I had a nice play around early this morning, designing and putting in place this header to sit across the top of the entry prospectus the Oceania: Distance And Diversity exhibition next May. The basics have already been announced, and the actual detailed prospectus will be sent to all SAQA Oceania region members in the next few days. I asked a few people to send me quilt images to use (there’s a slice of each one of them) and I added landscape elements from my own photos. Someone kindly commented the result captures the sense of our part of the world, which is just how I hoped it would read:
I often collage photos rather than post them in full one by one, and this next photo covers the auditioning, Phase 1.
(a) 40 cm wide fabric! (b) scraps are being sorted for ‘land’ bits (c) test applique
The fine hand woven blue Japanese cotton fabric I bought at a fibre conference or symposium at least 15 years ago, and was right at the back of my cupboard exactly where I expected to be. Untouched since I brought it home, though it has a lovely texture and I have always adored it, I’ve never considered using it – as I almost never make anything using a lot of blue. this fabric was deliciously expensive, and as it’s sat there unused, I’ve occasionally wondered why the heck did I buy it? Only a fibre artist would understand this perplexing conundrum. Now, since I’m thinking about the phrase ‘girt by sea’ , sept 7th post, then obviously I could/should consider using it right now. Entries must be 40cm x 60cm, with tolerance of +/- 1cm. In what I think must be an omen of some kind, this particular fabric is 41cm width.
Every now and then I mention how browsing on Pinterest led me to discover an artist whose work I really like. Pinterest is a wonderful way to access new ideas and trends previously only accessible through gallery visits or catalogues and books. Of course, designs themselves are the intellectual property of the artist and therefore copyrighted. What is most exciting to see are media and techniques other artists are using to explore shapes, lines and textures, which might be far removed from the textile medium I’m engaged in. Every time we visit a gallery or or look through a book or catalogue, we absorb something we might not even be aware of, but whether subtle or bold, it becomes an influence and brings something new to our own art…. which is I why I browse on Pinterest and occasionally pin something exciting or interesting to me. To see what I collect go here
Having a concept or idea about a proposed artwork is one thing; executing it is another. It is more than 40 years since a wonderful teacher, Cynthia Sparks, introduced me to some low tech ways to apply paint to fabric and add stitch. Cynthia was a leading Australian embroidery teacher and inspiration to many textile artists there in the 70’s and 80’s, and she became a personal friend. Some other wonderful people followed, all contributing to the textile art creativity she encouraged me to develop.
Having stitched by hand and machine most of my life, and having learned additional different surface design techniques along the way, I do have a wide range of techniques from which to choose. However, like most artists, I tend to work in a group of favourite, go-to techniques. It’s interesting how I can number these on one hand: improvisational machine pieced constructions aka freehand patchwork, free machine embroidery, freestyle hand stitchery, simple hand printed or painted design elements … pretty well everything I do belongs in one of those groups. My approach has always been very low tech, for multiple reasons that I won’t dwell on here, except to say that my peripatetic life has played a big part in this.
If I’m considering using straight stitch in a work, for example, I look through my Pinterest pin boards, and copy several selected images of its usage that seem particularly inspiring, even though these may be mark making rather than actual stitches. I insert these few special images into a word document, 3-6 / page, leaving space around them for notes and lists – and call them ideas sheets. Here’s an example using some of my own images – I don’t want to break anyone’s copyright here!
Segments from several works (my own) on what I call an IDEAS SHEET. I use the spaces around them to jot notes.
Once I’ve compiled the document, scanned it and printed it off, I use the surrounding space to add lists and annotations on possibilities. At this stage if a quote or potential title comes to mind, I note that, too. I generally sketch out very simple little pencil line diagrams of a plan / layout in my sketch book; and most often this is some form of grid, as my brief traditional patchwork background still exerts a strong influence. I love grids 🙂
Sketchbook page diagrams – a key part of my planning process
Once I’ve started to sew the work I almost never look at it again. The searching, selecting and compiling are the important part of the process which pushes me along to pick up fabric, needle and thread and start creating what I have in mind. This morning I spent a little time compiling an ideas sheet for the next project – that theme of ‘girt by sea’ is still rolling around in my mind…
Tomorrow, September 11th, at 2pm Eastern Standard Time USA the annual SAQA online benefit auction starts. It runs from September 11 through October 4. This year there are nearly 500 pieces, and about 1/3 of them will be auctioned each week until the end of the auction. But, tomorrow, September 11th, Day 1, for just 24 hours, every one of those donated 12″ square quilts goes on sale for the price of US$1000.
