Orange Art Cloth

Got my piece done for the Art Cloth Network's 2010 challenge: Very different from my usual work. A bit Asian, yes??? It's 80" long which is why it's all over the ground. No other place to photograph it till it's properly hung in the gallery!

Fun with Mixed Media

Just enjoying the hell out of my alternative media class with Jill Keifer at Palos Verdes Art Center. These are Day 3's results. I'm working with crackle paste which I never mastered last year when I did a zillion experiments trying to get great crackle, plus rusting and gold leafing. The white piece is various wall and ceiling textures on cotton treated with porcelain slip. The goal is to eventually use these techniques with textiles (besides the obvious - canvas! Soooo old school).

Painted Aluminum

Turns out I hadn't posted that bit of painted aluminum last week after Jill's class, so here it is.

Monday Class

Once again I met with Jill Keifer at Palos Verdes Art Center and found her class on alternative painting media fun and useful. Last week I posted a painting on aluminum sheeting. This week I finished a collage of interesting papers and metal paints held on with Modge Podge while above it floats a sea of rust. This rust business will definitely find its way into my textiles!

Spent the WHOLE day, yes, the entire day, sending out pix and docs about my work for potential exhibitions. This is the less fun part as MAKING is, of course, what it's mostly about. But it's important to me to get it seen, and days like this always pay off. Here's a piece that hasn't been seen yet; I call it DeconRecon as it is comprised of several pieces of fabric I deconstructed screen printed and then pieced together.

Hope you can be there!

A couple of unexpected views of Big Sur. Plus plenty of time to sketch and cogitate (and eat and drink well at Ventana and the Bakery!!!), see art and even buy books!

Riverside moves to Camarillo!

Reinventions: San Francisco, 2010

The SDA Reinvention Conference in San Francisco this weekend was informative, visually and intellectually stimulating and a bit depressing as my jealousy of those who 1) have 30 years of full time art making behind them, and 2) have seriously large studios in which to work put me face to face with the result of having chosen to take the "safer" road. I've been pedaling as fast as I can for the last almost four years, but there is no "catching up." Live in the moment, be thankful for what I have, keep making good choices, etc, etc.

I can't post pix of others' work on the blog so am just putting up a few images that are iconic of the event. As you can see from the photos, the Art v. Craft paradigm was knocked about once again!

Thanks to all the great people I got to hang with!!! You made the weekend way special for me.

Slag Heap (in process)

Worked and reworked: dyed, over-dyed, printed, painted, felted, hand stitched, foiled, cut, stamped, burned, with Tyvek, tulle, felt, cotton, rusty metal and probably about six other things. I've been working on this since October and finally feel that I have control. Yippee! Another month and, I predict, it will be finished.

Customize a picture slideshow

New Art Cloth Blog

I just created a new little blog with my art cloth. Check it out at FiberFly.posterous.com There are lots of groovy visuals. No quilting, no embellishing, just dyeing, printing, painting and foiling on a single piece of fabric.

Closer Than You Think

I've been working on some experiments to see if I can make a coherent piece using modules or cells in the style of Chuck Close. The first few were not very successful, but this one works for me. The next one will have much larger modules but I'm going to continue using the screen armature as I can warp it slightly which adds the magic carpet element.

EMBELLISHER WORKSHOP!!!

Both of these pieces were done with the poorly understood embellisher/needle felting machine. Join me March 3 from 10-4 in my Palos Verdes studio to learn more about your dry felting machine than you thought possible. $65 if you bring your own machine; lunch included. Email me to sign up or if you have questions: FiberFly@cox.net

Blue Cloth

In spite of all the prep for various shows and shepherding the one in Redondo Beach, I have had some studio time. Been dyeing up a storm. Here's a piece I over-dyed three times using Presist for underlying patterning. I'm actually thinking of cutting into it, doing some stitching and turning it into a quilt. Haven't quite decided yet. What do you think???

Another Month to See the Exhibit

SUNDAY March 7 from 5-7 is the closing event. 1935 Manhattan Beach Bl. around the SOUTH side of the RB Performing Arts Center directly into the gallery. Hope to see you there!!!

Good News/Bad News

We had a wonderful turn out for our exhibit opening even though it was a dark and stormy night, and the show looks terrific. On the down side, several folks were turned away at the door on that night, and quite a few others have been sent packing since then when they arrived at the venue. The theatre manager has reneged on his commitment to let viewers in at the hours stated on the postcard he sanctioned! After MUCH negotiation we have determined that 1) he is a !Z(&*^@!!BXX%$#@Z, and, more importantly, 2) you can get in if you come to one of our walk-throughs or the closing event. These are Wednesday, February 3 at 1 pm, Tuesday, February 16 at 11 am, and Sunday, March 7 from 5-7. We are very, very sorry if you were one of those denied access and hope you will join us at one of the artist-supervised occasions listed above. You can enter through the main theatre doors or around the Manhattan Beach Bl. side of the building directly into the gallery. Hope to see you then!!

Three Perspectives Grand Opening Night

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Three Perspectives Grand Opening

Friday, January 22 from 5-8. Please join us!!

Embellisher Workshop

Gallery Exhibit

Two pieces of my work are in this exhibition. Hope you an swing by if you are in the area.

Embellisher Workshop

The next embellisher (felting machine) workshop is March 3 at my studio in Palos Verdes, CA. Email me for details (FiberFly@cox.net). Here are three examples of techniques we will be learning>

Fetid Wells III (click on image to enlarge)

This is the third and last piece in the Fetid Wells series. It is about 3' x 4' and comprised of three distinct layers which are separated by foam core and rest about 1/2 inch apart from each other within the frame. It is massive compared to most of my work. It has loads of hand stitching on painted, dyed, printed, embellished, etc., surfaces of cotton on industrial felt. The photos do not really do justice to the shadows which form between the layers. It might just represent a new direction in my work ... time will tell.

Make a Smilebox slideshow