I’m Back!!

I don’t know how it happened but it’s already June and I haven’t posted in such a long time. I’ve been super busy and got lost in the world of graduate school. I’m happy to say that I passed my 45 hour review and finished all my classes!! (which is kind of a big deal!!) Now I have to work on my thesis research/paper/show and then I will be finished!! I still have a lot of work ahead but it feels good to say that I’ve finished all my classes.

I’m going to post a gallery of my latest work. I’m also in the process of finishing up my website and I’ll post the link when it is ready.

Combining materials

These are some of my first samples combining the technical processes that I’m learning in my metals & jewelry class with the processes that I’m using in the fibers department. Some of the samples are still in progress.

Materials used: Copper, Enamel, Embroidery Floss, Hat Netting, Linen, and Distorted Silk Dupioni

Materials used: Copper, Enamel, Embroidery Floss, Hat Netting, and Linen

Materials used: Copper, Embroidery Floss, Linen

Materials used: Copper, Embroidery Floss, Linen

Materials used: Copper, Enamel, Embroidery Floss, Linen

Materials used: Copper, Enamel, Embroidery Floss, Linen

Materials used: Copper, Enamel, Embroidery Floss, Linen

Materials used: Copper, Enamel, Embroidery Floss, Distorted Silk Dupioni, Linen

Materials used: Copper, Silver, Enamel, Embroidery Floss, Linen

Update on Fall Quarter Finals and more…

It’s been a while since my last post (sorry!!). I’ve hand my hands full these past few weeks with finals, Coco, and Thanksgiving. Now that things are a little bit back to normal and I am officially on winter break, I have time to write a long post about what I’ve been up to.

My finals in Studio Issues and Stitch, Object as Language went really well! I’ll start with what I did in my Stitch class. I finished three 12 X 6 canvases of embroidery. The title of the piece is called Time Frames and each canvas represents a season. I finished Summer for my midterm and then I finished Fall and Winter for my final. I still have to do Spring and am planning on having it finished by the end of December. As you can see they were very time consuming and I’m very proud of how they turned out. The seasons informed my colors and thought process for each piece. I did a lot of writing while I embroidered these pieces, but am only going to share a little bit of what I was thinking. My work is moving into the realm of collective memory so my personal memories are becoming obsolete for my viewers. I think writing about both personal and collective memory is very important to my work, but part of it is just for me.

Fall - I was thinking a lot about changes and how nature starts to change but at the same time the structure is still the same. The frames haven’t completely lost their shape, but have changed in a distinctive way. The forms are starting to hollow out and prepare for the next step. The colors aren’t flat and the same like they were in Summer. They are blended, vibrant and consistent. Certain colors are the same throughout all the seasons and I kept this the same in my embroidery.

Winter - This is where things are drastically changed. The structure is the most important and most seen element in the winter. This is where things start to distort and deconstruct. I thought a lot about a quiet still moment in the winter. The moment where the leaves are all gone and the branches finally get to be seen. Snow is sitting on the branches and it’s a perfect winter moment. There are areas of extreme change and consistency. If you look carefully you see an image of a face, but at first glance you aren’t really sure what you are seeing. Again, these colors are appropriate to the season but a few of them are in the other two seasons as well.

Here is a detail of Winter.

This is where I need your feedback. I’m not sure if I should hang these horizontal or vertical. So when you have a change please let me know what you prefer.

Now moving on to my Studio Issues final. I worked on simple daily drawings as part of my thought process on how to start translating my work into metal. Since I didn’t have the resources to work with metal yet I did a lot of studies (paper and drawing) so that next quarter I will have a good idea of what I want to make. I also continued to work with my screen printing compositions. I decided to present them in shadow boxes and make a collage with different prints. I was thinking about dressers and vanities and how people put precious objects on them. Sometimes they put boxes with precious objects in them on either a dresser or vanity. I’ve been researching the Victorian era, mourning jewelry, and artists like Joseph Cornell and Anne Wilson. I’ve always had a fascination with tiny precious objects so that is the direction my work is going.

These are the last of my daily drawings which makes 70 (one for each day of the quarter). YAY!!!

These are my metal studies. I cut forms out of paper and then painted and stitched them together. Next quarter when I’m in my metals and jewelry class I want to make objects like these.

This is my final presentation for my Studio Issues class.

Right after finals were over I went to the Columbia Museum of Art in Columbia, SC. It was a charming little art museum. I went to see Dale Chihuly’s Seaforms exhibition. It was set up as clusters of sea forms and some of his drawings were on display as well. The colors were beautiful and his compositions were inspirational. I was really excited that I got to see his work and hopefully will see it again sometime.

This week I’m going to Sarasota, FL to visit my aunt and uncle. I’ll also be going to the American Craft Show in Sarasota. I’m really excited to be able to visit family and see this show! I’m going to leave you with a few new pictures of Coco and I’ll post again when I’m back in Savannah.

Past Present Future

This is my final project for my Artist as Designer/Designer as Artist class. We had all of our critiques and the last day of class was today. Thanks Cat Chow for traveling to Savannah for the past seven weeks to teach our class. It was such a great experience!

The title is Past Present Future. It’s about past, present, and future memories. I used each compartment in the doll trunk that I bought to represent these three eras of time.

