Sigh. Took the show down today. It has been a whirlwind year and this show was the ‘cherry on top.’ Many thanks to Therese Perreault, and the collectors who bought two of the pieces and Mari Herreras for the great Tucson Weekly interview. Therese mentioned that she wanted to invite all the artists who have shown with Arts Marketplace this year to submit a few pieces for a group show for the month of December. No rest for the wicked…..going to write those thank-you notes.
The Tucson Weekly has an article by Mari Herreras in their current edition about my exhibition at Arts Marketplace. It highlights my upcoming talk, Confessions of a Subversive Stitcher, scheduled for Thursday, September 15 at 6:30 at Arts Marketplace, 403 N 6th Ave (south of 6th Street). Hope to see you there!
Dyeing fabric is a lengthy and ultimately serendipitous process. It involves planning, folding, manipulating, measuring, pouring, dripping, batching, waiting, washing, rinsing, washing, mopping, and more washing. Did I mention you have to do a lot of washing? You have to take careful notes if you want to be able to reproduce the results some time in the future. Finally, you toss the fabric into the dryer and eagerly await the final results.
That is my favorite part. There is always a happy surprise or two. Here is a little bit of what I have created over the last few days….
Can’t wait to get these puppies into some artwork!
The opening reception last night was an unqualified success! We had a great crowd of over 200 people at the event. The gallery at Arts Marketplace has two huge brick walls which set off my black and discharged work beautifully. The food and wine was great and it was wonderful to have the support of good friends at my first solo show….
Best of all, two pieces have found new homes! My friend Clare bought Moon River I, which is embellished with a lovely slice of polished agate. Fragment will be going home with a lovely couple who particularly admired the imagery and experimental technique of the piece. I recently reworked Fragment before its debut exhibition here, and now I am glad I did.
I am over the moon with the success of the show so far. Therese (Arts Marketplace’s Director) has been working hard on the show and our efforts are really paying off. Thanks, T and everyone else who making the show a success (JK, Bob, etc., etc.) !
My talk, Confessions of a Subversive Stitcher, will be Thursday September 15th from 6:30-7:30 pm. The show hangs until September 27, so come and see it while you can. Hours are Thursday, Friday, Saturday, noon-6pm at.
The show is up and here is your invitation to see Subversive Stitches at Arts Marketplace. The opening reception will conveniently be held Saturday, Sept. 3 from 7-8:30 pm. That is during the First Saturday Arts Walk in the warehouse district. It is also Labor Day weekend, but do stop by if you can. Arts Marketplace is at 403 N. 6th Ave. south of 6th St. across from Miller’s Supply. No need to RSVP. All are welcome to attend.
I will also hold an artist lecture Confessions of a Subversive Stitcher on Thursday, September 15 from 6:30-7:30 at Arts Marketplace. It will be fun. Hope you can make that, too.
Therese Perreault and I have finished hanging my Subversive Stitches solo exhibition at Arts Marketplace! They have a terrific space with a skylight and exposed brick walls, which really sets off my discharged and rust-dyed pieces. I was a bit worried about how the hanging would go against those uneven bricks, but T found a way to make it work.
I am using one of my latest (and never before exhibited) pieces Almost Symmetrical as the ‘signature’ work. It is the first piece you see when you walk in the door, and is featured on the e-vite. The photo below is a ‘preview of coming attractions.’ More posts and pictures will follow. The reception is Saturday, September 3, from 7-8:30 pm at Arts Marketplace (403 N. 6th Ave.). Hope to see you there. Now I have to get ready for my interview with the Tucson Weekly…
Because my work has roots in the quilting tradition, I am really looking forward to this documentary. A nine-episode PBS program, it should be a very comprehensive look at the place quilts hold in our society. For a link to the website, click here. It will air in the fall in Kentucky, and is available on DVD.
We had a great turnout for the Fiber Artists of Southern Arizona Opening Reception at the JCC. Three pieces have already sold! The show will hang until September 14, so be sure to stop by and see it while you have the chance.
Trish Hastings-Sargent www.ths-studio.com of Fiber Artists of Southern Arizona www.fasa-art.com is hanging our show today at the Tucson Jewish Community Center. The gallery is beautiful and will be a terrific venue for our debut exhibition. The invitation has just a few of the pieces which will be on display:
FASA is a group of fiber artists that includes: Nancy Clancy, Barbara Hall, Joanne Krawchuk, Sandy Lambert, Sharon Nemirov, Trish Hastings-Sargent, Aimee Smythe, Peggy Thomas, Mary Vaneecke, and Kay Wild.
The opening reception is this Sunday, August 14 from 1-3 at the JCC (3800 E River Rd.). Come and see what contemporary art quilts are all about….The exhibition runs through September 14.
