textile paintings
Posts tagged inspiration
Teaching the Young
011 years ago
About once a year, I go to my daughters’ school and talk to the art classes — this year, both the middle school and high school. I have spent many years mentoring this age range and I always enjoy the time I spend with them. Sunday school classes are different from art, but the light bulb moments are just the same.
When I arrived last Wednesday, the MS art teacher Mrs. Purdy introduced me to the school’s new art studio. It has been built on the top of the school — and the high ceilings and natural light are the perfect backdrop for creativity. She showed me a project that the 8th graders had been doing — sculpture made from hanger wire, stretched pantyhose, and paint. The results were stunning.
I had the 6th graders first. They had the biggest ears, and when I asked them who was afraid to fail, most all of them eventually raised their hands after I raised mine and encouraged them. They asked many questions and wanted to see all of my quilts. The boys were more interested than the girls — a strange fact I found in all three of the MS grades — and they were interested in dollars and cents — which I shared to help give them perspective. I also gave them a quick idea of how a small piece — The Cardinal — was made — showing them the value painting, the pattern, the vinyl overlay, and the quilting outline.
The 7th graders were second. They were interested — but noticeable less so than the 6th graders. They asked less questions and only half of them raised their hands when I asked them about fear of failure.
The 8th graders were third. They were almost absent — but at this age, I understand that social fear is very high. The girls hovered nearby with pomegranate juice and food. I don’t think they noticed that I grabbed my pieces to place nearer to the boys who didn’t have staining materials. (I did find an ink pen placed between the pieces later in the day. At least the pen was closed.) When I asked about fear of failure, I don’t know that anyone raised their hand. The question brought blank stares. At the very end, I received an outcry from one of the girls who finally comprehended that I had made a piece a couple of years ago with her mother as one of the subjects. Their attention was the most difficult to gain but they were mostly quiet and listened.
At that point, I came home for lunch. I did notice a jump in interest in my blog — I think a few of them spent some time after I left perusing the website. It’s hard to know who listens and who doesn’t but maybe I was able to help someone.
I had high hopes for the high schoolers. I only knew that a few of them were interested in design — specifically clothing — which is not really my forte, but the HS art teacher had bought a sewing machine and needed someone that could talk to them about the basics. I took a few quilts with me — but I planned to spend only an hour. Not knowing what gaps in knowledge I could help with — I planned for this to be a question time so that I could perhaps return later with some more specific demos tailored to their interests.
Sadly, we met after school. Only one girl came. I have a high schooler — I know how busy they typically are in the afternoon — and how hard it is to grab their attention. They really didn’t know me from Adam. Thankfully — I brought almost the same materials I had prepared for the MS — and it was on the same day. <shaking head> What can I say?
The girl that did come is very talented — Sarah Finch. She is a painter and photographer — she even has a social media presence for her work and a full website built on WIX.com. She showed me this amazing dress that she made from rice bags. It has a wonderful teardrop shape in the back. There is no muslin structure, but it’s sewn securely on a sewing machine — and all of the curls on the skirt are hot glued on.
She is a senior — really didn’t need my help — but it was great fun to meet her and see where her Muse was taking her in life.
Tweek!
011 years ago
It’s been a studio intense week — but given that I’ve recently burned myself making rice in the steamer for the first time (lesson learned — don’t check it without turning it off first), my eloquence on the keyboard will be limited tonight.
This is my weekly Twitter update. If you want to follow me in real time, I’m @vsgreaves. Check out the icons in the upper right above the menu to find me in different places.
This is another great book review by Brain Pickings — How Children Succeed — and offers a lot of insight into the mindset needed to achieve success.
“Grit and the Secret of Success” taking the long view — life is a marathon not a sprint http://feedly.com/e/hNDgFJdI
This is an entertaining video about every cliche that you’ve ever seen in marketing. It even ends with references so that you can find the cliches to use in your own marketing.
“Every Advertising Cliché in One Video” The dark side of marketing — funny! @ATLFlipFlops http://feedly.com/e/3bCmMxcH
This 99U article links to a much longer article at Grandland.com that discusses the talents of the world famous juggler Gatto — how he reached the heights of his craft — how the average person cannot begin to comprehend the skill required for him to perform — and how he eventually left his craft — his performance art — to run a concrete business in Florida.
“How Does a World-Famous Juggler End Up In the Concrete Business?” http://feedly.com/e/VY1vm7t_
The discussion of Droit de Suite is heating up in the United States as auction houses push back against the move to provide artists extra money for their work on secondary sales.
