K A T H R Y N C L A R K

Uppercase Journal and a view of my work table

2012-02-04T21:12:00.000-08:00

I mentioned last month that the latest issue of Uppercase Journal would include my work. I'd been hearing everyone ooh and aah over their copies in the last week. I swear I had subscribed but perhaps I was dreaming. Finally, impatient enough, I walked around in downtown San Francisco one morning searching for a place that carried them. I gave up, went home and realized later that Anthropologie had them the whole time. How did I get my copy? My friend Myrna heard my angst and gave it to me as a present last Friday when I went to her studio. So sweet of her! My friend Claire Brewster's work is also featured. Be sure to grab a copy, now at Anthropologie!

I realized it's due time for another work table posting. It's been so busy around here that when I could finally photograph my latest finished quilt, Phoenix, I missed my chance. Frankly I can't complain, it's been sunny and summery here in San Francisco. I need a dry, cloudy day to photograph outside. It will happen soon! In the meantime, here's my work table (with a tiny sneak peek of Phoenix in red on the wall).

I became downright angry Thursday night. Angry because, still, little is being done about foreclosures. Yes, Obama did unveil his new mortgage task force last week but really, what he did before did little to stem the crisis. I actually pulled out my marremekko fabrics with the thought of making a 'scream in your face' quilt full of bright colors next to deep, dark blacks. It ended up looking a little scary and realized I needed to calm down. What I needed to make was a real scrap quilt. To go back to those original depression era quilts that inspired me. I yanked out all of my depressing blue and grey remnants and started to make one.

This will be the inner sandwich piece of the next quilt. Which I'm thinking will be Riverside, California. I discovered just one of many blocks where pretty much all of the 64 lots had been foreclosed on in the past three years. It's downright depressing.

A lot of this inner sandwich will be exposed on this quilt. I'm randomly placing the pieces together and I'm still not sure what the top layer will be. It will likely become obvious once this panel is finished. I plan to spend my weekend gardening, thinking positive thoughts!

Artist : Marian Bijlenga

2012-02-01T21:21:00.000-08:00

I debated about calling this post Conversations on Flikr. We'll call it a subtitle and I'll get to that topic in a moment. I did discover Marian's work through flikr some time ago and was completely drawn in. She's based in Amsterdam and this piece certainly reminds me of a map of the water city.

Untitled by Marian Bijlenda, 2011. Horsehair, fabric,
machine embroidery. 43 x 43 cm

Today as I was doing my usual monthly gasping session perusing BrownGrotta's website rather than doing actual work, I came across Marian's work again. BrownGrotta representation, what a dream!

Untitled by Marian Bijlenda, 2011. Horsehair,
machine embroidery. 46 x 45 cm

Marian is a talented and very prolific artist. Her work is truly hers, unique and clearly all her own. The works are so delicate yet have a strong tie back to nature, using materials such as horsehair and fish scales. Fish scales?

Untitled by Marian Bijlenda, 2010. Fish scales.

There's a lot in that series. All stunning. Her flikr site offers lots more of her work and is well organized. And that gets me to Flikr. Some of my friends refuse to use it, some say it's a tad old but Marian uses it in a unique and beneficial way. As an open dialogue among other artists. The comments become a back and forth visual conversation that evolves and inspires. Go check it out and see what I mean. Thought provoking.

Sampler by Marian Bijlenda, 2011.

Marian Bijlenga's website can be found here. Her flikr page is here. Enjoy the tour!

Artist : Jiseon Lee Isbara

2012-01-23T20:53:00.000-08:00

I first came across Jiseon Lee Isbara's artwork last year at the Wrapped in Tradition show at the Museum of Craft and Folk Art in San Francisco. Some of you might remember this stunning piece I shared from the show.

Blueprints, 2010. 25" x 34 1/2" Hand stitched, dyed and inkjet printed

silk fabric.

This one caught my eye in particular and I couldn't get it out of my mind. I tracked down her blog/website and discovered more from her 'meaningless squares' series as well as more recent series that are even more impressive. These are images from her new Embodiment series.

Embodiment, 2011. 5" x 47" x 4" Stitched and drawn,

ramie and cotton.

Her work is about "personal observation and artistic interpretation of her life as an artist, teacher, wife, mother and immigrant".

Embodiment detail, 2011. 5" x 47" x 4" Stitched and drawn,

ramie and cotton.

That really comes through in these pieces. Her mind seems to work like mine which is why I'm drawn to it. Perhaps you see your thought processes displayed here too. We struggle to control the chaos that goes through our minds as we multi-task through life. It's not an easy job. The titles really tell it all.

Accumulated, 2009. 365 pieces, 3 1/2" x 3 1/2" x 3 1/2"-6" x 6" x 6"

Hand stitched, silk and polyester strings.

Gorgeous work, no?

Accumulated detail, 2009. 365 pieces, 3 1/2" x 3 1/2" x 3 1/2"-6" x 6" x 6"

Hand stitched, silk and polyester strings.

Here's how a lot of us feel some days ... on autopilot. Who would have thought you could make such a beautiful poignant piece around that idea.

Repeated, 2010. 9"X 45' Woven, screen printed and stitched,

cotton.

Repeated detail, 2010. 9"X 45' Woven, screen printed and stitched,

cotton.

Jiseon Lee Isbara runs the Fibers Department at the Oregon College of Art and Craft. See more of her work here.

Artist : Doug Johnston

2012-01-17T09:49:00.000-08:00

Doug Johnston is definitely someone whose work hovers between art and craft. I first learned of his sash cord series when it was featured last week on Remodelista.

Doug Johnston vessels. Photo by Michael Popps

I succumbed immediately and bought the "200" bag. The bags and totes are made to order but they look like they will be worth the wait. His website explains the technique used to make the pieces, which is based on ancient ceramic coiled pots and basketry.

The 200 by Doug Johnston. Photo by Michael Popps.

This is also an example of what a great photographer can do for your work. I come from a family of photographers so I had to slip that little plug in there! A little humor doesn't hurt either.

The Dunce Bag by Doug Johnston. Photo by Michael Popps.

This series is just the latest in a long line of Doug's creative projects that branch out into music as well. Here's a more artistic take on the sash cord series, called rumpleskillskid. The vessels are large enough to fit a person inside.

sash cord series with rumpleskillskid by Doug Johnston. Photo by Michael Popps.

Be sure to check out his website to see other creative ideas he has. And, of course, his shop can be found here.

Photo by Michael Popp

And I'll leave you with a little peek into his studio in Brooklyn, NY.

Foreclosure Quilts and craziness

2012-01-08T21:34:00.000-08:00

It's been a weird, wild week for me. Now that New American Paintings came out, I expected some emails and I've had a few. A few good ones in fact. The Cleveland Quilt is now living in a happy home in Denver. I'm going to miss that quilt but so happy it's found a good home.

Cleveland Foreclosure Quilt, 2011.

A few days after I shipped off the quilt, Justine Hand wrote an amazing article on my quilts that was posted on Remodelista.

The funny thing was, I discovered the article by accident. I opened up the website to do some research on kitchen remodeling (I'll get to that part later) and there they were! Overnight, I was bombarded with emails from supporters, collectors, gallery owners, shop owners ... you name it, they called. Needless to say it was an amazing way to start 2012! I'm not sure what the next few months will bring but I expect I will be busy with my art as well as remodeling this and starting this. Am I crazy? Somehow it will all come together. It always does, in the most wonderful way. Happy New Year, everyone!

Artist : Jen Lee

2012-01-04T07:00:00.000-08:00

I can't tell you the angst I feel that I can't find out more about Jen Lee and her work. As you know, beautiful images are fluttering around all over the internet, which is great except when you can't find where they came from and give them their proper credit.

Jen Lee, 2011. Image from ArtBlogArtBlog.

I discovered her work through Pinterest via Maria Bohlin. After a few dead ends and lots of "Jen Lee, artist" searches on Google I came up empty-handed. I'm not alone in that thought, I found a great comment along the same lines just below this piece over at Crude Vessels.

