Yasmin Sabur Art

Seeing Behind the Work

2011-11-09T09:15:00.000-08:00

As an artist, I am often asked to explain my work. What is the subject, the motivation, the inspiration?
The following is an excerpt from an article by Sean Justice, posted in Culture Hall and written for an exhibition Justice curated in China entitled Pictures are Words-Not-Known. Perhaps this article will answer some of your questions about the work, how and why it is made, and the way in which different cultures effect our thinking and making of art.
"The confusion of picture with work emerges because our understanding of the art-making process has been derailed; or, perhaps we've just gotten the words wrong. What we call the "work" is not really the work at all, but rather the result of the work. The actual work is the question that the artist asks. The picture (or the sculpture, or the dance, or the computer interactive poem), is an attempt to articulate the question, and perhaps to suggest an answer. By the time an audience sees any particular artwork, the real work—the dynamic, sweat-and-grime work—is done and gone. What we see is what's left over. At that point, as viewers, our job is to see through the art and imagine the work, the questions, behind it.
Most of the time, however, we engage with art as if it were a mirror. We only want to see ourselves. And when we do, we "like" the art. And if we don't see ourselves, we "don't like" it. In both cases, we miss the point entirely. The artist didn't bleed and cry for us to feel good or not feel good. That is perverse. No, the artist looked carefully, felt deeply, and explored and experimented and failed a million times because...why? Why would anyone put themselves through that pain and potential humiliation? This is the wonder that we search for, perhaps to glimpse briefly, perhaps to breathe into our own lives. But it's impossible to reach that state of awareness, of transparency, if we're searching for a mirror."
Read the entire article here.

Up Coming Events

2011-11-03T16:00:00.000-07:00

I’ve landed in the San Francisco Bay Area for a few months.

I’d love to meet you and for you to see my work in person.

Here are some of the places where you can find Yasmin Sabur ART and yasmintoo! artifacts over the next several months.

Visit the FireHouse Art Collective Live Bazaar
3192 Adeline Street, CA 94703 Berkeley, on Saturday from noon to 6pm, where I’m showing yasmintoo! artifacts priced under $50. Great work for beginning collectors.

The FireHouse Art Collective and the 25^th Street Collective
are part of First Friday Art Murmur in Oakland, CA.
I will have a booth for the December First Friday. This is a big art filled party. Not to be missed. In the area of 25^thStreet between Broadway and Telegraph.
Showing new work: hand dyed and mono print one of a kind pillows and garments from Yasmin Sabur ART

La Pena 17th Annual Womyn of Color Arts & Crafts Fair
3105 Shattuck Avenue, Berkeley, CA 94705
Saturday November 26, 2011, 10:30am-4:30pm
Featuring Yasmin Sabur ART and yasmintoo! artifacts

Acta Non Verba: Youth Urban Farm Project
Tassafaronga Recreation Center
975 85th Street, Oakland, CA
First Annual Holiday Season Community Craft Faire
Saturday, December 17^th, 2011 from noon to 4pm
yasmintoo! artifacts and a surprise something special for the community

Hope to see you at one of these events.

See you December 1st, 2011

2011-09-27T15:54:00.000-07:00

This is one of the block prints I'll edit for reproduction on fabric, cards and paper prints. Creative Commons copyright. Yasmin Sabur 2011.

I'm taking a break from social networking for a month or two.
I've got a to do list a mile long. Giving myself permission to start crossing items off that list one by one.

And another little block print. Creative Commons copyright. Yasmin Sabur 2011.

Here's what I'll be working on:

Editing small stencilled and block printed strike ups for digitally printed fabric and other reproductions including cards and paper prints. I'll use Illustrator and PhotoShop for the editing.
Completing the marketing materials for artifacts to be sold in museum and art center gift shops, and sending the materials out.
Completing a syllabus for classes on dyeing and resist processes.
Creating videos and tutorials for those same classes.
Redesigning my web presence and trying to get a handle on it.
Redesigning my print materials to coordinate with the web stuff.
Completely finishing (backing, binding, stretching, etc.) at least four of the twenty or so works in progress laying around my studio, getting those pieces photographed, and then into storage.

This print is framed (I know you can see that.) Creative Commons copyright. Yasmin Sabur 2011.

Writing proposals for solo and collaborative shows and submitting them.
Four of the six works in the Triangular Trade series are fully sketched out and the background fabric is dyed. My goal is to complete two, and get the other two moving towards completion. This work is part of a larger series concerning Labor, Politics and Economics. The exhibition proposals mentioned above will be based on this work. (So get on it girl.)
Selecting a dozen pieces for the Etsy shop and other online market places, and then leaving it be. I have had enough of Etsy to last a lifetime.
Let me know what you'll be up to while I'm away. The chances of not peeking at the internet at least once a day are slim, if not next to none.

A Tool to Simplify Your Life

2011-09-13T13:03:00.000-07:00

Old friends of mine from high school were in San Diego for a convention this week.
First thing first, there is nothing like old friends. That they are from Chicago is an added bonus. Folks from Chicago will make you laugh, hug you and poke you, contribute to a lively conversation, and being from the Midwest, they eat!

I had a wonderful time with them. The husband of the couple is a consultant for the SBA. The Small Business Administration is an unsung National Treasure (we have a lot of those, including Yvonne Porcella who I will blog about later this week).

I first took advantage of the services and expertise of the SBA in the 70s in Chicago when I had a shop on North Michigan Avenue named "The Batikery." I remember taking a series of classes sponsored by the SBA called Business for the Arts or something like that. I also had a one on one business advisor from SCORE, and an intern whose salary was paid by a government program, CETA, no longer functioning I think. Congress should consider reactivating CETA, great program for small businesses and the unemployed.

Give me a minute and I'll get to the point. Richard reviewed my online presence, and gave me the best piece of advice I've received in a long time. "Use HootSuite."

Listen, in one week my online life has gone from being a pain in the butt, to a joyful experience that takes about 15 minutes a day.

What is HootSuite? An online site and application where you can add all of your everything on the internet and link that stuff together.

This is what happens - I have an RSS feed on this blog. I post an article. I have my Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, MySpace, Foursquare, etc. accounts linked on HootSuite. I add the feed, select the accounts I want to send the feed too. When I post on the blog it is automatically fed into the accounts of my choice. The delivery time can be scheduled.

All this in one place. Have an Etsy shop, add the RSS feed. List a new item, the listing link is delivered everywhere without having to do a thing.

Is this not genius? I think so. Let me know if you use HootSuite or try it.

Started My PhotoShop Online Class

2011-09-04T13:00:00.000-07:00

The images in this post are the ones I’ve decided to have printed. The editing will begin next week.

What a good day, this first day of studying, has been.

I got in two good hours at Lynda.com. Deke McClelland has a set of excellent tutorials on PhotoShop CS5. Right off the bench he did a presentation on setting color guides. Exactly what I was looking for.

