Style 2016 in Palo Alto/ Mountain View

Style 2016 in Palo Alto/ Mountain View

Apr 18, 2016 | Creativity, Designers, Sales, Uncategorized

Style 2016 in Palo Alto/ Mountain View

This year’s Style show went smoothly in spite of the rain. And we were happy about that. Attendance was high, I loved my neighbors. On one side was Slice lab, a couple of guys using a 3-d printer to create jewelry. Fun pieces, some necklaces looking like they were made of tiny bleached bones. And very reasonable prices. I bought one that is ivory colored looking like many rubber bands strung together. Can I just say it’s hard not to buy something from your neighbor?!

On the other side was Old House—Sandra Althouse, making ponchos and dresses from old cashmere sweaters and remnants of knits or velvet. She went on a Paris tour with Marcy Tilton and so we had to send Marcy a picture of us together. I ended up with a graphic black and white dress of unknown fiber content and a wonderful poncho gradating from dark blues to light robins egg blues. She got a terra-cotta scarf! A shout out to her son, Xander, who helped me schlepp my fabulous and very heavy mirror. I couldn’t have done it without him!

The clothes I worked so hard to make were appreciated and purchased by happy women. I am gratified when I have been at my creative edge to have the confirmation that the work is good, will be worn and give pleasure to the wearer and the observer.

And I will say again how wonderful it is to be among my peers, to be energized by what they are making and they by what I am doing. I need, and I think all of us who work in isolation, need a fertile ground to exchange ideas and gossip and love each other up. And eat fine Korean food!! We do need the audience and hopefully we will continue to have one. Thanks to Diane Master for providing the venue!

Making yardage for Catherine Bacon’s art kimonos!

Making yardage for Catherine Bacon’s art kimonos!

Feb 18, 2016 | Commissions, Creativity, Designers, Process, Studio

Making yardage for Catherine Bacon’s art kimonos!

I make fabric for Catherine Bacon about twice a year. When I was doing yardage for her a couple of years ago, it became more full-time than I wanted. I liked having a steady paycheck, but I missed out selling at other venues ie: the Santa Fe Weaving Gallery, and at the Acqua hotel sales.

As I do love keeping my hands in many pots and in keeping with how Catherine’s business was changing, when she decided to hire surface artists to make one of a kind yardage for her Art Kimonos, I jumped at the chance.

She sends me old remnants of her double georgette, this time in “butt ugly” colors (her words). I love the challenge of painting them into something beautifully mysterious at the same time using up the old fabric from previous collections.

In the past I have planned the fabric to fit her pattern, motif-wise. This time I painted and screened a design not knowing where the pattern would lay. That was a holdover from the Diane Ericson/ Gwen Spencer way of working at the Taos Design outside the Lines 2015. Very freeing.

I would love to see how they turn out. However, Catherine doesn’t usually document each one. That’s another reminder of the fleeting connection I have to these wonderful pieces.

3 Cruzianas: Winter Painting

3 Cruzianas: Winter Painting

Jan 22, 2016 | Classes, Creative Space, Creativity, Process

3 Cruzianas: Winter Painting

The group is getting distilled. From eleven to five to three. And the three are passionate painters. Because they have already been en studio, there was an idea of what was possible. Sharon brought a packet of images to be made into silk screens she had designed. Each had brought pre-washed fabrics to sample. I had mixed 3 large jars of “chem”,  the thickened mixture we add the dyes to for flat painting. And I had extra mesh for making the silk screens. Set to go.

The 1st day was getting our priorities established.  Silk screening first so it can “batch” and soak up the black dye. Then getting started on painting yardage of different fabrics. They had purchased some natural wool flannel at my source, and had bought the striped cotton/linen they had fallen in love with at the last workshop. Plus bits and pieces of other interesting cottons and velvet. Lisa brought a dynamite shantung organza. I’m going to go right out and get me some! Such body and texture. Love it!

The time seemed to tear by at a rapid clip. Every available rack and ladder was covered with drying fabrics. We ran out of painting tables. I mixed more dye. There was still more to work on. So much so that we added on a day  in order to let the pieces dry, make the silk screens  and possibly paint one more hunk of fabric.

All the while I was fighting a cold, and what I noticed was as the days progressed and  the excitement of sharing in the creative process, by the last day I felt healed. It was amazing. There was such a flow and sympatico between us, these women who have spent time together in a creative container. I was very honored to be part of their history and provide new horizons for their work.

