Fiber Arctic

I am totally consumed with gearing up for the Fiber Arctic show which opens up tomorrow at Schmancy. It's going to be a great show and I am so grateful for all the mentions it's getting on the web.

Treehugger

Lou Lou and Oscar

Craft

Fantastic American Idol?

Only Hybrids

Year of Deer

and many many more.

SO yep, it's official. I'm nervous.

Fiber Arctic- Kate Greiner

It's funny to write about your friend. I love Kate. She's always fun to have around, she's funny, she's nice and a real hard worker. AND she makes awesome stuff. She has a large range of talents so it's hard to pick a favorite. So basically I have concluded that I like whatever she does. She's my friend and should be yours too.



S- How long have you been sewing and what are your favorite aspects to this art medium?

KM- Junior high is when I got really into sewing- I guess that coincides with me getting my first sewing machine. My favorite aspect to sewing is the backwards or reverse thinking part, I am also a printmaker and use the same part of my brain for that- it is satisfying.



S- What are some of your current projects you are working on?

KM- Right now I am making cashmere strawberries and dresses. I try to use almost all recycled fabrics. I keep thinking about Indiana Jones while I am sewing- I am about to add secret hidden pockets to everything.



S- Many artists struggle with living as an artist. You always seem to be working on some kind of project. How do you stay motivated? How do you manage all of your different loves?

KM- My husband and I are both artists and all we do is make stuff. I could never stop…it is a stupid joke to pretend that I could (I do pretend this sometimes). Ideas just come to me and the motivation follows. In terms of managing when I use certain materials first I work to fulfill orders, commissions, and restocking my store then I do whatever the hell I feel like doing!

Find her on Etsy

online

Fiber Arctic- Jessica Marquez

Jessica Marquez has a certain touch many people take their whole lives to achieve. Her work is beautiful, the details are impeccable and you can see the love that goes into each piece she creates. From her lovely message in the bottle to her photography to her amazing embroidery art. I really love her work and think you should too.



S- I really love your message in a bottle letter service. How is it typing up someone else's messages, love notes, etc.?

JM- It’s amazing! Truly, I never thought I would get the kind of unabashed responses that I have been receiving again and again. Sometimes the words are simple and direct, but there are many letters that when I type them I feel a sense of guilt creeping in, because I’m involved with someone’s most personal sentiments. It’s perfect for the voyeur in me, but more than that, it’s such an honor to be able to help share these tokens of affection. The end result of the letter service is a little object- a memento, and I try to make all my work little objects of memorial and remembrance.



S- You were in the show, Forget Me-Not this past Feb. where I got to meet you. Your work really stood out to many of us. The various stitches worked into your pieces and your attention to detail is so impressive. What is your background in art?

JM- Thanks! I loved all the work in Forget Me-Not and am very grateful to have been involved. Formally, I have a fine arts background studying, mainly, photography and art history. Growing up though, I was surrounded by creative women who worked with their hands and were always making, which inspired a strong love of handmade. The women in my family love to craft, cook, and enjoy doing these things together. So I have this sense of the familial tied to crafting and warmth too. Throughout school I sought out classes like bookmaking and metals that involved using my hands. Even in photography you are shaping images in a very hands on way, and I like to use my images to create something tangible. What I enjoy is the process- the time and labor involved with making is very enjoyable to me.



S- I see you will be at Renegade. Feel prepared? What are some of the items folks will be able to find from you?

JM- I’m prepared to be schooled!! Renegade is my first craft fair….so, at the moment I’m feeling nervous and scared-- excited too! Since it’s my first fair I don’t know if I could feel prepared. There are so many things I never considered before being on the other side of the table, like how much to bring, how much it costs to gather your materials together, as well as the planning and organizing. This week before renegade is going to be a non-stop week of making, trying to focus, and push my insecurities out of my mind. The fair will be a great learning experience for me.