Warning here, if you are totally new to PhotoShop this may not be the series for you. There are lots of different tutorials on Lynda, so shop around. You can try as many tutorials as you like on whatever subjects suit your fancy.

Second warning, if you’ve never taken an on-line tutorial you’ll want to approach it the same way you did the traditional classroom. Set up a clear, quiet place to study in, have pencil and paper at hand, take notes, do the exercises. Use headphones if you have some.

With video tutorials, different instructors will speak and move at different paces. I’ve dropped some because the sound of the instructor’s voice got on my nerves.

Deke moves extremely fast. If I miss something I just rewind the video, until I’m clear on the instructions.

Almost all Adobe CS (Creative Suites including PhotoShop, Illustrator, DreamWeaver, and InDesign software programs) instructors teach through repetition. One function will be demonstrated and then applied three or four times using the same function on a different object.

Next my Spoonflower color map arrived. Last week I downloaded the Adobe color library from the Spoonflower site. Serendipity, now I know how to get it on the computer.

(I will blog more about my reunion with Spoonflower. I initially had an extremely bad experience with the company, but decided to give them another try. Will keep you posted.)

Have a wonderful holiday, and remember to chime in with your comments, suggestions, questions and advice.

Creative Commons Copyright, 2011, Yasmin Sabur

September Scarf Sale at yasmintoo!

2011-09-03T16:00:00.000-07:00

All Scarves 25% OFF

Fine, fine cotton batiste fabric with an hand rolled hem (I did the hand rolling)

Originally priced at $60.00, now $45.

The yasmintoo! Etsy shop is having a sale on scarves during the month of September. All scarves are 25% OFF.

This silk charmeuse beauty was $60.00, now $45.

It’s a great sale, but more important these are the last scarves I will be listing in the shop. When the sale ends there won’t be any more.

I love the pattern on this silk habotai scarf. Was $40.00 now $30.00.

Facebook fans of yasmintoo! receive an additional 25% off for a total savings of 50%. That means $60 scarves would be $30, and $40 scarves are $20.

Come and get ‘em.

The Dye Factory Is Closed for This Year

2011-09-02T09:56:00.000-07:00

All images are protected by a Creative Commons Copyright, 2011, Yasmin Sabur.

I usually dye as much fabric as possible during the summer months.

All images are protected by a Creative Commons Copyright,

2011, Yasmin Sabur.

In San Diego the summers are warm enough to use the sun to set the dye into the fabric. (I work with fiber reactive dyes, that require heat for the dye to form a chemical bond with natural fiber fabrics.)

Sometimes I am still dyeing well into the fall. Today I dyed the last piece of fabric for the year. Yeah! Ahead of schedule, well kind of.

I'd planned to spend the month of August cutting lino blocks and printing cards for the holiday season. Every year I forget that it is too hot in the summer to work with printing inks. All kinds of disasters can and did happen this year.

Well art is about exploring disasters and creating something out of them. So, I took many of the designs I'd cut into block and turned them into stencils using my favorite stencil material - freezer paper.

All images are protected by a Creative Commons Copyright, 2011, Yasmin Sabur

Maybe, I was just in the mood for disasters. Remember that fiber reactive dyes need heat to form a chemical bond? Between not enough steam setting and too little baking soda (the activator) in my print mix, I ruined the first set of a dozen or so small stencilled pieces.

All images are protected by a Creative Commons Copyright,
2011, Yasmin Sabur

Did I go to bed for three days? No, but believe me I wanted to. Just soldiered on, and finally three weeks later, got some pieces, stencilled, dyed, steamed, rinsed, pressed and looking good.

A constant in the life of all but the most successful artists is the production of small affordable works.

The small works, hopefully, sell in large quantities. Are representative of the quality of an artist's larger works and speak with the same voice.

The idea being that you, the collector will be intrigued by the small works, and will eventually purchase something larger (also more expensive).

The cards have for years been one of my small artifacts, as are my scarves.

All images are protected by a Creative Commons Copyright, 2011, Yasmin Sabur

These new small stencilled pieces (10X8 inches) are much too detailed to be sold in the same price range as the cards and scarves (under $60 for the most part). So I needed to come up with a way to make them more affordable.

All images are protected by a Creative Commons Copyright,
2011, Yasmin Sabur

I turned to digital fabric printing on organic cotton.

For the next month as I work through the process of turning these one of a kind monoprints into digital works of art I'll blog and let you know how I did it.

For starters, the monoprints will be scanned.

I'll go to my local adult ed center and use the Mac lab scanner to do this. Better quality than my all in one Epson printer/scanner/copier at home.

If you live in San Diego, the center is located on Aero Drive. There is an open MAC lab on Saturday morning from 8am to noon.

Next, because I will be color correcting and matching in PhotoShop, I signed up for a month long subscription to Lynda.com. I'll use the video tutorials to brush up on my skills. (Creative Suites is now on version 5, I have version 3.)

The images are from photographs I took this morning. Complete set of stencilled monoprints can be seen on Flickr and Facebook.

All images are protected by a Creative Commons Copyright, 2011, Yasmin Sabur

The line of prints are named "Tribe of One." Each print title is the name of an African country.

As this blog series progresses, chime in. I am sure to get stuck at many points along the way and your help will be greatly appreciated.

Traditional African Textile Design: Adinkra

2011-09-01T09:30:00.000-07:00

Adinkra stamping. From Go Travel Ghana

African symbols known as Adinkra are found throughout Ghana, a beautiful West African country on the Atlantic Ocean. On cloth and walls, in pottery and logos, these Asante (Ashanti) tribe symbols can be found everywhere.

Stamp carver Joseph Nsiah of Ntonso, Ghana, holding an adinkra

stamp.From africa.si.edu

Originally created by the Akan people of Ghana (a large ethnic group) and the Gyaman (the people of a medieval African state founded by a branch of the Akan) of Cote d’Ivoire Adinkra symbols represent concepts or aphorisms.

Modern commercial Adinkra cloth. From Alison Jones

Modern fabric Adinkra are often made by woodcut sign writing as well as screen printing. The fabric can be used to communicate evocative messages that represent parts of the makers life or those around them.

Traditional Adinkra funeral cloth. From the Buchele Adventure

Traditional Adinkra cloth is a hand-printed fabric made in Ghana. Adinkra cloths were traditionally made for royalty to wear at religious ceremonies.

Adinkra stamps. From Tien Chu

In the Ashanti Craft Village of Ntonso, just a short drive north of Kumasi, Adinkra cloth is still hand made. The traditional method of creating Adinkra cloth is by mashing the bark of Bedia trees (transported from North Ghana), boiling and reducing several times until the bark becomes a pitch-like black dye. This dye is called Adinkera aduru, and it is what gives the cloth its name.

Adinkra cloth is stamped and patterned with traditional Ashanti symbols. Each symbol has its own meaning. Using the dye, lines are drawn on the cloth to divide it into squares.

