textile paintings
Posts tagged inspiration
Worry Completed
011 years ago
This week I was intent on finishing my latest piece Worry. I quilted the background and then applied the binding. The hand work is getting harder for me to do. I’m a fairly thin skinned person and piercing my fingers with an extremely sharp needle seem masochistic at best — and my eyes are beginning to struggle to see the tiny stitches. I have only machine applied one binding but I may revisit that on my next piece.
You may have noticed that I missed Wordless Wednesday. That’s because I didn’t think about it until Thursday — and at that point, I felt like it was just too late.
Yesterday I finished sewing on the sleeve and blocking it — and today it was dry enough for me to take pictures. I took some for the website — but I’ve about decided it’s time I buy a photographic background stand. I have two design walls made from creosote that have black flannel taped to them which I have used for both blocking and a photography background. I started using them for blocking after I moved here when I discovered that you can’t pin into looped carpet — but sadly, blocking it warps the creosote — which wreaks havoc on the photographs if you’re using the same surface as a back drop. I have learned all the tricks in Photoshop Elements to straighten a pic. Once I realized that water was warping it, I kept one for blocking and the other for photography. Sadly, the one I kept for photography has still warped.
So I intend to order a photography stand this week and re-photograph the pieces I’ve done this year. I probably won’t re-do the images on the website — but I’ll have the proper pics for exhibition entries and publication opportunities.
Tweek!
011 years ago
It’s Sunday and time to review my interesting Tweets from this week.
If you want to follow me in real time, my Twitter account is @vsgreaves — or click the Twitter icon in the far right hand corner above the menu.
Also, if you want to follow some of my daily in process work, see my Facebook page by clicking on the Facebook icon up there next to the Twitter icon.
I read a lot of articles but not a lot of them that I felt like sharing. Someone got the memo that if you want to draw a lot of people to your blog post, put a number in it — I found so many senseless blog posts “9 ways to do <something>” or “30 sure-fire ways to . . . ” There are so many numbered blog posts out there that I think I’ve become immune. People are writing but unfortunately don’t have a lot to say.
This article describes me well today — not creatively motivated — but when it’s during the week and I have the time, I work in the studio whether I’m motivated or not. Sometimes you just have to push through, keep going, and find your way to the other side.
“How to Be Creative Even When You Least Feel Like It” http://feedly.com/e/9BqmwGaL
This was a quote that a friend of mine posted. I had a tough time getting Twitter to take it since I was limited to 140 number of characters. I took out spaces, used ampersands, & made it work. It expresses a lot of what I’ve felt recently.
Joy & sorrow are inseparable.Together they come & when one sits alone with you.Remember that the other is asleep upon your bed.Kahlil Gibran
This article is just a really good reminder that as artists, we have to protect ourselves. I have a friend who recently made a commissioned piece only to be told at the time of submission that the couple had purchased art from someone else. Don’t let this be you.
“Don’t Get Screwed: The Contract Provisions Every Creative Needs to Know” http://feedly.com/e/SfWvfKBg
This was written by Barbara Muir guest blogging for Alyson Stanfield on artbizblog.com. Although she’s specifically addressing creative blocks that happen as a result of grief, these are good reminders for any artist to use to get busy in the studio.
“11 Ways to Work Through Your Grief and Return to the Studio” http://feedly.com/e/zPIsD4VX
As a visual artist, your work is in your visual expression — something all to easily mishandled in this era of Pinterest. This is an interesting lawsuit about an artist that joined an online artists community — only to have his images used for publicity without his consent.
“Artist Feuds with London Art Startup Over ‘Unauthorized’ Prints” — the slippery slope http://feedly.com/e/5q-vzgbG
The difference between experience and knowledge in one image: pic.twitter.com/Kqr19M07lh via @ArtsyShark
OK — I did like this article — even if it does have a number in the title. I’ve noticed a big change in my Facebook Page exposure. If I post something directly to my Page, it is fairly widely distributed. If I post something to my blog that then publishes to my Facebook Page, it’s hardly seen in others news feeds at all.
