An old New York that you don't really see...

I am thrilled to have made major progress on these coordinated pieces. The embroidered painting and doll share the memories and stories of a native New Yorker (Queens born) who now lives in Brooklyn and has seen the borough go through many changes.

As I continue developing Native/Immigrant City, my embroidered study of assimilation versus acculturation in richly textured, socioeconomically challenging Brooklyn, I am excited to find stories like these from natives. I also want to thank the Greater NY Arts Development Fund of the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs administered by BAC for partial sponsorship of this project.

Coming up in May, I will be sharing the techniques I use to make the above pieces at Brooklyn Workshop Gallery at 393 Hoyt Street in Brooklyn near 3rd Street (and not too far from Whole Foods). Martine Bisagni, Director of the Gallery, is kindly hosting a Sewing and Embroidery Studio on Thursday May 21 and 28 and June 4th from 1-9pm. I will be on site from 6-9pm on those dates, sharing my techniques and processes and teaching embroidery basics.

Stitch with me this September (and October and November)

Hi fellow artists, craftspeople, creatives, designers, lovers of fun and Brooklyn.

Let's embroider together this fall. Upcoming workshops include:

FOR BEGINNERS ~

1. Embroidery 101 @ 61 Local

61 Bergen Street, Brooklyn (near Smith Street and the F/G trains to Bergen Street)

Wednesday, 9/14, 7-8:30pm with instructor (me) available until 9pm
This is a total intro class where you will learn basic stitches. Within the first half hour, you will be able to stitch your name.

Cost is $35 including supplies. Sign up on skillshare:

http://www.skillshare.com/Embroidery-101/591490391

2. Classes at 3rd Ward in Bushwick, Brooklyn

Sunday, 9/18, 11am-2pm

Saturday, 10/15, 1:30-4:30pm

Saturday, 11/19, 1:30-4:30pm
$60 + $10 materials fee

You can sign up for one session; each session is 3 hours
Info covered: basic stitches + techniques for transferring images onto fabric and drawing and writing with thread.

Link for more info and registration:
http://www.3rdward.com/3rdwardclasses/extraordinary-embroidery.html

FOR BEGINNERS, EXPERTS AND EVERYONE IN BETWEEN:
3. Pratt CCPS, 144 West 14th Street, NYC, F/L/1/2/3 to 14th Street
The Embroidered Art Journal, Design and Craft Projects

This class is the most in depth, and allows you to develop a project from conception through technical trouble shooting with instructor and peer feedback and support.

PMDA-106-01
October 16 - November 20
Sunday mornings, 9:30am-12:30pm
$305

PMDA-106-02
September 16 - October 28
Fridays, 6:30-9:30pm
$305

http://my.pratt.edu to register or 212-647-7199

Can't Wait!

I am so excited about my upcoming classes at Pratt. I especially love my Embroidered Art Journal class, a practical and creative intro to embroidery that fuses fiber arts with book making, and even talks about blogs as an art form and an extension of artists' contemporary practices. I have taught this class 3 times already, and I swear it improves each time. I have had such wonderful students, who have helped me hone the syllabus.

Are you in the NY area? Then sign up and join me for a class!!

http://my.pratt.edu

Do you have friends who are curious about embroidery? Get them involved, too. 

For all course listings, visit my bio on Pratt's web site. 

Hurry up! Classes start soon and I would love to meet and work with you!

Get stitchy in April

Over the course of teaching the past few years, I've created numerous stitch samplers. I have also discovered which types of stitches seem to confound and confuse, and which bring nearly instant delight and gratification. I like to challenge and reward my students, and I always learn from them. 

By the end of a single, 3-hour class, students are able to embroider their names using a combination of different stitches, and begin a portrait or drawing.

If you'd like to learn with me, here are some workshops in April:

1. 5 weeks of studio time with Iviva - The Embroidered Art Journal class at Pratt Center for Continuing and Professional Studies (14th Street and 7th Ave in Manhattan):

5 Wednesdays:

April 21 - May 19th, 6:30-9:30pm

Registration:

http://my.pratt.edu

212-647-7199

After mastering a dozen stitches for decorative and practical use, we will explore a range of methods for interpreting photographs as embroideries, drawing with thread, and transferring images and text onto fabric.

The goal is for each student to embark on a personal project that incorporates embroidery and narrative. Mixed media projects are encouraged.

Previous students have worked on a wide range of pursuits: one is in the process of making a book for her soon-to-be grandchild, another did preparatory work for exhibition pieces for a show. Students experimented with non-traditional materials, like sewing on bubble wrap and other forms of packaging. Some created sculptural "landscapes" by manipulating fabric and thread. Others reinterpreted their own drawings and illustrations using fabric and thread.

The possibilities for this class are endless...

2. Saturday, April 3rd (next weekend!!) 3 hours of studio time

3rd Ward in Williamsburg, Brooklyn

3-6pm

For more info and to register: 3rd Ward

Get an early start to the evening by joining me for a 3-hour embroidery-athon.

In addition to tackling stitches from the sampler up top, we will review methods for transferring images onto fabric, and for interpreting graphic images and photographs as embroideries. 

I will supply materials. Come with your favorite fabric, a piece in progress, and any questions you may have. 

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.