new Sibling Revelry collaborative artwork

Colin and I have been working on some new collaborative pieces - what do you think?

Call for artists / crafters for collaborative project

I am starting a collaborative fiber piece that involves the community - not just my local area, but everywhere. I want to collect scraps from everyone who would like to participate and connect them into one finished fiber piece. Traditional fiber arts have long been a source of communication and stress reduction, as in the quilting circles of the past, and current knitting nights, where artists gather to work on a quilt and talk with other artist/crafters. It's not always practical in our busy lives to get together for hours of artwork, so I would like to use technology to reach out and start a visual conversation with other artists and crafters - please join me in this collaborative art project.

When the piece is complete I would like to auction it to raise money for a non-profit that I'm starting that will provide art education and art therapy to children and their families.

"Repair" - mixed media 2012

Here are the participation guidelines:
- send me an envelope with your scrap of fabric, yarn, ribbon, paper... from your current art project or from something else you have been working on.
- Include a 3x5 index card with your name, email, links to your stuff online, and a description of where (what project) your scrap came from.
- by participating you agree to the following:
-- you are donating your scraps and will not get any compensation in return (except the joy of being part of an awesome collaborative art project!)
-- you agree to let me post information about your project and any links to you online that you provide. (I will not post anything about you that you don't want me to).
- there are no costs to participate other than the postage for mailing the envelope to me
- I will post images of work in progress at least once a week depending on participation

you will need to send an email to kelly@kellydarke.com to let me know you are interested and I will send you an address to mail your envelope.

Roadblocks for women artists?

"Expected" - collage 2010

I was recently interviewed by TheDetroiter blog for a series about women artists, since March is national women's month. One of the questions was "do you see any roadblocks for being a professional artist that are particular to women?" My answer leaned toward the idea that women are (generally in our society) expected to be everything to everyone at all times - happily and without question. I know logically that I am just as capable as a man to be a successful artist but for some reason I still feel a bit insecure. I feel confidant about my work - especially the fiber pieces I'm doing now - so I know the quality is there, but I still feel a little bit like I need permission. And that bothers me.

I was also curious about my children's perceptions of women. So I asked them. My daughter is 9 years old and I asked her if she thought being beautiful was important - "No" in a sarcastic, duh kind of way. And then I asked her what she thought about so many girls thinking beauty is more important than being smart - "That is crazy!" We talked about how women should be able to have any job she wants - to which my daughter added that it isn't fair that men sometimes still get paid more for the same job. I wonder what she would think of the current political mess over womens rights. And when I asked my son (6 years old) if he thought women could do whatever a man could do, he said "Yes. Except a woman can't lift up a car". I'm not sure why he thinks a man could lift up a car... So I clarified my question to whether he thought a woman should be able/allowed to try anything and he said "yeah",  kind of like I was asking a stupid question. So, it seems that so far my kids pretty much believe in equality for men and women and I hope it stays that way.

I would really like to hear more discussion about how other women artists feel about this question.

sunrise : fiber, paint, plastic : 30"x50"

Junko Oki - fiber art

ok, since I have nothing new of mine to show (stitching takes a really long time) here is some inspiring fiber art by Junko Oki. I love when I come across an artists work that, in a way, reminds me of my own work - this work reminds me of the feeling I get from my own work.

Work in Progress

This is a detail of a new fiber piece I am working on, which may not even be recognizable when it's completed...

Beauty Debate exhibition opening

6 Degrees of Creativity!

I'm so excited to be one of the instructors in the second edition of 6 Degrees of Creativity! What is it, you ask?  Gretchen Miller describes the program as: "6 Degrees of Creativity will unite concepts of social networking, connecting, collaboration, art-making, and creativity into an engaged global community of artists exploring transformation, social change, and using art for good.  6 Degrees of Creativity will be offered as a self guided 6 month on-line workshop running from July 2012-December 2012 that includes 6 different classes, offered by a group of 6 instructors." 
This is going to be a great experience all around! Stay tuned for more information...