Virginia A. Spiegel

Okno V Dom/Window Into the Home 2
Natalya Aikens 

Artist Natalya Aikens is donating a most special artwork, Okno V Dom/Window Into the Home 2, to the Invitational Reverse Auction of Fiberart to benefit the American Cancer Society.

The artwork is featured on the cover of Quilting Arts 2009 Calendar.  The lucky patron of this artwork will also receive a copy of the Quilting Arts 2009 Calendar donated by Pokey Bolton of Quilting Arts. 

The artwork is 12×12″ and materials include silk organza, synthetic organza, dryer sheets, painted, free-handmachine embroidered, hand stitched.

Natalya’s art is an exploration of her heritage.  The Russian fairytales, folklore and decorative traditions infuse her work with their fanciful spirit. St. Petersburg, her birth city inspires her with its elegance, grace and grittiness. The pagan/Christian-intertwined history of Russia makes her dig deeper into her soul.

Natalya has exhibited her fiber art in juried shows throughout the US. Her artwork has made several appearances in Quilting Arts Magazine and Quilting Arts TV.

Her work has also been published in The Quilting Arts Book by Patricia Bolton, Art Quilts at Play by Jane Davila and Elin Waterston and SAQA’s Portfolio 15. She is a member of SAQA, Surface Design Association and the FiberRevolution.

Natalya earned her BFA at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, NY and had a previous career in the fashion and film industries.  She currently lives and works in Westchester County, NY.

The Invitational Reverse Auction opens March 24.

The Opposite of January

Normally these dyed yarns and threads are kept in a drawer, but in January I take them out and luxuriate in the riot of color.  The milkweed pod is a nice contrast, so smooth and sleek on the inside.

It’s hard to believe I actually dyed these.  Way more fiddly than I can usually stand.  But I have noticed that I have never done it again nor have had the urge to do so.

The Daydream
Terri Stegmiller
10×8″ 

Terri Stegmiller is a prolific artist and writer known for her striking female faces on fabric. 

The Daydream was created with collaged fabric and lace pieces, quilted and painted to create a cohesive background.  Free-motion stitching forms the face with acrylics adding shadow and highlights.  Silk fabric was used for the flowers and leaves, which are supported by stitched stems.  The outer edges are zigzag stitched with novelty yarn added for extra texture. 

Terri is the author of Creative Paper Quilts – Applique, Embellishment, Patchwork, Piecework and the co-author, with Sue Bleiweiss, of Creative Ways with Fibre & Stitch.

It’s never too early to send your Collage Mania jpegs to Karen(at)KarenStiehlOsborn.  Your artwork appears on the Collage Mania pages in more or less the order in which it is received.  Karen is already up to page 6.

All the details are in the Call for Artists.

Collage Mania is May 5 -7 with a goal of raising $20,000 for the American Cancer Society through Fiberart For A Cause.

Fiberart For A Cause has been named, for the third year in a row, a Top Ten Nationwide fundraiser for the American Cancer Society’s Relay For Life.

Take a bow, everyone!  We have donated over $165,000 since 2005.  Amazing!  

This was accomplished through the hard work and generosity of fiber artists and generous patrons of those fiber artists.

A big THANK YOU to our honorary chairperson, Karey Bresenhan (Director of International Quilt Festival – Houston, Chicago and Long Beach), who took FFAC under her wing.  Her personal interest and attention have made all the difference.

Fiberart For A Cause is going to wrap up its big fundraisers in 2009, so please mark your calendars for:

March 24 – 26   The Invitational Reverse Auction of Fiberart 

May 5 – 7          Collage Mania

Cricket in the Thorn Tree
Leandra Spangler
8.5″ x 10.25″ 
In honor of Gloria Page  

Leandra Spangler of Bear Creek Paperworks has donated a VERY unique and wonderful “quilt” to the Invitational Reverse Auction of Fiberart.  Leandra is very well-known for her contemporary vessels of reed forms covered with highly textured handmade paper. 

Cricket in the Thorn Tree features a removable book with an original drawing on artist-made paper of abaca, okra and day lily mounted on folio of vintage fabric and paste paper.  Part of the stream of consciousness text explains the title of the artwork:

Helen Suzman died January 1, 2009 in Johannesburg.  For 13 years – from 1961 to 1974 – she was the sole representative in Parliament of the liberal Progressive Party, forerunner of the Democratic Party.  

During her parliamentary career she was hailed as apartheid’s most effective parliamentary critic and a thorn in the flesh of the NP government.  This earned her the accolade “cricket in the thorn tree”. This quilt honors Helen Suzman and others of strong conviction who fight for their beliefs. 

The removable book is held secure with appliqued “thorns” of fabric and copper wire.  Materials include vintage fabric, fusible webbing, handmade paper, paste paper, card stock, Sharpie, copper wire, sewing thread, museum board, brass rings, waxed linen.   

The Invitational Reverse Auction is March 24-26 with all donations being made directly to the American Cancer Society through Fiberart For A Cause. More details here.