In process...breaking free

I find that trying to explain what kind of art I do is often complicated, especially to my beloved French friends and colleagues (To be fair, this is probably due to my lack of descriptive vocabulary in French when it comes to the arts, lol). They seek a definition, a box to check off, classifying my work as something recognizable and familiar.

The brow furrows when I admit that no, in fact, I do not draw well and was the source of much frustration to my professors when they saw how I grasped other areas of art perfectly fine, but just didn't seem to twig how to translate 3D to 2D...

Furrowed brow turns to full-on frown of bewilderment, when I try to explain that no, I'm also not a painter, nor a sculptor, nor a couturier, though what I do incorporates all of the above. It's only after explaining (probably in too much detail) about the sewing of layers of hand-dyed fabric, cutting of geometric and organic shapes, machine embroidery, surface embellishment with paint, beadwork, lace, yarn, etc., depending on the piece that their faces tend to light up like Christmas morning and they exclaim with relief "Oh so you do patchwork!!!" And triumphant in finding the box and ticking it, they promptly tune out any of my nay saying to this generalization of what I do... dismissing it with a sniff and “Ahhh, mais bien sur!”

I've always been one to wince and duck out of the way of this label "patchwork". The word brings to mind the costumes of those scary circus clowns in loud, garish colors, or of Halloween costumes friends would wear when going trick-or-treating as a bum. (Side note for my British readers, this last word is not to be taken in its generic reference to certain anatomical nether regions.) It traps fiberart in the realm of “craft” – a hodgepodge collection of bits of cloth sewn together to make a covering) without leaving space for it to be accepted as “fine” art – works which are studied, modeled, reflected upon, and planned; works with a “raison d’être.”

That said, yes indeed, part of what I do, and what many other fiberartists do, can be classified as “patchwork” or “piecework” quilting. My current piece for “The Dream Rocket” project, for example, is absolutely, without a doubt, a piecework quilt square. The inspiration behind the quilt square came from the project itself: a celebration of mankind daring to reach beyond the limits of what was assumed possible – travel to outer space – and from this break with tradition, we've discovered galaxies that we are only beginning to scratch the surface of understanding.

So I decided to start with a very classic quilt square: The Bear’s Paw, which to me looked like mini rockets or fish in the middle. In my piece, those mini rockets / fish break free from the confines of what tradition holds them to and they go off to discover new worlds…

I hope everyone had a special Easter weekend!

Rock(et) your day! (-;

Holly

First Steps...toward the moon?

So I'm going to skim right over the fact that it's been just over a year since I blogged and dive right into the fact that very soon, I will exhibit in a show called "Dream Rocket". In short, I have secured a place on a Saturn V rocket, which is the vehicle that propelled man to the moon. The Dream Rocket project encourages children, families, schools, and artists alike to share their dreams, expressing them through the traditional symbol of the simple quilt square.

Some might say this is a juvenile place to re- “begin” for an artist. They may be right. But this simple project appeals to my inner girl scout in the sense that it pulls together several ideas I love:

“Impossible” dreams

Belief in self

Protection of the planet

Imagination

Then there is, of course, the historical, cultural reference to the quilt. Quilting was a particularly important practice in early American history due to the shortage and expense of readily available imported fabrics for creating warm bedding and the difficulty of spinning and then weaving one’s own fabric. Efficient use and reuse of textiles was common practice. The scraps were used in myriads of expressive ways to create blocks which comprised the quilt.

In addition, and of particular pertinence to “The Dream Rocket” project, was the idea of community: the women of early communities would come and work together – bringing their skills, stories, and anecdotes to the circle, thus passing on generations of wisdom to the younger women and girls in the group.

So here are a few images of the development of my quilt square for this rather touching and remarkable project...

Watch this space (pun intended?) for more news and photos of my newest piece.

In the meantime, rock your day!

Creatively yours, Holly

Just an update

Hi there!

Well Spring has sprung in the Principality after what feels like a very loooooong, cold, wet winter. With daylight savings, everyone seems to be in high spirits and looking forward to all the fun that summer in Monaco brings. Skis are traded in for in-line skates and running shoes as people start to get their bodies summer-ready and I am gearing up for a few shows to take place this summer.

The past month has been a whirlwind of salsa dance lessons, adopting a pet guinea pig named Nibble (photos soon), working on my file for the Arts Association of Monaco, and of course, putting together sketches and gathering materials for my next body of work- all of this in addition to starting a new job.

Anouk's LIVE ART show at Karrement was an amazing success. You can see photos on her website or facebook page. Next up is LIVE ART BRUSSELS where I'm hoping to showcase for the first time in Europe. Watch this space.

Other than that, not much to report for the time being. Photos of new work coming soon!

Takin' Care of Business....

Whoa, hey! It's been a while since I wrote anything! Sorry folks! Lately I've been amassing information on the local art scene here. This means:
- finding out what kinds of art organizations there are
- finding the galleries, who owns them, how often they do shows, are they free or you pay for entry, etc, etc
- figuring out who already exists on the scene and what kinds of art they produce

And then a few more for me- I've been contacting the local interior desingers to see who works with artists to realize their clients'projects. I've also contacted a local church I attend sometimes to see about donating an older piece I'm reworking for their little chapel. It could use a color boost (in my humble opinion, of course)!

Other than that, I've been sketching a lot for my next body of artwork, gathering images and trying to figure out where I could expose it first. I'm talking to the owners of Hotel Normandy about a show in April. It's a small hotel in Cap d'Ail (French border town to Monaco for those of you not from around here) which does art expositions since about a year now. It's there that my friend Anouk realized her first "Love Art" exposition with a few other artists, which has now morphed into "Live Art" which I told you all about a few posts ago.