Jen Lee, 2011. Image from Crude Vessels

But I just had to share Jen's stunningly, ethereal work with you anyway in the hopes that someone out there can tell us more and lead us to find her. So if you know anything, please comment below and I'll update the post.

Jen Lee, 2011. Image from ArtBlogArtBlog.

These pieces make one realize that ALL paintings on canvas are just textiles! We forget this once they are wrapped around wood frames. The geometry calls attention to it as well as the obvious fact that they aren't framed (gallery owners across the country would shudder at that thought). Not to mention the pieces celebrate the rawness of the canvas: the texture and color are brought forth.

Jen Lee, 2011. Image from ArtBlogArtBlog.

I know, I know. Calm down, you say. I'm getting all esoteric on you. But really, for something so simple, they are really powerful pieces. Are they not? In the meantime, just enjoy these images. And Jen, if you're out there, let us know where to find you!

Happy 2012!

2012-01-01T21:25:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year to everyone! 2011 has been an amazing year for me. So much has happened and I owe you all a huge thank you for your unwavering support of my work.

Foreclosure Quilt Series, all made in 2011.

I've accomplished more quilts than I thought possible, had a wonderful collaboration with Vanessa Filley and starting planning a new series.

Quick study on new series which has since been tossed aside.

But the best part of all was making friends with all of you. It is so nice to know there are other artists out there that have similar struggles making art. There are certainly ups and downs, though it seems a lot of us have had a great year. It was also amazing to realize that some of you live really close by! It was wonderful to have the chance to meet in person and hope we meet more frequently in the new year.

Resolutions? Plans for 2012? I have four. First and foremost, I plan to continue the foreclosure series and spread the word as best I can. Second, I am starting a new series on landgrabbing, hopefully this month. Third, I will continue to write this blog and try to find more amazing artists out there to share with you. And the biggest, craziest plan? To tackle a huge, new garden and blog about that as well. Head over here to see my first post. Wish me luck! What are your big plans for 2012? I wish you luck as well!

Foreclosure Quilt : Albuquerque, New Mexico

2011-12-26T21:09:00.000-08:00

II hope everyone is having a nice holiday break this week! One of the things I think we are losing is the ability to relax and take a few days off every now and then. I managed to squeeze in one more foreclosure quilt before taking this week off and wrapping up a phenomenal year. There has been a sudden jump in foreclosures in the Southwest so my next few pieces will be focused on this region. This piece is of a newer neighborhood in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Albuquerque Foreclosure Quilt, 2011. 35" x 47"

This is one of my larger pieces at 35" x 47". I chose to zoom out of the neighborhood a bit so you could see the large scale of foreclosures. You can find neighborhoods that look like this in pretty much any town in the United States these days. Clearly something is wrong but not much is being done about it.

Albuquerque Foreclosure Quilt detail, 2011. 35" x 47"

Most of the newer developments of Alburquerque are comprised of large scale arterial roads set up in a grid with smaller neighborhood streets curving around within them. Not the most pedestrian friendly way to live with those busy roads everywhere. The blue areas are either civic (schools, libraries, etc.) or unbuilt right of way (culverts, creeks, etc).

Albuquerque Foreclosure Quilt detail, 2011. 35" x 47"

All of the materials I used on this piece were scraps I had lying around in the studio. My next piece, Phoenix, is well under way and should be finished early next month. You might have seen a sneak peek in a recent post. I feel a sudden burst to make more quilts after reading all the news lately around the mortgage crisis.

Thank you Lari for pointing out this recent 60 Minutes segment on Cleveland, Ohio. One of my recent pieces was on Cleveland. Jim Rokakis has spearheaded so many projects there, he's an unsung hero in my book.

Foreclosure Quilts in New American Paintings

2011-12-20T17:14:00.000-08:00

My work's in print! My foreclosure quilts are included in New American Paintings: Pacific Coast Issue 97.

Image courtesy of New American Paintings

As some of you know, this is a very popular national competition so it's quite a coup to have your work accepted. Only forty are chosen out of thousands of entries. I almost didn't enter since my work has predominantly fiber. But the entry details said they were looking for any medium as long as it was mostly 2D. I'm glad I went for it.

Image courtesy of New American Paintings

The funny thing is very few mixed media artists are represented which I found a bit strange. I think that actually makes my work stand out more. Alas, no pictures of my pages yet as I have to wait for foggy days to photograph.

Image courtesy of New American Paintings

Check out their blog page to see the full list of artists included. There's quite a lot of talented artists out here on the left, ahem, I mean west coast. The magazine is available in most major bookstores as well as those wonderful small, local bookstores (which is really where you should be shopping anyway!).

work table : Albuquerque and Phoenix

2011-12-15T11:11:00.000-08:00

I don't know about you but when December hits, I go full swing in the studio. Something about nearing the year's end sets me off in a panic and I try to finish as many projects as I can before the holiday break. This is also a time of year, like most people, I reflect on what I've done over the past year.

work wall with Phoenix (left) and Albuquerque (right) in progress.

Having had a few sales of my foreclosure quilts (yeah!) means I don't have as many to pieces to enter into shows and galleries and that sets me off in a panic. What is really important to me about these quilts is to create as many as are needed and get them out into the public. This month and next, the foreclosure quilts will be featured in two magazines, Uppercase and New American Paintings. This means I need to have some new work to share with a broader audience.

Albuquerque in progress (detail).

Foreclosures are picking up in the Southwest again so I've spent this December studying New Mexico and Arizona. What I've found is shocking and doesn't take more than a few clicks on the internet to see just how severe foreclosures are there. The foreclosures are incredibly widespread in these cities. No neighborhood has been left unaffected but there are certainly focused pockets of devastation.

Phoenix in progress (detail).

I've discovered more data is being openly published about home sales throughout the US which brings to light even more foreclosures than are obvious on the maps from RealtyTrac.

Phoenix fabric study.

For example, what seems like an honest sale on the map, is really just a flip from one bank to another. Hmmm, is someone making money off of this? Of course! It's still happening and there is no regulation in sight to put a stop to it. To read the latest on the mortgage crisis, head over to my foreclosure series page and find links to the latest articles. Gretchen Morgenson has some new insights that are certainly worth reading.

Artist : Ana Hagopian

2011-12-11T19:40:00.001-08:00

I learned of paper artist Ana Hagopian in Handmade Home which I featured last week. Two small images of her work appeared in the book but they instantly caught my eye.

necklace:tulip. Image from Ana Hagopian

Her intricate pieces can barely be called jewelry, they are much more works of art, no?

necklace:blueberry. Image from Ana Hagopian.

The photography of her work certainly adds to their power. Dark, moody images capturing every texture of the delicate paper and reminding you that this is a designer based in Spain. Can't you just see those bold southern European women wearing her jewelry best?

necklace:snake. Image from Ana Hagopian.

She also has many light-hearted pieces, earings and rings that are so charming and delicate.

earrings:snow white. Image from Ana Hagopian.

The colors are rich and pure. I would love to know where she sources her paper and if she dyes it herself. The mix of blue and purple above is hauntingly beautiful and this coral is so intense.

necklace:coral. Image from Ana Hagopian.

Ana has her atelier in Barcelona and shows her work throughout the rest of Europe. Here's a peek of her space.

Image from Ana Hagopian.

She has many, many more pieces featured on her website (it was SO hard to choose which pieces to include here). She also has a new catalogue of her work available as a pdf here.

Noticed: Fog Linen Work on Handful of Salt

2011-12-07T11:01:00.001-08:00

I've got another article over at the amazing Handful of Salt. I just can't get enough Fog Linen Work. Head on over and check it out.

Image courtesy of Fog Linen Work

Also, while you're there, check out the Handful of Salt holiday guide for some quality gift ideas. It's the best guide of quality craft I've seen!

work table : Albuquerque Foreclosure Quilt

2011-11-30T19:30:00.001-08:00

Albuquerque was calling me. I kept seeing the name pop up in recent foreclosure articles. Foreclosures are up 151% there in the third quarter among other things. I came across this quick sketch I did last week. You know those sketches? When you make them you see so much more in the drawing than you see a week later?