My quilt this year, is auction item #17. If it doesn’t sell tomorrow, it will be in the second group auctioned the week beginning Monday September 21st at which point the bidding starts at US$750 and drop in price each day until it sells, or the end of the week passes after which it will be for sale through the SAQA online shop. For further information on how the auction works, and how to make your bid on my quilt 🙂 go to https://www.saqa.com/auction/auctionFAQ.
The money raised by this annual auction helps fund the exhibition programs, publications, and education outreach of Studio Art Quilt Associates. Additionally, every purchase helps increase the recognition for art quilts and the artists who make them.
Except for one year, I have always suported SAQA’s program by making and donating one of these small textile art works for the auction. Many collectors use the annual auction to collect up-and-coming-names in the art quilt world. Others collect to a theme, and I’ve seen some lovely collections on walls. Two of my collectors own 2+ Alison Schwabes, which is very pleasing to me.
Details of my most recent landscape inspired quilts: both hand applique over raw edged shapes.
This morning I listened to most of a webinar as several artists from the latin world talked about their textile art and how the COVID19 pandemic has impacted their artistic process. I had to leave the webinar before the end – a load of firewood was being noisily delivered, my cleaning lady was approaching this zone with the vacuum cleaner, and I couldn’t find any headphones to fit into my sound system. The recorded session will be accessible for replay soon, but I might not have missed much substance – there was a bit of waffly philosophising.
However, by the time I left the zoom meeting, a theme had developed through all the speakers who, with some variation, were united on these points: (1) that the restrictions imposed by the pandemic offer unique opportunities for us as textile artists to reflect on our work and what we were doing with it. (2) Through video, photography and writing about it, documenting our process can help us reach deeper understanding of our own growth as artists. (3) Additionally, both making and documenting of our processes can be very healing in any troubled period such as the one we’re all living through.
I was recently telling a friend about something I was doing, and she launched into a bit of a lecture on how I should be sure to document it. She’s not an artist herself, and hasn’t known me long, so she had no idea that documentation of my process is one of the driving forces behind this blog, the nearest thing I will ever have to an artist’s notebook or a visual diary. Both of those quilts, of which you can only see details above, are well documented herehere and here
My documentation always includes photographic images including some of mine and finally Eduardo Baldizan’s of the finished work and a brief written statement of <100 words about it or the series to which it belongs. I just finished a medium sized wall quilt that I named Pandemic Pattern, and feel sure that several ideas other ideas I have on this concept will comprise a series in time. Stay tuned.
Tropical Waters, 2004, 10cmh x 148cmw, aka “Ebb&Flow 1“
I love this line from Australian’s national anthem, “Advance Australia Fair” though plenty of people can’t stand it. They have a real problem with the wonderful word ‘girt’, past participle of the verb ‘gird’ meaning to surround, secure, enclose, strengthen … and other synonyms. Of course, for most people around the world, hearing our own national anthem played invokes all the wonderful feeelings of being part of our country, some of them enhanced by being forced to remain overseas rather longer than intended, thanks to the current Covid-19 pandemic. But this is no rant about the painful troubles and inconveniences brought to us by the virus that has turned the world upside down this year.
Next April there’s a SAQA virtual Oceania Region regional conference. And naturally there’s to be an exhibition of work by SAQA members of this region. It will open in New Zealand during the conference in mid April, then travel to a number of venues around the region in the following two years. Naturally, being Aussie, I am part of this region even though I’m currently in Uruguay. Although the prospectus details are just being finalised for immediate release, a few days ago we learned that the theme is “Distance And Diversity” and have confirmation that the dimensions are 60cmw x 100cmh. As you realise, there’s a short lead time until entries close, so even as I write, there are probably a few who have already started their intrepretation of this broad theme. Though I’m thinking about possibilities, I’m not ready to start yet. I need to rationalise and put away lots of fabrics from the latest works that I delivered to my photographer this morning. As I’m on the organising committee I do feel I need to submit at least one work for jurying!
In South pacific region known as Oceania, there are 14 independent nations, and one thing we do all have in common is that we are all girt by sea 🙂 There are many other things to think about for inspiration, too, like communications, history, flora, fauna, colonisation, cultural and economic differences, tourism, envoronmental challenges and so much more … but I still can’t get the girt by sea thing out of my mind!
It’s been quite a long time since I produced something watery …