Anyway, I have to get back to work on my file for the jury panel of the Arts Association of Monaco. The judging will take place at the end of the month and will determine whether they allow me in as a professional artist or not. This association would put me in touch with other artists and give me access to various expositions and projects they have available to artists on the scene. Really hoping for this, so wish me luck!!!

You all take care now! Have a great weekend!

~Holly~

Art Quilts- The Tofu and Potatoes of what I do!

Here I am on a rare soggy day in Monaco, dreaming, researching and making sketches for my next body of artwork. I promised you some information on "Art Quilts" in the last entry, so here you go!

Quilt National is THE authority on art quilts in America and maybe even the world. (Kind of like the "World Series" in baseball- we're one of the only countries that enjoy a widespread popularity of the sport, so naturally we're the best in the world at it, lol!) Anyway, Quilt National defines "Art Quilts" thus:

The work must possess the basic structural characteristics of a quilt. It must be predominantly fabric or fabric-like material and must be composed of at least two full and distinct layers - a face layer and a backing layer. The face layer may be described by any or a combination of the following terms: pieced, appliqued, whole cloth, stitched/fused to a foundation. The face and backing layers must be held together by hand- or machine-made functional quilting stitches or other elements that pierce all layers and are distributed throughout the surface of the work. At least some of these stitches or elements should be visible on the back of the work. As an alternative, the work may be a modular construction (an assemblage of smaller quilts). Each individual module, however, must meet the above structural criteria.

The above lists the criteria a fiberartist must follow if he / she wants to enter their prestigious Art Quilt competition, also called Quilt National. It's a pretty good definition, but a bit strict. If you want more information about Quilt National, go to http://www.dairybarn.org/quilt/ and have fun clicking around!

Another great definition by the Studio Art Quilt Association is as follows: SAQA defines an art quilt as a contemporary artwork exploring and expressing aesthetic concerns common to the whole range of visual arts: painting, printmaking, photography, graphic design, assemblage and sculpture, which retains, through materials or technique, a clear relationship to the folk art quilt from which it descends.

Now that you understand a bit more about what an art quilt is, here are some examples of my older work, which are all part of a private collection.

This is one of my favorites. It's about 5' x 9' (2m x 3m for those on the metric system). The material used is my own hand-dyed raw silk in a gradation of blues for which I experimented with a new dye bath process all my own. Each piece is unique and stitched with metallic threads and then lightly dusted with metallic foil leafing. The effect you get when it's under proper gallery lighting is that the light reflections move with you as you pass by it - much the way sunlight reflecting off the sea follows you as you drive by... Guess what my inspiration was?

Here is a detail shot to show you exactly what I mean.












This is a detail shot of another piece from the same series. Using various dying processes and raw silk once more, I created these "branches" which I sewed wire onto the back of and then wove them together in a kind of nature-themed "quilt". With these 2 pieces, you can see how I like to play not only with the surface, but also with positive and negative spatial relationships, as well and highlight and shadow, foreground and background. It adds another element of interest and brings people forward to the piece to look at what's behind it.










Here is a different view of the same piece. You can really see the dye patterns in this photo.
















These two are the positive and negative of each other. Again, I used raw silk (one of my favorite textiles for its imperfections and the ease with which I get intense color) with the additional element of tulle. This particular type of tulle has a bit of a sheen to it. So once again, I'm playing with my favorite elements- highlight and shadow, positive and negative spaces, and color.












I hope you enjoyed the information and photos. Now that you know all about the different things I do, I'll be sharing with you the processes I go through to get to my next body of artwork, starting next time with my sketches and research. See you next time! Stay well!

~Holly~

P.S. Yes I'm a vegetarian, hence the "Tofu" and potatoes instead of "Meat" in the title... (-;

Come to Live Art!

Dear readers,

A very good friend of mine and fellow artist, Anouk De Boeck, has started an art exposition concept whereby artists can exhibit and even "perform" their work. As you can see, it's going to be quite a party! Guests will spend only € 25 euros for a meal, and highlights include a live DJ, live entertainment, and an exposition of local artists which is sure to be spectacular! The best part about it is that proceeds from the dinner will go toward building schools for children in Madagascar as part of the Prince Albert II Foundation. So let's recap! By going to this party you are:

1. Doing something great for humanity
2. Supporting local artists
3. Enjoying a great party with live music and artistic entertainment all in one of Monaco's poshest party locations
4. Expanding your horizons

Does it get much better than this? I think NOT! You can check this out and more by joining "Art Anouk"'s facebook page or by going to www.artanouk.com.

Anouk will continuing looking for venues around Europe (and who knows, maybe even the world?). Next stop- BRUSSELS! Mmmm Beautiful Brussels- the land of incredible chocolates, the best waffles on the planet, great beer, that weird peeing boy statue, and the likes of Magritte and Folon... It will be an exposition to remember, so watch this space! (Not to mention that I will most likely be exposing my newest body of artwork there as well!!!)

I hope you've all had a great week and enjoy your weekend to the fullest!

~Holly~

Complex Cloth

Good morning! To illustrate "surface design," which I started telling you about in my last entry, I'm posting some photos of my older work. This series of work is called "Complex Cloth".

Complex Cloth is great! You have to have a vision of where you want the cloth to end up, and then you build layers, starting with the dyed surface. The layers in the pieces below are built using mostly acrylic paints, with some wool yarns in a few, as well as metallic foil leafing. You can even use other fabrics sewn onto the surface to create layers. The result is absolutely gorgeous (if I do say so myself)!








































Here is a detail that shows the layers of dyed surfaces, sewn layers of fabric, and acrylic painting.

Next time we'll talk about "Art Quilts"! See you again soon!

~Holly~