“Auction Houses Lobby Against Artist Resale Royalty Act” Will auction houses prevail? http://feedly.com/e/IdZdF52s
Relationship is an important part of marketing any good — including your art.
RT @ArtsyShark: Want To Sell More Art? Sell Yourself First. http://buff.ly/1gBdlZ7 via @99u
Beautiful photographs in the latest National Geographic contest:
RT @mymodernmet: These are some truly outstanding entries in the National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest http://bit.ly/1mz3Fl5 pic.twitter.com/shHtCBghkf
Tweek!
011 years ago
My youngest daughter went on a school trip to DC this last week with her dad as a chaperone — so it was just me and DD1. At her age, she doesn’t always acknowledge my existence so I spent a lot of extra time in the studio — almost twice as much as in a normal week. On my current piece, I’ve cut out everything but the roof — and after that, I’ll start sewing everything down in sections. I’ll write about it here on the blog so look for an update soon.
This is my weekly Twitter update about articles I found interesting during this past week. If you want to follow me in real time, you can find me @vsgreaves or hit the Twitter icon in the upper right hand corner above the menu. The FaceBook icon next to it takes you to my professional Page — I update pics on there a few times a week.
As part of the ongoing discussion about how a small elite set of investors churn the work of a small elite group of artists to increase the size of their investment portfolios, this article focuses on the fortunes of Oscar Murillo, a young 28 year old in the elite artist group. The concern is whether his early fame will lead to an early burn-out of interest in his work. Will his work endure or is it merely “trendy and derivative”?
Too much too fast — just let the artist be the artist. But is fame bad? http://tinyurl.com/km5a88j @nytimesarts
Self identifying as an artist makes a difference. Interestingly, I sometimes do — sometimes don’t. It depends on the form and my current mood. The study covered in this article finds that a lot of artists don’t self identify as an artist.
“What Makes an Artist an Artist?” Sometimes I self-identify as an artist — sometimes I don’t. http://feedly.com/e/pZHrYdUZ
Since the majority of artists don’t make anywhere near where the upper elite artist group does, it makes sense that they typically come from wealthy parents — not because they’re being funded by them but that they have different opinions about fulfillment and how it relates to money. (I did still find it depressing that Creatives typically make so little compared to everyone else. It’s a sad statement on our culture that it’s so undervalued.)
“How Wealthy Are Artists’ Parents?” Identifying as a prof artist enters you in an elite status group. Who knew? http://feedly.com/e/bxCdlmUp
All Creatives need help working through artistic blocks from time to time.
“Artists Offer Their Escapes from Creative Block” Hoffman: “work every day like the manual laborer that I am” http://feedly.com/e/khBsDbjz
So many businesses look at traditional metrics in hiring decisions. It’s nice to see at least one company that is assessing the success of candidates based on soft skills — learning ability, emergent leadership, humility, and ownership — and at the bottom of the list, expertise.
“How to Get a Job at Google” The importance of soft skills – Why can’t Google be headquartered in ATL? http://feedly.com/k/1p9fChk
If we can figure out what the market wants to buy, should we change what we create — or at least reach a compromise?
“Thinking About Art Practice and the Role of Compromise” I’m not the only one asking what Is sellable. http://feedly.com/e/XgswtSHP
The LA Times looks at the recently published TEFAF Art Market Report issued by the European Fine Arts Foundation. The news is sobering.
RT @abstanfield Report: Super-rich, favoring just a few artists, drive art market http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/arts/culture/la-et-cm-art-market-prices-auctions-billionalires-20140316,0,6445724.story … <worth a read
Tweek!
011 years ago
This week has been spent at the computer in design mode. After I finally stepped up to the plate and fixed the bleeding red on the Cardinal — which I’ve just realized I still need to make a Page for — I stepped up and started working on a new pattern. My value study took several days — but it’s ready and with any luck, I’ll finish the drafting tomorrow.
As usual, I’ve kept an eye out for good articles on art and motivation and shared them on my Twitter feed. This is my weekly summary — but if you’d rather follow me in real time, you can find me @vsgreaves — or click the Twitter icon in the upper right hand corner above the menu. The Facebook icon next to it will take you to my Facebook Page where I share pics of work in progress from the studio.
If you didn’t see this article last week about a mother making paper dresses with her 4 year old daughter (nickname Mayhem) — it’s well worth seeing. After the Oscars tonight, I’m sure they’ll have new dresses coming out this week — check out #fashionbymayhem on Twitter. I was blown away by the inspiration of this young girl.
