Filming for Quiltings Arts TV program

 I just came back from filming 3 segments with Pokey Bolton for the Quilting Arts TV program on PBS. The show will air this fall on PBS. It was a really fun expereince, once I got there and got started. I did a segment on my Reflection quilts, a segment on the three dimensional shaping (using the leaves) and one on digital printing through an online printer.  My car was FULL with proejcts coming and going. It filmed in Cleveland and that was long ride under the threat of the big snowstorm last weekend.

Hope to have  images to show at some point here.

Article in Quilting Arts

I have an article on digital design and printing using an online printer in the December/January issue of Quilting Arts. Please check it out. Available online at QuiltingArts.com or on the newstands.

I am excited to see the cloth and the words in print! This is my 3rd article with Quilting Arts. They also published my DVD -  Three Dimensional Fiber Art: Shape and Texture, Light and Shadow, which has been doing well.

Having spent so much of my previous career in publishing from the publisher end, it is fun to be an author.

Art Quilts at International Quilt Festival in Houston

Here are some photos from the SAQA Seasonal Palette exhibit that was at Houston a week ago. The show will be traveling to Cincinnati, Long Beach a a few other venues over the next 18 months, I hope to go see it in Cincinnati next April. My piece is the water reflection piece at the far right in the first photo. 38 artists were asked to make pieces for the show - each of us were given a particular season and color collection to work from. As well, we each created a notebook documenting our process and work along the way. There is a catalog ($20) available from the SAQA.com site. Photo credits: Gregory Case.

Another exhibit at Houston was A Sense of Scale. Very large pieces were interspersed with groupings of small pieces. This exhibit will also be traveling to other venues and also has a catalog available from SAQA.com. My piece in this exhibit was Mingled Waters - the very large piece shown in photo below.

What's Happening!

It has been a busy couple of months! Every time I think I am going to sit down and write something, stuff happens. I am busy and happy working in my studio and have participated in several exhibits there. Last month I was asked to be part of a new interior design gallery called TishStudio.com that carries one of a kind interior home furniture and art. Also, I have artwork that is off to several major exhibits:

Reflections, var. 19 is part of The Seasonal Palette exhibit at the International Quilt Festival in Houston and then will travel to several other shows.

Mingled Waters is off to Houston also for the exhibit A Sense of Scale.


Barry's Robe is going to be part of an exhibit in Lowell, MA called Encounter With Cancer which I wish I was able to go and see.

I have an article coming out about digitally printing fabrics in the Dec/January issue of Quilting Arts.

Leaf Kicking Boots will be part of the Women's Journeys in Fiber exhibit at the Fine Art of Fiber at the Chicago Botanic Garden from November 1-4.

4th Friday at The Starline Gallery is coming up on October 26 and I have 3 pieces in the juried exhibit there and the studio will be open.

And last, but definitely not least, my piece, Forest Floor, var. 2 has been selected for Quilt National 2013 and is already on its way to Athens, Ohio for the catalog photo shoot.

Now I can see why I have been so busy - it has been good to get so much work out the door to various places and events.

I hope some of you can visit one of these exhibits. If you need more information, please email me at: BJSCO@comcast.net.

KathyAnneArt Featured Artist Profile

Kathy Anne White featured me on her blog yesterday. Here is the link to her blog. Thank you Kathy Anne!

I can get the article uploaded but not the photos. SO please geo visit the link to see the whole article.

http://www.kathyanneart.blogspot.com/2012/08/artist-profile-barbara-schneider.html

 

Artist Profile Barbara Schneider

Fiber Artist Barbara Schneider

"My ongoing interest in the Japanese concept of Wabi-Sabi, finding beauty in things that are imperfect, impermanent and incomplete is at the core of all my artwork. I try to capture the essence of images made of light and movement, images that are in infinitely variable. What does the eye see? What does the camera see" What does the mind see"

 

My Leaves series is an exploration and interpretation of natural images by enlarging and reshaping them. I collect leaves, pods, flowers, grasses and look closely at their structure and shape. In particular, I like to collect these natural objects at the end of summer when they have begun to wither and fragment. Enlarging them in my work process allows me to see them as sculptural objects. I look at the play of light upon surfaces and shaping the pieces introduces a new element-light and shadow interacting with the undulating surfaces."

 

 

 

In the first week of July this year Barbara Schneider spent a week in my workshop in Greenville New York at Hudson River Valley Art/Fiber Workshops. It was an incredible group of woman who gathered to learn and experiment with digital printing alternative surfaces. The artist's present were like sponges with the plethora of material thrown at them and the results were many awesome alternative prints. Barbara was no exception as we printed one of her leaf images on several substrates.

