Seamless Skin

letting go and moving on

I let go of the November 7th deadline...it is an annual show and there is always next year...too much had to be done for a new piece to be completed.  However, behind that decision, I pulled out most of my smaller works that I have left and will loan them to the Iroquois Branch Library to hang for the month of November along with some of my cloth.  I have to put sleeves on some, others will go into frames...I also will be in a pop-up show next Friday along with my neighbors at Mellwood.  The pop-up show will be in one of the vacant studios just off the courtyard where a live band will be playing so we're aiming for more visibility.  

Below is the 1st piece I was attempting to complete before November 7.  This one is done with dye paint...I applied wax over the boats yesterday and scrapped both sides with a mixture of jet black, turquoise, and navy.  I have another one that is done with fabric paints which will be the main piece.  This one I'll complete for practice and preparation for the other one.

the fabric on the right was using up the last of the dye and print paste...it is stamped with crookedly cut potatoes.

and inspite of me cleaning off the surfaces of my desks earlier in the week, this is how they look now, just a few days later...

and thanks to Paradise Videos for filming and EDITING the short clip of me talking about what I do!  

1 dead line met

and I'm still alive!  I made an accountability agreement with Juanita...I would email her daily photos of what I did each day in the studio in preparations to meet deadlines.  Form Not Function was met just with a smidge of a second to spare.  I spent a couple of hours reducing the size of my images with a finicky internet connection due to network issues (the man believes we have been the victim of malware).  I am slightly worried about the quality of my photos but I did the best I could with the time and equipment I had.  I borrowed a photo tent from Uneena, a studio neighbor at Mellwood and there was a slight learning curve with it and the lightening, etc.

Tomorrow I'll return to working on the boats for a November 7th deadline.  I'd like to be in this exhibit, but the juror has been the same juror for the last six-seven years and I don't know why they keep doing that.  It would help, possibly, if I was a fan of his work but I'm not and the exhibit has gotten predictable.  Textiles have been in previous shows but I was personally embarrassed by the shoddy care in construction and not by any means am I hard to please when it comes to textiles and fiber, since I'm excited by all of it.  But it was my impression that the artist threw it together without much thought or concern but just to have something submitted to the exhibit...and luck had it, that the piece was accepted.

Its that time of year where I start thinking about goals...what I'm pondering is placing myself on a production schedule for smaller work like the 12x6 or 10x10 sizes or either dedicating a month to an entire quilt from start to finish.  This might be too far reaching since winter is coming and I just don't handle the season very well at all.  I tend to pick the Learning Curve curriculum back up during the winter as it keeps me somewhat productive even if I'm not actually bringing anything to completion.

October 28th is the next trolley hop for Mellwood and Frankfort Avenue...myself and other studio neighbors will have a pop-up exhibit for that day.  Come by and do your part to help Louisville stay WEIRD :)  Plus the Canadians have invaded...so come check it out!

Peace,

 

Deciding

between this  or this  .

Giving myself 2 days to look at them and then will decide.

almost there

Two sides of the facing to sew on and then the sleeve...tomorrow I'll focus on photography and then I'll meet the deadline for Form Not Function.  My next deadline is November 7th, but unlike the piece I'm finishing up, I started a whole new piece for the November 7th deadline.  

I had a brief off-task activity thanks to a short trip into JoAnn's Fabrics.  I was enticed by these liquid beads described as self-rounding...so I sampled them yesterday.

If you know of any elves looking for work or willing to do charitable work, send them my way!

 

Mail by Snail

I just popped into a blog and saw that the U.S. Post Office released Romare Bearden stamps!!!!   I predict they will sell out!  