At the fair I’ll have lots of small objects. Of course I’ll have a bunch of needlework pieces: constellations, samplers, red crosses and custom piece. There will be miniature cabinets of curiosities (tiny collections of small curious objects), books, and I’m even working on encaustic with vintage imagery. I also plan to have the Letter Service available for custom orders. I’m crazy excited about what I’m making and really looking forward to sharing it!



Find her on Etsy

Find her on flickr

Fiber Arctic- Katya Usvitsky

We are catching up with another artist participating in Fiber Arctic, Katya Usvitsky. Fiber Arctic opens up in a few weeks! The reception is on June 12th so mark those calendars and come check out some amazing fiber art by twenty talented fiber artists.



S- You recently hit the streets of New York with Knitta Please. How did that all come together and what was your experience like?

KU- A friend of mine who also knits and embroiders, Megan Canning, told me about the opportunity. Also, earlier this year I saw Knitta Please in the documentary 'Handmade Nation' and was immediately taken with their work - so to collaborate on a piece with Magda seemed like an chance I couldn't pass up.

The piece itself was not that hard to make, anyone who has ever knitted a scarf could have done this. For my work, I wanted to use the opportunity to make a statement to the drivers out there about biking in Brooklyn. I am a huge proponent for more greenways and biking in NYC. I used a simple bicycle icon and the letters BKLN (short for Brooklyn) in blue on a yellow background. The best part, moments after I put up my piece, a man promptly chained his own blue bike to my meter. It was kismet!



S- I love New York but can get overwhelmed a bit by how many people there are there doing cool things. How does the city help to foster your creativity? What are the challenges to being in a city that has so many other creative people trying to "make it"?

KU- I think the intimidating part is that the so-called "Art World" seems like a secret club and no one you know has the password. That said, the BEST part about NYC is that it's a great place to MAKE UP an avenue to show your work. The meter project is great example. You don't have to be in a gallery in order to be seen, people here walk, take public transportation and are generally easier to reach on the streets than anywhere else, especially when it's warm out.



S- Have you been embroidering since childhood or found your love for it later in life? What are some of your favorite aspects of it?

KU- Actually I just picked it up about a year ago. Nobody taught me how to embroider in the traditional Cross Stitch way, but my grandmother taught me how to sew, and knit, so I had a great foundation. In addition I did go to art school and now work as a graphic designer, which are all aspects that have lead me to make the kind of work that I do. So, even though I haven't been embroidering that long, I have been making art with my hands since I was little and THAT is my favorite part! The physical motion of taking a 'fiber' and creating something out of it with just your hands is beyond satisfying.

Fiber Arctic- Jenny Hart

To introduce Jenny Hart is kinda weird. If you are reading this blog I assume you appreciate craft, art and plush. Jenny might not make plush but she is definitely a household name if you are into the other two. A master of embroidery, the woman who made embroidery "cool" again, Jenny is a woman after my own heart. I can't wait for this year's UCU summer show where I will finally be able to meet her. Until then I am overjoyed that she will be another artist for Fiber Arctic. I now present you with, Jenny Hart.



S- Oh Jenny, you are one of our favorites...every one's for that matter. Not only do you make beautiful works of art but you were one of the catalysts for making crafts cool again and not just viewed as "granny crafts". For this, I love you. Were you always a crafty lady? Did you expect to be doing this for your living?

JH- I think you made me blush. I was always drawing, making art, taking photographs and sometimes my own jewelry (I made a pair of earrings out of rubber Cupie dolls in high school). I love to make things by hand, figure out how things worked and have something unique like altered clothing, or hand-painted combat boots. To be honest, I don't consider myself really 'crafty'. My good friend Jennifer Perkins (Naughty Secretary Club / Austin Craft Mafia) is a truly crafty person. She can make something fantastic out of a flyswatter if she has to. Me? I just love embroidery.





