I Forgot to Mention

This year’s Contemporary Crafts Market will include the first ever CCM Wine Pour. This complimentary wine tasting will feature award-winning, handcrafted wines from San Francisco-based Eristavi Family Winery.
Guests are welcome to visit the tasting area and meet the winemaker in person to learn more about his world-class Zinfandel, Syrah, Sauvignon Blanc and Merlot blends. A number of other wine-fun activities will be held at the Wine Pour booth as well

Less Than A Week to Fort Mason

Designing, printing, sewing...less than a week before the Contemporary Crafts Market at Fort Mason, March 10-11, 10am - 6pm.  Venus d'Pyro will be in booth F501.  COME SEE US!  Sandy and I are quite entertaining.  Partying encouraged.

Print this form and bring to the gate for free admission for two.

You can also use this form

Amazing weaving by Susan Martin Maffei

via The Textile Blog

Susan Martin Maffei: Making Her Marks | Textile Study Group of New York

tsgnyblog.org

TSGNY: You are known as a tapestry weaver, with occasional crochet and other embellishments. Has tapestry always been your medium?

Susan Martin Maffei: Although I studied drawing and painting at the Art Students League in NYC, textile making has always been the most natural expression for me. As a child I spent a lot of time with my grandmother, who was a great textile maker. I learned many textile processes even before I learned how to read or write: crochet, knitting, sewing (I had and still have a miniature Singer machine on which I made doll clothes while my grandmother made grown people clothes) as well as lace and tatting.

Thank you, Susan Lenz, for this wonderful post

Jon Eric Riis' "Shimmer" at the Sumter County Gallery of Art

(from Art in Stitches blog by contemporary embroidery artist, Susan Lenz)

Just relish in the work

Venus d'Pyro at Contemporary Crafts Market

For 2 free admissions to the show, print and bring to the ticket taker at the entrance. See you there!

Contemporary Crafts Market, Fort Mason, San Francisco
March 10-11

Venus d'Pyro will be in Booth F501, 2nd booth on left-center aisle as you enter exhibition.

Further Explorations in Image Transfers

I have spent the last two days experimenting with gel hand sanitizer for my inkjet image transfers.  For me, I have concluded that:

1. Printing my original on vellum typewriter paper works much better that on wax paper or sheet protectors.
2. 140 lb. watercolor paper works very well and takes abuse
3. It is best to coat the paper with sanitizer on both sides before printing.  This allows the sanitizer to absorb.
4. Adding one more coat to the receiver side of the paper, letting it dry "just a bit," and then laying the fresh print on the paper, then rubbing vigorously with a wooden spatula, gives great results.
5. The transfer is okay for a transfer, but that's just what it is...a transfer.
6. Hmmmmmmmmmm
7. Mistakes lead to great results.  I dropped one of my transfers in a pan of water and forgot about it.  The result?  A blurry, vague, soft image somewhere between a photograph and a dream.  Some beg for "drawing into,"  others stand on their own.
8. Letting the transfers sit until almost dry, blasting with warm water, and then letting sit on an absorbant towel while the inks run, gives me a result I can work with.

Rainy Day Works

I'm trying to get a handle on inkjet wax paper transfers.  Figuring out which settings, which receiver papers, which waxed surfaces....ugghh.  BUT, I love the hands-on process.

Up next: Purell Transfers.






I find that I am currently obsessed with Highway 395.  It must be because I have been driving it quite a bit, lately.





High desert,  Incredibly beautiful.

The bug is not part of the artwork...yet.

Some Artists Are Neat and Clean

I AM NOT ONE OF THEM!
When you see me in my torn jeans and T-shirts, there's a REASON.  I can't even "run into my studio for just a minute" without getting stuff on my clothes. 


Okay...happen to love torn jeans and T-shirts.  

Jewelry Artst Tanel Veenre

Via: Wearable Art Blog

"I'm excited to offer you the third and last post in a mini-series on werable artists from Eastern Europe by introducing you to Tanel Veenre from Estonia, whose work has been shown in galleries around the world.
Tanel has been a freelance jewelry artist and fashion photographer since 1994. Currently, he is the design critic for “Eesti Päevaleht”, a major daily Estonian newspaper, and he teaches at the Estonian Academy of Arts.
I was immediately hooked by the range of his work and the way he transforms common materials -- including fishing floats -- into fashionable pieces that just draw you in. Also, as you'll see in his comments and in the examples of his most recent work, he's a true 'artist' who follows his heart."

HIGH DESERT DRIVING

I love high desert driving.  Bright light on cold day.  Light dusting of snow.  Really cheap phone camera giving watercolor effect. 
I want a "Google Camera" on my car.

