Experiments in Minimalism

I just finished up a class in Minimalism/Reductive art. It is quite fascinating and much more difficult than it looks. You can find minimalism in all forms of art expression from traditional painting to contemporary film, video and music.

5 Red Squares by Liz Kettle

Minimalism began as a reaction to abstract expressionism. Basically a bunch of artists got together and wrote out the manifesto or rule book for Minimalism. These artists, Donald Judd, Dan Flavin and Sol LeWitt among others decided that they wanted to create an art movement that embraced an absence of expression and create art that was objective, non-referential, and kept the hand of the artist to an absolute minimum. 


The characteristics of Minimalism include:
1. Simplicity of form

2. use of monochromatic palette or primary colors
3. an emphasis on pure shape
4. removal of any appearance of composition
5. keeping true to the materials and often employing industrial materials or mass produced supplies rather than 'art' materials.

We had lots of great discussion in class if true Minimalist art is even possible to achieve. We all worked hard to question where the fine line was between abstract and minimalism. At what point was there that one thing too much. Everyone in the class produced great work from a variety of mediums including a couple videos. We all felt that the most difficult part was to create something minimalist while avoiding boring! 

If you would like to learn more there is a great abstract on Minimalism here.

I have a lot more ideas for exploring minimalism in stitch. Do you like it? Hate it? Want to try it? Let me know.

"A shape, a volume, a color, a surface is something itself. It shouldn't be concealed as part of a fairly different whole."
Donald Judd

Small Wonders

Our Exhibit is ready to be seen! Please join us for the opening reception on Sunday, September 7th from 1 to 4PM at the Etui Fiber Art Gallery in Larchmont, NY.

Here's the official invitation:

Diminutive bugs and birds, petite scale, delicate details of line and stitch – all in tiny treasures on view at Etui Gallery during the month of September, 2014. Eight artists brought together by a love of fabric and stitch show off their varied approaches to mixed media textiles in this exhibit of small works. Layers of machine and hand stitching intimately render buildings and homes both in Natalya Aikens’ works, which incorporate recycled ephemera, and in Kristin La Flamme’s fabric collages. Benedicte Caneill’s work incorporates impeccably sewn pieces of her monoprinted fabrics to create dancing compositions of color and line. Jane Davila and Gloria Hansen turn their focus on small-scale flora and fauna with an eye to graphic simplicity and macro photography respectively. Carol Sloan, Liz Kettle, and Beryl Taylor round out the collection with tantalizing layers of intriguing fabrics, delicate paper, painted textures, wee stitches, and tiny details that draw the viewer in for a closer look.

Here are a few photos to entice you to come see them in person!

Front facing wall with art by Jane, Benedicte and Gloria

Small wonders by Kristin

Corner view with work by Gloria, Benedicte, Liz and Natalya

Gloria's butterflies

Benedicte and Liz's work

Main wall with work by Liz, Natalya, Carol, Beryl and Kristin

A restful spot with work by Kristin, Natalya and Carol

 

finding inspiration

Natalya here. I am currently in a bit of a slump. Nothing to worry about, just sort of stuck on how to begin a piece. I know where I want it to go, just having trouble starting. So I am procrastinating. One of the ways I like to procrastinate, besides organizing some pile (did that yesterday!), is by looking through my photos. I consider that inspiration in disguise.

Every now and then I find some forgotten gems, like these below from a visit to the Met this past spring. I went to see the Matisse exhibit and on the way out or in stumbled upon these wonderful textures that I just had to photograph.

Alquimia XIII, detail of a wall hanging by Olga De Amaral

Alquimia XIII, detail of a wall hanging by Olga De Amaral

Gorgeous wisps of thread drew me to this huge piece. I just adore the delicacy of it and the gentle yet vibrant color. And am fascinated by the materials: linen, rice paper, gesso, indigo red and gold leaf. What is "indigo red"? I'll have to investigate, and where on the piece is it?

Between Earth and Heaven, detail of a piece by El Anatsui

El Anansui's work has attracted me for years. To make trash look so gorgeous is a gift! I must not miss his exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum this summer.

Ceremonial wrapper from Indonesia, 19th or early 20th century (detail)

Indigo dye at its best, no? That delicate wisping of color....sigh...

Ceremonial wrapper from Indonesia, 19th or early 20th century (detail)

Same wrapper, just the other end of it with gold leaf doodles. If you look carefully at the reflection (this was behind glass) you can see the huge panels on the opposite wall and that'll give you a good idea of the size of this wrapper. What or whom did they wrap in this beauty?