Adinkra with sewn strips of woven Kente cloth. From Go Travel Ghana.

Next, Adinkra symbols are carved into calabash gourds, These stamps are then dipped into the dye and rocked onto fabric to create unique and beautiful patterns.

Strips of kente cloth may be sewn between strips of Adinkra cloth to create a colorful and dramatic piece.

Links:

An index to the meaning of Adinkra symbols

Adinkra

The History of Adinkra

Ghana Tour Travel

Adinkra Stamping in Ghana

Traditional Surface Textile Design - Adire ll

2011-08-18T15:04:00.000-07:00

Adire is the name given to the traditional textile dyeing and patterning of cloth by the Youruba tribe, primarily located in Nigeria, West Africa. Using cotton fabric and indigo dye (both plants indigenous to the area), the fabric is bound, folded, stitched and dyed.

You can find more information regarding the history of this textile at NSW.

Another form of Adire is the patterning of fabric using a paste to create resist patterns. The fabric is then dyed in indigo. This technique is named Adire Eleko. The paste may be applied by hand or through a stencil.

From the Bosence Gallery, read more here.

Reading List:

African Textiles, Colors and Creativity Across A Continent

John Gillow

Thames and Hudson

The Art of African Textiles

Duncan Clarke

African Printed Textile Design

Diane V. Horn

(International Design Library)

The Essential Art of African Textiles: Design Without End

(Metropolitan Museum of Art)

Alisa LaGamma

Christine Giuntini

On-line Resources:

Adire African Textiles

Everything Akasha

Hart Cottage Quilts

Traditional Surface Textile Design

2011-08-15T08:28:00.000-07:00

If you find fabric fascinating, as I do, you may have taken some time to study it's history.

This will be a series of posts on traditional patterning of textiles around the world.

I'm starting with Africa, a huge continent with many different textile traditions.

Adire oniko - is a Youruba term for tied and dyed fabric. The patterns are traditional and named. Indigo is the most commonly used dye stuff. The Youruba are primarily located in Nigeria, West Africa.

Next: More Adire

The Freezer Paper Stencil Project

2011-06-30T06:00:00.000-07:00

The Stencil Project Number One. A series of surface textile designs created with freezer paper stencil resists and Procion MX Dye on repurposed 100% cotton sheeting. This series is about simple complexity, primitive shapes, positive and negative space, and varied repeats. The work is intended to be reproduced in complimentary sets on organic cotton fabric for yardage. Yasmin Sabur 2011, 24X24 inches.

I love working in textile design resist processes. The processes range from the relatively simple process of tie dye and some basic shibori and adire to multi colored silk screens. What they all have in common is the use of a substance to block out areas of fabric, which don't accept color when dyed or painted.

The Stencil Project Number Two. A series of surface textile designs created with freezer paper stencil resists and Procion MX Dye on repurposed 100% cotton sheeting. This series is about simple complexity, primitive shapes, positive and negative space, and varied repeats. The work is intended to be reproduced in complimentary sets on organic cotton fabric for yardage. Yasmin Sabur 2011, 24X24 inches.

You kind of have to think in reverse. If you what a white area in a design, where you place the resist will remain white and the open areas not covered by the resist will become colored. When working on a piece with anything other than a monochromatic color scheme, the colors and the resists take some thought.

The Stencil Project Number Three. A series of surface textile designs created with freezer paper stencil resists and Procion MX Dye on repurposed 100% cotton sheeting. This series is about simple complexity, primitive shapes, positive and negative space, and varied repeats. The work is intended to be reproduced in complimentary sets on organic cotton fabric for yardage. Yasmin Sabur 2011, 24X24 inches.

A red and white piece is fairly easy. Cover up all of the white areas with the resist and dye or paint the open areas red.

The Stencil Project Number Four. A series of surface textile designs created with freezer paper stencil resists and Procion MX Dye on repurposed 100% cotton sheeting. This series is about simple complexity, primitive shapes, positive and negative space, and varied repeats. The work is intended to be reproduced in complimentary sets on organic cotton fabric for yardage. Yasmin Sabur 2011, 24X24 inches.

When planning a piece with two primary colors and one secondary color i.e., red, yellow and orange the red area has to be blocked out when dyeing for yellow, and vice versa, but the orange area has to remain open when dyeing both yellow and red. (Orange is a secondary color composed of red and yellow.) So think of a piece with twenty colors and you get some idea of how carefully an artist has to prepare before applying either resist or color.

So given all of that, who knew that freezer paper would be such a fun resist? I worked in batik for over 20 years. Maybe one of the most complicated resists process. In batik areas of fabric are block out with hot wax. Using a tool called a tjanting, small lines and dots may be drawn. In hot weather the wax may melt, in cold weather it may peel off. The wax makes large pieces of fabric cumbersome to dye. After waxing and dyeing for all colors related to one primary color, the wax is boiled off in several baths of soapy water. Just a mess.

Freezer paper allows you to achieve batik like resists (minus the crackle effect that many associate with batik) with so much less fuss.

Freezer paper is waxed on one side. Complex designs can be drawn on the non waxy side and then cut with scissors. When the freezer paper is ironed waxy side down onto fabric it creates a resist. A fairly thick dye paste is then applied to the fabric. The dye cures for 24 hours, the paper is pulled off and the dye set. Voila! That's it.

The Stencil Project Number Five. A series of surface textile designs created with freezer paper stencil resists and Procion MX Dye on repurposed 100% cotton sheeting. This series is about simple complexity, primitive shapes, positive and negative space, and varied repeats. The work is intended to be reproduced in complimentary sets on organic cotton fabric for yardage. Yasmin Sabur 2011, 24X24 inches.

All kinds of wonderful effects can be created by repeating the process. Layer upon layer upon layer of color and shape.

The Absolutely Fabulous Big 63 Birthday GiftAway Is Over!

2011-06-29T08:13:00.000-07:00

And the winners are: Diane, Tien, Karen, Leah Sophia and Cheryl.

The new year is off to a great start. Thank all of you, so much, for celebrating with me. I'd like to promise that next year will be quieter, but I know that's not true.

Yasmin

The Absolutely Fabulous Big 63 Birthday GiftAway - June 25th, 26th and 27th

2011-06-25T11:27:00.000-07:00

This is a three day Giftaway. Slightly different from the others. I'll need to randomly select someone to receive this gift from those who leave comments over the next three days. Good luck!
And the gift is TADA - three pillow covers. The pillows are hand sewn by me, covered on the front in three complimentary yasmintoo fabrics created from one hand dyed silk shibori piece, digitally edited to produce three separate patterns and digitally printed on organic cotton sateen. The pillow backs are off white linen with an envelope closing. Each pillow measures 16 X16 inches.

yasmintoo pillow cover, organic cotton sateen front, linen envelope back; hand dyed shibori, digitally edited and printed.

