To Stitch or Not To Stitch ? ... conFUSION

First fruit ever fused ...

... second, of the pair.

 To give my still-life life ...

I added free-motion stitching .

Stitching adds depth, though I the pink "bean" has to go.
* Kept the "pink bean" and added a fab pumpkin to make a triple harvest.

 a pumpkin rounds out the trio

Summer Art Classes 2011

Summer classes sailed smoothly in my cool basement studio. Students fused glass, cut apart plastic bags, sanded wood, used drills and pliers, painted frames, doodled with ink and much more.
"Design a space vs. fill a space" ... "Conceive a theme and sketch a plan"... "Bake the cake before adding icing and sprinkles".   We all love getting into the sweet stuff before it's needed, yet there is a reason --- a sequence, a method to the madness. Lessons on thoughtful creativity abound in this groove den.

 Wish Huts came from blocks of wood retrieved from a barn construction site. Scrap leather was used for roofing and sweet accessory designs.
  The effort to hunt for useful discarded treasures always proves worthy in my mission to introduce repurposing to my students.

Boldly painted chirpy birds and mod vessels were molded from non-sticky cellulose pulp fiber clay.

  Interior timber frames (former shelving planks) were wrapped with collaged and fused plastic bag "fabric".  My crazed free-motion stitching high-lighted student creativity.

Again, my awesome students stepped outside the box to learn how one can make something truly special from nothin' very remarkable.

Reused and Fused: Plastic Bags

...now flying at the dentist's office,
Wallfly #4.

Fused Dragonfly

 Finally finished my first fused Wallfly.  It rested as I ruminated over the process and created Wallfly #2 .  Motivation was jump-started when I decided to have my  Wednesday art students create their own winged creatures.  Both are on exhibit, all summer long, at the Concord Art Association.

Wallfly #11, 15" x 36"  SOLD

detail of fused plastic bags and free motion stitching 

Body parts include a chair spindle, vintage game pieces and utensil handle.
(Added bright blue swirly antennae after this photo was shot.)

Butterflies Are Free

Repurposed from plastic bags and discarded objects, these Wallflies are all about making something from nothing.  Pieced and fused plastic bags make the fabulous winged fabric fly while familiar objects are upcycled in the body frame for a greater lift.

20"x 24"

More to take flight soon!

detail of free motion stitching

Oops, I Got Paint On My Dress

Nana Love
16"x 20"

That's me, the "Lucky Girl", wearing my favorite petticoat and leaning on my Nana's knee.
Every summer my Nana would take me to fabric stores to select patterns, material and notions for school jumpers.  I devoured these expeditions, thoroughly perusing every aisle, bolt after bolt of textiles, taking in all the textures, colors and prints.  This annual excursion went on for years.

We'd also watch old Shirley Temple movies, go to department store fashion shows and practice table manners at restaurants.
I learned to sew snaps on the doll clothes I designed from left-over scraps and discarded hankies. ----And look where it got me today; still prowling  through second-life bins,  creating with whatever strikes my fancy-pants.

The linen, from my hubby's family, holds my free motion stitching rubbed with wax crayon.
Still playing with Crayolas after all these years.

Dear Diary

Found a used diary at a North Carolina flea market ... couldn't resist.  

I also pulled photos from a couple 1930-40's yearbooks.

Secrets abound !  

Student Art Projects

The Wednesday winter session ended with crafting leather adornments.

April vacation workshop ... student's fused plastic wall-hanging 

 A couple of Walldoll's from the winter's Monday class .

Plastic Bag Fusion Demonstration

 Concord Art Association took me on last week to give a demo class regarding my technique  fusing plastic bags.   It was a fabulous success with eager, inquisitive participants. I look forward to being asked back.

A Closer Look

My Country Tis Of Thee,  20"x13", presently on exhibit in the State House offices of Senator Eldridge

I've been told that my style of painting draws the viewer in to take a closer look.  

This is good.  I strive to share an idea ---a story, of sorts.  I believe art should make people feel something, one way or another ... grab your attention ... yank at your heart and mind  ... see possibilities ... provoke wonder ... amuse or calm.  It is my voice communicating through my hands.

 ---tell-tale signs of our checkered past.

 acrylic paint, vintage photos, board game images, maps, flag scrap ... all fuse nicely under the luster of buffed wax.

A Chair for Charity

 Mod again.

From this to that --- what a process!  

I loved the Scandi original but was requested to change it for the cause.  

After sanding and painting the frame, leather scraps were cut into 1" strips to weave, wrap, staple and tack.  Plenty of re-thinking and re-dos.   Comfortable and difficult to say good-bye to,  I will have to find another to smother with modern love.  

Mod Pod goes up for auction April 29, 6-8pm, to benefit Household Goods Recycling of Massachusetts, at Powers Gallery, Acton.

The Process In Progress

  Finally got back to the Pillar Project.   A porch pillar from the old farmhouse next door is getting repurposed; it stood in my basement collecting sawdust for awhile.  Eventually it was chopped into thirds, rough sanded and transferred upstairs.  Ideas percolated and visions were sketched; yet other projects moved forward.  From the dismantled Victorian house  hidden in the woods, another pillar was picked and it too, awaits its own metamorphosis.

 In Her Shoes, has an circus-like weather vane apparatus stemming from its top.
History, souls, ghosts, stories ---flying at me from all directions --- I love this assemblage biz.  Designing, searching, gathering, rearranging, popping storylines --- finding objects that satisfy;  it's a gradual transformation process.

 Day after day I uncover this camoflaged cut, turn it, muse over the juxtaposition of color, texture and text.  Too busy--- not enough--- is it cohesive?

I remind myself to STEP BACK and STEP OUT.
It is almost there.  We both are in progress.

Snowgnomes: Stuffed with Personality

                          Students came out of the February cold

     and into the warmth of my cozy studio workshop for a session of Snowgnome-building.  Repurposing is key to creating these mischievous winter folk.  Experienced sweaters, hardware, containers, buttons, game-pieces & more were given new use as the Snowgnomes came to life.  Glue-guns, hand tools, needles and floss were the surgical implements of choice.  Shared laughter and delight rippled through-out the creative process.  Ideas were forming of what else one might use to design more creatures at home.  No kit, just creative wit.  Let the trickle-down effect begin.      

 

                                   

                          

Walldolls To Go On Goodnow Library Walls---month of April

Monday's on-going class is constructing Walldolls ---imagined robots, nightmares or creatures.  Students are challenged to look at discarded common objects in a new light. They sort, design, cut, drill, wire and glue.   Decisions are made based on color, shape, size, texture, balance and symbolism.  Learning to use tools is an empowering part of the process.  Creativity and problem-solving are evident in this deconstruct / reconstruct atmosphere.
 We are having so much FUN!
 The  month-long exhibit will be in the Young Adult Room at the Goodnow Library.  No Kit, Just creative Wit,  will feature Walldolls and fused plastic collages, all created by students here in my studio.

Sunday's One-Day Workshop had students fusing plastic bags to make bold, colorful fabric.  Essentially, the students collaged and I applied my free-motion stitching on their surface designs .  A completed shoulder pouch, cell phone case and fabulous wall-hanging were delivered a couple days later.