All Entries in the "Fiber" Category

karen searle: inspired by the feminine impulse to nurture

Fiber artist and author Karen Searle’s wire sculptures create lines, movements and shadows that “suggest the energy of a human presence.” Searle knits and crochets a variety of materials including wire, flax paper and linen, addressing the concept of women’s work.

How My Mother Dressed Me, detail, copper wire, hand knitting, dresses 6″ high

Flax Vessel, knitted and crocheted Japanese flax paper, linen; 36″x16″

Body Bag III, tote bag, knit linen, flax fiber and rope, 18″ high

She has even knitted together pieces of birch bark as a metaphor for women’s work and women’s lives - all of which the artist suggests involve mending and piecing together, scavenging and adorning.

Essence: Long Dress, life-sized wire sculpture and shadow

Bark Quilt, birch bark, rayon thread, glass beads  36″ x 60″

“My imagery is inspired by womens’ lives and womens’ bodies, and by the feminine impulse to nurture.” Karen Searle

Searle, who has an MFA from Minneapolis College of Art & Design, teaches and exhibits across the country and abroad and is the author of Knitting Art: 150 Innovative Works from 18 Contemporary Artists.

sara fox: playful and elegant

Growing up around a passel of boys Sara Fox was more comfortable holding a hammer than a hairbrush. The softer, playful side of this tomboy-turned-metalsmith emerged when she discovered felting, offering a way to incorporate a need for color and texture into her work. The simple shapes and bursts of color sprouting from Fox’s jewelry keep it fresh, surprising, joyful.

My metalwork is the architecture for my felted shapes. I begin with flat sheets and wire of sterling silver and then build the 2-dimensional pieces into 3-dimensional forms. When I felt I get back to the basics - the wool fibers themselves. Using wet and dry felting techniques I start with loose wool and sculpt my shapes, which I then combine with their silver complements.  In the end, each piece is a reminder that we can be elegant and playful at the same time. Sara Fox

Fox talks about her work in a short video on the press page of her website.

More images at Covet Gallery.

myung urso: curator to curated

An MFA in fiber arts and an MA in museum and gallery management helped Myung Urso build a successful career as a curator, art director and gallery owner. Curating fine craft sparked an intense interest in contemporary jewelry and in 2006, after moving to Rochester, NY, Urso realized her dream of becoming a jewelry artist.

Pearl Garden, brooch
loofah, freshwater pearl, oriental ink, acrylic paint, sterling silver, thread, lacquer

Sky and Mountain, cotton, oriental ink, sterling silver

Tempo, silk, oriental ink, acrylic paint, sterling silver, thread, lacquer

The South Korea native stitches together the best of her history, education and life experience, carefully pairing materials like cotton and sterling silver or loofah and pearls. Urso’s jewelry has been exhibited in prestigious shows around the country, including the Philadelphia Museum Craft Show and SOFA NY.

Trace, silk, oriental ink, acrylic paint, sterling silver, thread, lacquer

Tide, cotton, oriental ink, acrylic paint, sterling silver, thread, lacquer

Sprout, paper, oriental ink, sterling silver, thread, lacquer

Calligraphy and sewing serve as my fundamental techniques, which I have practiced throughout my lifetime.  I also found that my elderly mother’s traditional way for the preparation of food, such as the shaping of rice cake and arranging vegetables for winter storage, combined with my previous work experience as a reporter and curator for art and craft have shaped my own interpretation of contemporary jewelry.  Myung Urso

karen halt: evolution of an artist

In this life, as we move through our days we evolve, learn, change, grow. In the late 1960’s, self-taught painter Karen Halt began painting still life, wild life and portraits. The 1980’s saw a significant shift in the artist’s perspective and greater interest when she began to put her subjects into more imaginative settings.

