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| 8 that Create: Sue Bleiweiss, Jane Davila, Jamie Fingal, Gloria Hansen, Leslie Tucker Jenison, Liz Kettle, Carol Sloan, Kathyanne White Off the Hanger: Form and Surface View 3273 State Route 28 Old Forge, New York ViewArts.org 315.369.6411 Exhibition Admission: $8/$4 members & groups of 6+; children under 12 Free Hours: Mon - Thurs 10am-4pm; Fri - Sat 10am-5pm; Sun Noon-4pm Opening Weekend Festivities Friday, October 12 5-7pm Preview Reception. Enjoy music, refreshments, and a silent auction Saturday, October 13 10am Quilting Lecture/Luncheon "uniquely You" led by Mary Knapp $20/$15 members 10am-3pm Quilt & Quilted Garment Appraisals, Vendors, Demonstrations 2pm Award Presentation - Fat Quarter Drawing Following Awards Check out the classes being offered here. Carol Sloan, Jane Davila and Liz Kettle |
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
Off the Hanger: Form and Surface Exhibition
Sunday, September 30, 2012
Seasonal Attire
Carol here again.
I am using the fashion of nature as my inspiration for the Old Forge show pieces.
I often work in my sketchbook before hitting a canvas or anything else with ideas. I find this helps me to focus, flesh out good ideas and scrap bad ones (hopefully).
The last piece that I want to share was started in just this fashion.
I went into it with vague idea of what I wanted to do or the idea that I wanted to share in my art making.
I use a large sketchbook (8 1/2" x 11") to work on most of my canvas art. It allows a little more room to move things around on while I am auditioning ideas.
I gathered my supplies - leaves, jute, molding paste, absorbent grounds, acrylic mediums for adhesives, acrylic & watercolor paint and gesso.
Then set to work.
Some of my inspiration came from this book about people that use nature as fashion accessories -
Hans Silvester is a very talented photographer that has amassed a huge body of work that includes (in my humble opinion) some of the best tribal photos any where.
I already had the idea of working with nature as my fashion icon. When I started doing research on "the fashion of nature" this is one of the books that was recommended to me by our friend Mr. Google.
I was immediately hooked after I saw a tiny sampling of the photos.
(I've included a link to the book on Amazon but I do not receive any compensation from the sale of it)
After completing a small piece of art in my sketchbook, I went to a 20" x 24" stretched canvas to tell one of nature's fashion stories there.
There are many many layers on this canvas. I kept adding collage items, covering them up, painting, scraping pastes & mediums, adding more paint, natural items and then a piece of driftwood.
I liked the sketchbook page so much that I framed it too.
It is, after all, a completed piece of artwork.
Don't be afraid to share the artwork that is in your sketchbook!
You have to learn to let the light of all your work shine...put it out there in the world.
You created it from a deep well of creativity. You have to bring it out in order to make room for more.
Both of these pieces were difficult to photograph at home. One is lighter (white/sand/tan/sienna colors) and the other is in the black (multi-layered) shadowbox frame.
I hate to read this and really hate to write this but...the photos really do not do the pieces justice.
They are better enjoyed in person.
So - there you have it.
Stories, details and ingredients to the five pieces that I created for the upcoming show in Old Forge, New York.
I can't wait to go there, see the show, teach a class and spend time with my friends Liz Kettle and Jane Davila.
Check out the workshop offerings that we have and join us on October 12 for the opening!
I am using the fashion of nature as my inspiration for the Old Forge show pieces.
I often work in my sketchbook before hitting a canvas or anything else with ideas. I find this helps me to focus, flesh out good ideas and scrap bad ones (hopefully).
The last piece that I want to share was started in just this fashion.
I went into it with vague idea of what I wanted to do or the idea that I wanted to share in my art making.
I use a large sketchbook (8 1/2" x 11") to work on most of my canvas art. It allows a little more room to move things around on while I am auditioning ideas.
I gathered my supplies - leaves, jute, molding paste, absorbent grounds, acrylic mediums for adhesives, acrylic & watercolor paint and gesso.
Then set to work.
Some of my inspiration came from this book about people that use nature as fashion accessories -
Hans Silvester is a very talented photographer that has amassed a huge body of work that includes (in my humble opinion) some of the best tribal photos any where.
I already had the idea of working with nature as my fashion icon. When I started doing research on "the fashion of nature" this is one of the books that was recommended to me by our friend Mr. Google.
I was immediately hooked after I saw a tiny sampling of the photos.
