Contemporary Embroidery: Developing Your Stitch Vocabulary - MLH workshop, June 5-8, 2025; MacMullen Ctr, MI

Tropical Northern Lights, 2025; 9.5" x 9"

Developing a stitch vocabulary may sound odd, but it means that you explore all the basic embroidery stitches and find which ones really work for you.  For me, hand stitching, or what I call embroidery because it's so much more specific, is what I use to express myself.  My description of the workshop is this:

"For those with an adventuresome spirit, but looking to work in a slower, more contemplative method, students will explore and develop their own “stitched mark” or one’s own personal stitch vocabulary.  These basic stitches will be discussed, explored and used on their fabric to create rhythm, movement, and visual and physical texture to show how versatile each stitch can be in their personal work.  This workshop will strive to have students look at stitching on fabric, not as decorative, but as an expression of themselves---pulling something new and different from inside themselves onto the cloth.  Jennifer will have many samples of her own embroidered pieces, images of contemporary embroiderers’ work from around the world, and books on hand to illustrate art embroidery."

Meditation on Each Red Stripe with Dots

The class has been filled but if you're interested, contact the MLH Registrar at mlhregistrar@gmail.com.  There may be a wait list.

I also teach classes at my home in Byron Center MI.  My website is unavailable right now but leaving a comment message below will work hopefully.

Circle & Dots

New dolls at Synchronicity Art Gallery, Glen Arbor MI - May 2025

Sq Headed Woman
Green Oak Leaf Woman

Synchronicity and my newest dolls!

I just delivered 45 new dolls to Synchronicity Gallery in Glen Arbor, MI.  This is my 18th year being at Synchronicity.  They're under new ownership, Jeff Brandt and his daughter, Katie Brandt, with a lot of new and different work.  They open on this Friday, May 9, and usually close on October 31, although they may stay open longer for the holiday season.

Glen Arbor is an artist and tourist resort destination on Glen Lake, very close to Lake Michigan.  It is filled with galleries, restaurants, and beautiful panoramic views of water and woods.  I hope you can make a visit there.

Synchronicity Art Gallery, 6671 Western Ave, Glen Arbor, MI 49636; (231) 334-4732

   Synchronicity Gallery

Woman Holding a Box #2

My website isn't working right now, so enjoy some of the images of my newest dolls at Synchronicity.  I can't put all of them on since there are 45 but I'll give a sampling of each series.  Thanks for visiting!

Mother and Child 3

Leotard Angel 5/3/25

Button Jester 6-10-21A

Pig-Tailed Sister 4/11/24C

Pig-Tailed Sister 10-29-23E

Little Angel (6" tall) 1/29/23A

Woodland Weaver’s Textile Artist Market TAM

My latest pieces, Pig-Tailed Sisters dressed in vintage hankerchiefs and vintage handmade crocheted lace:

Only a one-day show with the West Michigan Potter's Guild!

Nature Girls - Translate natural items

 

Nature Girl #1

I spent over a month trying to come up with a very different kind of doll.  I wanted one that was enveloped with real leaves, ferns, bark, feathers and flower petals.

Well, those items are fine if they're on something like a wreath that is hung and never touched, just looked at.

A doll is different:  people look but always hold it, touch it, move things around.  So, those real items had to be changed to look alikes.

The ferns became green thread drawings using Solvy.  The end result are the long green ferny lengths on her skirt.

The feathers were photographed (then thrown outside), and then printed on inkjet printer transfer sheets.  There are many out there in the market but I used Jolee's Easy Image Transfer Sheets for Light Fabrics.  After printing on my printer, I cut out the images and ironed them onto light-colored fabric, usually cotton.

The brown "bark" across the shoulders was made using a brown paper grocery bag that I crumpled up, opened and spread out, and then wiped with brown Kiwi shoe polish.  The shoe polish really makes the paper stronger and more long lasting I think.  

Nature Girl #2

 I continued to experiment.  The skirt is kozo fiber dyed in indigo.  The underskirt of white silk is printed with black lines of leaves, and the "Blue Jay" feather across her front is the finished photo transferred print.  

Nature Girl #3 has many of the same adornments and techniques used.  She has rose petals and a large desiccated leaf as her bodice using the printed transferred images.  

I love to use corded tubes for arms, legs and the neck to simply the image and streamline the form.

All the dolls are less than 12" tall.