These pillows are a peek into the future of yasmintoo. I am creating fabric which will be based on hand processed motifs which are then edited in Illustrator and Photoshop to create complimentary fabric strike ups. After each pattern is completed, it is electronically delivered to India for printing with natural dyes. End products are yardage and pillows. Hello soft furnishings world. (This group of pillows was printed with non-organic pigments. Natural dyes will produce a different and softer range of colors.)
You can follow the progress of this project here over the next several months (optimistic, may take a year).

yasmintoo pillow cover, organic cotton sateen front, linen envelope back; hand dyed shibori, digitally edited and printed, 16 X 16 inches. yasmintoo 2011

Final birthday wishes to all of you: the gifts of understanding, knowledge, curiosity, peace, health, grace, and joy.

yasmintoo pillow cover, organic cotton sateen front, linen envelope back; hand dyed shibori, digitally edited and printed, 16 X 16 inches. yasmintoo 2011

Yasmin

The Absolutely Fabulous Big 63 Birthday GiftAway - June 24th

2011-06-24T10:50:00.000-07:00

Well, good morning, good afternoon, good evening and for some good night.

Today's giftaway from yasmintoo is four sets of four lino cut cards, with matching envelopes. Your choice of a mixed or matched set. I'll choose the design and card stock color. The images are examples of the card sets. Some of the lino blocks were cut in 2009 and 2010. Others are archival, carved in the 1980s. Isn't it wonderful that lino blocks have such a long life?

Leave a comment, tell me if you want a mixed or a matched set, first come, first served. You know what we're celebrating.

This block was carved in 2009. Printed on a natural paper, mounted on trifold card stock

This block was carved in 2009. Printed on a natural paper, mounted on recycled card stock

This block was carved in the 1980s. Printed on a natural paper, mounted on recycled card stock

Another archival block carved in the 1980s. Printed on a natural paper, mounted on recycled card stock

This block was carved in 2010, one in a set of four complimentary blocks. Printed on a natural paper, mounted on recycled card stock

The Absolutely Fabulous Big 63 Birthday GiftAway - June 23rd

2011-06-23T07:19:00.000-07:00

You know the drill leave a comment, the gifts are first come, first served. Today's birthday gift is three sets of hand dyed linen napkins. Each set is one gift. These are great for using in quilts. The sets are numbered, leave the number in your comment. Happy Birthday!

All of the sets

Number One

Number Two

Number Three

The Absolutely Fabulous Big 63 Birthday GiftAway - June 22nd

2011-06-22T00:05:00.000-07:00

Choose a gift by leaving a comment. First come first served. This is my birthday present to you.

There are four shirts with this design on the front. Women's size large, 100% percent cotton. The image is a lino cut I designed in the 1980's. Still works today.
Happy Birthday!

The Absolutely Fabulous Big 63 Birthday GiftAway - June 21st

2011-06-21T15:53:00.000-07:00

First come, first served. Pick your shirt, leave a comment, include your email address. I'll let you know that you're getting a Birthday Gift. One gift per person. I will be gifting for eight days, from June 21st thru June 28th.

Upcycled Jones Wear, 100% cotton, hand dyed, size Medium

Caslon, Upcycled, 100% cotton hand dyed t-shirt, size Small

American Eagle, upcycled, 100% cotton, hand dyed tank, size Extra Small

Upcycled, GAP tank, 100% cotton, hand dyed, size Large

Visit http://yasmintoo.etsy.com/, I'm having a Big 63% OFF Birthday Sale.

Happy Birthday!

Tips for Shopping the Big 63% OFF Sale

2011-06-20T16:41:00.000-07:00

Find this scarf at yasmintoo.etsy.com, now 63% OFF

1. Where - http://yasmintoo.etsy.com/
2. What - all yasmintoo items are 63% OFF the listed price. All silk scarves, yardage, fat quarter, and artifacts.
3. When - Tuesday, June 21st thru Tuesday, June 28th, 2011

Four hand dyed repurposed linen napkins, now 63% OFF

4. How - you may purchase on Etsy, the yasmintoo Facebook page, or by emailing me. I accept credit cards, PayPal, checks and money orders on Etsy. You may pay thru PayPal, checks and money orders if you are buying from FB or directly from me.
5. I will reserve items if you need more time, email, convo or comment to let me know you need an item reserved. All purchases must be completed by Tuesday, July 5th.
6. Please let me know if you are purchasing for a gift shop or a business, so the items can be tagged properly.

"Sudan", small collectible artifact, now 63% OFF

7. Ask as many questions as you need to. Leave a comment on FB, send a convo on Etsy, or email me directly.
8. There will be daily giftaways on the blog. First come, first served. There are several of each gift item.
9. I'm excited about the sale and so glad to be sharing my birthday celebration with you. Thanks to all of you.

Hand dyed repurposed cotton yardage, now 63% OFF

I'm Not Cool But 63% Off Is

2011-06-16T15:00:00.000-07:00

Some folks manage to be laid back and composed when it comes to birthdays. Others wish to never get a year older.

Not me. I love my birthday. I get excited like a little kid. I don't have a problem with letting everyone know that I am a year older or how many years all of those birthdays add up to.

My birthday is June 26th, and I am getting giddy. It's my birthday, it's my birthday. O joy, what fun, what glee, what pure dee happy pleasure.

This year I want to share all of these good feelings with you. So for one week from June 21st through June 28th, please accept my birthday gift to you of 63% off all items in my yasmintoo.etsy.com store. I promise birthday wrappings, balloons, and something sweet. Wish I could send you all some shortcake and strawberries with whipped cream on top.

If you are not familiar with Etsy here are some things you need to know:
1. Yes, you do have to sign up to buy something on Etsy, not hard.
At the very top of the Etsy home page on the left side, click Register. The next page will ask you to select a username and password. It will also ask for your email address and other information. Then, click Submit.
2. yasmintoo accepts credit cards, checks, money orders and PayPal. I'll make arrangements with you if all of these payment methods don't work. Just send me a convo (Etsy speak for email.)
3. To get your gift of 63% OFF, you must use the coupon code BIRTHDAY when you check out.

Every day throughout the week I will gift away one FREE gift. Hand block printed cards, fat quarters of hand dyed and printed fabric, whole cloth hand dyed yardage, special scarves, digitally printed fabric pillow covers, yasmintoo long sleeved t-shirt. Check the blog or my facebook page daily to see what I am gifting away on each day.

To participate in the giftaways just leave a comment on the post for the item you want. I will gift away each item, until I run out.

Happy Birthday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

PS: Remember all of the fun begins June 21st. But I'll keep you entertained until then with stories and highlights of my 62 birthdays.

Tuesday's Designer - Tali Weinberg Part 2

2011-06-02T11:45:00.000-07:00

(Part 1 of the Tuesday's Designer - Tali Weinberg post was a review of the exhibit "Good Work" at the Textile Arts Center in Brooklyn, NY. Tali curated this show.)

