Weft and Warp

When you weave fabric on a loom, there are two distinct sets of yarns or threads that intersect at right angles to form the fabric or cloth. The longitudinal threads are call the warp and the lateral threads, the one's that fill in are called the weft.  
 
Most cloth that is used to make garments today is made on large industrial weaving machines, but if you ever have the opportunity to watch someone make fabric on a wooden loom you will find that there is something mesmerizing and calming about it. It is almost magical the way the colorful thread come together to create beautiful cloth.

A few years ago, when I was in Hanoi I stumbled upon a master silk weaver's workroom in a forgotten alley. The space he worked in seemed ancient and a mysterious. His deft hands at work on the looms, created not only beautiful cloth, but a rhythmic song as the shuttle moved across the threads and the frames opened and closed.  I was reminded today this stunning dance of colors when I sat down to write my weekly blog post.








We are 8 days into the new year and I already have so much on the calendar for 2012. I started to freak out a little on how I am going to keep it all together. Those of you who know me, know that life pours my glass pretty full. This year is no exception. First there is the combination of working full time and pursuing an art career part time. Sometimes the demands of my day job don't end at 5 pm or I find myself working on the other side of the world for weeks on end. Sometimes there are art deadlines that come up so fast that I end up working into the wee hours of the night or waking up before the dawn just to get things in on time. There is a balance, a dance that has to happen between the two parts of my occupational existence. Up until this point, I feel like I have been very successful at achieving a certain harmony there. 

The success comes not just from balancing the two aspects of the "working me." It is deeply rooted in the fact that in the fundamental fabric of my life, I am a wife and a mother. My family life is like the warp threads on the loom. They keep me together and are my foundation. The work is the weft threads, the fillers that add color and texture to my life. Woven together the two are stronger and create something far greater than a single thread. But each thread, each aspect of my life is important.

So, here I am on this gorgeous day in Vermont, lining up all the threads that will come together for this next year. My calendar is chock full of outing and new adventures, moments of contemplation and discovery, art, work, family and love. New threads that have been added to my already rich tapestry are: Graduate school, at Vermont College of Fine Arts, which starts on January 27th, A new website to be kicked off in February, Artfest12 in Port Townsend, WA in March. A trip with Jackson to NYC in April.... That's just the beginning.... 

To help keep this all in order, I have started the necessary January cleaning of my work space. Primarily, because I could not see the top of the work table or find the rusty bits I had been looking for. Secondarily, I just took down a show and I need space to store all the artwork not currently on display. And then lastly, I have received some requests for people to do "studio visits." The endeavor to make it a viable space to receive patrons, gallery curators and fellow artists in has commenced.  I joke with my husband about making the space "good enough" to be in "Where Women Create" magazine. His response is. It's were you create, so it's beautiful enough. 

The fabric of my (not-so) lazy Sunday afternoon  will be this: Jack and I will finish eating breakfast, take the dog on a long walk in the crisp clear light of this amazing January day and probably haul some wood. I will get to work back down in the basement, stoking the fire of the wood stove, painting backgrounds for new pieces and organizing my heart out.  Occasionally, coming up stairs to make some pizza dough, start Sunday dinner and maybe a soup to eat later in the week. 


 



Speaking of fabric... this is what's on my work table now. A new assemblage that's born out of barn board, old embroidery and a well worn quilt.

 

What threads are you weaving together today?

2011: A diamond in the mind

What was...
oh so many challenges, changes, surprises and happy accidents

Left with the MEMORIES of all that….

A slow start

42

Tubing @ Mt Snow

Thinking of Grad School

Hong Kong

Applying to Grad School

Artist as Entrepreneur

Taiwan, Taipei 101, being in 2 places at once

Carlos Santana

Hong Kong, again.

Let’s go Celtics, let’s go! 20 year reunion with Joe Strummer (for a day.)

Spring time in NY, snowboarders on long island, museums in NYC

Judgement Day

Foggy boat ride with Capt’n Steve-o and the Twisted Ankle, Hanging with 40 year old band geeks: Heather and her beautiful daughters, Nurse Brown, Eduardo & the Mrs., Girl talk with Becki. We missed you, Mike.