(I've included a link to the book on Amazon but I do not receive any compensation from the sale of it)
After completing a small piece of art in my sketchbook, I went to a 20" x 24" stretched canvas to tell one of nature's fashion stories there.
There are many many layers on this canvas. I kept adding collage items, covering them up, painting, scraping pastes & mediums, adding more paint, natural items and then a piece of driftwood.
 |
| "Seasonal Attire" 20" x 24" |
I liked the sketchbook page so much that I framed it too.
It is, after all, a completed piece of artwork.
Don't be afraid to share the artwork that is in your sketchbook!
You have to learn to let the light of all your work shine...put it out there in the world.
You created it from a deep well of creativity. You have to bring it out in order to make room for more.
 |
| "Seasonal Attire:A Study" 18" x 22" |
I hate to read this and really hate to write this but...the photos really do not do the pieces justice.
They are better enjoyed in person.
So - there you have it.
Stories, details and ingredients to the five pieces that I created for the upcoming show in Old Forge, New York.
I can't wait to go there, see the show, teach a class and spend time with my friends Liz Kettle and Jane Davila.
Check out the workshop offerings that we have and join us on October 12 for the opening!
Friday, September 28, 2012
Quarterly Journal Dress
Carol Sloan here.
I love create collages out of vintage papers. I usually add paint and molding paste on top of them, almost covering them up...but I still love to add them for texture and the occasional peek of text.
After completing one of my larger pieces for the Old Forge show, I decided to make a sculptural type collage.
Seeing three "dresses" in the show, I decided that, even though my slant on the fashion theme was nature's fashion, I would create a dress.
A tiny dress.
Out of paper and vintage lace.
I actually made two dresses (I was having too much fun to stop!) when it was all said and done but will only send one of them.
For the first one, I used pages from a women's magazine ("Demorest's Monthly Magazine" 1878), vintage sheet music, dress pattern pieces, antique book pages and a few scraps of handmade paper.
I glued these torn pieces of paper onto a scrim type fabric with an acrylic medium.
(let that dry of course)
I used a doll dress pattern that my grandmother used (when I was a young lass) to make doll clothes out of.
It is veryyyy old...
And then I stitched the paper dress up on my sewing machine.
I added a sash at the waist with vintage netting as well as antique lace around the sleeves and bottom.
Framing was going to be a problem since it is a 3D piece.
I decided on a deep shadowbox frame. This worked great but was a bear to photograph.
Here's a shot out of the frame.
I'll add a couple of detail shots so you can see the fashion references on the dress.
I had a lot of fun making this tiny dress (overall length is about 7 inches)
I love create collages out of vintage papers. I usually add paint and molding paste on top of them, almost covering them up...but I still love to add them for texture and the occasional peek of text.
After completing one of my larger pieces for the Old Forge show, I decided to make a sculptural type collage.
Seeing three "dresses" in the show, I decided that, even though my slant on the fashion theme was nature's fashion, I would create a dress.
A tiny dress.
Out of paper and vintage lace.
I actually made two dresses (I was having too much fun to stop!) when it was all said and done but will only send one of them.
For the first one, I used pages from a women's magazine ("Demorest's Monthly Magazine" 1878), vintage sheet music, dress pattern pieces, antique book pages and a few scraps of handmade paper.
I glued these torn pieces of paper onto a scrim type fabric with an acrylic medium.
(let that dry of course)
I used a doll dress pattern that my grandmother used (when I was a young lass) to make doll clothes out of.
It is veryyyy old...
And then I stitched the paper dress up on my sewing machine.
I added a sash at the waist with vintage netting as well as antique lace around the sleeves and bottom.
Framing was going to be a problem since it is a 3D piece.
I decided on a deep shadowbox frame. This worked great but was a bear to photograph.
Here's a shot out of the frame.
I'll add a couple of detail shots so you can see the fashion references on the dress.
I had a lot of fun making this tiny dress (overall length is about 7 inches)
Sunday, September 23, 2012
"She Has An Eye For Detail"
Leslie here. I thought I would share a couple of the pieces I have completed for our upcoming show at the art center in Old Forge. Since our theme of "Off The Hangar", I wanted to focus on some details that go into the idea of fashion in these two pieces.
Originally, I contemplated doing these in encaustic. Since I live in South Texas and it is still pretty hot I got "chicken" about how to safely ship them in the heat, so I opted instead to work with acrylic layers.
The first piece is mounted on cradled panel. The dimensions are 8x8 inches, and the panel is 1-inch in depth.