Dartahal (1995) by Gedewon (Ethiopian 1939-2000)

Now these are doodles to impress! Ball point pen, lead pencil, graphite and ink on paper. Absolutely stunning detailed drawing... And what's wonderful to me about this, is that this is "talismanic art", meaning it's considered healing and is drawn for individual patients. A fascinating tradition of Ethiopian Orthodox Church.

So I have found these photos in my photo stash, now what? Well, just the act of looking at them and preparing this blog post has energized me. I feel inspired, I am itching to get my hands on some art materials and get to work! Off to the studio, I know what to do now!

What I'm Working On

Kristin here. My artistic career since starting a family has always been a side venture. In recent years it's taken on more and more import but there's always that balance to find between being present as a mother, diligent as a housewife (at least a little bit), and proactive as an artist. When we lived in Hawaii, I felt the desire to take my art more seriously, but never actually acted on it (the perils of knowing your time in one place is limited). Moving to Virginia with more independent kids and a husband who I knew wouldn't be gone for 12 months at a time, I made a pledge to myself to engage in the local arts community -- even if only temporarily.

I applied for and was accepted into the local art co-op and signed up for a solo show in their main gallery. Lucky me, I am scheduled for September! The opening is in just over two months. Yikes. But I'm ready(ish) with twelve aprons and five quilts and another textile to choose from. I've made lists and marked the calendar with dates by which I need things.

Right now I'm focused on dealing with some ideas I've been contemplating. I put the pedal to the metal on a medallion quilt that was bouncing around in my head and I'm really loving how it's looking. I'm so glad I had the chance to get a good start on it earlier in the month at the retreat even before I knew I'd be having a show so soon. I keep picking up a stalled quilt that I've been working on for over 10 years and finally decided that I'm not clear enough on it's vision to warrant stressing over finishing it for the show. I have a couple of half baked ideas in my sketchbook, but I don't think that they are necessary to fill the gallery, and I'm far more excited about starting the next series rather than dragging out this one unnecessarily.

I made a scale model of the gallery a few days ago and populated it with scale printouts of my work. It's like playing with a doll house! I ordered two mannequins to display work on but one arrived moldy, so back it goes to be replaced (glad I ordered early and have time to replace it). Next up is taking a look at my mailing list (terribly outdated) and writing a press release for some military-related venues that the normal publicity at the art center probably won't reach. Then I print postcards, and new business cards while I'm at it. I'll need a statement or something as part of my signage in the gallery (and I'll have to design and order the signage). And I can't forget to make sure each piece is signed and labeled consistently and ready to hang/install. I've got to get the builder guy at the art center to find or make me three pedestals for the mannequins too.

There's lots to do in the next eight weeks. But nothing is difficult or unexpected. I have been dreaming of this show for years as I've been creating The Army Wife series. I am incredibly excited and I can't wait to show my story to our community here.

The multi-talented Benedicte Caneill

by, Gloria Hansen

Today I get the pleasure of introducing you to Benedicte Caneill. While she is a bit uncomfortable with the title I wrote, preferring something like "a tale of two countries," Benedicte has such an impressive variety of artistic skills that I'm sticking with my title, which happens to be an understatement.  I hope she forgives me.

Benedicte was born in Paris, raised in Toulouse, France, and has since 1981 been living in New York.  Before becoming a full- time artist, she had a career as a biology teacher in various international schools.  I met Benedicte several years back through art quilt circles and was immediately drawn both to her arresting work and her genuine warmth. It was easy to gravitate towards her each time we'd run into each other at other events, such as during a shibori dyeing class at the Newark Museum or at the celebration weekend for Quilt Visions, and I'm so glad that we've since become friends.

Benedicte Caneill in front of "Units 26: When Botany Meets Geometry"

Ms. Caneill has quite an exotic background, some of which she'll reveal to you in her 8 things list below. I'll share that in a relatively short period of time, Benedicte has managed to achieve several impressive milestones with her art quilt work, most of which I'm still trying for!  For example, in addition to having work in Quilt Visions, she also had work accepted into Quilt National, Art Quilt Elements where she won the SAQA Cream Award, and she has her work on the cover of Quilting Arts Magazine to illustrate a feature written about her!  She also had work in Craftforms. While one could color me envious, her achievements are all very well-deserved and inspiring.

A detail from "Units 26"

I am most familiar with Benedicte's textile work, almost all of which is made from cloth that she first creates.  She starts with either white or black fabric and then will use a variety of surface design techniques (such as dyeing, monoprinting, silk screening, or direct printing) to create layer upon layer of design and pattern.  From this, she will often cut apart and then stitch together the basis of her work. The layers evolve as the piece develops, and can be cut apart again and again. Eventually her final layer will include machine and hand stitching.  The finale is work that pulsates with rhythm and movement, yet has texture and depth.

