Some New Work !

Recently I have been doing many projects using re-purposed wool sweaters .  I made several pairs of finger-less mitts for Christmas  gifts and even sold several pairs around the holidays. With these various projects I had many wool bits left over and being one to ALWAYS think before I throw away, tried my hand at making some cording from the felted wool sweater seam allowances. The resulting cording is what you see below.

Now what to do with this fun and sturdy cording.  It could be used for any number of things.  I could be braided together to create purse handles and straps.  how about combined at necklaces with some fun hand made beads?  ALL of these ideas are on my list, believe me!  As I am really enjoying some bead work right now I decided to try and combine the cording with some Ultra Suede, heavy interfacing and BEADS to create some organic looking bracelets.  Here is my first attempt!!!

I put this piece on Face Book and got an order for a similar one and I put this actual piece in the Gallery at Artful Dimensions just before Valentines Day and it sold after two days.  I think I am on to something!!!

These cuffs are very comfortable to wear as there is no stiff inner metal cuff to increase the weight of the piece. Several people who adore other beaded cuff bracelets that I create, have expressed interest in a softer formed piece as they have joint issues and cannot wear things that are hard, on their wrists.  These interactions with customers greatly influenced my design process with these new softer, gentler beaded pieces.  These beaded works stitch up in no time at all relative to the copper lined cuffs ,also a bonus.

As this Red Corded Cuff sold so quickly, I had to start on another one.  The Purple Corded Cuff was just completed and will be going to Artful Dimensions this weekend.  Now I have folks who want to learn how, so I am working on a third piece that will serve as a class sample so I can advertise classes at Artful Dimensions.

The Purple Corded Cuff  available for purchase at Artful Dimensions Gallery, Fredericksburg, VA.

Inside shots are all well and good but there is nothing like outdoor natural light for taking pictures and getting true color representations!!  I simply had to add the next three shots so you could really see the true colors in this piece.

All of this wonderful beadiness from a bit of felted wool sweater seam trash and a few conversations with bead lovers!!  Don't you just love those Light Bulb Moments??????

Sometimes one needs to start again.......

Every once in awhile, I find it is necessary to throw in the proverbial towel, throw up my hands and cry "UNCLE"!!  Such was the case this past week when I went back to the project that I began working on in my recent Beaded Wire Bracelet class. (You can read about the class here.)  Deciding to try another Tac , giving up on what is already underway is always a valuable lesson and one that I must always remind myself, can be a strong teachable moment.  Still the frustration level is very high and the waste of time factor defiantly feeds my frustration!!!

The bracelet was crafted using black enamel coated 16 g wire for the frame and Blue Steel enamel coated 26 g wire for the bead work.  AS I progressed I started to notice that the Blue Steel enamel coating was flaking off the 26 g wire.  NOT ACCEPTABLE!!!!  With each turn of the wire, more color was flaking off the thin wire and the project looked terrible, really bad.  No way to continue- FULL STOP!!!

The temptation to put it all in a bag and stuff it at the back of my beading boxes was also very strong.  Out of sight out of mind!  Ever been there?? Ever done that?????   ARGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Not this time, I had to recover and move this project forward!  So out came the wire cutters and I began to unwind all of the coiled beads to begin again. It actually all came undone much faster than I had thought.  Almost as fast as ripping out several rows of knitting.  It is always surprising how quickly things can unravel when the primary construction has been so precise and painstaking!!

Relief!!

I have begun again with new Titanium 26 g wire- no coating to flake off, and the same 16 g black frame and the same beads- different bead work though as I never plan anything and the beads and wire begin a new  conversation and tell me where the placement should be.

It is always good to be reminded that to deconstruct a project and to begin again,  is always a better path than to continue with sub standard materials.  

The phrase Garbage in Garbage out comes to mind!!!

A good lesson to be taught again and again, even in our art adventures!

Poppy Field

I have been inspired!!  Inspired by joining the other studio artists at Artful Dimensions Gallery, inspired by the other member artists, inspired by the wonderful space and the need for art of fill that space , and inspired by all of you who read my little blog and encourage me with your wonderful comments!!!

After visiting with several of my new artist friends at Artful Dimensions, a plan was hatched for our First Friday Opening in February.  For those of you who are not local residents, First Friday is an artistic event that occurs on the First Friday evening of each and every month here in  Fredericksburg, VA.  All of the art galleries in town are open late and have Opening Receptions for new exhibits.  This is a wonderful opportunity for the public to come out and meet local artists and see new art work.  The entire event is free and open to the public  and we all look forward to these evenings.  Here at Artful Dimensions, we have added something new for the public.  We now have "Make And Take Art Happenings" to encourage our visitors to get involved in art work, themselves.  Tonight we will have a Fused glass workshop with a Valentines theme (with a small fee to cover glass and firing costs) and a completely FREE Artists Trading Card Workshop.  At the ATC table we will introduce the public to ATC's and they will be encouraged to make several and to return to make more.   then later is the year we will host ATC Swaps , again free to the public.

We came up with a plan to work towards a RED Wall for our February First Friday Opening.

 Christine Lush-Rodriguez had already begun working on some poppy wall hangings.

