Input-Output - Anne Buchal

I have been a member of the Torpedo Factory Artists Association for longer than I care to remember. One of the Staff members has been there longer than I. The Factory has been his life as he has always been the first there to open the doors and the last to leave after we close for the day. Last year he underwent cataract surgery but appeared the day after, sitting in his usual place. I asked why he had not stayed home. The answer was, “No input.”

I thought about this remark the other day when I noticed that there were several sockets on the back of my bedside radio. Each had a label: “IN”, OUT, AUX” and “VARIABLE”. Perhaps this could be a mantra to use now that I have given up my studio at the Factory. I need input. Life at home offers little inspiration .I have to depend on what is available in the house : radio, TV books and the computer. When I leave the house, there are groups, errands to run and such. And sometimes, the best thing to do is work on something and input may occur as the work progresses. A teacher was fond of saying, “Even if you get up in the morning and don’t feel like painting, go to your studio and start to work”. Just starting may provide the impetus you need to accomplish something. Maybe it would not be your best work, but it may lead on to better work.

The term, “auxiliary” might refer to the tools you use to create what the input has suggested. Each medium has its own tools to that are needed for the process and here is where “variable” comes in. Working on different project leads to experimentation. A needle and thread are traditional tools for sewing fiber, but they are used in bookmaking or even in sewing plastic and dyes and paints can be used on many surfaces other than fabric and paper. The list goes on and on. I’ll have to see if the mantra works.

More Stripes - Ann Liddle

I've finished all my black and white striped pieces - 9 in all.  I will use one for a a group project that my studio at the Workhouse Arts Center is doing.  Eight will be in my featured artist show that starts on Aug 7.  I've called it Stripes: On the Wall and on the Body."  By which I mean that I made some clothing too.  Here are some more pictures.  Remember that they all started with a 12" x 12" square.

Number 5

Number 3

Number 4

The clothing is all my original designs.  I made them in black silk noil with natural silk noil stripes.  They are loose fitting.  

Pattern 91, Top

Pattern 92, Tunic

I think they look better in person and on the body than in these photos!

I'm already thinking about my next series.  I had wanted to work with sheer fabric for this show but it just wasn't coming together.  I think I've thought of a better way to work with the sheer fabric so I'm excited to get started.  But some travel and other things will intervene before I can really concentrate again.  At least I got these done before I left for the beach - I have to hang my show the day after I return.

Jessica Beels: Beaded Circles

While most of my recent work has been with paper shrunk over wire, I still make the occasional piece of beaded jewelry.  I used to make a very wide range of forms, many of them inspired by flowers and leaves, but recently, I mostly make groups of circles.  They are very satisfying, and by limiting myself somewhat to the repetitive shapes, I have a lot of fun exploring different formations and relationships. 

 

Varying the rate of decrease of the number of beads within each round can create a flat or a domed element.  By playing with the bead colors, you can subdivide circles into sections to emphasize their own form and/or draw attention to elements of the overall form.  Also, depending on how many points of contact you make between elements, the final shape can be flat, cupped, or encompass a full sphere or other enclosed form.  

Here are some examples:

I like the rhythm of sewing concentric circles or ovals of beads.  Simple connected circles with a concentric pattern make a dramatic collar necklace.

By emphasizing lines between connections, the effect is one of pie slices and the eye doesn’t see the distinct circles as much. Regularly interconnected, same-sized domed circles form this pin – connecting the circles at six even points makes the form stay flat. 

If the circles are all connected at five evenly spaced points, instead of six, the form curves in on itself and you can build a sphere – in this case twelve even circles form a dodecahedron that can be worn as a pendant if you put the neckwire through the central holes.

If you start to build the framework of a regular dodecahedral sphere, but then vary the rates of decrease or leave some circles as tubes instead of closed domes, you can get some elegant variations on the theme. This beaded bead started with the same 12 circles as the sphere above, but turned into a flatter, ruffled, trifolate shape.

Finally, often, I just want to make a freeform piece and see where the distorted circular forms end up as they squeeze past each other, as in this pin.  

I keep adding to these pins until I am happy with the composition.  Sometimes they turn into necklaces.