Future fashion designers — watch out! http://tinyurl.com/knwfjdz @HuffPostParents @2sisters_angie #fashionbymayhem
It’s official — the US Congress is discussing Droit de Suite which would give artists a percentage of profit on the resale of their work (although it has to fall over $5k to be subject to these rules).
“Congressmen Propose National Resale Royalty Act for Artists” http://feedly.com/e/58Xsz6-I
This discussion of success by astronaut Chris Hadfield doesn’t disappoint: “you need to honor the highs and the peaks in the moments . . . but recognize the fact that the preparation for those moments is your life and, in fact, that’s the richness of your life . . . ”
“Don’t Aim For the Finish Line: Astronaut Chris Hadfield on Success” http://feedly.com/e/Bovgdw3M
As a textile artist, one of the blogs that I follow is by Terry Grant — and she wrote this amazing article about abstract versus representational art — a subject that my mother (an oil painter) and myself have discussed many times over the years — so I was interested to hear another point of view from an artist that successfully does both:
“Abstraction and Representation” #terrygrant http://feedly.com/e/BGzAEfw8
This is another hot button issue. I believe a few weeks ago I highlighted an article (by Edward Winkleman I think) discussing how good art may never see the light of day if the artist doesn’t have an MFA — but an artist with an MFA may have a successful career with not very good art because he (or she) has the right contacts in the “art world.” This article doesn’t discuss whether or not the artist has an MFA but does discuss how popularity affects exposure. In this NPR article, Alix Spiegel follows an experiment in which teenagers are exposed to music songs in different virtual worlds to see how much social influence affects their reactions to the music.
Does art rise to the top because it’s good or because it’s popular? A case for the latter http://www.npr.org/2014/02/27/282939233/good-art-is-popular-because-its-good-right … via @MorningEdition RT @abstanfield
This is another self esteem builder — but good reminders for every one of us nonetheless:
15 Things That Emotionally Strong People Don’t Do http://elitedaily.com/life/15-things-that-emotionally-strong-people-dont-do/ … via @EliteDaily
I grew up watching Mr. Rogers on television but I don’t know that I’ve ever considered his positive influence. Reading this article of quotes published on the anniversary of his passing, I realize how truly inspiring he was:
“Discovering the truth about ourselves is a lifetime’s work, but it’s worth the effort.” http://tinyurl.com/l4rogn9 via @RELEVANT
And that’s a wrap!
Tweek!
011 years ago
This has been a frustrating week. I washed my latest small piece — the Cardinal — and the red has crocked onto the background and isn’t coming off. (I’ll have to get brave and paint it.) Possibly because of that frustration, I’ve spent hours trying to find inspiration for my next piece — and I haven’t accomplished anything more than wasting time on the internet. And today we were met with news of the sudden death of an old family friend. Sometimes I’m just happy to still be here — and I let that be enough.
So while I want to be working, I don’t have direction and I’m having a hard time finding my way. It’s not uncommon — I’ve been here before. It’s just frustrating.
I did post some on Twitter this week. If you want to follow me in real time, you can find me @vsgreaves — or hit the Twitter icon in the upper right above the menu. You can also find my Facebook Page link next to it — I post about work in my studio there.
Artists are constantly being asked to donate their time — which only devalues our work:
Time and Skill Cost Money: Don’t Be Cheap Jerks: http://buff.ly/1gK2avF RT @ArtsyShark
This is not about art but it is about perseverance. A South Korean that was in his 30’s aged out of the Korean Olympic Team — so he moved to Russia to compete for them — and came out of last week with a gold medal. If they’re smart, the Koreans are reconsidering their ageism:
The Koreans learned the hard way that you can still win a gold medal even if you’re older. http://tinyurl.com/mzdqvyt @nytimes
Luke Haynes is a fellow textile portraitist who has aligned with the watch company Fossil — which is a boon to the perception of art quilts in the eyes of the general public:
http://blog.fossil.com/luke-haynes-fossil-a-creative-collaboration/ … #lukehaynes #fossil
With the Ukraine in complete chaos, Orthodox priests have been donning their chasubles and providing prayer between the military and Ukrainian citizens. Stunning photographs.
