Daily Art Muse » Fiber

michaela binder: precious metal and felt

Susan Lomuto — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 14:25:47 +0000

Michaela Binder, Germany. Precious metals and wool felt.
See her portfolio here.

new work from stephanie metz

Susan Lomuto — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 15:03:59 +0000

In 2008 we looked at Stephanie Metz’s beautiful needle felted figurative sculptures. A recent visit to her website alerted me to Metz’s most current body of work – an abstract attempt to “simplify living organisms to mere suggestions of parts.” The forms are interesting -leaving me curious and questioning. Metz describes the Amorphozoa series as “warm yet cool and aloof, cuddly yet strange and almost menacing.” Read the full “In Progress” artist statement at the end of this post.

Amorphozoa #3, felted wool, hair, 8″ x 5.25″ x 6″

Amorphozoa #9, felted wool, porcupine quills, 6.5″ x 7.” x 6.5″

Amorphozoa #8, felted wool, hair, 6.25″ x 6.25″ x 7.75″

Amorphozoa #11, felted wool, porcupine quills, 8.5″ x 7″ x 5.5″

Amorphozoa #11, detail

You can see her full portfolio here. Be prepared for a wide range of feelings, from amazement to horror and revulsion to wonder and curiousity. One fact that can’t be denied, regardless of the reaction you have to the subject matter, is that Stephanie Metz has developed a full mastery of her materials.

These recent pieces are an attempt to distill the essence of a creature– to functionally and aesthetically simplify living organisms to mere suggestions of parts. These sculptures are the next logical step following my ‘Overbred’ creatures: these life forms have been further manipulated to maintain a presence as a soft and furry creature while functioning as minimalist sculpture for the home or office. These creatures are made to fulfill the human desire to surround oneself with nature, but on human terms: carefully manufactured nature that is both tactilely appealing and low maintenance. Mimicking the dichotomy of the concept of nature conceived in a lab they are warm yet cool and aloof, cuddly yet strange and almost menacing.

danielle bodine’s paper covered baskets and news from damuse

Susan Lomuto — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 14:43:31 +0000

Danielle Bodine uses traditional basket techniques and found objects to create the lush, paper covered basket forms seen here. Bodine, a textile artist for 30 years, casts paper on the baskets then adds texture by stitching, collaging and burning with a wood burning tool.

Schroon Lake Melody, 36″ x 7″ x 6″
Mulberry papers cast on basket, removed and reformed into instrument shape.
Painted, printed, and collaged with prints.
Cane, screws, waxed linen attached.

Song of Flight, 19″ x 5″ x 4″,
mulberry papers, Japanese clippers, waxed linen

Mio’s Song, 43″ x 7″ x 3 ”
cast mulberry papers on bamboo basket, plastic gas funnel, and coiled basket, metal clippers, tool, screws, waxed linen

Images from Jane Sauer Gallery. See more of Bodine’s baskets there.

Coming soon from daMuse

When I write about an artist I try to make sure there is a central location to send readers – a place where you can see the full body of work, learn more about the artist behind the art, discover where the work is being shown, get all the latest news…and more.

I came across an image of Bodine’s sculptural baskets during my daily research for DAM and knew immediately that I wanted to share her work, but I couldn’t find a website for the artist. A little digging came up with individual images on different sites and a few galleries showing small collections of the work, an article about her (beautiful) home and a reference to a workshop she taught.

In the end, the images of Bodine’s work on the Jane Sauer Gallery website were compelling enough for me to share with DAM readers (nice job Jane!), but I still wanted to know more, see more, learn more…and so do customers, collectors, galleries and prospective students.

I am getting ready to launch a new service to help artists develop a better web presence. If you are selling your art or are thinking of selling your art, a solid web identity is an important part of a good marketing strategy. Does this feel like an overwhelming, daunting task? Don’t worry – daMuse is here to help!

Whether you have a website that needs a makeover or are just beginning to think about a website design, watch this space for more information…coming soon.

joh ricci knots nylon

Susan Lomuto — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 14:25:37 +0000

Hand dyed nylon is the material of choice for fiber artist Joh Ricci, who stretches the concept of traditional basket making with her knotted sculptural baskets. Ricci describes the process of making knots as a ‘tedious and rhythmic motion’. The results are contemporary, elegant, surprising, colorful and full of texture.

