Virginia A. Spiegel

Boundary Waters 53
Virginia A. Spiegel

Kathy Loomis writes an eclectic and always interesting blog, Art with a Needle.  She recently posted an article questioning whether details matter in fiber artwork (both for viewing and jurying) by using the example of my Boundary Waters 53 which she saw and photographed at Form, Not Function.  Read her post here.

This post is a comment in a longer format discussing why details matter as much to me as they do to the viewer. Also Kathy was correct when she said her photography didn’t show the richness of the artwork; these photographs were taken by Deidre Adams.

Boundary Waters 53, Detail
Virginia A. Spiegel

Kathy contrasts the use of detail shots for jurying fiber work v. painting. I do paint on stretched canvas (just for myself) when I’m in a creative rush, but I always miss the lovely dimension and texture of fiber.  I work a lot with paper and collage – ditto.  Interesting, but not THAT interesting after a bit unless I spend a lot of time building up texture. In my fiber work I veer back and forth from basically paintings on cloth with a bit of stitch (such as Boundary Waters 19) to heavily textured pieces such as BW 53.

But as I have always said, technique never trumps message for me.  If you start with Boundary Waters 48 and work your way up to Boundary Waters 53 on my website, notice the color changing and morphing.  It’s not coincidental.  Of course, there is a story I’m telling even if you may not know exactly what it is.

My sister and I were “stuck” on a narrow ledge of a campsite in the Boundary Waters due to high winds and storms for about three days.  In small lulls, we would venture forth from our tent and stare at our only scenery – a huge cliff covered in granite rocks, trees with fall foliage, and a few pine trees.  As the storm progressed, the leaves were beaten from the trees and fell in cascades of red, orange, yellow, and green.  When viewed through the never-ending rain, it was as though streams of color and texture were flowing down the cliff. Toward the end of our stay, the dark wet rock rather than the leaves were becoming the dominate feature of the cliff face.

Boundary Waters 53, Detail
Virginia A. Spiegel

In this series within the Boundary Waters series, I’m trying to show this progression.  I’m trying to show that the very horizontal surface of the cliff became very vertical with the falling of a blurred stream of leaves cascading down wet rock.  I was mesmerized then and I am still amazed just recreating the scene in my mind.  So primeval – rock, rain, leaf; so beautiful in the destruction of a delicate autumn scene back to the underlying and ever-present granite.

For these artworks, the materials list is long:  White cotton cloth, acrylic paint, textile oil paint, felt, hand-dyed cheesecloth, hand-dyed yarn, upholstery fabric, duck cloth, velvet, Lutradur, vintage polyester scarves, polyester fabric, netting, silk paper, silk fabric, and thread.

That’s a lot of materials and you would never know or appreciate their inclusion if you didn’t take a closer look. All the materials were needed to show the texture, the movement, and the majesty of that amazing and dynamic event. It was more difficult than you would imagine to keep all the materials in hand, to sew them down without adhesives, to place them with care to keep the rhythm of the artwork, and finally to sew them again to emphasize the flowing verticalness (if that’s a word) of the scene.

Why weren’t there more works along this vein in the Boundary Waters series?  When I’m out of materials, I’m done.  There is no way I can recreate the lovely compost heap of materials I had in hand when I was seized with the need to recreate this message of the ever-evolving rhythm of life and death in Nature.  But the Boundary Waters series continues exploring this message as it has from the beginning.

I say, thank goodness for detail shots.  If you can’t see an artwork in person, they are the next best thing to show you something more about the artwork and the artist’s intent.  With fiber, and with me, there is always a MORE and detail photography is a useful way to begin the dialogue with a viewer about that more-ness. If you have read any of my book reviews you know my refrain, “It’s not a painting, show us detail photos of surface design and stitching.”  It doesn’t make fiber art less a work of art to show us these things; it makes our art more understandable and even more interesting.

And, of course, I have an opinion about the utility of detail photography and other aspects of jurying. I wrote this post after jurying Journal Quilt Project II and this after choosing the artists for the invitational Sightlines exhibit.

