It's been a long, cold, lonely winter

As the Beatles sang in "Here Comes the Sun," it HAS been a long, cold, lonely winter. In my case, not terribly lonely, as I teach 4-6 times a week and am surrounded by students ages 6 - 75, so I very often have company and constant conversation.

I've been keeping myself busy, getting ready for an upcoming solo show (opening night Thursday, 2/19!) at IMC Lab and Gallery in Manhattan, 56 West 22nd Street, 6th Floor. I've been making stop motion videos to add texture and elucidate some of the narratives embroidered on my hand held and life sized selfies. Here is a sneak peak of one stop motion piece:

Crustacean support group

"Maybe I have to have a soft shell, be a soft shell crab so that I don't get smashed. But then I'll just end up in someone's sandwich." Crustacean Support Group.

Text by a friend for @EmbroideryPoems, BAC-sponsored project. 2013. 

Embroidery and watercolor on silk. 3"x3.75".

Shorty needlepoint

Overheard at an art opening...

"ShORty NeEdLEPoiNt with thE tiGht a$$." 2013
Embroidery on fabric. For @EmbroideryPoems

The nano-satellite of my sorrow

Thanks to Olisa Corocan for the text. This piece is for her - it's her "found
poem" from the June 6 poetry reading at 61 Local. A pleasure to make this!

Spelling Lesson, by Kevin Kinsella

Poem "Spelling Lesson" by Kevin Kinsella. Embroidery by Iviva Olenick. 2013.

Creamsicle by @EmbroideryPoems

"Orange Brooklyn - Running under a creamsicle-colored sky."
2013. Embroidery and watercolor on fabric.
Text by @EmbroideryPoems. 

Get Out of My Dreams

Text by poet @melissabroder

"get out of my dreams and into my fear"

Dad Knows Best

Thanks, Dad.

#LovePermanence

GoogleSex

Thanks @melissabroder, poet whose work I love, for the text for this embroidered tweet. I loved Melissa's book, "Meat Heart." I recommend checking out her work, and Sorry House, which includes some of her poet friends.

Emotional Mollusks

My own "tweet."

Dad knows best, part 1

Thanks, Dad for this tweet-length poem.

Poems to come/ in process

One of my favorite poets sent me some poems to embroider via email, each one carefully considered and rendered in 140 or fewer characters:

Can't wait to stitch these! 

Thanks to my father, Monte Olenick. Is he trying to tell me something in the last tweet?!


















Look out for my forthcoming embroideries with #Dadknowsbest!

@Spencermadsen #dateme

Text by @spencermadsen

Thanks for this entertaining bit of self deprecation!

Embroidery on fabric. 2013. @spencermadsen #dateme

Embroidered Tweets and Love Notes, Saturday at 3rd Ward

Dear blog readers,

Some fun things are brewing. I recently added a whole bunch of new classes to my 3rd Ward embroidery workshops roster.

This Saturday is Embroidered Tweets and Love Notes - perfect for beginners! Sign up now via 3rd Ward's web site. The deadline to enroll is Thursday, so don't miss out!

As I mentioned, the class is this Saturday, 12/1, from 1:30-5:30 at 3rd Ward in Bushwick, Brooklyn.

Please (@artweeklylondon)

"Please." 2012. Embroidery on fabric dyed with purple onion skins.
@artweeklylondon

Hash tags make it a tweet, right?

Love Heals.

So excited for Dumbo Arts Festival 2012, and the Embroidered Tweet Confessional!

I received my first confession for my upcoming project at the Dumbo Arts Festival, "Embroidered Tweet/Post-it Note Confessional."

If you are in New York, join me on Saturday and Sunday, September 29-30 in Dumbo, 1-4pm, and share your confession(s) with me.

Or, send me a tweet:
@IvivaOlenick.

Tweets

For a while, I was calling my small-scale embroideries "post-it notes." After last Wednesday's artist talk at the Center for Book Arts, or even before that, I realized that they follow the 140 or fewer character constraint of Twitter. They're embroidered tweets! 

Watch out for the end of September, when I will participate in the Dumbo Arts Festival. 

Saturday and Sunday, 9/29–9/30, from 1-4pm both days, I will conduct the Embroidered Tweet/Post-it Note Confessional. Get your stories, secrets, and wishes ready for me. If you want to get a jump start, send me a tweet now to @IvivaOlenick. Your confession must fit within the 140 or fewer character limit!

More details to come regarding the Dumbo Arts Festival, where I will be collecting confessions on-site and embroidering, adding to a growing on-site installation.

In the meantime, here are some of my latest tweets. As per the one that says, "Still looking for someone who will see in me all the things there are to love. Someone other than my mom, that is," love from Mom can be the best kind of love.