Virginia A. Spiegel

Chicory 2

The Chicory collages are finished and submitted for distribution in a private swap.  I always make a few extra in any exchange so there is no pressure to send them all.

The background is acrylic paint on watercolor paper with Caran d’Ache artist crayons.  I wrote over the entire background with information about chicory which blooms with mad abandon along the roadsides here.  An odd fact about chicory is that its blooms open and close regularly each morning and evening, even when cut for a flower arrangement.

The collage was made by first layering a small strip of contrasting painted paper over the background. I Photoshopped my own photo of a chicory flower, printed it on Lesley Riley’s TAP, and then ironed it to light blue painted fabric and adhered the fabric to the collage with Misty Fuse.  The collage is 7×5″ mounted to 10×8″ on heavy watercolor paper.

I like having mixed-media collage as a nice contrast to my more “think-y” textile artwork.

Morning Song

Morning Song will be available as part of Artful Home ’s Hearts For Anna, an online fundraiser, August 12 – 16.  All funds raised will go to Anna Millea an artist who is fighting breast cancer – again. Anna has been denied insurance, having been deemed uninsurable due to her “pre-existing condition.”

Morning Song is a 7×5″ mixed-media collage.  Materials include hand-painted fabric, screenprinted upholstery fabric, painted and screenprinted paper.  It is actually an irregularly shaped art quilt and is sewn to black matboard for easy framing.

Kudos to CEO Lisa Bayne for creating this event to assist Anna.  If you missed the guidelines to participate as a donor artist, they are here.  You still have time to donate artwork before the August 7 deadline.

I would be happy to share other fiber artwork here before the big event, so do let me know if you are donating fiber artwork.

And mark your calendar for HEARTS FOR ANNA on August 12 – 16, 2009.  Artwork will be sold first-come, first-serve with all items selling for $100 on Day 1, $75 on Days 2-4 and $50 on Day 5. The first 20 donations have been posted in a nifty slideshow here where more information about the auction will also be posted soon.

Cynthia St. Charles
Begin 6″h x 8″w Recycled printer paper, dyed and painted with acrylics. Printed with original handcut rubber stamps, photoscreen print of turkey vulture in flight in acrylics. Mounted on 10″x8″ 100% recycled backing board (white mat included). From Collage Mania 2008.

The Call for Artists for Collage Mania 2009, a Fiberart For A Cause fundraiser for the American Cancer Society, is now up here.

All materials are acceptable, but collages should contain some fiber (paper, fabric, or other fibrous material). There are no restrictions on content or style. Art quilts are, of course, acceptable and encouraged.

Collages may be any size and finished in any manner, but they must be finished or mounted to 10×8″ (25.4 cm x 20.3 cm). The orientation may be either horizontal or vertical. There is a ink to a FAQ on mounting artwork in the Call.

I honestly was not going to do Collage Mania this year, but Karen Stiehl Osborn stepped forward and saved the day.  She will be receiving and processing your jpegs.  As noted in the call, also e-mail her if you intend to participate this year.

The deadline to send your jpegs to Karen is April 1, 2009, but do remember that collages are shown in more or less the order they are received.

Collage Mania will be held May 5 – 7, 2009 with all collages offered for a minimum donation of $80 to the American Cancer Society through Fiberart For A Cause on Gold Donor Day, May 5, and a minimum donation of $40 on May 6 and May 7. As this is a fundraiser, patrons are encourage to donate a bit more if they are able for a favorite collage.

Collage Mania 2008 raised $13,000 for the American Cancer Society in two days.  Our goal for Collage Mania 2009 is to raise $20,000 for the American Cancer Society in three days. I hope you can join us and please do contact me if you have any questions.