Virginia A. Spiegel

Jamie Fingal

Jamie Fingal makes award-winning joyful art.  Her artwork and writing have appeared in numerous magazines and she is a frequent guest on Quilting Arts TV.  Jamie, a do-gooder of my own heart, coordinates the Welcome Home house quilt project supplying house-themed quilts to assist Furnishing Hope.  This organization works with designers to create interior rooms and entire houses to help those in need.  She also co-curates art quilt exhibits and teaches at the national level with Leslie Tucker Jenison for Dinner at Eight Artists.

1.  How do you find/make time to be in your studio?  
Let’s go right to fun, when I contemplate going to my studio.  I try to make it a priority to be there Monday thru Friday, and not on the weekends. I find that my life is more balanced with this arrangement.

2.  Describe your studio in five words.  
Creative, organized, inspirational, visual, colorful.

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

4. What is the worst space you have ever had as a studio?
Small bedroom in my house

A detail from one of Jamie’s three BONUSES for Foto/Fiber 2012.
All three are quintessential “Jamie Fingal.”

5.  What would make a “dream studio” for you?
One large room, industrial sink, bathroom, 700 square feet

6.  What would you advise someone setting up a studio for the first time?
Determine what you are going to do there – design (need a wall), cut (need a cutting table), fuse (could be half of the cutting table), sew (domestic and/or long arm), computer (and printers), print, dye (industrial sink, drying areas), surface design – make a plan – draw out your space.

7.  Any unique features/studio pets you would like to share?
Does Barbie count?  She is my muse.  Rarely take my dog to my studio.

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

Rebel Quilting DVD from Interweave.

Share the news about Foto/Fiber 2012, a fundraiser for the American Cancer Society.

Jamie Fingal is one of those busy people who is always doing something “good.”  She has done extensive work with and for the Girl Scouts and is currently coordinating a project to benefit her local veterans.  In addition to her own artwork, Jamie (with Leslie Tucker Jenison) has been busy curating Beneath the Surface which will appear at all three International Quilt Festivals. You can recognize a “Jamie Fingal” right away, her artwork is bright, bold and positive.  Visit Jamie on her website or on her fun Twisted Sister blog.

1.  Why are you participating in the ONE fundraiser for the American Cancer Society?
I believe in “giving back” and this is an excellent cause.  I have family and friends who have survived cancer, which I am so thankful for. They are the majority over the loved ones who have passed on from this disease.

Spice Tea House by Jamie Fingal.  This artwork will be available on February 16 as part of the ONE fundraiser.

2.  What are you working on in the studio now?
I am coordinating and making “Welcome Home” patriotic house quilts for Veterans First in Orange County, CA and the Wounded Warriors Battalion in San Diego, CA.  Still in the planning stages for my Sacred Threads and the Alliance for American Quilts entries.

3.  What has been the biggest surprise of your art career so far?
When I was asked to write a book in 2007 about embellished mini quilts:  Embellished Mini Quilts published by Lark Books.

4.  What advice do you have for new art collectors/new Patrons of ONE?
If a piece or pieces tug at your sleeve, buy them right away, before they get snapped up by someone else.

Square Dance by Jamie Fingal.  38.5H x 28.5W  2010
A lively orchestrated song of vibrant colors and shapes in the rhythm of stitches as the red squares dance across and through the piece. Exhibited in World of Beauty,
International Quilt Festival Houston, 2010.

5.  What would you do with a year free to do what you wanted with no responsibilities or financial concerns?
I would do more community projects, and public art.

Knowing (Boundary Waters 52) Photo by Deidre Adams.
48×36″
White cotton fabric, acrylic paint, felt, cheesecloth, upholstery fabric, black duck cloth, polyester fabric, silk fabric, recycled pieces from artist’s art quilts, oil paintstiks, thread. Hand-painted, stamped, screen printed, burned, hand-dyed, hand and machine stitched.

I am very pleased to have Knowing (Boundary Waters 52) juried in to Beneath the Surface, a special exhibit at the International Quilt Festival in Long Beach, CA from July 22-25 at the Long Beach Convention Center. The exhibit is presented by the Dinner at Eight Artists and sponsored by Moore’s Sewing Centers and Brother International.

Why did I agree to enter this juried invitational?  Two reasons. I liked the theme as it easily fit my current body of work and I respect the professionalism of the Dinner at Eight Artists, including co-curators Jamie Fingal and Leslie Tucker Jenison.