 Lesley Riley

 Lesley Riley is an internationally known quilter and mixed-media artist.  Besides being a book author and teacher, Lesley is also the force behind Artist Success.  Leslie and I will be chatting tonight at 7 p.m. Eastern on Art and Soul Radio about my art, my passions, and, of course, Foto/Fiber 2012. Lesley has gained rave reviews coaching artists on exactly what to do to turn art dreams into reality.  She has frequently appeared on Quilting Arts TV as well as appearing in instructional DVDs.  Lesley introduced TAP (Transfer Artist Paper) which has made many artists, including me, quite happy.

 Lesley is donating two BONUSES from her studio for Foto/Fiber 2012.   I think you can tell by these detail photos that you can expect something wonderful when you open your envelope.  Lesley tells me that her BONUSES may include fiber items from around the world, hand-dyed fabrics, vintage lace, painted TAPped cotton with original photo and more.

Remember you can choose Lesley as your Fiber Bonus artist on February 15, but your Fiber Bonus artist will be assigned to you at random on February 16.  Foto/Fiber 2012 opens at 10 a.m. Central this Wednesday, February 15. All the directions to participate in Foto/Fiber 2012 are here.  Of course, 100% of the proceeds are donated directly to the American Cancer Society and you will receive an immediate receipt of donation from the ACS.

Cynthia Wenslow

Cynthia has donated two photos exclusively for Foto/Fiber 2012 which opens Wednesday, February 15 at 10 a.m. Central.  100% of the money donated to Foto/Fiber is donated directly to the American Cancer Society through Fiberart For A Cause.

Regularly exhibited and published in periodicals and books since 1980, Cynthia’s photographic work ranges from landscapes to commercial products, portraits to cityscapes. She is especially interested in sense of place.

See more of Cynthia’s photography on her dedicated website.

Cynthia shares the “behind the scenes” stories of her two Foto/Fiber photos below.

Vortex

I have long been fascinated by fractals, and have used various interpretations of them in my artwork for years, including Koch Curves and Mandelbrot Sets. Fractals are everywhere one looks in nature, and spirals particularly draw me in. The spiral center of this piece of gold glass captured my imagination as I followed the lines deeper and deeper into the vortex.

Beautiful Heavens

I recently acquired a new puppy. In the middle of the night I was taking her outside and feeling cranky about having to get up to do so… again. I happened to glance up and was transfixed by a glorious, colorful, sky in motion. I made a mad dash and was able to get back outside with my camera and tripod before the spectacular show ended. Every time I look at this image, I’m reminded that many seemingly onerous tasks are really opportunities if one is paying attention.

See all the Foto/Fiber 2012 photos.  How to participate in Foto/Fiber 2012 on February 15 and 16.

 Gail Myrhorodsky

Gail Myrhorodsky creates unique hand-painted art cloth in wonderfully saturated colors as well as fiber art using her own fabric. Creating art fabric is a very time consuming process as the fabric is first washed and prepped for dyeing and then individually painted.  After dye or paint has set, all fabrics are rinsed thoroughly (some over 10 times) to remove excess dyes. Then all the fabric is washed in very hot water and Synthropol, and rinsed several more times. Many of the bright and darkly intense pieces undergo a hot wash with Retayne as well, which helps prevent bleeding. Then they are dried in a hot dryer and steam pressed. Gail’s silk and cotton fabrics are available for purchase through her GailForces studio as well as at quilt events.

1.  How do you find/make time to be in your studio?

After work, dinner and clean-up, it’s time for my art. No questions asked. Even if it’s only for an hour, I make the time to do something I love.

2.  Describe your studio in five words.
Way too small for stash!

3.  If you could pick only one thing from your studio to represent your art practice, what would it be?
Organization – or lack of it thereof. My studio is actually the upstairs apartment of our 2-family home. The fabric room (bedroom) is overflowing with my hand-dyed fabrics. The kitchen has the storage of all the paints, stamps, stencils, bleaching agents and all theother tools for surface design except dyeing.  The dining room is my work space – several “my height” cutting/work tables, my sewing machine, serger and embellisher, iron and design wall. When any of these rooms starts to overflow, it’s time to re-organize.  One cannot create if one cannot find the supplies!