S- I purchased some of your patterns many years ago when it was you just shipping them out of your home and you were a one woman operation. How have you adjusted to this huge transition of having employees, books, fans, etc.?

JH- Well, they still ship from my home! But, it's true that it's no longer just me doing everything. I think growing pains sums it up well. It's always hard to give up doing things you've done yourself for so long, but once it's out of your hands and in the capable hands of others (filling orders, answering customer emails) it's such a relief, you don't want to go back to the old way. I do miss the days when I did everything myself, especially filling orders because I would see all the incoming customer emails with the many super sweet messages they send. Jordan is really good about forwarding some of those on to me. The biggest change has to do with having employees (two full time, two part time) because for years 5-6 of the company (we turn 8 this year) I was completely overwhelmed by all the demands, and was really struggling to do the creative work, which is the most important thing for me to be doing. I think having fans is something I'm still getting used to. A woman came up to me at a gallery opening (for someone else) and asked if she could have my autograph, and I was totally stunned. I'm becoming more and more aware of how aware other people are of me and my work, which always surprises me. While others view you as a success, you yourself still feel like you have to put your work out there, tell people about it and get the word out! So, I'm always pleasantly surprised whenever someone approaches me or lets me know they are familiar with my work. It's really touching. I never assume that they do, because there still are looots of people who don't know about Sublime Stitching - more people I can turn on to embroidery! Mwahaha.



S- Not to assume you feel this way but I, myself, occasionally have a hard time with my work. I have been making stuff since I was a kid and when it becomes part of my monthly income it takes away some of it's charm. Because this is your full time job and I am sure a good portion of your livelihood, how do you balance it all?

JH- It's always a challenge. The hardest thing for me to do is make time to do my personal artwork. I love doing the work needed for Sublime Stitching, and those demands are pretty high. I try different types of schedules "Okay, Thursdays and Fridays are for artwork only" but something more urgent always comes up and pulls me away. One of the things my manager does is help me prioritize, which is the hardest part. Every day I ask them what they might need from me, and we all discuss the most urgent demands. That helps enormously. I think figuring out what needs to be done first before you jump into anything and everything you want to try and tackle in a day is really important.



S- Any upcoming events, shows, etc. you are excited about that you might like to share?

JH- I'll be at Art Star Craft Bazaar in Philadelphia the weekend of May 30-31 and for the first time ever, we are sending Jessica and Jordan to be at ICE Atlanta (because I can't be two places at once quite yet). Maker Faire San Mateo is also that weekend, which I hate to miss.

My business column, Crafting a Business (previously on Venuszine.com and those columns are still up!) will be firing up again on the Craftzine.com website! Should be up this week.

I have a new book coming out in the fall called Embroidered Effects: Projects and Patterns to Inspire Your Stitching that I'm super excited about! You can see a preview here

My work is going to be exhibited in Paris and also do a museum tour throughout France (two separate exhibitions) beginning in October! One is a group show at http://www.galerieljbeaubourg.net/start.html opening October 9th.

That's uh...part of what we have going on. The highlights!

Fiber Arctic- Becky Stern

Speaking of the Maker Faire, I am also very much looking forward to seeing Becky Stern whom also happens to be our next interview up for our Fiber Arctic show. I love Becky's work. It is always unique, with a bit of irony and a lot of surprise. I honestly cannot believe that this amazing iceberg (see below) will be in my store!



S- You are a woman with many many talents. What are some of your favorites?

BS- I really love combining multiple skills/media together, like MRIs and embroidery, fabric and electronics, or metalwork, woodwork, and fibers as you see in the piece I made for this show. Most of all I love sharing what I've made online through photos, writing, and video. Without those, my projects would never reach the right audience.



S- I love what you have created for Fiber Arctic. Can you explain how it came together and what reaction you hope to receive?