Tuesday's Designer - Tali Weinberg Part 2
Tali Weinberg is a Brooklyn-based artist and activist. Currently, Tali is an artist in residence at the Textile Arts Center in Brooklyn, NY. Tali will have a solo show at TAC in July . The reception is July 8th with open studios July 9th and 10th. At the exhibit you will have an opportunity to view Tali's weavings, quilts and art installations.

Tali's work and words:
“I find beauty and liberation in the ability to take something apart in order to create something new and the knowledge that amidst constraint we have an abundance of choice in how we produce meaning, objects, and social lives.”

"Light as a feather, this handwoven silk scarf has been dyed with natural indigo using a woven shibori technique." Tali Weinberg, available at Tali Weinberg on Etsy.

" I emphasize the use of materials that reflect my value of responsible production and consumption. I give preference to natural fibers and to supporting small scale and socially responsible producers. I also use donated mill ends and upcycle other fabrics. I prioritize natural over chemical dyes. "

"Contemporary and elegant, the combination of fine cotton and linen gives this scarf just the right combination of structure and drape." Tali Weinberg, available at Tali Weinberg on Etsy.

"This piece was woven and dyed in a multi-step process. When planing the warp for the loom, every seven threads, a heavier supplementary warp thread was added. During weaving, supplemental pattern threads were also added in the weft (which creates the diamond design when dying).
After removing the cloth from the loom, I first gathered the supplemental weft threads tightly together and then selectively painted on a rust-colored dye. After the dye set, I cut away these threads and then selectively gathered some of the supplemental warp threads in a similar fashion I then painted on an iron-colored dye, blending it with the first coat.
Finally, all of the supplemental threads were carefully removed from the warp, leaving both the resist-dyed pattern and the open yet stable fabric. The piece is finished with delicate knotted fringe."
For a description and images of woven shibori go to Mulberries and Dew, Tali's blog.
You can see more of Tali’s weavings, quilts, and art installations on her web site.

Handwoven blanket, organic cotton yarn hand-dyed with the natural dye cochineal. Tali Weinberg, available at Tali Weinberg on Etsy.

For more information on natural dyeing check out the TAC blog post called Summer Reading. Tali has compiled a list of resources - Unraveling: A Natural Dye Bibliography.

Resources
Tali Weinberg Shop
Website
Blog - Mulberries and Dew
Unraveling: A Natural Dye Bibliography
Textile Arts Center

Tuesday's Designer - Tali Weinberg

2011-05-31T13:55:00.000-07:00

(When I read a review of the exhibit “Good Work” by Joetta Maue on the Textile Arts Center blog, I knew that I wanted to feature the curator Tali Weinberg, artist and activist, on Tuesday’s Designer.

Back in the day, in my creative community the crew were all artists and activists. Partially because of the time we lived through, partially because of a deep sense and understanding of the responsibility to tie our thread of then present day activity to the ongoing cloth of creativity and human struggle.
Tali continues this weaving together.
Today’s post centers on the exhibit “Good Work.” Tomorrow’s post will take a more personal look at Tali’s work. )

Tali Weinberg is a Brooklyn-based artist and activist.
Tali on her practice “my practice of making is informed by my work in human rights and fair trade advocacy, community organizing, and grassroots development. Through weaving and stitching, I explore how labor rights, community, ecology, and meaning are shaped by the craft of turning fibers into textiles.”

(All images in this post are from a review of "Good Works" by Joetta Maue on the Textile Arts Center blog)

“I find further inspiration in the women labor movement’s call for “bread and roses.” Life should be beautiful as well as just. So I use my hands to make cloth that touches our skin and inhabits our lives: to turn the results of my own consumption away from excess and back into objects I hope are of comfort, beauty, and meaning for others.”

Domestication, by Belinda Smith, Good Works exhibit at the Textile Arts Center

Good Work is a show curated by Tali now on exhibit at the Oak Knit Gallery on the second floor of the Textile Arts Center in Brooklyn, NY.
(A curator is a person who selects and often interprets works of art. In addition to selecting works, the curator often is responsible for writing labels, catalog essays, and other supporting content for the exhibition.)
For this juried show, artists and designers were invited to submit works for the inaugural exhibit in the Oak Knit Studio Gallery with their own broad interpretation of “Good Work.” What has emerged is a meaningful body of work that touches on labor, justice, gender, care, fair trade, the hand, immigration, community, skill and craftsmanship.

Hillary Steel’s work History, in the exhibit Good Works at the Textile Arts Center

GOOD WORK: A May Day celebration of the makers and making of textiles
April 29 – June 12, 2011
Featured artists/makers: Abigail Doan, Atefeh Khas, Belinda Smith, Charlene Lam, El Hombre Sobre la Tierra in collaboration with Global Goods Partners and Via Nativa, Erica Harris, Erin Considine, Hillary Steel, Jill Magi, Maya Valladares, Michele Pred, and Susan Weltman

Work by Erica Harris in the exhibit Good Works at the Textile Arts Center

From a review of “Good Works” by Joetta Maue on the TAC blog. "This May Day, the Textile Arts Center and Oak Knit Studio are celebrating the textile workers, artists, designers, and activists who make our world more beautiful and just—all makers tied together by the products of our labor—all makers whose work tries to do good in a multitude of ways.
May Day… is a day to honor laborers, to mark the social and economic achievements of the labor movement in the US, and for workers around the world to celebrate their ties to an international community."
Resources:
Tali Weinberg
website
blog: Mulberries and Dew
on Etsy

Textile Art Center, Brooklyn, NY
website
blog

Joetta Maue
website
blog
on Etsy

Bread and Roses
Wikipedia has a good article on Bread and Roses, the origin of the term and it's many applications to organizations throughout the world.

Spilt Pea Soup

2011-05-22T18:48:00.000-07:00

Yes, it is a beautiful, sunny day in Southern California. I should be writing about salads and sea food. Today though, it's split pea soup. I eat beans of some kind six days a week out of seven. Bean soup, beans and rice, bean casseroles, bean loaves, beans, beans, beans. I like them, they are economical, tasty and with a whole grain a source of complete protein.
I grew up eating beans cooked with pork. Tails, hocks, ham bone, bacon and lard. There is nothing in my memory to match the flavor of green split pea soup with ham hocks. Or so I thought. One day a few weeks ago I stopped by a Mediterrean cafe for lunch. The cafe was serving split pea soup. It was delicious. I'm pretty sure all of the left over ends and bits of vegetables went into the stock. The soup was thickened with what appeared to be ricearoni, or maybe not.
When I cook split pea soup at home it is always either too thick or too watery. This week when I made my soup I added half a cup of brown rice and increased the amount of water. Bingo, just what was missing.
Here are the basics:
Whole bag of dried split green peas
1 medium onion chopped
2 cups of chopped celery
1 small clove of garlic, finely chopped
1 grated carrot
1/2 cup brown rice
2 teaspoons dried dill or a half a hand full of fresh dill
Bay leaf
Salt to taste
Fresh ground black pepper to taste
2 tablespoons good olive oil
Saute the vegetables with the herbs in the olive oil until limp
Put the peas in a heavy pot and add 8 cups of water or vegetable stock and the sauteed vegetables, bring to a boil, turn down to a simmer. Cook until the soup is the consistency you like. Add more water or stock if necessary.
You can add curry powder, cumin, or a variety of different spices to the soup to change or deepen the flavor.
Do you eat beans? What's your favorite recipe? A well fed soul is an artful soul.