Gail is donating three fiber-licious BONUSES to Foto/Fiber 2012.
All three start with a fat quarter of hand-dyed cotton and then Gail is choosing coordinating items from among this list:
Coordinating dyed cotton, yarns, dyed threads and dyed cheesecloth andcotton batt, personally made clay embellishment, beads, dyed vintage doily, dyed silk and wool fibers, yarns, dyed threads, a super inchie, fun foam sculpted, embellishment, glue on petal jewels, sample of Misty Fuse, fat quarter hand-dyed and stamped, stenciled and painted,, metallic netting (gold & black), Angelina, beads, and more.

4. What is the best/worst space you have ever had as a studio?
My worst was a bookcase-separated corner of a living room. The best is my current setup – an apartment with plenty of storage shelves and cabinets.

5.  What would make a “dream studio” for you?
I would love a studio on the first floor with lots of windows and about 3 times the floor space. I could also use some extra space to store and use my spinning wheel.

6.  What would you advise someone setting up a studio for the first time?
I would advise to plan carefully for the work space for the type of work you enjoy doing. Have plenty of storage and as much “spread out” floor space as you can manage.

7.  Any unique features/studio pets you would like to share?
It’s not unique, but one of the smartest things I did was raise the main work table to my height so I don’t have to lean over all the time.I’m 5’8″, which isn’t all that tall anymore, but raising the table has saved me lots of pain.  I’m a pretty functional/practical kind of person, so Ialways think of the usefulness of my work tools before aesthetics.

Karen Musgrave

Karen Musgrave is a quiltmaker, mask maker, teacher, speaker, writer, publicist and curator who works to provide a connection between American quiltmaking and other cultures. Her work has been exhibited internationally and is in many private collections. Her projects include curating an exhibition of the African American quilts from Gee’s Bend, Alabama, alongside quilts from the Republics of Georgia, Armenia and Kazakhstan. In 2006, she organized, curated,and wrote the catalogue for an exhibition of American art quilts and Krygyz patchwork.  Since July 2008, she has lead the quilt group Las puntadas del alma at the National Museum of Mexican Art in Chicago. She served on the national board of the Alliance for American Quilts as development chair, was involved for more than ten years with its oral history project Quilters’ S.O.S. – Save Our Stories and curated their highly successful quilt contest and touring exhibit Put a Roof Over Our Head. She served on the board of the Kentucky Quilt Project, Inc. and was elected to the board of the Naperville Art League in June, 2010.

Karen is donating three Fiber BONUSES to Foto/Fiber 2012.  One which includes three 1/4 yard pieces of silk made in the Soviet Union, purchased in Osh, Kyrgyzstan, and an ATC,  ”Memories of Kyrgyzstan” can be seen here on Karen’s blog.

1.  How do you find/make time to be in your studio?
I have always believed that time is a created thing. We do what we think is important. I am fortunate that I no longer have to “make/find” time to be in my studio. It’s simply something I do everyday.

2.  Describe your studio in five words.

Stimulating, messy, memory-filled, packed, fun.

3.  If you could pick only one thing from your studio to represent your art practice, what would it be?  

I think it would have to be my female Buddha mask. It shows my commitment to women, my interest in other cultures, my love of texture and applique and embracing fun!

4. What is the best/worst space you have ever had as a studio? 

In the basement of my first house, on a small table between the washer and dryer. Fortunately, the one light bulb in the place was over the table! I remain amazed at much much I got done. I worked in between loads of laundry.

5.  What would make a “dream studio” for you?
A space surrounded by nature.

6.  What would you advise someone setting up a studio for the first time?

Don’t worry about having all the bells and whistles. There is no right or wrong way. Just what works for you. Play attention to how you work so you can figure out how to facilitate the best environment for you. Think zones.

7.  Any unique features/studio pets you would like to share? 

My chocolate lab Meg was the best feature in my studio for more than ten years. She loved fabric! She would dig around in my scrap bin, find a piece she liked and carry it around. When the doorbell would ring, she would run into my studio, grab a piece of fabric and give it to the person who walked in. It always made people smile. Unfortunately, she died of liver cancer. My black cat E.G. does not like her picture taken (must take after me). When she sees the camera, she runs the other way!

8.  Any new exhibits or projects we should know about?

My book, Quilts in the Attic: Uncovering the Hidden Stories of the Quilts We Love, (Voyageur Press) is out.  I will be teaching at the Abruzzo School of Creative Art in Italy from August 22-29th.