BS- I made a form out of cardboard, then used yarn to knotless net the planes of the iceberg. Then I stiffened it with fabric stiffener, and very carefully removed the cardboard form. I then painted it and made the base out of MDF and the tiny drain by sawing out and sanding a small piece of sterling silver. The ice bear is made from a 5-part silicone mold from a plastic figurine I got at the craft store. I hope
people can glean from the piece a delicate relationship between humans and nature, and hopefully get a small chuckle from the poetic juxtaposition of the plumbing drain, ice polar bear, and netted "cage" of an iceberg around them.



S- As an artist and a writer, what do you do to foster your creativity when you might be feeling less than motivated?

BS- When I'm feeling creatively drained, I try to learn a new skill. I had never knotless netted before beginning work on this piece, and learning the technique really inspired the piece. I try to always spend a little time each day doing something with my hands, even if I don't have a project I'm super psyched about at the time. When I'm
feeling very creative, I make lists of ideas for projects. These lists really come in handy when I'm feeling uninspired!

Fiber Arctic- Nicole Wolfersberger

Now we have Nicole Wolfersberger, a woman with many fibery talents.



S- I love checking on on your progress for Embloggery. Can you tell our readers more about this project of yours?

NW- As an idea, it was a very natural progression for me. I spend a lot of time thinking about both tedious process and handcrafts, as well as popular/internet culture and the nature of "instantaneous" publishing. I liked the idea that a hand-constructed, embroidered object could become a digital object by photographing it and exhibiting it as an image file. The first time I actually experimented with this was with the "avocado.jpg" punch-needle embroidery. The idea was to exhibit it and others like it in digital frames, but the idea wasn't strong enough and I lost interest after the first embroidery.

"Embloggery" didn't happen until about a year later. As I was playing with the idea it dawned on me that I could use other tools like html to enhance the images and make them truly unique as digital objects as opposed to simply being photographs of embroideries. That's when I began to experiment with embedded links and rollover text in the embroidery image.

When I started "Embloggery" I mainly wanted a break from making rugs. I was and am pleasantly surprised at the great response it's received, and I have fun continuing to play with it and make visual puzzles. It's also got me interested in pursuing embroidery more seriously.



S- I really love your latch hook art. Can you tell us more about your process, how you choose your icons, how long they generally take you and some of your favorites?

NW- Thank you! I adore latch hook, in part because I love texture and in part because I really like working on a large scale.. I also enjoy the puzzle of having to greatly simplify images while keeping them recognizable.

When choosing subject matter, there are lots of things I see on any given day that I think "oh, I should make that into a rug!" but many ideas have to be discarded because they simply won't read well. It quickly becomes apparent if the image is too busy to work well as a rug. I think having some background in printmaking has been useful to me in being able to pick out important details and simplify images for needlework.

After I've chosen a subject, I either enlarge the image (if it's a pre-existing one) or draw it on small graph paper (about 10 squares to an inch). If I've enlarged a pre-existing image, I then make a transparency of the small graph paper and tape it over the image. I've tried putting a grid over the image in Photoshop, but I really like being able to pull the grid away and see the image without it.

Once I've come up with a ratio I like, I decide how many colors the rug should be. To help me figure this out visually I'll often go in with a pencil and circle areas of color to give me an idea of where the divides between shades lie. It ends up looking a lot like a topographical map.

Then I purchase (and occasionally dye) yarn and begin the long process of stitching and more stitching. I don't usually work with a frame when I do latch hook. I prefer portable projects and don't mind the weight of the rug on my lap. For tufted rugs, the process is a little different. Tufting also requires a frame.

Rugs take me anywhere from 8 to 50+ hours depending on the size, technique used and subject matter. A 3' by 4' latch hook rug is my usual size and typically takes around 40 hours to complete. My favorite rug I've ever made is probably the first rug (of my own design), "Badlands Justice," though I'm pretty fond of "Bryan Ferry" too. It doesn't really seem like there are too many other people designing and hand-making rugs, but there are a few talented people that I know of that I really admire, like Whitney Lee (http://www.madewithsweetlove.com/).