You look back and wonder what you were thinking. This is often how I draw my initial ideas. I guess I'm a minimalist and anxious to just start making.

I like to piece things together the old fashioned way, with tape. I could do it on the computer but then I'd need a large format printer. I don't have the patience. And yes, that's my cat's tail sneaking in above.

Here was the initial idea, highlighting the large street grids you see as you fly over New Mexico and Arizona. I never understood why they laid the streets out like this. They're SO ugly and force everyone to get into a car to go anywhere. And then I realize I'm taking on way too much so I scale things back a bit, using just a portion of the overall area above.

Now it's coming together. The shaded areas are civic activities: schools, parks, right of ways. Seeing a high school sited in the middle of a foreclosed neighborhood makes me ponder what it must feel like to be a teenager these days. What do they have to look forward to? Not much it seems.

I start to dig around in my messy piles of remnants to look for fabric to use. Something dusty and drab is needed for this quilt. I find all my beiges and pile them into this bowl my mom started to make years ago. She never finished and it's nice to see the marks she made. I remember her as I work. I think she would have liked this one.

And I start piecing. Interesting, I just visualized the layout but hadn't counted up how many 12" x 12" panels there would be. What do you know? Twelve. My brain naturally likes order. I take a little break to finish off a side project.

I like to do a little traditional sewing on the side as it helps keep my sewing machine skills up to par. Now back to handsewing.

Eleven more panels to go and then I will add the other layers to the quilt. I'm really liking this one so far.

Crafting a lifestyle : Mark and Sally Bailey

2011-11-28T19:49:00.001-08:00

I kept coming across Mark and Sally Bailey's new book Handmade Home: Living with Art and Craft. Once I was able to crack open the cover, it was clearly a must buy.

Photo by Debbie Treloar

The book is full of rich photographs and descriptions of artist's homes. Not just any artists' homes but artists that clearly live the wabi sabi aesthetic to its' fullest. It showcases those rare homes that clearly show a creative genius in action.

Photo by Debbie Treloar

But then I became curious about Mark and Sally Bailey, as their beautiful home was included in the book.

Photo by Debbie Treloar

I learned this is their third lifestlye book. They also have a store, a gallery and are in the process of building a compound called Whitecross Farm to showcase artist's works in a domestic setting. I SO wish I lived in England right now so I could see it all in person.

Do you think they really thresh wheat in that barn? There's even a stunning tearoom nestled in the grounds.

Photo by Debbie Treloar

In their own words:

We were inspired to start our gallery/home after a long anticipated visit to Kettles Yard in Cambridge. We loved the late Jim Ede's simple way of living with art and his insistence that Kettles Yard should be a place that is . . . "not an art gallery or museum, nor . . . simply a collection of works of art reflecting my taste or the taste of a given period. It is, rather, a continuing way of life from these last fifty years, in which stray objects, stone, glass, pictures, sculpture, in light and in space, have been used to make manifest the underlying stability."

Clearly this is no fine art gallery, this is a lifestyle experience. And the work they feature is stunning. Here are Ray Key's polished vessels.

Photo by Debbie Treloar

Anna Hagopian's delicate paper jewelry is showcased in such a beautiful way I'd want the whole lot including the shoes!

I need to learn more about Jim Ede, the Bailey's inspiration. Hmmm, perhaps Crafting a Lifestyle might turn into a series. We'll see what turns up that I can pass along. In the meantime, find the book here. And check out their shop and gallery online or if you're lucky, in person. And take some pictures for me!

work table : Landgrabbing series

2011-11-18T10:12:00.001-08:00

Okay, I hate doing this, sharing the early, early stages of a new series. When you are unsure of the direction to take and not sure if any of it will work out. But, this IS my work table this week so I'll just be honest: it's SLOW going here. But, I'm just doing it, going with the flow and slowly making progress. Now you understand why I posted earlier about Agnes Martin! I spent a fair amount of time cleaning my desk this week while trying to think.

I am still making more foreclosure pieces but I feel the need to start a new series. I learned last year about landgrabbing. Countries that are buying up land throughout the world to farm their own crops for shipment back to their own countries. This is happening ALL over the world right now, right under our noses. The countries that are selling off their own land are happy, because they're making lots of money. The local landowners are not so happy about having their land taken away by thier government.

My daughter wrote 'cool' on the flags she liked.

The US is guilty in both ways. We're buying land elsewhere and we're also selling out as well. Many countries are doing this. It's not good and it's not sustainable.

Hence, a new series around this issue: Landgrabbing. At the moment, I'm taking the national flags of the countries being sold off, rendering them without color. The map of the country is cut into them revealing the flags of the landgrabbing countries. We'll see if it pans out.

Landgrabbing study: Pakistan and the UAE, 2011. Kathryn Clark

These will be quite large I think, five to six feet across. I can make many of these, which is sad. The facts are there and need to be addressed. www.farmlandgrab.org has been an amazing resource to articles being published all over the world on this issue. It's shocking. More to come soon.

Artist : Agnes Martin

2011-11-14T20:36:00.001-08:00

Okay, I know most of you are well aware of Agnes Martin's work by now. If not, you're in for a treat. Well, if you're willing to be open.

On a Clear Day, 1964 by Anges Martin. Image courtesy of Peter Blum Gallery

Her work and philosophy seems to appeal to very few for some reason. She is on my top five list of artists who really inspire me. Her dedication to her craft was intense and persistent.

Untitled, 1962 by Anges Martin. Image courtesy of Zwirner & Wirth

When I feel I'm in a slump, I pick up my book of her writings and open it randomly for some inspiration and for a good, practical slap in the face. What you walk away with is the encouragement to just go out there and make your work.

Untitled, 1960 by Anges Martin. Image courtesy of Zwirner & Wirth

Don't worry what others think, just make what you have to, what's calling to be made. You will find your voice this way. It's so easily said, so hard to realize, and so true. Thanks, Agnes.

Detail of one of Anges Martin's paintings. Image courtesy of Spencer Alley

I do recommend the book Agnes Martin : Writings but as I write this I'm in shock by how hard it is to find this book and how expensive it is when you find it. Okay, I'll take better care of my copy now! But while you wait to track it down, here's some instant gratification. An in-depth interview with her about her own work.

See more of her paintings at Zwirner & Wirth Gallery and some of her drawings at Peter Blum Gallery.

Artist : SooJin Kang

2011-11-07T19:51:00.000-08:00

SooJin Kang's work defies categorization. Is it conceptual art, industrial design, fashion design or perhaps all of them rolled into one nice package? I first discovered her work over on DesignSponge's "what's in your toolbox?" feature. I was hooked when I saw the photo of strips of leather splayed out on a white cloth.

SooJin Kang's work table. Photo by Ania Wawrzkowicz

And then I went over to her website where I discovered the most amazing chair deconstruction. Functional? Maybe. Beautiful? Yes!

Knitted Stool, 2011 by SooJin Kang. Photo by Ania Wawrzkowicz

From what I can see about her various series and the photos of her workspace, we certainly have in common the sense of order and place for things.

SooJin Kang's tools and wool. Photo by Ania Wawrzkowicz

I just like how she 'tests the waters' for new ideas and isn't afraid to make something that hovers somewhere between function and pure art, likely pissing off purists within those camps. Yes!

Knitted Chair, 2009 by SooJin Kang. Photo by Ania Wawrzkowicz

Her work was included in the Cheongju International Craft Biennale in South Korea this year. I SO wished I would have entered that show, however unlikely it would have been that my work would have been accepted. There was a really talented group of artists included.

Dressed Furniture, 2010 by SooJin Kang. Photo by Ania Wawrzkowicz

SooJin's website is here. Be sure to check out other featured DesignSponge "toolboxes" for more inspiration.

Artist : Akko Goldenbeld

2011-11-03T12:30:00.000-07:00

I'll let the video do most of the explaining. The title is "Sound of the City" and involves a city map and a piano.

