Decisions by Barbara Schneider

 It may be because its fall with the fading light and the increasing cold or any number of other reasons but I find myself in the throes of making decisions re my studio practice - yet again. I have been here before - when I question what is the purpose of creating more work? why does nothing seem interesting? why did I take that workshop, why am I holding on to these supplies, why, why, why.  

And I definitely know that the whole creative process is a series of ups and downs. But - this time it seems deeper. Maybe this time I will really decide that keeping the studio is not a good idea. That I  really should get rid of those supplies I don't use, that Sweet Sixteen handi quilter, those print making supplies, those old projects.

Maye it is really time to go to Palm Desert in a couple of months with NO projects.  Could I walk away for 3 months?  Could I walk away period?  

I would love to hear how others have made their decisions in this area - what helped you make a firm decision instead of waffling back and forth.

Barbara Schneider

Work is Fun, by Barbara Matthews

Fantasy Footwear show at Clarke & Clarke Arts + Artifacts, Mercer Island, WA

Barbara Matthews

I spent over 40 years in a research career, which involved data gathering, information processing, statistics and modeling -- the opposite continuum from art.  I learned the value of working in teams that made the effort fun and synergistic. Now expressing myself artistically by producing shoes for the Fantasy Footwear show provided a way to honor my earlier occupation. Work boots seemed natural, but certainly not stuffy old practical boots, these needed to impart some levity. 

 

I work with wool roving to create felted fabric. I found the most luscious roving in a mixture of burgundy, gold and green.  First the roving is pulled in short tuffs and laid first one direction and then another in a square, sometimes in three layers.  The idea is to encourage the fibers to tangle together to such an extent as to form a piece of solid fabric. 

The process involves rolling the pile of roving into a roll within bubble wrap, rolling it back and forth, back and forth, hundreds and hundreds of times.  The process is meditative. Finally, after rolling, opening, repositioning the fabric, and re rolling the roving the piece begins to shrink, a half an inch with each turn of the fabric.  That is the felting process working.  This piece became the focus fabric for the boot. 

I repeated the process with complementary colors. Now with the fabric pieces in place, how do I make a boot?

Yes, it is possible to find a shoe pattern on online! This one on Etsy from TallerDeCalzado2 in Spain. My initial prototype helped me judge the final size of the piece.

          

Pieces cut from my felt and sewn together, the boots were taking shape.  Among my stash of my own work was a piece of hand dyed silk that would suit as lining  and a Kumihimo braided cord that could serve as the laces. Hand stitching on the sides brought the sense of levity into the pieces.  Grommets for the laces; sole and heels to finish. 

A Special Find at the Austin Meeting by Barbara James

This year Art Cloth Network met for our annual meeting in Austin, Texas and I made a delightful discovery right outside the door of our hotel. Greeting me and my fellow members was a patch of prickly pear cactus and riding their backs was a very special insect in the natural dye world, the Cochineal. Cochineal is a tiny, white scale insect that sucks sap and lives exclusively on this type of cactus. Because of its lifecycle, it is very exclusive and does not spread to other areas, so here was the patch and it will stay put making it a rare find indeed.

                                 Here is the photo of the prickly pear I took in Austin, Texas

 

Why was I excited about this bug? The Cochineal scale insect is used to produce a valuable red dye that is still used in some parts of the world. When you squish one of these insects in your hand it stains it red or purple depending on the acidity of your skin. The dye industry will use an acid or a base to fine tune the desired color.

 

 A dye master in Oaxaca, Mexico shows red colors produced by the Cochineal Insect

Oaxaca, Mexico still grows and harvests the insects and the gorgeous red color is greatly treasured. Here in the US, we have a variety of the insect that produces a red color, but it is often not as vibrant as that found in Mexico. Did I squish a bug to discover the depth of red color? No, I did not have the heart, but photographed it instead and am also offering in this blog photos from a trip to Oaxaca five years ago where I first encountered the insect. 

The reds in these rugs was made using the natural Cochineal 

Click here for a link to Barbara's website

Angry Birds Haiku by Mary Ann Nailos

 

I was playing around with idioms we use every day and thought about the expression “Killing Two Birds with One Stone.” What would a bird think about this? This inspired me to write the following haiku “Know the Expression – Killing Two Birds With One Stone? Birds are Not Big Fans. This is the  basis of the quilt Angry Birds Haiku.

The inspiration for the piece was both the poem and the fabric with the feathers printed with thickened dyes.

 I needed some squawking birds so searched for images of crows and seagulls. I used a flour paste resist for the birds so they now look like a cross between seagulls and grackles.

Lots of hand stitching on the birds, feather fabric and the text.

The final design element is machine quilting. They looked pretty ticked off, don’t you think? Can’t say that I blame them!