IT’S A DATE! FIBRES @ THE HILL – NOVEMBER 2-28, 2011

Posted on November 2, 2011 by admin

The Vancouver Island Surface Design Association presents their third show Fibres @ The Hill from November 2 thru 28, 2011.  This Fibre Fine Art event will showcase the work of 18 chapter members in the new Art Gallery at the Cedar Hill Recreation Centre located in Victoria, B.C.  Open daily from 10am – 5pm with an artist in attendance.

Posted in VANCOUVER ISLAND SURFACE DESIGN ASSOCIATION | 1 Comment

WE’RE LOOKING AT….. ANTONIA REINER’S GHOST DRESSES

Posted on October 26, 2011 by admin

Haunting, ethereal, otherworldly beauty.  Just some of the adjectives used to describe this trio of pieces inspired by long lost heroines of ancient myths.  The installation titled Ghost Dresses is by Canadian fibre artist Antonia Reiner – a graduate of the Ottawa School of Art.  To learn more about Antonia and her enchanting work we invite you to visit her website or facebook page.

Posted in Antonia Reiner, FIBRE ARTIST, Ghost Dresses, Ottawa College of Art | 1 Comment

WE’RE LOOKING AT…..LAURA LEE BURCH

Posted on October 23, 2011 by admin

We’re looking at the fabulous needle felted Hallowe’en masks by Laura Lee Burch.  Original, inspired and colourful!  What more could you ask for?  A tutorial perhaps?  Then we invite you to visit Laura’s website and blog where she shares an abundance of pictures and tutorials for her delightful work.

Needle felted “Foxy Mask”
Needle felted Sheep Mask
“Let’s Play”
Posted in HALLOWE'EN MASKS, LAURA LEE BURCH, NEEDLE FELTING | 1 Comment

IN CONVERSATION WITH WEN REDMOND

Posted on April 24, 2011 by admin

WEN REDMOND

“Thank you for this opportunity.  I find every time I do something along these lines, I learn more about my processes and inspirations- that is a gift”.
New England resident Wen Redmond is a mixed media fibre artist who enjoys pushing the boundaries to see “what if?”. Her works often include painting, dying, stamping, screen and mono printing.  She has embraced technology in her work, using her own photographs that have been digitally and artistically manipulated and printed on a variety of materials.  Wen has also created an innovative technique with printed photographs on silk organza that when mounted create a unique holographic image with a 3-D effect.  Her work is unique and we were honored to have her participate in our interview series. 
RUNNING WITH SCISSORS STUDIO: Did you always envision a life as an artist?
WEN REDMOND: No, but I have always been making things, doll clothes, my own clothes as a teenager, a wall hanging in felt for art class and in the 60’s embroidered jeans and funky outfits. Always fiber.

THREE WEIRD SISTERS

RWSS: Do you have a dedicated studio space?
WEN: Yes, I have two spaces. I have a ‘dry’ studio at my home. This is where I do business stuff, computer design and printing, finish work and do photography. I have a studio in Salmon Falls Mill in Rollinsford NH. This is my public space and my sanctuary. I teach, do wet work, design, and have open studios here. Someday I will combine the two but for now they each serve a purpose and have an energy all their own.
RWSS: Has the advancement of computers and technology impacted your work?
WEN: Oh yes, I love the digital world! I call my computer, ‘puter. It is a wonderful tool. I will design work, visit blogs and go to galleries from the comfort of my studio. I have always enjoyed taking photographs and when they went digital and I could incorporate images in my work, my work exploded.

CORMORANT'S PERCH

RWSS: Why is it important for you to create all of your own fabrics?
WEN: I enjoy it. Making my fabrics is like painting on a canvas. These are my art pieces. A somewhat rebellious streak also prompts me to make it ‘mine’! Using the colors I create and the process itself is an aspect of self expression, a process- part of the whole.
RWSS: Any indispensable tools or equipment?
WEN: An area where you can mess up is the best. My wet studio has the most colorful floor! Ease of equipment- being organized is helpful. There is nothing worst then being in the throes of creating and not being able to find what you need!
RWSS: My greatest source of inspiration is……
WEN: Basically nature. I love being outdoors. When I’m immersed in air, and beauty my mind becomes free. After a while, thoughts and ideas will bubble up from my unconscious. It is my source, my well. But other artists too. They turn me on. I look at artists outside of the field and I wonder- how could I do that in fiber?

