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When I sit down to begin my next blog post,the first thing I always do is to check in on other blogs that I follow. One of my favorites is Ann Williamson's. She also creates one-of-a-kind clothing and I find her work endlessly inspiring. I am definitely a fan. This time I felt a special connection to her as her most recent post was about spidery chrysanthemums and shows many designs incorporating these flowers. It touched a cord for me because today's post is about my most recent jacket which uses a fabric with these mums on it. It's only the most tangential connection--our work is very different--but I felt it nevertheless.
Here's my jacket.
I call this one Dahlias and Mums. Mums is obviously a reference to the colorful chrysanthemum pattern on the collar and cuffs. Dahlias is a subtle thank you to Dahlia Popovitz--a hand-weaver who has a lovely shop in Newton Center, Massachusetts. She carries my free-lace scarves. The last time I dropped off scarves, I came away with bags left-over bits of her hand-woven fabrics. The pieces were too small for her work, but were perfect for mine. If you look closely at this jacket, you'll see that most of the appliqued triangles are made of those fabric bits.
The background fabric for this jacket has an intricate woven pattern with great texture that seemed an appropriate setting for Dahlia's bits of color and glitz. I feel so fortunate to be the recipient of such wonderful gifts.
They make an appearance on the back as well as the front...
And even on the inside.
You can see this jacket and others at Western Avenue Studios First Saturday (Studio 304) at the end of the week, or visit me at the League of New Hampshire Craftsmen annual fair in Sunapee, New Hampshire the first week in August (booth C12 in the Emerging Artists tent).
At the end of last week I moved all my sewing equipment to our lake house in Maine. We'll spend as much time as we can up there for the next couple of months. The lake views are distracting, calming and energizing all at the same time. My sewing machine sits on a card table in a corner of the livingroom with windows on two side. This time of year the water's still high so I feel like I could reach out and touch it right from where I sit. The view doesn't keep me from working though, and Monday I finished another jacket.
I incorporated insets of the recycled sari ribbon again in this one. I used the technique of laying the ribbons over an organza base and stitching them down till everything held together. This time I actually wove the ribbons together before stitching, but I hung onto my Wabi Sabi theme and left lots of crinkles and raw edges. I also used quite a random weaving pattern based on how much of a certain color I wanted to show. Since I was going to stitch over all of it, I didn't have to worry about the weaving holding it together.
Here's what it looked like before I started to cut it up.
And here's the jacket with the inset pieces. This is the back.
And here's the front:
I call this one Sari Reprise.
Tomorrow is the big day for me--the opening of our show at the Loading Dock Gallery here at Western Avenue Studios. It's a joint show with Elaine Perra Renault who does these wonderfully intricate painted textiles. She starts with prequilted cotton which she "primes" with a base color; then she adds patterns in each of the little sections. All those tiny patterns add up to a larger design. I love her work and she's been a delight to work with on this.
Our show title--Rhythm & Rhyme ~ Pattern & Texture--signifies both the process and results of our work. For me my work is visual music and poetry with an ebb and flow and repeating motifs. I'm pleased to share it.
My contribution to the show includes both my jackets and my free lace scarves. I've been working hard to make sure that there are new works included that haven't been shown before. But even the ones that some may have seen before look new when they are displayed in a new way. It's very exciting.
Here's a preview:
I hope visitors to the exhibit will see my jackets potential as wall art as well as wearable art.
Here's a sample of Elaine's work - A large dyptich called Galaxy. You really must see it in person to get the full effect.
If you are in the area, we do hope you'll stop by tomorrow for the reception, or later in the month. The show will be there through the month of June. For details, check the gallery website or Facebook page.
This is a rather unusual occurrence for me. I have another jacket to share just a week after the last one. For the first time in a long while, I've been able to spend almost all my studio time on sewing. I've gotten relatively caught up on my administrative duties and I think our web site is finally fixed and working as it should. It has felt so good to be able to just concentrate on art for a change.
I've gone for simple and understated in this one--a raw silk blend with couched perle cotton (Stef Francis, of course) and embroidered leaves salvaged from a fabric sample destined for the trash bin. I call it Leaf Line.
The details are subtle, but even the inside has not been ignored.
