Upcoming Show : Good Mail Day at Artstream Studios and Gallery

It's been much too long since I posted here! Who knows if anyone is still paying attention to this blog! I have lots of great news to share soon that is in the works, including a new website that will feature a line of quilt blocks I'm currently designing. And I will have exciting news to share around January, HUGE awesome news about my Foreclosure Quilt series. In the meantime, I will have four little postcard sized textiles on exhibit at Artstream Studios and Gallery in New Hampshire in a show called "Good Mail Day". It's curated by my friend Lisa Solomon and Susan Schwake. It features 60 artists and the work will be available for purchase online here.

Ogallala Aquifer Depletion, 2014. Four 4" x 6" indigo dyed linen textiles with
embroidery and ink.

Here are some pictures of the pieces I made using linen that I indigo dyed over the summer. I designed a quilt block about water resources and this idea grew out of that design.

Ogallala Aquifer Depletion, 2014. Four 4" x 6" indigo dyed linen textiles with
embroidery and ink.

The Ogallala Aquifer spanning eight mid-Western states is rapidly being depleted due to overuse of farming irrigation, specifically, the Center Pivot Irrigation system. This form of irrigation has become so efficient that farmers have really pushed the water use to the extreme.

Ogallala Aquifer Depletion detail, 2014. One of four 4" x 6" indigo dyed
linen textiles with embroidery and ink. Upper left piece.

 And now scientists say there will be no more usable water in the aquifer by 2030. That's right, 2030! It's just around the corner! This is the major water source for a huge majority of our US crops. Be sure to check out all of the amazing work in the exhibition that starts November 7th and runs through December. See my four here.

Artist : Daniela Gregis

Perhaps Daniela Gregis is more of a fashion designer than an artist but as you can see, her clothing designs are pure A R T!

Image from www.firstVIEW.com

A love of natural fabrics, linens and such and a love of color and pattern play drew me in immediately when I came across her work on Pinterest.

Image from www.fasionising.com

For the Spring/Summer 2013 collection, Daniela Gregis writes this. Perfectly written.

Simply mint and lemon ... or the opposite, many times together ... as a meadow

under the sun where you look around,dreams , and you get lost,

look down and start counting: primrose, buttercup, poppy, rosemary, forget-me, sage, ...

Once I started to delve deeper into her work, I discovered just how conceptual the clothing can be. In an interview I came across online, Gregis said "My deepest desire was to recover the lost arts as crochet or embroidery. I dreamed of reviving them in a modern way, mixing ancient tradition to contemporary shapes and patterns."

Image from www.firstVIEW.com

Often, the clothing can be transformed into something like a tablecloth. She mentions how she saves every scrap of cloth from previous cuttings. "Even a square centimeter can be the starting point of a new dress."

Needless to say her clothing has inspired me like crazy this summer. It reminds me to play and have some fun with fabric. I mean it's only fabric, right?!

Image from www.firstVIEW.com

Be sure to browse Daniela Gregis's website. And Kristina Bergman has two amazing Pinterest boards here and here about the clothing. And see my little Pinterest inspiration board here.  Enjoy!

Foreclosure Quilt : Atlanta

There's nothing like a deadline to make one motivated! I finished the Atlanta Foreclosure quilt just in time to hang it at the SOMArts Gallery on Monday for San Francisco Open Studios. I left all of my red thread at home over the weekend, brilliant! So there was a lot of last minute sewing to be done once I returned.

Atlanta Foreclosure Quilt, 2011. 19 1/2" x 19 1/2"
Recycled denim, bleached linen, cheesecloth, yarn and embroidery thread.

This is my smallest piece as the size was limited by the gallery. All of the materials are remnants from my studio. The backing on this piece is my remaining hemp napkin from my Inhabit Project with Vanessa Filley. Quilting with denim and thick hemp is not easy. My fingers were certainly sore, especially after working quickly at the last minute!

Atlanta Foreclosure Quilt detail

The color variations are a pattern that relates to how many foreclosed lots are located within a block. The more foreclosures, the darker the color. Given that I was limited with reusing my materials, it almost works out perfectly. You can see process photos here.

Atlanta Foreclosure Quilt detail

You can see this piece in person at SOMArts Gallery at 934 Brannon Street in San Francisco from September 30th to October 29th. Regarding Open Studios, I will be showing at Clara Street Studios in San Francisco's SOMA district with my friend, artist Ruth Freeman on October 15th and 16th from 11 to 6 pm. I used to work with Ruth over a decade ago in the architecture world. The address is 185 Clara Street at 5th Street, Studio 102B. I will have three of my Foreclosure pieces on display as well as all of my Idiom Series from last year. I hope to see some of you there!

side stitch : inspired

Today's side stitch was inspired by recent work by two artists, Arounna and Rinilde.

Arounna owns and runs Bookhou at home out of Toronto with her husband. She is also an incredible fine artist who I featured in August. This week on her blog, Arounna shared one of her patchwork quilts that she had made from her remnants. Inspired, I decided to do a little mini quilt along the same vein.

11. September 17, 2010. by machine and hand Inspired 6"x 6"

Rinilde has a blog called At Swim-Two-Birds. I found one of her recent series called Wormhole. I wish I could remember how I found her work, via flikr or someone's blog. Anyway, I love her work. Beautiful little cross stitch embroidery and amazing weaves. I hope to feature her work here soon but for now, here's a link to her blog and flikr site. Here's a detail of how Rinilde inspired me.



Thank you both for continuing to share your lovely work and inspiring us all! Kitty and I are halfway through our month long side stitch project! To see all my side stitches along with a link to Kitty's progress, click here.