My artist statement for this artwork:

The first time I went to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, I saw rock, tree, water, sky. But curiosity and necessity have forced me over the past five years to fill my library shelves with books on the botany, biology, ecology, meteorology, geology, geography, ornithology, and mycology of the Boundary Waters.  Lying beneath the surface knowledge of just this small part of the world is detail built upon detail, layers and layers of knowledge — interwoven, timeless, and infinitely complex.

From the beginning I knew I wanted to do something different for this artwork.  Do you remember this in-progress photo from back in November ’09?

The  artwork was collaged (by stitching, not fusing) in earth/sky/rock/water fabrics (with a great variety of textures such as velvet, duck cloth, upholstery fabric, etc. – all hand-painted, and/or screen printed by me) and then I heavily stitched over the entire artwork with variegated rayon thread. Then I screwed my courage to the sticking point and went at it with oil paintstiks.  The result:

Knowing (Boundary Waters 52) - Detail.  Photo by Deidre Adams.

It’s definitely the kind of artwork (well, that would be ALL my artwork really) that needs to be seen in person to really appreciate the depth and texture.  I am admittedly in love with it because it is a perfect manifestation of my intent, my message, and my theme.

TWO SPECIAL NOTES:
Now that I think about it, this artwork is, in a way, very similar in technique.

If you need more news, subscribe to my free monthly e-newsletter by sending an e-mail with SUB as the subject line to Virginia(at)VirginiaSpiegel.com
The April edition goes out today with news about a new pair of boots with a purpose.

Thank you generous donors and patrons.  We raised an amazing $1518!    See you next Tuesday:  More totes, more variety, more bids to benefit the American Cancer Society.

Unless a custom tote has been provided, the winning bidder will receive this Relay For Life tote directly from me:

1. Art+Quilt Sponsored by Lyric Kinard
Winning Bid:  $250 by Mary Ann Van Soest who is also a tote donor.

Be inspired by Lyric’s new book, Art+Quilt as you delve deeply into the building blocks that make up our visual language.  A sketchbook is the perfect place to capture your thoughts and inspirations.  Its special cover was created by Lyric and features dyeing, painting, printing and beading.  Also included are three+ yards of hand-dyed cotton fabrics, with some fabrics also printed or painted, by Connie Akers to start you on the way to creating own beautiful art quilt.

Tote: Relay For Life (see above)
Contents:

*Autographed copy of Art + Quilt: Design Principles and Creativity Exercises by Lyric Kinard

*Sketchbook with one-of-a-kind cover by Lyric Kinard

*3+ yards hand-dyed (some also printed/painted) fabrics by Connie Akers

2.  Embellished Mini-Quilts sponsored by Jamie Fingal and the Cut-Loose Quilters of Orange, CA.
Winning Bid: $200 donated to the American Cancer Society by Kay Sorensen, who has supported ALL of FFAC fundraisers.

Everything you need to embellish a quilt with treasures collected by most of the members of the Cut-Loose Quilters!  The members of Cut-Loose who donated items are Peggy Calvert, Cindy Cooksey, Anne Copeland, Jamie Fingal, Stacy Hurt and Julie Schlueter.

Tote: Hand painted by Jamie Fingal

Contents:
*Jamie’s book Embellished Mini Quilts signed by her and three other artists – Cindy Cooksey, Stacy Hurt and Terry Waldron.
*1 bag of miscellaneous trim and 1 card of 3 trims and lime green sequin trim, oooh la la
*2 stackable towers of beads and buttons to take with you wherever you go
*6 bags of beads and sequins that an embellisher cannot live without
*3 bags of buttons and 1 bag of letter beads, because you have something to say
*3 pkgs of rick rack, the happy and perky embellishment
*a bundle of trim, more is more
*embroidery thread, needles, metallic thread, these always enhance a project
*silver metal discs that say “Imagination is everything..it’s the preview of life’s coming attractions”
*Not shown in picture, ribbon trim and a zipper, just to be different

3 . Getting Graphic! sponsored by Pokey Bolton
Winning Bid:  A generous, but anonymous, donor who made A Go For The Gold + donation of $600 to the American Cancer Society.

When Pokey isn’t scheming upcoming publications and projects at Quilting Arts, she can be found in her flannel PJs in her home studio, dyeing and screening brightly hued fabrics with bold designs. (And during the colder, bleaker months she makes her fabrics even brighter and bolder to stave off those winter blues!)