ROAD HOME

RWSS: Favorite quote?

WEN: Oh, I have lots of these. I will cut them out of magazines; type them up from wherever I find them. Sometimes I write my own bits. You read a quote and you stop rushing for a minute and think aha! I get that. I will remember that when I am out of sorts or racing around. I’ll see one I’ve stuck somewhere and it stops me. I breathe again. “A  evolution. I make the art and then the art makes me”. (Mine) Or “Art is making the imagination real”. or  “Keep a green tree in your heart and perhaps a singing bird will come”. Chinese Proverb

SHADOW

 

 

 

 

RWSS: When do you do your best creative thinking?  Can you elaborate on being in the flow?

WEN: My inspirations generally come from being outside- that’s when I get in touch with the inside. I think best alone without distractions. So late at night I will wander on the web, or delve into my journal. I’ll take walks, go to the ocean. Every so often I will take myself away for a retreat. No art, just to reconnect with my inner core.

Being in the Flow is a phrase I borrowed or coined years ago. It is the name of one of my workshops on curved piecing and the foundation for my art making. It is a place where you lose yourself in making the art. There is no ego. You respond to the art as it unfolds. When I’m in the flow I feel as if I a connected to a higher source. Someone once told me, ‘When I look at your art, I know it will come with me and affect me later”.  Those moments in the forest, return with me, that meditative quality comes though when I’m in the flow.
This is my very first artist statement-“Making art always puts me into a certain space, a meditation. I call this ‘being in the flow”. It allows thoughts and feelings to bubble up from the unconscious. I can put that energy into my art. Later, viewing the piece, I can revisit that feeling. It is like reading a poem or hearing a familiar story. It brings you back. It gives pleasure. That’s my hope for anyone viewing my pieces”.
RWSS: Your thoughts on keeping a creative journal?
WEN: I do keep a journal. I started with a scrapbook on dogs with black noses as a child and have kept a journal ever since. I love books and now make copic bound artbooks. I highly recommend these. Making a book is like making art. You make the paste paper covers and can even paint into the pages. The texture and touch is so similar to fiber works. I do a little exercise. At night, before bed, I will thumb though old magazines and tear out anything that I stop to look at for more than 10 seconds. These go into a pile and later I paste them into one of my journals. I write my ideas there too. If I ever run out of ideas I can turn to them. They teach me.
RWSS: Your look is very distinctive and innovative – who or what (if anything) has influenced your style?
WEN: I have my favorites- I love the abstract expressionists, Jane Frank, Paul Klee, Franz Kline, Robert Motherwell, Jules Olitski- the classics. Georgia O’Keefe- I have always admired strong independent women. I like the serenity of Andrew Wyatt’s work. The trees of Wolf Kahn. The photography of Alfred Stieglitz, Ansell Adams, and the innovative work of Mike and Doug Starn. The fiber revolutionary work of Joan Schultz, Nancy Crow, and Yvonne Porcella. Jane Dunnawold, Jean Ray Laury, Erika Carter, Maggie Grey, Jan Beanny. The digital guru’s Karine Schminke, Dorothy Simpson Krause and Bonny Pierce Lhotka, and Mary Taylor. I could go on. I love artists!
RWSS: How do you know when to “stop” – when do you consider a piece actually finished?
WEN: I usually just stop. Often though, even after it’s quilted I’ll go back in and add a detail there or a touch here.
RWSS: What do you enjoy most about your work?
WEN: Everything! I am a process person. I enjoy the inspiration, thinking up new ideas, the painting, photography, everything. I do it 24/7. The thing I’ve noticed is the more you practice something, the better you get. Being an artist, you develop an ‘eye’. Now, I sometimes see the most exquisite things in the most common places. Your eye becomes very sensitive and gives you the most wonderful visions!
RWSS: Best advice you’ve ever received?
WEN: Be yourself. Only you can do what you must do. Come from the very best place in yourself. Honor that. It takes so much energy to try to be like someone else.
RWSS: Do you think the Modern Art Quilt & Textile Movement is moving closer to being recognized by the “art world”?
WEN: Of course! It is the next ART movement. How can so many people around the world make so many pieces of wonderful art and NOT be recognized! We are a revolution. What we do with our fiber art is the new way of making art. It is not left to those just in the art world anymore, anyone can try. It is becoming more inclusive. Art is embracing us because they can‘t ignore such a wave. I read in American Arts magazine sometime back, that fiber art is becoming very collectable because it is new and more affordable. Rock it on fiber artists!
RWSS: Is it important for us to be recognized by the art world and if so, how can we help affect that change?
WEN: It’s only important if you want it. To be recognized by the ‘art’ world legitimizes our work and this is important because it mainlines it, exposes it to more people. I try to get my work into non-fiber venues, be it galleries, shows and exhibits. Very often though, I am told by the art world my work borders on crafts and in the craft world, I am told it belongs in the art world. We are on the cusp.
RWSS: Best part of your day?
WEN: Morning! A brand new day to write on the slate of my life!