Akko is graduating this year from Design Academy Endoven in The Netherlands. Well done! I'm looking forward to seeing more. I can imagine how different cities can 'sound' from each other. You can learn a little bit about his project here.

Artist : El Anatsui

2011-11-01T11:02:00.000-07:00

I wish I could remember how I came across El Anatsui's work last week to thank whoever shared it in blogland. I've been chomping at the bit to share his work with you this week.

Gli (Wall), 2010
Photo: Nash Baker © nashbaker.com

El Anatsui, from Ghana, now resides in Nigeria. The story behind these 'cloths' is incredible. Ten years ago, he discovered a bag full of thousands of aluminum screw-tops from bottles of whiskey, rum and gin thrown away by a local distillery.

Gli (Wall) (detail), 2010
Photo: Nash Baker © nashbaker.com

The bag sat in his studio for a few months while he continued his work as a wood sculptor until one day he started experimenting with the tops, bending and twisting them. They slowly evolved into a giant 'fabric' that resembled kente cloth, a fabric from Ghana, his native country.

Gli (Wall), 2010
Photo: Nash Baker © nashbaker.com

The material used is loaded with meaning from mass consumerism, re-use and questions why there are so many of these used screw-tops in the first place.

Gli (Wall), 2010
Photo: Nash Baker © nashbaker.com

To create something so beautiful and powerful out of something so mundane and ordinary is no small feat. Here he speaks in his own words about the pieces and you have the chance to see the work as it moves, amazing.

El Anatsui certainly has a gift. His work is in a traveling inagural exhibition with the Museum of African Art in New York City. Until the museum opens in 2012, this exhibit is on tour throughout the US. It recently opened at the University of Texas at Austin and will travel to North Carolina, Denver and Michigan before settling at the MAA. Read more info about the exhibition here.

work table : open

2011-10-28T11:57:00.000-07:00

It's back to work in the studio this week. I've noticed around this time of year after reflecting on my work during open studios that I start looking for new ideas. I do this by remaining open to whatever I see and hear around me. In the midst of sewing the batting for a headboard for our bed I thought I'd throw on some of my foreclosure clippings that were sitting nearby.

The other day I asked my daughter to bring me something to read. I have a pile of unread books piled up by my bed and she brought me one that I started but put aside for some reason. Begin Again: A Biography of John Cage. This book certainly opens one's eyes to new ways of inspiration. Here's one of Cage's pieces for prepared piano.

I've had several ideas for a new series to work on concurrently with my foreclosure series. Bigger, more aggresive pieces and perhaps larger in scope. I'm not sure yet which one I'll go with but I spent some time playing around with ideas, making tools to experiment with the ideas. You have to start somewhere and I guess those nails Cage used in his experiments got me thinking about making a new loom.

And then after making my daughter's halloween costume (a shiny knit full body leotard I might add), I noticed the way the cut pattern pieces piled up with XL and L.

And that got me thinking about paper and mapping, which lead me to pull this book off the shelf.

I've heard others out in blogland saying they're inspired too these days for various reasons. You too?

Artist : Gabriel Russo

2011-10-24T11:48:00.000-07:00

Last week you might have seen my article on Boro over at Handful of Salt. Well, there was one video that just didn't want to cooperate with the website. So, I'll share it with you here. This is bay area clothing designer, Gabriel Russo, and his work is also boro inspired.

He certainly looks like someone fun to work with. Notice the obligatory boro remnant hanging on his wall. It's a beautiful piece, and elements of it are reflected in his work. Oftentimes, as seen below, he repurposes the old boros and kimonos for his clothing. Normally, I would cringe at that comment but the way he reutilizes them ties into their very purpose, to be mended and reused.

Jacket by Gabriel Russo

He also is an avid indigo dyer as he writes on his blog. The ghost pocket was created by removing the pocket after an indigo dye dip . I just finished a five week green indigo dyeing class with Barbara Shapiro so I was immediately smitten.

Jacket detail by Gabriel Russo

More amazing pockets and remnant boro details.

Jacket detail by Gabriel Russo

With some creative stitching, not enough to overwhelm a jacket. I wonder if he makes clothing for women?

Jacket detail by Gabriel Russo

Check out Gabriel's blog where he also shares some great stories about his life in the rag trade in Brooklyn. There is a great, in-depth review here. Gabriel is also a member of the World Shibori Network which features some of his wares.

Studio views

2011-10-21T07:00:00.000-07:00

I'm going to apologize in advance for what I'm about to share with you. I think I know you pretty well by now. Just be warned you're about to spend a long time at the computer thanks to this review. In the Make offers amazing sneak peeks into artists studios and with incredible interviews to read while you gawk.

Linda Geary. Photo by Klea McKenna

Currently San Francisco bay area focused, the site was created by photographer Klea McKenna and writer Nikki Grattan. I love that I can learn about artists that are so close by. The in-depth interviews by Gratton hone in on an artist's daily practice and are insightful and observant.

Ido Yoshimoto. Photo by Klea McKenna

McKenna is the one behind all those wonderful photographs on the site. Close-ups and overalls give you a good sense of the studio space and capture how each artist works.

Jill Sylvia. Photo by Klea McKenna

As you can see from above, some studios are neat as a pin while others are barely held together. And seeing the artwork that goes with the studio space is rather enlightening.

Imen Yeh. Photo by Klea McKenna

And there's always at least one photo in each interview that captures the artist's personality. I love the one above. Haven't we all not taken on this posture at some point? There are links to the artist's websites as well after each interview if you want to keep surfing forever. In the Make. Don't say I didn't warn you!

San Francisco Open Studios

2011-10-18T10:09:00.000-07:00

Thanks to everyone who stopped by for open studios this past weekend. Ruth Freeman and I shared a space with product designer EJ Tanu. Ruth has some great pictures of the weekend on her blog. The building was tagged over the weekend adding to the creative vibe going on inside. Here's EJ posing with the zombie and his awesome signage for the opening.

EJ Tanu by Ruth Freeman

It was wonderful to meet some of you in person as well as hang out with two other talented artists and 'talk shop' for two days. Much of the talk around my work was very political, of course. And just down the street, the Wall Street protests were happening at the same time.

Modesto Foreclosure Quilt, 2011.

It was incredible to watch peoples reaction to my work once they read the titles. Everyone was excited to share their own views on the issues at large. I had some great, charged conversations. Several people stayed for over an hour talking about politics with us. And the feedback was so helpful. Thank you for your support.

Handful of Salt

2011-10-13T21:41:00.000-07:00

Be sure to check out the Handful of Salt site for my latest article, Inspired : Boro.

Asa Boro from Sri Threads

I've been following the website since the beginning and am thrilled to be a part of the Handful of Salt team. It's the only in depth website in the United States I've discovered that recognizes contemporary craft in the US and abroad. I'll warn you, you can easily lose hours digging through all the amazing in-depth interviews. Have fun!

San Francisco Open Studio this weekend

2011-10-12T12:13:00.000-07:00

I'll have my 'temporary' studio open this weekend in San Francisco for those of you who are near! I'm setting up shop in my friend and fellow artist, Ruth Freeman's space at Clara Street Studios in SOMA. The address is 185 Clara Street at 5th. Studio 102B.

Here is a little glimpse of Ruth's amazing paintings.

I'll have four of my foreclosure pieces on display. Here are almost all of them in a little collage to refresh your memory.

I will also have all of my Idiom series which I completed last year. Remember these?

It should be a fun weekend. I hope to have another piece started so you can see me at work. That's the hope at least. We will certainly have some nice wine and food to go around and would love to hang out with you.

Artist : Josh Faught

2011-10-03T21:16:00.000-07:00

I keep coming back to the work of Josh Faught for inspiration. His work simply astounds me. It's complicated, messy, honest, real and pure emotion.

Triage, 2009 Josh Faught. hemp, nail polish, spray paint, indigo,
logwood, toilet paper, greeting cards, pins, books, plaster, yarn,
handmade wooden sign, denim and gloves. 80" x 120"

I was first drawn to his techniques he uses in his work. They all look so labor intensive: indigo dyeing, crocheting, knitting, assembling among other techniques. And the materials, just look at what goes into his pieces. They make a statement in themselves.