Cocoons Embrace, 22″ x 27″ x 11″
graphite drawings, embroidery on silk dipped in beeswax, beaded/embroidered silk

Cocoons Embrace, detail

Halt’s work continued to evolve, more recently as she moved the two dimensional paintings off the canvas and onto…cotton and muslin? Yes, cotton and muslin. Today, Karen Halt’s portfolio includes a wardrobe of dress and collar sculptures that are hand-sewn, each wearing graphite, colored pencil and embroidered scenes she once painted with acrylic on the flat of a canvas.

Ladder Dress, 29″ x 19″ x 8″
colored pencil, graphite, embroidery on Muslin dipped in beeswax

For the final step, the artist dips each piece in beeswax and resin which hardens the free standing sculptures. The result brings the two dimensional work to life…a life that will continue to evolve, change and grow in both small and large ways - along with the artist herself.

Three Sisters, 18″ x 24″, acrylic on board

cathy strokowsky: glass and fiber

Galerie Elena Lee (Montreal) is representing glass artist Cathy Strokowsky at SOFA Chicago this weekend.  Strokowsky’s bulbous vessels, a fusion of blown glass, lampworked glass and woven artificial gut, look like sea urchin-botanical hybrids that have been plucked from an underwater landscape.

Red Moonstones, 7” x 7” x 7”
blown glass, flameworked glass, glass beads, woven artificial sinew

Scarlet Windflower, 10” x 5.75” x 5.75”
blown glass, flameworked glass, woven artificial sinew

African Bloom, 7.75” x 7.25” x 7.25”
blown & sandblasted glass, flameworked glass, woven artificial sinew

Bayberry, 7.5” x 7.25” x 7.25”
blown glass, flameworked glass, woven artificial sinew

Angels Tears, 6” x 6.5” x 6.5”
blown & sandblasted glass, flameworked glass, woven artificial sinew

cervini haas fine art: the pin show

While I rest up from a full weekend, take a look at Cervini Haas Fine Art’s pin exhibit.  Among my favorites are the painted wood brooches by wood/mixed media artist David French , sculptor Lanny Bergner’s glass frit/bronze screen pins and basket artist Joanne Russo’s hook and eye beaded brooches.

Lanny Bergner, bronze, brass screen, wire, glass frit

Joanne Russo, black ash, beads, hooks & eyes, wire, paper cord, waxed linen, thread

David French, wood, paint

susan etcoff fraerman: narrative shoes

I have a small collection of vintage shoe forms - they are part of a larger collection of objects that provoke my curious nature and provide silent companionship in my studio.  I started collecting the shoe lasts more than a year ago and continue to be charmed by the character of the wood, the variety of shapes, stretching mechanisms and range of sizes.

Bound For Glory III, glass beads, semi precious stones, found object

Susan Etcoff Fraerman used several vintage shoe forms in her beaded Narrative Shoes series, 14 different shoes that each tell a story, ranging from well-worn toe shoes to Chinese slippers.  They are all lovely, but the shoe forms are what pulled me in.

Bound For Glory III, detail

The Blues

Fraerman works intuitively and you won’t find looms, patterns or graphs in her studio. She explains that, “the beads, varying in texture, size, degree of translucency and hue, are woven in a free form interpretation of a classic stitch – right angle weave.”

Lotus Shoes

My work often speaks of contemporary issues that have touched me deeply: children in need, mutability of the body, the vicissitudes of life. Susan Etcoff Fraerman

Bound For Glory I, glass & metal beads, nylon thread, found object

Shoes are not the only objects that Fraerman transforms with her intricate, tactile beadwork. Be sure to check out Bra Books, “intimate repositories of dreams, thoughts and poetry” and her latest work, The Language of Hands, where the hand in closed fist, open palm and other gestures is used to express a metaphor of universal signals.

More about Susan Etcoff Fraerman at WomanMade.