The left side of the trunk represents the past. I created a frame like structure that I hung in the back part of the trunk. I thought about past memories and how they are suspended in time so I made a cameo form that represents my memories suspended in time. I started twisting this wire around and flattening part of it out so that it was this quirky “memory”. It is made up of precious crystals, beads, and pearls wrapped in copper tubing.

The right side of the trunk represents the present. I made forms out of copper wire that have the characteristics of the iron work in Savannah. I’ve been thinking a lot about iron work because it is a memory of a cast. This works well with the concepts of memory that I’ve been working with. Then, I made dream catcher forms out of different colored wire and place beads wrapped in copper tubing in each “memory catcher”.

The small compartment in the trunk represents the future. I made a mock drawer out of copper mesh. Then I placed the “memory catcher” forms in the drawer along with one beaded cameo. This represents what is waiting for me in the future. Some things are planned and some and unknown. They are not fully developed and are not ready to come out of this drawer. Some day they will join the rest of the memories, but right now they safe and waiting in this drawer. The presence of the future is always leering in the background, but will not be completely understood until the time is right.

Here are some pictures from the rest of my day! Just a little inspiration from Savannah.

Sneak Peek

Here’s a sneak peek of what I’m working on!!

In Progress

I’ve been working on my final project for my Artist as Designer/Designer as Artist class this week. I’ve also been thinking a lot about a few questions that I have: What do memories actually mean to people?, Why are people drawn to them?, What is the best way of interacting with my memory objects?, and How should I present my ideas. So far, I’ve come up with memories remind people of happy moments or experiences that they may or may not experience again. These are different to everyone based on their own personal life experiences. Some people think memory is really important and some don’t. I’m one of those people who thinks memory is extremely important and very interesting (Obviously!! haha).

A few ways that I’ve been thinking about presenting my ideas are: using suitcases, trunks, cosmetic cases, jars, and special boxes. Basically I’m trying to create an environment that my audience can relate to. I’ve also found out through my survey that sight, smell, and sound are the three most important senses when it comes to remembering a specific memory. So ideally I would combine these three senses and present my objects in one of the possible ways that I just listed to create the best environment. I’m still thinking and working a lot of things out, but for this final I’ve come to a conclusion. I bought a vintage doll trunk to use as my space for my project. Then once I sat down with all my materials and my trunk, ideas started to flow. I’m also working with the dichotomy of a memory in terms of past, present, and future. So here are some of my in progress pictures.

It’s coming together really well! Feel free to comment, leave feedback, or answer the above questions.

Little Things

I’ve been working on small samples that will inform my stitch work and hopefully finished pieces.

I started off with drawing on 3 by 5 note cards. I was just drawing really quick to get some ideas out.

I was thinking about my embroidery, frames, and lockets. I was trying to figure out how I could use this in my work. Then I started stitching small samples. Most of them are still in progress but I did finish one. YAY! I’m using a lot of my deconstructed silk in the centers of my embroidered frames. I showed these at my midterm critique and got some really great feedback.

So feel free to leave comments. Oh and just a reminder my survey is an ongoing process so I hope you continue to leave comments. An easy way to find the post is by clicking on the category “I need your comments” and it will take you there. Thanks to everyone who has already responded!

Deconstructing Silk

Here are more examples of how I’m deconstructing silk for some of my work.

It started with a sample that I posted from my stitch class. I started thinking about the word destroy while I was responding to another group’s presentation in our class. Then after I made the sample I thought about how this process relates to memory. Memories are not always clear and over time they can start to deconstruct.

So I’m using it in my little samples as reverse applique. There are lots of possibilities with this process so hopefully you’ll see more posts about this in my work. I’m just starting to explore it so it might take a while.

I’m also saving the threads that I’m pulling out of the fabric and plan on using them in some way eventually.

One thought that was brought up in class would be sewing the loose threads on water dissolving stabilizer. I am working on a free motion pattern for this so that a pattern joins these threads together. If anyone has any other thoughts I’d really appreciate them.

204 Pleasure Drive

My midterm project for the artist as designer/designer as artist class was to make something out of white paper.

I used different types of water color paper, pearlescent pigment, and embroidery floss to create this work. It’s called 204 Pleasure Drive. I used abstracted images of things that are strong in my memory as a concept to create this work. In the end they were all things that reminded me of my home (where I grew up) in Yorkville, IL. My address was 204 Pleasure Drive, and it seemed perfect for my old address to be the title of this piece.

This work has inspired me to work with smaller compositions using this same imagery. I’m in the process of making smaller prints and putting images together. I think 204 Pleasure Drive is going to be something that I’ll continue to re-work and add on to during this next year. This is a good start of something new and a step in the right direction for creating more collective and abstracted work dealing with memory.

Awls can be used to hold things in place as well as punching holes..hehe These are the kind of things you figure out at 2am. So any comments about this work??

Work in Progress

This is part of my Artist as Designer/Designer as Artist midterm project. I love it on its own and will probably make more similar to this. It is just a small part of my project so there is more to come. I screen-printed white pearlescent pigment on slightly off-white watercolor paper. Then I layered a softer watercolor paper over the screen-print. I embroidered french knots to keep both pieces of paper together.

These two are close ups

For those of you interested, the images are abstracted versions of my house (that I grew up in), my Dad’s signature, the tea cup that I’ve been using in my work, and some of my embroidery that I created.