Cloth Paper Scissor feature. I made this.

Accepted to Grad School! Can’t believe I’m doing this

Big Ideas, Small Books

Books Unbound: 100^th anniversary of the Triangle shirtwaist fire and the honor of a juried prize.

20 years with Mr Jimmy. Where did the time go? We've only just begun.

Discovering Laurie Zuckerman

Queen City Craft

Sailors Valentines

Random acts of assemblage

postcards and banners
press kits, newletters and proposals

grant writing
twitter, facebook, pinterest

Eric Ford: DJ Lazy Eye comes to the rescue
Burlington Free Press
Seven days : I heart u!

the road

night work

year of the flood

olive kitteredge

memory keepers daughter

way of seeing

walking dead, season 2

oddities

Art Is You

Focusing and finding, soundtrack to art, telling stories, wallpapering, glue it and screw it

Sal and Ellen, Sue Pelletier, Seth Apter, Richard Salley, Keith Lobue, Andrea Matus… and of course MDM...And how can I forget, finally meeting my BFF in real life: Jodi Ohl, our madcap adventures and sophisticated taste in wine. Fake it till you make it, baby.

Artists Medium, Altered Books, Lots and lots of gel medium, Van Dyke Brown, disparate objects, rusty things, bird houses with soul.

Dumpster diving, Goodwill hunting, Sal’s Army and Free-cycle

Craigs and a new Showroom

Proto room facelift

Transitions, exits and entrances

Softgoods baby boom

a Technical Design for The Program

Jake’s battle with cancer. Kevin’s return to snow.

 

Hurricane Irene

The Maine Vacation that didn’t happen

Lake Ontario Lake House

hop, hop, hopping... (another incredibly) successful Art Hop.

Heroes Dare

Litany against Fear

People’s Choice Award

much love to the folks at SEABA

solo shows, group exhibits

Represent Show

Art of Horror

More creepy doll art

Art by Mothers

Ghost Stories @ Black Cap

Sing to Me

(sometimes we make) Promises (we never mean to keep)

how we left the forest, part 1 and part 2
proportions of a man’s heart

sweetest flowers

gifts of a stranger

mercy

leave the light on

Making Strides

Muppet movie made me misty, why?

All You Need is Now: Miss A, Indian food, Neon Trees, Chewing Gum, Brits

Vintage Inspired Marketplace, congrats Mary! Thanks for everything!

Nightfires 2012: A Bear King and beautiful voices: 14 stunning costumes. Thank you Marianne, for gifting me with this.

Grant love from Vermont Counsel of the Arts.

Return to now…

everything she touches changes, everything she changes touches
we've got magic to do
hugs and thanks to you

what will be....
oh... so many things... like a diamond in the mind

Welcome 2012, I’m ready for you.

Little Altars for Peace

May the blessings of the season be with you and yours.

Wishing you PEACE and PROSPERITY in the year to come

New Exhibition: Vintage Inspired Marketplace

Vintage Inspired Lifestyle Marketplace on Flynn Avenue in Burlington is a new, funky, accessible and beautifully lit space. It is a delight for shoppers wanting to combine a love of antiques, curious goods and art. My friend Mary Heinrich Aloi is the owner. She has a truly inspired eye and her shop is a haven for hunters, pickers and art lovers. The focus of the shop is creating a reconnection to the past.




VINTAGE INSPIRED MARKETPLACE
180 Flynn Avenue, Burlington, VT, 05495 www.vintageinspired.net


OPEN
Tuesday – Saturday
10am to 5pm,
Sunday
12pm to 4pm

CLOSED Mondays

To kick off the market grand opening, I am featured in an art exhibit along side the wonderful work of Lisa Lillibridge. There's a fun reception planned for the First Friday Art Walk, Friday December 2nd, from 5-8pm. The work will be on view during regular business hours through December 31st. Lisa Lillibridge moved to Burlington, Vermont from South Dakota on New Year’s Day 1990 and started making art. Recently, Lillibridge has been working in wood; carving, painting, pounding found objects and experimenting with various subject matters and finishes. Lisa has created benefit art shows with her son, Ellis Govoni, and participated as an artist-in-residence at The Basin Harbor Club. In her artist statement, Lillibridge states, “I am inspired to live in a community where so many artists donate their art, time and energy to make Burlington such a unique place.” You can find out more about Lisa's work @ http://www.lisilillibridge.com/

Ghost Stories Assemblage Class this SATURDAY 10/29.

