Sawtooth in the News

This morning I headed out bright and early to do a Surface Design segment on Fox8 News as part of their feature story on Sawtooth School for Visual Art. It was so much fun!!



I'm glad I couldn't hear what the anchors were saying, because I would have busted out laughing at the prospect of printing someone's face this way!  :)

The Surface Design class is just one of many that I teach there; there is also Soy Wax Resist, Shibori Dyeing, and Silk Scarf Taste of Art classes. Dates and times are in my side bar and also online at Sawtooth. Enrollment for winter classes is going on now, so I hope you'll call them and sign up soon! Sawtooth School 336-723-7395

Catching Up

Things have just been hopping around here lately! What have I been up to? Let's see...

I've been teaching...

 

Altered Surfaces - rust dyeing, stamping, discharging, and gelatin plate printing

(Here Deb and Lynn show off their awesome creations!)


Silk Scarf Dyeing...

I've been making clay buttons...

which have now been glazed and fired and I need to go pick up :)







I've done 2 festivals...

One the weekend of the hurricane and one the weekend it turned cold and rained! LOL! Yes, outdoor festivals are a hit or miss kind of thing. I can't say that it's been a highly successful adventure yet, but it's been on my list of things to try and I want to do a few more before I make a final judgement on their feasibility as part of my studio business. I don't like the unpredictability of the weather...


After all, gallery exhibits are climate controlled! I've had two openings in recent weeks...

"Courage"               
This is a traveling exhibit curated by my friend Kathy Brusnighan (seen left). A gift to the community, these inspiring and encouraging pieces debuted at Circa Gallery in Asheboro, NC on Sept. 15 and will be exhibited in hospitals and galleries throughout central NC through the end of 2012 where the exhibit will conclude at the Center for Creative Leadership. For more information on the exhibit and a schedule of locations visit Art With Purpose.

We all had a great time at the reception! Thanks Circa Gallery for hosting us!

 

(my piece is in the lower right..."Consider the Lillies (Even When the Sky is Falling)" hand dyed fabric collaged to canvas with dimensional flowers)







"Faces"

 
 Another fun reception! This show is at Sawtooth in the Davis Gallery and will run through November 17.





My pieces from L to R:
"Rest" and "Relaxation" (stacked)
"Sam"  (daughter of a longtime friend)
"Faith", "Kay Oss", and "Clara T." (whimsical)
"How Do You See Me?"  (interactive, changeable piece)
 

I've been hard at work on a memorial commission piece...but I can't show it yet...


The boys and I enjoyed an evening at the Dixie Classic Fair. My favorite part...the fancy chickens!

And of course, there have been lots of soccer games...

And baseball games, including a FUN! trip to Myrtle Beach for a tournament at The Ripken Experience!



Well, that's it in a nutshell!
(Did I mention I love coffee?)

:)

Pat's Jacket

Last week I taught the afternoon "Funky Fashion Redesign" teen classes at Sawtooth and Pat Mauck taught the morning session. Pat is an excellent weaver and seamstress (she teaches weaving there BTW!). She took my Surface Design class back in January and on the last day of classes last week she brought in this GORGEOUS jacket that she made using fabrics that she discharged. I had to show it off...(covet, covet, covet...)

Jacket by Pat Mauck - front

Jacket by Pat Mauck - back

Thanks Pat for sharing your work!! (Did I mention how GORGEOUS this jacket is?!?! My photos don't begin to do it justice)

Summer Art Honors - Part 2

In the previous post I shared the work of my first set of students in the Summer Arts Honors program at the Sawtooth School for Visual Art. I also taught the second session and this group was just as much fun.

Once again we

Rust dyed...   Stamped...   Discharged...   and Gelatin plate  printed... 

                                                                                                                                    

and then the students used their fabrics to create art quilts. At the end of the session they exhibited their work in the student show. I think you'll agree...they did a great job!

This piece is by Xavier, a combination of 2 rust dyed fabrics with the roses cut and fused.

 He had never sewn anything before but looking at these stitches you would never know...

He also did some really cool discharged pieces that he wanted to keep whole

(the view is looking down into the vignette we had...the darker piece is laying on the counter and the red one is on the wall)

Next is Phoebe's piece, which she did as a two sided piece. I really like the discharged image

This is Emma's piece. I love her black and white cat stamp!

This piece is by Grace. She wanted to create the feel of water. I thought it was a timely piece, in that it speaks to me about the oil spill in the Gulf with the rust dyed bubbles, the paw print, and the discharged streaks. Not sure if that was her intention, but that's the beauty of art...each viewer finds meaning.

This is Alex's piece. I love her composition and the edge treatment she used.

It was so much fun to watch everyone's creativity at work. At the show one mom said her student started out hesitant about my class as it wasn't her first pick, but that she came home every day and talked about nothing else...it turned out to be her favorite one! Seeing people get excited about the possibilities of fiber art is what it's all about.

2010 Summer Art Honors at Sawtooth School - Part I

From June 21 to July 2 I had the pleasure of teaching 'Surface Design - Fabric + Art Quilt' as part of the Summer Art Honors program at the Sawtooth School for Visual Art. This program, coordinated with the Forsyth County school system, is for artistically gifted middle and high school students who have been nominated by their art teachers for participation. Classes in every conceivable media are included in the curriculum and I was thrilled to be able to share my love of surface design and art quilting.

During week one students learned:

Rust Dyeing...

Several methods of Stamp Making and stamping on fabric...

Discharging...

(and this first one I found particularly interesting...it started as a solid pink fabric but when discharged it became this blue line banded by white that I thought was just the coolest thing ever!)

They learned how much fun it is to do Gelatin Plate Printing...

And they learned the tips and tricks of using fusible web.

During week two each student evaluated all of the fabrics they created in the first week, and selected what pieces they wanted to use in their art quilt. We used fusible web and fusible batting so minimize the amount of sewing required. Some of them had experience in sewing and some did not, but everyone learned some basic hand sewing skills. Since we met in the fibers studio, there was a wall full of every colored thread and weaving yarns to choose from for stitching materials. My only criteria for them was size limitation (based on the piece of batting they received, about 18 x 22), that it be constructed of three layers held together with stitching, and that a recognizable piece of fabric from each of the surface design techniques that they learned be incorporated. Beyond that, their vision and imagination was the limit! They all did a great job!!

This is Lynda's piece...love the hand bead work and the discharge pattern. She loves to do hand sewing and actually pieced her fabrics together.

This is Nicole's piece...love the coffee cups, indeed, music to me! She did a nice job of balancing the use of her fabrics and color placement.

This is Rachel's piece...love her use of color and depth of image layering on her stamped fabrics

This is Kati's piece...her rust dyeing turned out very cool as did her alien stamp, and she did a great job using hand stitching to create texture

This is Clarissa's piece...an experienced sewer, she used some machine stitching in her piece in addition to hand work. Love how she used her fabrics to create this landscape (And she plans to hang it in her dorm next year when she goes off to college)

At the end of the session all of the student's work was displayed and an open house reception was held in their honor. It was so inspiring to see what everyone in the program created!

It really was fun to work with these kids. I'm thinking there are some new additions to the art quilt world now, don't you?