Process to product - Thread Lace Composition #1

I have been working on new fiber pieces for my upcoming two-person fiber show in June at Live Coal Gallery. This series emerged out of a desire to translate my work into something more three dimensional. I can't remember exactly how I came up with the idea - I'm sure I was inspired by something I saw or another artists work, but nothing specific. Just like the idea that in art nothing is new - all art has influences whether you realize it or not - no one lives or creates in a vacuum. Also, no one can create anything exactly the way you do - no one else can have your personality - no one else can have your exact life experiences - all of which are embedded in the art you create.

adding some hand stitching after the initial machine stitching

before the finishing process

close up detail before the finishing process

Thread Composition #1 - mounted in hand made 8x8 inch shadow box

My son took this picture of me next to my piece at the opening of Detroit Artists Market All media show :)

The Evolution of Stitching "Family"

I love the meditative and intuitive process of stitching - at least my approach to stitching is intuitive and meditative. The soothing process and sound of pulling the thread through the fabric again and again and again... I don't always plan things out - usually I will start with a fabric that was part of an old project, or a scrap from a friend, or even a handful of threads that my daughter gave me from her finished project. For this particular piece, I started with some bits of fiber left over from some earrings I made and the piece evolved into a symbol of family and mothering. 

My intention was to video record my process of creating one of these highly textured abstract embroidery pieces to include in my online workshop. And I did record part of the process, but then I stopped working on the piece for a few days. After a little while I picked up some more scraps and threads around my work table including some small feathers that my daughter had left after a project. I stitched these feathers down to the cotton base fabric and continued with small seed stitches in my favorite dark pink thread, trapping some loose threads as I worked.

Next, I picked up some golden beige yarn that I had used to knit a scarf for my mom. I cut a small length and stitched it down near the feathers. The colors for my daughter and my mom are similar. They are both born in the same star sign and the gold, earthy tones seem to match their personalities. As I continued stitching and thinking about my mom and my daughter, this piece became a meditation on family - on being a mother and a daughter.  These ideas brought to mind my sister and how different our experiences were growing up - the blue is for her stitched down with gray - both are the color of her eyes depending on what she is wearing.

As I stitched around the bottom edge, keeping the feathers securely in place, I realized that I had two feathers - two children - one feather for each - and this piece was telling me that it was about being a mother and a daughter. So, I chose the large pink feather to represent myself and stitched that into place using the pink thread. I added the black yarn for contrast, but then as the black swirled around the pink feather (me) it began to remind me of the difficult times of parenting. Around the time when my daughter was two years old, my husband was working on a new business venture and I started graduate school for art therapy. It was a lot to take on for both of us, and although there were times when I wasn't sure what to do and felt physically and emotionally drained, my family was always there for support.

When I finished stitching all the threads, feathers, and yarn down to the cotton I took a picture of the finished piece to share on Instagram. Looking at the small image on my phone it reminded me of a face looking down (the way I remember looking at my children the first time I held them).

I am always fascinated when my art shows me more than what I was expecting.

The progression from beginning to end

Warning: Visual Overload! (my inspiration)

I am often asked where I get inspiration for my work and it always seems that in the moment I'm not able to think about one person, place, or thing to refer to as my inspiration. However, thanks to social media tools like Pinterest, I can share images of things that inspire me everyday. Some things inspire me because of the colors, texture, and lines. Other things inspire me because of the way I feel when I look at it. Still, other artists inspire me with their stories of why they create. There is no single element the inspires my work, but a lifetime of looking and making.

Montana Living of Montana Møbler

Like I mentioned before, I like saving things - especially multiples of the same thing - and this desk looks like an amazing collection of drawers all painted pink, which would be perfect for my future art studio. The desk also looks like it is the same on the other side - like a mirror image - so that the storage space is double. Maybe I would finally be able to organize my art supply stash!

