Upcoming shows

After a summer lull, things are picking back up as September rolls through. My foreclosure series will be featured in New American Paintings, No. 97 Pacific Coast Edition.

I know, I know ... what? Fiber in a journal all about painting? Apparently, they are becoming more inclusive of collage and fiber work. When I started this blog, one of my main goals was to call attention to fiber artists who make fine art. Having my work included in this traditional 'painting' venue feels like I'm finally getting somewhere with all of it. Yes! Issue 97 should be out in January 2012 and will be available at most newstands throughout the US. If you are interested in learning more about the journal, which is published regionally six times a year, click here.

I also learned last week that my foreclosure series will also be featured in an upcoming show at Kala Art Gallery in Berkeley, CA.

The show is called "Cashing Out - Alternative Financial Systems". It was a perfect fit for my foreclosure pieces. The image above comes from their site and seems quite fitting. Showing at Kala was another one of my five year goals (yes, I have a list. So should you!), so I'm thrilled to be a part of what looks like a very interesting exhibition. The show runs from October 27th through December 3rd at the Kala Art Gallery. There will be a reception on October 27th from 6 to 8. Read more about the show here. Hope to see some of you there!

work table : Atlanta Foreclosure Quilt

After many days of searching all over the Deep South for a location for my next foreclosure quilt, I honed in on Atlanta. When I was growing up, Atlanta was the only big city I knew. Living in north Florida, we would drive through Atlanta every year on our way to camp in the Great Smokey Mountains. We would always spend the night in Atlanta with family friends. I dreamed of moving there one day for art school. When I was nineteen, my husband and I did move to Atlanta ...  but stayed only three months. Then the recession hit, he lost his job there and we moved over to Alabama for three years. We spent many weekends driving back to visit for some big city culture and decent shopping.

I got it into my head to only use remnant fabrics on this piece. I kept thinking of the phrase "under water" with regard to mortages and blue seemed to be perfect choice to represent this. The darkest, bluest rectangles represent blocks with the most foreclosures. The lightest, the least.

I am handsewing the blocks again. I love using this thick string to represent the "roads" of dashed lines between the blocks. The string is also a remnant I found at our local artist resource center, SCRAP.

The ikat print fabric is from my friend Myrna, who gifted me a small pile of them from Confluence, this year's Surface Design conference. Thank you, Myrna! This really creates a bit of depth to the piece.

The backing of the piece will be my last remaining used hemp napkin from my Inhabit Project with Vanessa Filley. Stay tuned, this piece has to be finished by next week for the SOMArts gallery show that runs concurrently with San Francisco Open Studios. More details very soon about where and when I will have my open studio this year!

Artist : Rebecca Burgess

Rebecca Burgess is a textile artist and educator who works with natural dyes. Her book Harvesting Color was just published. It offers an overview of wild and natural plants one can easily find across the US to use as dyes. Flora Grubb Gardens in San Francisco hosted her free lecture and workshop today. It opened up a lot of possiblities for future ideas in my own work.

Rebecca Burgess stirring the dye vat.

Rebecca gave us an overview of dyeing with common locally known plants, using coreopsis as a sample. She is currently growing coreopsis as well as Indigo on her own property in Marin. Here is a season's worth of dried coreopsis from farmer's market bouquets nearby.

The orange dye baths were a beauty in themselves. She encouraged us to bring a small fabric or yarn sample to try out the process.

It was crowded but somehow we all managed to slip in a sample.

Amazing setting at Flora Grubb Gardens in San Francisco.

I brought along a natural linen and couldn't believe how well it took the dye in just five minutes. Look at that orange!

Afterwards, we dipped our fabrics in either wood ash or lemon juice for a few seconds. Can it get more beautiful than this with all these galvanized buckets and bamboo sticks?

In addition to focusing on natural dyes and harvesting Rebecca has also created the Fibershed Project. She challenges participants to wear only clothing made from sources found within a 150 mile radius. This is where I see new ideas popping into my head about a future series:

The Fibershed project is inspired by the need to swing the pendulum of our production- and our consumption to a more balanced state, that supports the health of all humans and the greater ecological system of which we are apart; through the re-integration of organic fibers, natural dyes, and a regional base that supports local communities and economies.

