Introductions: Jane Davila

Hi, I'm Jane Davila and I live in southwestern Connecticut in a suburb of New York City. I started out as a printmaker long ago and still feel a strong connection to paper.

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I work small and very small in scale and enjoy working within the constraints of the self-imposed "limitations" of size. Working small enables me to explore more ideas and themes and the work I produce doesn't take up a huge amount of space. My husband is an oil painter and sculptor and he works in a much larger scale (6-8 feet on a side often) and let me tell you, they take up some serious room in his studio!

La Luna

 

Much of my work revolves around the themes of insects, leaves, birds, fish and other natural subjects. I am enamored of a Japanese printmaking technique called Gyotaku, which translates literally to fish rubbing. Although the technique is traditionally done with real, freshly caught fish, I use rubber replica fish (I have quite a collection!)

 

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 Often, the images in my work are visual metaphors for topics I am thinking about. For example, an ongoing series featuring beetles as subjects is all about exploring my dismay and concern about global warming and the harm we are causing the planet and all of its inhabitants.

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I am also fascinated by text and use letter forms of many languages to add texture and interest to much of my work.

I perceive letters as having colors (a condition known as grapheme-color synesthesia) and this perception adds another layer of discovery for me as an artist as I build a compostion incorporating letters, letter forms and text into my work, as well as the challenge of choosing titles for finished pieces that "go" with the work.

 

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I have written three books for C&T Publishing, two with Elin Waterston - Art Quilt Workbook and Art Quilts at Play - and one alone, Jane Davila's Surface Design Essentials. Elin and I also made a dvd for C&T called Elin and Jane Teach You Art Quilt Basics. I teach art quilting, surface design and mixed media workshops all over the world and have been fortunate to meet many interesting people in my travels. I am also the editor of two digital magazines, Quilting Arts In Stitches and Quilting Arts Surface Explorations. This emag format is so dynamic and exciting and exploring the possibilities of the ever-changing and growing technology is invigorating!

 

As a printmaker and former full-time studio artist, I gained a lot of experience with navigating the business side of the fine art world. I have prints in many collections around the world, I've worked with commercial galleries and print publishers for years and I've taken this insider knowledge and write a regular column in the Quilting Arts print magazine called Minding Your Business. I'm a bit of a kook in that the business, marketing and promotional side of being an artist is actually really exciting to me.

 

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Introductions: Jamie Fingal

I live in Orange, California and mainly focus my work on making mixed media art quilts, but I do dabble in paper as well, because it is rather fun not to limit myself to one medium.   I think outside the box...a sort of rebel, and follow my own path by using unconventional materials in my work.

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A labor intensive piece of artwork made with measuring tape fabric, Mistyfused onto a wool blended felt foundation, hand-sewn, and then free-motion zig zagged to create my version of a log cabin quilt with zippers and a metal washer.  Before adding the backing, sections could be zipped apart from one another.

[caption id="attachment_125" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Urban Footscape - 2010 - 10x10"][/caption]

I have an entire series of art quilts around the subject of my Doc Marten boots, standing on a variety of surfaces in several different cities.  Collaged with a variety of fabrics, including images from a trip to San Francisco, and ransom lettering, have been photo transferred onto fabric.  Metal washers, snaps, safety pins, buttons, fuses are some of my uncommon embellishments.

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Portraits are just one of my favorite subjects in my work, but in a whimsical way, in bright colors and a touch of surface design with paint and stencils.  Cups and saucers are a common motif in my work and are here on their heads, but commonly put on the roofs of my whimsical houses!

[caption id="attachment_127" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Zippy House - 2011 - 15x15"][/caption]

And houses, another time honored tradition in many of the quilts that I make, with the cup and saucer on the roof.  Zippered flowers, landscaping, house, roof and all around the edges of the art quilt, including a zipper for the front door.  Looking forward to 2012 and making art for 8 that create!  Let the fun begin!

 

 

 

 

Introductions: Carol Sloan

Hi, I'm Carol Sloan. I am a mixed media artist living and working in South Carolina.

