Sketchbook, Yarnbombing and Studio Gossip

The show is up at Mount Ida College Gallery so if you're in the area check it out and let me know what you think.

The flower is one of the actual felt flowers I made, long & short stitch and french knots.

I LOVE french knots.

To see more of my embroidery check here.

Meanwhile

The Yum Yum Pole on Dayton Street continues to be one of my faves that we (jafagirls) did.  

Jafagirls facebook fan page

In the Studio

A mess as usual, and I spent hours drawing out a new embroidery piece and don't like it, arg!

I have yarn up to me eyeballs, felt up to me eyeballs, paints everywhere, I LOVE it!

Happy Creating Everyone

and

Thanks for Visiting

The Fly has Landed

and then got stitched onto the  Super-Fly Comic Store Bench

Jafagirls blog

 Jafagirls facebook fan page

Felt Fly

Made this little fella to go on some yarnbombing outside a specific store.

All things community

I love how Susan has captured the essense of the Yellow Springs community.

jafagirls now have a face book fan page

Been collecting felt from a friend, getting Mr.Plato home for a day of touch ups (re-gluing felt pieces and sprayng with scotch guard), and finishing up my "seed of torments" embroidery.

Brother Bears

 Flower Power Sew In

The weather wasn't nice enough this morning to go and add flowers to the ends of the yarnbombed bench outside of Super-Fly Comics.

If it's nice next week we will add them then.

Sketcbbook Doodles

I have this silver ink pen that just flows and I wanted to sribble and doodle with it. Sometimes mindless doodling is such fun. I've  also learned that down the road I often come back to a sketchbook page and find parts I can use in a painting or an embroidery.

Craft Gossip has a lovely article about Carolyn Saxby's Textile Art Sketchbook, which I thorougly enjoyed.

All things vintage

Went to the movies in Ann Arbor St.Patricks Day and what a treat to not only see such a GRAND old movie palace, Michigan Theater, but we were also treated to some organ music on the original Barton Theatre organ. Here is a tiny sample.

Takes us about 3 hours to drive to Ann Arbor and  managed to get some crochet/knit done for some new textile graffiti. This is for the central portion of a bench on Dayton Street in Yellow Springs, felt flowers will be added either end.

Nancy and I have also been working on flowers and leaves for  a new piece for Elaine's Bench on Corry Street.

Flower Power must be really in because I went to Target and saw that they now carry Liberty of London. It was, is, a very posh/hip store and their flower prints were very BIG in the 60's and 70's.

I could NOT resist this teapot.

and here's a question

"Will The Runaways' '70s Fashions Come Back In Style?"

I think yes with a modern take on it, however I don't think you would see this in a current craft mag nowadays.

American Home Crafts First Issue Fall/Winter 1972

Don't need to go to San Fransisco

Oh yea, we got flowers

Right here in Yellow Springs Ohio

Sow In's are happenin' at Brother Bears on Friday mornings

and SOON

they will blossom all around town

More info about

 

visit

Jafagirls.com

Yarnbombing Graffiti Alley, Ann Arbor, MI

Placed St.Patricks Day 2010

The first thing we did when we arrived was go to our fave alley(graffiti alley) and put up some jafagirl art. You can hardly see it from a distance which really like.

I was really suprised to see last years yarnbombing still up, although the doll had been ripped off.

Placed St.Patricks Day 2009

Get up offa that thing

I used to do the bump to this with my pal Althea and that's when I met my husband.

34 years later

It's st.Patricks and our wedding anniversary  guess what I will be doing again this year?

Seems like it's becoming a bit of a tradition LOL!

time to boogie

Happy St.Patricks Day

The Artists' Passion

War Embroidery

Otherwise why spend hours embroidering text.

Some of it makes you do things you never imagined, it makes you brave, it makes you shine, it makes you obsessive, it makes you jump with joy or scream in frustration.

It's hard putting yourself out there.

Subject to fear of failure

Subject to critisism

Subject to ridicule

Subject to gossip

Subject to false views of who you are

BUT

OH that passion feeds your soul
Just as these mens' passion fed our souls with their beautiful music

Framing Issues for War Embroidery

I finished this embroidery but just have't figured out how to mount it. I have dreamed ideas and thought about ideas up to the eyeballs. The tantalizing part is I know what I want but can't quite figure it out technically.

I know I want it stapled to something.

grrrrrr!

Visited the Society for Contemporary Craft in Pittsburg over the weekend and saw the beautiful work of Kurt Wieser. 

I just LOVED his teapot

I so wish there had been seating in the exhibit space like in some of the small msueums I've visited. Being able to sit for a wee while really helps to spend time with art and explore and enjoy it.

Public Art Box

Inner Monster

Nancy and I put in a new piece (made by Nancy) for the art box on corry street. I kind of get a kick out of this but it's amazing how many people in town have never noticed it, kind of like the nose above the sweetie shop. They quietly exist and become a suprise when people actually notice them.

.

Let the Sunshine In

We are ready for that sunshine and the jafagirls are into

Flower Power

it’s groovy, it’s shagadelic, it’s it baby

and

its coming soon to Dayton/Corry St

in Yellow Springs

We have been sewing up a storm of flowers, and I am working on the knit/crochet portion for some bench graffiti.