In my community alone thousands upon thousands of pounds of wool are composted or thrown into the landfills each year. We have a 13% unemployment rate, all the while if you go to a store to buy a wool undershirt– the raw material is from New Zealand, and the production from China.

The Fibershed concept was coined in response to this extreme situation–with the inspiration that farming, milling, production and manufacturing could once again live in balance with the land we call home.

Rebecca Burgess



Image by Paige Green



I heard Rebecca mention mills and my ears perked up. In my latest research on my southern foreclosure quilt, I searched everywhere for mills. They exist, but they are dwindling rapidly. Even since the 2000's, the US are losing mills to other countries. I love the idea of bringing the mills back to produce our own products. Now how to share this idea in my artwork?

See Rebecca's website here and The Fibershed Project here. Rebecca's book is available here.

Foreclosure Quilt : Cleveland, OH

After a lengthy summer away from the studio, I jumped right back in and finished Cleveland over the holiday weekend. This is my largest piece yet at 60" high.

Cleveland Foreclosure Quilt, 2011. 25" x 60"
Voile, cotton, linen, denim and embroidery thread.

This was a challenging quilt to make for some reason. Perhaps it was the broad scale of the neighborhood that I chose to include or simply just a larger size than my others. And yes, there was a lot of cutting and sewing to be done here.

What is interesting about Cleveland's foreclosure development is they are ahead of other cities in dealing with this crisis. They say this is ground zero, it started here in 1997. What this provides us is a look of how other communities might evolve over time.

And there is a glimmer of hope here. At least 200 for-profit community gardens have popped up all over the city, planted on top of abandoned lots in neighborhoods struggling to rebuild.

The Forest Hill neighborhood has at least four of these gardens, some are quite large as seen above. Some are simply residential lots that have been turned into smaller gardens.

Having these has certainly created a sense of community for those residents who thought there was no hope for their neighborhoods. These are my interpretations of community gardens in embroidery and applique.

Does it look like a thriving garden to you? And can you tell I had fun making these? Learn more about Cleveland's gardens here and here. Data for the quilt was provided by Google Earth, NEO CANDO and Summer Sprout Community Garden program in Cleveland.

work table : inspiration

This is my first week back full-time in the studio since mid-June, gasp! I was able to squeeze in a solid week here and there but it clearly wasn't enough. There is no time to waste! I've had several deadlines pop up suddenly, all good, but a tad confusing. One of my deadlines included preparing some print ready images of my foreclosure series. Seeing them all lined up made me realize how much more work I have left in this series to make. Which is a sad feeling in one respect but a good feeling knowing there is a focus in my work right now. And where am I going with the next piece?

Hmmm, perhaps the Deep South. I'm looking into the cotton growing/denim making regions of the US. The South has certainly had it's share of foreclosures. I'm orginally from the South, so it's been an interesting journey to see what has happened to the states I once called home which include Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia. What will this quilt will look like? Here are some of my inspirations right now, Japanese boro.

Image from Sri Threads.

Image from Sri Threads.

Image from Sri Threads.

Image from Sri Threads.

Image from Sri Threads.

Lots of great ideas lurking from the past, just calling out to be reinterpreted. I love being in this place in the process. Not sure what's next but excited to experiment.

Artist : Ruth Tabancay

A few months ago I came across Ruth Tabancay's quilts. As you know, I love anybody's work that pushes the limits of the traditional quilt to its' edge and her work does just that. Her pieces are made entirely out of tea bags. And surprisingly with the tea still in them.

On wall: Garden Variations, 2009 49"x65". On floor: Extending the Useful Life, 2010 33"x26"x65".
by Ruth Tabancay. Image by Dana Davis. 

Ruth has been working in this medium for the past ten years. The idea came to her while doing homework with her teenage daughter. They wrapped themselves in a comforter as they drank cups of tea. She saved and dried the tea bags and then sewed them together "to capture a moment of intimacy."