Originally, I contemplated doing these in encaustic. Since I live in South Texas and it is still pretty hot I got "chicken" about how to safely ship them in the heat, so I opted instead to work with acrylic layers.
The first piece is mounted on cradled panel. The dimensions are 8x8 inches, and the panel is 1-inch in depth.
First, I want to talk about this new pen I've been playing with: a Pilot FriXion erasable pen.
I'm obsessed with it! My friend, Melly Testa, introduced me to it. For the textile artist who hand or machine embroiders, this thing is the bomb! Let me show you why:
Here, I am drawing a smiley face on my stitched cloth.
Watch what happens after I hit it with a small bit of steam from my iron:
Whoops! All gone!
I am in love.
No more pencil marks ghosting under your embroidered elements.
*Note: I have been cautioned that it is possible the mark may return with exposure to cold. Be sure when you are using this pen that you mark only where you plan to place stitch.
Machine-stitched on pieced silk organza
For these pieces I wanted to layer some ethereal elements of stitching that suggest details of a
garment. I chose this partial dress with a waist and box-pleats for my experiment. First, I drew
the design onto the organza, then stitched on the machine and removed the drawing with steam.
Using Yes! glue and a palette knife I secured the small embroidery onto a previously collaged cloth and paper surface that is mounted onto the cradled panel.
Using another piece of white organza, I stitched another dress form in red thread
and embedded it onto the upper left corner.
My second piece is mounted on a 1.5 inch deep gallery-wrapped canvas, also 8x8 inches. The background of this piece is a collage of old book pages, joss paper, shredded paper, and pattern paper.
Using the same stitching technique, I embroidered two dresses and one hangar, then layered them onto the surface with Yes! glue.
Each piece was finished by wrapping and glueing a length of trim around the side of the panel/canvas.
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
The Fashion of Nature
Carol here.
Like everyone else in the group, I've been working on the upcoming show in New York.
I chose to incorporate a bit of natures' fashion into my pieces.
I've been working off of the knowledge that nature, just like fashion, dresses herself according to the season.
Her fashionable colors change as well as the way that she clothes herself.
I spend a lot of time observing the fashion show that Mother Nature organizes.
I try to take my creative cues from this show.
Season to season, the colors change.
The emotion changes.
She sheds her autumn foliage for the monochromatic palette of winter.
The fashion of nature sheds light on the nature of fashion.
Meaning that fashion changes with the same cycle as nature.
I created this piece from natural elements - sticks, stones and leaves.
The stitched background is made from real leaves that have been pressed and allowed to disintegrate into tissue paper before laminating them to tea bags and scrim.
I also dipped a couple of the central collage elements into beeswax.
I love the smell!
This is a 12" x 12" piece mounted on 1.5" stretcher bars.
Each person in the group of 8 will create a panel the same size.
They will be hung in a grid - like a nine patch - with our signage in the center.
I have created two other pieces of wall art plus a book.
Last April, I helped a friend of mine vend at the Virginia Beach "Art & Soul" retreat.
She had all sorts of vintage items to sell (!) and I was one of the helpers in charge of putting these things out on display (can you believe that she left me there with all that cool stuff?!) (my husband couldn't).
I unpacked a pair of little girls espadrilles.
I immediately saw the potential for a book in this pair of shoes.
Some of the group used women's shoes to create a piece of artwork out of.
I chose to use this well loved pair of shoes for one of my projects.
Here's what I came up with.
Like everyone else in the group, I've been working on the upcoming show in New York.
I chose to incorporate a bit of natures' fashion into my pieces.
I've been working off of the knowledge that nature, just like fashion, dresses herself according to the season.
Her fashionable colors change as well as the way that she clothes herself.
I spend a lot of time observing the fashion show that Mother Nature organizes.
I try to take my creative cues from this show.
Season to season, the colors change.
The emotion changes.
She sheds her autumn foliage for the monochromatic palette of winter.
The fashion of nature sheds light on the nature of fashion.
Meaning that fashion changes with the same cycle as nature.
I created this piece from natural elements - sticks, stones and leaves.
The stitched background is made from real leaves that have been pressed and allowed to disintegrate into tissue paper before laminating them to tea bags and scrim.
 |
| You can see the leaf above - it has disintegrated into the tissue paper that I pressed the leaves on. |
 |
| I used leaves that I gathered from my home garden as well as vegetation from the forest near my home. |
 |
| You might find an herb or two in my fabric... |
 |
| Petals from garden flowers, especially gardenias and lilies. |
 |
| You can see the layer of tea bags and scrim on this sample. I laminated all of it together with acrylic soft gel and matt medium. |
I also dipped a couple of the central collage elements into beeswax.
 |
| The beeswax makes the tea bag very transparent. |
 |
| "Nature's Fashion" |
This is a 12" x 12" piece mounted on 1.5" stretcher bars.