But art quilt making is just one of her talents. Not only does Benedicte know how to put paint and dye to cloth, but she also knows how to put pen to paper and stylus to iPad! When I received Gwen Diehn's latest book, "The Complete Decorated Journal," I was excited to see images from one of Benedicte's many art journals/sketchbooks gracing the pages.  On another blog I was perusing, I was happy to see Benedicte pictured for work she was doing in MOMA's NYC Print Studio (which concluded in 2012).  These things just scratch the surface.  Currently she has three works at the Windsor Whip Works Art Gallery in NY at a show titled, "Fabulous Fibers and Bewitching Baskets."  She also currently has work at the Blue Door Gallery in NY in a show titled, 'Show and Tell 5," where she  gave a talk.

"Units 24: Going Around in Circles"

detail from "Units 24"

"Approxymmetry"

"Marks in the Sand"

I just adore Benedicte. She has such grace and is a beauty, inside and out.  I am also glad that she joined 8 That Create.

Benedicte shares 8 very interesting tidbits about herself. I'm still wow'ing over number 4!

1.  I grew up in Toulouse, France, capital of the European aerospace industry and its gorgeous architecture that is a constant source of inspiration.

2.  I love music, classical, jazz, rock, and folk.  I studied the piano and I have sung all my life in choruses.  I often sing when I paint.

3.  I majored in botany in College, specialized in alpine botany and loved exploring the flora of the Pyrenees Mountains.

4.  I lived in India and studied the classical Indian dance drama called: * Kathakali*.

5.  I love animals, especially dogs.  At one point my husband and I shared our home with two parrots, two cats and three dogs.

6.  Painting is my technique of choice, direct painting, printing, moving paint on a surface can make me forget about eating!

7.  My grand-mother and mother both taught me sewing, embroidery, knitting and crochet.

8.  Walking is my form of meditation and my inspiration very often comes during my walks in nature.

Architecturally Inspired ~ Delicately Stitched

Liz Kettle here with you today. I am thrilled to be able to introduce you all to new 8 That Create member, Natalya Aikens. I have loved Natalya's work ever since I first came across it on the web many years ago. We share a love of vintage fabrics, stitching and architecture. Welcome to 8 That Create Natalya!

 Natalya takes the seeming unrelated elements of Russia, recycling and photography and melds them together to create magical pieces of art. Her work is evocative of a beautiful memory, history and stories of a special place and time. Natalya grew up in St. Petersburg Russia and much of her art reflects the folklore and beautiful architecture of Russia. Natalya currently lives in New York and finds inspiration in her surroundings as she explores with camera in hand. Many of her photographs find their way into her artwork.

 

"Marrying together of the disparate influences on my art – heritage and recycling – is my greatest challenge and my greatest pleasure. It is what drives me into my studio everyday."                             Natalya Aikens     

                                                                                                                  

Natalya is passionate about recycling and likes to add bits of plastic and mesh bags as well as paper into her work. Natalya's goal is to transform trash into something treasured and sophisticated.

You can see more of Natalya's beautiful work on her website and you can connect with her on Facebook and Twitter as well as right here at 8 That Create.

 

A quick peek into Natalya's creative space

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Isn't it fun to see what is in someone else's space? I have some of those insulators too.

I asked Natalya to share 8 little tidbits about herself with our 8 That Create followers.

1. I love to experiment with many tools and materials.
2. I don't feel married to one particular set of techniques and will use any technique to achieve a desired effect.
3. I like to think of myself as rather thrifty.
4. I love to find new ways to use old materials.
5. I enjoy listening to NPR  or books on tape while working away in my studio, but only during the execution phase, never during design.
6. I need quiet when figuring out a new design, no distractions while concentrating.
7. Costume design was my first love.
8. I have an extensive library of art, design, history of fashion and film books and I refer to them all often.

If you want to hear Natalya talk about her work check out this SAQA video interview:

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_zUgrnRKho&feature=player_profilepage

 

Finished but Nameless

 
Liz Kettle posting. My piece for the Empty Spaces theme is finished. I decided to mount it on a canvas because the two parts of the diptych are small and I was worried that they would be lost when hung directly on a wall. Plus, it was important for me to have the space around and between the two pieces to be white which you can't always count on in a gallery setting.

Hopefully you can see some of the stitching in this detail photo. The left side of the diptych is stitched along the black lines in cotton thread. The right side is stitched in the white spaces with silk and rayon threads. I hope this piece evokes the question of what is 'empty'.

I haven't decided on a name yet. Usually, when I hand stitch so much on a piece of art I have plenty of time to mull over a name but this time I didn't come up with one. I will have to make a list of ideas and see what resonates. Let me know what you think in the comments.