Tuesday’s Designer – Marie-Emilie of Belette Print

2011-05-17T10:57:00.000-07:00

Today's Tuesday's Designer travels to France to visit Marie-Emilie of Belette Print.

I printed the kiwi fruit design with two of my hand carved linocut plates. Printed with Gerstaecker traditional oil based ink (permanent). Belette Print, Marie-Emilie

Marie-Emilie designs fresh prints using the lino cut or linogravure process. Her prints are created on both paper and fabric. The prints are available for matting and framing, as note cards, purses, bags, and accessories.

Carte Toucan Toco card. Seven lino blocks (carved by hand) are needed to print this colorful Toco Toucan!

Each plate is inked with a different color brown, yellow, red, black, green. Printed with Schminke water-based, linoprint inks. The print is titled and signed. Marie-Emilie, Belette Print

From Marie-Emilie - "Young French woman, curious, inquiring mind, I practice linocut, drawing, clay sculpting as an amateur. I have a real passion for those activities!"

"I've been initiated in traditional engraving (etching, copper printing plates...) in the Musée Carnavalet's workshop (Paris). Here I took a fancy to this amazing expression vector: each print is unique!"

La Carpe, printed on a "Dorée" paper 170g/m² with Schminke water-based linoprint colours, signed and dated. Marie-Emilie, Belette Print

"Linocut is easier to operate so I can practice it every day at home with a press for the black line method.Working with animals - they are my favorite models. I particularly like the gracefulness of birds."

This is a lino cut block before being inked for printing. Belette Print, Marie-Emilie

Each item listing in the Belette Print Etsy shop includes images of several steps in the creative process. I love that Marie-Emilie takes the time to pass on information about her craft. Her blog Belette Prints Linogravure contains more indepth tutorials. The blog is written in French (why not?). No French? No problem. A picture is truly worth a thousand words.
Shop
Belette Prints
Blog
Belette Print Linogravure
Facebook

Museum, Gallery, Art Center Round Up

2011-05-12T10:47:00.000-07:00

(An occasional post on exhibits, classes, calls for entry)

The Noyes Museum of Art of The Richard Stockton College

Textile Arts Center
Brooklyn, NY
Seeking New Artists in Residence
The deadline for the next cycle of the Artists in Residence program is fast approaching. Do you have questions, concerns? Attend one of our tours, or give us a call!
Click here for more information on the application process

St. Louis Artists Guild
Summer Classes at the St. Louis Artists Guild

Craft and Folk Art Museum – Los Angeles, CA
http://www.cafam.org/globalbazaar.html
Saturday, May 14
10 am - 5 pm
The CAFAM Courtyard - 5814 Wilshire Blvd.
Celebrate World Fair Trade Day with the Shop@CAFAM!
Discover handmade treasures from around the globe, talk with local artists, and learn the stories behind exquisitely crafted goods! Join us as we transform CAFAM's courtyard into a bustling marketplace with the best in handmade goods from local artists and international vendors. Come enjoy snacks, music, and plenty of treasures for Father's Day, graduations, weddings, and more!

Schweinfurth Art Center

Summer Art Camp
Registration now open

Mana Contemporary Art Center
Grand Opening
May 15, 2011
1:00 p.m. – 12 a.m.
Mana Contemporary Art Center is pleased to announce its Opening Gala on Sunday May 15, 2011. In addition to being the new home of The Eileen S. Kaminsky Family Foundation and Trinkhalle Restaurant, the 125,000-square-foot Art Center brings together artist studios, performance and exhibition spaces, and cutting-edge art storage facilities, all under one roof.
800.330.9659
888 Newark Avenue
Jersey City, NJ 07306
http://www.artmanafest.com/

Dairy Barn Arts Center
Quilt National Opening
Exhibit will be open to the public May 28 - September 5, 2011
8000 Dairy Lane
Athens, Ohio 45701
740-592-4981

The Noyes Museum of Art of The Richard Stockton College
2011 Crafts Marketplace - Call for Artisan Vendors
The Noyes Museum of Art of The Richard Stockton College will once again present our Annual Crafts Marketplace, a two day event showcasing fine art, fine crafts, and other fine handmade goods.
Click here for details and vendor application.
All applications are due to the Noyes Museum by Friday, July 25, 2011.

Tuesday's Designer - Erin Flett Designs for the Stylish Soul

2011-05-10T11:55:00.000-07:00

When I first saw Aria, Erin’s sunflower pillow cover, I knew that I wanted to feature her work on Tuesday’s Designer. Erin is a surface textile designer working in silk screen.

Surface textile design encompasses a variety of processes. Over the next several months Tuesday’s Designer will feature an artist/craftsperson working in one area of surface textile design followed by a blog later in the week with information on that same process.
Now, on to Erin and her work.

This is WIND. This is a 20" pillow inspired by the fierce coastal winds here in Maine in BAHAMA BLUE--every imperfection is hand drawn and created by me. Erin Flett

Erin Flett is about bold, imperfect and organic shapes and elements that are collaged together for her unique hand drawn eclectic style.
Erin is a wife, and a mother of two little girls with a passion for funky vintage finds and living and breathing design. She is a prolific graphic / surface and textile designer living and working out of her studio in Maine.

This is ARIA, a 20" pillow inspired by Kansas sunflowers.
"I am a Kansas University Graduate--BFA Graphic Design." Erin Flett

"I love the worn look and feel of vintage finds and I wanted these pillows to have a hand drawn and human look and feel to them."

Erin sells and licenses her designs and custom prints for local and national manufactures. She specializes in brand development and custom patterns for interior designers. For the past five years she has also run a successful graphic design studio "studio e flett design," working on everything from annual reports, packaging, collateral, and web design for a wide range of clients. Erin has won numerous design awards and published in a variety of design books featuring her distinctive hand.

This is STACKED DECO. A Rainy Day Gray 20" x 20" bold, and graphic slip cover inspired by a collection of found vintage art deco elements from many flea market excursions...all rough edges are hand crafted creating a worn look and feel. Erin Flett

"I hand screen on vintage reproduction bark cloth in my Maine studio with water based inks that have a soft hand. Each pillow back has a envelope closure for easy access and a hand screened muslin tag reading - Erin Flett, designs for the stylish soul. Every print is signed with "erin" in the lower right hand corner. "

This is BUNNY BOO.
A pink 9" light weight wooden framed bark cloth print. This was designed for my little bunny who is three. Super sweet and fun to mix and match. Erin Flett

Erin believes "that great design comes from the soul and translates into opportunity. If one believes and stays true to ones self and personal style and craft, doors open, and people respond because what is created is heart felt and human."

