Tag Archives: freeform crochet

No Longer MIA

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Sorry to be gone so long. I got caught up in fall vending, and then in December I had to go out of state for a month due to a family emergency medical situation. From January to early May, I had one health setback after another and didn’t feel super creative. I even missed participating in this year’s International Freeform Fiberarts Guild challenge. But I’m on the mend and I’m doing better, so I’m happy about that.

I did manage to make a few new pieces for local shows. January’s First Friday show (1/06/17) at Stoneworks Studio and Gallery was the annual Black & White show. Since I was out of state during December without access to my studio or supplies, I decided on making a simple line embroidered portrait of singer and artist Patti Smith, which I framed once I returned home prior to the entry date.

Horses, hand embroidery, 2017. Portrait of Patti Smith.

Horses, hand embroidery, 2017. Portrait of Patti Smith.

I wasn’t able to enter February’s show due to health issues. March’s First Friday show (3/03/17) theme at Stoneworks was Color It Red. Personally, I was seeing red over the current administration’s attitude toward women’s rights and women’s access to healthcare. I created a small studio quilt mounted on a red plastic hanger. The machine quilting along the border represents barbed wire, in keeping with the imagery of No Trespassing and Private Property.

Seeing Red, studio quilt, 2017

Seeing Red, studio quilt, 2017

April’s First Friday show (4/07/17) theme was Time. Due to ongoing health issues, I entered a piece from last year, which I created for the 2016 annual International Freeform Fiberarts Guild challenge. I called it Springtime in California for the show.

California Wildflowers, 2016

California Wildflowers, 2016

March’s First Friday show (5/05/17) at Stoneworks was the annual portrait show, Face It. I still had very little energy for creating anything very involved and time-consuming. I decided to make a quick, off-the-cuff improvisational portrait quilt. I did it very quickly and intuitively, completing the entire top in six hours. I entered it in the show, forgetting that there would be a People’s Choice Award with a cash prize. Even if I would have remembered, I would not have expected my piece to win compared to the other entries.

Abby Normal, studio quilt, 2017

Abby Normal, studio quilt, 2017

When I arrived at the gallery on Friday night, I saw sheets of paper with stickers on them under each work of art. I had just woken up from a nap and was still half asleep, so it didn’t click with me right away that it was the voting method for the People’s Choice Award. Mine had the most stickers, and I was quite shocked to win the award! I was very pleased nonetheless, and my friend Lucy purchased Abby Normal. It was a very good evening.

I’m back to creating new clothing out of old, and I’m working on new work for the June show. The theme is flying. I have a few ideas.

I promise to update more often. Sometimes life gets in the way of our art.

Getting Caught Up

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I came here to post about September art doings, and much to my chagrin, I hadn’t posted since May! I was working as a full-time nanny to my youngest granddaughter until mid-June. I decided to shift my focus to creating wearables for children, so I’ve been working on that while creating art regularly for two local art groups. Let’s get caught up!

No Words (2016)

No Words (2016)

I created No Words, a painted studio quilt, for the July First Friday show at Stoneworks Studios, Word Up! I was influenced by the tragic Pulse nightclub shooting. I then entered it in the Ventura County Arts Council show, Surreal: Depictions of the Barely Believable, which is currently up until October 11, 2016.

No Words in Ventura County Arts Council show, Surreal: Depictions of the Barely Believable

No Words in Ventura County Arts Council show, Surreal: Depictions of the Barely Believable

In July, I entered my freeform crochet shawl California Wildflowers in the Ventura County Arts Council show, 101 Corridor. (The 101 Freeway runs north-south through California.) It won Second Place and a cash award. The show ran July and August, 2016.

California Wildflowers in Ventura County Arts Council show, "101 Corridor"

California Wildflowers in Ventura County Arts Council show, “101 Corridor”

I finished what we fiber artists refer to as “a UFO”, which means “Unfinished Object”. In this case, it was the Medici Coat pattern by “free range knitting” designer Jane Thornley. It had been languishing forlornly in a basket. I like it and it fits, but because I live in southern California I might be able to wear it for a month or two this winter.

Medici coat (2016)

Medici coat (2016)

The theme for the August First Friday Stoneworks show was The Dog Days of Summer. I don’t have a dog. I have three cats. So I thought of my friend Hugh, who lost his beloved dog Polly last year. I asked him if he would like a quilt made in Polly’s likeness, and he said yes, so I took one of his favorite photos of Polly and transformed it into fabric. This was my photo inspiration:

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And this is how I interpreted it:

Polly (2016)

Polly (2016)

The Altered Artwear group on Facebook had a Summer Challenge, so I transformed this dress into a tunic.

vintage-dress-to-tunic

The September theme for the First Friday show at Stoneworks was Change It Up (mixed media, collage, recycle, found object). I created a collage mask, made with torn up magazine paper on a plaster cloth mask with buttons and green coated wire embellishment. I titled it Sleep Study.

Sleep Study (2016)

Sleep Study (2016)

I often get caught up in creating, and forget to post and share regularly. I will work on that. Hope you enjoyed this post!

Her Roots Go Down

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When the “Mother Earth” theme for the 2013 International Free Form Fiberarts Guild Challenge was voted on by the members, I knew that I wanted to come up with something big. A big freeform crochet project. Every year the Yahoo group hosts a virtual challenge, and all 2000+ members are welcome to suggest themes and enter the challenge, which is posted online and books-on-demand are available for order. I would never get any new work done if it wasn’t for show deadlines and challenges. I always create a new freeform garment for each year’s challenge.

So I began to contemplate the idea of Mother Earth. For me, the immediate impression I got was of Mother Earth as a nurturing tree. This is the blurb I wrote to accompany the photo of my piece Her Roots Go Down on the website and in the book:

I have felt a special affinity for trees since I was a child. I picture Mother Earth as a stoic, nurturing tree with strong roots to ground her, and branches to embrace the wind, provide cooling shade, and a safe home for wildlife. My entry this year is my homage to the funky pictorial and organic freeform crochet of the 1970s and to expressions of native folk art. With just a crochet hook, I can create anything my imagination dreams up.

The name was inspired by a Sarah Pirtle song titled “My Roots Go Down”, which I remembered from when my children were small. I found a version of this song on YouTube by The Seedy Seeds, and it’s rather nice. It’s folky and sweet, and you should listen to it.

I entered Her Roots Go Down in the juried Ventura County Arts Council art exhibit, Tactile: Art to Be Touched – Gently. The reception for the exhibit was on Friday evening, June 14, 2013. Awards were given for first, second, and third places, as well as three honorable mentions. I won Third Place, which also included a monetary award.

Here are photos of the piece: one of me modeling it, and the rest are of the display at the art exhibit. (I purchased the armless artsy mannequin from my friends at Green Art People in Ventura, and I spray painted her with hammered silver finish paint.)

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