Treasures from Trash

Just finished quilting 2 new quilts and pulling the basting threads. YAAAA!


Every time I do this, I have a lovely pile of clipped threads where I start and end my stitching and the pulled basting threads.


I used to save them, thinking that I would use them. Humbly I know that that will never happen. So now I just want them to go somewhere they can be used. They are perfect for felters.


If you are interested, let me know and I will send the first person who asks for them where US mail reaches.


Send your name and snail mail address to me by email and make a donation to your favorite non profit -- honor system.

Enjoy
Nancy

Rose Has Got Some Hips II

Rose Has Got Some Hips II - 8" x 8"

Last fall I collected some seed, berry and fruit specimens for new work. One that I especially liked was a group of rose hips. I am doing a series of small pieces that will be for available for sale at up coming exhibitions and thought these charming rose hips would be perfect for one of them. The little undeveloped rose hip was quite appealing and the bugs had found the leaves a real treat.

You can see a lot of different techniques in the leaves to show depth - for example: overlapping images, shadows, cooler colors in the back, warmer greens in the front. You can read more information on these techniques in earlier posts.

Who Does She Think She Is - Terrific Film

Pamela Tanner Boll has produced a great documentary of the lives and issues of 5 women artists. Had the opportunity to screen the film this afternoon with 18 other women, many of whom are artists and who ranged from 17 to 79 years of age.

In highly personal, candid sharing of their lives we learned how these artist struggled to create art while nurturing life. As Heather Cabot, of the Huffington Post said: "Boll's film reveals that mothers in the arts...face the very same imbalance in their lives as mothers slogging through 80 hour work weeks to climb the corporate ladder. Artist or not, mothers will be inspired and empowered by Who Does She Think She Is?"

And our group would add that women, mothers or not, will find issues that they can identify with.

My husband originally viewed the film with me and found that many men would also get a lot from the film, in terms of issues for their own lives. I am recommending that another screening be done at our church for both men and women.

Nancy

Re-Visioning: Fiber Innovations

Regina Benson is curating Re-Visioning: Fiber Innovations for this fall at the Lakewood Arts and Cultural Center in Lakewood, CO. Jason Pollen, Nancy Koenigsberg, Regina Benson and I will be the artists in this invitational exhibition.



I have been working hard to have new and larger work available for the exhibition, and the photo here, Mockingbird's Larder, is of one of those pieces.



The exhibition runs from September 9 - November 6, 2011

Opening reception and artist talks: September 9, 5-7 PM.


Hope you will be able to see this show.



Nancy

Don Scores His First Solo Show

Don hung his first solo exhibition on Saturday and sold a piece from the show at the opening on Sunday. Great start for his first solo. Great beginning to a nice weekend.


This is the left front wall. The mask second from the right was bought by art collectors who made sure to get to the exhibition at first opening to make their selection. It is The Keeper of the Ancient Stories. It was one of my favorites, it will be missed.

All of Don's creations have their own story that relates who they are and their function in the tribe. They speak to him and tell him their story as he creates them.








The work here is on the right front wall.

You can see better photos of his work on his website at
http://donfaires.com




Here are the back walls.








Here are several close ups. The circular one is the Spirit Guide. The pair of photos are actually a pair - a mask and the story of the mask in a collage format. The next two are The Next Fire Shaman and Song Spirit.

Don has been really successful selling his work and they have primarily been sold out of his studio -- and our living room. It will be interesting to see what more happens at this first exhibition.

The exhibition committee at Community Church UU in Chapel Hill NC did a terrific job in laying out the exhibition. They are a very talented and dedicated group led by Marni Goldshlag.

The exhibition will hang through the last Sunday of April and can be seen during the weekday by going to the church office, and on Sundays during and following church services.

My 2011 Journal - Gift From Don

Don created this journal for me from a gold tooled journal purchased at Cheap Joe's. He began the tradition last year with a similar journal that I loved so much that he made me another personalized journal for 2011. He took detail photos of three of my quilts and made little recessed windows to display them in. And then he put my name and date on the book as well. The book has a half flap on the right that is magnetized to keep it closed and a pocket in the inside back for papers before they are attached to the book.

Last year, I used the book for business cards I collected, phone numbers and notes from meetings and planning while out of the office. A year's worth of thinking is recorded in it. Some sketches, but most sketches are contained in other journals. But it is the one place to go and find almost anything I collected during the year.

Do you have a special journal you love? And how do you use it?

Nancy

Art Comes in Many Varieties

This last week has been filled with art of all kinds. Went to the Mint Museum's celebration of the acquisition of "Charlotte Shout!" by Romare Bearden - a terrific piece of work. The Mint has finally achieved a good collection of this renown Charlotte artist.

But the celebration was mainly of a performance variety by groups from Johnson C. Smith University. There were several pieces of modern dance, well done by lovely supple young ladies from JCSU art program. But the highlight for me was the choral music by the JCSU chorus. Twenty seven members, 15 females and 12 males with a perfect balance of sopranos, altos, tenors, baritones and basses. I don't think I have ever heard as well balanced a group before. The selections they did were all gospel, but gospel done at the level of high opera. I still get chills as I remember some of the notes hit by the sopranos. If you have a chance to see and hear these groups, run, don't walk to the performances.


After the terrific music, we briefly checked out the Romare Bearden Gallery and then beat a hasty path to Halcyon Restaurant on the second floor of the Mint. Here locally acquired food is cooked and served as a fine art. A bit pricey, but superb. We especially loved the duck and the crepes.

And Friday night we went to the Jerald Melberg Gallery to see the work of Robert Kushner, whose work features wonderful florals and lots of gold. Great reception and Kushner was wearing a luscious hand woven silk top.

Next time I will post some artwork.

Nancy