S- What is the difference between a tufted rug and a latch hook rug?

NW- The latch hook rugs use pre-cut (about 2 inches long) pieces of yarn and a latch hook to individually knot each piece of yarn around a strand of the rug canvas. Tufting uses a skein of yarn, one end of which is threaded through the needle of the tufting tool. The tufting tool is basically a hollow needle with a shuttle so it can be pumped back and forth by hand, and a metal tongue. The needle and metal tongue penetrate the stretched backing material and push a loop of yarn through the canvas, then the needle portion is drawn to the back again. The metal tongue remains pushed through the material and holds the loop at a specified length at the front of the canvas. As you move the tool in the direction of your line, the needle "walks" itself over the canvas, leaving looped pile on the right side, which can be either left as loops or cut if you prefer. The tool does most of this work, so it's actually much more quick than the description may sound!

The main advantage of tufting is you get a more natural, less pixelated line, since you're not limited to a grid. It's like embroidery versus cross-stitch.


(featuring the wrong side)

S- Lastly, I am so impressed with your punch needle embroidery! I have never heard of this process but noticed you also mentioned it was really fun. Can you tell me more about it?!

NW= Thank you!! I think I stumbled on punch needle embroidery when I was trying to learn more about tufted rugs. The process is similiar to tufting, but on a much smaller scale, using a very small hollow needle and either fine cord or embroidery floss. Usually people use the looped pile side as the right side. Lately I have been playing with using the "wrong" side as the right side, because it's such a fast, pen-like way to get an embroidered line -- you are just punching the needle forward rather than doing any kind of backstitching. Punch needle goes pretty quickly once you get the hang of it and it's really fun to feel like you're drawing with thread. I also love the shiny look of the pile obtained when I use embroidery floss.

Fiber Arctic- Nicole Licht

I was a lucky lady the day I got to meet Nicole Licht. I have admired her work from afar for a long time now so it's always a pleasure to get face time even if it's a quick minute at a crowded art opening. I wish I gave you a hug...next time.

S- You do a wide range of fiber work which is all so stunning. Have a favorite?

NL- Thank you! I think I spread out my fiber works so much because I'm still sort of searching for my favorite thing. I find the construction mechanics of soft sculpture difficult thus engaging and I love making wearable things for friends and family but I guess what's most exciting for me to work on are things that have no other obvious functionality than to exist as singular objects; so embroidery/textile collages are my favorite thing to work on right now.



S- What was one of the greatest lessons learned at the famous Cooper Union?

NL- Ha, that's funny. I was 18 new to New York and a bit naive of the famed cooper union, therefore entirely rebellious and more than a little ignorant and dismissive of my spot there...but I learned most importantly, not to be incomplete, that you must back up your work, not in a business sense but as the maker of something you'd best be able to talk about it, claim it and stand by it if questioned. So then, I guess I learned to be more invested, productively neurotic.

S- What have you been up to? Any special announcements you would like to make? From the looks of your blog, you got a lot going on!

NL- Yikes, if I can juggle it or be better at replying to emails or scrounge up enough for entrance fees...I've been asked by some really stellar stores about wholesale/consignment orders. I believe I have a show scheduled at Quirk Gallery in Sept...um a piece that's going up in a Japanese gallery within a department store, I'll be at this year's Renegade in Brooklyn, a craft fair in upstate New York in August... I'm super excited to be teaching a soft sculpture multi day workshop summer '10 at an artists residency. I'm lucky to be included in an awesome Fiber Arctic embroidery show... uh. um?! I just built a (beginning) astulabee website with my boyfriend. I am so grateful for my recent craft opportunities, the support I've received from new friends, family and even kind strangers. I'm excited for the future but in the mean time, like many, I'm also needing to get busy looking for a job as my current one is winding down, in order to keep all this good fortune afloat.