Spring From Darkness, 12″h x 6″w

See more (including a detail image) at Katie Gingrass Gallery

“I have found this form of expression both tedious & time intensive, yet there is a hypnotic rhythm to creating my work. I feel that the combination of positive energy and spiritual thought support my goals to bring creative life to an idea and to create fiber forms that transcend the boundaries of the concept of a traditional basket.” Joh Ricci

barbara wisnoski’s textile art

Susan Lomuto — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 14:11:43 +0000

Barbara Wisnoski’s 2.5D textile wall installations are a visual treat, offering up waves of color, sumptuous textures and lessons in the zen of non-precision. The work, made from bits and pieces of recycled fabric and clothing, has been described as dwelling “happily in the gaps between art, craft and design”. Wisnoski’s artist statement is poetic and engaging enough for me to include it in full below.

Grey Rain Sea

Grey Rain Sea, detail

Folded Circle

Folded Circle, detail

“Happily freed from precision, this is cutting and sewing as mantra, as pure, riotous activity. I harness traditional textile-piecing techniques to explore structure and process, and the interplay between surface and depth. As structure, these pieces juxtapose tactile and pictorial fields. As maniacally repetitive process, they embody the meaning I derive from textiles and ritual, and carry contradictory connotations of repetition’s beauty and innate absurdity…

Earth

Earth, detail

Evening

Evening, detail

I am interested in the relationship between texture and time. The process of building a piece, whereby a fabric loses its singular quality and becomes part of the whole, reminds me of how time washes a harmonious patina over objects and memories. The prospect of decay is key to the work: seeing how pieces done long ago have changed over time reminds me that they were made from living fibres and, like us, evolve and deteriorate. Also like us, these pieces become more themselves, therefore more beautiful, with age.”

jessie fair: fiber landscapes explore growth

Susan Lomuto — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 17:14:49 +0000

In 2009 Jessie Fair completed a BS in Fiber Science & Apparel Design at Cornell University. This young award winning artist’s fiber landscapes explore the patterns, textures and growth habits of moss, lichen and grass. Fair uses a variety of techniques to achieve these sumptuous results, including felting, sewing, painting and hand dying. She’s one to watch.

Growth I, 30″ x 94″
Wool roving, wool felt, silk organza, silk gauze. Hand dyed, needle felted, fulled, painted.

Growth I, detail

Growth II

“I work in a process parallel to the slow, natural progression of traveling flora. As mosses and lichens slowly envelop their path, I use layers of hand dyed wool roving, silk gauze and wool felt to create an intricate surface. Immersion dyeing, painting, needle felting, and fulling are used to form a vivid landscape of fiber and color.” Jessie Fair

marina bychkova: doll sculpture

Susan Lomuto — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 13:35:54 +0000

Marina Bychkova’s porcelain, ball jointed dolls are more than just dolls. They are sculptures, statements, haunting reminders that beauty takes on many different forms.

Cinderella
carved sterling silver corset, shoes and hair ornaments,
Indian Sari skirt, natural silk fiber hair

Captain Nemo’s Daughter

The Vancouver artist was born in Russia and moved with her parents to Canada when she was 14 years old. She has been making dolls since the age of 6, passionate about creating dolls that bear no resemblance to the vanilla-bland mass produced dolls on the market.

Lolita
24k gold plated corset and bra, 24k plated bronze stilletos,
stockings and fan embroidered with applique designs,
pearls, Ruby and 24k gold plated beads

Her skills are impressive: sewing, beading, porcelain, silversmithing, painting, metal, construction – she also makes all of the doll accessories. Take your time on Bychkova’s website and discover a treasure trove of information about dolls, the process – which includes models and molds made from Super Sculpey – and a great tip for making the articulated joints pose perfectly.

For the Costumed collection, the artist makes each gown, a time consuming practice, considering that one takes between 150-350 hours to complete. She embroiders beads and gemstones into the gowns, making every costume a true masterpiece. In the Tattooed collection the porcelain is engraved with a needle while still raw and then china paint is rubbed into the grooves after the doll is fired, creating magnificent ‘tattoos’.