Cracked Open in Taos / DOL 2015

Cracked Open in Taos / DOL 2015

Oct 22, 2015 | Commissions, Creativity, Designers, Process, Studio

Cracked Open in Taos / DOL 2015

A year ago Diane Ericson asked me to be a guest teacher in Taos for her Design Outside the Lines workshop series. I immediately said yes. Why wouldn’t I want to be at Mabel Dodge Luhan House sharing what I know best with 20 women I had never met?

The excitement started building as I gathered supplies that needed to be shipped beforehand. Okay -I needed to make sloppy bags for holding scraps. Check. Okay -I need to bring all the Solvys. Check. I needed to pack what’s on my rack. Check. Okay -I needed to make some more pieces to show my technique. Check.

In the meantime my sleep is getting rattled. The energy is ramping up. It’s gonna be okay- I can do this, I remind myself.

After spending some days with my Albuquerque brother exploring Puyé cliff dwellings, I headed up to Taos via Santa Fe to see Elise and crew from Santa Fe Weaving Gallery. I met Diane at Mabel’s. We chatted and went to Love Apple for dinner. We share our life’s stories. A connection was made.

The next day the women start arriving. We set up the log cabin, where Diane has her store and we have our “products”. There we gathered in the late afternoon after dinner and introduced ourselves. My mouth is dry. 20 women.

But the room is cozy and we are all here for the same reason: to create, to share, to support the process of creativity and exploration.

Monday starts off with a bang. We do our demos. I am demo-ing my Pelt solvy technique, a thick dense composition of scraps, that could become clothing as in: what would the modern Neanderthal wear? In the afternoon, I demo the Dervish technique, how to lay out your fabric scraps with a pattern in mind.

Diane meanwhile is really speaking to the heart of playing/ exploring vs. the psychology of the workshop mentality, ie. I have to finish something to show what I did when I spent this time with myself. Doing vs. being.

What cracked me open was her talk about her “birthday” shirt. It is a special process she does for herself every year. She creates a theme for the shirt, in this case lightness, and brings that into play. She started by playing with paper airplanes, then folded airplanes out of cotton to use as a pocket, and stenciled

airplanes onto the shirt fabric. But it was really the way she talked about making time for herself and honoring herself that moved me. By the time I got up to present I broke out into tears. The thing was- that was perfectly okay. Everyone got what was happening. Everyone was right there, no judgment.

DOL is a safe place to be your most vulnerable. And as a result every one is open and supportive. Diane is a marvelous storyteller. She has comic timing. And yet there is room for the tender sharing of our hearts.

The time flew by. Some people made and completed items. Most did not. Most tried things out: stenciling, screening, pulling cording, making frogs, composing fabric, hand stitching. I made a purse/bag. I was happy to take part of the stitching process.

Next time I’ll be a student. Gwen Spencer, the very talented assistant said at the end to me: be a student. I’m taking her advice. I’m taking DOL in Taos where she’ll be the guest teacher.

The last day as we sat in a big circle I can safely say all our hearts were more open, that we were all bonded, all filled with new ideas and excited about the next creative step. I was honored to be a part of that experience.

Love Fest In Santa Cruz

Love Fest In Santa Cruz

Apr 16, 2015 | Classes, Creativity, Process

Love Fest In Santa Cruz

Okay—I don’t think I have ever taught 11 women, and schlepped all my scraps, sewing machine, artworks and clothing anywhere. But when I was invited to work with this close knit group of artist/sewers I jumped on the opportunity. I love to teach. It is such a perfect balance of give and take.

I tried to come up with a curriculum, but the years have taught me to fill in as I go along. I know what I am doing. Do I get nervous? Yes, but then we get into the flow, that all melts away. I am there to share and they are rapt listeners. And they in turn gift me with their ways of doing things and their vulnerability.

We started with show and tell, examining all seams stitches and cuts of the garment. Then I talk about the mystery process of SOLVY, the dissolvable interfacing.

Sunday I do another demo of my Dervish process: collaging pre-painted fabric together into a vest shape. There again everyone has their way of assembling and approach to composing. But I hope I offer another way of seeing. It is wonderful to watch these women using all their senses to create in a new way.

We have a final critique of the SOLVY pieces and vests before we break up. It is rewarding for us to share in the process, elevating the work to a new level, seeing with new eyes.