2008-2009 Beaded Journal Project Update

All 12 pages from last year’s Beaded Journal Project are started, 9Â of them are completely done with the beading. However, I am still struggling with how to display them or back them/finish them. At first I was planning to make them a big book together, then as little shrines with equally beaded doors that closed. I tried a number of different ways to make the pages sturdy enough to stand on their own, but flexible enough to open and close. I tried thick interfacing, felt and quilt batting of different thicknesses, these were great for opening and closing the doors, but didn’t work at all for standing. Then I tried some card stock, cardboard and finally mat board. These were either too thin or too thick.Â I thought I had it all figured out after Robin’s class, but I can’t seem to make it work with the odd shape. Besides, where am I ever doing to display them where I have 12 podiums that are high enough to be able to examine the details.

My next plan is to try and turn them into a wall hanging, still keeping them in the groups of three that were part of the original plan. But because I have already turned the edges and backed some of them I am not sure how I will attach them. I am thinking perhaps reverse applique. I auditioned some groupings and some backingÂ fabrics. It seems that a simple black will be the best choice, other colors will detract from the work.

This is June’s page, quite a difference from the beginning. June is the end of the school year so it is very hectic, closing up the classroom and getting ready for the summer. I created this fabric from a doodle I did in my paper art journal at my April art retreat. I scanned in the doodle, then mirrored it in photo shop, then printed it out on fabric. I used a lot of new techniques I learned from some beading books that I acquired, and then adapted to my own style.

Here are the remaining ones that need to be beaded.

This one is July. Spending time in my garden is the main thing that I enjoy during the summer months. This one is still very raw and has no bead work yet. But it is still part of the plan.

This one is August. I have been training for a triathlon all summer and August is the heaviest training month. Still need to get beading on this.

I am really pleased with how theÂ beading parts are progressing (although slowly) and I am getting really excited forÂ the next round.

Here are some things I learned from the first round, the reading and research on beading that I have done in the processÂ and my class with Robin.

8″x10″ is WAY too big for a first beading project!!! Prior to this project I have mostly been making fabric collages from 22″x 18″ or larger. I have also made little ATC sized mini fabric collages. But these have all only had a little bit of bead embellishment. So I thought that this ‘small’ size was going to be fine. BUT for bead embellishment it was too big. ~so for my next BJP I will be creating in a smaller size~
Alter-shaped is way too advanced and difficult of a shape. Again for my first project. The pointy shape is hard to turn and finish. yikes!Â ~so for my next BJP I will try to pick an easier shape, however I am really leaning towards dolls~
Quilting and including batting layersÂ are not necessary. In the class with Robin we just used paper as a backing . This made it easier to turn the edges when the beading was done. The thick layers made this part very difficult in this first series.
Printed fabrics with pictorial images will limit the beading. Because I was new to the whole thing I used some printed images to guide my beading, almost like a coloring book I beaded the images. This was fun and was a good way to start, but it is also very freeing to move to non-representational fabrics.
An Ott light is a GREAT advantage.
A bugle beadÂ pathway is a great way to move forward when you are stuck.

So a few days from now is the NEW year and a new round of the Beaded Journal Project. Will I pick a smaller size, an easier shape, neutral farbics? I am really leaning towards dolls!

EBSQ 2010 Show Schedule

2010 isÂ the EBSQ 10th anniversary year

Without further ado, the schedule youâ€™ve all been waiting for:

January:

Foodporn: Photographing Food as Art
Barnyard Animals
One-Word Concept: Grey
Flower of the Month: Orchids

February:

Candy: An EBSQ Juried Exhibit *
Art for the Heart: A Benefit for the American Heart Association
One-Word Concept: Music
Flower of the Month: Roses

March:

Pen & Ink
Sinners
One-Word Concept: Beverage
Flower of the Month: Daffodils

April:

Saints
Repurposed: An EBSQ Juried Exhibit
One-Word Concept: Precious
Flower of the Month: Tulips

May:

Nursery Rhymes Illustrated
Fractals
One-Word Concept: Green
Flower of the Month: Irises

June:

Plein Air: Architecture
Redux
One-Word Concept: Heavy
Flower of the Month: Pansies & Violas

July:

10th Annual Ripped Off
Rodeo
One-Word Concept: Horizon
Flower of the Month: Poppies

August:

9th Annual Pet Portrait Swap
Still Life w/Lemon
One-Word Concept: Jagged
Flower of the Month: Echinacea

September:

Spam & Trout Biennial
Shut Out: What youâ€™ve missed since the gallery world shut its doors *
Dead Poets
One-Word Concept: Bokeh
Flower of the Month: Sunflower

October:

Think Pink: A Fundraiser to Benefit Susan G Komen
Dia de los Meurtos
One-Word Concept: Hope
Flower of the Month: Cacti

November:

10th Annual Portrait Swap
You Just Havenâ€™t Urned It Yet, Baby
One-Word Concept: Despair
Flower of the Month: Waterlilies

December:

Annual Better Late Than Never Show
Let It Snow
One-Word Concept: Classic
Flower of the Month: Mixed Bouquet with Vase

* Denotes a brick-and-mortar offline art event in association with this online exhibitSoâ€“which shows are YOU most lookingÂ forward to in 2010?

Reinspired!

I was afraid that an 8 hours beading class would be WAY to long. and on some level it was. By the end I was making lots of mistakes. But on the other hand the time flew by quickly and we learned a TON. The techniques for beading with Robin had the goal of making a little sampler. we were given a 3″x3″ piece of fabric, basted to (acid-free) paper! this was new to me but a technique she stands by and it did work well. Gave the fabric a little stiffness while working, but not too stiff. Plus as you punch it with a needle over and over, it becomes supple.

There were only 7 people in the class. The lady next to me came from Spokane and is a crazy quilter. Her work is wonderful and she is not a newbie to beading. We did have a couple VERY new beaders but the rest of us were experienced enough. Robin is a strict but patient teacher. “both eyes on me” meant you better be watching and not trying to sneak in a few stitches. 🙂 But her directions are so clear and her drawings make something difficult to understand very easy to create. I love her drawings! There wasn’t much talking among the students. We were very focused. Beading take a lot of concentration. It is not a chatty type craft. You could hear our pins drop.

The conference provided each work station with an Ott light, which I now realize is a necessary item! The room was well lit, but freezing. Which can make it harder to bead!

We started with the basic stitches. seed stitch, then lazy stitch and it’s many vaiations, then a couching stitch and finally back stitch. I have done all of these. out of common sense and just figuring things out on my own. but the variations were mostly all new to me. All of them I have seen in RObin’s work and after we learned each one we were challenged to start identifying them in her work. For each stitch she brought around her work to show examples and variations. It was lovely to see all her work in person! Pictures online are interesting, becasue they can be in such high definition that you see them in more detail than you can in real life. but you can’t really see the texture unless you see them live.

We also learned edge stiches and dangling stitches. ALL of the work that we did is in her book that I already had. BUT it was opportunity to ASK questions while working through the stitches. and clear up some of the things that weren’t working for me as well as try ones I hadn’t been brave enough to explore yet. Learning the edge stitch and seeing her work in person to really examine HOW they were finished was the best part. It is where I have really been stuck with my own work so far. and now I have the solutions! I am excited to finish up my bead journal pieces from this year and move on to some new ones! So I have officially joined up again for Janurary. (Robin did sell us all on joining!)

She also talked about her process which helped me too. At first I used the printed fabric and beaded ON the pattern, following it like a paint by number. I love those pieces but I did move on to more solid colors and became more improvasational. As I gain more confidence I continue to get less literal. She talked about what she does when she gets stuck and how she starts out pieces. All this was very helpful.

It was a long but wonderful class and I am so glad I took it.