Orthodox Priests Pray On Kiev Frontline http://huff.to/1eN7Hkg via @HuffPostRelig
Visualization is important to moving your mind forward (definitely what I need to be doing):
“Stuck? Try Drawing Your Ideas” http://feedly.com/e/hdUzrht1
In my search for inspiration, I found this artist who makes the most stunningly realistic paintings — in PASTELS no less:
Realistic Pastel Paintings By Spanish Artist Ruben Belloso http://fineartblogger.com/realistic-pastel-paintings-by-spanish-artist-ruben-belloso/ … via @eexploria
This is a little kick in the pants that I need to think about as I try to work myself back into the studio:
Check out my latest post on Lifehack ‘7 Basic Rules of Creativity You Should Know’ http://www.lifehack.org/articles/productivity/7-basic-rules-creativity-you-should-know.html RT @FortheCreators
Setting the Mood
011 years ago
by Virginia Greaves
in Design
Today I escaped from my house to the fabric store — the one closest to me — Tiny Stitches. If you remember, this is what I started with — a yellow green. The more I looked at it, the more I didn’t like it. It’s too yellow for me.
This piece really relies on the background to set the mood — and this yellow green takes too much away from the cardinal.
So I went back to my color wheel — and found something strange. I have two color wheels. One says that the opposite of red is green — the other one says that it’s cyan. The plot thickens.
So I pulled this light cyan from my stash. It’s not quite right either.
So I went to the store — the batik section — and started laying bolts on the ground and then laying my appliqué on top. I’m fortunate that it’s so small — I can’t usually carry my appliqué work in a folder.
This is nice but feels urban to me — not what I’m going for. It’s just a little too distracting.
And this is the green that should work — except it doesn’t.
This one is a little better — but it still doesn’t make the bird sing.
And then I pulled out this blue green. I liked it a lot more. It’s a good value change and sets off the cardinal nicely. So I carried this bolt around for a while and started walking through the aisles — because sometimes you can find interesting things in places you wouldn’t think to look — so it helps to go exploring.
Wow. A print. It is also a light blue green.
This is the same pattern in a darker color — too dark for the cardinal.
So at this point, I looked at all of the pics on my phone and I really loved the blue green print — but I thought I should try one more green batik. No — it just doesn’t work for me. It’s the right value and the print is the right proportion — but it isn’t for me.
So I lost a couple of days — but I now have the right background — the light blue green print. Better to change it now than wish I had later.
Cardinal Longing
111 years ago
After I finished Worry, I had no idea what my next project would be. I get so involved in one project that I don’t tend to think ahead to the next — can’t really split my focus. I concentrate on one thing to the exclusion of other things.
But when I was done, I decided to make a small piece for the SouthEast Fiber Arts Alliance (SEFAA) Square Foot Fiber Art Pin Up Show. No theme — the piece just has to be 12×12 or smaller. I don’t usually work in this small scale — but I needed a rest and working on a small piece seemed like a good way to do that.
I had seen many pictures of cardinals in the snow being posted on Facebook — and I think that this is what I had in my mind’s eye when I began — a piece of hope flying across the frozen tundra (a little melodramatic, but we’re currently iced in for the second time in a couple of weeks and this southern girl is more acclimated to sunshine than snow.)
So I searched through all my reds and picked out a decent range. I wasn’t really happy with my first value — but then, what could I do? The weather was too iffy for me to risk a trip over to Marietta to pick out fabric — so I was limited to what I had on hand.
Just as I was getting ready to iron my WonderUnder templates down, I had the funny realization that I had paid for both sides of my fabric (obvious, I know, but a fact often overlooked) — so I ironed the templates to the front — so the back would show — which was exactly the shade I needed for the first value.
This is the second value — you can begin to see the outline of the cardinal.
The third value gives you even more — although I should have added to the lighting in the room before I took my pics.
The fourth value was all I got done before I heard that the news was telling me (I had the TV on while I was ironing) that I might lose power for several days — and I realized I needed to add a few things to my pantry. It was at this point that I ran out the door with fading daylight before the roads became truly impassable the next day (and they did).
I returned to this yesterday and added values five and six — the sixth one being black. Not bad but I really miss the eye.
Again, other blurry shot. I think the ISO on the camera I was using was way down — but you can see how I built up the eye in a similar way to the eye on The White Raven. I did add a larger highlight than I usually do — this guy has a small eye and the light coming off it gave the impression of the dimension of the eyeball.
Once he was done, I added the branches. I thought about adding a bunch of detail and then decided that it was so small, it made more sense to let the fabric do the work for me — so I found a brown wood batik and fussy cut it so I roughly had highlights and shadows where I wanted them.
