Shades of Van Gogh's Irises

Monday was the Potomac Fiberarts Gallery near monthly jury day. SAll work leaves the gallery and an entirely new body of work enters. Each piece is individually juried for acceptance on the basis of artistic quality and technique. This month our theme is Van Gogh's Irises. While not all work needs to be theme related, it is encouraged. 

First,Van Gogh's iris painting:

Three works were singled out as especially outstanding.
Gretchen Klimoski"s hand stitched and beaded silk jacket "Iris in a Clifton Garden":

 Joan Hutten's "Irises", hand dyed felted scarf.

 And Roz Houseknecht's "Purple Iris", nuno felted wool and silk scarf.

Many more iris theme items include: Silk scarves by Lubna Zahid (hand painted) and Joanne Bast (stitched)

 Beaded Necklace by Zoya Gutina

Hand painted scarf by Anna Yakubovskaya

Pieced and stitched Tote bag by Beverly Baker

Nuno felted silk Bolero "Spring" by Masha Kosmos

 Wool Felted neckpiece by Masha Kosmos

Cotton Necklace by Kathleen Thompson
                                                                                                      
Iris colored Hand woven scarf by Janet Stollnitz

 Hand painted silk adhered to the back of a glass platter by Lubna Zahid

For the past 4-5 years, a spring theme has been a classic painting and it always stimulates the creativity of out members. Joanne

Is Not Gold; Holiday Show

To continue with the treasures that abound in the Potomac Fiberarts Gallery this month, here are the jewelry cases:

We have an array of bracelets in felt, beads, fabric, and wire.

And a bounty of necklaces:

The small item wall; earrings,brooches, barrettes and more:

Hand Made Cards for special notes.

Eyeglass cases,

And hand dyed yarns for that special project or for gifting as is.

Hand made books for journaling or sketching or just making notes as well as pillows, bowls and much more.

I find my days working in the gallery like sitting in Aladdin's Cave. I almost never come home without bringing a purchase with me that I just can't resist. Happy Thanksgiving. Joanne

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

More from Bead and Button

This has been my month to blog and since I was going to be in Milwaukee at the Bead and Button show, I decided to blog about the cross over in media.  It has amazed me that in the seven years, I've attended this show (the largest consumer bead show in the world) that so many of the things a fiber oriented artist is drawn to have appeared at what used to be a mostly bead show.  It was easy to get lots of pictures but I forgot to take pictures of the beads for the most part.  

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.

Surface Stitchery/Embroidery #6

Machine embroidery has an additional possibility. Stitching may be done on a water soluble stabilizer background. When the embroidery is finished, the stabilizer is dissolved away and only thread remains. The final piece can be entirely of thread or can be part thread areas and part fabric areas. In order to do this type of machine embroidery, the background stabilizer must be stiff enough to hold up to the stitching or be suspended taut in an embroidery hoop. The stabilizing fabric comes from different companies, in different thicknesses and with different dissolving directions. Some are adhesive, allowing the placement of fabric pieces and/or yarns. Lines of stitching must cross each other so that the threads make a web that will hold up when the stabilizer is removed. Single lines of stitching as well as stitches all in a single direction will fall apart when the background is dissolved.

Joanne Bast combines recycled sweater pieces with various novelty fabrics and areas of freeform machine stitching to create scarves. A layer of thick stabilizer is cut to scarf length and width and laid out flat. Cut pieces of recycled sweater and other fabrics are positioned on the stabilizer leaving gaps to be filled with stitching. Another piece of stabilizer is positioned on top and all layers are pinned together. The use of a double layer of the stiffer variety of stabilizer allows the scarf to be stitched without hooping.

Each bar of stitchery must be stitched both up and down as well as back and forth so that it will remain intact when the stabilizer is dissolved. In this case a square grid is created, but diagonals, circles or and allover pattern of stitches could be done as well.

When the fabric pieces are secured and all the open areas have thread grids, a silk yarn hand dyed by one of our other members is stitched on top using a regular patterned stitch first on one side and then on the other.The stitched scarf is submerged in water and soaked then rinsed.

Finished scarf:

Stretching thinner stabilizer in an embroidery hoop allows for creation of an entirely thread piece. This is an iris stitched by Joanne Bast. Stitching must be done in all directions, back and forth, up and down and diagonally. Only after this base ifs formed are the design lines added on top. Note that if the bobbin thread color is changed to match the top thread, the resultant piece is the same on both sides.

By not entirely removing the stabilizer, thread creations remain slightly stiff and can be shaped while wet. They will hold these shapes when dried. Eileen Doughty stitches and shapes thread leaves which can be used a shallow bowls to hold small items such as business cards.

Heasoon Rhee also stitches and shapes vessels of thread using a dissolvable stabilizer base. Novelty and metallic threads add sparkle.

Jewelry by Eileen Doughty is also machine stitched on stabilizer that is dissolved away. The resultant earrings are very light and wearable.

Embroidery in many ways can be used to embellish, enhance and entirely create works of art for the home and person. With Mother's Day fast approaching, perhaps one of these embroidered items of fiber art will be just the perfect gift. I will now pass the blogging hat on to Floris Flam who will enlighten, entertain and entice for the month of May. Joanne