I Â had quit on several months of my Beaded Journal Project pieces, leaving them semi-finished. I had not been able to figure out ways to make the backs look good, I had run out of steam and ideas on the beading on some of them and just called them finished. and I still have one month that has been sewn but not beaded yet.

BUT after this class I have been totally re inspired. I learned so many new techniques. and all the variations of them. I have been beading almost non-stop since I got back. After finishing the sampler, I revisited some of my journal pages that I had previously thought was done. I have been working on some wonderful additions to my December page. I feel like I see the fabric in a whole new way. Getting unstuck is just a bugel bead pathway away.

Also seeing her work in person turned on the light bulb for how to finish my own and ways to display them to really show them off. Now I just need to get some book board and foam core to get them done. I was also excited to share my work with Robin (which she seemed to enjoy!)

I got another one of her books (I own 3 now) and I highly recommend them!

So I signed up for another year of the beaded journal project. I plan to take on a smaller size this time! but thinking about going 3-D and making them dolls.

Day of the Dead!

Sarah, originally uploaded by Angeliska.

I love these costumes and make-up. This is what I want to be for Halloween next year!

Angeliska, originally uploaded by Angeliska.

Chesley, originally uploaded by Angeliska.

Mack, originally uploaded by Angeliska.

Shawn would look great like this too!

Tacoma WAEA Conference

Being an art teacher I have the opportunity to go to professional conferences each year. There is a local one, and a national one. The national one a few years ago was in NYC, which is the onlyÂ national conference I have attended. The 2010 one is going to be the first on the West Coast and will be in Seattle. So I am pretty excited about that. This year’s state conference was in the art heart of Tacoma.

Attendance was extra special this year, as I found out theÂ Monday before the conference I found out I would be receiving a great honor of being selected “Middle School Art Teacher of the Year” for the state of Washington. Winners are nominated and selected by our peers within the organization. I was nominated by one of the other teachers in my district.

Ok so I drove down Thursday night to my parents after frantically getting together my stuff including still trying to get my presentation together. I stayed up till past 11 still trying to edit the video I made. It is really cute. I need to double check permissions, but then I will probably post it.

Up early Friday and into Tacoma, quickly. Much better than the crazy long drive it would have been if I had driven from home. Some coffee and muffins and chatting with new people. Great opening Keynote speaker gave a complete local look at all the recycled style artist in Tacoma, Seattle and other great parts of Washington. I have all the names written down and I will be doing some web research and getting a slide show together for my students, I will share with you all too once it is done. AMAZING stuff and very interesting how these artists all seem to gravitate to one particular type of trash that they collect and create with.

Next was the sessions, I went to one about Tattoo art that was really great. It was a complete detailed history of tattooing and the different styles and methods. But when someone asked how to related it to the classroom, and what to say when a kid asks about a career as a tattoo artist, the two guys doing the session showeda bit ofÂ tattoo elitism. According to them kids today should just forget about being a tattoo artist. For one the market is saturated, also there is no good path or school to train you to become a tattoo artist. Basically you have to be a tattoo customer and get lots of ink, draw your own designs to get done, fall in love with having tattoos; meet and hang out with tattoo people, and completely enter the ‘world’ of tattoos. He talked about how the latest tattooÂ TV shows are ruining the art. He addedÂ that, “kids shouldn’t be taught the history of tattoos because they can’t handle it“. WHAT?Â I am sure these guys realized that they were speaking at a teacher’s conference. It seems odd that they would share, and not be willing to provide any good classroom applications?!Â It was kind of funny how snobby they were.Â But I loved their art and ink, and found their history presentation excellent and fascinating.

Then I went to lunch and crossed the street to check out my free admission to the glass museum. They have a hot shop that displays live glass blowing. A wonderful exhibit of contrasting glass objects from the collection, some birds and some native American styled glass work. I only had 30 minutes, but it was a lovely short visit.

After lunch sessions included some book making and some collage creation related to art aesthetics. I met some new people and took some pictures around the Tacoma UW campus where the conference was held. There wasn’t really enough time to go back to my parents before the awards ceremony and they weren’t home anyways. I had some dinner with a book at the Spaghetti Factory. Then I worked on my presentation a little more.