Indigo: In Search of the Color that Seduced the World by Catherine E. McKinley

Kweli recommended this book to me by way of Facebook.  Being a fabric designer herself she was really provoked to think deeper about the state of contemporary fabric production of African fabrics and the history behind it.  I downloaded the book to my laptop but I should have trusted her judgement and purchased a hard copy of the book, because now for 14 bucks I have it on my computer but for 3 dollars more I could have had the hard copy and after reading it, I wished I had.   Not realizing my assumption before hand, I thought the book would be an informative straight forward historical read, but it was much more than that...it documents one American woman's obsession with Indigo and the reason she is trying to discover why.  On a Fulbright Scholarship she journeys through West Africa looking for authentic Indigo production and use, but the cloth, not being in vogue compared to its past, is elusive.  Her adventure is told in antedotes which helps the book move ratherly quickly, but there are times I wanted more details of the story and wanted to get to know more about her feelings in relation to the people and places she visited.  But it is the search for Indigo that compels the story and the human relationships and geography take a back drop.

When I get taken with a book like I am with this one, I go off on a google search to find out more about the author and ended up requesting a FB connection only to find out she has a friend here in Louisville who I consider a good art-friend and has visited here before.   So I'm hoping there will be a chance to meet her and hear more of her stories sometime in the distant future.

McKinley's book led me to order In the Shadow of Slavery: Africa's Botanical legacy in the Atlantic World by Judith A. Carney and Richard Nicholas Rosomoff.  I started it last night and I tell ya it starts my mind spinning because I'm wondering if I can create a narrative in cloth around the crows, the faces I've sketched (the old woman who can be seen in older posts below), and botany...so my immediate challenge is to get centered and just listen for a bit.

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Yesterday I started a do-over, from scratch...hand-painting with fabric and acryllic paint mixed with Golden 900 vs using thickened dye like I used on the first start.  Its fairly large and detailed for me and I just hope I can meet a mid-November deadline for a regional fine art show.

Remember when I said I was in the studio the day after Davis' murder by the state of Georgia and had the intent of doing one thing and then I heard this phrase in my head?  The phrase was, These are the Boats Carrying Us to Heaven.  I decided to put aside my intent and explore what this could mean.  As a result I have over 200 small "boats" to paint with distinct markings on cotton with a working size of 5 feet by 4 feet.  I would like to hand quilt it as the piece has a RAW art vibe on it.  But no way would I make a November deadline if I decide to hand quilt it.  

Also, yesterday, in preparation to attempt meeting another deadline I sent a completed quilt into surgery.  I wasn't happy with one side but did love the surface...so I removed the facing and, today will attempt to square it up better.

Tuonane baadaye (See you later in Kiswahili)

Meeting deadlines

okay, I have at least 3 coming up...one in October, one in November, and one in January.  I'm infamous for missing them because I can't work as fast as my head finishes a piece and secondly, because I don't hold to a strong dictate of what I'm going to do when in the studio.  Like last week, I had every intent of picking something back up when I arrived.  The world was feeling different for me the day after Davis' execution.   Also, I was in the middle of reading a enthralling travel book on a woman's journey to West Africa in search of Indigo and it's meaning, Indigo: In Search of the Color that Seduced the World by Catherine E. McKinley.   It was both of these I believe that came to bear on a change of plans.

Now what I had observed about myself that day was I was moving slower and quietly both physically and mentally. Shortly after I arrived at the studio a certain phrase came to me and held me spell bound and I chose to follow it in cloth and ended up starting a whole new piece, and thus far, I'm very pleased with it.  The size is large, for me, and I'm wondering if I can have it ready for one of the looming deadlines...maybe I should change deadline to lifeline...meeting it could mean a whole new life for a piece of art.  

This week I played around with video taping in the studio...I think I need one of those twisty style tripods.  So far my camera man (youngest son) hasn't been convinced of all the exciting things that I do while at Mellwood and hasn't jumped at the chance to film me.   I mean what 20 year man wouldn't want to party like this!?

 

 dye painted cloth wrapped in newspaper waiting to be steamed

I believe

that the key to nuturing faith is finding joy and having fun and gratitude...but the flip side of that nuturing is also to recognize pain and wrong when it shows up and shows out and today at 11:08pm the state of Georgia in the U.S. of A. was wrong.

I am Troy Davis.

It was a smoky black indigo day...