Tote: Pokey combined some of her hand-dyed and screened fabrics with commercial fabrics with whimsical designs.  Pattern is Kathy Mack’s Winslow Market tote as published in International Quilt Festival: Quilt Scene.

Contents:
*A copy of our special issue: International Quilt Festival: Quilt Scene
*A copy of our super-sized special Winter issue of Cloth Paper Scissors STUDIOS
*Quilting Arts (Feb/March issue)
*Cloth Paper Scissors (Jan/Feb issue)
*Quilting Arts TV Series 500 (13 Episodes)
*Texture Transformation: Stitch, Alter, Recycle with Natalya Aikens – Quilting Arts Workshop DVD
*Gelatin Monoprinting with Rayna Gillman – Quilting Arts Workshop DVD
*A fat bundle of Pokey’s hand-dyed/ screened fabrics

4. Knitted Comfort sponsored by Lynn Krawczyk
Winning Bid: The Go For The Gold Price of $180 to Tomme Fent, obsessed knitter and long-time FFAC supporter.

Knitting has, on more than one occasion, helped me to refocus and relax during stressful times.  It’s a fiber art that has been around for centuries, with the earliest knitted object dating back to the 14th century.  Knowing that so many others have gone before me with this art form adds to my growing affection toward it.  Two areas that I have especially grown to love are knitting socks and knitting toys.  There is nothing cozier than a pair of hand kintted socks in your favorite colors or a unique hand knitted toy full of personality.  I’m please to offer this tote (with two more to follow in upcoming weeks) in support of Fiberart For A Cause and the American Cancer Society and I hope that they bring you many moments of happiness too!

Tote: Hand-stitched felt yarn bucket (Mixed Bag Designs)
Contents:
*Knitted Comfort for the Sole book
*Hand-dyed sock yarn in mediumweight Socks that Rock, colorway Strange Brew, (Blue Moon Fiber Arts)
*Hand-knit mini sock by Lynn Krawczyk

5. Rust-Tex Collection sponsored by Lois Jarvis and Rust-Tex.com
Winning Bid:  An anonymous donor generously donated the Go For The Gold price of $288 to the American Cancer Society.

The Rust-Tex Collection has everything you need to get started in rust dyeing including the Rust-Tex Instructional CD. Rust Dyeing is unpredictable, but Lois Jarvis has figured out four techniques that will give you repeatable patterns. Also in the tote is the Rust-Tex Starter Kit that includes everything needed to create the Trees pattern, one of the four techniques on the CD, and 4 steel stars that are guaranteed to rust are just some of the items in the 100% cotton tote that could be rust dye after you pop the CD in your computer and learn how to rust dye.

Tote: 100% cotton tote for rust dyeing
Contents:
-Rust-Tex Instructional CD
-Kit to make Trees Fabric
-Tannin (enough to make a quart)
-1.5oz bottle synthrapol
-Tube of iron fillings
-4 steel stars (guaranteed to rust)
-Fat Quarter of Stormy Skies Fabric
-Fat Quarter of Trees Fabric
-Fat Quarter of Sunburst Fabric

Logo by Jeanelle McCall

Where do I start?  I thought I would do a little fundraiser – - two Tuesdays, ten totes, maybe raise $1000 for the American Cancer Society.

Well!  Thanks to generous sponsors and donors, we now have over thirty totes listed with the actual number of sponsored totes in-progress approaching fifty. Here are the latest totes added to the list:

Fabric To Dye For (Frieda Anderson)
Collect Your Dreams (Diana Welte)
Share Your Art! (Franki Kohler)
Think Pink (Sandra Baker)
Studio Time (Peggy Schroder)

A list of all the totes to date with a brief description and links is here.

More information about this Rust-Text Collection tote.

I’m Tweeting about basically nothing except ToteTuesday at least from now until February 2, so that is a good place to find all the latest news.

More information about how ToteTuesday Works:
1. Totes
2. Contents
3. Bidding

Last, but certainly not least, I must express my special thanks to Peggy Schroder.  She is working overtime to make ToteTuesday a success.  She volunteered (and is doing a stunning job) to track all the individual donations for ToteTuesday as well as to contact fiber-related businesses who she knows would like to support our fundraiser. She is conceptualizing many wonderful themed totes featuring these donations, taking enticing photos of the contents for the auction, and making plans to ship everything out to the lucky winners,  Oh, and did I mention she is also doing her own series of “Have A Heart” totes with artwork and other donations from the “Big Names” in the art quilt world?  She is a tote-diva!