New Jackets from Re-Purposed Cotton

 

Working with the re-purposed cotton, again!  Printing on sheets and turning them into wearable art. Adding the floral "Rosettes" really helps the look.  I made this one out of two printings that, at first, I didn't "see."  I cut one of the printings without paying attention to front and back, leaving me with four front cuttings and nothing for the back.  I then remembered a printing that I hadn't been able to realize as a garment and usde that for the trim and the back.  The result is so much more interesting.  "Mistakes" often lead to the best work.

Designs by Andrea Williams from the 2011 RISD Alumni Holiday Sale

From The Wearable Art Blog

Andrea Williams of Bound Earth Jewelry Design is a metalsmith specializing in beach stone jewelry. She's someone who is truely 'bound' to nature, living in Maine and thriving on the beauty of the Maine Coast. 

Andrea says she "lives in the woods. I stack rocks for fun. I collect seedpods. I spend summer days gardening. I find beauty in improbable places." Her appreciation for nature and all things natural comes across in each of these inventive pieces of wearable art.
Even though it's now officially winter, it's still a good time to think about beach stone jewelry to keep the spirit of summer alive. Or, even better, simply get someone special a unique gift for the holiday season. To see more, go to Bound Earth.

 This jewelry really rocks!  (Sorry, couldn't help myself.)

INFINITY SCARVES

I've been enjoying "down time" (not printing) sewing and beading these one-of-a-kind silk infinity scarves. 

Double Snake print on textured silk with burgundy glass beads
8" wide by 50" around.









Lakshmi print on silk chiffon with multi-colored glass beads.
15" wide by 50" around.









Pink Retro Floral on silk chiffon with pink glass beads
12" wide by 56" around

Soft Turquoise Jellyfish print on silk with green glass beads
16" wide by 41" around

BOOOOOOOM! Remake Finalists

BOOOOOOOM is a great blog created by Vancouver artist Jeff Hamada in hopes of fostering a community of people excited to go out and be creative!


Boooooom's Remake project is finally coming to a close! Click here if you haven’t already seen all of the submissions.!

 “Grande Odalisque” remake by Craig White

 

Embroidered Portraits by Cayce Zavaglia

American-born painter Cayce Zavaglia paints and hand sews these photo-realistic portraits, which are made with crewel wool and acrylic paint on linen. The textural images are very intricate and mesmorising. She turned away from using oil paints while pregnant with her daughter, to avoid harmful substances like turpentine and varnish. Zavaglia dds: “I kept thinking back to a crewel embroidery piece that I had made as a child and wondered if it would be possible to sew a portrait…or perhaps use the material in a more modern way.”
Images by Cayca Zavaglia

article courtesy COVER via THE TEXTILE BLOG

THE PEOPLE'S PRINT

Here's a fun blog to follow if you're interested in collaborative textiles, technology, currents, etc.
THE PEOPLE'S PRINT  pioneers new concepts for textile design combining traditional and digital technologies, open source, participatory and  co-design, aiming to create a community of like minded people with a passion for designing their own textiles.

Founded in 2011 by Dr Emma Neuberg and Melanie Bowles

 

I LOVE THIS BLOG!!!!!!!!!!

What took me so long to find The Jealous Curator? 
See for yourself.
What more can I say?
I'm so jealous.

WIDOW 2009 by Susie MacMurray - Astounding!

SUSIE MACMURRAY


Susie MacMurray's work encompasses drawing, sculpture and architectural installations. A former classical musician, she retrained as an artist, graduating with an MA in Fine Art in 2001. She now has an international exhibition profile and shows regularly in the USA and Europe as well as the UK. 

Widow 2009 
black nappa leather, 43 kg adamantine dressmakers pins, tailors dummy
collection of Manchester Art Gallery

Susie MacMurray is represented by Agnew's Gallery.
www.agnewsgallery.com

BEHIND THE GATE Artisan Gift Show

1127 Spruce Ave
Chico, Ca

Fridays, Dec. 2 & 9: Noon to eight
Saturdays, Dec. 3 and 10: Ten to seven

Amazing artisan-made gifts for the home and your soul

Buy local - Buy Art

Rip 'n Shred

There's nothing more cathartic (studio wise) than tearing up old work.  Some drawings were from college!
I was feeling bogged down, and this afternoon of Rip 'n Shred really released me.  I'll probably recycle these into handmade paper.