Erin's ultimate goal is to create her own line of home textiles, accessories and paper goods that reflect these beliefs and style. She wants to keep producing hand crafted designs that are distinctive, driven by passion that people gravitate towards because they connect, are relevant and make people feel good.

Where to find Erin Flett:
Shop
Portfolio
Facebook

Home Made Steamer

2011-05-06T17:20:00.000-07:00

There are many ways (this is generally true of every process or technique) of heat setting fabric printed or painted with Procion MX dye. I’ve included some links at the end of this post for other ways of making a steamer, steaming or heat setting fabric.
This method works for up to two yards of fabric or several smaller bundles. Really, however many bundles you can fit into the pot loosely.

These are wrapped fabric bundles after steaming.

The first step is wrapping your fabric. Start with a bottom layer of blank newsprint, paper toweling, old sheets, or brown paper bags. This layer should be three or four inches larger than the fabric you are going to steam.

Lay your fabric on top of the bottom layer and cover with another layer of what ever you used on the bottom.

Roll all three layers together loosely. Steaming will set in creases, so do this gently. (If you have room in the pot, you can roll the bundle around something, like an empty, paper towel roll.)

Fold your roll into a bundle and tie or rubber band.

The Steam Pots

I use two pots to steam, kind of like a water bath or bain marie in cooking. I found a huge lobster steamer at Wal-Mart for a reasonable price. Look around at thrift stores or used restaurant supply stores for the largest pot (may be called a stock pot), you can find.

The second pot should fit inside of the big pot.

Line your second, smaller pot with old newspapers (yes newspaper does still exist). Place your wrapped bundles in this pot. Cover with a layer of balled up newspaper, or save the wrapping from previous bundles and ball that up. Cover the whole thing with a thick layer of newspaper. (If you don’t have newspapers around check out the 7/11 or other stores for newspapers being thrown out or returned to a vendor.)

This is the small pot lined with newspaper.

Fill the larger pot with water. The amount of water should not be so high that it will boil over into the smaller pot, but also will not boil out during the 15 to 30 minutes of steaming. (My smaller pot floats in the larger lobster pot once I add about four inches of water.)

After adding water put the small pot inside the larger pot. Place another thick layer of newspaper over the top of the large pot. Trim this if you are obsessive. If not, cover tightly with foil. Do not cover the small pot. Put on the stovetop or a heavy-duty hot plate, bring to a boil, turn down to a good simmer and steam for 15 to 30 minutes.

Large pot after steaming. The layer of newspaper has absorbed all of the moisture from steaming. This layer keep the steam condensation from dripping onto your fabric bundles.

(Pro Chemical suggests steaming for 15 minutes. Using two pots is not an open steaming method. The extra time insures that the steam, as well as the heat reaches the bundles in the bottom of the smaller pot.)

Turn off the heat. Just leave the whole thing for a half an hour or so. Everything will be extremely hot. Don't be alarmed if there is an ammonia-like smell. The smell is from the chemical reaction taking place.

Foil covered large pot.

Once your bundles have cooled down, remove the wrappings. Have a pan of cold water ready and begin the first of three rinsings in cold water, or until the rinse water runs clear. A final (or more) rinse in hot water with Synthrapol or a few drops of Tide 2X and you’re finished.

First cold water rinse. You can see that the dye has been exhausted, because the water is almost clear.

Notes: Sodium alginate used to thicken the dye and form a print paste also helps keep the dye from migrating during the steaming process.

Plunging all of the fabric into the first cold water rinse is important for controlling dye run off, especially with lighter colored fabric. If you’ve prepared your dye paste and fabric correctly and steamed long enough all of the dye should be exhausted and successfully bonded with the fabric. Excessive dye run off means something is wrong.

Fiber reactive dyes form a chemical bond with plant and protein fabrics. The steam setting is where the reaction takes place.

Fabric, steamed, rinsed and hanging outside on the line to dry. Success!

To make you feel better: I have burned fabric during the steaming process; and ruined yards of silk with dye run off after steaming. Start with a piece of fabric that you don’t love, keep notes and don’t let what may seem like errors deter you. Though burned fabric is hard to get over.

If you are stenciling, some heat setting will take place every time you iron a stencil on to the fabric. This is a bonus.

This piece will now be stenciled again, discharged, rinsed, and hand painted.

Resources:

Steaming - G&S Dye

Painting and Print Applications - Pro Chemical

Building Your Own Stove Top Steamer - Dharma Trading

Useful Tools for Steam Setting - Paula Burch

Silk Screen Printing and Hand Painting - Jacquard

How to Build a Cheap Fabric Steamer - Sunny Jim

Vertical Steamer - Jacquard

May Works in Progress

2011-05-05T15:10:00.000-07:00

My normal (kind of) work schedule has been disrupted this past month.

The first of three green pieces.
Yasmin Sabur, 2011, all rights reserved

The little house, which flooded several times this year, and has mold issues, is getting a repair and, if the cash holds out, a remodel. This is good news. In order for the work to proceed, I have to move out. The little house provides shelter for Bella, the dog, me and is my studio. Moving out, even if for a short period of time, is an undertaking.

This is one of the first three stencil pieces. The work got more complex as it went along
Yasmin Sabur, 2011, all rights reserved

My work schedule is to spend one week a month working on artifacts for the Etsy store and museum and art center gift shops – scarves, small collages, digitally printed yardage, lino cut cards, etc.
I try to work in processes that are relevant to the larger and more significant work I’ll do in the remaining three weeks. (Larger always, though maybe only more significant to me. Who knows?)

Now with the move, when I won’t have access to a wet area, need to have inventory completed, photographed, descriptions written, and ready to send off. I’ve been working double time to get two months worth of work completed in one.
I need to have something to do while I’m on hiatus, so I’ve also been working on some fine craft pieces that I can do hand and finishing work on.

The pieces illustrating this post are work I will complete in June. (I have a bunch of other stuff in the “to do” closet that I’ll work on too.)
This work is stenciled. Stenciling is the simplest of the resist processes. I’m having a ball working in this process. It reminds me of back in the day when I spent all of my time working in hot wax batik. More good news, no hot wax, no tjanting tools, no fine lines and tiny dots. Best news, no removing the wax in hot soapy boiling water.

Very brief story – When I first got married, we lived in an attic apartment in East Orange, NJ. You guessed it – I had a major exhibition and the wax melted on the incomplete work faster than I could get it on and off the fabric. It wasn’t interesting. I think we finally got the money together to buy an air conditioner when my mother (who was probably menopausal at that point in her life) came for a visit and spent most of her time in her air conditioned rental car.