Cornelius by Julia Haft-Candell

And in my new house / studio I would definitely love to have this sculpture, Cornelious, by Julia Haft-Candell. The list of materials alone is intriguing:

Porcelain, terra cotta, glaze, epoxy resin, cotton, polyester, thread, ink, paper, pins, metal, screws

And I love the texture and lines - the open lace like quality - and the soft muted colors. I'm also very intrigued by this piece because it is porcelain and I have never been a huge fan of ceramics or sculpture in general. I also wonder how delicate this piece is because I'm sure I would want to examine it up close - touching all the tree branch looking parts and figuring out where the pieces are connected. I know, you're not supposed to touch the art, but if I buy it I could - right?

cross section of pine

I'm often inspired by the patterns created in nature. I came across some microscopic images of the cross-sections of plants and trees and found that they look suspiciously like knitting. I used this inspiration to create a body of work for a solo show I exhibited in December of 2012. For example, an image like this image of a cross section of a pine branch inspired a series of 8 fiber art pieces including the one pictured here. I created knit circular patterns and combined that with embroidery and paint.

Stem by Kelly Darke

I am inspired by the work of so many artists: painters, illustrators, crafters, print-makers, weavers... I am inspired by work that is similar to mine and work that is completely different than anything I would do. So often it is the feeling I get when looking at a particular piece of art that in the inspiration. I want to feel that again, I want remember how it felt. I want to create work that resonates with others in the same way.





Any and all work by Cy Twombly - the combination of color, texture, and line in his paintings is difficult to describe. It's difficult to know why it inspires me - it just does.

 

Hero and Leandro by Cy Twombly

Notes from Salalah (Notes II) by Cy Twombly

Add caption

   I love the look of this fiber and mixed media mobile, but since I posted it on Pinterest over a year ago, the link only takes me to an Etsy page that says it's not available :( I don't know who made it, but maybe you do? I'll have to search a some more - I like the combination of colors and materials - natural and manmade objects.

























This installation, Falling Garden, by Gerda Steiner and Jörg Lenzlinger is amazing! I can only imagine how it would feel to be surrounded by this...

Falling Garden

Fiber art - Weaving - Knitting - Texture - Embroidery - Stitching

Memory Threads by Emma Parker

Emma Parker, aka Stitch Therapy, creates personal stories in fiber or printing or animation - whatever medium she uses it is always intriguing, whimsical, fun, and always authentic.

Abigail Doan is an environmental fiber artist and writer creating art and installations - working in New York and Europe.

Abigail Doan

Sheila Hicks

Extreme Knitting

embroidery by Cayce Zavaglia

What inspires you?

Finished stitching and sewing this scarf

This scarf is all cotton,16 inches wide and 80 inches long, with some of my embroidery stitching in a few areas. 

new scarf project... but I may have to take these stitches out...

I've been working on a scarf with lots of my stitching on it. The base fabric is from a vintage sheet and super soft, however now that I've been machine stitching the two sides together, it is loosing its softness. I guess I knew the texture would change, but I machine stitching is faster and I want to finish this. I think I already know I'll have to pull those stitches out and try a different approach... hand-stitching will take too long, the scarf is at least 70 inches long and 24 inches wide. Time to think.

5 ways to enter my first giveaway!

Welcome to my first giveaway! 

I really love sharing my art and ramblings with you all and I truly appreciate everyone who has connected with me through Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter, Facebook, Etsy, Tumblr, my online workshop, this blog, and my website. I have been focusing on creating new embroidery pieces, hosting the online workshop, and meeting so many new people online and I wanted to take a step back and give back. I have been enjoying all the conversations online lately and I think this is a great way to show my appreciation :)

The Rules:
There are 5 different ways to enter this giveaway and a total of 8 possible entries for each person, so the odds are pretty good! I am using the Rafflecopter widget, so it should be really easy - just follow the prompts on the widget below and your entries will be tallied automatically. If you experience a problem, please let me know right away. There are no exchanges. When you enter, you are agreeing to be included on my mailing list - if you never want to hear from me than you probably wouldn't be here in the first place, right? So, good luck and thank you :)

The giveaway starts on Sunday September 8th and ends on Friday September 13th, 2013. Yes, Friday the 13th! Free shipping to where ever in the world you are :)
UPDATE: The end time for the giveaway is 9/13/13 at 12am, that is midnight on Thursday night. The winner will be chosen and announced on Friday 9/13/13.