BREAKING THE SURFACE

RWSS: Who would you most like to meet and how would you spend the day?
WEN: I wish I had tried to meet Katherine Hepburn. She lived in Connecticut and a long time ago my husband said to write her a letter. I never did. Years after she died, I read a book about a woman who did just that and they became friends. What a woman!
RWSS: What is the one thing that people would be surprised to find out about you?
WEN: Perhaps that I am introspective and used to be shy. But I am over 50 now and found my voice. I guess for women it takes that long to realize you have to validate yourself, that your inner process is the best and coming from that gives you tremendous strength of courage.

THREE FEATHERS

RWSS: What is on the horizon for Wen Redmond?

WEN: I have so many ideas and so little time. I would like to write a book. I have submitted, a couple years ago. But  now that is on hold-perhaps later, after I work up some more pieces. I am so lucky to be a fiber artist. We have so many kindred spirits who are mad like me!
RWSS: Any words of wisdom?
WEN: In the words of the 1960’s radical, Jerry Rubin, Just DO it!
To learn more about this fascinating artist please visit Wen’s website or her blog Fibre Art Goddess.
Thank you Wen!
Posted in FIBRE ART GODDESS, RUNNING WITH SCISSORS STUDIO, RWSSS.COM, WEN REDMOND | 1 Comment

IN CONVERSATION WITH ELIZABETH ARMSTRONG

Posted on November 26, 2010 by admin

Melbourne Australia artist Elizabeth Armstrong says that “color is her driving force“.  A full time feltmaker and textile artist, she also teaches workshops and spends a great deal of time as an “artist-in-residence” in primary and secondary schools. Elizabeth uses pure wool Australian yarns, silk sourced from Italy and Japan as well as Soylux – a soy silk product.   She currently divides her artwork amongst whimsical dolls, beautiful wraps, intricate scarves, bold wall hangings and cushions.

ELIZABETH ARMSTRONG
RUNNING WITH SCISSORS STUDIO:   Did you always envision a life as an artist?
ELIZABETH ARMSTRONG: As a young person I thought that being an artist was such a wonderful romantic thing to do.  I never knew you could actually earn a living from it! I had planned a life in classical music. Circumstances changed and I am so glad – I still play but my life is firmly rooted in being a textile and mixed media artist now.
FELT PANEL DETAIL

RWSS: What was your first experience with felt making?
ELIZABETH: My first experience was looking at a chapter in an old book from the 1970′s and just having a go. The results were pretty appalling now that I think about them, but it didn’t discourage me.

RWSS: Do you have a dedicated studio?
ELIZABETH: Yes – I couldn’t bear to be without it. It is every artist’s dream to have their own place to work  –  and I believe they are entitled to one.

ELIZABETH’S STUDIO

RWSS: Can you describe a typical day for us?
ELIZABETH: My studio practice is based on breaking up the different activities I have on the drawing board. So each day I do a little of each part of the process – lay out a new piece, felt another one, work out some new colorways write up notes or illustrate in the journal and do some hand and machine embroidery in the evening. In this way there are always several works on the go and I don’t get bogged down in the middle of any one project.  I also photograph my work as it grows as well as recording the end result.  I never work for longer than 2 hours at a time because I think you need to stay fresh in your approach. Going away for an hour and coming back has great benefits  – you can reflect on what you are doing or simply forget about it for a while.  These interim times are spent gardening and doing domestic tasks.

GARDEN GIRLS

RWSS: Would you consider felt making to be more about the process than the outcome? ELIZABETH: Felt making is very process orientated – the joy in making something progress from a pile of fluff to a piece of art is very exhilarating. If the outcome is successful then it follows a cyclic nature. You can’t wait to go back to the beginning to start the fun all over again.