This is truly a work in progress. You can see the lay out lines. They will disappear when the fabric is steamed and washed. There are other steps and processes before this piece is completed. It is 52 X 52 inches.
Yasmin Sabur, 2011, all rights reserved

Several posts to follow this one on stenciling, procion mx dye, and basic dye color theory.

A long banner. After the work is steam set and washed, it will get discharged and then dyed some more.
Whoa you say. Yep.
Yasmin Sabur, 2011, all rights reserved

Tuesday's Designer - Alexandra Hart

2011-05-03T08:01:00.000-07:00

This week's Tuesday's Designer is Alexandra Hart. In addition to creating beautiful and informed work, Alix is a neighbor and a role model. She lives a creative life with principles and consideration for all beings and the earth we live on.

San Diego goldsmith Alexandra Hart is known for her sophisticated and artful couture jewelry and metal sculpture using and promoting ethically sourced gemstones and 100% recycled metals.

red, white and yellow
red ruby set in rich yellow 22k gold bezel, with natural rough diamond offset to the side on bright white sterling silver and 22k gold hammer formed band. all designs copyright Alexandra Hart

“I support underdeveloped countries by buying from the most reputable and conscientious companies who comply with the Kimberly Process, Fair Trade and who use recycled metals to reduce the impact of mining on the environment.”

With an MFA in Metalcrafts and Jewelry, as well as professional experience designing Karl Lagerfeld and Givenchy fashion jewelry, Alexandra has received international attention for her handmade works.

feather wrap ring
18k shimmers when hammer formed and burnished, with diamond accents
all designs copyright Alexandra Hart

“Dramatically alluring yet signally protective natural organic forms inspire me, such as the radiating shape of the anemone, the sensuous curves of the nudibranch, and the concave surfaces of the cactus.”

“I hope to create jewelry which captures the delicate balance of the bold and sculptural with the sensual and graceful. I exploit the technique of hammer forming which allows me to "listen" to the properties of the metal, as well as carving and fabricating, to fully utilize the metal’s three dimensional potential.”

sand dollar with diamonds
inspired by a 19th century engraving of sand dollars and other ocean life, this sterling pendant uses a thick scrap of sterling and is set with natural fancy colored diamonds
all designs copyright Alexandra Hart

Alix’s artful couture jewelry may be purchased at:

Adorn Gallery
861 6th Ave, Suite 215
San Diego, CA 92101
619-238-1053

Harbor Square Gallery
374 Main Street
Rockland, ME 04841-3346
207-594-8700

Lemlem With You In Mind
12B Eliot Street
Cambridge, MA 02138
617-547-1447

Jack Kreuter Jewelers
River Road Shopping Center
6231 River Rd
Richmond, VA 23229
(804) 288-3900

3rd Ward Jewelry
241 N. Broadway
Milwaukee, WI 53202
414-289-0886

Alexandra Hart Web Site
Alexandra Hart Blog: Hot Off the Bench

Once Again, Nothing is New

2011-04-28T05:35:00.000-07:00

This month, I've been working on some cut stencil resist pieces. Three out of four are keepers. One, goes into the trash bin. I have a friend who has an entire house full of art from my trash bin. Recycling.

Mid century modern fabric from Knoll

Anyway, the critic, who lives across the way, came over for her fifth daily visit and said " Oh those are interesting, they look like mid century modern art. "

The really wasn't my intention. When I began working on these pieces, I was attempting to force myself away from geometrics. I like some order. But after completing twenty some odd pieces in the woven series, with several still sitting in the to do closet, I was weary of straight lines and decided to start working on some curves.

Bows by Josef Frank at Cora Ginsburg LLC (doesn't this look like a contemporary art quilt design?)

After the critic left I took a good look at the work, and decide that she was, as usual, correct.

There are times when I wish that I'd never seen anyone else's work. I have a mind like a sponge and the memory of an elephant. Sometimes I have reworked and reworked a piece, finally feeling comfortable with it. Only, when I take a step back for a good look, do I realize that I have been attempting to recreate someone else's work that resonated with me.

Marian Mahler

For just that reason, because there is nothing new, because we are all influenced by what we see, what touches and resonates with us visually, I give praise to all artists who have come before me, and those who walk along beside me. Just to be on the safe side.

Interested in mid 20th Century textile design? Dwell magazine has a slide show on it's site from the exhibit "Art by the Yard: Women Design Mid-Century Britain."
Read more: http://www.dwell.com/slideshows/britains-mid-century-female-designers.

Tuesday's Designer - Jamie Kalvestran Textile Alchemist

2011-04-26T09:35:00.000-07:00

Hand Dyed 100% Cotton Quilt Fabric - 021411-6 Size - 10" x 11" From TextileAlchemist

This hand dyed 100% cotton quilting weight fabric is great for sewing and crafting. I use Fiber Reactive Procion Dyes with a low water immersion dyeing technique. All fabrics are rinsed in hot water, and then washed in the washing machine in hot water with Synthrapol. Crackle effect is a secondary step using a resist and paint.

“I believe there is value in creating something handmade. A handmade object carries within it the energy of the maker and imprints a piece of the artist’s soul. May the keeper of my creation feel the peace and love put into every steop of it’s making. For me this is soul satisfying work and I feel fortunate to share it with you!”
Jamie Kalvestran

Jamie received her first design assignment while only in the sixth grade. The school principal, recognizing her talents, called her into his office. Her assignment? Complete artistic freedom to paint the school piano and all the school garbage cans. Now an accomplished product designer, published illustrator and with two design patents to her name, Jamie is bringing her inspirational designs into the textile, childrens products and quilting industries.

Her work may be viewed in her online shop Textile Alchemist.

Hand stitching on a hand dyed, hand painted fabric creates this rich and textural button brooch.

A graduate of the Minneapolis College of Art and Design, Jamie holds a fine arts degree in product design. Authentic designs and integrity of materials is a common thread evident in all of Jamie’s creations.

Unlikely Walleye Print - 012911-5P - 8" x10" print by Jamie Kalvestran

When I was growing up in Wisconsin. Most of our summer vacations were spent traveling north to Canada, camping and walleye fishing. Back in those days you could throw out a bare hook and have a nice walleye in minutes. My father was busy, keeping the hooks baited for me and my two sisters. He also, netted the fish we reeled in and drove the boat. Mom, did the fish frying. Yum, fresh walleye. Nothing better than a shore lunch.

Well, it's been a very long time since I've cast a line. But, I still have a thing for 'Walleyes' and they manifest themselves in my artwork all the time. I call them 'unlikely walleyes' because there has been some creative liberties taken in color, texture and design. But, beneath the surface, they are walleyes. I hope you like them as much or more than I liked those shore lunches.

This print was created by hand dyed batik fabric, then combining with original digital artwork and printed on cold press watercolor paper. It has been placed in an archival 11" x 14" mat ready to be framed and hung.

What is Etsy?

2011-04-25T06:35:00.000-07:00