Van Gogh - set to Starry, Starry, Night

This is beautiful in so many ways. Enjoy!

Vincent van Gogh

"We spend our whole lives in unconscious exercise of
the art of expressing our
thoughts with the help of words."

Vincent van Gogh

Did you know that van Gogh only sold ONE painting during his lifetime???

Did you know that van Gogh's life ended when he tragically shot himself in the chest?

Did you know that van Gogh painted Starry Night while residing in an "asylum?"

I never knew that.

I've recently acquired a fascination with the work of Vincent van Gogh. After I selected his painting Iris for my fractured art quilt I have been picking up books at the library , and doing a bit of internet research on van Gogh's life and body of work. It is a triumphant and tragic story -- the story of van Gogh's Life and death. (van Gogh)

With the exception of a few drawing and pottery classes, and one university art appreciation class -- I have no formal "fine arts" training, however I am able to recognize certain styles, movements and genres in the visual arts movement. What I love about Van Gogh's work is his combination of extraordinary color usage and shortened (impressionistic) brush strokes -- which blend together and make his vivid imagery come alive with movement and texture.

I think what inspires me most about his work is that it is so "uniquely" his. We have a wonderful art museum here in Raleigh, and I have to admit that even after umpteen visits, I still have difficulty at times identifying with certainty the work of many particular artists when co-mingled with similar technique. Even with the unique styles of Monet or Matisse, I still confuse their work on occasion, with other artists. But van Gogh -- ah, now his work is so very unique in every conceivable way that it would be impossible to mistake it as belonging to any another.

As a fiber artist, when I look at van Gogh's paintings I can see his bold landscapes emerging from co-mingled pieces of fabric and his brush strokes transformed into thread painted images. Much like what I (we) did with Iris, but on a more intricate level. I can also see his wonderful paintings (like Starry Night) being transferred into magical beaded images, or embroidered images. Sabrina and I were even talking about how some of his work (like Sunflowers) would lend itself wonderfully to carved clay slab landscapes or still lifes -- with the carvings from clay tools simulating his elevated, short and highly textural brush strokes and layering on the color with bold, high gloss glazes. Do you see the endless possibilities here?

Which van Gogh is your favorite? How would you go about interpreting it in "your" medium?

Hippie Chic......

You may recognize this bag as one similar to the one I made for Monica a few months ago. I liked it so much I decided to make myself one. I'm always toting around sketch pads, books, magazines, notebooks, waterbottles, etc. and I typically carry small purses, and I don't like to load them up -- so I decided to make myself a cute little tote bag for my necessities. The outside fabric is a really cool batik and the blue Kaffe Fassett fabric I used for the inside lining, the trim and the peace sign. I love this combination almost as much as the hot pink and orange with black and white that I made for Monica. I liked that one a little better because the embellishment really stood out. I didn't really use a pattern this time I just winged it. (Tammy - I carry the pen you made me everywhere I go!!)

I made some pretty cool flowers in Jane Sassaman's class and as soon as Sabrina saw them she snatched them, picked out some black and white batik fabric, a bright orange print for the lining and handed them to me, gave me a big kiss and said, "pretty please!?!!!!?" What do you think my answer was?????

Love this Weather....

.....the weather has just been too beautiful around here to get anything done "inside." I have all this stuff piled up to do - inside the house -- but I just can't bring myself to do it. Spring is in full swing - everything is blooming - stuff is growing unbelievably because it's really warm during the day -- and cool and breezy at night - and flowers (and vegetables) LOVE that. Every time I finish one area of the property, or a little corner, or get some vegetables in -- I find something else to do. Thank goodness it's rainy today -- that is going to force me to do some real "work" (real estate stuff) and then maybe this evening, I can finish some of my fiber"y" stuff.

I have a bag I've been working on that, at the urging of Monica (Girl-Gone-Thread-Wild), I'm going to submit for publication and tons of other stuff in the works.

My new lifestyle (see details on sidebar) is really kicking in and giving me the most unbelievable energy. I can't stop moving - I started out exercising every other day or so - now, I find myself "needing" to do it every day or I feel horrible. It's addicting. The protein shakes, and other changes I've made are really making a difference too. And muscle has incredible memory. There was a time when I taught aeorbics classes and worked out with weights almost everyday. Some of those muscles are starting to come back. There are days when I am so sore - I can't hardly sit down!!! THAT -- is a good thing. I never got sore when I was younger - no matter how hard I pushed.

Blaise is also doing it with me and he is doing fantastic. I won't harp on this cause bottom line - if you're not ready to do it - you won't be successful at it no matter what anybody says.

My class with Jane Sassaman was A M A Z I N G. What an earthy, gentle, and authentic artist she is. She was so inspiring and I learned more about myself, and my own style during those 6 hours than I have in the last two years. Can't wait to put some of that knowledge to work. Do yourself a favor, and visit her website and spend some time getting to know this fabulous lady.

Do leave me a note and tell me what YOU've been working on as I haven't even had much time to visit my bloggy friends. I really wanna hear about -- whatcha' workin' on, whatcha' readin' and where ya' been?????????

Carpe Diem!!

Van Gogh Iris slice is DONE!

