A Break from the Textiles

After becoming possessed with buying handmade American ornaments on Etsy, it came to me that I can make ornaments and I am an American. So a new process has begun! Since I waste numerous hours every night on the computer while my husband is watching TV, I am repurposing those hours into making ornaments out of polymer clay. My goal is to average one a day and sell them to pay for Xmas next year. They are evolving. I do an animal, then a character, and then a face. Time will tell which of the three will take over or whether I will branch out even more. It's fun, and if no one buys one ever, I will have a pretty spectacular tree of my own. Textiles is still my primary job, but it is fun to do some sculpting again.

The MOST important coats of the year!

Here are the pictures of the two coat/vests that I made for my grandaughters...as you can plainly see, pink is their favorite color...these were a joy to make and were well received...now, my third grandaughter wants a painting of a unicorn...if only I can find a unicorn that will pose for me...by Xmas of course....

Big project-almost complete

My most important project of the year is almost complete. Two jackets for my grandaughters...just need to make the detachable hoods tomorrow and they are done. They are pink of course! And they will look like little princesses in them. Was feeling guilty making designer coats and my own grandchildren didn't have a coat of mine... It would have been so much easier to go buy pretty jackets for them, but where would the love be?....so lets hope they fit...will post pictures tomorrow...

Whewwwwww!!!

Show is over. Rachel Clark as our guest speaker was fantabulous....lots of wonderful ladies, shopping, fashion....and just a great time.....it's 8pm and I am going to sleep.....it's been a busy two days....will post pictures later....

(And now, I can get on with some new projects!)

Photo Shoot

Photos at last...now I can show everyone what I have been doing for the last six months. This coming Saturday is the

Tennessee Presents

Textiles show and it is an unveiling for me and my new work...am not nervous at all, just excited....can't wait...here is a sample of what you will see if you attend the show...will post other photos later! Robert Burleson took the photos and they are fabulous. His website is www.BurlPhotoArt.com Hope you enjoy these.... :-)

Gertie

This is Gertie, my own personal 'bag lady'... and she is full of personality. She was created by local metal artist Paul Forkner. She will be following me around to shows and carrying my bags.

I had to share her with you as she makes me smile and hopefully will make you grin also. Like me, she is large and has a presence. How can you not fall in love with her......

Geisha Girl Coat

This is a coat, not a jacket. And it has three geisha girls on it. Don't know how I am going to do the closures yet but I do know I really like this coat.

Everything is coming together. I will post my new 'bag lady' display stand (sculpture) in the next few days...she is a hoot, made by welder and artist Paul Forkner...I think I will call her Gertie......life is good.....

more...more...more

Another added to the stash...this one in person is really rich looking...pictures do not do it justice! Hope I will see you at Tennessee Presents Textiles. Two long coats are in the mix right now. Can't show them all to you before the show...

Twigs

Just finished this fabric for a runway coat and I kind of don't want to cut it up!...It makes two interesting art quilts. The smaller piece is for the back panel of the jacket and the larger will get cut up in four pieces....I think I am going to stare at it somemore and then decide what to do.

If I elect to keep them whole, I will have to make some more material for a 'showstopper jacket'. The problem is I am running out of supplies and the $ to buy them.....life is never easy....

I'm Close( Clothes) to READYYYYY

I am getting ready for the Tennessee Presents Textiles show, and it feels sooo good! I have 12 coats and hope to make 3 more for the event. This is a new jacket and it's SOLD...It was not in my plans to sell it before the runway show but when someone wanted to buy it, how could I refuse? I do make them to sell them. This coat is really spetacular in real life and has such a personality of its own.

The main fabric is done with a collage technique and the design of the coat has a back panel that works really well for an artistic composition.

I embellish the fabric with some chenille yarn, a little thread painting and the funky leather buttons add alot of fun to the whole melange of colors. It also has a turnback cuff adding more color to the mix. As always, I hope that the owner feels really special when she wears one of my 'artwears'.

I will be having professional pictures taken of my jackets before the big show and will of course post them for your viewing pleasure. Not, that I don't think you don't love my blurry ones. Sorry about that, have to figure out my camera's settings. Well, back to work......

Whaaaah

Just to enter new note....tooo busy, tooo much stuff keeping me away from my work...not a happy camper....next week I am locking myself in my house and not answering my phone...if only I could do that!

Tennessee Presents Textiles

Well, we (the Tennessee Presents Textiles committee) are gearing up for an exhibit at the Athen's Living Heritage Museum presenting numerous regional textile artists' work. The exhibit is to showcase a flavor of the upcoming runway show featuring national artwear artist Rachel Clark and hopefully help to sell tickets to the event (November 13th). And ,of course, I am one of the regional artists ,so I have a vested interest in all of this craziness. If you look closely at the pictures you can see a corset, a blue wrap coat and a kimono coat of mine. Sorry the pictures came out so blurry, I must need to readjust the settings on my camera. It has been fun working on this event but now the promoter side of me has to sit back and I need to get the rest of my jackets done. The blue jacket on the manikin in the upper right of the lefthand picture is the blue fabric that was laying on the bed in the picture before this entry. Keeping busy, enjoying life...til next time.....chio

working, working

I am in working mode now! Have a runway show coming up November 13th (Tennessee Presents Textiles) and 'the pedal is to the metal' in getting coats made. Here are three panels of fabric that I just created that will be turned into jackets. My vote is for the brown one. I think I will make it my size so that if it doesn't sell, I can wear it! It has an oriental feel to it and that is always my favorite. Next panel currently on the table to be made is rich chocolate browns and the one after that is bright oranges/reds. The orange/red will probably be a vest/corset. Even I would hesitate to wear too much of this red/orange combo. One step in front of the other and I will wake up one day and my goals will be a reality. This is basically the plan that got me through college. A friend told me that Winston Churchill became the prime minister of England when he was 64, so taking that as inspiration, I've got plenty of time to rule the world.....