RWSS: Do you agree that a small element of uncertainty about the finished look is what makes the process of creating handmade felt so enticing?
ELIZABETH: It is this most singular element to the process that has kept me intrigued – no matter how much sketching and planning takes place there is always something  – perhaps a colour or shape that just takes you by surprise and gives you a good shake!

SCARF WORKSHOP

RWSS: Any indispensable tools or equipment?
ELIZABETH: I would say the studio – the peace in working uninterrupted cannot be overrated. Top quality wool and a table at waist height.

RWSS: Do you work strictly in nuno felt or do you apply both nuno and needle felting techniques to create your handmade felt?
ELIZABETH: I use several different techniques to do my handmade felt. I am a wet felter and nuno is one of the techniques that I use. I do use the Babylock Embellisher to secure pieces together before wet felting them again.

STITCHING DETAIL

RWSS: Do your pieces start with a planned course of action or are they more spontaneous?
ELIZABETH: I would say that all my commission work is quite planned – with drawings, lists of colours and samples. This is mainly for the client who cannot get inside my head and needs more reassurance that I know where I am headed! I generally sketch for days on a particular theme and then just put it aside. A week or so later I will tackle the subject but without looking back at the journal. If I have anything worthy  in my head then hopefully it will develop naturally. Drawing is a great tool for clearing the head.

RWSS: How do you know when to “stop” – when do you consider a piece actually finished?
ELIZABETH: For the longest time my Mum has said ” Now don’t gild the lily”.  The other one I like is ” Just because you’ve got it doesn’t mean you have to use it!” I think that more than ever I feel I am in tune with what I am doing and there comes a point when I know. When I feel I am struggling to move ahead then it is time to stop.  The other indicator is when I am hunting for “something” to add.  Clearly it is time to stop!

STITCHING DETAIL

RWSS: Some of your time is spent as an Artist in Residence at primary and secondary levels.  Your thoughts about the importance of introducing art to students in grade school?

ELIZABETH: Absolutely imperative!  If children don’t get exposed to artistic experiences then their opportunity to excel at such a subject is completely overlooked. How many artists have slipped through the system because there was a lack of opportunity? How many children have ended up participating in negative behavior because their form of expression has been shut down at an early age?
STUDENT WORK

RWSS:   My greatest source of inspiration is….
ELIZABETH: Color – how it makes me feel and inspires reactions in others.

FELT CUSHIONS


RWSS: Favorite quote?
ELIZABETH: “Who, being loved, is poor?” Oscar Wilde

RWSS: When do you do your best creative thinking?
ELIZABETH: No particular time – mostly at night, listening to Bach or Handel and just drawing.

TWILIGHT ROOSTING

RWSS: What do you enjoy most about your work?
ELIZABETH: The fact that I am lucky enough to do it.

RWSS: Best advice you’ve ever received?
ELIZABETH: Go and be an artist.

HANDMADE FELTED BAG

RWSS: Best part of your day?
ELIZABETH: Early morning and a cup of tea.

RWSS: Who would you most like to meet and how would you spend the day?
ELIZABETH: GOLLY! There are so many! I would like a blogmeet where everyone I
have made close friends with online comes over to my studio and we just make art all day!
There would, of course, be great food and super coffee!

TWILIGHT DOLLS

RWSS: What is the one thing that people would be surprised to find out about you?
ELIZABETH: My dream is to build a straw bale home.

TREE & FELT DOLL

RWSS: Any words of wisdom?
ELIZABETH: If you want to be a full time artist – don’t go cold turkey and quit work tomorrow.  Plan for it and save for it. The first months are hard without a little behind you. Have a web presence and make it look professional. Start a blog straight away so that by the time you are working full time at what you love, people will know you.  Learn as many techniques in your field as you can. Avoid copying at all costs. Find your own voice – if you love it then someone else will as well.  DON’T BE AFRAID AND HANG IN THERE!

To view more of this talented artist’s work, we invite you to visit Elizabeth’s website Frost Fair or her delightful blog Studiofelter.