 



 

I find inspiration in many places. I am fascinated by the textures found in nature and use several different mediums trying to replicate them. In viewing my work, you will see layers that include paper, paint, fabric/fiber and natural items. I love using natures bounty in my artwork. I use collage, drawing, painting and fiber manipulation to build these layers in my work.

 



I work in an intuitive manner, allowing the work itself to dictate the direction that it travels.

 



 

 

I build each piece to tell a story or to chronicle an experience in my life or another's life. I spend a lot of time in the forests and rivers near my home, hiking, kayaking or soaking in the beauty. I gather and collect interesting objects, natural items and everyday discards that I take to my studio and later use in these narratives. My hope is that the story will resonate with the viewer.



 

I also teach mixed media/mixed media fiber art workshops and classes nationally.

 



I love to share my belief that there is an artist inside of  everyone.



I plan on beginning online classes this year, teaching abroad as well as submitting a book proposal.



Check out more of my art, classes and my schedule on my blog.

 



 

Introductions: Liz Kettle

Hello, my name is Liz Kettle. I am a mixed media artist and most of my work finds its beginning in fabric. My work is inspired by story, history and the environment I live and travel in. I admit to being distracted and inspired by just about everything that crosses my path so my subject matter is eclectic. I find patterns, line and texture fascinating whether they are marks made by wind and time or the patch lines in asphalt.



My work can be found in a variety of forms such as books, sculpture or traditional wall art depending on the type of story I am telling. My work is intuitive with only a bit of basic planning as I begin each project. Each piece evolves as the subject matter, the story, dictates.

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I am passionate about sharing my love of making art with students in classes, workshops and on-line. You can see more of my work, read my blog and find a workshop on my website Textile Evolution.



 

Introduction-Leslie Tucker Jenison

I am inspired by repetitive patterns and textures found in both natural and man-made environments, from the microscopic and beyond. I am especially fascinated with the effects of pressure upon objects. Much of my work on cloth and paper focuses on the interplay of these themes. Using paint, dye, photography, and stitch to create unique imagery, my work can be found in the form of quilts, paintings, art journals, and the printed page.
It is not uncommon for me to use unconventional objects in my work, either in the form of embellishment or as a mark-making tool. I like using things that had a "different job" before I use them in my art.


 

 

 

 

 



 

 

 

Introductions: Kathyanne White

Hello, I’m Kathyanne.  My body of work is about building textures with digital alternative surfaces.  I look to build textures first in the image that will start my piece and then take the image and digital print to a new dimension.  I love to build surfaces uncommon to digital printing, alter and assemble my surfaces with other mixed media techniques and share my process.

As long as the surface created is within the thickness parameters of my printers, I will print it.  Below is a piece that I just finished.  The images for the prints come from patterns and texture created from pictures taken in forests.  The digital prints are on recycled dictionary pages coated with inkAID Semi Gloss Precoat. Once the prints were dry I coated the papers with ice resin.  The papers have been torn randomly, a hole punched through the surface and the pieces strung on cotton cording.  The strands of images are are crocheted into the final configuration and mounted on an under layer of crocheted jute twine.

start

finish

As I move forward, my Forest Book series will be absorbing most of my artistic hours in the next year.  Here is an example of a book that is growing as I add pages.  The basis of this series is to build surfaces that jump off the page and are inspired by my visits to the amazing forests on this planet.  In the pages you see here I have printed aluminum mesh, copper mesh, recycled printers plates, sheet metal, lutradur, watercolor paper, tyvek, and an assortment of paper and fabric too long to mention.  I added materials such as twigs, wire, twine and anything else I could think of to build textures on the pages.  Since each page is on a separate metal frame measuring 2 feet by 4 feet, I tend to add and change the pages around until the book is ready to leave my studio.

You can see more of my work on my Kathyanne White website and at KathyanneArt that includes tutorials and workshops based on my work.

introductions: Sue Bleiweiss

My name is Sue Bleiweiss and I've been a full time artist for over 10 years.  I work primarily with sandwashed cotton that I dye myself to create fabric collages with and I work with hand painted silk.

I have become quite enamored with aged, rusted and weathered surfaces and my work with silk is a result of this.

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 I've started a series of corsets and garments from the late 1800's using the techniques I've developed to create these aged painted silk surfaces.

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Silk corset Metal