Close-up of Nature Girl #3

MFA Exhibit at Forest Hills Fine Arts Center

 

Mayfield Fiber Arts Group (MFA) of Grand Rapids will have a fiber art exhibit at the Forest Hills Fine Arts Center, 600 Forest Hill Ave, SE, Grand Rapids MI 49546 from February 14 - March 14, 2024.  

Artists' Reception is Friday, Feb. 16 from 6-7:30pm.  

The exhibit includes textile work by Sue Clarke, Lin Culver, Joan Duggan, Kathy Forzley, Jennifer Gould, Marilyn Greenlee, Elaine Hengen, Linda Ippel, Cyndi Len, Kim McDermott, Eileen Urbanski, and Linda Walburn.  Pieces include both 2-D and 3-D forms in felting, quilting, textile figures and dolls, knitting, and embroidered collages. The Exhibit gallery hours are Monday-Friday 8am-5pm ONLY.  

For more information, contact Jennifer Gould at jgould1526@gmail.com.

My pieces are all tall freestanding dolls.  This first piece at the left is FOREST WOMAN 2 IN BLUE LEAVES, 18.5" tall, collaged and embroidered leaf shapes of painted and arashi shibori indigo dyed cotton, leaf shapes cut from orinui stitched and indigo dyed silk organza, beaded to corded tubes; needle-sculpted face and articulated hands.

PISCES WOMAN 26 WITH SHIMMERING BLUE FISH, 18.5" tall, deconstructed screen printed cotton knit, embroidered, needle-sculpted face and articulated hands.

FOREST WOMAN 3 WITH BROWN LEAVES, 17" tall, eco-printed silk and wool (by Julia Voake), collaged leaf shapes, embroidered, Nuno Co. face, beaded.

FOREST WOMAN 4 WITH GRAY PURPLE LEAVES, 15"tall, eco-printed silk and linen (by Julia Voake), collaged leaf shapes, embroidered, Nuno Co. face, red twig dogwood.

Detail of piece below.

WOMAN HOLDING A BOX 2, 22" tall, handprinted synthetics, beaded, embroidered, corded tubes, needle-sculpted face, articulated hands.

Woman in Green Leaves from 2018 which I redid.  

Green Woman is a very tall 27" with deconstructed screen printed cotton knit which has also been discharged (color removed), and embroidered.

 And a close-up of her face.

Woman in a Cold Winter is also tall.  

Flying Tree has SOLD!

 Flying Tree has sold at the Northville Art House's annual juried exhibit "Small Works."  I am so happy.  It does feel rare to sell one of my tree structures.  Flying Tree is 12" tall x 6" wide x 4.5" deep and can be viewed in the round.  The collaged fabric on the base is machine stitched with a hole in which you can put your hand, if your hand is small enough.  

In the 2nd image of Flying Tree you can see the inside of the top piece which is discharged brown fabric with stripes.

I have more in the Tree Series that I'm hoping to work on in 2023!

2022 Holiday Shows

Dear Followers,

I am truly terrible at keeping up with my blog.  Sorry about that!  So I thought I would take the opportunity to tell you about the three holiday shows I'll be in and give you some ideas of what's new in my work this year.

ArtCats Gallery in Muskegon, Michigan, at www.artcatsgallery.com is an incredibly wonderful little gallery (and not just because my work is there).  The owner, Louise Hopson, is a potter with her studio behind the gallery where she produces quirky and colorful, wild and wonderful pottery displayed in the gallery.  I have my dolls there all year round, fortunately, and usually have Leotard Angels and Big Skirt Angels.  Here are some of the newest ones at the gallery:

Louise also chose four Little Angels, only 6" tall:

LowellArts in downtown Lowell, Michigan, at www.lowellartsmi.org sets up their large gallery space for their annual juried holiday artists market for over 40 artists' work.  I'm a member there and love to have my dolls at the annual show.  My space is a small, narrow one but it fits my work so well.  The show is November 4 - December 24.

I hope you can visit to see everyone's work!

I've been invited back to the BBAC (Birmingham Bloomfield Arts Center) in Birmingham, Michigan (north of Detroit) this year and am so pleased to have my work there.  The Holiday Shop is December 1-20 and they spend all November setting up this wonderful show and sale.  (Check them out at www.BBartscenter.org.)  I have Button Jesters (seen just below), Big Skirt Angels and Ladies, Leotard Angels, Little Angels, as well as a series of dolls I call Imaginary Friends--- lots of fun to create and to see.

I hope you're somewhere in Michigan where you can visit any of these three locations that are spread from the Lake Michigan shore to the eastern side of the state!