All photos are courtesy of Elizabeth Armstrong.
Posted in ELIZABETH ARMSTRONG, FROST FAIR, RUNNING WITH SCISSORS STUDIO, RWSSS.COM, STUDIO FELTER | 3 Comments

THE SKETCHBOOK PROJECT

Posted on September 29, 2010 by admin

 The Sketchbook Project: 2011

Anyone from any part of the world can be part of this project!

Your sketchbook will tour the country along with those of every other artist who completes the project.  The books will visit galleries and museums across the USA putting your art in front of thousands of people!  After the tour, all of the sketchbooks will enter into the permanent collection of The Brooklyn Art Library where they will be available for the public to view.

Visit The Sketchbook Project 2011 Tour for more information.  Remember that in order to participate you must sign up by October 31, 2010! 

What a great idea!   What are you waiting for?

 Be Bold!  Be Inspired!   Be Creative! 

Posted in ART QUILTING SUPPLIES.COM, RUNNING WITH SCISSORS STUDIO, RWSSS.COM, THE SKETCHBOOK PROJECT | 3 Comments

YOU’RE INVITED – AND BRING A FRIEND!

Posted on September 13, 2010 by admin

We’re celebrating and you’re invited!  Become a follower on Facebook or Twitter and you will automatically be entered into our monthly draw for free giveaways!

Posted in ART QUILTING SUPPLIES.COM, FACEBOOK, RUNNING WITH SCISSORS STUDIO, RWSSS.COM, TWITTER | Leave a comment

IN CONVERSATION WITH ROXANNE PADGETT

Posted on August 1, 2010 by admin

California native Roxanne Padgett knew she wanted to be an artist when she did her first art project at age 4 – it was a mixed media piece with gumdrops and a dishtowel.  She has been teaching art to kids for over 30 years and has worked with the Museum of Children’s Art for 13 years.  She says “It’s rare when I don’t have some kind of notebook or journal with me;  you never know when random acts of inspiration will happen”.  Roxanne currently resides in Hayward, California with her husband and two dogs.

ROXANNE PADGETT

RUNNING WITH SCISSORS STUDIO:   Morning person or night owl?

ROXANNE:  I have become a morning person because of having to get up early to teach art in schools, so now it’s more habit than inclination. But I have to admit that I’m not very creative after 10:00 at night anyway. So, maybe I’m a day person.
RWSS:  Formal training or accidental artist?
ROXANNE:  I would say neither, really. I have always created and made things, my earliest memories are of the things I created as a very small child. It was always just what I did and still do.

      RWSS:  Do you have a dedicated studio space?
ROXANNE:  Yes, I have always had some place to work. When I was a kid, it was my bedroom closet. When my kids were little, it was the kitchen table and a shelf. Now I have turned the living room into a studio, and part of the garage and bits and pieces of space through out the house. I think every person should have a small private place that is dedicated to them, whatever they do, no matter the size of the space.

      RWSS:   Favorite quote?
ROXANNE:  I love quotes! I collect them and write them down in my journals. Many a journal page or a piece of art has been inspired by words. My favorite right now-
“Artists are people who play hide-and-seek, but do not know what they seek until they find it” H.W. Janson

      RWSS:    Best advice you’ve ever received?
ROXANNE:  Probably, it was my husband that suggested that if I organized my materials that I would have more time to create. That was over 20 years ago, even now when I get stuck on a project, I start to clean or organize my materials and then usually something will come to me. The other piece of advice is the one I tell myself everyday, you can’t get away from yourself now matter how hard you try, so don’t try, just let what is in you come out. And if the work is only interesting to me, well, I can live with that.

      RWSS:  We love the vibrancy and freedom that your journal covers possess – can you remember what prompted you to make your first one?
ROXANNE:  I have always been attracted and inspired by visual images. When I was 4 or 5 years old I began a systematic process of cutting out all the color pictures out of my parents Encyclopedia Britannica set and pasting them into my hand made books made from scrap paper. I always put the best picture on the cover. I did that for a few years until my Mom caught me and then gave me National Geographic to cut up. I just developed the process over many years. I love to add lots of color and layers of materials, paper, scraps, fabrics, sewing, painting, and drawing. I love to see what new ideas come from the layering process. Today, I rely much less on magazine pictures. But I still like to go through old mags and books and collect images, just a meditative process.