Yesterday was a really looonnnnnnngggg day...I was out for over 12 hours straight.  After taking my oldest grandson, Adrian, to his school bus, I kept going and a headed to the studio, (by 1:00 I was ready for a nap and thought about my comfy chair which I miss).  I worked on trying to redeem my bruised ego from last week's disappointments.  I started 3 new cloths and reached the point were I was ready to steam them before going any further.   Here they are wrapped in newspaper with the ones I did last week and forming a sculpture in the window...

While I was there Petra called me to remind me of a presentation at The Filson Historical Society that started at 6 which I thought was going to be on Thursday.  My shirt was filled with dye stains. Petra lives close to Mellwood and the presentation was also not far away.  Petra agreed to loan me a shirt to keep me from having to go all the way home.  So I stayed at Mellwood until 5 and headed to the presentation...Two Centuries of Black Louisville: A Photographic History.  These 3 authors are powerhouses alone in their respective fields and the book represents 15-20 years of research on their individual efforts and 5 years of working on the book collectively.  

After the presentation Petra treated me to dinner at Smoketown USA.  A place I kept promising myself to go to but have never tried, mainly because it is not in a high visibility area.  But the food was good, the joint was crowded for a Tuesday night, and the back room is a yard sale room where you can purchase other people's junk that you don't need.  Cool.  

I'm not sure if I'm going to the studio today...the spirit is willing but the body is weak.  I might just stay home and curl up with my laptop to read a downloaded book, Indigo: In Search of the Color that Seduced the World, by Catherine E. McKinley.  

 

The Birthday Boy

There is something about turning 3 that looses that baby essence and entering little boyhood.  He is shedding his baby pudginess and sprouting taller and fits less comfortably in Nana's lap...

Dinosaurs are his newest interest.  

We had cake and ice cream on his actual birthday and then Ms. Sharonda threw him a party on Saturday.  

The party crew...cause this is the way we roll!

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I just couldn't make it happen today

I had a lazy vibe and it showed up in my attempts today...nothing was falling like I envisioned it...the best I did was like this colour combination....but the lazy practice resulted in dye spots where I didn't want them...

this view (above) is the cleanest section of the cloth. The next one was an attempt to use up dye I didn't want to throw out...but again, my print table was too saturated and needed changing, so dye spots appear where I didn't want them...

I used a foam cup to stamp...and crazy enough, it wasn't as much fun as using the toilet paper insert...

So after these 2 blahs, I thought I would do an old stand-by technique of writing on fabric...but that didn't go well either...

Of course, all this rigamarolling means I'll be in trying to save them mode for the next few days...maybe I should just put them away and start anew.

 

I think I know who she will become...

I started this sketch by looking at a photo, but as I continue to flesh her out, she is taking on her own life and although I thought this was just a sketch practice, it came to me today while she was peaking at me through the white cloth drying on the clothes line, that she is to go into a quilt I roughly scribbled last year.  A quilt design I did after perusing through a book of Romare Bearden's work.  We shall see said the blind man...we shall see....

And this is a shout out of thanks to the impromptu artist-visitor, Tommy, who popped into my studio and took the time to share what I consider in-depth pointers to give her more dimension.

Hear me and remind me what I said...

about 9 months from now...I'm going to take a leap of faith and get a booth next year for Mellwood's September Art Fair.  There. I said it aloud and wrote it in the blog, so it has to happen!  Last year, being a newbie to Mellwood, it didn't make sense to me to pay for a both and I ended up being thrilled with the visitors and sales.  But the bulk of the crowd is outside and in the event room specifically set-up for the fair.

This weekend was slower than last year's, but overall I still enjoyed it quite a lot.  Any time I get to talk to visitors about what I do in my studio I count it as a great day!  Selling one of my favorite pieces made it superbulous!  Aubergine Apple has found a new home.  The lady came in and knew exactly what she wanted without hesitation.  I was dye painting a piece and had paint all over my hands so I was being cautious not to get it on her or  the piece, but on the inside I was like "wow, she gets me, she really really gets me".