Each person in the group of 8 will create a panel the same size.
They will be hung in a grid - like a nine patch - with our signage in the center.
I have created two other pieces of wall art plus a book.
Last April, I helped a friend of mine vend at the Virginia Beach "Art & Soul" retreat.
She had all sorts of vintage items to sell (!) and I was one of the helpers in charge of putting these things out on display (can you believe that she left me there with all that cool stuff?!) (my husband couldn't).
I unpacked a pair of little girls espadrilles.
I immediately saw the potential for a book in this pair of shoes.
Some of the group used women's shoes to create a piece of artwork out of.
I chose to use this well loved pair of shoes for one of my projects.
Here's what I came up with.
"The Sole Book"
 |
| "Sole Book" front view |
 |
| I spent a lot of time painting, staining, crackling and waxing each page before adding them to the book |
 |
| I love the crackle pages. They look like an old sole (or soul, for that matter). |
 |
| I used a glaze of acrylic paint to bring out the crackles on painted paper |
Monday, September 17, 2012
Fashion Lines
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| "Fashion Lines," by Gloria Hansen 21" w x 25" h |
The piece is based on torn images from a Vogue fashion magazine that I collaged, photographed, digitally manipulated, printed onto silk fabric, painted, and stitched.
 |
| A detail image |
Friday, September 14, 2012
Dress Up Series - Finished
 |
| Jamie Fingal, checking in. One part of a wall series where each artist in 8 that Create will display their own personal style on a 12x12 piece that is mounted on canvas. This collection is for the gallery show at Old Forge, that begins on October 13, 2012 |
 |
| Zipper Dress 19"wide by 24.5" high |
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| The Dancer Dress 12"wide by 19.5" high |
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| The Little Black Dress 18"wide by 36" high - part of a collaboration where three dresses by three different artists that will be hung together |
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| Re-Purposed High Heels, Size 10 |
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
Dress-Up in Progress
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| Jamie Fingal checking in - This is my 12x12 piece for the show "Off the Hanger" for the Old Forge Gallery show. You can see a theme and color scheme forming for my work. |
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| My next piece will be this zipper dress, which is still in progress, but I thought that I would give you a sneak peek! Onward and upward! |
Saturday, August 11, 2012
the little black dress
Sue B here...
My final piece created for the Off the Hanger: form and surface exhibition that will be making it's debut at View in Old Forge NY. The exhibit will run from Friday October 12, 2012 through December 2, 2012. You can learn more about the gallery hosting the exhibit here.
And here's a look at all of the pieces that I will have on display at the exhibition:
My final piece created for the Off the Hanger: form and surface exhibition that will be making it's debut at View in Old Forge NY. The exhibit will run from Friday October 12, 2012 through December 2, 2012. You can learn more about the gallery hosting the exhibit here.
"little black dress" 18" x 36"
cotton, zippers, painted silk, machine quilted
And here's a look at all of the pieces that I will have on display at the exhibition:
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
12x12 for Off the Hanger show
|
| Jamie Fingal here. This is my signature piece for the identification sign for 8 that Create that will hang at the "Off the Hanger: Form & Surface" show in Old Forge, NY - beginning Oct 12. Yes, there is zipper trim on it. I love the polka dots, as they add alot of movement and fun to the piece. |
 |
| I am still on the fence about a title for it. Here are some that I am contemplating - Cut once, measure twice. Cut-Up. Fashion Show. Polka and Dot. Hung Up. Fold Here. Measuring Up. Zippy Dress. Dress Up. What do you think? |
Sunday, June 24, 2012
cut 1 on fold
"cut 1 on fold" by Sue Bleiweiss
12"x12" painted silk over collaged pattern tissue mounted on stretched canvas
Created for the Off the Hanger exhibit. Each of the 8 That Create artists will be making a piece in the same size and they will all hang together so that visitors can see a representation of our individual artistic styles in one spot.
Monday, June 11, 2012
Off the Hanger: Form & Surface
8 That Create is very excited to announce that their exhibit "Off the Hanger: Form & Surface" will be making it's debut at View in Old Forge NY. The exhibit will run from Friday October 12, 2012 through December 2, 2012. You can learn more about the gallery hosting the exhibit here.
Watch this space for posts about the artwork we create for this show!