Anna Karenina Survives the Train

“I’m interested in juxtaposing binary opposites within my dolls: beauty and ugliness, love and violence, eroticism and repulsion. Giving dolls attributes that are not traditionally associated with dolls, gives them an existence beyond the realm of toys to which they have been confined for centuries.”

Bychkova’s dolls range in price from $6,000 – $33,000.

Read an interview with the artist on Pop Culture of Destruction

Her Deviant Art page

More images on Flickr

anna wales: felted and forged

Susan Lomuto — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 12:21:23 +0000

The stark black of the forged, oxidized silver branches contrast nicely with the soft and colorful felt buds that dot the metal landscape in Anna Wales’ collection of necklaces and earrings. The two materials complement each other perfectly – I like the way the graduated red buds look as though they are growing right out of the Blooming Boa necklace. Nice.

Blooming Boa Necklace, oxidized silver and red felt

Blossom Boa Necklace, oxidised silver with purple felt balls throughout

Bud Studs

Black Berry Ball Backed Necklace

Boa Earrings

seen at sofa: jan hopkins’ sculptural baskets

Susan Lomuto — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 12:49:03 +0000

I’ve been intrigued by Jan Hopkins’ work for years, first posting about it in 2006 on The Empty Vessel. Hopkins uses natural materials to create narrative, innovative, sculptural baskets that seem to have a life of their own.

Fish Out of Water
sturgeon skin, halibut skin, salmon skin, waxed linen, bull kelp, ostrich shell beads

As I walked toward the Jane Sauer Gallery booth at SOFA NY, I immediately knew that I was looking at Hopkins’ baskets and I was speechless. The texture, quality of design and craftsmanship made these pieces far more satisfying than any images I had seen.

Admiring Hopkins’ work, From the SOFA NY slideshow

Age of Innocence
lunaria annua, skeleton leaves, preserved leaves, cardioiocinum giganteum seeds, yellow cedar bark, waxed linen paper

Training from master basket makers in traditional techniques gave Hopkins the comfort level she needed to expand her definition of ‘basket making materials’. Today she combines alternative materials such as citrus peels, sturgeon skin, black bamboo, silver dollar seed pods and lotus pod tops with more common basket making materials and as she stitches them together, she also weaves together the stories, dreams and desires that go along with each piece.

Law of Identity
melon rind, weathered hydrangea leaves, silver dollar pods, yellow cedar bark

Jan Hopkins in her studio

Hopkins was represented at SOFA NY by Jane Sauer Gallery.

mija: fabric art from vintage clothing

Susan Lomuto — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 14:35:31 +0000

A comment on the Daily Art Muse Fan Page led me to Libby and Jim Mijanovich’s lively fabric art. The couple, who have no formal art education, transform discarded vintage clothing by cutting, embellishing and piecing together the fragments of fabric that make up their signature wall panels. While color and depth draw you in to each piece, it is motion and optical illusion that keeps you there. The process is clearly illustrated in this slideshow with dramatic and delightful results.

Santa’s Tropical Adventure, 55″h x 55″w
each square unit is 26″ x 26″ x 1.5″ and can hang in any orientation either on point or as a square

“Environmental responsibility is intimately woven into the fabric of our art. Working exclusively with recycled vintage clothing, we transform countless fragments of materials into intricate, involved textile wall pieces. Sublime blending of color incorporated with dramatic use of value and elaborate metallic thread embellishment, evokes depth, motion and radiance.”

Flight of Fancy, 94″h x 94″w on point
each square unit is 32″ x 32″ x 1″ and can hang in any orientation either on point or as a square

“Currently we are compelled by the intrigue of repeating and modifying simple geometric designs. Multiple panels interact, one leading to the next, creating conversations which evolve as they are rearranged into different configurations. Each component is stretched and mounted on a frame, allowing multi-panel ensembles to be displayed horizontally or vertically, together or separate, linearly or staggered, square or on point. Expansive designs unfold, creating virtually an unlimited number of possible. dynamic installations.”