Finally the evening finished off with the awards ceremony. I wasn’t sure what to expect because in the past I had not stayed for the evening event. Apparenlty MOST people don’t stay. There was really only the winners and their personal cheering sections. My parents and my principal came to see me win the award. A lot of really wonderful things were said about me. It was really an honor to be nominated and then selected.

Back home after the ceremony I worked on my presentation a little more before I went to bed. The next morning we had another great keynote speaker. Ken Veith. He told a lot of funny stories about teaching and showed some great projects that he has done with his students. The first session after that was supposed to be on “online galleries for middle school art.” I always hesitate going to technology sessions because I am a leader in that area so IÂ am usually already beyond what they are sharing. BUT I always home to learn something new too! The descriptions are limited to 30 words, so it is hard to get across your idea or plan in that few words. So needless to say the session was not what I was expecting or hoping to hear. I started getting a headache towards the end and snuck out early.

Unfortunately my headache got worse and by the middle of lunch it was proving to be a migraine in training. My session was immediately after lunch. I went to set up and got some help from a couple of other people. The migraine got worse and worse, to the point that I am not even sure how coherentmy presentation was. By the time I was done I was completely nauseous. There were 3 more sessions that I wanted to go to before the end, but I wouldn’t be going to any of them. Luckily I was meeting Shawn for the ride home, so he was able to drive us home while I curled up in the back seat with the dog blanket over my head. It was hours before I was able to sit up and contemplate what to do with the rest of my weekend. I am so disappointed that I missed some great sessions and a trip to the Tacoma Art Museum too. But over all the conference was great, in fact better than the past few years.

So that’s my award winning weekend 🙂

Tacoma

I was in Tacoma this weekend for a conference and was able to see some great art and spaces and snap some pictures along the way.

While there, I was honored to receive the WAEA Middle School Art Teacher of the Year award.

Finding the Person in the Art

Tricia Â posed some questions and since I am seeking new direction, I thought it would be a good exercise.

Do you find that the statement “You can tell a lot about a person by the art that they make” is true?
Yes and no.
As an art teacher I do learn a lot about my students through their artwork, but they are really new to art, most don’t consider themselves artist yet, but they are pre-teens so EVERY thing is about them so they usually put a lot of their personality (or sometimes the parts that they want people to know about) into their art. Some of my assignments ask them to put that sort of thing out there.

I know my experience has been that in the past my work held a lot of my personality and passions, almost to the point of therapy. Now not so much. At least ,I don’t see the same level of meaning and subtext that I used to.

Is the work you did ten years ago different?

YES, the work I am doing now I think is very different. For several reasons… one I have been teaching now for 10 years. As part of my job I have to experiment in a lot of different mediums, make examples, explore ideas, take classes on new techniques with new materials. etc. So I feel pretty scattered in a lot of ways. 15 years ago I was working in a gallery and showing art more regularly, I was focused on my one medium (collage) creating in a series and entering shows and contests. I had a body of solid work. I do think that this work had a lot of my personality in it, of the person that I was then. There was a lot of depression, relationship and body issues and those came out in my work. One of the things I LOVED about gallery openings is that people would talk about my work either to me, and ask questions, or with other people and I would overhear their comments. So much of myself would come out in the work that I had NOT intentionally put in there.

For example in this pieceÂ (from 1993)a viewer pointed out that the blue swirls near the pelvis of the woman looked like ovaries. I did not intend this, or think of that as a symbol, but the piece has a lot to do with relationships and some struggles I had about whether or not I would want to or be able to be a mother. Also in this piece the face is a mirror, which I mostly did because I was not happy with my ability to draw faces at the time.Â But I was asked if it was because the person didn’t know, or was searching for who they were. I realized that this really did fit at the time.

My work now, maybe still reflects my personality, I am just much more settled in my self but less settled in the techniques and skills of my media.

