Friday, January 29, 2010

Hungrily

"I used to date hungrily. Now, running is my best friend and I am engaged to my art."

Monday, January 25, 2010

Starting Over

Right before the new year, I was graced with 11 consecutive days off from work, during which time I reorganized my apartment and art studio, and worked on my business plan. My theory is that a new space will help lead me further towards the new life I'm seeking. These themes of cleaning and change apply to both my exterior and interior life.

New post-it ideas:
I'm ripping out the seams of my social fabric and starting over.

Our relationship was an empty house I tried to furnish. I supplied two of everything, yet you never moved in.

Saturday, January 23, 2010

Grand Opening of Muriel Guepin Gallery tonight!

If you're in Brooklyn, or anywhere near the NYC area tonight, Saturday, 1/23, then come to the grand opening of Muriel Guepin Gallery. Easy to get to by taking the F/G train to Bergen Street. You can also take the 2/3, 4, M or R trains to Court Street/Borough Hall and walk on Court to Bergen Street, about 6 blocks. 
Muriel Guepin Gallery
47 Bergen Street between Smith St and Court Street
Cobble Hill, Brooklyn

Tonight's opening features the work of Arpie Gennetian Najarian, Michiyo Ihara, and Paula Overbay. Arpie Gennetian Najarian creates delicate collages with paper and thread. She also has some "punched" drawings, which look as though she used needles to poke holes in paper, and some pieces made with ink. 

Michiyo Ihara is a master at fine detail and hand-drawn symmetries. She creates snowflakes with layers of small images that cohere into a large, drawn doily. Her work is meticulous, precise, and utterly awe-inspiring in its consistency and precision. 

Paula Overbay is a painter whose work has a quiet, celestial feeling. The many dots on a deeply colored ground cohere into abstract patterns that remind me of textile designs. She draws inspiration from her hikes on Mount Hood. Her work is meditative and reflective.

The new gallery space has an open, airy feeling, and retains the warmth of the former Shop Art Gallery space. Wooden floors give it a rustic feel, and full-length glass windows beckon you in from outside.

If you can't make it to tonight's opening, I recommend visiting during regular gallery hours: 
Wednesday-Saturday 11am-7pm 
Sunday 12-5pm
Muriel regularly includes in the gallery the work of the other artists she represents. There are myriad opportunities to discover the work of primarily Brooklyn-based artists, so come on by when you can!

Sunday, January 17, 2010

Turned Towards Me

Your feet turned towards me 
as if to ask a question I hoped you'd ask.

Thursday, January 14, 2010

Unexpected and lovely review of my work

Many thanks to Gunny Scarfo for posting a review of my artwork on the Me Lifestyle blog. He found my work on Etsy, and we talked briefly this week. 

You can check it out here: http://www.themelifestyle.com/blog

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Despite Myself

"I love him despite myself and our B- history."

Sunday, January 10, 2010

Connective Thread at Sweet Lorraine Gallery

Last night was the opening for Connective Thread, a multi-artist, fiber show curated by Joetta Maue at Sweet Lorraine Gallery in Red Hook, Brooklyn.

When I walked into the gallery, I was completely blown away by the quality of craftsmanship and imaginative treatment of materials. Wow! I especially loved Rebecca Rinquist's machine- and hand-stitched fabric collages that buckle and bend under the weight of so much stitching. Her work seems both violent and loving at the same time. 

I was also quite taken with the work of Crystal Gregory, who incorporates crochet into the urban landscape as a form of graffiti. Her crocheted doilies adorn and disrupt brick, cinder blocks, and menacing fences. Other pieces reference the body and metabolic processes in lace-like stencils and quilts. All of her handwork seems to have a delicate, lace-like quality, in sharp contrast to the subject matter and contexts in which she likes to create installations.

