Basement Discoveries

While at a friend's parents' house for Thanksgiving, playing a post-dinner Round Robin Ping Pong game in their basement, I noticed a striking fiber piece tucked behind some stuff.

As a fiber artist, I was immediately intriged and asked about it.

I was told that it came with the house 37 years ago.

Not being their taste, it has lived in the basement since then.

 It was made of unusual material and I was attracted to the earthy feeling.

Knowing how I love fiber, they offered it to me. 

Of course I accepted, a sucker for fiber and anything free, 

my husband and I crammed it into the backseat of our car.

 We have no wall space left, but the thought of leaving it hidden,
tucked away in a basement didn't seen right.
Employing the wonders of modern technology, I Googled the artist.

It turns out that Helen Webber was not a challenge to find.

 Here is a side view, you can see the unique textures created from the fabric and cording.

Not sure what we'll do with it, I'd like to find a nice home for it,

since it really is a beautiful piece.

It brings me joy, not only because I love trees and it is so unusual, but also

because it is a basement discovery that we now have the opportunity to give a new life.

I can't help but also feel a little sad thinking of my own art,

and where it might end up in 37 years.

The story of this piece is not that uncommon,

it is the nature of art and the unpredictable life it will live.

Just something to keep in mind as you make your art,

you make it for that moment and once you set it free, you can only hope for the best.

It will have its own life, maybe it will live on someone's wall to bring everyday joy,

or maybe it will have a rebirth many years later and enlighten and bring joy.

September-November 2010

There has been a few important things that I have been involved in over the last several months, including working on my National Board Certification. It is an intense and extremely time consuming process. That being said, my updates will be sporadic in the next 6 months as I focus on getting through the writing process involved with passing it.

Here is the chart I made for it:

In September, I put together an exhibit of the show, The Unspoken Truth About Color: A Dialogue in Art Quilts About Racism at The Facing Race Conference in Chicago. The exhibit includes 27 diverse artists from around the county that contributed 31 pieces to the show.

 Here is the entrance to the "gallery"

  We used cheap easels and foam core to display the pieces

 Here I am with my two pieces

 Carol Beck came up all the way from North Carolina to help, she stayed in the gallery the whole time, speaking to everyone who came in. Here she is with here piece.

 She shared the personal stories behind the pieces

as well as educated attendees about racism and art quilting.

 The space was well lit and often filled with people.
The public response to the show was incredible.
Many had strong emotional responses to the pieces
and thanked us for sharing such a powerful show at the conference.

 Here we are with our conference organizer, Donna Hernandez,

an amazing woman and new friend.

This exhibit will travel with the Mancuso Quilt Festival in 2011

and also be at The ARC Gallery and Educational Foundation

in Chicago April 27 – May 22, 2011.

Opening reception will be on Friday, April 29, 2011 from 6 to 9 p.m

in conjunction with the YWCA’s National Day of Commitment to Eliminate Racism.

In October I had my first public show as part of The Ravenswood Art Walk, where over 300 artists and businesses participated in the 9th Annual Tour of Arts & Industry in the Ravenswood Corridor in Chicago. This self-guided tour of open studios, galleries and spaces along the historic Ravenswood Corridor

is the annual kick off to the 15th Annual Chicago Artists Month.

I was assigned 34 feet of wonderful wall space in one of the participating buildings.

 You can read about many of these pieces in old blog posts.
I greatly enjoyed having the opportunity to share my work with the public
and experience first hand people's reactions to my work, which was all good.
Many were interested in the medium since fiber work is not usually well represented at shows
like this. I enjoyed sharing my process and techniques with interested viewers.

 Dancers below, inspired by a friend's wedding and how fun it was to dance.
Yes piece below is a third in a series called, I am Am I

 The Belly Dancers that I started in November of last year
when I saw them perform at the Ravenswood Art Walk.

 I was thrilled to finish them in time for this year's Ravenswood Art Walk.

I hope to find some time between NBC writing to make some new pieces,

if I do I will post about them.