If you didn't get a chance to take my Assemblage classes @ Art-Is-You, you can catch it ONE last time @ Artist's Medium, here in beautiful Williston, VT. 

Space is limited. Registration closes @ the end of the day tomorrow, so don't delay. This is probably the last time that I will be teaching this workshop in a while.

Here's all the important details:

Ghost Stories
SATURDAY
OCTOBER 29th
10:30am to 4:30 pm

Artists' Medium 

Williston, VT

(802) 879-1236 or toll free (800) 255-1290

  

with a break for lunch.
$60.00 per student

Ages 16 and up.

Pre-pay sign ups required by Wed. October 26th

Whether it’s an old family photo or a piece of old lace; we’ve all felt the presence of someone long gone when we encounter their things - the imprint they leave behind after possessing an object for a long period of time. These objects once had owners. They were bought and sold, made and broken. Some of them were kept and treasured, while others were forgotten in attics.

Each has a story to tell. This workshop will teach you the basics needed to construct a box assemblage that speaks the ghost stories of the past.

Supply List

DON'T FREAK OUT OVER THE SUPPLY LIST- BRING WHAT YOU HAVE. There will be plenty to share.

A hinged box, like a cigarbox, jewelry box,  small doll truck (as seen to left) Doesn't need to be fancy. You can even by an unfinished one @ AC Moore or Michael's.

Found objects: examples: clock parts, gears, typewriter parts, small figurines, dolls parts, game pieces, toys, household items, scraps of fabric, jewelry bits, picture frames, etc. Bring what you have... clean out a junk drawer or a corner of your attic...

Old photos: originals or good quality color copies

Paper of any and all kind scrap booking papers, old ephemera,

Paint brushes to use for paint and for glue

Matte Gel Medium

Craft knife with fresh blades

Pencil

Acrylic paints of your choice and color.

Various other favorite drawing supplies: ie, colored pencils, markers, oil pastels, etc…

I will supply:

Additional found objects, frames, rusty bits, etc.  

Strong glue like E6000

Other Adhesives

Some paints: black, white, van dyke brown

Additional paper, images and ephemera

Wire

Other tools: hammer, drill, dremel, etc

Screws, nails and other bits

Hope to see you there!!!

oh october, where did you go.

This month has probably been one of the busiest I've had in a long time.  Today is the 20th, I feel like I am just catching my breath. (actually, it's now the 22nd, and i am desperately trying to finish this blog post.)

With 11 days to go, 9 days left in October, lets see where I am.

Ghost Stories @ Black Cap

I opened a solo show, Ghost Stories, in Stowe, @ Black Cap Coffee on Sunday the 3rd.  WHOO!

We had a pretty good turn of for the reception, considering the rain.

I had some old friends pop in to say hi, as well as some new ones. I really enjoy meeting people as they come to look at the work, answer their questions and tell them the stories behind the pieces.

ArtSeenVT came by the show and posted some lovely shots of the work on their site.
Thanks so much Anahi for the plug.

Her photos are MUCH better than mine. Make sure you check out her link.

On Monday Oct 4th, I found out that I was the winner of the People's Choice Award for the ART HOP's Juried Show. Needless to say, I was completely floored. What an honor!

I am so grateful to everyone who voted for my fear piece. Thank you all ever so much!

Litany Against Fear- People's Choice

I handed off five other pieces to Christy Mitchel on Wednesday, the morning I left for Art-Is-You. She put them together in a show for all the winners of the juried show. I was kind of bummed that I was away for the opening reception. I have been so busy that I haven't even had a chance to get over to SEABA's office/gallery to see all the winner's representative work. But, Christy says it looks great, so I will take her word for it. She always does an amazing job hanging my work.