Ifinally finished my slice of the Van Gogh Iris painting. (Technically it's not "quite" finished as I still have some thread painting to do -- however I'll do that once I sew all the slices together and threadpaint the entire thing for unity. )

This was such a cool project -- I LOVE Van Gogh and it was really interesting attempting to mimic his unique style with acrylic and thread.

To the left is a close up version of my finished piece. Down below you can see the original slice of his painting (print) on the left, the first layer of color I did in acrylic in the middle, and the final piece on the right.

I have received all but one of the other slices and I will be taking photographs and posting those over the weekend. I can't wait to share them with you as they are amazing -- each slice representing the unique talents and abilities of the artist who created it.

More Practice....

One more little 6x6. I have been practicing using Tsukineko Inks. Because the ink likes to run, I used a Settliere Wax Stick to outline the flowers and leaves, THEN inked the color on. I've got a 30x24 piece sketched out that I would really like to work on using Tsukineko and Acrylic Paint - maybe on a silk organza layered alternatively over muslin and duck cloth. I'd like to enter at least one piece in one of the upcoming fall shows -- there's two that I'm particularly interested in - one in Northern Michigan and one in the Dairy Barn District of Ohio. I'm going to be placing links to a few of the more interesting call for entries up in a day or so -- in case you get the urge!

My specialty group (a subgroup of the Capital Quilter's Guild) is meeting this Thursday. I'm psyched because everyone will be bringing their "slice" of my Van Gogh Iris art quilt. Mine is almost done -I can't wait to get all the pieces. It should be pretty cool!

She's a Stunner.....

Meet "Love Squared!"

You can't help but notice the "Pink Artist" button on the right side of my blog. As you may recall, I joined this group as a response to a call from Monica Magness of Girl Gone Thread Wild:

"the pink artist"is a community of artists joining together to create one joint art doll to benefit the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure. When the doll is complete, it will be mailed in to Art Doll Quarterly™before finally being auctioned off on eBay at a later date. ALL PROCEEDS WILL DIRECTLY BENEFIT CHARITY." Upon hearing of this call, back in January I sent four art squares to Monica - three for the cause and one for her.

Here are the squares I sent:

Here also just a few of the squares others sent. To see all 180 squares, you can click on Girl Gone Thread Wild and take a tour of not only all of the squares that were sent in, but you can witness the creation of Love Squared from start to finish as Monica and her husband Jeff documented the entire process.

Grace of Grace Beading made the beautiful crown that sits on Love Squared's lovely head which doubles as a bracelet for the lucky winner of the auction. Take a look at Grace's blog as she too has been and continues to be involved in many worthwhile causes.

Three months have elapsed since squares began pouring in for this cause that has touched so many lives. During that time Monica has labored unselfishly receiving, sorting, stitching these beautiful squares to a beautiful art doll body and face that she lovingly created.

I'd like now to quote Monica's introduction of this beauty:

"Her name is "Love Squared." She wears 180 two inch art squares. 182 artists total created her.
She is just under 40" tall and weighs 6 pounds and 2 ounces.

She smiles because already she knows love
and is able to give love unconditionally.
To many, she is a symbol of hope.
She stands for COURAGE and was built
by a community of givers. "

Love Squared is a physical manifestation of the pain, heartache, heartbreak, hope, love, inspiration, hopelessness, hopefulness and joy of the artists who created her -- many of whom suffer from, or love someone who suffers or has suffered from breast cancer.

Yes, Love Squared is a stunner -- but unbelievably - her beauty pales in comparison to the beauty contained within the hearts of her creators and the hearts and "souls" of those for whom she was made - those touched by breast cancer.

Please take time to visit Monica's blog to experience Love's journey -- from concept to completion. Also, please visit some of the blogs of the wonderful artists, like Grace, who donated their time, talent and love to make Monica's vision become a reality. You can find most of the artists listed on Monica's blog roll -- on the left side of her blog.

Love is going to be photographed and included in an upcoming issue of Art Doll Quarterly prior to her auction on E-Bay. As details concerning the publication of the magazine AND the E-Bay Auction emerge, I will certainly post them here.

Let's NOT allow this to be the end of the journey -- but rather, the begining. Hopefully this inspiring project will light a fire beneath many of us to take it "one step further" - whether it be creating something else to raise money, donating money, or volunteering time to this, or some other vital cause.

"Wild Girl" to you I say --- I suspect you have no idea as to the magnitude and impact your vision has and will continue to have -- in the future on the lives of the people you have touched with this project. You -- are a force to be reckoned with!! I can't wait to see what's next! XO

It's Done.....

I kept looking at this and decided it needed another layer of ink. I wanted the flower to appear a deeper shade of blue. After adding more ink, I decided to add some Czech glass beads to the center for sparkle.
Finally, after much deliberation as to how to bind this -- I've decided the "best" binding would be "no" binding, that an "organic" finish would compliment this just fine. So, I put some pretty green batik on the back with a message to Wurzerl on it, stitched up the sides with some aqua cotton thread, stitched two pieces of satin ribbon on to the top and attached it to a nice branch I found in the woodpile as a hanger. Now, it's off to Germany to Wurzerl and her "Garten." I hope she likes it!