This was Aimee's, (studio mate), first fair.  She was there on Saturday and received a commission from Abraham Lincoln! I kid you not!  He and his wife (Mary Todd Lincoln) go into the schools as impersonators to teach...and he was looking for an artist to illustrate their presentations. Aimee is a history major and her father does similiar historical enactments!  She was the only artist he actually stopped to talk to!  Is that not fate, sychronicity, destiny, or what!!!?!!!!  I love it when life reveals to us that we are suppose to show up exactly when we show up and immediately know why! 

Just hanging out doing my thang...

Can you believe it is September already?  If you been with me through that season which I'll not call, you know how it is soooo not me! But enough of that rushing away the days!

Here is the progression of my sketch...

I can only do a little at a time before I start loosing focus.  It was the first thing I attended to yesterday after arriving and after about, oh I'm guessing, 20 minutes, I had to stop because I could'nt think of where to go next.  It is good for me to return with fresh eyes before I continue to draw on it.

I walked through the complex yesterday like I do at least every few weeks or so and met the weaver, Stephanie, and Cathy, another textile person, (that makes 4 new textile tenants all within the month!) who works with repurposing cashmere.  New tenants always brings renewed energy but it is super special and personal for me when they are textile folks :)

Yesterday's time in the studio ended with more toilet paper roll stamping.  

The ozone alert is too high for me today so as much as I want to push it, I'll hangeth back and veg out on movies and reading and making beef and bean enchiladas and mexican rice and salad for dinner today.   And yall enjoy the weekend!

 

Shake dem Bones!

Maybe this is preparing me to go through a Georgia O'Keefe phase.  These are the beautifully unique to me gifts that I was given by Penny Sisto, artist-sistah-friend that she is.  For this city girl, these are like WOW!  

Penny lives in a rural area and picks these up on her walks and people bring them to her as well so she has a growing collection.  Okay, if I was going to pick up items where I live I guess it would be soda and beer cans because that is what people do who live in cities, right?  So not as interesting to me as these beautifully shapped old decaying cow and deer bones.

Adrian, my oldest grandson, said "cool" when he first saw them and Carter, my youngest grandson, said "ewwww, thats nasty"  A studio neighbor asked me what I planned to do with them...honestly, do I have to have a plan?  I don't think so, but I'm thinking about drawing them for awhile...I think Penny said she used a small bone in one of her recent pieces now showing at the Carnegie Center for Art and History in New Albany, Ind in a solo exhibit...Carnegie is the place that hosts annually Form Not Function.

I did make it into the studio yesterday and although I was productive it wasn't with intent...i finished the discharge.  It was killing me to stamp so orderly so I loosened up...but looking at the outcome, I wish I had forced myself to continue on with the more controlled pattern...ummm, process (right hand) vs outcome (left hand)...which will have priority next time????

That orangish glow is from a back light bouncing off a painting by Aimee, studio mate.

and this is me attempting to sketch directly on fabric...off and on for about a year or so I've been sketching faces...the seed hasn't developed wildly enough yet that any but I'm getting there...

this is the start...sketching from the photo in the collage below.

A Day at the Fair....

Its not the rides, cotton candy, or deep fried butter...its not the horses, music concerts, or 84,000 ton tomato...for me, its all about the exhibits.  I love seeing what people make, create, and collect throughout the state.

Last Friday, I spent the day browsing and even though I was there for 4 hours I can tell you it wasn't enough time.  When I got to the quilts the first quilt I ran into was from someone I use to be in a guild with.  Willie Pride, she had 2 quilts entered.  She buys all of her material from thrift shops and they are mostly men's shirts...she loves plaids!

another Pride quilt below

Below are some snap shots of things I saw and liked...

aquariums exhibit...just loved the blueness of these fish.

walking/hiking sticks (2 have been stolen)

cake decor

and check out this cake meets political commentary

antique fine china (it was the yellow cake set that wowed me)

miniature kitchen in cross-stitch!

for Deb, my sister, you does heirloom sewing

art from recyclables (you might enlarge this photo to see the music conductor in coat hanger wire)

and art by LAFTA members

I was completely exhausted when I left there on Friday, so much so, that I was unable to make it to open studio for Trolley Hop.  I slept most of the evening and stayed in most of the weekend and Monday to recuperate...but it was worth it...where else could I see so much diverse creations in a public event under one roof???!!!!