Watch this space for posts about the artwork we create for this show!
Friday, May 25, 2012
Empty Spaces (in my head?)
Jane Davila -
Usually I have more ideas than I know what to do with, more ideas than I have time to implement. Lately though (does the last 7 months count as lately??) the urge or drive to create has dropped way off. The ideas are still there, but the impetus is lost. I found myself in a creative slump, feeling insufficient creative energy to make anything, doubting every process and technique. I know most of us find ourselves there at one or another point in our artistic journeys. Knowing this doesn't necessarily shorten the torture, though it is consoling to know one is not alone.
One of the obstacles I set up for myself is that I knew I wanted my piece for this theme to be the second in a series that I've been wanting to pursue for a long time. In fact I had made a few false starts on a second piece any number of times in the last couple of years. Initially I had created a piece for a mixed-media exhibit a few years ago and, when it was done, made a mental note that it was a direction I definitely wanted to follow and develop into a series. Subsequent attempts weren't successful from either a compositional or technical standpoint. I started to think that the first piece I made was destined to be a "one-off". I decided to give it one more go for this theme. Nothing like adding a little pressure to your stress!
It can be helpful, when encountering a creative block, to go back to a place where you did create something you were happy with and make another in that series. Because I had already attempted this avenue with this series and felt that the results were less than successful, I knew that this strategy wouldn't be as useful as it could be. However! Sometimes forcing and pushing through and around that block is possible with persistence.
All of this is a long way of saying that my piece is complete. I pulled fabric and paper for a color palette to work with (oddly, none of these made it into the final piece).
I returned to my beetles as subjects, gave them a sense of movement by placing in and out of the frame and in different directions, and aged or distressed them with ink and paint. I played with the "empty spaces" or negative space between them and also kept them as stark silhouettes where the positive and negative spaces of their bodies spoke to the theme as well.
Instead of the painted canvas that I used in the first piece, I choose an aged linen on a thick stabilizer as a substrate this time. I machine quilted arced lines into it and then added hand embroidery with a variety of coarse linen threads.
The final piece invites the viewer to step closer to see all of the bespoke details. Now I am looking forward to creating more pieces in this series and hope that I have seen the back of this particular creative block!
Usually I have more ideas than I know what to do with, more ideas than I have time to implement. Lately though (does the last 7 months count as lately??) the urge or drive to create has dropped way off. The ideas are still there, but the impetus is lost. I found myself in a creative slump, feeling insufficient creative energy to make anything, doubting every process and technique. I know most of us find ourselves there at one or another point in our artistic journeys. Knowing this doesn't necessarily shorten the torture, though it is consoling to know one is not alone.
One of the obstacles I set up for myself is that I knew I wanted my piece for this theme to be the second in a series that I've been wanting to pursue for a long time. In fact I had made a few false starts on a second piece any number of times in the last couple of years. Initially I had created a piece for a mixed-media exhibit a few years ago and, when it was done, made a mental note that it was a direction I definitely wanted to follow and develop into a series. Subsequent attempts weren't successful from either a compositional or technical standpoint. I started to think that the first piece I made was destined to be a "one-off". I decided to give it one more go for this theme. Nothing like adding a little pressure to your stress!
 |
| Carmina Figurata - the original piece in this series |
It can be helpful, when encountering a creative block, to go back to a place where you did create something you were happy with and make another in that series. Because I had already attempted this avenue with this series and felt that the results were less than successful, I knew that this strategy wouldn't be as useful as it could be. However! Sometimes forcing and pushing through and around that block is possible with persistence.
All of this is a long way of saying that my piece is complete. I pulled fabric and paper for a color palette to work with (oddly, none of these made it into the final piece).
I returned to my beetles as subjects, gave them a sense of movement by placing in and out of the frame and in different directions, and aged or distressed them with ink and paint. I played with the "empty spaces" or negative space between them and also kept them as stark silhouettes where the positive and negative spaces of their bodies spoke to the theme as well.
Instead of the painted canvas that I used in the first piece, I choose an aged linen on a thick stabilizer as a substrate this time. I machine quilted arced lines into it and then added hand embroidery with a variety of coarse linen threads.
The beetles themselves are sewn onto a piece of Arches watercolor paper that has been heavily embossed with a variety of textures found in my studio. I collaged other embossed papers onto the watercolor paper as well.
The final piece invites the viewer to step closer to see all of the bespoke details. Now I am looking forward to creating more pieces in this series and hope that I have seen the back of this particular creative block!
 |
| Artius Vacuus |
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