Evolution of a Mixed Media Collage by Jeanne Sisson

 

Rives BFK printmaking paper, acrylic paint and various collage papers,

approx 15 x 10"

Used tiny pin holes to mark corners for placement of canvas.

Used gel medium as an adhesive on both canvas and paper.

After an overnight of weighing down with books to ensure it dried and was fully secure, then came the cutting with an exacto knife. Always use a new blade!

In some cases I like the white edge of the paper but not this time.

Passage of Time, mixed media collage,

12 x 6"

It's a Wrap Project by Barbara Schneider

 I have been working for the past few months on a project for the Explorations in Fiber Arts group that I belong to in the Chicago area. We are a group of about 25 textile artists that have been more or less together for the past 20 plus years. People come and go but each year we establish a project theme and work toward an exhibit.  The exhibit is shown each year in early November at the Fine Art of Fiber which is located at the Chicago Botanic Garden. Then we often have 2-3 other venues that we display at throughout the following year.

This year we have an additional  opportunity to show in the gallery windows of Columbia College of Art, located on Michigan Avenue just a few blocks south of the Art Institute of Chicago.  It is a terrific location with tall windows and work can be seen from on the sidewalk as well as in the lobby area.

This opportunity came about after I visited with one of the professors at the College about donating some of my Asian textiles to their textile collection. As a result our group was able to go see many textile examples from their extensive collection of garments, accessories, hats, shoes, all kinds of things.

We decided to work on a garment based format for this year's project.  We titled it “It’s a Wrap: Protect, Embrace, Envelop”.  This theme gives us a lot of latitude for interpretation.

My take on the project was to create a very long, enveloping "shawl"  that would suggest being wrapped in falling leaves while walking in the forest.  Like most of my projects it seemed to take on a life of it's own. I ended up making about 400-500 leaves, individually cut, painted and shaped. Then I started attaching them one to the next to create a open, lacy structure that could support itself and yet have some flow and gather on the floor like a pile of leaves.  The more leaves I made and attached, the more leaves I needed to make and attach.  The final piece is about 16 feet long. I then created a shoulder shaped piece out of foam that could mount on the display rod. It gives it a bit of rounded shape to suggest shoulders on a body.  

The good news is I can put all the pieces into a large zippered bag for transport and it is light and easy to move around.  Below are  photos of the  piece is progress.  The first showing of the exhibit is not until November but I am glad to it more or less put together . I look forward to seeing how all of our group respond to the theme and then to the showings in various venues.

 

 

 

Slow Fashion by Mary Ann Nailos

 

After my paternal grandmother passed away, I was gifted with a quilt top that was made by Mary A. Nailos - my father's great grandmother and my great-great grandmother. She was married to James Nailos, a Civil War veteran who died in 1917. She died in 1939. 

The traditional quilt pattern is called Bow Tie. She made the motifs with scraps of the family's clothing.

It sat in my grandmother's blanket chest for many years before it came to me, and I have had it for over 20 years. 

I didn't want to have it continue to sit unseen in my blanket chest for another couple of next generations, but I wasn't keen on the pattern enough to finish the quilt. What I decided to do was to make it back into a garment, so that it came full circle, a fusion of my great-great grandmother's work and my own.

I had two large mono-prints that I made in a workshop that, serendipitously, had all the colors contained in the quilt top.

Let me tell you, taking a rotary cutter to a piece with so much history is not for the faint of heart.

Here is the final piece which I titled Slow Fashion. It is a mish mash of Western and Eastern traditions. Quilt making from scraps is a very American tradition and using scraps to mend and repair clothing recalls the Japanese Boro tradition. 

                               Slow Fashion, Back View 52" H x 52" W

                                    Slow Fashion Front View

I used the mono-printed fabric on the sleeves, front and back panels. The collar and cuffs and part of the back panel are stitched shibori patterns. 

                                                Front Panel, Detail               

                                                Back Panel, Detail                                            

Since my work needs to have some hand-stitching, I added it to the back medallion. After I finished, I struggled questions of cultural appropriation. I researched it on-line and got a number of conflicting opinions. I am okay with calling it a drop sleeved robe in the kimono style. I would love to hear your opinions on whether you would consider this cultural appropriation or not.

                            

Ruth Asawa Retrospective at the SFMOMA by Lynda Williamson

 This weekend while in San FranciscoI  had the opportunity to see the Ruth Asawa Retrospective exhibition at the SFMOMA. The show covers six decades of her work including paintings, clay, pen and ink drawings, sketchbooks, bronze casts and of course her incredible wire loop sculptures. Below are a few of the photos I took while wandering through the exhibit. Enjoy, I know I did!

Toward 2050 Installation by Barbara Schneider

 After several thwarted attempts I was able to go to the Phoenix Botanical garden this past week to see the textile flag labyrinth installation that was created about climate change.  At least a few of our ACN members contributed flags for the project.  It was lovely to walk through the garden and then enter the area where it was installed. Looking at the labyrinth and the "tree" in the middle against the backdrop of mountains and blue sky was a beautiful sight.  I walked the labyrinth which was marked along the way by metal signs on the ground that indicted the passing of years between now and 2050.

TOWARD 2050 was organized by Valley-based textile artist Ann Morton.  It invited people to create hand-made artwork reflecting their perspective on the environment. Morton  then assembled each individual artwork to create a thoughtful and immersive installation in the form of a labyrinth.

The project is based on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s 2023 Synthesis Report that established goals and pathways to reverse greenhouse gas emissions and arrive at net zero emissions by 2050. TOWARD 2050 takes visitors on a journey that looks 25 years into the future of our environment.

As an artist you could submit any number of small prayer flags (2 sided) that spoke to some aspect of climate change.  They were hung on small bent metal holders that then were laid out to create the path to the center of the labyrinth.  As you walked  through you could look at flags from front or back, I saw  a lot in interesting approaches in both subject matter and techniques.

The exhibit is on display until June 1, 2025.

Seeing how people interacted with the flags was an experience in itself.  Some jumped over the flags to get done faster, others stopped to read, others took their time and walked  more meditatively. 

Here are some photos of the installation taken while walking the labyrinth path. 

I was able to find some of my flags and also Connie's.

 

A Different Use of Sheer Silks and Metallics by Carol Nilsen

Inspired by the oil paintings of Chiyu Uemae, I decided to interpret his meditative repetitions of small shapes in my hand dyed silk organzas and commercial metallics found on Etsy.

I started cutting many, many small torpedo shapes in organza and metallics, varying sizes but most about 1/4" by 2".

I prepared a background of metallic fused to flannel and began placing the shapes. I worked flat on a 5/8" felt covered worktable instead of on a design wall because the tiny shapes constantly slipped out of my hands or stuck together when on the wall.

I divided the background into general areas. After placing several pieces, I stitched around the edges of each piece with metallic thread.

At various points, I transfeerred the piece to the design wall to gain a better perspective.

The completed piece in a professional photograph. Capturing the luminosity of mettallics and sheers if challenging and these images will need to be adjusted to do justice to the finished piece.