A new "cloth"

There is more than one way to view/ use "cloth". This is a pin that my good friend Irene made in a class she took from Marilyn Moore. I believe that Marilyn started her art journey as a basket maker. I became aware of her work a few years ago at the Smithsonian Craft show--one of the most prestigious in the country. She makes and teaches jewelry and containers using woven metal cloth.

The "cloth" is colored using a torch instead of dyes but after that it is handled the same way as fabric--sewing (wire not thread), shaping (pliers not starch like liquids), etc. By thinking way outside the "fiber" box our members can come up with some very creative ideas of what constitutes "fiber and fiber techniques".



This is a piece of woven metal mesh (very fine weave) colored by gently heating with a creme brûlée type torch. It was then shaped, hemmed and embellished with pearls and crystals. A pretty pin in the making.

Location:Bead and Button Milwaukee WI

Felting at a "Bead Show"

A contemporary glass bead maker I've known for many years has branched off into felting.  She had many lovely vessels at the Bead and Button Show in early June in Milwaukee.  

She has also put together kits to tempt the beaders in the crowd to move on over to the fiber side of the world.  

For many of us in the gallery, attending a conference is a way to learn new techniques in our chosen medium but also a way to open our minds to new and different techniques.

For the rest of this month, I'm going to include some more pictures of the fiber and fiber techniques I saw at the Bead and Button show.  This show (billed as the largest consumer bead show in the world) has changed dramatically over the seven years I have attended it.  And the plus side is that once a year I get to eat at Madors restaurant a quaint, old and delicious way to end a great week in Milwaukee.