Garden Variations (detail), 2009 49" x 65" x 1". Tea bags, acrylic paint, embroidery floss, muslin, batting.
by Ruth Tabancay. Image by Scott Braley         

I had the wonderful fortune of finally meeting Ruth in person at the Scrap ART opening at the San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles. One of her tea bag quilts was included in the show. When I asked to write about her work, she told me that she recently completed the Fiber Art Certificate Program at the University of Washington, Seattle. She flew back and forth for a year from the bay area to Seattle. That's true commitment to your craft! It was an immensly rewarding experience and encouraged her to expand her medium. And here are some of her new pieces which frankly, have me floored.



Twice the Size of Texas,  Kala Artist Project Space, Berkeley, CA.
by Ruth Tabancay. Image by Dana Davis.



Twice the Size of Texas, installed at the Kala Artist Project Space, is a monumental piece.

"(It is) a 10 ft X 19 ft wall piece made of over 1400 pieces of plastic bags. The shape represents the North Pacific Gyre, the location of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch where plastic, among other discards, has been broken down by mechanical and photo-degradation into confetti-like pieces and moves very slowly in a clockwise direction toward the center. The exact size of this debris mass depends on the where one draws the boundaries but one of the more quoted estimates is twice the size of Texas."

Ruth Tabancay

Twice the Size of Texas (detail), Kala Artist Project Space, Berkeley, CA.
by Ruth Tabancay. Image by Dana Davis.

Another series she is currently developing is embroidery on vintage linens.

Embroidery on Vintage Linens by Ruth Tabancay. Image by Scott Braley.

Many pieces of these cloths–runner, doilies, coasters, napkins–have a floral theme in embroidery, crochet, or tatting as decoration, the craft of women in the 30's through 50's. I have embroidered on these cloths images that show what the textile might have actually experienced. Coasters have water, coffee, and red wine rings. Runners show fallen petals and leaves and the rust ring left by a metal vase. A napkin discretely hides chicken bones. A hanky staunches a bloody nose.

Ruth Tabancay

Recycling is a common thread that runs through all of Ruth's work and draws me in even more. She has the rare ability and confidence to push the boundaries of her practice. It makes a powerful statement.

Embroidery on Vintage Linens
by Ruth Tabancay. Image by Scott Braley.

See more of Ruth's art online at her website. Her work is currently on exhibit on the west coast at The San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles through October 16th. If you're on the east coast, her work is shown in a video slideshow at the Textile Museum in Washington DC for Green: the Color and the Cause. The show runs through September 11th.

Artist : The Oak Leaves aka Christina Brown

Houses .... I've been a tad preoccupied lately by them and by the end of this post you'll know why. I keep coming across The Oak Leaves ceramics (aka Christina Brown) and fall in love everytime I see these.

Shelf City #290, Christina Brown of The Oak Leaves.

The miniature scale, the attention to detail, the simplicity of the design is so effective and beautiful.

Shelf City #263, Christina Brown of The Oak Leaves.

I love this one, a city of row houses, just like where we live now, except all of ours are attached.

Shelf City Row Houses, Christina Brown of The Oak Leaves.

And Christina's also a dreamer, like me. Here's her profile on etsy:

"One day I'd like for us to be living on and working our own farm...with two kids, a barn, a shady garden, and no one to boss us around, free to enjoy life... "

Christina Brown

And now this is why I haven't been posting so much in the past few weeks. I've been off dreaming ... but now it's coming true! We think we found a vacation home in the wine country. It's almost ours. Just a few more weeks until closing but it's such exciting news, I couldn't wait to share.  And speaking of cute little houses, here's the best part of the cottage, a separate artist's studio!

It needs a lot of love but it's charming just as it is right now. I'll keep you posted! In the meantime, please check out The Oak Leaves etsy shop, it's full of charming little homes.

Artist : Barbara Wisnoski

I'm constantly reminded what a small world this is. About a month ago, I came across Barbara Wisnoski's stunning wall hangings. I printed one of them for my inspiration wall and intended to share her work here.

Platonic Target, Barbara Wisnoski 81x162 cm

My friend Myrna was visiting my studio a few weeks ago and I showed her the picture. It ends up that Myrna had met Barbara recently in an airport coming back from the Fiberart International opening where both of thier work was featured.