Julie B Booth: 60th Anniversary Project

A selection of print blocks.

 I'm just back from Savannah having celebrated my parents' 60th Anniversary. To commemorate this auspicious event, I organized an art project. The results will be turned into a wall hanging,

I really enjoy doing fiber art projects with my 11-year-old niece, Ivy and 6-year-old niece and nephew, Poppy and Kai. We usually get together in August but this summer they are moving to a new home. The anniversary get-together seemed like a great time to get in a bit of art.

Poppy working on a print block.

We spent one day making blocks from adhesive craft foam as well as moldable foam blocks which you heat to emboss textures.

Kai getting ready to print.

The next day we printed outside in the garage.

Ivy working on an anniversary wish.

One of Judy's prints.

One of Kai's prints

One of Poppy's prints.

It was great fun. Even Poppy's feet got printed!

If you are interested in learning the specifics of this project, I will be featuring a how-to in the July issue of Julie B Booth Surface Design News. You can sign up for this free monthly on-line newsletter at my blog (upper right hand column).

Layout of the printed squares that will be turned into a wall hanging for my parents.

Dilemma/Decisions by Anne Buchal

I last wrote about the mess in my studio; the fact that I went public with that disorder prompted the decision to vacate that studio where I had “lived” for the past 10 years. The Torpedo Factory has been a second home for more than 30 years. It has provided me with a place to indulge myself experimenting with a variety of media and it is where I met the women who form our group of fiber artists.

Although I kept a sewing machine and a cabinet of threads, cloth and notions in the studio, I also made space for paint, paper, metal etc. I took classes held in the building that provided the inspiration to experiment and broadened my appreciation of other visual arts.

Life at home seems another world away. It is a solitary life and though artists are thought to be people who must create in solitude in order to be considered "serious," I find that this is probably not true – a stimulus is needed. There has to be an effort to go downtown to a museum, look at books, read poetry. There are no pubs in my neighborhood – or any place to go to engage in spirited conversation. I’m completely incompetent using a computer in spite of the fact that it has become a fact of life and may be the only means open for me to continue to express myself! Proof of this is the fact that this piece must be posted by a friend.

Stripes revisited by Ann Liddle

Last year, I made a series of large striped, brightly colored pieces for my featured artist show at the Workhouse Arts Center in Lorton, VA. (See and earlier blog for images.) This year, the deadline is looming - it's August - and I'm just beginning to make the new work.  For another project, I have to make a black and white piece that is no larger than 12" x 12".  So I thought I'd combine it with the effort and make all black and white striped pieces.

I will start with 12" x 12" squares of stripes - painted canvas, cut and sewn into striped squares.  Then I'll make the final pieces by cutting shapes and rearranging them and resewing.  I'll do it all on paper first to be sure I like the results.  I've designed 4 square pieces so far and have cut and resewn one of them.  Here are the remaining squares (the lower right is not the same as the others and will be for a different purpose).  You can't see the black edges against the black background.

Here is the first reassembled piece.  It now measures about 30" x 12" so it's kind of amazing that is came from only a 12" x 12" square.

These are much smaller than last year's strips so I may make more of them.  I also plan to make some clothing that relates to the pieces for the same exhibit. Maybe some interesting angles and some stripes.  No photos of those yet because they are still in my head.

Meanwhile, I need to make  3 or 4 new clothing pieces for a fashion show at the workhouse NEXT WEEK. I've painted some fabric in squiggles with textile paint.  I hope to do a couple more colors.  And then sew like crazy.  No photos right now but I will post them when they are done.

Getting ready to move on

My stay here in the Virgin Islands is coming to a close for the season. I leave May 1.

Today I have organized the studio space that I have here (a guest room) to see what I should take with me to Maryland and what can stay.

I have been here for over four months, and I have done some art work, but I don't have much to show for it, in the sense of finished art work. I have been experimenting with dyeing with local plants, which is interesting and is turning into quite a larger project than I had thought. I had not thought much about it before I started, actually. Just that it could be a fun thing to do, since there are so many things growing here where we live on the edge of the rain forest. Turns out there are many ways to dye, many ways to make the dye permanent in your fiber, many different fibers that take the dye differently and many, many plants, seeds, bark to try. Overload! I feel that I have touched on the subject of natural dyeing, and I got some results that may encourage me to continue next year. I need to study the subject more, before digging in again, find a narrower focus, perhaps, and definitely limiting myself in some ways. This scientific research process does not seem very interesting to me. I want to do things and see what happens! I guess I am very un-disciplined in my art making.