2012 Whiskeytown National Recreation Area Artist-in-Residence Program

Call to Plein Air Artists for the 2012 Whiskeytown National Recreation Area Artist-in-Residence Program

Whiskeytown National Recreation Area’s Artist-in-Residence Program is seeking submissions from professional plein air artists to apply for the park’s 2012 residencies.  Selected artists will have the opportunity to spend up to four weeks in an artists’ cabin in Whiskeytown to produce new works.  Whiskeytown is one of fewer than thirty Artist-in-Residence programs in the national park system. 

Jean Stern, Executive Director of The Irvine Museum, will juror this year’s submissions.  Stern is a recognized authority on California Impressionism and has extensive experience in the field as an author, curator, lecturer, and educator.   The deadline for entry is February 29, 2012. In exchange for their stay, artists selected for residencies will be asked to conduct at least one program for the public, and to donate a piece of art reflective of their time at Whiskeytown.

Whiskeytown National Recreation Area is located approximately 3½ hours north of the San Francisco Bay Area and 2 hours north of Sacramento.  Whiskeytown is situated just seven miles west of Redding, California.  The park features 39,000 acres of forests and a beautiful 3,200-acre lake nestled among the hills and valleys of California's Klamath Mountains.  The cabin is a great base from which to explore the park by boat, car, or on foot.

Plein Air Artists are asked to submit the following:

1.      Artist resume and exhibition record.

2.      Statement of intent for residency, not to exceed one page in length, to include: Relevance of work to nature & specific focus of project to be completed during residency.

3.      Sample of artistic works: 5-8 recent images on CD.

4.      Indication of preferred residency dates.

Please mail all  submissions to:

Whiskeytown Artist-in-Residence Coordinator

Whiskeytown National Recreation Area

P.O. Box 188, Whiskeytown, CA 96095

For more information and application details, please contact Sheila Edridge via email at whiskeytown.art@gmail.com  For more information on Whiskeytown, please contact the Visitor Center by calling (530) 246-1225 daily from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., or visit the park website at www.nps.gov/whis

A Great Blog for Inkjet Explorers

My passions include creating digital design on my Macintosh computers (big time Mac junkie); quiltmaking and working with a variety of media such as pigment inks, paints, dyes, fabric, papers, and threads; and photography, using my cameras (Nikon girl) and printers (Epson junkie).

FABRIC DESIGNS

 

Quiet day recuperating from a week with twin infants (1 month.)  Gave me plenty of time to work on slidehows of our fabric designs.  http://www.venusdpyro.com/Fabric_Patterns.html

BLOWIN' IN THE WIND

I love the look of new fabrics hanging on the lie.  These are newly printed silks for lightweight cover-ups.  Lots of hand sewing ahead.

Just a sample.  The silk jacket with attached scarf is individually printed silk chiffon, hand sewn.  The asstached scarf can be worn many ways....tied in front, wrapped around the neck, hanging free, draped over shoulders, draped over the head...............

TWENTYFIVETOGO

Get a jump on your holiday shopping with this 25% coupon code, TWENTYFIVETOGO, in Venus d'Pyro's Etsy shop.  Discount applies to all items. 
Don't forget to use the code: TWENTYFIVETOGO

Just right temperature for printing.  Unfortunately, my mind wandered a bit and I realized I should quit while I was ahead.

Ahhhhh....cooler weather makes for happier printing

The weather has cooled down, making the printing of fabric sooooooooo much nicer.  Ironing the fabric to the freezer paper is no longer excruciatingly hot.   Top left:  a wonderfully soft wool that will probably go into a jacket.  Bottom:  butterflies on silk chiffon.  Top right:  Sandy came up with a great drawing based on new jewelry she is making.  It's hard to see in this picture, but the watercolor textures are amazing.  I LOVE HER \ideas and ca't wait to see them realized.

BEADING FOR BURLAP

A crazy workday with Susan Emerson, seen here beading away in preparation for The Burlap Harlot Show on Saturday, September 24.

BUNDLNG FOR BURLAP

Making clothes from one-of-a-kind fabrics leaves a lot of scraps.  What to do with them?  MAKE BUNDLES for THE BURLAP HARLOT SHOW! Perfect for small bags, covered buttons, patchwork pillows, collages, etc., etc., etc.  Don't forget....the fabrics are artist-printed-one-of-a-kind.  They're just in smaller pieces.

Vintage pattern silk scarf

Getting ready for The Burlap Harlot Show coming to the Shasta District Fairgrounds on September 24.  I printed a vintage floral design on Habatoi silk.  The sewing machine belonged to my grandmother, a most amazing seamstress. Love it.

Two more designs for today

Snakes in the grass (leaves)

Today's Fabrics

New silks - chiffon and crinkle.
Sometimes the printer likes me, sometimes it doesn't.
Chiffon printed great - bloopers on the crinkle.  Fortunately, they can be worked with.