I’m headed down to NYC to spend time with my daughter.  I think the weekend calls for sensible shoes - no heels or beads for me.  Have a cozy, comfy, art-filled weekend!

amy gross reimagines the landscape

Immerse yourself in the world according to Amy Gross for a moment, where paper, polymer clay and seed beads are transformed to mimic objects from nature that the artist paints, embroiders and stitches into being.  The New York native, now living in Florida, trained as a painter and holds a BFA in Fine Art and Design from Cooper Union.

Mushrooms
paper, embroidery thread, yarn, beads, wire, fabric, hand-sewn to wooden sphere, 4″ x 3.5″ x 3.5″

Warbler’s Biotope
embroidery thread, ribbon, yarn, seed beads, digitally printed fabric, polymer clay, paper, trapunto, applique, sewn to sphere, 5.5″ x 6″

Eyes
paper, embroidery thread, beads, wire, fabric, hand-sewn to wooden sphere, 4″ x 4″ x 4″

I make environments where everything represented is made out of something else - imitative materials: fabric, paper, applique, embroidery thread, paint, beads, oil pastel, and wax. I re-imagine the landscape and objects from nature, altered through my life and experiences of the human body. I mix anxieties and secrets, physical symptoms and the love and fear of being mortal with fabricated roots and leaves and pods and insects and blooms. I mimic the quickly changing natural world through man-made materials with a longer shelf life, an attempt, though illusory, to slow change, to consider and to hold on to life longer. Amy Gross

Lichens
paper, embroidery thread, yarn, beads, wire, pom poms, fabric, hand-sewn to wooden sphere, 4″ x 3.25″ x 4″

Grown
embroidery thread, ribbon, yarn, seed beads, digitally printed fabric, polymer clay, paper, trapunto, applique, sewn to sphere, 9″ x 9″

Amy Gross at itty bitty artshow

Amy Gross website

Amy Gross on Flickr

Read an interview with the artist here

Close up images of her work here

katherine wheeler enjoys the journey

Katherine Wheeler considers metal to be her main material, but she often integrates porcelain, paper, linen thread and polymer clay into her jewelry and hollow ware. The Melbourne artist, who maintains a strong focus on enjoying the process of making, has a gold and silversmithing degree from RMIT University in Australia.

Untitled Neckpiece
porcelain, silver, linen and polyester thread, paint, glass beads, pva

Anemone Cup Ring, fine silver, polymer clay, cubic zirconia, paint

Stilt Cup, silver, linen thread, pva, paint

Urchin Ring, fine silver, buckram, paper, paint

My method of designing and making jewellery is spontaneous. I like my work to retain the energy of a quick sketch, which can often be lost during the process of making. The use of fine silver shim allows me to make impulsively. My method allows me to fabricate objects that have a paper-like fragile quality unexpected of metal.

Katherine Wheeler

Read this interview about Wheeler on the Melbourne Jeweller.

aliyah gold: leather + metal

Swarm, part of the Signs of Life exhibit at Facere Gallery, really made me look twice. The leather, bronze and stainless steel necklace was made by SUNY New Paltz Graduate student Aliyah Gold - check out her blog for more compelling pieces to accessorize Swarm - definitely not for the faint-hearted (don’t know if I could handle the bees buzzing in my ear).

Swarm, leather, bronze, stainless steel

Beehive Brooches, leather, bronze, stainless steel

The Princess and the Pea, leather, stainless steel, 14k gold, sterling silver

Much of Gold’s leather and metal pendants and brooches look like they might include pyrography - another unusual mix of materials and techniques to jump start your Thursday.

Adoration of Child, 18k gold, sterling silver, box wood, leather

“By combining natural materials such as wood, leather, and ivory substitutes with my metalwork, I strive to create work that demonstrates both the fortitude and the vulnerability of the human body.” Aliyah Gold

chandra stubbs: porcelain + felt

Good Morning!  Let’s jump start this Monday morning with a bold cross pollination of art forms. Chandra Stubbs combines the structural strength of porcelain and stoneware with the warmth of needle felted wool in her line of wall installations and bowls. An exciting combination of materials - and her use of lines and circles in splashes of contrasting colors works well.

