Fiber-Art Postcards Lecture

Linda with her display boards for the lecture, featuring
fiber-art postcards from many friends, as well as her own.

Last week, FiberVoices member Linda Teddlie Minton presented her lecture, "You Mean I Can Mail This?" at the Baytown Area Quilt Guild in Baytown, Texas.  The one-hour program included ideas and techniques for creating fiber-art postcards, as well as tips for mailing them through the Postal Service. A 4-page handout was included, so that guild members could begin their own postcard exchange groups.

FiberVoices featured in Quilting Arts

Artist and writer Lynn Krawczyk wrote about us this month (October/November 2013 issue 65) of Quilting Arts Magazine.in her regular column, Replenishing Your Creative Well.  It was a nicely balanced combination of interview and pictures.  We're all very happy to have been featured in this, one of our favorite magazines about the fiber arts.

Final Days of my Residency at The Houston Center for Contemporary Craft

My artists' residency ended August 31.  I feel that this was the single best artistic experience I have ever had.  In so many ways it allowed me to grow artistically and opened my eyes to the many wonderful things which are happening in the art world.  I will always treasure that experience and I hope that the incoming artists for the 2013-2014 year have an equally good time!
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The final part of the residency was capped with the Resident show.  Here is a portion of the blurb from the Houston Center for Contemporary Craft:

IN RESIDENCE: WORK BY
2012 RESIDENT ARTISTS

August 2, 2013 — November 15, 2013
In the Artist Hall

Opening Reception
Friday, August 2, 5:30 – 7:00 PM
A few of the artists will discuss their work
during an informal artist talk at 5:30 PM.

Houston Center for Contemporary Craft (HCCC) presents In Residence, an exhibition of work created by the eight artists who began their residencies at HCCC in 2012: Tarina Frank, Chanda Glendinning, Susan Fletcher King, Jessica Kreutter, Susannah Mira, Jaydan Moore, Robert Thomas Mullen, and Rachelle Vasquez.
Each fall, the In Residence exhibition celebrates work by resident artists, derived from or inspired by their residencies at HCCC. This exhibition demonstrates the high level of creativity and skill reflected in each resident artist’s work. While engaging the greater world of contemporary craft, the HCCC Artist Residency Program gives its selected resident artists a studio space within an environment that encourages collaboration, experimentation, and a forum in which to exchange ideas and receive advice from peers.

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At the opening, each of us (artists) had the opportunity to give a short talk about our work and the exhibit.  This was really fun and we had a much larger crowd than anyone expected.  It felt good to see so many turn out for the show and everyone seemed really interested in what each of us had to say.  Good memories!

 

Inspiration from Hoffman Fabric

This year’s Hoffman Challenge fabric “K7126_136G Peacock Gold” (Fig.1) inspired Nancy, who has been participating in this annual challenge for several years. She studied the fabric and decided that the round gold-outlined medallions resembled “coins” (Fig. 2). She then mentally created a scenario to guide her in the design process. Her resulting quilt, “Payment In Gold” (Fig. 3), captures a moment in time of a knight purchasing his prospective dinner of pheasants from a local huntsman.

Nancy fussy cut the fabric’s leaves to make the huntsman’s forest cape, added the quiver strap across his chest, and spent time carefully hand cutting rows of “feathers” to achieve a believable visual narrative. For the knight, a richly embroidered tunic over chain mail establishes his ability to command a pouch full of gold coins.

She had fun incorporating layers of a silver party fabric for the chain mail and using Razzle Dazzle thread for embroidery “bling” on the tunic. Special attention went into creating the appliquéd hands by first painting the fabric and then using thread painting for the final effect (Fig.4).




(Fig. 1) Peacock Gold fabric

(Fig. 2) One of the "coins"

(Fig. 3) "Payment In Gold" finished quilt

(Fig. 4) Detail of hands















I Created the Fabric, Now What?

In March, 2013, Connie, Linda and Nancy met at Connie's beach cabin and spent a few days painting fabric.  They decided to do a group effort on three different pieces - a colored piece in spring colors, a black on white (flora theme), and white on black (fauna theme) (see Fig. 1 - Connie's fabric).  The colored piece was painted first, with everyone moving around the work to cover the area.  When finished, it was cut into 3 equal pieces and distributed among them.  By the third work, white on black, they were all becoming "territorial" when it came to the section they knew would be theirs.  Great fun was had by all.

Connie was the first to cut into her new fabric.  She decided to use the black on white as a background for a floral arrangement, the white on black as the container and dark leaves, and other painted fabric for the floral arrangement.  Two commercial fabrics were used:  brown/white circles and dark green floral greenery.  Her work-in-progress photo shows a whole host of problems - overwhelming background, underwhelming floral arrangement, etc. (Fig. 2).  A white Gesso wash and a little more life in the floral arrangement solved the problem (Fig. 3).

           Connie's Panels-Approx. 18"x48"  (Fig. 1)

 

 

 

 

               Problems-Work-in-Progress        (Fig.2)

 

 

 

 

     Corrections- Finished Work - 16-3/4" x 25-3/4" 

                                                                    (Fig. 3)

 

 

 

 

 

Connie Fahrion in Quilting Arts Magazine - again!

Our own Connie Marie Fahrion has a new article in the current issue of Quilting Arts Magazine (April/May 2013).  Her article on creating innovative paper quilts using coffee filters, paper towels, paints, inks and dyes, is lots of fun and gives a wonderfully different take on art quilting.  Check it out!

See the Quilting Arts Magazine information here.

The Art in Fiber, 2013

Gerald and Debbie Tobola have done it again ... created their annual fiber-art show at their Copper Shade Tree Gallery in Round Top, Texas.  The artworks, all submitted by Texas fiber artists, were juried into the show by none other than Karey Bresenhan, Founder and President of Quilts, Inc.  Here are a few pictures from the opening and the following day's brunch. 

Debbie & Gerald Tobola ... true friends of the artist.

Susan Fletcher King and Mary Ann Littlejohn in the front,
Connie Fahrion and Linda Teddlie Minton in the back.

A fabulous Artist's Brunch was held for us by Angela Allen and Julie Maffei, art patrons and supporters of Texas artists, who just happen to be sisters.  It was held at the beautiful old Menke House at Festival Hill. I understand that Menke House is available for weddings and receptions, and if I ever wanted another wedding, that's where I'd have it!

Menke House

The gorgeous meal was served up by a very impressive chef whose name I neglected to write down.  He was roundly applauded for the outstanding brunch he served, which included the tenderest brisket I've ever tasted, an exquisite smoky smoked salmon, and hand-churned ice cream.

Le Chef made a brief appearance after our appetites had been sated ...
this was a very long-distance photo from the back of the room,
sorry for the blurriness!

Some of the artists lined up before the grand staircase.  Gerald and Debbie Tobola are on the stairs,
and Julie Maffei is on the far right in the colorful jacket.

Gerald and Debbie giving a brief thank-you to Angela Allen (center)
and her sister, Julie Maffei (who had just stepped out of frame!)
We would like to add our thanks to these two generous women of the arts.

There's Julie!  Laughing as usual, and
so, of course, is blurry in the picture.
Thanks again, Julie and Angela!