Forest Floor Installation (in progress)

 Here are some photos of the Forest Floor installation piece that I have been working on for awhile. It includes, logs, tree stump, rocks of various sizes, leaves, moss and lichen all created with Fossshape , paint, burning, stitching. I hope to finish it this spring and display somewhere along with an assortment of large tree bark wall pieces and tree ring quilts.  I am currently in sunnier, warmer climes so will not be working on this again until spring.  But someday I will be done! Then have to find a place to show it.

 After mark making on paper, it was an easy transition to mark making on fabric. This fabric was put through several stages of dye and discharge. I have added the circle with heavy body acrylic and a brush. My next layer of marks will come from stitch.

Wounded Sentinels are Growing

Last year I did a series of 7 figures in response to the terrible fire damage in my home state of California.    They topped out at 24".   I have just started a larger version of that series; these will range from 3'-6'.   The first one (40" tall) is complete. 

Mark making

 I love taking classes. It is exciting to be amongst fellow artists and learning a new approach . However, at the beginning of the session, if I am told that we are starting with mark making, I freeze up and am filled with a sense of dread. Once again I return to junior high, suffering at the hands of a miserable and cranky art teacher. I have made several resolutions to overcome this negative attitude and tell myself that a lack of drawing skills should not paralyze. 

For this new year, I enrolled in Mark Making with Jane Davies. And, you know what?  It has been fun!

Here is a sampling of the very basic exercises to get started. No completed pieces to worry about, just having fun.

Inspiration for joining ACN

I am so excited to have been accepted into ACN this year. I have been using photos to create patterns for the last five years and I have been experimenting with printing the patterns and colors on fabric. I've been wondering, where this can go? What kind of meaning can be created beyond the surface pattern and the physical aspects of cloth? I am looking at the community of art cloth makers to develop these ideas. I've been so inspired by the work that I've seen in ACN and the way you support one another.This quote, that I found on the ACN website, will inspire me for the next year: 

" . . . This ability to invite interaction is part of what draws artists to the idea of cloth. . . . It satisfies because it is active, it is tactile, and it is personal."

Excited About My Presentation: Into the Third Dimension

JANUARY 9 FOR QUILTS ON THE WALL AND FEBRUARY 18 FOR SAQA REGIONAL CALIFORNIA AND EVERYONE ELSE WHO'S INTERESTED.   MORE INFO TO FOLLOW.   HERE ARE A COUPLE OF TEASERS.

TYVEK + ACRYLIC PAINT:

FOSSHAPE ON LAMINATED GROUND, MIXED MEDIA:

A Warm Welcome

Art Cloth Network is proud to present our newest members.  Here is just a peak at the work of each talented artist.  Click through to their websites for an in-depth look at their individual portfolios. We hope you find their work as outstanding and inspiring as we do.  

Welcome!

Yolanda Sanchez  YolandaSanchezStudio.com

With a Full Heart, Yolanda Sanchez

Don Coulter  doncee.com

Jazz Therapy, by Don Coulter

Joan Diamond  JoanDiamond.art

Enduring, by Joan Diamond

Maria Billings  MariaBillings.com

Maria Billings' Spirals

Barbara Schulman  BarbaraSchulman.com

Watchful Eye, Barbara Schulman

Kathleen Cunningham  KathleenCunninghamDesign.com

Wow! Yellow and Blue, by Kathleen Cunningham

                          

Unbound Exhibit Reviewed

We are delighted that Joanne Briana-Gartner of The Enterprise recently reviewed our Unbound exhibit currently on view at the Cultural Center of Cape Cod. 

Click here for a link to the article. 

              In Air, by Melita VanderBrooke, is included in the Unbound exhibition.

ACN member Priscilla Smith talks about our UNBOUND exhibition

Watch Priscilla talk about a few of the submissions to our Unbound exhibition which is currently on view at the Cultural Center of Cape Cod.  

Click here for a link to Vimeo.

If you would like to be a part of ACN, we are accepting membership applications.  Contact Connie Tiegel for details.  

                            Into the Darkness by Priscilla Smith, part of the 

                            Unbound exhibition at the CCCC.

New Work from Barbara James

 Adding Texture and Interest With Hand Stitching

Over the past few years ACN member Barbara James has added more and more hand stitching to her work. She uses traditional stitches in non-traditional ways to add texture and color to a piece. Stitch detail draws the eye to the center of interest or helps move the eye along a path in a larger work.  Here are three examples of stitch details within larger works.

Moving the eye within a larger work.

Stitching within the center of interest.  

Stitching as the center of interest or focal point.