Hank and Spool Open and Tweeting

My sewing hands, Spool of thread

photo Kelly McKaig, photo C. Mauersberger

Hank and Spool  has received a steady flow of orders this week

I am a bit struck by this activity.

And feel gratitude.

Have started a twitter feed.

If you use Twitter and would like to follow

Terrific! I will follow you back

https://twitter.com/hankandspool  

Onion skins, iron, and Natural color (left to right)

The silk/cotton thread dyes beautifully.

Pre-cut Hank

If any of you have attended one of India Flint's 

delicious workshop classes, you may have been 

given a few strands of this most-loved thread.

If you attended the Shapeshifter Class in Cleveland, you

will recall I had about 15 of these small pre-cut hanks

for sale.

Now I have more.

See here

Stitching a Weekend

My hands photo by Kelly McKaig

Across state lines and bunked in the dearest small cottage 

Kelly, Lotta and I stitched, dyed, cooked, relaxed and it was

All good.

Lotta 

Kelly

Lotta, dandelion on the silk/cotton thread purchased from my
little shop here 

My bundles

My bundles, opened

Silk Broadcloth, onions


Stop by my shop if you would like to
order a spool of my favorite thread.

70% Silk/30% Cotton
sold to you from Beautiful Silks via

Weekend

Off to meet up with Kelly McKaig and Lotta Helleberg

for a long weekend of stitching, eco-dyeing, cooking food and communion. 

See you next week!

check out my new website HERE

Let me know what you think.

Still adding some data and assets.

Haza!

Spools

Yesterday, I posted that Beth will receive 

a spool of silk/cotton thread

Here is what I placed in her package

Spools of this thread will be sold in my shop:

500 yard spool of 70% Silk/30% Cotton 

4 Ply

$11.00 per spool

plus shipping 

Available May 7, 2013

Preview my website here

I am still tweaking the site

Mystery Sack winner / Special announcement

Beth

70% silk, 30% cotton 4 ply thread

a.k.a. India Flint's Favorite

a.k.a. Beautiful Silks no. 5 yarn

 It is also, my thread of choice

I usually use one strand rather than all 4 

but oh my goodness, it is lovely and does dye beautifully!  

For those of you who participating, Thank You! I placed everyone's name into 

a random-name picker program, and Beth won.

After her name was selected, I read on one of her blogs that

she is going to be at Nancy Crow's barn to take a mark-making class

from Dorothy Caldwel, this thread may come in handy

post class, as you are making your own marks via stitch.

Will need her mailing details...

The Mystery bag was filled with

this

Contents of cotton bag
from Beautiful Silks in Melbourne, Australia.

COMING SOON

My new website, blog and online shop

at
christinemauersberger.com

Yes.

Opening May 7

Need to finalize shipping details before I hit the "Live" button.

Will be selling India Flint's favorite thread

a.k.a. Yarn number 5 (from Beautiful Silks, AU)

And

A few other pieces of wool and a little bit of silk
Just a wee bit.

I will post more details later this week.

Come back for more pictures and previews.

Thank you,
Christine

Guess the contents of the Mystery Sack Giveaway EXTENDED UNTIL MIDNIGHT APRIL 29

This sack arrived yesterday.What can be inside?

You tell me.

Please write your guess in the comments section below 
 and ask your friends to stop by my blog to take a stab at it too.

I will select a winner at random from all correct answers and
send the lucky person an item from within the sack.

If you are not able to access the comment section,  
please email your guess directly to me here 


Winner will be announced on Monday, April 29, 2013.
EXTENDED UNTIL MIDNIGHT APRIL 29, WINNER ANNOUNCED ON APRIL 30.

FiberArt International 2013

Terry Jarrard-Dimond
Morpheous, 2012
Cotton fabric stained with ink and tea
machine pieced
raw edge appliqué
machine quilted

My good friend (and artist), Christy and I drove from Cleveland to Pittsburgh on Friday 
to attend the opening reception of FiberArt International 2013 

79 works created by 63 national and international artists are included in this stellar exhibit of contemporary fiber art.

Jurors, Kai Chan, Paulina Ortiz, and Joyce Scott had a formidable task to review a little over 470 pieces. The resulting exhibition is a fine example of contemporary trends in fiber art.