Finally, as an applicant whose work was not selected for the show, I was invited to hang work just for the opening. I decided to show the piece above, Deflowered, which consists of hand-made "underwear." This piece is conceptually part of my Were I So Besotted series, but not as literally narrative as most of my work. I have never shown this piece before, nor even shared it with my gallerist, Muriel Guepin. I don't think I've ever included it in an application for a show, either. It seems a bit of a departure aesthetically from my other work. Nonetheless, I did receive some positive feedback.

Many thanks to Joetta Maue for galvanizing a truly inspiring fiber art exhibit (and within walking distance of my home!). I hope you will check it out, too, if you live in the New York area. The Gallery is located at 183 Lorraine Street, 3rd Floor. Public hours are Weds-Fri, 12-4pm and by appointment (contact Joetta).

Saturday, January 9, 2010

Embroiderography


This blog has been devoted to one of my embroidered projects and its many tree branches, Were I So Besotted. On the blog, you have seen my running maps on pieces of plastic Trader Joe's shopping bags. You have read my "post-it notes," or small text-based pieces. And, of course, you have read and viewed the more developed anecdotes I stitch on fabric pages roughly 5" wide X 8" high.

The components described above are just part of what I do. Another creative project is FiberGraf, my collaboration with graffiti artist, Jon Baker. And it's exactly what it sounds like — embroidered graffiti! You can check it out here. Also, the piece at left is Blending Mode, one of our FiberGraf collaborations.

I also teach, which I have touched upon in my blog. There is an art to listening to people's verbal and nonverbal cues and questions so that I can best meet their needs for the limited hours we share together. I am currently expanding my course load and developing new class proposals and ideas. If you'd like to weigh in or find out how to take one of my classes, let me know. In fact, I just set up an Embroidered Portraits class for March at the Textile Art Center of New York in Brooklyn. I can't wait to participate in this burgeoning fiber arts laboratory. For more info on the Textile Art Center, click here.

I love all of the work I do. It gives my life meaning and purpose. All of my projects are my Embroiderography, or stitched autobiography. That is the new umbrella term for my work, and, it is the driving force behind the business I am growing. Embroiderography is how I interact with the world. It will connect me to others who feel a kinship with me through my work and the act of creating itself. In fact, it already has. 

Thursday, January 7, 2010

Vote for Iviva - Artists Wanted Self Portrait Contest

I decided to enter a portrait contest sponsored by Artists Wanted. In addition to a carefully selected jury of curators/art world illuminati, there is a popular vote component to the contest.

I included three of my stitched pieces where my image features prominently. Above is one of the images I included. 

To see the other two images, and to cast your vote in my favor, you can  click here.

Thank you so much for your support. And thanks to the friends who have already voted. I appreciate the love and positive feedback.

Monday, January 4, 2010

Connective Thread at Sweet Lorraine Gallery

This coming Saturday, January 9th, is the opening for Connective Thread, a group fiber exhibit curated by Joetta Maue, a Brooklyn-based embroiderer. You can see her work and learn more about the exhibit here.

If you are in the New York area, I encourage you to visit Red Hook, Brooklyn to check it out. I can't wait to see the installation. The images on Joetta's blog are very promising.

The exhibit is in the Sweet Lorraine Gallery, an artist studio building. The exact address is 183 Lorraine Street, 3rd floor. The closest train is the F to Smith-9th Streets, and then it's a bit of a walk under the BQE. (In fact, this area is part of one of my many running routes.)

As an added bonus, Joetta has invited artists who applied and were not accepted into the show to hang a piece for the night of the opening. I just may join in. 

I am looking forward to a night of inspiring fiber art, and to mingling with my artist peers.

Saturday, January 2, 2010

Your secrets

To be honest, I think I first started this piece at left in 2004. I found it recently during my self-directed apartment/studio makeover, and decided to update it.

This means that I pulled out some of the stitches, replacing them with the red stitching.

"I want to
absorb your
secrets through
the surface of your
skin"


Ahh, to feel that way about someone... I can almost remember it.

Friday, January 1, 2010

Invisible Wife

"I feel like your invisible wife, when I want the title role. Crown me with your love."