'Secret of the Mangroves'

This recently came back from an exhibit in Gainesville, FL. The show was "Quilting Natural Florida II" and had to reflect the natural flora and fauna of Florida. I chose the mangroves for my subject, as I love the abstractness of the roots. Knarled and humped, who knows what goes on in all that sand and muck!

I did alot of threadwork and dying on this piece. And the square in the upper half represents that which we do not know within the known. Hmmmmmm...

Chattanooga Folk Music School

What a fun day yesterday. I was accepted as one of the textile artists that will be on display at the Chattanooga Folk Music School from now until October. I got to see the school and meet the owners. It is a great operation, new and developing. One of the owners Christie Burns was there and her excitement about what they are doing was contagious. They do music lessons on the folk instruments and more. They also have intimate concerts and crazy gatherings from what I could learn. It is so much fun to meet new people associated with the arts and always love the opportunity to show my work. If you live in the Chattanooga area stop by and see the school and of course my art quilts.

Joyce's Coat

Feeling good because today because I finished a coat someone ordered

last December! But life happened and I had some surgery, etc...and bottom line, today it was delivered. I really love the coat and hope that she likes it as much as I do. I don't really think of myself as a dressmaker/seamstress type. Making the fabric and creating an artistic approach to the garment is 'my thing'. As long as I am making something, be it a painting, art quilt or art wearable, I am happy. So today was a happy, happy day and now I can concentrate on my garments for 'Tennessee Presents Textiles' show in November. Hopefully, they will progress a little faster than this project did. :-)

Coat found home....

This is a long coat with heavy Japanese overtures that was just purchased from me. The inside is lined with a golden light brown and has turquiose binding. I hope the owner feels special everytime she wears it!

Corset

It was brought to my attention that I don't have any wearables posted on my blogspot. This is an older piece but still a nice one. I will have two new pieces photographed hopefully by the end of the week and then I will post them. Loving fabric the way I do, I get alot of satisfaction in making fabric from fabric using a raw edge collage method. Then the newly created fabric is washed and it puckers in the most delightful way as I have obsessively stitched it. Then I cut out and stitch 'my' fabric into kimono-like coats or corsets. I really need to lock myself in my studio and get more done as I will be featured in a runway show called 'Tennessee Presents Textiles' in November. So many ideas and dwarfed productivity! LIFE.

Morroco

This is an art quilt that expresses for me what I imagine Morocco to be. Earthy colors combined with spices and an air of mystery. I have always been intrigued with Morocco ever since the Bob Hope/Bing Crosby's movie-"Road to Morocco"(I must have been 9 months old!). I think that was one of their road movies. I remember the exoticness of the bazaars in the movie and of course the belly dancing ladies. As an adult I now still love its exotic air but on a more adult level, I sense the layers of the city and have the viewer looking through a veil, perhaps a burka at the history and secrets of the city.

"Ode to Chagall"

Today I am done painting an art chest entitled "Ode to Chagall". Marc Chagall is a famous russian painter. The chest is for an auction to raise money for the school programs in Sweetwater, Tennessee. It is always nerve racking to make something to be auctioned off as one is always aftraid that no one will bid on it. I happen to really like this piece. Not having painted in quite a while it was fun to do something as free as a piece inspired by a painter whose work is loose and imaginative. He uses such fun imagery! I think I will absolutely incorporate some umbrellas in my own work as well as his dream like visuals

It is funny how happy I am when I am creating something. No matter what it is, a quilt, a wall hanging, a painting, as long as I am designing and creating, my soul sings.

Well, I have to go varnish this piece and put on the hardware. Wish me luck that someone bids and it raises money for the kids and art.

Reflection

This piece is about being a woman and all the hats/roles that we juggle. Every once in a while we all stop and say to ourselves, "Who am I really?" "What defines me?". I don't know if there is ever a static answer. The words around the images reflect different phases of our lives such as prom, commitments, diapers, etc. The yellow vase on the lower left has an embryo in it as a woman contains within her the vessel of life.

This piece was really fun to create. It is made out of felted wool and the center image was basically made with beautifully dyed wool and felted as though it was a painting. I feel it has a folkloric feel to it and hopefully speaks to all of us.

"Where is the Balance?"

This is a quilt that is traveling with the "Town and Country" exhibit right now. I am not even sure where it is showing at the moment. It was created to express the tension between nature/earth and man's overpopulation and development of communities. The title of the piece is "Where is the Balance?" which I am always trying to find in my personal life in many ways. There are always options, choices, and paths to choose. And each choice always impacts our journey in this life. Some of my choices have been really good and some...well, not so great.

What am I doing?

I have no idea how to manipulate this site, but I am going to jump in, head or feet first and create my first posting, I guess the purpose of my site is to connect to others who are 'creators' so that we can share our angst and elation that we experience through the process of our work. My goal this week and probably throughout my life is to open up more time for my creative work and close the vortexes that are sucking up my energies, ie gardening, family, social commitments, etc. All of which I enjoy but delegate too much time to. Sound familiar?

I need to define the direction I am going to go in my work. I had been focusing primarily on a spiritual path of painting and I can't seem to leave the genre. My short term goal right now is to show up, work, and let the rest evolve. One of my many faults is to volunteer for what I perceive as a good cause and now I have a backlog of projects that must be finished in the next two weeks for others.

For me, I am working on two textile projects. One is in cotton and the other is using wool. Am not sure where they are going to lead me but following is interesting. I always feel that after one starts a project the art takes over and leads the artist to its completion.