White Rag Quilt, Barbara Wisnoski. 170x195 cm

Myrna called me this week to tell me that Barbara was coming out for the opening of Scrap ART at the San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles this weekend. A chance to meet Barbara and see her amazing artwork in person? An opportunity I wouldn't miss.

White Rag Quilt detail, Barbara Wisnoski. 170x195 cm

A lot of her pieces seem to reference the landscape, a subject you know I'm always drawn to. They remind me of aerial photos of fields. Sure enough, I find a piece entitled Field.

Field, Barbara Wisnoski. 165x229 cm

What I really love about these pieces are how differently they look up close. The detail is incredibly intricate. I can't wait to ask her how long it takes to make each work and how she pieces them together. I'll let you know what I find out.

Field detail, Barbara Wisnoski. 165x229 cm

Barbara sums up the approach to her work as this:

"As maniacally repetitive process, (these pieces) embody the meaning I derive from textiles and ritual, and carry contradictory connotations of repetition’s beauty and innate absurdity."

Platonic Landscape detail, Barbara Wisnoski. 145x81 cm

"I am interested in the relationship between texture and time. The process of building a piece, whereby a fabric loses its singular quality and becomes part of the whole, reminds me of how time washes a harmonious patina over objects and memories. The prospect of decay is key to the work: seeing how pieces done long ago have changed over time reminds me that they were made from living fibres and, like us, evolve and deteriorate. Also like us, these pieces become more themselves, therefore more beautiful, with age."

Barbara Wisnoski

Evening, Barbara Wisnoski. 145x165 cm

 Please check out all of Barbara's work on her website here. I hope some of you can make it to the opening and the show who live nearby. The opening is this Sunday, the 21st from 2 to 4 at the San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles. The show runs through October 16th. If you plan to come to the opening, let me know. It would be great to meet some of you in person!

Two Interviews and a video

I was contacted last week by Jenny Doh of CRESCENDOh and Esther of DZine Trip to answer a few questions about my work. Two interviews in a week, a nice treat. Thanks Esther and Jenny!

Modesto Foreclosure Quilt, 2011. Kathryn Clark

Jenny asked some great questions about my path that lead me to becoming an artist. Its always nice to answer questions like those. Here a picture of my dad, who I think taught me all about balance in art. Thanks, dad!

Esther focused mainly on my foreclosure quilts and compared my work to some pretty heady artists. I would only ever hope to come close to their greatness!

The Third of May, 1808. Francisco Goya

Two more weeks before I'm back in the studio full time.  Here's a little video I made on our vacation in Sonoma last month. Every morning this Mockingbird would perch on a nearby tree and and sing at least twenty-four tunes. The most I've ever heard sung.

Things will be a bit slow here I suspect as we make full use of those last days of summer. I hope everyone else are enjoying themselves as well. Happy end of summer!

work table : Finally! Cleveland Foreclosure Quilt

I'm back in the studio this week after a month of travel and family staying in my studio. I always have a hard time jumping back into my work but I certainly knew what I had to do this week, make some serious progress on the Cleveland Foreclosure quilt.

It was so nice to jump right in and I'm really looking forward to finishing this one. I showed it to my friend Myrna over the weekend who used to live in Cleveland and it was fascinating to hear her and her husband's stories about driving those very streets I've sewn.

These are my reference guides, maps with layers of tracing paper over them highlighting foreclosed and empty lots. The red lots are new foreclosures since I started working in this two months ago. It shows that there is no sign of the mortgage crisis ending soon, unfortunately. Some of these houses sold for $2,000.00. Seriously.

I always save the cut out lots. It's sad watching them pile up. I'm not sure what I will do with all of them. I have them from every piece I've made so far.

The quilt is almost finished. I made a patchwork backing this time to emphasize the random nature of these foreclosures. It adds a bit of complexity to the piece as the varying shades of navy blue and black poke through. I was thinking about black holes here.

Here's a close up detail of several lots. The mottled blue fabric underneath was an old botched dyeing remnant I couldn't part with.

My next step is to add the community gardens that have been created throughout this neighborhood. There are four at my last count; hopefully even more since I started. Myrna told me about this recent article in The New York Times on Cleveland's vacant lots. It gives you a little window into what's going on here on these very lots I'm cutting apart ...