So NOT much painting or embroidery going on

Here is one of my favourite paintings because I so enjoyed the process (a bit like the meditative quality that comes with doing embroidery). It's oil on wood and took several months to build up the layers and colours on the leaves and rose.

"naughty boy"

SOLD

Calculated Imperfections

I really enjoyed this image from the American Home Crafts Magazine Spring/Summer 1975 edition, but what really struck a chord was the statement, "Freedom of expression is more important than technique".

Sometimes people get so hung up on technique (not ignoring the importance of learning techniques), it blinds them as viewers and crushes them as artists. I got an excellent bit of advice on how to do satin stitch this morning and had I been an embroiderer I would have said, "yes, that is the way I SHOULD do it,". Here is the problem. I am an artist, not an embroiderer. I don't see marking with stitches any different than marking with paint or pencil. For me embroidery is not a vehicle for technique but rather a vehicle for my art and therein lies the distinction. The best bit of advice I got from my art teacher/mentor is learn all the rules and then you can break them. The danger of showing my embroidery art to embroiderers is that all they can see sometimes is technique.

Here is a piece of mixed media textile art I did a few years ago, that was not subject to concerns about rules.

It's gessoed linen, with acrylic paint, vintage button and embroidery.

Thanks Penny, your blog entry is exactly how I feel.

"Not everything I do is dictated by the political history of having a vagina."

Screaming Bottle, Happy Bottle

"transmutation"

Oil on glass with a Harry Lauder branch and is available at "in a frame" in Yellow Springs (just in case anyone is interested).The Harry Lauder tree is named after a much beloved scottish entertainer who performed using its crooked branch as a cane.

Retro Craft Corner

Painted bottles from Colourcraft 1976

I love the idea of recycling and these are just so vibrant and fun. I see me using this idea for a jafagirl project down the road.

No need to buy special glass paint, just spray the bottles with a flat paint or gesso and then use acrylics.

A Soirée

The Jafagirls hosted a vintage collection tea party for a friend of ours late afternoon on Sunday. In between doing my embroidery, and reading the sunday paper I made Jam Tarts (lemon curd, strawberry, apricot, and blackberry).

AND

here is a bit decorative art I bought

1940's McCoy Bird Pitcher.

McCoy Pottery Collectors Society.


WOTZ UP WITH THE NEEDLE

Not much, slow going.

I'm trying to figure out what to do next on it. I may just have to stare at it for a bit.

You can see the progress slide show here.

Happy International Women's Day

Deocrative Arts?

Image source and information from Brooklyn Museum

made by an abolitionist

Wonder why this is listed as "decorative"arts and not textile arts? It's no more decorative than the Bayeux Tapestry. According to the wiki entry it means, "traditional term for a number of arts and crafts for the making of ornamental and functional works." This piece doesn't seem to really fit with purely ornamental or functional.

Just pondering this fine Sunday morning.

Happy Flower with strip of reverse painted plastic made by moi

Have a GREAT day

Oft Ignored Images from the Bayeux Tapestry

Penny Nickels at Mr.Xstitch did a wonderful blog entry about the history of sexual imagery in textile arts. I have just seen a slide show of the Bayeux Tapestry presented by the Mad River Chapter of the EGA, but I don't remember seeing this. That's because many reproductions/depictions censor or change the image. Unfortuntely it also hides what is obviously an important part of the story (otherwise why put it on there). Close up's can be seen at Mr.XStitch link.

Studio Sewing

I haven't attached the bone yet,just wanted to see how it looks. Progress slide show from sketchbook to stitch.

RETRO CRAFT CORNER

Quilt by Elizabeth Gurrier

Quilting, Patchwork, Applique, and Trapunto 1974

I can't say I want one of these but it made me laugh.

Craftivism: Textile Graffiti

In between working on embroidery, life drawing, and a few other things I'm starting to work with the other jafagirls (Nancy and Karen aka jafalass) on making felt flowers for a textile graffiti project. We are trying to make them simple, which is NOT working because our urge to prettyfy is too strong, LOL!

Craftivism, what is it?

In looking at the definition it doesn't seem what we are doing fits exactly. Having said that I do I feel we are using crafts in a social setting that puts them into a different context. It may not be shocking to the senses or didactic in nature, nor the work itself exceptionally original, BUT there is something to be said about work that provokes a different viewpoint.

RETRO CRAFT CORNER

Painted Stones in ColourCraft 1976

I love the colours and patterns on these stones.

I guess you can tell I am INTO colour today.

Monday at Studio Jafabrit

Weather: dull grey days in Ohio

Culture: Went to the YS Short Film Fest (fab)

Purchases: Excited about getting this Eames Style vintage Tablecloth & my retro embroidery book.

Sunday Photo: Love the reflections.

Dayton Art Institute

Reminding Self: Don't have to churn out art.

Studio: a MESS, a bloody MESS

Artwork: slow but sure.

Finished the cape, hands and flowers. Need to figure out what beads to use for the earrings, and do the paper she is holding.

Retro Craft Corner

This is from 1969 McCalls Needlework Magazine and is a rosy pomegranate design on white linen. Embroidery Stitches are chain, laid herringbone, padded satin, and stem stitch.

I think I have a yen to make me one of these.