Also, on Monday 10/4, I dropped off Rosebud and Poor Dolly to Beth Robinson, (yes the creator of Strange Dolls) for the third annual Art of Horror show @ the SPACE gallery.  I heard that the opening was amazing!! A huge turn out!!  Beth and Kevin posted a ton of pictures on Facebook. I am so glad they did. (These days, I am living vicariously through other people's photos. I feel like I haven't taken enough. So thank you everyone for sharing your pix!)

Wednesday, after dropping off my work at the SEABA gallery space, I headed home and loaded up the van. Fighting off a cold, I made my way to Danbury to teach @ Art-Is-You. It was my first time participating @ a retreat like this. I really didn't know what to expect. But basically, I had my sock blown off.

The students in my classes were just fantastic! They all did a great job with their projects and I feel like we all had some great  take-aways. I am so looking forward to teaching there again next year. I have so wonderful ideas of classes to teach in 2012. Thank you everyone for your feedback and wonderful work in the workshops!


On top of teaching, I got to meet so many amazing, creative people.

Nancy Leftko, Seth Apter & me

 
There was the lovely, talented and extremely funny Sue Pelletier, who kept me sane on day 2 with her sardonic wit.

Sue is down to earth, courageous and strong. I love her TO pieces.  She has been a guiding light for me in the mixed media art world. I don't know where I would be without her.

Keith LoBue & moi!

pam & nancy

I also was able to finally met Pam Carriker and Nancy Leftko, two other mixed media artists, whom I have know from Etsy (and later FB) for a number of years now.   

 

Keith LoBue, who I have admired from afar for years, made my acquaintance in the stairwell, the first morning while we were evacuating the building for a fire alarm.

andrea matus

I ended up spending some of my down time with Keith, catching up with my old friend Michael DeMeng, hanging out with Andrea Matus (who shares a love of the tarot with me) and Richard Salley.

I cannot forget Seth Apter, the man behind the Altered Page, (and a very talented artist, as well) who was there @ the vending day.We probably could have talked for hours, about art, work and NYC, but there WAS art to be sold on Sunday. And I was crazy busy vending.

jodi ohl

Last but not least, there is my new BFF, Jodi Ohl. She has been a cyber-friend for years now. We first met via Etsy and have kept up conversations via Facebook and email ever since. She is an incredibly vibrant, brave woman, who makes wonderful art (and is an inspirational teacher, too boot.) When she finally arrived to Art-Is-You, after some crazy mishaps and adventures, we had a grand time and raised hell whenever we could.  That's how we roll.

I came back to VT on Monday 10/10. And I feel like I have hardly had a moment's rest.

Since then...

I've been to a bunch of estate sales, caught up with work at my day job, been picking and collecting costume pieces for 2011 Nightfires, helped with the Boy Scout Popcorn fundraisers, walked with Jacko in Making Strides against Breast Cancer.... and well tomorrow, Miss Adrienne and I are headed to Montreal to see my one of my favorite bands play @ the Bell Center.(I'll let you guess who.)

Did all that make you tired? I hope not. I hope you can keep up with me. There's more AMAZING things happening in NOVEMBER. Really fantastic things... Oh and DON'T forget... I'm teaching @ Artist's Medium next SATURDAY 10/29. There's still a few spaces open. But act soon. You don't want to miss out!

jodi ohl

Right, I know... You're asking... when does she sleep? Sometimes, I ask myself the same question.

Rosebud

So I was looking for a name for my new piece and I was reminded this morning, by my dear friend Mia Troy, about Rosebud. The single word whispered by Charles Foster Kane, the enigma, the mystery that propels the movie, Citizen Kane,  forward.

Via Wikipedia: (The reporter )"Thompson finds that he is unable to solve the mystery and concludes that "Rosebud" will forever remain an enigma. He theorizes that "Mr. Kane was a man who got everything he wanted, and then lost it. Maybe Rosebud was something he couldn't get, or something he lost." In the ending of the film, it is revealed to the audience that Rosebud was the name of the sled from Kane's childhood – an allusion to the only time in his life when he was truly happy. The sled, thought to be junk, is burned and destroyed in a basement furnace by Xanadu's departing staff."

Very appropriate for a piece that was assemblage from "junk" found at an estate sale...

So now, she is Rosebud.