      RWSS:    Do you work with a planned course of action or prefer to be spontaneous when you create?
ROXANNE:  I do both. I usually start with a general idea in my mind. I can usually visualize the project in some form, but the important thing is to leave room for the unexpected, the stuff that you didn’t know was there. I think that is one reason why I never get tried of creating. I don’t want to totally control the process but I do think it is important to be able to know how to use your tools and materials and be able to react to what is happening.

      RWSS:  What is it about Frida Kahlo that inspires you?
ROXANNE:  What doesn’t inspire me about Frida? Her art, her passion, her personal style, I think she has become such an iconic symbol of the powerful woman artist.
Some people say that she started to do art because she was confined to a bed. I think she did art not because of her accident, but in spite of it, perhaps the accident was merely the catalyst.

      RWSS:    Who or what has influenced your style the most?
ROXANNE:  Colors in nature, art, books.

      RWSS:   Any indispensable tools or equipment?
ROXANNE:  Sewing machine, scissors, paint, stencils, water soluble crayons, camera, books, books and more books.

      RWSS:  You currently work for the Museum of Children’s Art.  Could you tell us a bit more about your role there and what it means to you?
ROXANNE:  I have worked at the museum for 13 years. I began teaching children art during the school day. Young children are creative and fearless and are a great source of inspiration for me. As children get older they start to think that they are not creative or an artist, that art is only for the special few who can draw. It is my mission and passion to keep students engaged in the creative process. I began to realize that the classroom teachers were no different than the students. They too, somewhere along the line decided they were not artists or creative. So, I shifted my focus to teaching classroom teachers how to teach art in their classrooms. And that begins by having them doing art themselves through professional development workshops. I think I can affect more children having art if more classroom teachers are comfortable with art themselves.

      RWSS:  Do you feel exposure to art plays an important enough role in grade school?
ROXANNE:  Wow, how much time to I have to write about this subject? When I went to school in the sixties & seventies we always had art once or twice a week, we even had an art teacher. I don’t think I could have tolerated school without art classes, it was so much a part of my identity, and I wasn’t very good at anything else, it was where I got my confidence. There is very little art in schools right now, testing and stats seem to rule the day. To have art in school is not just about making beautiful things, but is about the creative thinking process, problem solving, communicating and understanding the world. Having art in the school setting is not just about creating artists, but about creating well educated human beings.

RWSS:   What do you enjoy most about being a teaching artist? 
ROXANNE:  Sharing the creative process with others and getting them to believe that they also are creative, in whatever form that takes. Plus I get lots of inspiration when I watch kids paint; their combinations of colors are fearless.

      RWSS:   If you had to choose another career what would it be?
ROXANNE:  That’s a hard one, anything creative, a photographer, or a writer.

      RWSS:  Best part of your day?
ROXANNE:  Getting up in the morning to my first cup of coffee, thinking about all the creative things that I could do that day.
      RWSS:   What is the one thing that most people would be surprised to find out about you?
ROXANNE:  I love to dance to 70’s disco and funk music. I have also been known to don a sumo suit and wrestle with my sister.

RWSS:  Who would you most like to meet and how would you spend the day? 
ROXANNE:  I would love to meet Georgia O’Keefe; we would walk in the dessert and collect bones, sticks and rocks. We wouldn’t even have to talk much. But we would discuss the subtle colors in all that we observed. We would notice the day sky turning into evening, the visual texture of a cactus, the smell of sage brush… Maybe we would take photos, to be used as inspiration for a painting. She would take me to her quiet spot where we would meditate…………..ponder the stars.
            RWSS: I’d be lost without……….
ROXANNE:  My family.

      RWSS: Favorite dessert?
ROXANNE:  Vanilla Hagen Das with fresh raspberries and raw sugar. In fact my Grand Daughter calls me Raspberry MiMi.
      RWSS: Any words of wisdom?
      ROXANNE:  “Fear No Color”
      Try something, even if you think it won’t work.  Be fearless, what’s the worse thing that
      could happen? In the end, it’s only a piece of paper or canvas or (you fill in the blank).

Roxanne is currently featured in the Summer 2010 issue of Sew Somerset magazine and
will also be one of the instructors at JournalFest 2010 in Port Townsend, Washington.  As a teaching artist, she offers fiber and visual journal classes for adults and has a great blog titled Art House 577. 

