Working with Weeds--Julie B Booth

Detail of Dandelion fabric

This summer I spent a lot of time working with weeds.

I used the weeds I found in my garden to create a series of hand painted and printed fabrics.

My plan is to design a series of pieces called Weed Maps for F.I.N.E.'s upcoming show All Over the Map. In these pieces, I will collage the weed fabrics with a series of fabrics using different grids. The grids will represent a sense of order in contrast to the wild disorder of the weeds.

Once I have all the fabrics printed, I plan to sit with them and let them speak to me to see what my next move will be.

More to come...

Pillow Talk - Jessica Beels

I have started making wall pieces out of patchworked paper.  I tear sections of still-wet, newly made, flax paper and arrange them over the front and part of the back of a wire mesh form, leaving an opening in the back to take the mesh form out when the paper has dried.  The paper shrinks over the form, contorting it as the paper shrinks and dries. The final piece maintains most of the square shape of the wire mesh, but buckles and ripples where it can.

Some of the paper sections are printed in different colors of metallic paint and ink with various languages and scripts, making the surface a kind of disjointed conversation, like murmered exchanges late at night – hence “Pillow Talk.”  The example in the image above includes speckled paper with seaweed inclusions.

I really enjoy making these pieces.  The challenges are: 1) achieving a satisfying composition working in two dimensions, initially, with the goal of a three-dimensional final form; and 2) designing it so it won’t pull itself apart as it dries.  Another challenge is taking good images of the work.  The color variations are subtle and metallic paints are hard to photograph.

I look forward to seeing how these pieces evolve, maybe in series mounted together, or made over different mesh shapes.

Collapsed Bodies - Ann Liddle

I have a show in December as featured artist in my building at the Workhouse Art Center in Lorton, VA.  I'm getting anxious about getting enough work done so I decided to reuse some old work.  I crocheted the bodies below in 1997.  At that time, I stuffed them and inserted wire armatures.  Now I've destuffed them and removed the armatures.  I have a pile of collapsed bodies to work with.

I'm not sure what I will do with them.  I did restuff one and stiffen it into a sitting position - shown below.  I think I will paint her and maybe put her in a shadow box.  I don't know.  Stay tuned.

Ann