 

 

 

 

 

 

One of the things I loved was the time we had (the workshop was 5 days) as I was able to spend a nice bit of time with everyone in the workshop while their images printed which included time with Barbara, her surfaces and images. When you start to experiment with alternative surfaces a great place to start is trying the same image on the various substrates. When you switch images you don't really get an overall view of what can happen in printing the variables. Above you can see Barbara's image on many substrates. Of course it is always hard to see in pictures, but the textures and impact of the image can still be seen. Barbara made some notes about precoats and surfaces as she worked.
(If you click on the images you will be able to see more detail in the print)

With her fiber art, Barbara has developed 2 processes that she uses to create her leaf pieces. These processes and some background on how the concept developed and fits into her overall aesthetic is the content of her new DVD "Three-Dimnesional Fiber Art: Shape & Texture, Light & Shadow"just released. You can view a snip of her dvd on the same page here.

 

The video workshop is available for HD and for Standard Video.

 

You can visit Barbara's website to see more of her work. It's worth a visit to see her different series and the scope of her work.

It was wonderful to meet and work with Barbara Schneider. Her work is interesting, her attention to detail is inspiring and it's exciting to see her DVD first hand!

 

www.kathyanneart.blogspot.com/2012/08/artist-profile-barbara-schneider.html

Quilting Daily article

The following article was psoted on Quilting Daily on Monday. It enhances the information that is on my new CD about creating three dimensional artwork.

 

Quilting Daily

Add Depth to Fabric Art with Double Thread Stitching

‎Monday, ‎August ‎20, ‎2012, ‏‎11:21:00 PM | Vivika_Blog

Being on set when we taped the most recent Quilting Arts Workshop^TM videos was a real education. Not only did I learn how the videos are taped, but I also picked up lots of tips for quilting and fabric art.

Dimensional fiber art by Barbara Schneider, Oak Leaf series.

One of my favorite ideas for enhancing depth and texture comes from Barbara Schneider, who makes gallery-worthy fiber art leaf sculptures. She often uses two threads in her needle at once.

"Using a double thread gives you more definition and 'oomph' in the line. It makes a nice contrast to a single thread used for more stitching in the background," says Barbara.
"Mixing threads breaks up the regularity of the pattern. Most variegated threads have a repetition to the timing that becomes obvious. When I use a solid and a variegated together it breaks up that pattern and gives you a more natural look."

I asked Barbara to elaborate on her tips for using two threads at once, and she happily agreed.

• I use related colors in solids, solid and variegated together, similar but different colors together, similar but different variegated together. It all depends on what look I am trying to get. Sometimes I put the solids as a first layer of stitching and then go back over the same area (not the same lines of stitching) with the variegated (look at the large leaves to see samples of this). The whole purpose is to achieve texture and a more natural look to the stitching.
• I mostly use the rayon threads as they seem to go through the machine the best. Usually, I try to keep the threads the same weight and type, otherwise one or the other might break more often.
• I have two thread holders on my machine, so I thread them both and then pull both threads through the tensioning process together and thread them together. I have an automatic threader on my Janome 6500. If you don't have that, then use a small hand threader (like they sell for threading a sewing needle) and use that to put the thread through.
• I use a large topstitching needle (I like the one from Superior threads the best). It has more room, and the thread seems not to break as often as with other needles.
• I do not play with tension at all. Just leave well enough alone.

I've used different threads in my hand stitching before, but not in machine stitching. I'm looking forward to trying out Barbara's double-thread tips next time I machine stitch a piece of textile art.
On her Quilting Arts Workshop^TM, "Three-Dimensional Fiber Art: Shape & Texture, Light & Shadow," Barbara offers many tips and techniques for enhancing your fabric art's depth and texture. You can now download "Three-Dimensional Fiber Art" and start using her techniques right away.


P.S. Have you double-threaded your machine needle? Is so, how did that work out? Any advice for the rest of us? Leave your comment below.

Successful Grand Opening

Last Friday I held a Grand Opening of my new studio in conjunction with the 4th Friday event at The Starline Gallery. It was a blast. Lots of friends, family and curious gallery goers people came by to visit. In addtion to getting to see lots of people and talk about my work, I won two awards in the 4th Friday exhibition. One Honorable Mention for Reflections, var. 3 and the PEOPLES CHOICE AWARD for Reflections, var. 1. So that was a great affirmation in this new environment.

Also, an article about me and my studio came out this Friday in The Harvard Mainline newspaper. It is nice to see this move getting recognized and supported in the local community.

Here are a few pictures taken at the Opening!

Here are a few pictures taken at the Opening!