As I finish each jacket, I have started to create a scarf that picks up some element of the jacket. That's what I'm starting today - a scarf to use all the leftover embroidered leaves that I so painstakingly cut from those fabric samples.
When it rains it pours - but I'm not complaining...it seems to be raining opportunities for me lately. So many things are happening, I'll have no chance for mischief for the foreseeable future.
Here's the scoop:
Friday I drop off 2 jackets for the next League of New Hampshire Craftsmen show--Continuing the TRADITION--at the Gallery at The Craft Center & Headquarters in Concord, NH. This show is billed as "A multi-media exhibition featuring the work of newly juried craftsmen." It runs from April 19 through June 19, 2013.
Also on Friday, I'll be submitting 6-7 free lace scarves to the League for jurying. I hope to be able to sell them in my booth at the League's craft fair in Sunapee, NH this August.
May 29 my joint show with Elaine Perra Reneault--Rhythm & Rhyme, Pattern & Texture--opens in the Loading Dock Gallery here at Western Avenue Studios. Mark your calendars. Our opening reception will be on June 1, 2013 5:00-7:00 pm. Elaine does gorgeous paintings on quilted fabric that grab you from a distance and draw you right in for her intricate detailing. I will be showing my newest jackets and free lace scarves.
Here's a preview of the jacket I finished most recently:
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| Just Fiddling Around |
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This one was created with another of Judy Robertson's hand-dyed fabrics, complemented by commercial batiks purchased at Portsmouth Fabric Company with my prize money from my 2012 Best in Fine Sewing Award at Craftwear last summer.
These were the opportunities that I knew of as of Saturday morning. Then, Saturday afternoon during our monthly open studios, two more came up. First I was approached by Elaine Wood who is starting a small artisan-made gift store in the Zeitgeist Gallery here in Lowell. She asked if I would be interested in selling my art cards there - starting in 4-6 weeks. That was an ego boost and a good reason to make more of those.
As if that were not enough, later in the afternoon the event planner for the Whistler House Museum of Art came in to our studio and asked if I would be willing to display several of my jackets during their June gala--The Art of Fashion. Needless to say I was flattered and did not hesitate to agree.
Luckily jacket ideas are backing up in my head, so I guess I'd better get back to the sewing machine...
Another jacket is finished...
One of my goals for each creation is build in a small surprise, something you may not see at first glance. This one has a couple of surprises, one planned and one unplanned.
Here is the front:
And the back:
If my design is working the way I think it does, you'll notice the diagonal stripes immediately. But what you may not notice immediately, unless you are a Music Lover, is the fabric inset to create the stripes is all music related prints. And it is not a fluke that there are 5 lines in each of the groups of added stitching, as there are in a staff of music. These are the planned surprises.
There is also a surprise inside that was not planned. When I'd nearly finished it - I just needed to stitch the hem lining to the jacket lining - I had an accident with it and ripped a good-sized hole in the lining near the hem. Needless to say it was a heart-stopping moment. Just replacing the lining was not a feasible option, the seams were all trimmed, graded and understitched - very difficult to redo neatly.
Happily with a little creativity and a helpful suggestion from Sonja, I was able to not only fix the problem but add a new design element. For that surprise you'll have to see the jacket up close and personal! My show at the Loading Dock Gallery is coming up in June.
In past musings I have often mentioned using fabrics created by my friend Judy Robertson of Just Imagination fabrics. We vended together at the Quilt Surface/Design Symposium in Columbus, Ohio for several years. Each year I bought a few yards of her fabrics to add to my stash. While I've never been afraid to cut them, I am very careful where I use them. (I've heard that some are unwilling to cut them- they are just that beautiful.) Except for our kimono project, I've used Judy's fabrics primarily for accent. But lately one of her "stripes" had been calling my name for a jacket project.
The patterning in this fabric is so striking that I knew it had to be the central element of the jacket, not just an accent. I had two yards in the same colors (Judy dyes each yard individually), but I really didn't want to "blow my wad" in just one project. My dilemma was how to get a striking jacket from just one yard of fabric so I could save the other yard for another project. Happily my fabric stash came to the rescue. I found several pieces of fabric in complementing colors, some of which had woven patterns that also seemed to echo the dyed patterns in Judy's fabric.
So here's the result.
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| Front |
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| Back |
I've called this one Added Imagination in honor of Judy and her beautiful fabric.