How to Beat the High Cost of Living, 2009. Josh Faught. Handwoven cotton,
nail polish, toilet paper, silk flowers, indigo, sequins, and ink. 92" x 72".

But then I paused to read the reviews about his work and it all came together even more.

Untitled, Josh Faught.

And talk about politics, he's got it in spades. He's not afraid to make a statement, reveal his fears and his anxieties as well as his confidence. His work takes risks. We need more of this!

Untitled, 2008. Josh Faught. Hemp, sequins, pin, garden trellis.

You Can't Live Scared, detail, 2007. Josh Faught. Crocheted hemp, pin, plaster,
spray paint, and super 8 film.

See more of his work at Lisa Cooley Gallery as well as read some incredible reviews on his work.

Foreclosure Quilt : Atlanta

2011-09-28T20:36:00.000-07:00

There's nothing like a deadline to make one motivated! I finished the Atlanta Foreclosure quilt just in time to hang it at the SOMArts Gallery on Monday for San Francisco Open Studios. I left all of my red thread at home over the weekend, brilliant! So there was a lot of last minute sewing to be done once I returned.

Atlanta Foreclosure Quilt, 2011. 19 1/2" x 19 1/2"
Recycled denim, bleached linen, cheesecloth, yarn and embroidery thread.

This is my smallest piece as the size was limited by the gallery. All of the materials are remnants from my studio. The backing on this piece is my remaining hemp napkin from my Inhabit Project with Vanessa Filley. Quilting with denim and thick hemp is not easy. My fingers were certainly sore, especially after working quickly at the last minute!

Atlanta Foreclosure Quilt detail

The color variations are a pattern that relates to how many foreclosed lots are located within a block. The more foreclosures, the darker the color. Given that I was limited with reusing my materials, it almost works out perfectly. You can see process photos here.

Atlanta Foreclosure Quilt detail

You can see this piece in person at SOMArts Gallery at 934 Brannon Street in San Francisco from September 30th to October 29th. Regarding Open Studios, I will be showing at Clara Street Studios in San Francisco's SOMA district with my friend, artist Ruth Freeman on October 15th and 16th from 11 to 6 pm. I used to work with Ruth over a decade ago in the architecture world. The address is 185 Clara Street at 5th Street, Studio 102B. I will have three of my Foreclosure pieces on display as well as all of my Idiom Series from last year. I hope to see some of you there!

Weekends

2011-09-23T14:24:00.000-07:00

I haven't been posting as regularly as I like but there's a good reason. Remember this photo I posted over a month ago of a house we toured in Sonoma?

Well, it's now a picture of our yard! Yes, we had been thinking about finding a weekend home in Sonoma and this was the first house we toured but it was way over our budget so we walked away, a little sadly I might add. Well, it turns out by a few flukes, it practically fell into our laps. So it pays to dream a little sometimes!

This is the reason why I haven't been posting as much. Lots and lots of work to be done. It's all good, harvesting time and repainting rooms. It looks as if my new side art will be farming on a 1/3 acre scale. For when I'm able to finally work on art again on the weekends there's a separate artist's studio as well.

Well, actually I will be working on art this weekend. I have to finish the Atlanta Foreclosure Quilt by this Monday. I'll have pictures to share next week when it's done! I hope everyone has a wonderful and hopefully more restful weekend than us!

Upcoming shows

2011-09-19T09:50:00.000-07:00

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

2011-09-14T20:14:00.000-07:00

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

2011-09-11T17:13:00.000-07:00

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

2011-09-06T17:30:00.000-07:00

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

2011-09-03T20:41:00.000-07:00

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.

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

2011-08-31T21:13:00.000-07:00

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

2011-08-26T08:39:00.000-07:00

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

2011-08-19T15:07:00.000-07:00

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

2011-08-16T13:06:00.000-07:00

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

2011-08-10T20:29:00.000-07:00

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 ...

Summer in Mill Valley

2011-08-07T21:54:00.000-07:00

Summer is in full force here in San Francisco which means lots and lots of fog every day. We couldn't take it anymore today so we jumped in the car and headed up north to Mill Valley for some sun. Sure enough, as soon as we crossed the Golden Gate Bridge we spotted blue skies. Mill Valley is a charming little town, nestled among the redwoods and Mount Tamalpais. It's only fifteen minutes from San Francisco but feels a world away and felt twenty degrees warmer too.

We started at Old Mill park where Zoe ran up and down the creek and tried to skip rocks. There was a french family there with a little girl named Zoe and it was funny to watch them cross paths.

We took a break at Noci, a slow food gelato shop which has amazing locally made ingredients. I had a Strauss Dairy sweet cream gelato with ghiradelli chocolate.

Image courtesy of 365 things to do - Marin

Now that Zoe was stuffed and happy we managed a walk through the neighborhood, something we used to do all the time before she was born. I miss those walks as you always seem to discover something new. Today, we found a staircase path we'd never taken before.

It was lined with homes and at least two of them had chicken coops. We spotted this little wanderer on the staircase.

And then Zoe found two blue eggs hiding inside a zen water fountain nearby. I suppose someone found them and laid them in the fountain to keep them cool.

A little girl came up the stairs calling "Zoe!". It was her dog. Another Zoe discovered; strange day indeed. We walked further up the hill and discovered another staircase alongside this amazing building.

After touring an incredible $2.8 million dollar house for the fun of it (gawd!), we had a great dinner at Tsukiji Sushi situated in an old house off the plaza. I didn't realize the head chef hails from the locally famous Sushi Ran restaurant. It was an awesome meal. Zoe dug into their house-cured Ikura.

Image courtesy of foodnut.com.

On the way back to the car, I missed going into Maison Reve yet again! I have passed this shop many times and have yet to make it when it's open. I'm itching to go back so I can wander those shelves full of linen. Check out their website here.

For more amazing photos of Mill Valley inside the shops, click here.

Marimekko

2011-08-04T17:24:00.000-07:00

I couldn't resist a post about Marimekko today. I just returned from their new store inside of Crate & Barrel here in San Francisco. Zoe complained about being dragged through the store until we turned the corner and saw this.

Image courtesy of Dwell.

She was speechless by all the colors as was I. She kicked off her shoes and made herself at home on one of the beds so I had a few moments to shop in peace. I eye-shopped today but I would love this teapot. I'm just waiting for my current one to break first.

Rasymatto teapot.

You could always buy Marimekko here in the states but only a few pieces here and there. This year, they've opened up several areas inside of Crate & Barrel stores as well as a concept store in New York. You can find all of their products at the concept store including their clothing.

Aavikko Leggings.

Here's a little video about the company.

It was nice to finally feel the fabrics in my hand and see just how large the patterns really are.

The concept store is currently having a large sale with discounts on all their fabric as well, uh oh! Be sure to check out their website as well. Lots of eye candy there too.

UPDATE! I just learned that Marimekko will be increasing the prices of their fabric in January 2012 due to the rising cost of cotton and the worldwide cotton shortage. Just one example is regular cotton will go from $39.00 per yard to $48.00 per yard. A pretty high increase. Yikes!

Artist : Denim quilts by Julie Floersch

2011-07-30T13:43:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Sophie for reminding about the new Denim exhibition at Mr. Kitly in Brunswick, Australia, featuring the work of Renilde de Peuter and several other talented artists. It was here that I discovered Julie Floersch's denim quilts. I had to know more!

Denim Quilt by Julie Floersch

She had been interested in making quilts but thought she would pick it up when she was older but couldn't get the thought out of her head. This was her first quilt she made. That girl can sure make a complicated plan!

first quilt by Julie Floersch

I think I like the back just as much as the front.

Here's an article about her quiltmaking and her tumbler site. She now makes quilt accessories like earings, necklaces and purses under the company name of KWILTI.

Purse by Julie Floersch

I hope we see more of her quilts in the future. She's truly gifted.

Pinterest!