9 Ways to Counteract Facebook’s Big Algorithm Change http://buff.ly/1g8pSVh via @buffer via @ArtsyShark
Tweek!
011 years ago
Another week down and not a lot going on to share in this week’s Tweek of Twitter updates. I read a ton of articles but not a lot worth sharing. A few gems in the mix though.
As always, you can follow my live Twitter updates @vsgreaves or click the Twitter icon in the right hand corner just above the menu.
It’s hard to ignore the signs of burn-out going on in Western culture right now. Maybe shortening our work week would have a positive effect:
“Should We All Have A 4-Day Work Week?” … In a perfect world … http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/The99Percent/~3/PkNyhxcYmJo/should-we-all-have-a-4-day-work-week
This article is about working in a series & why it’s important for artists to develop creative thought in more than one piece:
““It Doesn’t Matter if You Call It Art If You Don’t Have Anything to Say” – Creating Art in a Series” http://theabundantartist.com/is-it-art-working-in-series/
Seinfeld was a heavy iconic figure in the 80’s, and as only someone that can write a show about nothing, he is spot on about creative blocks and overcoming them:
“Seinfeld: Writer’s Block Is a B.S. Excuse for Not Doing Your Work.” http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/The99Percent/~3/4ymzcmE8cPE/seinfeld-writers-block-is-a-b-s-excuse-for-not-doing-your-work
Everyone likes to say that creativity is the new highly valued resource in corporate America today — and something we should be cultivating in our children — but the truth just doesn’t back this up. Corporate America looks for skills — not thinkers — and we constantly cut funding to the arts for children. And sadly, creativity is more a point of discrimination than a valued skill:
“Creativity is rejected: Teachers and bosses don’t value out-of-the-box thinking.” http://feedly.com/k/1iGm9iP
I can’t say this enough — if you aren’t failing, you aren’t trying hard enough. You have to fail — usually a lot — before you can ever win a race.
Fail Fast, Fail Often: How Losing Can Help You Win. http://tinyurl.com/nkasjgx
Beyond the sense of appreciation I felt at having Edward Winkleman mention an art exhibit in my hometown of Birmingham, AL — he writes a compelling post about the perception of success that artists need to emulate to become recognized in the art world (and how in reality, even the successful ones are working a day job to keep their art life alive):
“Looking Past the Smoke and Mirrors: “Living and Sustaining a Creative Life”” http://www.edwardwinkleman.com/2014/01/looking-past-smoke-and-mirrors-living.html
Stress and Family
211 years ago
When I started working on this project, I needed a name for this project’s folder on my computer. In the beginning, it was Depression — since it’s based on a Depression era picture. As I worked on the mother, I began to see it has a reflection of the stress of mothers — so I changed the name of the folder to Stress Project — knowing that that wouldn’t be it’s final name. And as I get closer to Christmas and I see the insanity that is family that comes out during the holidays — this has becomes a difficult project for me to work on — much less talk about.
But — I should share my progress from last week. I had finished the mother and her son & began work on the daughter that is on the mother’s other side. This shows her neck, arm, and fingers curled up.
And her hair. I think it turned out well.
I snuggled her up to her mom. You may noticed that I’ve added some darker tones to the son’s hair. I also changed the fabric just under the mom’s hand — they were previously shirt fabrics but they were too close in tone to her skin so I just changed them to coat fabrics so you could see the back of her hand clearer.
The right hand side of the daughter is an extension that I’m creating because the photograph has something obscuring the view here (I think it’s a pole). I decided to lighten the lower shadow.
I like it better here. I also did the babies face. I don’t like how her face comes together but have decided that I’ll work on it after I’ve made her blanket. I’ll probably have the blanket wrap over the top of her head.
The blanket will extend across the bottom of the piece.
I think that I’ll continue as much as I can in the studio to try to black out the insanity of the holidays. It gives me a peace that’s hard to explain.
Tweek!
