Tuesday, February 28, 2017

LowellArts: West Michigan Art Competition


Leaves: Rising from Below by Jennifer Gould; 8.5" x 9.5", monoprinted,
stamped, embroidered; 2016
I entered two pieces and this first piece, Leaves: Rising from Below, was chosen.  I love both pieces but I'm not only glad this one got in (I angsted about this piece--- it's shape, the heavy dark rectangle on top and its subtlies) but that one got in at all.  I wondered if I had a better chance because the juror, Nichole Maury, is the WMU Assoc. Prof in printmaking (plus the curator of the their Gwen Frostic School of Art).  Since this is monoprinted, maybe she was more sensitive to choosing it.  I do believe it's difficult to figure out what jurors truly want so I always put in my latest best work.

Both pieces were "bare" fabric with raw edges and not framed but mounted on a purchased stretched canvas frame on the back.

Leaves: Time Mended by Jennifer Gould; 9" x 6", monoprinted,
stamped, embroidered; 2016
The second piece, "Leaves: Time Mended," is small with irregular and asymmetrical outside edges.  This asymmetrical shape is something I love and I've been working on this since my Water Series in 2015.

The show is March 4-April 15 with the reception on Thurs., March 9, 5:30-8:30pm.  Too bad there are two receptions on the same evening as I'm going to the Postcard Salon reception that evening!

Saturday, February 11, 2017

Postcard Salon: Muskegon Museum of Art - Feb. 23 - March 9

Postcard #1: Leaf on Maroon Water
I love working on this small-scale 4"x6" postcard size and each year challenge myself to a new group of 5 cards.

Postcard #2:  Four Leaves
This year's postcards are my mono printed leaves on either cotton or acetate muslin with embroidery.
Postcard #3:  One Leaf Floating

Most of the work is done on a plexiglass plate with textile paint, and a brayer pulled through the paint for the organic lines.
Postcard #4:  Three Floating Leaves

Beech and elm leaves are my favorite because of their very 3-D veins.  These are placed on the plexiglass and paint and the brayer run over them, picking up paint (or you can put the leaf down first before you pull the paint down the plate with the brayer).
Postcard #5:  Leaves Under Water

The leaves can then be picked up from the plate and laid on fabric (cover with more fabric) and brayered (two prints created on top and bottom).  Then either lay a piece of fabric on the plate, or pick up the plate and put it on fabric (I find the latter way much easier and accurate).  So much fun and experimentation!

Then comes the fun of stitching it and subtlety here is the key.  Most of the stitching is only using one strand of embroidery floss and embroidered just enough to inform the viewer and have them step closer and closer to get a very intimate experience of the surface.

Thursday, March 9, 5:30pm is the reception (great food!) and at 7pm is the sale of the postcards.  I love this event before anyone (anyone!) can enter up to 5 postcards, even children, without a cost to them, and see their work displayed at the museum.  Each postcard is sold for $30, with $15 going to the artist and $15 to the museum.  It's a fabulous way to begin anyone's journey in the world of Art.

Saturday, February 4, 2017

Celebration of the Arts 2017: Update

Pisces Woman 23:
Blue Anemone
My previous post showed the two fabric collage pieces I had finished for the First United Methodist Church's "The Celebration of the Arts."  Well, when it actually got to submitting them for jurying, I changed my mind and put in "Pisces Woman 23: Blue Anemone" and "Woman in a Cold Winter."
Woman in a Cold Winter

My friend and textile artist, Dolores Slowinski, didn't think that my two fabric collages were my best work.... I like them a lot, especially the first one with the black and white and gray areas that reminded me of dark snow clouds and all the blue.  But a comment from a friend of hers about my Water Series (he loved the fact that the pieces were not square or rectangular, but asymmetrical) made me realize that THAT was what I had forgotten and wanted to do more of.  So I'm going to go back and possibly rework them to make them have some edges that push the frame.