Here is the prize: an 8 x 8 inch fiber embroidery piece - blue cotton embroidery thread on vintage cotton fabric with mini yellow flower pattern that I hand-dyed with silver spray paint -
the final piece is on stretcher bars and ready to hang!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Starting a new fiber composition.

I decided to start a new fiber painting composition to take a break from the burst stitching. These compositions are much more intuitive and organic, which is a welcome departure from the very specific and controlled pattern of my burst pieces. 

new finished embroidery Burst on vintage fabric 20x20

I worked on this new piece all week while I was taking a break from this one. Yes, it's basically stitching the same type of thing, but the large piece I have to work on standing up and using a five inch needle from the front only, I can't reach around to the back. So, this smaller piece allowed me to get something done a bit quicker, even though stitching is slow no matter what. I was posting all the in progress pics on Instagram as a way to keep myself motivated to get it finished quickly. I have a habit of starting lots of projects at one time and then not finishing most of them. I sometimes find a project stashed away (after I "organize" everything) and think, "oh yeah, I remember when I started that two years ago. I should finish it", then I put it away again. Although, now I have actually written a list of most of my "in progress" projects, basically so I can look at the list and and say, "oh yeah, I remember when I started that two years ago. I should finish it".
Anyway.... I did finish this:

Vintage Burst, 20x20 inches, vintage cotton fabric, cotton thread, acrylic paint

Vintage Burst detail

Vintage Burst detail

marketing or just connecting with people?

I've been thinking a lot about marketing my art - how to market it, should I write a marketing plan, who are my customers and how do I reach them, what are the demographics...  and I don't think traditional business plan processes are always the best way to go with art, especially with the internet. I remember when I got a job at an art gallery, I was so excited to be working in my field until I realized it was just working retail. I was in sales, not art. The art was a product and whether I liked it or not, it was my job to talk with everyone who came in the door and apply all sorts of tactics (I had to go through sales training) to get them to buy. I had learn how to "close" a sale and anticipate objections so that I could negate them before the customer said it. I could never ask a yes or no question, had to keep them engaged in the art... It was stressful and not enjoyable at all.

After a while I realized my commission was barely anymore than my hourly, so I switched gears and just had conversations with people that came in. Conversations about whatever felt natural or whatever came up - if we talked about the art that was good, if not that was good too. I would see people around town and continue our conversations because they felt like friends, not customers. I'm still friends with some of those gallery customers because of that switch in my approach. It felt a little like anti-sales and it became fun. 

Yes, it's a product - I create a piece then you can buy then I can ship it to you. Art is also an extension of the artist. But the more I read about marketing, online or not, the more I find it all comes down to relationships. The relationship you build with your customers, who become more than that when you talk with them and learn about them and in turn they learn about you and your art. It's an exchange, or sharing. Either way, the majority of people who have purchased my work are people I know. I either met them at a gallery opening, through a friend or family member, a lot are family, or I have met them online. So, I guess as I stress about how I'm supposed to market my work, I should realize that I already am just by sharing the story and the process (even if it's difficult).  So, I'll just keep connecting with people and see how that goes.

This is the latest piece I've been working on. It is another burst design, this time on vintage fabric. I wasn't sure if I would like the idea of a patterned background, but I think it is great and it has given me a lot of ideas about manipulating the fabric before stitching. I have one more color to add to this before it's done, and then I may paint the paint like I've done on others before mounting it on stretcher bars. I have been posting the "in progress" pics of my work on Instagram - if you're there, please let me know - it is currently my favorite photo app : )

new pins (button, brooch, whatever you call them) on Etsy

I've been updating my Etsy shop today with all the little fiber composition pins that I have available. Also, been thinking about offering these as pendant necklaces... on a chain, on string, on a crocheted necklace... I'm thinking if I make these as necklaces then using string or something that I already have will be in keeping with my goal of not wasting and not buying supplies if I don't need them. Your input is welcome :)

New pins available on Etsy! mini fiber compositions = wearable art

just like my fiber compositions only smaller and easier to wear

Another embroidery beginning

The beginning of another burst embroidery (It's a 14" hoop) - this time on vintage fabric with flowers. I'm still debating whether I should leave it in the hoop for display or mount it on stretcher bars...