011 years ago
This is my weekly Twitter update. It’s been a rough week but I had a lot of time for reading.
If you want to follow my Twitter posts directly, I’m @vsgreaves — or click the Twitter icon in the upper right just above the menu.
This is a very fun video to watch. Brene’ Brown is hugely entertaining — and she gets creatives & what we have to do to produce our work. It’s 22 minutes long, but it’s worth the investment of your time:
Brene’ Brown does an amazing speech on “the sweaty creatives”: 22 minutes that all creatives should invest in: http://tinyurl.com/mwbx8qy
Don’t we all need guidance about how to price our artwork correctly:
A Guide to Pricing Your Artwork – http://buff.ly/19adxuE via @ArtsyShark
I have both an undergraduate & graduate degree in business and I’ve always wondered what you do if you’re starting with nothing. This article tries to answer that:
“The Secret of the Chicken and the Egg” : what to do if you’re starting with nothing http://feedly.com/k/IBfeHv
This is an video interview with a brilliant mathematician about how he approaches impossibility (he died a few days after the interview):
“How to Tackle Impossible Problems” interview with the creator of fractals Benoit Mandlebrot http://feedly.com/k/1ceBKgr
To find that our support of the arts in the US is dwarfed by our support of football is unsettling at best:
“Where’s the Money? US Arts and Culture Economy By the Numbers” does our culture in the US support the arts? http://hyperallergic.com/97423/wheres-the-money-us-arts-and-culture-economy-by-the-numbers/
Let’s face it — as artists, we are our own worst critics — and it’s good to hear that we’re in good company:
“Bruce Springsteen, Woody Allen, and the Long Tradition of Hating Your Own Work” http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/The99Percent/~3/uU23FDGkqcg/bruce-springsteen-woody-allen-and-the-long-tradition-of-hating-your-own-work
This is not art related at all but I found it fascinating because it explained a hole in history that I rarely see discussed — the decisions of the British & French & how they shaped the current state of the Middle East:
How the Middle East was shaped after the Ottoman Empire “The map that caused a century of trouble” http://zite.to/1dyunCQ
This is a photography article but its discussion of using the Golden Mean for composition is applicable to all visual art:
“Beyond Basic Composition: Line, Shape and Form in Photography” http://zite.to/191Of4a
Again, not an art article but a scientist interview about how having widespread technology without widespread understanding of how it works will lead to a controlled society:
“A Science Icon Died 17 Years Ago. In His Last Interview, He Made A Warning That Gives Me Goosebumps.” http://zite.to/19Hnnk7
“British Library uploads one million public domain images to the net for remix and reuse” http://zite.to/1kGOVLU
Mothers and Their Children
411 years ago
I haven’t worked on a person since I made Lincoln a year ago — but given that it was so successful at IQF, I thought maybe I should revisit making people again.
So I found this incredible picture taken by a government official in the 1930’s of a woman surrounded by her children and the lines of worry embedded in her face — and I decided to use this as my inspiration. (Don’t worry — this is a public domain picture.)
At first I chose this because of the parallels between the economy today and that of the Great Depression, but as I worked on it, I began to see it more as a metaphor for motherhood — how mothers worry and how their children are naturally oblivious to her stress.
This is the first value. Not much to see — although I’ve found this to be one of the most important layers. If I’m going to be criticized, it’s usually on the brightness of this first layer.
In the second value, you can see the worry lines in her forehead and the outline of her arm and fingers.
The third value gives you a fuller outline of her face and arm.
The fourth value gives you the deepening of shadows.
She begins to come alive in the fifth value.
And the deepest shadows are in the sixth value. I did not add color to her irises — I intentionally kept them black. I also added a dot of white to her eyes.
Then I went to her hair. I purposefully decided to keep it dark.
The second value is a dark brown.
And the third value is black.
At this point, I need to start her blouse and jacket. I’m considering making her very conspicuous with hot colors in her clothes — and then using coolers colors in the children — to convey the difference in mood between them — but I’m also considering making the children into more literal shadows using tulle and thread and not completely appliquéing them with fabric like I did the mother. It’s something for me to consider for a while.