I thought I would blog a bit about how and why I work in fabric. I came to the art world as a quilter, and my art has roots in the quilting tradition. My work is usually layered and stitched together. That meets the technical definition of quilting, but we are talking form, not function, here. You would not want to sleep under my work!
First, I carefully plan a design–I am particularly fond of the S curve composition. I am open to serendipity and happy accidents in the design process, but I find I am happiest with my final product if I have a plan or roadmap to start. I keep in mind the possibilities for stitching/quilting as a design element even at this stage.
Next, I go to the fabric, altering its surface to establish the design. I might dye and/or bleach silk, cotton or rayon. Then comes layers of surface design in a combination of any of the following: paint, foil, decorative stitching, transferred images and/or embellishments. I am always referring back to my original draft design. Many artists would frame the piece and stop there.
But I find that layering and stitching the fabric adds texture and dimension to the work that I can’t get any other way. A picture is worth a thousand words, so to see what I mean, click here to see a one-and-a-half minute video about this effect on a piece I call Sahuaro Blooms. My quilting stitches are always designed to enhance the overall design. They are integral to the piece, outlining shapes I want to emphasize.
There are other reasons why I layer and stitch, but that is for another blog post. The original version of this post appears on Flux Gallery’s blog at www.fluxartists.com.
Hand-dyed, screen printed fabrics, layered and stitched. Mounted on stretch canvas. See videos of how this piece was stitched: Videos: How I Work.
I have been putting the finishing touches on the last two works for my solo exhibition Subversive Stitches at Arts Marketplace Tucson. This is one of the pieces, which I call Complementary Samaras II. It features my favorite color—a vibrant fuschia—in a gorgeous hand-dyed rayon. Rayon has a large number of molecular sites for dyes to attach to, which allows for this rich, deep color.
The dye patterning in this piece is subtle, but I love the way it recedes when you layer the fabric and densely stitch the straight lines into it with a coordinating variegated thread. The stitch lines appear in the middle ground over the dyed fabric, and the screen printed shapes come to the foreground. I love the great sense of depth in this piece.
Subversive Stitches will include Complementary Samaras II and four other new works that have never been exhibited. The opening reception is Saturday, September 3. Hope to see you there.
Oil paints on cotton fabrics, layered and stitched. Copper seashell embellishments by Patricia Healey.
Hand-painted fabric, layered and stitched with a silk ribbon flange.
I am thrilled to announce my first solo exhibition will be held from August 20 to September 27 at Arts Marketplace Tucson, on 6th Ave south of 6th Street. The Opening Reception will be held in conjunction with the First Saturday ARTWALK on September 3 from7 pm to 8:30 pm. It is free and open to the public. Five new pieces will debut, including Almost Symmetrical. Hope to see you there!
See this piece at the FASA show at the Tucson Jewish Community Center, 3800 E River Rd, from August 12 through September 13. The fine art gallery is open Monday-Thursday from 9 am – 9 pm and Friday and Sunday, 9 am – 6 pm. Closed Saturdays and all Jewish holidays. Opening reception on August 14, 1 – 3 pm. Hope to see you there! Learn more about our fiber art group FASA at the website www.fasa-art.com.
As of July 1, 2011, I have joined artists Peter Eisner, Lynne Yamaguchi, Lee Roy Beach, CJ Shane, and Sheryl Holland at Flux Gallery in Plaza Palomino. Check out this contemporary gallery at 2960 N Swan Rd, Suite 136. Our summer hours are Wed-Fri 11am – 2pm, Sat. 10am – 1 pm and by appointment. Stay tuned for upcoming events. More about Flux at the website at www.fluxartists.com.
44” x 13.5” Discharged fabrics, layered, stitched, and painted. Title inspired by the cafe au lait color of the discharged fabric and the tall, bubbly S curve composition.
14” x 14” Hand painted fabrics, layered, stitched, and stretched on a wooden frame. I love the idea of ‘free radicals,’ even if they are bad for you.
19” x 12.5” Hand-painted fabric, layered and stitched. Hand-dyed silk ribbon trim. Short and sweet.
73” x 45” Diptych. Hand-painted fabrics, layered and stitched. This piece may be hung vertically or horizontally. See it at my solo exhibition at Arts Marketplace, mid- August through September 29.
44” x 32” Diptych. Handpainted fabrics, layered and stitched. Stretched on wooden frames. Looks great hanging vertically or horizontally, offset or aligned. See it now at Flux Gallery.
32” x 38” Hand-painted fabric, layered and machine stitched. This is the first in the Samaras series, and has traveled around the country and to France as part of the Studio Art Quilt Associates’ Points of View exhibition. See it now at Flux Gallery in Plaza Palomino, Tucson.
61” x 44” I explore the S curve composition with various surface design techniques, including discharged fabric, paint, decorative machine stitching and embellishments. Layered and machine stitched.