Here is a picture of some of the dyed fabrics:

As  you can see, some of them look barely dyed at all. If you want to know more about this journey, you can find it on my blog "Experiments in Dyeing" at www.simonsonart.blogspot.com

When I return to Maryland, I have some work to do. I am going to be in three exhibitions before the end of this year. Fortunately none of them are solo exhibitions, so I don't have nearly the pressure of having to put together an entire gallery's worth of work.

The first exhibition is at the Smith Center for the Healing Arts in DC. It is an exhibit of "Visionary Artists" of which I am one! Who knew. What defines a visionary artist, it turns out, is an artist who does not have any formal education in art. That is me all right. I will be showing some of the pieces that I made together with Kathy Beynette a couple of years ago. Here is a sample:

The second exhibition is at the Takoma Park Community Center/City Hall, in July. I will be showing birds.

Something like this:

Finally, I have a lot of work to do to prepare for our Fine exhibit in Lancaster, PA. I hate to admit it, but I have made no progress during this winter. I don't understand why I can't find what I feel is the right expression for me, of the Map theme. I love maps! It should not be hard. The only thing I can think of is that since I love maps, I am putting a lot of pressure on myself to make "the Ultimate Map Art Work". That would be silly, but it could be true.

More on this later.

Studio Shots by Anne Buchal

They say “variety is the spice of life”, but sometimes, in practical terms, it gets in the way of being a good thing. A friend gifted me with a large, L shaped table top when she moved out of her studio. What luxury! I had never had a workspace that could accommodate a framing job or room to spread out. Each project which had its own tools and materials had to be cleaned up each time I want to change media. Since a long project had its “boring” period, when I reach these times, I’m able to switch over and leave one job and pick up another. Recently, I took a long look at the workspace, which takes up a corner of the studio, and realized it was one great mess. Some things needed to be finished and out away.

The table top is now populated by 2 fiber sculptures, a CD player, boxes of pencils and clay tools, old magazines, paint brushes, impressions from a zinc plate next to them, tools used to work on the plate and next to all that is an easel with an unfinished painting of a model who posed for a “life” class.

Of all of the aforementioned, maybe it should be the plate that should have a final printing. I will probably give up on the painting and I need more fabric to finish the figures. It’s a mess, but it does keep me occupied.

Julie B Booth: Class Sampler

Sample from Beyond Potato Prints.

 I've been spending lots of time in the studio creating samples and typing on the laptop...two new workshops and my monthly online newsletter have kept me quite busy!

Here is a sampling of samples:

Samples from Beyond Potato Prints:

Carrots and turnips.

Lentils and grapefruit.

Samples from A Story in the Making: Creating Story Cloth with Print and Stitch:

The Rooster and the Sunflower

Detail: Two Roosters

Sample from Issue #11 of Julie B Booth Surface Design News:

Matzoh Paste Resist.

 I had great fun teaching both workshops and was impressed by the students' work. If you'd like to see what they created, here are a couple of links.

Student work from Beyond Potato Prints.
Student work from A Story in the Making: Creating Story Cloth with Print and Stitch.

Off to Savannah tomorrow. Hoping to visit the SCAD Museum of the Jepson..both of these art museums usually have fascinating shows.

Ramblings by Ann Liddle

My new series is called Ramblings.  I'm using painters tape on fabric and then spray painting (or just spray painting on one piece so far).  I then hand and machine stitch and add pieces of fabric.  I'm hoping to make many of these and to become freer and more expressive as I go.  I'm looking for a fast, fun way to create art.  Maybe these could even be called sketches.  If I can, I'd like to add some found objects.  But don't want them to become cluttered or precious.  Plus I haven't found any objects yet.  Here is my work so far.

                                       

Like Beth, I also have  two pieces from another member that I'm supposed to work with.  My pieces are from Julie Booth and are shown below.  They are wonderful and inspiring and I wonder what I will do with them.  