Houston Festival part 3
111 years ago
by Virginia Greaves
in Exhibition
To continue from my last post, at this point in my adventure, preview night is getting ready to start.
TWEET: Preview night starts in 15 minutes.
5 hours of marathon-ing for me. I had high hopes. I knew that I only had 5 hours to see all of the quilts and then see the vendors with what little strength I would have left. After walking around the convention center yesterday, I had convinced myself that tennis shoes, however practical they may be, were going to be my shoes of choice. I admit to vanity — after seeing a certain someone looking incredibly fashionable in leather pants and low heels — I just couldn’t do it. I came to regret that later. This is the view of the vendor area from a portal on the 2nd floor before the show opened.
TWEET: Line to get to escalator to go downstairs to exhibit hall. Waiting for it to open. Quilters are such polite and friendly people. This was probably most apparent in the line of people waiting to go down the escalator to get in the show.
I took a lot of pictures of quilts at the show. Immediately as I started taking pictures, I could see myself being a hypocrite. For years, I’ve been concerned with people taking pictures of my work at shows and not giving attribution — or giving attribution but then putting their copyright image on the picture of my piece (which then gets pinned somewhere & causes confusion about copyright ownership) — or not putting the right permissions on something posted in FLICKR that allows anyone to print mouse pads with my images. I really need to just take a breath. I will show some pieces, I will give attribution, I will give links if possible, and if someone is uncomfortable with that, I will gladly delete the piece. First of all, I had another piece in the show — The White Raven.
There were many other birds in the show. I have to say that there were so many well done birds in the show, I may be done with birds. To say that the work was fantastic doesn’t quite cover it. This is Barb Forrister‘s Sunrise Serenade. I had to take this piece at a strange angle so there is some camera distortion — but the colors and the threadwork on this piece are inspiring. Barb really knows how to bring a peacock alive.
This is Ricky & Lucy by Nancy Sterett Martin and Karen Sistek. It’s painted silk. It is fabulous.
TWEET: My piece Firecracker next to Barbara Beasley’s Best Friend. I love hers. #quiltfestival
Remember my new friend Karen Ponischil?
This is her wonderful piece Princess Daphne that won an honorable mention in the Art-Miniature category. LOTS of thread painting to get that wonderfully furry effect.
I don’t want to forget to show you Christine Alexiou‘s piece Seven Deadly Sins one last time — so you can truly see that there were multiple pages in her fabric book.
I had a great opportunity to spend some time speaking with Thelma Bearden. Her piece, Very Berries, won 2nd place in Art-Abstract, Small. She is also a painter and has a wonderful grasp of how to make color work for her. I don’t think that my camera does this piece justice.
At the very end of the exhibit hall was the Healing Threads in Medicine exhibit, a group of quilts curated by the same people that curated Sacred Threads. I had two pieces in the Herndon, VA Sacred Threads exhibit but was unable to attend. They have since also traveled to the Sacred Threads-Omaha exhibit. It was wonderful to meet Lisa Ellis and Vicki Pignatelli and thank them for the wonderful opportunity to be included.
TWEET: Me with Lisa Ellis & Vicki Pignatelli.
At this point, I stopped and went back to my piece. Can you believe I only took this one shot of it with its blue ribbon? I didn’t even think about getting someone to take a pic of it with me and the ribbon.
Then I went to dinner with my new friends at the other end of the exhibit hall. When we were done, I wandered through the vendor area. It was completely overwhelming. There was stuff everywhere. I should have bought things — but I didn’t. I bought one Pashmina scarf. All of the fabric was either a novelty or brights so nothing really interested me — but I think also that exhaustion was starting to overtake me. I really wanted to find the Superior Threads booth because I love their thread — and I did manage to find them — but by that point, I was done. I was completely exhausted. I had almost an hour left before preview night closed down, and I just couldn’t do anymore. I did love this booth — it was full of the most amazing dolls. These are the dragons.