And finally, I added his claws. They are really similar in tone to the branch — and I decided to stay with that. I used a purple with a lot of gray in it — but they are obviously the same value as the branch. I’ll define them more with texture in the quilting stage.
The last part is to add a background. This was my first pick. It’s a really bright acid green but it makes the cardinal pop. I tried other greens from my stash — but the greens with more gray in them make the cardinal more sedate — more like it’s a common wildlife scene.
And I could try something other than green — but the color wheel shows the green is the best choice — and holding up colors — it’s the one that makes the most sense visually — even if I did originally imagine more white and gray blues.
I’m not sold on this yet. I would love it if I could go to store and see if I could find something better — or validate my choice here — but there is still too much ice on the roads. I may go ahead for something to do. Sewing is a good antidote for cabin fever.
Tweek!
011 years ago
There has been a lot going on this week — a lot of great articles for Creatives were written (or recently found) — all of which I shared on my Twitter feed — and I finished my latest piece Worry. Today, I bring you my weekly wrap-up of my Twitter feed.
Remember, if you want to catch my Tweets in real time, you can find me at @vsgreaves — or hit the Twitter icon above the menu in the upper right. Also, if you want to see what’s going on in the studio, check out my Facebook Page by clicking on the Facebook icon next to that Twitter icon.
According to the authors, and I would agree, “we live in a “permissions culture,” which values copyright permissions above all else” and that “permissions have become such an issue that they’re interfering with professionals’ work — the ability to educate, to undertake scholarly studies, to make art.” It’s a different point of view from the endless discussions regarding the protection of copyrights.
“Are Art Professionals Afraid of Fair Use?” http://feedly.com/e/848QPDRN
“Creativity & Listening” — “What we learn from the creative process is that giving up control … is a necessary path to success.” http://feedly.com/k/1n8VHLD
I live in Atlanta — I was shocked that it made #1 on this list:
Best cities for artists: http://tinyurl.com/p9zvstx
This article on the ethics of altering photographs digitally is sure to inspire a lot of debate:
“Nature Photography: Objectivity, Manipulation, and Ethics” http://tinyurl.com/lewysue
I was so struck by this life-like statue of a man sleep walking in his underwear across the Wellesley campus — and he’s garnered a lot of public discussion — which I appreciate in the same way Banksy brings the discussion of art to the masses:
Tighty whitey’s take a stroll — “Artist Responds to Wellesley College Students’ Concerns With Sculpture: http://tinyurl.com/m37zq5r
This was just a grand idea — to replace huge sign boards in Paris with classical works of art. It made me realize how cluttered our modern lives are with constant marketing of inane things.
“Parisian Advertisements Replaced with Classical Works of Art” http://tinyurl.com/nykgu3f @mymodernmet
Bringing to mind the discussion of altering photos, Annie Leibovitz’s photographs (and resulting digital alteration) create the most stunning photos. The fact that she finds inspiration in Disney characters makes the work all the more relatable:
“Annie Leibovitz’s Celebrity Disney Dream Portraits” http://tinyurl.com/k8yuasb @mymodernmet
I made the point the other day on someone’s Facebook wall that one of the discriminations made in the art world today is towards abstract versus illustrative work — and although I was soundly flamed for such a ridiculous statement, the wonderful Winkleman, an art dealer in NY, wrote a post fairly exactly supporting my argument just this week:
“Just What Is It That Makes Today’s Abstract Paintings so Different, so Lucrative?” Winkleman wise words http://feedly.com/e/GaB3bl95
I didn’t know the the Olympics once had art competitions — did you?
“Back When the Olympics Had Art Competitions” http://feedly.com/e/yz3-cw31
This is about the importance of visual language, which is not valued in our current education system, and its effect on our brains:
“Why Einstein, JFK, Edison, and Marie Curie All Doodled” http://feedly.com/e/HGcJkmE6
I loved this article because he talks about making marketable art and going through the thought process of figuring out what will sell:
RT @ArtsyShark: Success for artists is not complicated … http://buff.ly/1dsUIQY Thoughts from Jack White
I actually went looking for articles on marketing art — and found this helpful piece from July of last year.
Selling Art: Is your artwork marketable? http://tinyurl.com/lpp3odt
A friend of mine posted this article on Facebook and I found it fascinating. I had never heard the controversy over whether Van Gogh committed suicide or was murdered — and I didn’t know that he died two days after being shot:
Van Gogh: murder mystery or straightforward suicide?http://tinyurl.com/jwhg56d via @maggieinsc