some art gestating...maybe). So I started organizing some photos and found this one. This is the poster child of industriousness. This will be my inspiration for the rest of the evening.



Oh and just for a little contrast in photos I guess we will be getting more of this tomorrow...snow...lots of snow (though not as much as the East Coast got). Maybe the weather is what has my motivation sluggish.

Happy New year!

I wish everybody a happy, healthy, and prosperous New Year!

May Day

Since it is now just past midnight it is officially May 1 or May Day. It is also my wedding anniversary. It's hard to believe that I have been married for sixteen years. It doesn't seem that long. Hubby and I are going away for the weekend to celebrate.

On the art front, I printed two scarves today with thickened dye. Soon as they are done batching and are washed I will put up a couple pictures. The circle embroidery project is coming along (but slowly). Maybe I will post some in progress pictures of that on Monday. In the meantime here are a couple pictures for your inspiration. They were taken in a park near Chinatown in Chicago last spring.

Not much exciting going on at the moment artwise

Been working slowly on that embroidered and silk screened circle project. I still need to take a photo of it. Maybe when I get my camera back tomorrow or on Friday I will get around to it (loaned it to a friend for a bit who needed it to photograph her work). Also, at some point this week or next, I need to work on making some pre-felts for a felting class I am taking with Jorie Johnson come June at the SDA conference post-conference workshops. I am really looking forward to her class. I expect to learn a lot. I have her book. I wonder if it would be too fan-girlish if I asked her to autograph it? I also need to order some more Finn wool (from Misty Mountain Farm and maybe some dyed Finn wool from New England Felting Supply). Some Blue Faced Leicester from Marr Haven would be good too (and maybe some variegated Merino from them too). For Merino Wild Turkey Felt is a good supplier also. I think I have just listed most of my suppliers (I have also gotten carding combs for my mother from Pacific Wool and Fiber). As far as silk goes I order from either Thai Silks or Dharma. Although when I want silk immediately I go to Vogue Fabrics in Evanston. Dharma is also a good supplier for dyes and such. I have also heard good things about Pro-Chemical but have not ordered from them as of yet. Anyway, I am off to bed, so I am going to put an end to my ramblings. Oh, and one more picture for inspiration. Goodnight.

Been A While

It has been a while since I posted. It has just been so very busy. There was a lot of work at the beginning of the year because everyone wanted to get their stuff together for taxes. I was also taking a class titled 'Embellished Screen Printing' taught by a lady named Camille Canales at the LillStreet Art Center. You can check out her website here: http://camillecanales.com/home.html . She does really cool embroidery and bead work on fabric. Anyway, the class involved screen printing and then embellishing your screen printed item with embroidery and beading. It was a really enjoyable class. If you live in Chicago I highly recommend checking out the LillStreet Art Center. If you live in the northern suburbs of Chicago I highly recommend the Evanston Art Center. Although for fiber classes LillStreet offers more. I have taken a number of classes at both art centers and both have some really good instructors.
I need to get around to taking pictures of the pieces I produced in Camille's class. I also have been working on a huge felted and stuffed form that I need to take pictures of. I have really been lazy lately about taking pictures of my work. So, I think I will put up a couple of pictures just for inspiration (from a trip I took to Wetumpka AL and New Orleans LA a few years ago). Maybe it will inspire my lazy self to go take some pictures. For your viewing enjoyment:







I hope this provided inspiration.

The dreaded First Entry

First entries in any kind of journal are always rough. You are breaking new ground. Possibly messing up that pristine page. But, if you don't take that chance nothing is accomplished. So, this is my blog. Here I will document my adventures with fiber and textile art (and maybe the occasional side-trip into the unknown, as I am known to steer off on tangents). The two main areas of fiber art I am exploring right now are felting and dying. I also do some collage work. I hope in the future to put up pictures. For right now it is enough for me that I finally got around to creating this blog.