Is the content or the media the same? Neither are the same for me now. But I am a very different person too. It would feel false to attempt to still create the type of work I was making 10-15 years ago. In fact I have tried to do some of that style/type of work recently and it is not working for me.

Have you matured artistically or just improved your skills?

I believe I have matured artistically and personally, BUT I am still needing to hone my skills in my new choice of medium, fiber. If I had stuck with the same medium and not been dabbling in a ton of stuff for work and for fun, then I think I would have some nice bodies of work, but that might also have become stale and repetitive. I think I needed to change my medium to move to a new level artistscally but in the meantime I have lost some of my direction.

Is there a difference? Yes, although often they happen at the same time.

Do you know someone who’s art clearly reflects who they are?

As an online friend of many artists, I know many that are well developed in their art and I can look at a piece and KNOW it was made by a particular person. They have a style that is well developed, a skill with their chosen medium and have worked towards making a body of work. But I don’t KNOW if I really KNOW them… I have a picture in my mind about them, based on their work that may or may not be accurate.

Bridgette creates work that I envy in what I see as a calm zen of simplicity. Through her work I imagine that she is an introspective, spiritual person. She has trees as a common symbol, which I see as someone who is grounded. There is still many different emotions in her work as she struggles through the trials of daily life, but it all still seems centered.

Angie’s work is so full of story, place, ideas and her beliefs. I feel like I know so much through her work about her and about the world. Her style, symbolism and passionÂ is so solid and mature. I am proud to own one of her pieces that not only told me something about her, but also tells me something about myself.

Does this exercise give you some clarity or ability to see your creations differently?

Not really or not yet, I have been struggling with my work for the past couple years, not having a direction or a solid body of work. Not feeling inspired or having a theme. I just feel very scattered. Not sure what steps I need to take to get past this block. But perhaps getting out to some shows or artist groups so that I can talk to people about my work and find out what my current work is SAYING to other people.

Fabric Art Journals

As the Beaded Journal Project comes to a close I have been thinking a LOT about how to share and present the work. Although MY pieces are far from done and I am a couple months behind, I am still thinking about the closure of the project. I tend to have a problem with closure though, and will jump to the next project before finishing the previous one. I am trying not to do that for this project. I want to honor it on a different level and make it be the finished work that it deserves to be.

I am also contemplating my artwork on the whole. What am I doing? Where am I going?

I know that I am moving away from paper, away from mixed-media sculpture types things. I am slowly culling my supplies and rearranging my studio to reflect this change. BUT I am torn. Mostly because of my day job, that of a middle school art teacher. I really am required to continue to work and learn about a variety of mediums, try out new supplies, create new projects that can guide or inspire my students. I am also a Gemini, which does leadÂ to a scattered interest in a ton of different mediums. While I dabble in all these places, I am not reaching a skill level in my own medium that satisfies me and allows me to create a solid body of work. This is frustrating and disappointing.

I haven’t had a series that felt like a body of work since my last show in 2003. That’s SIX years! And that was my paper/window collage work. So with all my learning and experimenting in fabric over the past six years I haven’t reached a place of mastery nor a definitive direction.

I think my work is taking the direction of small fabric journal pages or mini quilts, but sometimes I want to work larger! I have in mind a few ideas for a series or two, but then I can’t decide if they should be individual pieces or put together as books. Then there are these ideas about working with quilts that are framed by larger objects. I have ideas about sets of art dolls. I want to print, dye and stamp my own fabrics. Do I want to learn some more complex and traditional quilting skills, or keep doing my hodge podge applique/quilting style?

on a somewhat related note: WhileÂ I researched textile arts to find my direction and look for someÂ ways to finish my beaded pages, I ran across this great article Â that talks about fabric art journals in general,Â and directly links toÂ a blog Â and theÂ projectÂ I participated in a few years ago. (WhichÂ reminds me that I need to make a cover for my wonderful pages that I received.) This brings up the question about sharing this type of work. Do I want to pursue my work getting published or find the right kind of shows to enter?Â Â

Well it seems like all I have come up with today is questions, not answers. But I guess that is the way life is sometimes. Perhaps I will go express myself in some beads and see what develops.

