news, news, news

I just updated my website, the first big redo since I first put it up. I've been working on it for a few weeks; the differences are subtle, but I like it better. Next project will be adding some new work to it. That can wait until after the holidays.

I've also been working on the temporary website of a newly formed group I am happy to be a member of, the Fiber Artists Coalition. We are all PAM's (Professional Artist Member) of SAQA (Studio Art Quilt Associates), and are joining forces to market our work. We've just assembled our first joint show and submitted it to a potential venue. Right now the website is just links to all of our own websites, but those are worth checking out.




SAQA has a monthly online show featuring works of PAM's; I'm proud to have this piece (Unraveling) in the December show. Check that out, too.

In January, Ann Miller Titus and I have a joint show at the Keokuk Art Center in Keokuk, Iowa.

So even though I've been quiet on this blog, and I haven't gotten a lot of art made (ok, fiber art, I have been doing watercolors for the Great River Watercolor Society winter show), things have been happening.

And now they're slowing down for the holidays. But I'll be back at it come 2008. (yikes! 2008?)

study and scraps

Can you do a study AFTER a piece is done? I feel like that's what I have done, so I guess one can. It started with the scraps from the piece I've been showing in other blog entries like here, and was driven by ideas I had while making it. Like thinking what if I use this color of thread? What if I add more rust to it? So this is the result of my first 'after study':

November B

The piece is quite small compared to the big one--which by the way as been named November--but I needed something quick and easier to handle than the big one (it had been a while since I tried to force something that big under the needle). It measures 10.5" wide by 8.5" high, and features some of the same elements as November--the amorphic cheesecloth, the vertical 'tree trunks'.

But the primary stitching is done in a yellow green thread from Sulky. I had added some hand stitching to the original piece in these colors, but it only shows up when you get close to it. And from a distance, it's not real obvious on this piece. But it adds a liveliness to the piece that I like.

It was lacking focus, though. I had a kayak shaped piece of rust silk I auditioned on it (kayaks being one of my favorite go to shapes), but it was too large. I started by cutting it down with free hand rotary cutting, and the shape of the piece and the slice chopped off caught my eye--the negative space between them. So I cut the other side off, too, so that I would have three pieces, and was left with I think of as a 'deconstructed kayak.' I really like this shape; it will surely show up in future pieces.

So I guess the final answer to my question is yes, you can do studies after the fact. Working on a big piece always presents alternate paths that deserve to be explored, even if just in studies. Who knows where that path will lead? This is the joy of doing a series--the serendipity of discovery along the way.

By the way, this piece is for sale, directly from me, for $75. It is mainly silk with some cotton cheesecloth, and should be mounted on mat board for display.