 She had no idea that I have always been in love with poppies and have tried to grow the actual flower in my clay soil and never had much luck. Despite my cultivation failures, I  always turn to the poppy pages of all of my gardening catalogs and Dream!!  I have made several poppy themed pieces of art (that you an read about here) and have wanted to create more- So now seemed to be the perfect time.
So off I went to my studio and this is what emerged!



I created the blossom using silk gauze, vintage hand dyed lace, wool roving, silk roving, angelina fibers, sari silk ribbons, silk velvet, seed beads, my embellishing machine and wet felting techniques.  I was thrilled witht he results and terrified to proceed!! I was worried that as this portion had turned out so well, the following steps could not possibly work out as well!  So I hemmed and hawed and procrastinated and delayed.......  as First Friday approached I forced my self to get out my green fabrics to create a background.  I was still very scared and not happy with my fabric selection for the background.  I kept digging through my stash and found a spill wipe up cloth that I had created during a Soy Wax Batik Workshop.  This wipe ups cloth became the perfect background and gave me the title for my quilt- Poppy Field.  (Always pick a piece of good fabric for wiping up those dye spills- you never know when it might become the PERFECT piece for an important project!!!)

I used vintage green velvet that had been a gift from my good friend Anna Branner, to create the textured leaves.  I used my embellishing machine to felt it to a wool roving background and then wet felted each leaf to get that wonderful crinkly texture effect.  The grassy field was created using pieces of my hand dyed linen fabrics, some purchased batiks and some of my large sun printed pieces.

the finished Textile Collage Poppy Fields, 24" b 56", the largest art quilt that I have created to date!  I told you that I had been inspired!!!

               The Poppy Red Wall at Artful Dimensions Gallery, First Friday February 3, 2012.

Christine Lush-Rodriguez amazing Red Poppies- the color is so intense that they almost vibrate with energy!

Detail shots of the wonderful glaze work on these intricate blossoms.

If you are ever in the neighborhood of Fredericksburg VA, you MUST make Artful Dimensions Gallery a destination.  If you do come, be sure to let me know and I will gladly help you plan your trip!!
There is plenty of artistic inspiration to go around at this wonderful space!!!

Wire and Beads !

Yesterday I taught my first Wire and Beads Bracelet Class at Artistic Artifacts in Alexandria. We had a wonderful time and my students made some amazing pieces of jewelry!!

Once I got them past the fear of making an error when bending the wire and we discussed some design and structural points, they were all off and bending and adding beads!

Below you can see the works in progress.  We had a marvelous time catching up and sharing bead stash and helping each other make design decisions.  All three left, after shopping in Judy's amazing shop of artistic must have 's and delectable  and enticing creative supplies , with their beads and wire and plans to go home and complete their masterpieces.  I will definitely be offering this class again soon, as many shop patrons came by to see what all the hub-bub was about .

This is Jackie's piece using antiqued bronze wire.

Kathy used silver wire and primary colored beads for her striking piece.

Janice went with purple beads and black wire to add her special style to her bracelet!


Artistic Artifacts has a wonderful roster of classes and we are adding new classes and dates on a regular basis.  Prices for our classes are incredibly reasonable and we are always anxious to work with individuals who have new class ideas and a group who wants to learn.  Bring us a small group and we will design a  class to meet your specific needs and desires.  it does not get better than that!!!
Art On everyone!!!




http://www.artisticartifacts.com/annex.htmhttp://www.artisticartifacts.com/annex.htm

Studio 7- Artful Dimensions- A New Art Home!

It has been a long stretch since my last post. I was on track to change this habit for 2012 but then something came about that put all of my Art Spaces in a Dither!!! Art Spaces?? Plural??? "What is she talking about?", you may be saying to yourself. I know that I would be if I were you! Well the bottom line and big news is, I am now the proud and delighted resident of Studio 7 at Artful Dimensions Gallery in Fredericksburg Va!! My fiber art was juried intot his unique gallery dedicated solely to 3-D works, back at the beginning of December and I was thrilled. This is a true artists cooperative with each member working at the front desk several times a month and sharing all of the duties for keeping such a concern running. We are also a Non- Profit organization and one of the top goals on our mission statement is to offer lots of community outreach in the arts. That means lots of classes at reasonable and affordable prices as well as free events . I have searching for a teaching venue and now I have one!! Artful Dimensions has a dedicated classroom space that will soon be buzzing with activity with all sorts of artistic exploration.!

I took my husband down to see the place on New Years Day as I had to drop off some new work. There we met our organizational President and ceramic sculptor extraordinaire, Christine Lush -Rodriguez. Tom was so impressed with all that had been done to renovate the warehouse/garage/wood workers/Rave site/space and so impressed with the atmosphere and the all that came with the organization, that as we were leaving he asked me when I was going to apply for a studio space!!! I was flabbergasted!! Now you all know that I have a large space in my basement and that it is in a constant state of use and upheaval and I thought that in no way would I even begin to consider renting a studio as I had all that I did already. He obviously thought other wise! it took him about 5 minutes to convince me that I NEEDED to be down at Artful Dimensions and a vital part of the community that was being created and that I could not afford not to rent a studio!! So I am now fully ensconced in Studio 7 with the beautiful purple transom over my door- Meant to be!!!