    
Posted in JOURNALFEST, JOURNALS, ROXANNE PADGETT, RWSSS.COM | 4 Comments

THR3FOLD JOURNAL ISSUE 5

Posted on July 26, 2010 by admin

What could possibly be better than Thr3Fold Journal Issue 4?  Why Thr3Fold Journal Issue 5, of course!

The fifth journal in the ever popular Thr3Fold Journal series is now available and as promised, does not disappoint!  Linda, Laura and Catherine have outdone themselves yet again!

There is a FaceBook Challenge, Diary of a Quilt returns and our favorite new section is called Felt It / Stitch It.  Topics include art quilts, printing, embroidery and needlefelting.  The 52 page full colour printed journal comes with an accompanying CD equally filled with informative articles, patterns, copyright free images and video clips.

THR3FOLD JOURNAL ISSUE 05  
To keep up with Laura and Linda Kemshall we invite you to visit their FaceBook page and become a fan!  Catherine Nicholls has a wonderful website called Corvid Creations that shares her textile pieces as well as her explorations in drawing and  mixed media. 
Be Bold!         Be Inspired!          Be Creative!
Posted in CATHERINE NICHOLLS, LAURA KEMSHALL, LINDA KEMSHALL, RWSSS.COM, THR3FOLD JOURNALS | 1 Comment

IN CONVERSATION WITH ALYSN MIDGELOW-MARSDEN

Posted on May 29, 2010 by admin
Alysn Midgelow-Marsden works with embroidered textiles using a wide range of contemporary textile and mixed media techniques.  Although she works primarily in metal shims, her work also includes dying, painting, piecing and burning fabrics and often features embellishment by hand and machine.  Author of ‘This Lustr’ed Cloth’, Between the Sheets with Angelina’ and
‘The Continuous Thread of Revelation’, she also manages and directs the Beetroot Tree Gallery in Draycott, Derbyshire England.  
ALYSN MIDGELOW-MARSDEN

RUNNING WITH SCISSORS STUDIO:  Favorite place you’ve been or lived?

ALYSN:  I’ve not had a chance to live in many places or travel very widely as yet (one day …), but have found interest in all of the places I have been to, whether because of their physical looks or social history or the people I meet there.
Living in rural Wales was great, I still miss the sea and eventually would like to live next to it again wherever in the world that might be.
I am very much looking forward to a visit to Mexico’s Yucatan peninsula in December as I have been fascinated with ancient cultures for many years, the Maya included.

RWSS:    Best advice you’ve ever received? 
ALYSN: Never have 3 children (immediately ignored!)
RWSS:   Worst advice you’ve ever received? 
ALYSN: Never have 3 children.
RWSS:    Your roots in embroidery were encouraged by your Grandmother.  Is anyone else in your family artistic? 
ALYSN:  My mother has taken to embroidery since retiring, so something artistic must have been lurking under the covers there, one of my sisters is a Reader in Performance Studies and is a dance theatre performer and each of my children are creative in their own ways, though whether this influences their career choice, or is simply a pleasure for them in their lives, we shall see …

 DETAIL FROM ‘COPPER TENDRILS’


RWSS:  What inspires your creativity? 
ALYSN:  I think that I am most interested in attempting to visualize the emotions we have or the feeling in a moment or a place rather than the actual physical look of it. Several early paintings explored my feelings after the death of a friend. I remember having one of those ‘oh, yes’ moments when looking at the progression of Mondrian’s work from realism to expressionism, seeing how a series of boxes and lines in very simple colours could dance.
RWSS:    Are there any of your own pieces that you can’t bear to part with? 
ALYSN:  Most of them, usually just after I have sold them! There have been a few pieces with very personal imagery, perhaps invisible to anyone else, and I feel the loss of those when I think about them. However, the pleasure of knowing that someone loves the work enough to buy it is a compensation, and I am sure that they all go to ‘good homes’.

DETAIL FROM ‘PERSONAL JOURNEY’
RWSS:  Any indispensable tools or equipment? 
ALYSN:  I guess fundamentally my brain and hands are the most indispensable, though the lack of a sewing machine and a computer would take some adjusting to!
RWSS:   Favorite medium to work with? 
ALYSN:  For a while now I have been concentrating upon using primarily metals and metal cloths which have lots of very interesting properties and I suspect that this will continue, but I never give up exploring alternative media and discovering which of these can add statements to the pieces I am creating.