Mixed Mania

Mixed Mania: Recipes for Delicious Mixed-Media Creations

This summer I have been looking at a lot of books, buying them and checking them out at the library. I decided that perhaps some reviews were in order. I look for books that might give me inspiration, teach me a new skill, guide me through a project idea or lead my artwork in a new direction. I also browse books that might aid me in my classroom instruction, or ones that might provide students with ideas and inspirations for their own classroom projects. HereÂ I will attempt to share the ones I like and didn’t like, and would love yourÂ feedback!Â

Mixed-Mania is written by Debbi Crane and Chery Prater. AsÂ new media changes the way we communicate, Â it is interesting to know that they collaborated long-distance on this book. But it is even more interesting to know that they had not met in person and were introduced online through mutual art connections. They worked on the book entirely online and only met in person a couple of times, yet they banter as if they have been life-long friends. I marvel at this dynamic and think about how this sort of thing would not have happened as easily fifteen years ago.

This book is written in the style of a cookbook. I love this because I also like to read cookbooks. Plus it is a very unique spin on how to offer up the ideas and instructions that is different from other art project/technique books. I particularly like the Substitution Chart… like if you just don’t have Diamond Glaze you can use any 2-part epoxy resin for the same effect. (OK so I still don’t have any of that, but still it is a good chart.)

It starts with some “Creative Kitchen Basics” (A discussion of the elements and principles of art) moves into some “Artistic Appetizers” which are easy projects, then some “Main Courses” and “Special Occasions”Â that areÂ larger projects including several fabric related pieces. At the end there is a gallery, which I always love and some templates for the included projects.

Each project is set up with shopping and ingredient lists, followed by step-by-step instructions and pictures. Most of the bigger projects are broken down into smaller parts and start with some text about the inspiration and back ground of the project. Throughout the book there are snippets of the creative dialogue between the two writers, which is fun.

I haven’t done any of the projects, but many of them look a lot like things I have already done. I would certainly recommend this book for people new to mixed media. While the images are inspiring and fun, I didn’t really see any great new skills for me to learn. So this one will be going back to the library.

EBSQ Spotlight on Fibre Art: Cynthia Gaub

EBSQ is featuring Fiber art this month and interviewed me for a spotlight.

Cynthia Gaub

Texture has always been my favorite element of art. In my early paper collages, I was always trying to create texture in a piece by tearing and layering the papers. But then I would lock them awayÂ behind glass when they were framed for presentation. You couldnâ€™t touch it! I think that is why I shifted to fabric as a medium. It is so much more tactile. TheÂ plush of a rich velvet, the scratch of a thick burlap, the slippery touch of silk. Add to that the layers of batting, the design of quilt stitching, the delicacy ofÂ vintage laceÂ and the variety of theÂ beads, buttons, baubles. Now the textures are literally so thick, so 3-dimensional they call out to be touched and you can NOT trap them behind glass.

Â

Because fabric lends itself so easily to the 3-dimensional, I have found myself creating dolls and creatures as often as functional objects, like quilts and clothing, in addition to my art pieces. I feel I am still experimenting, trying to get a handle of the many techniques and materials of this medium that I havenâ€™t really grasped the potential of my vision within it. But my latest series of alter shrines for the Beaded Journal Project are beginning to feel like success.

Â

Interestingly, sharing this kind of work online, in a digital format, it contradictory to the tactile nature of the work.Â However, because of the strength of the camera, and the speed of our modern streaming, I can actually share the work in a level of magnification and detail that you canâ€™t actually witnessÂ in the real world. So, as much as I enjoy touching my work and interacting with it on that level, I also love looking at it digitally and seeing the detail that shows in that format.

I still wish you could come over, sit on my couch and have some coffee, and touch my art! Because texture is my favorite element of art. â€“ Cynthia Gaub

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