Rags Rocks Water

I want to stitch on fabric using materials I have available within my home.
I'm also obsessed with Japanese Boro, many examples can be found on Sri Threads blog Here


My dish towels hold the marks of my kitchen life. I really like the soft cotton.

if you look closely, you can see where my momma repaired the edge of the striped cloth with a zig-zag stitch on her sewing machine.

Early this month, I had travelled up above the 45th Parallel to spend time with two good friends, Barbara and Shanna on the shores of the majestic Lake Superior.

White Fish Point, Michigan

I was transported to a place of beauty and returned to my life in the city with a refreshed state of mind.

Lake Superior is the largest of the Great Lakes in North America
I took this picture when I was at the library in Paradise, Michigan in the Upper Pennisula

Indigo Vat that Shanna made using Michel Garcia's 123 method

I dipped some of my vintage linens in the dye bath for a bit
We didn't have time for me to overdye to get a darker blue, but I love these colors.

Inspiration comes in many forms, I'm happy my trip was filled with time well spent with lovely friends and rocks and water

Artifacts found in the ground before Barbaras cabin was built
I love how she has them displayed on the wall in the cabin.

Barbara's kitchen window

Eggs raised by Scott Turner in Boyne City, MI. Shanna brought these for us to eat.

Figs from California that I purchased before I left Cleveland

Growing Dyes Amid the Sound of Busy Bees

View of Lavender Hill Farms on Horton Bay Road in Boyne City Michigan.

The green hills and blue lakes that are located in the state of Michigan are divine. My friend, Shanna Robinson, lives and works in a lovely area of that state.

Indigo and other dye-producing plants at Lavender Hill Farms

She is growing a natural dye garden for the North Central Michigan State College amid the blooming fields of lavender at  Lavender Hill Farms. 
There are indigo, woad, weld, hibiscus and a few other color-producing plants. What a grand location and a garden worthy of a visit.

Please visit her new blog here 

If you are interested in learning more, drop her a note on her page.

I did. 

And if you're in the neighborhood up in her neck of the woods, stop in!

If you stand near the plants you can hear the bees sing.

Little moves /room for a few more

Dear readers,
It's been slow going in the heat of summer here in Cleveland, Ohio. 

I've put a few stitches in here and there.

Putting stitches into an old USA Army blanket made of wool.

Adding stitches to an existing piece, veering off the grid...so to speak.

I'm going to visit northern Michigan next week to visit two friends and stay in a cabin on Lake Superior for a few days of connecting with my friends and stitching to our hearts content. 

I hope you're all having a grand summer (and winter if you're living in Australia!) 

There are still a few spots open for the India Flint workshops in Cleveland this fall. 

See my blog entry here send me an email if you want more information at cmauers@roadrunner.com


I'd love to meet you and have you visit Cleveland Ohio during the best time of year, that is FALL.

The Transit of Venus Observed

I went to Edgewater Park in Cleveland, Ohio this evening to observe the transit of Venus between the Earth and the Sun. Astronomy groups from NASA and local colleges set up special viewing equipment. 

Grand evening at the lake front.

Little Brilliant Flowers

A few weekends past, I spent the afternoon with my great nieces.

We painted birdhouses.

And played with paper flowers.

These children bring me joy.

Textiles In A Tube 2 and how I packaged my piece

Textiles in a Tube 2 show announcement

I don't enter many shows, but this one spoke to my sense of wonder.

Hmmm, what if I made a smaller version of this piece and was able to roll it up so that it fit into a mailing tube. (36 inch long x 3 inch diameter)? 

Challenge on.

Of course, I needed to make it and install the piece in my upstairs hall, photograph it and then wait to hear whether I was accepted. I thought, ok if I don't get in, I don't have to think about how I'm going to roll this up.

This is the work I entered.
It is 24 inches wide x 7 feet long and is approximately 10  to 12 inches deep.

Detail, showing the layers and reflection on the wall.

I received notification from the Riverworks gallery director, Fleming Markel, that the juror, Kathleen Loomis, selected my piece to be one of 14 that will be in the show. 

Here are some images of how I worked and created the piece in my house.

I worked in the entrance hall to the second floor of my house

Yes, I do have a bit of 'red' around my house...

The great mother of all inventions is Necessity.

Owning a home that was built in 1918, previous inhabitants used all sorts of clever means to improve the house throughout its life. 

I've never liked the tiles in this entrance, but now, I think they are the best asset for staging this type of artwork!

I used the styrofoam ceiling tile as the temporary "top" of the work and taped each sewed line to the tile. 

I tried to photograph it in the hall, but it just wasn't working, 

I couldn't get far enough away from the piece.

so, I removed the ceiling tile with the artwork attached.

Then 

I used duct tape to stick it all to the ceiling in the hall on the 2nd floor in my home.

Look up, you can see the silver duct tape holding the ceiling tile up.
The tape held it all for about 10 minutes, then it fell to the floor.

I thought that if I should get into the show, I'll transfer everything to metal rods for the 'real' installation.

Well, I did get in, and I did transfer everything and make it all nice and tidy for shipping and easy (I hope) easy installation.

I also created a step-by-step document for the gallery.

Here's how I wrapped the piece.

There are 4 rods at the top of the piece, with thread lines looped over the rods.
This photo is actually the last photo before I rolled the work up to fit into the tube.

This is a picture of my floor in my living room.
I placed a piece of plastic 'tablecloth' material on the floor, then placed the first layer of the artwork onto the plastic.

Layering the work for packaging

If you look closely, you can see the 'ghost' of the previous layers below the plastic sheet.

This is the Red Tulle that hangs as one of the layers.

I decided to share these photos and write a bit about all the steps it took to create the piece, photograph it, enter it, ship it and so on.

Even when an artwork looks simple or simple-to-make, nothing is completely simple.

Thanks for your time today.

If you're near Greenville, South Carolina anytime between June 1 and July 15, 2012. Stop into the  RIVERWORKS Gallery
Greenville Technical College's downtown gallery
At Art Crossing on Riverwalk in Greenville, SC

and see the show.

Emily Felderman: Re-purpused scissors and gears

Emily Felderman

Shaker Hts, OH USA

Bonsai

7 .5" x 4.5"

Private Collection

When I think of exquisite stitching, Emily Felderman's work is at the top of my list. I posted about her in 2010, showing you her small heavily stitched landscapes and leaves. 


Here, she has pushed her work quite literally in to the work-objects of life. 
Each of us has a favorite pair of scissors whether it is to snip threads or cut into fabric, to cut flower stems or to cut wire, no doubt, all of us have held a pair of metal scissors with the assured knowledge that this tool will do it's job. 


Emily has taken these long-loved tools and changed their purpose and made them an object of desire and memory. 


Do you still have your mother's or grandmothers' small embroidery scissors? 

Boing

3.5" x 1.75"

Private Collection

Or a pair of kitchen shears?

Fireworks

   8.25" x 3"

                                           

She has placed her stitches into the negative space in the small metal gears that her grandfather's tool box gave up.

Parrot

1.75"

Please spend time on Emily's website to explore her work here.

The artwork of Emily Felderman is included in the Small Show  at the Heights Art Gallery in Cleveland Heights, Ohio through June 2, 2012.

Emily said that she was hard-pressed to determine how to display the artwork. 

I like how she solved this problem. 

Bug Eyes

8" x 2.5

Bug Eyes as it was installed in the gallery

Emily's work at Heights Art Gallery, Cleveland, OH

Let me know what you think of Em's work.

I cannot think of a better way to retire our most beloved scissors, can you?