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RWSS:    What is the most rewarding part of being involved with and managing The Beetroot Tree Gallery? 
ALYSN:  There are various favorites. One is a personal satisfaction from having developed and grown a business through difficult times, in the challenging market sector of contemporary art. Another is being in a position to help other artists (including those who work for me at the Gallery) to sell their work and to develop their careers. Another is the pleasure of having been able to provide for the visitor an experience which they gained from, whether exhibitions, events, installations, workshops etc. or a piece to take home, knowing it will be appreciated so much more than a print off the shelf from a chain store.

DETAIL FROM ‘RUSTED CONTOURS’

RWSS:    What are you excited about right now in the world of textile art?
ALYSN:  There are two very different aspects which I find exciting about the current world of textile art. First is the gradual acceptance of textiles in the fine art world as a valid art material for expression, and the understanding of makers using textiles as a medium that they should be taken seriously as artists in a wider context than the ‘ghetto’ of the textile only shows and exhibitions. Certainly at the Beetroot Tree we usually show textiles alongside other media, showing the diversity of expression between makers using the different media. Second is the continuing joy with which the creative textile makers, from hobbyists to professionals, take in exploring new possibilities and ideas from other art and craft forms or materials from sources as wide as  the natural world or high industry are taken up with dizzying speed and great resourcefulness. I personally do not think that there is another creative field which is as broad a church as the textile/embroidery arena.

RATHER PROUD
RWSS:   Who would you most like to meet and how would you spend the day? 
ALYSN:  The difficulty of questions like this is that there are people from all walks of life and periods of history who would be interesting to meet, many I don’t even know names for such as the Miao maker of a ‘folded thread book’ which I recently acquired and am fascinated by, or the embroideresses of African Kuba cloths etc. People from times and places where a vision and skill has been developed to truly exceptional heights. If I restrict myself to living artists, I might choose two artists whose work could be seen as diametrically opposed, but both, I suspect create with both thoughtfulness and passion. The first is Andy Goldsworthy. I would love to talk to and watch and perhaps work with him as his work is apparently calm and simple, finding pattern and order in the natural environment or natural materials, drawing something of the nature of the material then juxtaposing the obvious and expected with surprising  structures or unexpected properties, though never creating jarring, unnatural or overbearing forms. At the opposite extreme, meeting Zandra Rhodes and watching her develop work for one of her wild and extravagant collections would be inspiring. Perhaps because I sit somewhere between these extremities, working with either would be a challenge and I am sure that I would learn a great deal from both.

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RWSS:   What is the one thing that people would be surprised to find out about you? 
ALYSN:  Perhaps that I once wanted to be an engineer – this is not only surprising as something very different to the creative path I have chosen now but with my limited attention span for logical and methodical processes and following rules, it is a very good thing for the world that no-one relies upon my calculations!
CONTINUOUS THREAD SERIES
RWSS:   Best part of your day? 
ALYSN: Ticking something off my ‘to do’ list as finished. I hate days when I feel that I have been working all day and achieved nothing, unless I have been able to spend a good run of time making in the studio without interruption – then that counts as achieving something as well.

RWSS:   I’d be lost without…
ALYSN:  The internet!
RWSS:  Can we look forward to seeing a new book from you in the near future? 
ALYSN:  At least three are in the pipeline, mostly in the planning stages – each very different from each other and each as exciting to me in their own right.

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RWSS:   What would you like to be remembered for? 
ALYSN:  Inspiring and encouraging others to make the most of their potential, in life and creatively and for making artwork which endures and gives thoughtful pleasure to the viewers.
RWSS:   What would you do with a few extra hours each day? 
ALYSN:  I would get around to making more of the work that I imagine making as I make other work.
RWSS:   Your favorite luxury in life? 
      ALYSN:  Good coffee and red wine.

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RWSS:   Favorite quote?  
ALYSN:  “An artist is not a special kind of person, but everyone is a special kind of artist”. (Author unknown)

RWSS:   Any words of wisdom? 
ALYSN:  Create with passion, enjoy the process of creativity and quit worrying about the end of the journey before you are there.  (Does that count as wisdom?)

We are pleased to feature Alysn’s book This Lustr’ed Cloth in our online store – it continues to be an excellent resource for textile and fibre artists.

To learn more about Alysn and her work please visit The Beetroot Tree gallery website.
All photos courtesy of Alysn Midgelow-Marsden.

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