2011-07-27T07:54:00.000-07:00

I'm sure many of you by now are on Pinterest. If not, you need to be. It's become such a great way to organize my favorite images on the internet. What I like even more is that it links the image back to the original site to give credit where credit is due (something that's been in the news lately online).

I've created an art as craft board on Pinterest where I post works by artists I've featured on my blog as well as other articraft artists I've discovered. Here are some of my favorites.

African American Quilt. Strip quilting, flying geese improvisation
Cotton. Red, white, blue, salmon and beige
1st half of the 20th cent, St. Louis MO
80” x 72”

Madder dyed from clarabellacraft.blogspot.com

Dyed tea bag weaving, 2011. Sophie Truong.

Sashiko stitched boro from Sri Threads.

Check out all of my boards here. It will give you a peek into my interior design/architecture addiction as well. Hopefully you can see these if you're not on pinterest yet. If not, pop me an email at kathryn at kathrynclark dot com and I'll send you an invite.

Artist : Robert Irwin

2011-07-24T07:11:00.000-07:00

What is Art? This is a question Robert Irwin raises and is one of the few artists to answer it well. It's as simple as how we perceive the world.

I first learned of Irwin twenty odd years ago when I picked up Lawrence Weschler's book about him "Seeing is Forgetting the Name of the Thing One Sees." The title caught me at an art museum bookstore. Five minutes into reading it, I was hooked. I had no idea what Irwin's work looked like but I admired this artist instantly. I've read the book over ten times and return to it whenever I have doubts about what I do. And now I've found this great interview with Irwin. It's long but well worth it. Grab yourself a cup of tea or coffee and enjoy!

Robert'>http://vodpod.com/watch/2253816-robert-irwin-primaries-and-secondaries">Robert irwin -- Primaries and Secondaries

You can find a newly released edition of Weschler's book here. See more of Irwin's work here.

A different kind of articraft ... the farms

2011-07-18T10:37:00.000-07:00

It's getting to us, this life in the country. If only our responsiblities weren't calling us back to the city, I think we'd be up here a lot more. But we're certainly hooked now. We've decided to call this our second home and started the search for a little slice here.

We're not sure what we'll end up with, our minds are open to the possibilities. We spent the last two days on farms, we even ate dinner outside at my favorite, Soul Food Farm.

For over a year, I've been treking across town once a month to pick up my chicken and eggs from their CSA. It has been oh so worth it. The most beautiful orange yolks. Even Alice Waters buys her eggs from them and encouraged them to start raising meat birds.

Their story sounds enticing, buying the property out of love and just hoping to grow olives or lavender. And look what happened to them.

Yesterday we visited another of my favorite spots, Oak Hill Farm in Glen Ellen to buy vegetables for dinner.

I read this book last year that wet my appetite for more. It did not disappoint. The staff inside the barn even wrapped up a little bouquet for Zoe and said they had to do it, they were so charmed by her swirling and dancing.

To top off a perfect weekend, we biked over to an open house yesterday and fell in love with the garden already set up for growing food.

They even made a canning room they grew so much food in it. On top of that, it had a separate 800 square foot artist's studio adjacent. It wasn't an ideal location though adjacent to a school and a graveyard. I think we'll be patient. This one sure was enticing though. What do you think?

work table : Cleveland Foreclosure Quilt

2011-07-16T10:46:00.000-07:00

Today I have some uninterrupted work time while my husband and daughter go for a long bike ride. Cleveland is calling today.

This morning I was finally able to remove most of the pins on the Cleveland Foreclosure quilt. It feels so gratifying to remove quilt pins as tedious as it is.

I have all of the layers quilted together, I just need to quilt the inner lot lines that run through the block.

Then I will start to cut out more of the empty and foreclosed lots like these.

Here's what hopped by me in the vineyard yesterday. This one wasn't more than three feet from us. Jack rabbit, rabbit, hare? Whatever he is, his legs were huge! It was wild to watch them hop under the vines at high speed.

work table : working among the vines ...

2011-07-13T18:17:00.000-07:00

How's this for a work table? This has been a perfect little spot for working in the morning through the afternoon.

I should be drinking wine here but I'm not sure how straight my stitches would be after a few glasses. This is the view from my 'desk'.

I've been hard at work doing other things here too, like some good research that I picked up from the Renegade Craft Fair last weekend.

And you can't go to the wine country without working on this:

Tomorrow we'll start working on our biking and wine tasting. We'll see how much sewing I get done the rest of the week.

work table : patchwork crazy

2011-07-09T06:00:00.000-07:00

I've been stealing bits of creative time all summer since my daughter isn't in school. I'm spending more time out of my studio in my house noticing all the little improvements I can make. Here are some I finished last week.

Of course it takes a little deadline like family coming to stay to get one in gear to actually finish all those projects around the house. I swapped out my oh so dull beige carpet tiles with these funky ones I had been using in my office. Zoe LOVES playing hopscotch down the hall now.

I have loved Henry Road fabrics for quite awhile and found a great use for their little remnant bags you can order online. I ordered one pack for each of my four Heywood Wakefield chairs that were also covered in oh so dull beige. You really get your money's worth with these packs. I have SO much fabric left over.

And now that summer is here, it means VACATION! We're off to Sonoma for two weeks and this is my pile of sewing I plan to take with me for my remote studio. I just have to remember to bring the thread!

Artist : Cy Twombly 1928 - 2011

2011-07-07T06:26:00.000-07:00

“It’s more like I’m having an experience than making a picture.”

Cy Twombly

We lost one of our greatest painters this week. He certainly lived a long life and was incredibly productive throughout.

Hero and Leander (to Christopher Marlowe), Rome 1985, 202 x 254, Cy Twombly.

My first experience of seeing one of his paintings in person was when I wandered into a room full of his chalkboard paintings at the Hirshorn in Washington DC twenty-four years ago. It looked something like this ...

from menil.org

After being blown away by those I followed his paintings for years, always instantly recognizable, always beautiful in their urgent, intense way. Look what he does to some paper and scotch tape. Stunning.

Untitled, 1974. Wax paper, pencil, scotch tape, collage 75 x 106cm. Cy Twombly.

And guess what? He attended Black Mountain College too. What is it about that school?! Today I spent some time delving into his sculptures. I had seen very few of these and had no idea he had created so many.

Untitled, New York 1953. wood, wire, twine, nails, housepaint and wax on cloth, 15 9 7/8" x 4" Collection of Robert Rauschenberg.

His gesture translates effortlessly between materials. His fingerprints show through it all.

Orpheus (Du Unendliche Spur) 1979. Wood, nails, paint, graphite. 266 x 244 x 22.2 cm. Collection of the artist by Cy Twombly.

Read his obituary in the New York Times. And visit his website here.

Artist : Anni Albers

2011-07-02T07:00:00.000-07:00

I decided this week to create a separate featured articraft artist page on this blog with links to the artists' sites. As I was compiling the list, I realized I had left out one of the biggest influences in my own work, master weaver Anni Albers.

Anni Albers with a student, Black Mountain College, ca. 1937
Photo Josef Breitenbach, Black Mountain College
©2003 The Josef Breitenbach Trust, New York

Anni Albers revolutionized the concept of textiles as art to be hung on the wall. And her eye, it was simply incredible. Her designs seem so simple on the surface, yet your eyes are drawn in and suddenly realize the amazing complexity of construction. So well thought out, so studied. This was her first piece when she found her voice in the weaving workshop at the Bauhaus.

She would soon marry Josef Albers and begin a lifelong artistic relationship that propelled their work further ahead than either could have ever dreamed.

Anni Albers, Wall Hanging, 1925
Wool and silk.
235.9 x 96.04 cm (92.875 x 37.812 inches)
Die Neue Sammlung Staatliches Museum für angewandte Kunst, Munich
©2008 The Josef and Anni Albers Foundation / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

When the Bauhaus was closed in 1933, they moved to the United States to teach at the newly formed Black Mountain College in North Carolina. Both Josef and Anni inspired some of the greatest artists here in the US because of this move. I have often found that the contemporary artists I most admire today were taught by the Alberses or were taught by their students. They clearly made a huge impact in the art world here. The next book I read will likely be about Black Mountain College.

