Category Archives: Team work

Collaborative work

I have shared my studio space with my Mum for the the last six weeks.My health has been a challenge so we had many long hours to fill.Betty is very talented and at 75 still plays a very active role in promoting handcrafts in my nieces school.This time she brought the challenges set by her embroidery guild.

We traded techniques,findings and ideas.The upper sample celebrates learning a new technique exploring solvy ,lots of fine handwork and beading.

The lower piece is titled Memories including a tree to celebrate planting over 300 trees in her life time.Inspired by my tree dress. Solvy and lots of hand-sewing later

Memories including a celebration of planting over 300 trees

Metalwork

For a good while I have wanted to play with metal.Choosing to learn to braze and form metal in the winter in the icy Pacific North West.Anyway I joined Larry Calkin ( all round excellent sage) for a couple of days prior to  going to the UK for a month to visit my folks.Metal assemblage was fun and these are a couple of my favorite pieces.WP_20131102_001

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New Class Fun

I overheard a conversation last week.”Teaching means I get to learn so much more”. I had a great time yesterday and am so looking forward to where we go.I love getting a group to write their own syllabus and going with flow.

Time to unpack and structure the next couple of classes.

See writing and teaching who would of thunk it Mr Smart.

Fabric Memory Quilt

Some projects seem difficult to finish.Last year our tactile art group lost two members.To celebrate their lives we made canvas squares which would become a memory quilt to share with their families.

These remained in my studio for a couple of months until I could complete them.It turned out in the the end that I needed to work with another member of the group to find out how we could achieve this. Ezzie and I worked together to create two fiber bundles which she WP_003146has taken to share with the group.I’m very much looking forward to their reaction when we have an art travel to SAM next week.

ART

So today was tactile art day.

As ever a fun time sharing and exploring.I have been helping out with the installation of African American quilts at my local museum and this inspired one of our projects today.I really wanted to encourage the group to focus on different media and their application to surfaces.The thing that I took away from the year studying fiber arts is the surface really does matter.How we use that surface as artist gives us an infinite voice and place for expression.

We also took a stroll to the class installation.Four blocks ,three guide dogs and eight artists enjoyed a verbally described and tactile tour.

We also discuss ART the project to be installed at a Seattle housing project.We are planning the biggest braille installation in the world.Now that will be a challenge and a great image to share.

The back of my head !

So between the clay and prepping to go back to class tomorrow ( yes that much passion just has to be resolved !) I slipped into the Gauguin exhibit with my tactile art crew.

This is the clip that was recorded for the local news show.You don’t get to see me but that is the back of my head as we squeeze into the elevator.

Click for the video

SAM Gaugain

So looking forward to expanding these tours to new venues

Guest Artist :)

Yesterday saw me drive myself to the U district and I was the guest artist at our tactile art class.New faces and old friends made this a really fun day.The three cards below provided the basis for relaxation making new friends and just generally hanging out.

Off to meet the Prof

It seems such a strange but exciting thing to be doing.Back in my nursing days Prof’s round were the times when the nurses were in full control and shepherded the team around the children’s ward in Oxford.Hoping the children and parents would behave themselves.
Who would of thought that 25 years later I’d be going to meet a Professor of Fiber Arts at University of Washington to discuss my work.The campus reminds me so much of Oxford architecture and the feel of learning, deep thought and growth are such that I have to pinch myself that the Isis and Port Meadow are not on it’s boundaries.

This class assignment involves creating fabric from found objects one material and one fastener/adhesive.Needs to be flexible in one plane.Thinking about there meaning and communicating these.The final part is to make 2 yards of one the the four samples we create.

Seriously a whole month !

Oh my it’s been a month since my last post -must have been busy !
Fall has arrived with really high winds,big rain showers and I have enjoyed the last days of summer buzzing around with my old student and now friend Sponge.

Speedo car wash is over-had to do stand in photography for that one ! The salmon are back I have my watching spot, hoping the rain brings them in.Did see some at Issaquah on Thursday we have 5 species locally and the ones that may use the stream I watch arrive a little later in the season.

I’m planning a spring show and applying for inclusion in a show next fall. Things in Issaquah are going to be bubbling in 2012 and I’m considering whether to get involved.Uni starts next week.Hubby has just plugged in Nivara’s Smells like Teen Spirit-kinda sums up the day !

Pacific West Quilt Show

Wonderful day today spent surround by fabric,quilts and fabulous people !

Yes I did indulge a little but with purpose.

I brought the two small batiks on our trip to DC from a wonderful artist Owino Martin (kowinobatiks.com) We talked about me wanting to make a fabric traveling journal for my trip and I thought his pieces would be be perfect for my folded book form.That said these have remained being pressed under my cutting mat since we got back.

We arrived at the show today and I quickly found Maendeleo (maendeleoimports.com) I had promised to be very restrained but these batiks were just perfect to complete the project.

The fibers were from Janet (tenajcreations.com) thanks to her for the help and patience.Have to thank Karen for inviting me.

The other thing  realize during many conversations is that I hadn’t linked the blog to my old Flickr feed

http://www.flickr.com/photos/essexdebs/sets/

This originally was where put my gallery pictures pre-blog .Enjoy