Excited to see my good friend, Terry Jarrard-Dimond, who has been a mentor to me since we connected, see here. Her workshop, entitled, What If? changed the way I approach my art practice. Brilliant woman!

We attended the Fiber Art Forum on Saturday where Juror, Joyce Scott gave a key-note talk. She walked to the podium singing And When I Die (made famous in 1966 by Peter, Paul, Mary, then later in the 1970s by Blood Sweat & Tears). Joyce is a prolific artist herself and I learned much about her point of view. 

So much fun to see the work of my friends, Elizabeth Brandt & Sandy Shelenberger. And to see other friends who came to the Forum.

See more about this exhibit on Jennifer Qudeens blog. Go here for nice photos of other art in the show.

Laying Groundwork - It is official

Ground Work, 2012
Rubylith (transparency film)
thread, tulle
Textile installation
28 inches x 30 inches x 18 inches deep

Machine stitched cut rubylith sewn to a header of transparent tulle.
Installed 3 overlapping layers and suspended from 3 rods in ceiling

I received a most welcome letter in my mail today

regarding my submission for review to the 

Ohio Arts Council for the Individual Excellence Award

Congratulations, it is official! The Ohio Arts Council Board 

met and ratified your recommendation for an 

Individual Excellence Award

It is an honor to have been given this award.

Having set my intention to make changes in my life 

so that making artwork would become a vocation, 

it is a good thing to know I am on road paved with support

from both my state and my county.

The groundwork has been laid. 

Off to my studio to make more work and push myself further.

Hildur Asgeirsdottir Jonsson

Hildur Asgeirsdottir Jonsson

b. Reykjavik, Iceland

Presently lives in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, USA

CORE

H. Jonsson

2013

10 x 14 feet

Silk, Handpainted

This is Hildur Asgeirsdottir Jonsson standing in front of CORE.

Today is the first time she herself is able to see the work in its entirety.

Can you imagine, not being able to see your work until it is off the loom?

I know that all weavers experience this, but to me, it must be a bit nerve-wracking

to not have distance from the work.

10 feet high x 14 feet wide (304 cm x 426 cm).

I went to the William Busta Gallery with my friend Christy 

to see it.

Bill Busta has represented Hildur since 1997 in Cleveland.

He has traveled to Iceland many times to install her shows

and has supported her and helped to develop her work.

We spoke to Hildur, who was generous with information about how she works.

She said that this is the 5th piece in a series 

Each work is 10 feet x 14 feet.

The weavings reference the landscape of Iceland.

She hand-paints the warp before weaving.

She said that the colors in she uses represent the colors 
she sees in the Icelandic landscape.

There is a moss that grows and has a bright luminance when the sky is grey.

(almost fluorescent) textiles dyes on warp are used to evoke those colors.

Core is the interpretation of a volcanic rock that she found in Iceland, 

the rock is no larger than a small apricot.

It is a volcanic rock and has a rough surface lumps and holes.

Hildur says, most rocks have a long history, these rocks are new volcanic rocks.

(referring to each of the 5 very large weavings)

 Her ability to take a small object from the earth and interpret its shape 

in a large weaving an impressive task.

Core, detail

Core, bottom edge detail

I will go to visit her studio soon and report more on her space. 

I am anxious to take pictures of the loom she used to make this piece!

I was thrilled to see this work in person.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

and please go to her website here to see more 

of her beautiful weavings.

 All photos are by permission of Hildur Jonsson.

Thank you Hildur.

Pojagi/Bojagi

A Pojagi trial, in my window

Last week, I saw this technique of piecing cloth together called Korean Pojagi (Bojagi) .

The seams are finished on both the front and
back of the work. Much like a flat felled seam  (my guess).

I decided to try my hand at it.

This technique dates back to the 12th century in Korea.

Traditionally, it is hand-sewn together

I decided to use my machine
and some bits and pieces of
materials from the thrift store mixed with eco-dyed silk
and some of my hand-stitched work.

Hanging on the design wall

Found patched hole in a cloth (from thrift store)

My older hand-stitched line work 

Apiece of hand-stitching from 2009

Korean Fiber Artist, Chunghie Lee  has written a lovely book

I would like to find a library to loan me a copy

but it is available here.