Beth Latture - A Clean Slate

A wonderful thing happened last week:

I cleared off my work table.

When I saw the clean surface of the studio table I felt lighter.  I went from the dread and paralysis that a cluttered studio had been causing me and had a new urge to create something.  A space for new possibilities now exists.

Coinciding with this new lightness of being was the meeting with the other FINE artists and our curator Trudy.  Our new challenge is an unusual one - bring in work (2 or more pieces) that you never finished, abandoned or just wanted out of your space and mind.  Trudy then reassigned these "orphans" to another artist in the group to have her way with.

Here are my new inspiring materials:

I will be using two of Anne Buchal's soft sculptures.  I'm excited by this project and also a little sad to dismember her work.  I love the playfulness and mythological stories that she combines in these pieces.  The female figure is Lachesis - one of the 3 Fates - the one who measures the thread of life.  I have no idea what this hybrid animal is, but that snake tail is speaking to me....

Stay tuned as the artworks freed by our fellow members go on to live new and different lives!

Jessica Beels - Pulse: Art and Medicine show at Strathmore

I have spent much of the last 6 months working on pieces for a show now on exhibit (February 16 – April 13, 2013) at Strathmore Mansion in Bethesda, MD – Pulse: Art and Medicine.  

The show presents two-and three-dimensional art inspired by or addressing the subject of medicine, including work by graduates of the Johns Hopkins medical illustration program.

I was honored to be asked to be a part of this show, and even more excited when Harriet Lesser, the curator, offered me the opportunity to fill an entire room with my work.  I made all new work for the show – four pieces, each examining different medical afflictions, and described below.

Deconstructing HPV is a hanging piece, about 18” in diameter, made from handmade flax paper over steel, with a wooden plumb bob suspended in the center.

The form is a stylized replica of the icosahedral structure of the human papilloma virus (HPV). It is a commentary on how all US children aged 12 and older are now recommended to receive the vaccine for HPV, which is often transmitted through sexual contact. As we navigate the struggle to reconcile the beauty and strength of the virus and its destructive role in our lives, the plumb line is a reminder that we must be careful and precise as we deal with both the social and medical issues related to this invasive body.  The hollow core of the plumb bob contains a portion of Helena’s soliloquy in Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream:

Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind,

And therefore is winged Cupid painted blind.

Nor hath Love's mind of any judgment taste;

Wings, and no eyes, figure unheedy haste.

And therefore is Love said to be a child,

Because in choice he is so oft beguiled. 

Clot is a three-part series made from handmade abaca paper shrunk over steel frames (each about 20” x 20” x 6”), with aluminum and bronze mesh forms representing blood cells.  Blood clots can kill us or save us.

The blood cells in this piece are made from wire mesh, similar in
structure to the niobium mesh used to evade clots that cause strokes
and heart attacks.  This life-saving material, when woven together as
it is here, catches on itself, much as one imagines blood cells do to
start a clot.  Here, the blood cells are triangular (rather than round) to
represent the Triple Horn of the Norse god Odin, made of three interlocking horns
representing the three draughts of mead Odin drank.  The mead was a source of power and strength, made from the god Kvasir's blood.

Daily Dose is an 8-foot-high corner installation made from handmade flax and abaca paper shrunk over steel wire, with metallic cord, wooden wheels, stainless steel nuts and bolts, a metal pulley, a lead weight, and a limestone rock.  The flexible yet brittle nature of paper shrunk over steel wire echoes our bone fibers’ tenuous strength.  Regular resistance training and a daily dose of calcium can help reverse osteoporosis, so the lead fishing weight (at the top) and the limestone rock (at the bottom) are connected by a golden cord sewing the broken fibers back together.

Pass It On is a 5-part mobile made from handmade flax paper shrunk over steel wire, pieces of glass mirror, copper wire, and metal leaf. The neurons are each about 3 feet in diameter, and they are hung to overlap slightly and collide, sparking each other, and passing energy along. The title of this piece also relates to the possibility that Alzheimer’s disease is hereditary. The mirrors at the nucleus of the cell body refer to memory/identity loss in people with degenerative neurological diseases.