And I made it into the studio yesterday and finally snapped pictures of my special gifts...so this will be a 2 post blog day! ;)

 

Okay, let's have some fun...

This will be a communal creation.  A collage I started yesterday while visiting a friend.  What I do well is creating backgrounds and I gravitated to the background cloth and I could have added some stitching and metal embellishments and some writing or lettering and I would have been satisfied...But getting satisfaction was not the way to go...pushing myself was the cause for the day.  We did a lot of talking which is why I didn't get any further than this... My first suggestion is to add color on the white geometric shapes surrounding her face.  Gimme some suggestions on where to go next.  As I make changes I'll post the updates.

My friend gave me the coolest gifts yesterday!  When I showed them to my grandsons, the oldest one, age 5 said "cool" and the youngest one, age 3 said "ewwww" and backed way back.  Look for a post over the weekend to find out what they are! 

 

What can I say...I'm just an elliptical kinda woman...

It all started yesterday...I was trying to get the idea out of my head onto a piece of cloth that I was trying to salvage and wondered what would happen if  I wrote with school glue directly on the fabric as the resist and then after it dried, spread a layer of jacquard discharge paste over it.  So today I scurry in to apply the jdp and this is what happened...

before

 after
Discharge paste doesn't discharge metallic fabric markers...a tidbit of info that means nothing at the moment but seems like it could come in handy down the line.

More layers are forthcoming, but I'll not try this again as the dp just bullied the glue and the glue dried overnight.  In the past I applied the glue directly to a silk screen AND for the time involved, because it takes a long while for the blue school glue to dry, (typically a day), I am better off using soy wax which dries immediately.  

And these...(ellipis are my favorite grammatical mark...signifying the long trains of fluid but focused for me thoughts that I edit out to keep readers from suffering through the dips and peaks in my mind.  I've considered trying to refrain from using them as they are in just about every post I write, but at this point, it feels more like my trademark).

are in the washing machine along with a few other pieces.  The one on the bottom is smaller than a fat quarter and I used my new favorite tool (toilet paper insert) as the stamp.  

Oh, oh...another conclusion I reached yesterday...for batching dye painted fabrics, I prefer steaming the fabric versus laying it out in the sun, has less loss of colour/dye.  I've been tracking this for the last 3 months.  BUT, the steaming creates a strong odor when it is immediately unwrapped and rinsed but dissipates very quickly under running water.  So I now put on a mask for gasses when rinsing out.

 

Low Technique Yields High Results

One of the suggestions Claire Benn gave us in May was to push the limits of one single tool...just commit to using one mark making tool everyday for a week in your studio.  A couple of weeks ago I did just this using a plastic card and did these...

But my new awesome favorite tool is this!

 click to enlarge.

The insert from toilet paper is a fantastic stamping tool.  I shape it into a pod, square, rectangle or odd shape  and just stamp with my medium of choice.  I must give a shout out to the fabulous Joanne Weis (toward the bottom on the post) for suggesting this in a LAFTA workshop she gave last year.

For avoiding trains

I go to my studio.  This is what I did yesterday.

2 quarts of print paste, one for hand-painting the other for screening and breakdown printing, 2 different consistencies,

and soy wax resist. the wax is still on the fabric here.

The morning has started out stressful...I was so declaring my mother's move as an emancipation from stress and worry but we're bumping heads over the way she is handling some affairs and I'm torn between sitting back and watching the train wreck or trying to guide the train to another track.   I'm a bit of a control freak when it comes to handling business...I like for things to be settled, neat and tidy, to avoid surprises and crisises.  My Mother is stubborn, I mean STUBBORN and is of the mindset that one doesn't discuss details of personal affairs especially with one's children.  I'm of the mindset that too much secrecy and lies causes confusion and chaos in intimate relationships.  I know the past year has been an adjustment for her but she has continued to live like my father's income is still there.  As much as I find him annoying, I think we all need one long Dr. Phil session.  Is 10am too early for bourbon on the rocks?