Inner Motion, 18″x18″x6″, bowl, porcelain, hand felted

Porcelain and felt wall installation

Madison, 18″x18″x6″, bowl, porcelain, hand felted

Porcelain and felt wall installation

Stoneware and felt wall hanging

I find the combination of my hand made felt and the porcelain clay very familiar and comforting. The porcelain is hand crafted on the wheel and extruded. The felt is hand made from Merino and Shetland wool with occasional accents of silk.

jennifer moss explores possibilities

I like to see an artist push a material as they explore possibilities and Jennifer Moss does just that with felt, pearls, fabric, silk threads, styrofoam, silver, plaster and a variety of other materials.

Clustered, neckpiece. felt, silver

Replication, neckpiece. felt, pearls, steel

detail, Replication

Felt II,  felt, fabric

Plastered, brooch, sterling silver, plaster, pearl

Moss, who received her BFA with a concentration in Metals/Jewelry from Western Michigan University in 2007, has a website gallery full of images that include jewelry, installation pieces (look for the textiles made from fine silver and steel) and small vessels (like the tea strainer locket). If you want to see what she does to break out of her monochromatic theme, look here.

The fact that felt, Styrofoam, plaster and fabric are not traditionally used in the creation of jewelry is not meant to be a challenge to the viewer or to the wearer. The materials were chosen simply because each has a natural beauty of its own. They were made into jewelry to highlight this beauty. By limiting myself to a monochromatic color scheme I was able combine and layer the textures and weights of different materials without overwhelming a piece with too much visual information. The materials presented here are in their pure states, un-dyed and unpainted so that the inherent aspects of each material are able to shine through. Jennifer Moss

merrill morrison: tied up in knots

I’ve been a fan of Merrill Morrison’s work for quite some time so I was excited to discover that she now has a website to showcase her sculpture.  Using a traditional knotting technique employed by basket makers, Morrison creates fiber sculptures that are a delightful mix of vivid color, striking pattern and subtle texture.  Take a look at a few of my favorite pieces then go to her website for more. The email on Merrill’s site isn’t working yet, but you can reach the artist here: merrillmorrison(at)aol.com

Well-Heeled, knotted nylon thread, glass beads

Desert Bloom, knotted thread, glass beads

Subtle Tea, knotted thread, glass beads

Goddess, knotted wax linen, glass beads

On the most personal level, knotting gives me a chance to immerse myself in a very peaceful, private meditative process that allows me to create simple, elegant forms with bold, striking colors. Merrill Morrison

tevita havea: creative compulsion

Blown glass, woven twine and carved wood are the materials of choice for Tonga born Tevita Havea.  A 2005 graduate of the Australian National University School of Art Glass Workshop, Havea is an emerging artist who tells the stories of his boyhood through sculpture. Read this review of the artist’s work that appeared in a show titled “The Hunks of Glass”.  The review includes the fascinating story told by his three pieces in the show.

The Gate Keeper, glass, wood, twine

Vailoa, glass, twine

Return, glass, wood, twine

Sino, glass, twine

“I aim to mimic the rawness of the primitive, the refinement of the contemporary and voice the ‘inbetweeness’ of culture.” Tevita Havea

A more in-depth look at Tevita Havea’s art can be found here. Pictures of an exhibit of Havea’s most recent work are on Glass Central Canberra’s Flickr site. More about him at Vitria Gallery.

amy gillespie’s wood and wool

Amy Gillespie uses a router to create a channel in panels of wood and then inlays the channel with wet-felted wool roving.  The pop of color against the wood grain really works in these wall pieces and the wool shapes look cell-like in their construction. Organic. I like the concept - do you think it could be applied to other material combinations?

Iris Stream, wood, felt, acrylic paint, 22″ x 9″ x 1″

Ika Marine, wood, felt, acrylic paint, 28″ x 26″ x 1″

Hooded Berries, wood, felt, acrylic paint 12″ x 12″ x 12″