Brain Wars

Liz Kettle here, posting today about my progress…or lack of…my Empty Spaces piece. I was immediately intrigued with the proposed title Empty Spaces and thought to myself…wow that sounds like an easy theme to work with! Boy was I wrong. I thought I had a bunch of ideas and I did but the problem was that I ended up completely stalled out because I found myself spinning in circles. I had too many ideas and none of them were any good.



I once took a test that was supposed to tell you if you worked predominately from your left (analytical) or right (creative) brain. I scored really close to a balanced middle brain thinker. At the time I proudly thought this was a reflection of how well balanced I am and how well rounded my thinking skills are. HA!  Well...You all know what happens to pride before the fall right? This balanced brain was my undoing in this art endeavor.



First of all, I am a bit of a science geek. I home-schooled two of my kids through high school and we did a lot of science. I love learning about quarks, string theory, neutrinos and black holes. There is no such thing as empty space. There is no glass half full…they are all full. This fact kept pushing to the surface every time I started thinking about empty spaces. I tried to outsmart myself…thinking about psychological empty spaces in our hearts, lives and experiences but I kept coming back to the notion that even empty spaces in our hearts are filled in with love, longing or regret. Empty spaces in our lives are often filled up with physical stuff. That led me to a personal rant on how we have too much stuff and I considered doing a piece featuring the absurdity of the storage units phenomenon but that felt too confrontational and judgmental for my art.  Still spinning in circles.



Next I asked myself is empty space positive or negative, black or white, figure or ground? This intrigued me but I still kept going round in circles because I had no answers to these questions and at every turn I could only think that there is no empty space! At this point the deadline is looming and I really just have to start something. When I am totally flummoxed but still need to work my salvation is in cleaning the studio.  Not cleaning cleaning...there is no dusting or vacuuming. I pull out piles and sort them. I move fabric around, pull it out, fold it, put it back. I find lost scissors and rulers and that little doo-dad that would have been perfect on my last project. I make a mess piling fabrics up, touching and folding trying not to think too much.

On this day I was guided to my overflowing bin of hand dyed, mono-printed and painted fabrics. What a mess! I dumped it all out and folded and sorted. Towards the bottom of the pile I discovered this:



Wow! It was black and white, figure and ground, positive and negative…this could turn into something. There is a pattern underlying the black and white reflective of the idea of empty space not being empty and best of all there are CIRCLES so I could stop my incessant mind spinning. This has potential!

I am hand stitching the top. I love hand stitching and because my spring schedule has me away from my machine so much it will allow me to work while I am on the road. I have developed a compulsion to densely hand stitch in blending thread colors. It is a bit insane when I stop to think about it because the stitching can't be seen unless you look closely. But then again,  asking the viewer to slow down and look closely is what I am aiming for.

 

An Introduction: Gloria Hansen

Hello, I'm Gloria, and I live in East Windsor, New Jersey.  My art centers around geometric pattern, visual ambiguities, and photographic imagery, and I get tremendous satisfaction from merging my love of digital tools and technologies with traditional media to express a particular vision.

My passion for digital design began in the late 1980s. At that time, there was not much information available for using the computer as an quilt/textile design tool.  Even so, I was immediately drawn to the Macintosh and experimented with early vector and pixel-based programs  to adapt them to my artwork.  As those early programs matured and inkjet printing technologies evolved, so did my ability to use them.  Prior to the digital days, I  was involved in a wide variety of crafts, photography, art and design, and was in the Embroiderer's Guild of America's master craftsman program.  It is from this eclectic background of skills that my style developed.

Today my work continues to evolve and dance among pixels and fibers, paintbrushes and inkjet printers, and different types of media  I invite you to my website to learn more about me and the art I create.

[caption id="attachment_152" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption=""Artifications" - 41" x 42" - 2011"][/caption]

After this piece returned from an exhibit, I removed the finishing and am now in the process of adding curved lines of hand stitchery for additional texture and movement.

[caption id="attachment_156" align="aligncenter" width="250" caption=""Lost In Illusion" 2010 - 47.5" x 40.5""][/caption]

Lost In Illusionis a piece that evolved from a series of work that focuses on progressively diminishing squares and an interplay of geometric shapes.  It's a subject matter that I continue to explore.

[caption id="attachment_141" align="aligncenter" width="233" caption=""The Journey" - 2010 - 40.5" x 54""][/caption]

The Journey is a piece that combines imagery of various types of transit and flight.

 

 

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.

[caption id="attachment_89" align="aligncenter" width="203" caption="Chronicle of Thought-fabric and encaustic"][/caption]

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.