Fiber Arctic- Rakka Deer

Next up is our old Schmancy gallery intern whom we adore, Kris whom also happens to be an amazing artist.

S- Your love of deers takes our breath away! But we love your choice of text with your embroidered deers. Are these conversations you have with your animals?!

RD- The words and phrases in the embroideries tend to come from pop culture. Either movie and tv quotes or from songs that I get stuck in my head. I keep hoping that I'll exorcise the songs by the physical act of putting lyrics on fabric but, sadly, it hasn't worked. "Hey Ya" is still stuck in the front part of my brain.

S- What is it about the deer that makes you adore it so?

RD- I'm mainly drawn to them because of the highly ornamental nature of the antlers. Additionally, there's a substantial amount of deer lore and history in art that's fun to play around with. Also, I was raised by deer. No, not really.

Fiber Arctic- Emily Katz

Next up is the Portland based artist, Emily Katz

S- We absolutely love your clothes! But we equally love your embroidered work and paintings! Do you ever want to merge the two?

EK- Yes I did do this! the line is called Bonnie Heart Clyde and I embroider my drawings onto sweatshirts and vintage dresses. I still do this, you can find items on Etsy and I take custom orders, for weddings and things...

S- Your simplistic use of line must have started somewhere. Where!? When did you love the look of thread!?

EK- I studied printmaking at MICA in baltimore, and I loved making etchings. the raised line was so elegant and it translated perfectly with the embroidery. I was in Germany after I dropped out of school, and when I came back, I was staying in Pennsylvania at my boyfriend's parents house. he was working at a coffee shop, and I was spending my days thriftstore shopping. I bought him a few shirts and decided to embroider them as gifts for him. I made simple line drawings and then gave them to him, he was surprised and went into his closet and pulled out a tshirt he had embroidered in the same way!

Fiber Arctic- Vivenne Strauss

The Fiber Arctic show is just around the corner and I am really excited. I gotta get through Maker Faire (which I am so excited for it's rather sick). As we get ready for the show, we have sent out a few interview questions to some of our participants.

First up is the lovely Vivienne Strauss

S- Your work whisks us to other eras and thats where we wish we were every time!

Do you often feel like you were born into the wrong era?

VS- I think I spend the majority of my time feeling like I'm living in the wrong era! I find very little inspiration from the present time. I think I paint the world I wish I lived in. One that is more glamourous, fanciful and full of humor and irony. I think people have a tendency to think we are more evolved as a species because we have all this modern technology to work with when really we aren't much different than we were a hundred years ago. We still fret and worry over the same types of things.



S- How do you get excited about new projects?

VS- I usually try to keep my mind open and let it wander, jotting down anything that comes to mind. I try not to look at other artist's work because instead of inspiring new ideas, it seems to block me in some way. I find that happens most with collage where I become very easily blocked. Without realizing it, my mind wants to create work in someone else's collage style and almost immediately, I'm unable to produce anything at all.

S- Read any good books? And if so can we see them in your new pieces?!

VS- I read quite a bit and watch a lot of movies. While I get inspiration from both, sometimes just a title, name or phrase will get my mind going. Often by the time the piece is done though, it has gone through so many phases that I often can't remember what got it started in the first place. I can only think of one painting off hand that is directly related to a scene from a movie. "Alice Adams" starring Katharine Hepburn inspired my piece titled "Laura Did Her Best to Look as if She was Having a Splendid Time, Though No one Was Asking Her to Dance". Another painting was inspired by a vintage photograph but the feeling I was trying to get from it was more like John Updike's Rabbit Angstrom novels, "There was a long uncomfortable silence between Mr. and Mrs. Schultz and Mr. Rassmussen".

Fiber Arctic

Here are a few more images for this June's show at Schmancy to wet your palette.

By Aimee Ray



By Astulabee

Fiber Arctic

Here is another amazing piece for this June's show, Fiber Arctic at Schmancy. By Becky Stern. I AM SO EXCITED!