TWEET: Amazing doll patterns!
On the way out, I took one last look at the section where Lincoln was. I thought about getting a good group shot of the White Raven — but I just couldn’t make myself go backwards. TWEET: I’m exhausted — can’t do any more. Crawling back to my room.
Thank goodness the convention center is attached to the hotel. It was so easy to get back to my room. This is what the convention center looked like from my room.
And this is some of the skyline of Houston that night.
I had a fabulous time — but I was ready to go home. This shot was taken very early the next morning outside the front of the Hilton while I waited on my shuttle. TWEET: Houston — I’ve had a blast — but I’m heading back home to my girls.
One of the items in my winner’s envelope was a long list of awards sponsors to whom I was asked to send thank you notes. I have to admit that my first reaction was one of trepidation, but upon further reflection, I realized the wonderful extended opportunity it offered. I went home and ordered postcards from Moo.com with Lincoln on the front. I am currently addressing them in preparation of sending them to all of the wonderful sponsors.
TWEET: I’ve ordered from MOO! Jealous? Get 10% off: http://www.moo.com/share/mctdkn via @overheardatmoo
— It is now a week since I wrote this post. Unfortunately, server problems kept me from posting it.
I will have one last post on Houston — with the remaining pieces that I fell in love with.
Tweek!
111 years ago
by Virginia Greaves
in Twitter
It’s time for my weekly TWEEK! twitter round-up.
If you’d rather follow me in real time on Twitter, find me @vsgreaves or use the Twitter icon just above the menu on the right hand side.
I’ve become quite a Banksy fan during his visit to Brooklyn this past month. It’s hard to believe that it’s come to a close — but it’s been great fun seeing the excitement that he’s created, the way he’s inspired conversations on art in that community (and online) — and let’s face it, “everyone loves a rebel Harry.”
TWEET: “Coney Island’s Banksy Robot, Busy Weekend in Brooklyn [UPDATE 2]” http://hyperallergic.com/90612/coney-islands-banksy-robot-busy-weekend-in-brooklyn/
TWEET: “Banksy’s New Work Reflects on Banality of Evil, Benefits Charity [UPDATE 2]” http://hyperallergic.com/90789/banksys-new-work-reflects-on-banality-of-evil-benefits-charity/
TWEET: “Banksy Creates a Bronx Zoo, Invader Invades NYC, Awesome Banksy GIFs” http://hyperallergic.com/90992/bankys-creates-a-graffiti-zoo-invader-invades-nyc-awesome-banksy-gifs/
Can you believe that someone hid 1,500 works of art in their walls in Munich? And that the father of the current owner did this under the auspices of the Nazis?
TWEET: “1,500 Works of Nazi-Looted Art Discovered in Munich” http://hyperallergic.com/91724/1500-works-of-nazi-looted-art-discovered-in-munich/
TWEET: “Don’t Give It Away for Free!” Response to NYT article “Slaves of the Internet Unite!” http://feedly.com/k/172R8en
This is just plain interesting — taking famous portrait paintings and staging them with real actors for photography:
http://justsomething.co/22-famous-paintings-revisited-as-photographs/
We like to think that large corporations don’t steal ideas from independent artists, but unfortunately it happens more than we care to realize:
TWEET: Urban Outfitters steals from independent artist — not cool! http://tinyurl.com/3f85v5j
I find it fascinating that an artist goes into public spaces and creates in promptu thread sketches with her sewing machine. Even better, she’s done it in a Chinese factory where they make shoes by hand.
TWEET: Traveling Textile Performance Artist: http://tinyurl.com/n8snpcd
Sometimes I come across an artist whose work just has to be shared:
TWEET: Intricately Detailed Murals of Animals Living in Harmony – My Modern Metropolis http://www.mymodernmet.com/profiles/blogs/adonna-khare-illustrations via @mymodernmet
TWEET: Why creative people sometimes make no sense: http://tinyurl.com/mzfewyu
One of my sources for finding great articles to share is the RSS reader Feedly. It’s currently down on Saturday, the night I like to catch up on what is going on in the art world.
