Remembering My Brother (repost from Feb.2010)

Ronald Sulak

Cleveland, Ohio

(1940 - 1993)

My parent's first born, Ronald, would have been 72 years old today. Born in a leap year.

He was a lovely man and lived a beautiful life filled with dreams of becoming a policeman, owning a house, having a girlfriend and flying a plane. 

Among many interests, he adored dancing (with girls at weddings!), playing the harmonica, and having a good time. 

He had down's syndrome and always liked to draw.  He had a singular ability to distill an image down to its most elemental parts. 

Here are a few sweet images.

It's been a life-time without him already.

Portrait drawing Ronnie did of me. I faithfully traced the drawing as a monoprint which is why you see dark smudges.
I will scan the original drawing when I find it in my stuff.
circa 1989.

Ronnie like to copy his name onto paper. Here's an example written on an index card. Notice that he is missing the letter "D" in his 1st name and "L" in the last.

Ronald Sulak circa 1941.

Why you must visit Cleveland Ohio in October 2012

I am pleased to announce that India Flint will teach three workshops & present one lecture in October, 2012 in Cleveland, Ohio USA.

Landskin, ©India Flint

And you are invited to come.


No better time to explore eco-plant dyeing with India Flint than at the peak of the fall season in Northeast Ohio, on the shores of Lake Erie, in my fair city. 


If you you are not familiar with India, please grap a cup of tea or coffee and take a nice tour of her work on cloth here, on paper here and with dance and theatre here.

The Textile Art Alliance  (TAA) of the Cleveland Museum of Art and the Morgan Art of Papermaking Conservatory will host her workshops.

October 6-7, 2012, Botanical Alchemy

October 10, 2012, Lecture at the Cleveland Museum of Art

October 12-14, 2012, Shapeshifter

October 16-17, 2012, Eco-dye plant color for paper

Registration for the workshops will open for TAA members on March 1 and will remain open until spaces are filled.  Public registration will open May 31

No online registration is available yet. 

I am announcing the workshops today as a pre-publishing announcement for you to make plans now during this cold wintery February day.

Until then, please feel free to email me at cmauers@roadrunner.com if you want a private communication and cannot wait for the details.

I'll be happy to take your questions.

And please, as always, your comments are welcome.

Cheers!

Small Sketches in stitch this past week

These are sketches created over the last weekend.


I've been reading about structures, both cellular and crystalline. These are 2 small stitched pieces that came from my thoughts.


I don't usually use hand-dyed fabrics or commercially dyed fabrics, although I do advocate for using what one has on hand. The colored pieces are from scraps I collected from an acquaintance. 
I will most likely use eco-dyed bits and pieces for a more-fully-realized artwork.

Intimate Stitches - Fiber Philadelphia

Thanks to an invitation from fellow fiber artist, Erin Endicott , and gallerist Bruce Hoffman, I'll have 3 works in this show at Kellijane during FiberPhiladelphia.


If you're in or near Philadelphia, PA, there are many textiles exhibits at a variety of venues to see. I wish I could go, but my work will be there for me. This is the first time my work travel  outside Ohio. woot!


I'll post the works after the show opens on March 2, 2012


Cheers!
C

George Mauersberger

George Mauersberger from CPAC on Vimeo.



George is one of 20 artists who won a Creative Workforce Fellowship with a super nice financial award.

This is a terrific program. I live in the only County in the United States that awards artists a grant of this size and scope!

See more of George's work here.

Work in Progress this week

A few pieces I'm fleshing-out.

Both relate to cells within the human body. They are intended to be fantasy. 

The first is about a harmonic cell life.

The second piece is about how bad cells might attach themselves to hemoglobin.

I will most likely continue to stitch on the first, but I think the 2nd piece is done.

Thoughts appreciated. 

Cheers!

Natural world in Paper Cuts

Claire Brewster

London, UK

We likey the sky - it always looks like birds are having fun when it's really windy and they get blown by the wind 

You Can See My Heart

When Do We Stop Counting, 2011

Cut UK population map, pins, foam board, box frame

Claire is takes here inspiration from her surroundings where she lives in London. Using old maps, atlases and other found papers, she creates divinely detailed paper cuts of flowers, birds and insects.

See more here.

and her blog here.

Low Commitment Projects

Tae Kitakata (Hawaii) and Brittany Powell (Oregon)

Sandwich Artist

O'Keeffe Sandwich

Johns Sandwich

Mondrian Sandwich
images via low commitment projects

One project each and every Monday morning of 2012. 

Tae and Brittany met each other in art school. Now that they are back in their home states, they are sharing ideas and concepts via these simple sketches.

I find it fresh, exciting and fun. 

Brava ladies! These two young women have a great deal of creative juice to extract for years to come. They are on my 'must watch' list. 

See more here.

p.s. I just adore a project they did together at art school where they created a roaming art gallery space. 

Black and Blue Lines

Lucas Grogan
Melbourne AU

X Disarm X
Installation
2011

X Disarm X #1
Ink, watercolor, and acrylic on matt board, 2011
31.5 x 22.5 cm

X Disarm X #3
Ink, watercolor, and acrylic on matt board, 2011
32 x 24 cm

In this series called Black and Blue, Grogan has appropriated Aboriginal Australian techniques to focus on the inclusion of Aboriginal art practices by non-indigenous Australians to work with the Aboriginal community on sharing techniques to bring a better understanding and appreciation of the culture as a whole.

Lucas Grogan is a Melbourne based artist who uses needlepoint, installation, painting and drawing to explore themes of isolation, inclusion and cultural collisions, through an autobiographical lens.

So many lines...

See more here.

new stitches - Update

Happy New Year dear reader, 

It seems I always have energy for many new stitches at the start of the new year. 

I hope you do as well.

One of my friends gave me a few pieces of lovely old linen, I thought I'd put some marks on it.

Here's a little drawing and a few stitches for your eyes. 

Let's see where this goes. 

C.Mauersberger, new stitches- more progress

C. Mauersberger line drawing, 2012

C. Mauersberger, work in progress, 2012

Where will you go this year?