In 1970, Anni Albers transitioned from weaving to printmaking. When you look at some of the work she produced, it seems like an effortless transition that probably freed her to experiment with new ideas. I love this piece. It's even for sale ... I so wish I could afford it.

Anni Albers, Orange Meander, 1970. Image 16 1/2 x 16 1/2 inches
Reference: Danilowitz 21 ("The Prints of Anni Albers")

To learn more about Anni Albers and her work, visit the Josef & Anni Albers Foundation. To see more of her prints, check out her book The prints of Anni Albers here.

I couldn't resist ... this african mud cloth

2011-06-28T19:50:00.000-07:00

zinThe other day I saw this lovely textile hanging on the wall in Zinc Details, one of the best curated design stores in San Francisco. I couldn't help but buy it, it was calling to me. Honestly, lying it on the ground was the only way to take a picture of it as it's 93" long.

From a little research, I've gleaned that it's an African mud cloth or Bogolanfini traditionally from Mali. It is used for important life transitions such as birth, marriage and death.

Bogolanfini is traditionally made of hand loomed cotton and pieced together in strips. The panel is then soaked in a solution that helps the fabric absorb the dye. The dye is made of iron rich mud, sometimes aged for a year to create intensely rich browns and blacks. The mud is applied using sticks and palm fiber brushes among other tools. The unique patterns hold hidden meanings and the designs are often passed down through generations.

I have no idea where I'm going to hang it but it definitely deserves a bold spot on the wall. To learn more about the history of the cloth, click here. If you want to try to make you own virtually and in real life, click here for an interesting tutorial. And if you're local, Zinc Details is consolidating their stores and having an awesome sale that runs through Thursday, be sure to check it out. Hint, they have more textiles on the wall ...

work table : Cleveland Foreclosure Quilt

2011-06-25T07:00:00.000-07:00

I'm making steady progress on the Cleveland Foreclosure quilt since my daughter has been in art camp this week. I was able to piece the front and make the quilt sandwich yesterday. Having this part of the quilting process done makes it easy to pick up the work for a few moments to sew wherever as I'm going to be snatching time when I can starting now through July. Wherever I go, I use this map to keep me on the right track.

I create one of these for every piece so I know exactly what to sew and what to cut away. Trace paper is one of the greatest inventions. My dad always called it bumwad (he is an architect so he's entitled to some wierd habits). I wonder if the next generation of architects will even know what trace paper is? Here is the first small area I've started to quilt and cut.

I wanted the backing to play a more prominant role in this piece. I like the idea of dark navy and black holes to expose just how dire the situation is in Cleveland.

I randomly pieced the back panel on purpose because what is exposed is such a mess. There is no order or pattern to how these neighborhoods are falling apart.

The blocks are sewn with gold thread in reference to how much money the banks, flippers and thieves are making off these foreclosures. Did you know that before the homes were razed, the copper plumbing is often ripped out and sent to China and India?

What isn't shown yet is how the city is patching over some of these empty lots with community gardens, scattered all over the city. This quilt will show four gardens within a twenty-two block area.

Artist : Louise Bourgeois and her Ode a l'oubli

2011-06-22T07:00:00.000-07:00

I have been a devoted fan of Louise Bourgeois' work for several years. When she died last year, I was in the middle of reading a chapter about her in one of my books, very strange indeed. I had no idea, however, that she had made a book called Ode a L'oubli until I saw pictures of it at my friend, Sophie Truong's blog Stitch &Tickle. Ever since, it's on my radar to go and look at images online about every month for inspiration.

I'm even more entranced now after I learned a bit of history about the book and 'flipped' through the pages virtually.

I love how you can see her sewing on the back of the pages creating a highly charged relationship between the images on the adjacent pages. Fascinating.

But what really had me hooked was the labor and love that went into reproducing a series of these books. Lithographers turned crafters over the course of a year. I can only imagine how much they learned during this project. I want that job!

Tony Cenicola/The New York Times

Judith Solodkin, proprietor of the lithography studio Solo Impression, took on this project with a passion one rarely sees. Read the full article about the process of recreating the book here. And to see all of the pages, visit Peter Blum Gallery featuring the book in it's entirety.

The Inhabit Project : #5 "Floor" and "above/below & inside/out"

2011-06-18T21:43:00.000-07:00

Vanessa Filley of Moira & Obbie and I have been busy lately with new Inhabit Project pieces. We took a month off to catch up on life and other work but we finally have #5 to share.

The Inhabit Project #5. Left: Floor by Kathryn Clark. Right: above/below & inside out by Vanessa Filley

My piece entitled Floor, on the left, is pretty obvious. The background is the layout of my floorboards in my studio made using two contrasting napkins cut and overlayed.

The Inhabit Project #5. Floor by Kathryn Clark, 2011.

The navy strips on top are literally what I pulled off the floor after piecing together the back of my latest Cleveland Foreclosure Quilt.

And Vanessa's piece, a great study in the art of pleating:

The Inhabit Project #5. above/below & inside out by Vanessa Filley.

Vanessa's words about her piece "above/below & inside/out":

i look out at the world, an infinite horizon of information and possibility abounds. i seek to absorb what i can, distill the little bits flying through the stratosphere, tuck them away in my brain for a rainy day's application. here on the ground, at home, i make things in fits and spurts, struggle to find time to complete things, put them in order. this piece for me reflects that horizon and that which i wish to absorb, below is my mythically organized imaginings and creations reflecting what i have gathered.

And a lovely detail of Vanessa's piece shows her amazing attention to detail that always ties in beautifully with the well balanced overall design.

See all of Vanessa's previous Inhabit Project pieces here and mine here. To see all of our pieces together, read through our past blog postings about the project here.

Wrapping Traditions opening night pictures

2011-06-16T22:41:00.000-07:00

I couldn't wait to share these amazing photos I took of the Wrapping Traditions opening at MOCFA in San Francisco. I was blown away by the beauty of the textiles.

It was such an experience seeing so many stunningly well made bojagi at once. I will need to go back to get a closer look at a lot of these. Many were handstitched with such tiny stitches you would need a magnifying glass to see them.

Korean Bojagi Story, 2010. Young-Ja Kim, Korea. Wool, handmade felt, 77 x 37 in.

I took a lot of photos for those of you on the east coast who can't make the show.

This was one of our favorites, perhaps the color or the design that drew us in. It had the most amazingly detailed stitching.

Blueprint, 2010. Jiseon Lee Isbara, USA
Hand stitched, dyed and inkjet printed, silk satin organza, 34.5 x 25 in.

I went with Zoe, my dear friend Neile and her daughter. The girls really seemed to enjoy the pieces. We even overheard them having a conversation about sewing at one point. Zoe enjoyed flying past the pieces to make them flutter.

Zoe standing between Jinja Kim Woollard's Bojagi Village and Karin Kunori's Discussion of Home.

Click here to see more photos of the show. And if you're interested in learning about Bojagi techniques, there's no better tutorial than the Silly Boodilly's here.

Wrapping Traditions : Korean Textiles Now at The Museum of Craft and Folk Art in San Francisco

2011-06-15T20:24:00.000-07:00

Wrapping Traditions : Korean Textiles Now opens tomorrow at MOCFA in my very own city! I can't tell you how excited I am to be able to attend the opening of this show. As you know, I have fallen head over heels with Korean Bojagi in the past year. Bojagi is a traditional Korean handmade cloth used in formal ceremonies and for daily activities as seen here by local San Francisco fiber artist Barbara Shapiro's beautiful handmade baskets and wrappings. I've shared a few emails with Barbara over the past few weeks and am excited to finally see her work in person.

Wrapping Memory Installation, 2010 by Barbara Shapiro.

Plaited indigo dyed cane baskets, indigo dyed gauze. 5 to 7 forms, wrapped and unwrapped.

This show, curated by none other than the bojagi master, Chunghie Lee, features some traditional versions of the cloth as well as contemporary takes on the subject.