TWEET: Feedly is down. It’s Saturday night. What do I do now? #Feedly #signofareader
Knowing Feedly was down and watching all of the angry tweets arising out of the chaos, I went in search of why and found this explanation.
TWEET: The tyranny of Google+ continues! Now #Feedly requires it to log in… but they’re already backing down. http://blog.feedly.com/2013/11/07/google-authentication/
Tweek!
011 years ago
by Virginia Greaves
in Twitter
Most of my week was spent twittering my adventures in Houston — and I didn’t spend a lot of time finding articles to share. I do have a few of them though that I’ll share here. I’ll save my Houston timeline for a separate blog post.
Remember, if you want to follow my Twittering — which isn’t usually as prolific as it was this week — you can either click on the Twitter icon in the upper right just above the menu or search for @vsgreaves.
“Banksy’s New Piece Is Waiting at a Strip Club for Love” : my fascination with Banksy continues #banksy http://feedly.com/k/18YHY6s This is a really cool piece — a man with a hat leaning against the wall. It was painted on a rolling garage door though so I suspect that the owners will take it down soon.
“Banksy’s Growing NYPD Problem [UPDATE 2]” : Get #Banksy !! http://feedly.com/k/1cZ4XPB New York has strict laws against tagging — and they’re hot on Banksy’s trail trying to bring him to justice. (There’s a part of me that gets a thrill from defying authority — go Banksy!)
“If You Spray It, They Will Come …” #banksy #whatisart http://hyperallergic.com/89910/if-you-spray-it-they-will-come/ …
Slaves of the Internet, Unite! http://nyti.ms/H9hPau This is about how artists — writers, musicians, painters — all of us creatives — are often asked to produce work for free.
Great article on negotiating the art world: http://tinyurl.com/mz3eqqn
That’s it for this week! I didn’t have a lot of time to read — but I suspect I’ll make up for it in the coming days. Next week’s Tweek! promises to be extra long.
Silk To Dye For Exhibit
212 years ago
by Virginia Greaves
in Exhibition
The Silk Painter’s of Atlanta are exhibiting right now at the South East Fiber Arts Alliance space downtown. My friend Hellenne Vermillion had several pieces in the show so I took one of my daughters with me to see it today.
Many people think of wearables when they think of silk, and this piece called Luna by Margaret Agner is a wonderful example. (It’s also laid out on the exhibit card above where you can see how it fans out beautifully at the ends.)
Luna
by Margaret Agner
$150
There were also many pieces by Martha Andreatos. I loved the colors of the silk in this piece and how they are tiled together like a roof.
Colors
by Martha Andreatos
$225
This is another stunning piece from Martha.
Double Pears
by Martha Andreatos
$450
And this is a piece from Hellenne Vermillion. She has added a lot of hand stitching in this piece. I fear that the reflectiveness of the silk combined with the broad value range were too much for the camera on my iPhone — it doesn’t do the piece justice.
Koi Fish and Lotus Leaves
by Hellenne Vermillion
$450
This is one of Hellenne’s silk masks. She forms a clay mask and covers it with silk. This was my daughter’s favorite piece.
Tattoo Mask
by Hellenne Vermillion
$350
This is another one of Hellenne’s pieces displayed on a canvas. I just love the heat coming off this one.
Fertility
by Hellenne Vermillion
$350
This is another piece by Martha, also painted silk on a canvas. It has a very luminous feel to it.
Contemplative Figure
by Martha Andreatos
$450
And finally, another piece from Margaret. I love the playfulness of this one. It is a silk wrap hung vertically on the wall with pins. It would be stunning draped on someone’s shoulders.
Octopus Smiles
by Margaret Agner
$150
All of the work included in the exhibit was beautiful. Silk is such a vibrant medium and holds the color so well.
Please contact the artist individually if you are interested in their work.