(At the time that I made my move in plans ,there were only Studio 7 and 8 free- The transom of Studio 7 would have been one of my favorites had all the studio's been available!!)

moving in

We made the decision on Thursday January 5, delivered the check on Friday January 6 and started to move tables form my basement studio down to Studio 7.

One corner of my space with a comfy chair waiting for visitors , next to one of my shelf units full of fiber books and some art samples.

(Bringing in a comfy chair started a bit of a ruckus in the gallery as several of my fellow studio artists scurried about to outfit their spaces with comfortable seating. It was either that or lock my door so my yellow chair did not up and leave the room!!:) )

My plans are to move my fiber arts work- Embellisher machine, felting, some sewing and book arts projects down to Studio 7 and leave everything else at my home studio. There were some added benefits to all of this moving. Much of the overflow clutter in our garage has now been sorted, purged and reassigned to spaces in the basement studio , freeing up lots of garage space.

In my next post I will have more pictures of my space but for now I want to share some of the artwork that is featured in our wonderful gallery and created by the 14 other artists members of our cooperative. ( I will provide links to web sites for those artists who have a web presence so be sure to check them out.)

Ceramic Sculpture by Christine Lush-Rodriguez

Fabulous wood sculpture by artists Brian Raynor (right) and Joe Wilkinson (left)

ceramic wall piece by Christine Lush- Rodriguez.

Amazing miniature polymer clay relief sculpture by artist Melissa Terlizzi. This piece measures 5 x 7 inches in total.

Sculptural work with found objects (racing bibs) by mixed media Sculptor Laura Allen.

The stunning silk weavings of weaver Diane Kowalski, amazing to see all done is silk!!

Three of my sun printed and beaded art quilts.

Wonderful fiber wrapped cactus sculpture by fiber artist and painter Lynette Reed.

The delightful Mantis Praying by metal artist Bill Richardson.

Stunning glass work by glass artist Ben Childers.

Wonderful semi -precious stone and bead jewelry by artist Dee Antil.

These are just a few of the highlights o the artwork behind offered at this amazing new Gallery! I hope that any and all of you will drop by in person or virtually to see what is going on as we continue to grow!! We are on the hunt for at least 15 more Artist members so if you do 3-D work and live int he area and want more info, drop me a line and I will set you up with an application to begin the jury process!! This is going to be so much fun!!!!

I will be back very soon with more news about my new adventures, some new projects and processes and general info about my whirlwind art adventures!!

Big Book Project

I have been holding off on sharing this commissioned book project till after the holidays. A good friend from my previous home in Stillwater, OK, asked me to create a Journal/Book for her cousin for Christmas. I am a friend of the cousin as our tow boys were in Scouts and school together. I was given a list of things that I might consider including and set on my task. The book was delivered and it drew raves!! I was so excited to get such a response. I have yet to hear how the gift was received but I trust that all is well- No News is Good News, after all!
I am going to post a bunch of pictures with very little chatter. The covers will be first and if anyone has any questions be sure to leave me a comment or shoot me an e-mail and I will be glad to share!!!

I used two covers from a discarded book for the supports and covered them with a first layer of denim form an old pair of jeans. Then I collaged the denim with various fabrics most of which I designed myself. (sun prints, clean up rags,) Any of the other fabrics used were reclaimed from my fabric scraps or repurposed thrift store finds.
I stitched int he fabric covered signatures with linen thread and secured them to the spine with my hand made beads.
Inside front cover.

random pocket page on the right

pocket made with security envelope (on the right)

I am gathering more materials daily and I plan to make several more of these journals in the near future! The biggest issue that I had with creating this piece was knowing when to stop adding special touches!! Oh yes, and then when it came time to send it out into the world, I really wanted to keep this one but convinced myself that I had plenty of supplies to make many more!!!

I hope that everyone is able to squeeze in a tiny bit of time to be creative every day in 2012~~~

Happy New Year!!

2012 Creativity Kick Off Winners!!!

So sorry to be so tardy with the results of the Give Away. I have barely had time to sit at the computer over the past several days!!
I have just plugged the numbers assigned to each comment-or into the Random Numbers Generator and ............................. Drumroll, PLEASE

The winner of the BEADS is Wendy with #7!! Congrats to Wendy of Quilts by the Sea and it is delightful to meet you!!!

The winner of the Fabric is Penny of Back Valley Seasons with #4. And you said that you never win anything- can't make that claim any more!!!

Both of these creative ladies have wonderful blogs that I am just now discovering so be sure to stop by and pay them a visit. And if you would be so kind,leave them a quick comment , I am sure that they enjoy comments as much as I do!!!
So ladies, I need to get your snail mail addresses so I can get these little tokens on their way to you!!!
Thank you all for sharing your words for 2012 and your many comments and all of the support that you give me throughout the year!! Getting comments from my readers really means a lot to me.
Let the awesome creativeness that we all possess begin !!!! May your Muse feed you well all year through!!!