Harmony by Eun-Ji Lee. Silk, natural dyeing, 25.6in x 21.7in

There are many contemporary Korean artists as well as artists from ten other countries that are inspired by this traditional folk art. It looks as if these pieces have taken this medium in a wonderful new direction. I can't wait to see Sung Soon Lee's piece below in person. It will remind me to have a little bit more patience in my sewing practice!

Seon, 2010-11 by Sung Soon Lee.

Printing and drawing on Ramie, patchwork, 216.5in x 22in

I can't wait to see how this piece was assembled, simply stunning.

Matrix 0909 by Yeon-Soon Chang.

Abaca fiber, indigo dye, machine sewn, 13.4in x 13.2in x 5.3in

The opening is Thursday, June 16th from 6-8 pm at The Museum of Craft and Folk Art in San Francisco. The show runs from June 17th through October 23rd. If you're in town, perhaps I'll see you there.

work table : summer in the studio

2011-06-11T09:50:00.000-07:00

These are my last days of thirty hour weeks in the studio as my daughter is now out of school for the summer. I managed to pack in a lot of work last week though, making good progress on the Cleveland foreclosure quilt.

All of my voile block pieces are cut, washed, frayed and ready to be assembled for the front piece. I have fallen in love with this fabric and love the faded greige. Isn't that a great name for a color?

And I even managed to piece together the back panel for the quilt. I think I'm loving the back right now more than the front. I think more of these remnants might be showing up in a future quilt, but in front. Who knows?

To the left of the panel, you get a little sneak peek of the latest Inhabit Project piece I'm making along with Vanessa of moira & obbie. I'm hoping to finish it this weekend. And to the right, a little quilt I'm making to enter here. Needless to say, lots of work happening.

I taught Zoe how to sew yesterday and she's really enjoying it. I might be able to get more work done than I thought with her in the studio this summer. Let's hope!

work table : Cleveland Foreclosure Quilt

2011-06-07T13:17:00.000-07:00

As you might have seen in a recent post, I started working on a new foreclosure quilt for Cleveland last week. I've learned so much recently about the bigger picture of foreclosures happening in the US. First off, this is really about the mortgage crisis that results in foreclosures. Cleveland is referred to as 'ground zero' of the crisis. This might end up looking like a very different piece than my others because of the layers of destruction that have happened here.

Cuyahoga County is doing an incredible job trying to save the town of Cleveland. The foreclosures started back in 1999 or even sooner as factories closed and jobs were lost. The County has been trying to deal with the empty homes and continuing foreclosures by enacting new laws to protect homeowners and surrounding residents. It seems those pesky major banks find ways around the new laws. And they're still at it! If you want to listen to a good interview about it, click here for an interview by Terry Gross with Fred Shulte of the Center for Public Integrity.

As in Detroit, there have been a lot of demolished homes but what the County has done with some of them is an uplifting and hopeful story. There are now over 200 community gardens in Cleveland. For a population of 244,000, that's quite impressive. I'm trying to figure out a way to share this in my next quilt.

This will be one of my largest quilts to date, almost five feet high. I'm still working on how it will come together.

Cleveland Foreclosure Quilt test study

That underlying print fabric is called Forest Hill which is what led me to the Forest Hill neighborhood in Cleveland. It seems the quilt is almost making itself. I love it when fate seems to intervene, you just have to follow.

HAND/EYE article on my Foreclosure series

2011-06-05T11:15:00.000-07:00

I had a nice little surprise last month when HAND/EYE Magazine contacted me and asked me to write about my Foreclosure Series.

I discovered the magazine last year and have been hooked ever since so it was quite a treat to be asked to have my work included. It's the go to resource for learning about techniques and history in traditional and innovative craft. Read the article here.

Artist : Paul Klee

2011-06-01T14:21:00.000-07:00

As some of you may know from reading my Twitter feed, I have been obsessed lately with Paul Klee and his work at the Bauhaus. I'm reading an excellent book about the lives of some of the most prominant teachers there. I knew of Klee's paintings but I had no idea about the puppets he made for his son, Felix. And better yet, there's a book edited by Zentrum Paul Klee in Berlin!

Felix was a student at the Bauhaus while Klee taught there. He was more interested in theater so they decided to make puppets and put on shows featuring the faculty and students in sometimes revealing and always entertaining plays about them.

I've been trying to think of what to do with my daughter over the summer when she is out of school and I think I have my answer! On top of that, her 1st grade teacher for next year told us she would love to have the 1st graders put on a puppet show with the 6th graders. Would this not be the perfect project for them?

Look at how forward of a thinker he was back in the 1920's. The looseness and creativity just oozes out of these creations. I think I love the clothing the most of course.

The book has documented these in great detail. I plan on spending hours pouring over these.

Half of the puppets were destroyed during the bombing of Dresden in WWII but the ones that remain are simply stunning! If you want to buy the book, visit here. And if you want some more instant gratification, check out this set of flikr photos by Old Chum.

Foreclosure Quilt : Modesto, CA

2011-05-28T21:50:00.000-07:00

I finished another Foreclosure quilt this week of a neighborhood in Modesto, CA.

Modesto Foreclosure Quilt, 2011. Cotton and cotton voile with kantha stitching. 12" x 36"

I felt the need to do a lot of kantha stitching on this piece and wasn't sure why at first. Something about this stitching reminds me of plantings in farm fields. There are a lot of farms surrounding Modesto and I suspect this neighborhood was once farmland. So perhaps it's fitting to show it this way.

Modesto Foreclosure Quilt block detail, 2011.

The city has one of the highest foreclosure rates in California. There is even an entire neighborhood that was under construction that was just abandoned mid construction. The remaining residents feel helpless with half-built houses sitting across the street.

Modesto Foreclosure Quilt lot detail, 2011.

It's hard to think that these cities will somehow survive and hopefully rebuild. My next piece though, based on a neighborhood in Cleveland, will show that it can be done if the neighbors and city work together.

Artist : Elana Herzog

2011-05-25T13:28:00.000-07:00

Elana Herzog has been stapling textiles to walls for ten years. A strange combination unless you imagine the staples becoming a stitch attaching textile to the wall. What makes her work so endearing is what she does after she's applied thousands of staples to a blanket (I'm guessing she has a strong arm by now). She removes most of the blanket, leaving behind a ghost imprint of the orginal textile and pattern.

Untitled 2, 2001. Cotton chenille bedspread, metal staples, drywall, plywood
91.5 x 84 inches Elana Herzog

Untitled 2 detail, 2001. Cotton chenille bedspread, metal staples, drywall, plywood
91.5 x 84 inches Elana Herzog

I also fell in love with her collage work where she presses together textiles and paper pulp to create some wonderful patterns that remind me of, you guessed it, house lots.

Untitled 2010. Handmade cotton paper and textiles, 16 x 13 inches. Elana Herzog

Untitled 2010. Handmade abaca, textile, 11 x 14 inches. Elana Herzog

To see lots more of Elana's work as well as many of her impressive installations, see her website here.

Upcoming Shows : MarinMOCA and ARC Gallery

2011-05-22T19:47:00.000-07:00

I have work in two shows that open later this month. Artfully Reclaimed at MarinMOCA in Novato opens Saturday, May 28th with a reception from 5-7 PM. My Cape Coral Foreclosure Boro will be included in the show alongside my friend Myrna Tatar's amazing artwork among others.

Cape Coral Foreclosure Boro, 2011. Linen, voile, string and embroidery thread.

The show runs from May 28th through July 10th. See the website here for more details and directions.

I also have some earlier work in FLOW: The Essence of Paint at ARC Gallery located at 1246 Folsom Street in San Francisco. The opening for the show will be Saturday, June 4th from 7-10 PM. Sad Eyes from my Repetition series will be in the gallery.

Sad Eyes, 2009. Mixed media on canvas.

There is also an online gallery running concurrently that features two more pieces from my Repetition series. For those of you who can't make it, you can view all of the work now here! The show runs through June 25th.