FiberFly Studios Embellisher (felting machine) Workshop



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Daylily

I was very pleased to learn today that Daylily has been accepted for publication in The Studio Art Quilt #6: State of the Art put together by Sandra Sider. The book should "drop" at the end of this year and will contain the work of 60 American art quilters. My piece is unique in that it was made entirely on the embellisher machine which needle felts and uses NO thread nor stitching at all. It is raw edge applique and the requisite three layers with batting inside. It was made originally for the Noble Seasons series with which it toured, and represents Summer.

Flotsam II

This example of my contemporary embroidery is done on green felt. It has been foiled, stitched, appliqued with yarns, metals, Tyvek, etc., then burned out to add a more random, organic feel. It is about the odd beauty in the orphaned items which wash up onto our shores and into our waterways.

Building Blocks

Here's a piece, Building Blocks, which hasn't been posted yet. Seemingly miles of novelty yarns zigged to a sturdy ground then layered and bound!

Dreamhouses

This is an "art quilt" but it is really about the surfaces. The underlying layer - salmon colored - is a piece of art cloth which I created by dyeing and over-dying with several mechanical resists (sort of crude shibori). Then I printed/painted and foiled it. The over-layer is black felt onto which I applied painted WonderUnder. I foiled that surface and then adhered a large piece of scrim I'd dyed. It is all quilted onto batting and a backing to stabilize the piece. I'm going to make another one using just a version of the top layer as I love the way the light plays off the foil on the otherwise very absorbative ground.

Brickfielder

This is the sixth quilt in my Hot Winds Series: Brickfielder. The unusual name comes from the fact that this searing wind blows the red dirt from the Australian Outback (Bight) into towns to the south, covering everything with a thick, brick-colored dust.

My Quilt Goes to FRANCE

Wood Cells, which is part of the SAQA Art Meets Science exhibition, is BACK in Europe! It is at Quilt Expo Beaujolais in Graves sur Anse this weekend. Wish we could all be there sipping some of that fine French wine and enjoying the show!

Embellisher Workshop - Use that felting machine in new and exciting ways!!

I taught a Lamination Workshop at my studio: FiberFly Studios. Fun, fun, fun!!

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Lamination Samples

I've been experimenting with laminating on various ground fabrics: wool, linen, handwoven cotton and commercial cotton. Here are some examples in preparation for several workshops I will be conducting. WAY fun!! Remember - you can click on any blog images to enlarge them for a close up view.

Flotsam - A Contemporary Embroidery

Here's a recent piece I finished. There is, in fact, an underlying layer of laminated paper then some painted WonderUnder. Beyond that I have stitched a variety of cool stuff, added some paint and burned the edges (I seem to be painting with my fingers lately; isn't that something we did in kindergarten???). It is mounted on painted canvas. Any ideas for a title?

Click on the card for details.

Lamination Workshop

I will be offering a workshop on lamination of paper to fabric on March 23 at FiberFly Studios in Palos Verdes, CA. If you aren't already on my email list and wish to have an invitation, please contact me at FiberFly@cox.net for details. The announcement will be going out this Wednesday, February 16. If you scroll through the posts on this blog since early January you will see lots of samples of the kinds of lamination we will be working on in March. We will be focusing on visually integrating the applied paper to the overall design of the finished work. If you have special fabrics: hand dyes, prints or left overs from other projects, consider adding a whole new dimension to them at this workshop.

Ooooops!

Well, a funny thing happened on the way to the Wall. I rented a painting studio and decided to paint the Follow Along. So, on a whole different note, we go from the collaged base of tissue and laminated papers to acrylics applied to the copper netting I'd placed over it all. Collage, yes; painting, yes. You just never know. I've always aspired to be an abstract expressionist painter and at this "ripe old age" am getting closer and closer to the dream. No Sunday painter in the park here!

New Follow Along: The Wall

Now that I have been laminating for a while I have been thinking about how to integrate that work into the rich stitching that I love to do. I have come upon the theme of walls for a variety of reasons. One is the way they break down, both literally and metaphorically. This provides the opportunity to go deeply into the surface to reveal underlying structure and the suggested passage of time (yea, big birthday coming up . . .). So I'm going to post the steps as they play out for what may be the first piece in a series. Enjoy!

Collagraph + Lamination = ???

Here's a piece I did from one of the collagraphs I made last week from a hodge podge plate I stuck washers and cardboard and other junk onto. The large black marks are all results of printing off that plate onto a white fabric (bamboo, as it happens). The softer black and colored areas are a result of laminating black and white plus some pastel-y papers to the piece. I then colored it all with water soluble paint and markers, and drew into it with pens. Any suggestions for naming the piece?

Play Date

My friends Susan Willen, Sharon Oblinger, Carol Churchill and I spent the day at FiberFly Studio making collagraphs. We built plates out of lots of stuff: corrugated cardboard, sticky foam, string, glue and even dried beans! Then we rolled on acrylic paint and pressed our fabric into the surface. The photo shows a few of the pieces drying in the sun (yea, January and it's 75 degrees!). For mine, the ones with just black paint, I am creating bases for lamination. Next week I will start to build up the layers so please check back!

More Laminated Pieces

I am entranced by the process of laminating paper to fabric and then integrating it into a cohesive design (I think I've said that before . . .). These are a couple more pieces which have been laminated. The aqua one has already been stitched while the warm colored one is awaiting the stitching. I will be offering a workshop on the process in late February or early March here at FiberFly Studios. Stay tuned for details as they develop!

Attributed to Wayne Thiebaud:

"If you sit around and wait for inspiration all you get is a sore ass."

Reminder to self - get back into the studio and work! I've been swamped seemingly for weeks and need to eliminate distractions and just make art.

Lamination

I have been working away to master the process of laminating paper to fabric with the goal of creating a well integrated design. Next week I will give more details about the process, but before I flee town for an extended weekend I wanted to post some examples. Enjoy!

Holidays are OVER!!

Enough of this romping about with friends, eating fine food and drinking sparkling wine - it's time to get back to work. Besides catching up with piles of paperwork, emails and submissions, I have been laminating paper to fabric. This is a very beginning stage of a piece which will get lots of ink and stitching. Explanation and follow up photos to come. New work for the New Year!

Now for Something Entirely Different . . .

I stitched lots of fabric bits onto a colorful cloth ground and then painted like a woman obsessed. Canvas textile? Canvas textile!

Sirocco DONE!

Though I have not yet put the backing and thin black border on the piece, it is done. There is now stitching throughout which unifies it visually and provides a slightly 3D effect especially visible in the small colorful circles. The Hot Wind Series now has five pieces which are all very colorful and have lively surfaces.

Day Three of the Follow Along

The piece now has a name - Sirocco, one of the winds that blows north out of the Sahara into Southern Europe, so this is another art quilt in my Hot Winds Series (who knew?). I have done a lot more to make the elements cohere: printed more circles and other forms from the original shapes in different sizes, added a fine layer of Angelina, then colored in and emphasized the fabric circles. I used a variety of media including Aquarelle crayons, markers and of course a lot of paint. It is beginning to look more refined but still high energy and playful. Now I'm off to layer and stitch.