"Process Goes Public" and the beginning of a new body of work

From December through January, I was invited to participate in an exhibition at the Mills Gallery with 8 other artists from my studio building. The show was a bit unusual as it meant to show the creative process of each artist instead of finished work. I was reluctant to participate at first; I thought that one can be in a rather vulnerable place when creating and to put yourself on the public square at that time could be a bit scary and inhibiting. On the other hand, Debra Olin, who curated the show, convinced me that I would enjoy an empty space, away from my leather work and I welcomed the opportunity to dedicate time to work on something new. Had I not committed to the show, I would have started designing a spring collection of bags, so it felt like a treat to move into a brand new space, empty of anything but what I chose to bring down to work on. 

Here are some pics of what happened during that month..

 

I started from these soft sculptures I made a couple of years back, thinking it would be cool to make some big ones that would transform the space. For some reason, I felt compelled to weave so I made yarn out of used t-shirts.

 

It quickly became obvious that it would take time to finish even one.. luckily, some of the BCA interns were keen to help out. Here, Helen started building the second piece while I kept weaving on the first one.

As time went, I was weaving tighter and tighter (when do you stop???), and it took a life of its own. 

The second one is much wider and might not be totally finished yet, but I like all the empty space, maybe in reaction to the first one that is woven so tight:

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Et voila.. I like the shadows they projected on the wall - a life of their own too. 

I'm now looking forward to make a few more, see where they go.. Stay tuned!

 

Los Talleres - Day 13 (already??) - New Work in Progress

 

I found these natural fiber scrubbing pads the other day at the market and had to get a few.. love their soft white color, and they just seemed to be piles of threads rolled up together and flattened in shape.

They seem to call for some stitching and they've started to morph into a shape of their own:  

It does seem that I'm more and more drawn to work in 3D. The netting has been recurring too - I started collecting nets a couple of years back and now seem to want to make some type of my own, over things or between things.. I think of the weavings on the small branches as netting too.I think I"m going to try to experiment with different kind of stitches too.

Hard to believe I'm almost at half time here..


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Los Talleres - Day 2

So here I am in Los Talleres, an artist retreat just outside of San Miguel de Allende in Mexico. "Retreat" is the key word here, since this is what you see when you turn left and right:

I'm sorry if the photos appear a bit weird (stripes?), they seem to not want to download properly.

Anyhow, once I got past the first "shock" that I was indeed going to be staying in such a remote place for a month (the urban dweller that I am realized I NEVER experienced that :), I find it exciting to finally have the time to do artwork. The last few months have been so busy making leather bags that I am really looking forward to just make art without having to think "product" (by the way, new bags were posted on Etsy last week and I will post a few more by tomorrow, so check it out here).

This is Harriet, one of the two dogs to keep me company (along a with a lovely couple who manages the place, Raleigh and Evan).

And here's the studio:

I a bit wish that I would have an art project already started and felt a bit intimidated at first, thinking of all the time that's available to me and no specific idea.. However,  before I left, I dreamt that I was going to swaddle some trees or bushes in pink yarn  so I started swaddling some thorny dead branches:

Who knows where that will go but it's a start..

Thank you!

We had fantastic Open Studios last week end with record attendance and very constructive feedback. Thanks to all who came - their continuous support is always greatly appreciated.  For those of you who didn't make it, here's a peek inside my studio, cleaned up - despite what you may think (yes.. it was worse before..):

Stitch and Tickle Bags

Pillows on Stitch and Tickle, Soft Sculptures, Teabag Panel

Soft Sculptures

Soft Sculptures

Hand Knitted Paper Yarn Lamp & Teabag Sculpture / Installation

Panel with dyed doilies (in progress)

Hand Knitted Paper Yarn Panel

Linen window panel

Now back to work...

Work in Progress

Just a little over 3 weeks til the annual South End Open Studios... and with a couple of trips already planned, time is going to fly..

I am keeping busy in the studio trying to finish miscellaneous projects, such as this leather lace pillow made out of piece of leather I found in NY a few months back:

The leather seems to have been lasercut and printed (light drawing lines that outline the cut motifs). It's really beautiful but too thin to make a bag or a garment so there, a pillow will do :).

Also, very much into clutches these days so I made this one out of brown leather than has a bit of an antique finish (I still have to shoot it to put up on Etsy..):

And I started working with the new leathers I got for the fall. I am getting a bit frustrated with my sewing machine when the leather is very soft so I doing more hand-stitching. Here's the first bag I made:

That picture is taken with the Iphone so it doesn't show the color well but it's a warm grey which I'm totally in love with..

Also just put this new Ipad Case in the Etsy shop:

I'm thinking of doing some in different leathers for men, maybe?

In the meantime, that one is having a great time:

even if he often hates to admit it:

Oops Master Pouter

Man..I hope I come back as him if I do..

The Stitch and Tickle Store Now Open on Etsy!

Yes! If you've been reading this blog for a while, you might have seen a few comments here and there about me toying with the idea of opening an online store.. During the last couple of months, I decided to embrace the fact that I am indeed a maker, and that I would much prefer to make beautiful things and sell them rather than go back to a corporate job (who wouldn't actually??). I realize it could be a long way before it is successful  but decided to give it a try and stick to it. So far, the journey has been pure bliss - I love going in to the studio every day and just make things. I am of course inspired by materials and enjoy working with beautiful linens, soft leather, unusual yarns, etc.. I found this amazing leather hides a couple of months ago in NYC and I started making bags.

Sitting at the computer to get everything set up has surely felt more like work, but today, I finally started posting the first few wares on Etsy, all made by me :)

While this may look like a handbag store right now (it is!), it is my intention to add other items such as jewelry, home accessories, and whatever else I'll come up with. So stay tuned, visit often (I plan to post a couple of times a week) and please please please,  let me know what you think!

Oh, and if you are a follower of this blog, you get a 15% discount on any order placed between now and Sunday, midnight, Eastern Time (discount doesn't apply on shipping or tax).  So please visit the shop and see if you like anything (enter coupon code: OPENINGFRIENDS)!

Thank you for your continued support! It is always SO appreciated.

Community Art Garden at Figment Boston 2011

We had a great time yesterday at Figment, planting our Community Art Garden!  It was amazing to see so many people wanting to participate, people of all ages, genders, races, you name it.. We had just enough sweaters (phew... a huge thanks to all who donated their rags..)  and a lot of fun.

We started from this (Silvia's outfit gives you an idea of the brisk weather conditions):

and worked our way to this:

I wish I would have had time to shoot better overall pictures but it was just too busy..

I'm not sure what I liked  most - seeing people so craving to MAKE something with their own hands, chosing the materials and colors, taking the time to put the flowers together, or seeing all the different flowers at the end, reflecting everyone's personality and taste.  It was just great. People were so thankful for the opportunity too, you realize how most have lost touch with the act of making and creating. It was somehow  reassuring to see people getting so much into it. I think a lot of them forget that it is part of our nature to create and that we are all MAKERS.   

A huge thanks again to my dear friend  Silvia for being so helpful and instrumental in the completion of this project, and for braving the cold!

More pics here and on flickr