A Challenge

Every year our InspiredArts group sets up a challenge. 

This year the challenge - determined at our January meeting - is the word "Freedom" and will be shown and discussed at our July meeting.  We may do whatever we wish with the word which gives each of us the 'freedom' to explore this challenge.

I read definitions of the word.  I pondered the word and its meaning to me.  I pondered the word and its meaning to others.  Basically I just 'pondered' for 5 months!

At last an idea formed - at first quite vaguely and finally with enough substance that I could move forward.  I can't show you what my idea is or even what form it will take but I show here a few bits and pieces that might/will make their way into my view of freedom.

This story is to be continued...

2011 Challenge

Our InspiredArts Guild met the last week.  On the agenda was a decision regarding the 2011 challenge.  Several suggestions, ideas and random thoughts were made.  We ended up choosing Paul Klee's painting "The Balloon".  Everyone is fascinated by the images that this painting evokes.  The colors are a plus too - although we are not limited by color nor even by design.  Each of us will take this picture and redesign it in our own way.

Among our members' skills are felting, rug hooking, punchneedle, jewelry, beading, photography, stitchery - need I go on!  I can only imagine what each person will create with inspiration from this picture.

Luckily for us, and by design, we have given ourselves until the August meeting to meet the challenge.  I can hardly wait until the unveiling in August -- but then I don't want to hurry it because I too will be meeting this deadline and no there's no fun in hurrying!

"Art washes away the dirt of everyday life" - Anonymous

Fiber Arts Show

Last Friday night was the opening reception for the Fiber Arts show in Hendersonville.  This show was held at our local Arts Council.  

Our community is rich with fiber artists -- those who quilt and weave -- those who stitch using embroidery or punchneedle or cross stitch -- those who felt wool and silk -- those who create fabric collages and art dolls.  What a place to live!!!

There were three of us from the InspiredArts Guild who had submitted pieces to the show.  Happily each of us won a prize.  How wonderful was that! 

Elynn Bernstein, our resident felter, won 1st prize in wearables.  She created a lovely felted vest.  I'm only sorry that I don't have a picture of her vest - I'm showing instead a couple of her felted hats so that you can see samples of her beautiful work.

Peggy O'Connor won 2nd prize in 2D with her piece "Gulls' World".  This fiber picture has it all.  Embroidery, beading, dyed ribbons, texture, color and a beautiful theme.  Peggy loves the ocean and her work often interprets her seaside dreams.

Lastly, I won 2nd prize in 3D with my "Pomme Fairy" art doll.  I was thrilled and I think Pomme felt the same way because I just know that I spotted an extra twinkle in her eyes as they laid that red ribbon at her base.

All of us create because we love to do it. All of us love the process, the hours spent pounding felt or stitching tiny beads or putting our hand to whatever is in front of us.  Receiving an award is like icing on the cake.  I'm so happy to be involved with this talented group of women.  All of our members are artists in their own right - but much more important to me - they are my friends!

"Friendship is a single soul dwelling in two bodies". -- Aristotle

Art Guild Challenge - Part 3

I wish you all could have been there to see the revealed challenge pieces in person.  What a treat.  Above is a picture of Peggy's needlework.  She had a woven piece that had been 'sitting around' and she embellished it with her fine stitchery creating an apple tree complete with golden 'felted' apples. After embellishing the woven piece she finished it all off with a beautiful backing using two pieces of wool.  Her stitches were perfect (as always).

Sandra is our resident photographer.  She took a picture of an apple tree (in one of our local apple orchards) and then she copied it in various forms and brought it all to life by making it a three-dimensional piece.  I can only imagine how difficult it must have been to cut all of those intricate pieces out and then to cut the foamcore board (on which she mounted them).  Whew!!!  This is a new form of photography for Sandra and its obvious that she excelled at it.  A special thanks to Sandra for photographing our challenge pieces as we presented them.

Libby also used photography for her project.  She has been wanting to learn more about photoshop, so she spent hours manipulating the actual Gustav Klimt picture.  She was able to make a small book - showing many, many forms and variations of the picture.

Mary Beth brought along a wonderful punchneedle piece which she designed and made.  She used the tree after the leaves had left it.  Her punchneedle was superb and I was very envious that she had used punchneedle in such a creative and beautiful way (since I'm trying the master my skill in this area).  Mary Beth mounted the finished punchneedle work, matted and framed it.

Andrea created several beautiful silk scarves.  She has been working with polka dots lately so the apples in the tree were a perfect venue to use on her scarves. 

We all agreed that this was a LOT of fun!  Although none of us wants to be tied down to having a deadline challenge very often - I know another one will be in our future next year! 

"...Searching and learning is where the miracle process all begins". - Jim Rohn

Art Guild Challenge - part 1

This picture by Gustov Klimt, entitled "Golden Apple Tree" is the challenge for our small group of mixed media artists.  We were given this picture in June and asked to interpret it in our own medium and style.  There were no rules or regulations - except for the deadline of Monday, September 20th.

InspiredArts is a group of mixed media artists who meet once a month to share, and chat and discuss creativity.  We inspire each other and are a built in 'cheering section' as each of us creates our own work.  Our members' talents include: jewelry, rug hooking, photography, beading, embroidery, silk painting, basketry, felting apparel and weaving.  Quite a variety huh?!

This is the first challenge we've done and I can hardly wait until next Monday when all is revealed.

I've had a lot of fun creating my interpretation - but I'm sorry I can't show it to you until after Monday.  Stay tuned...

"Challenge yourself, its fine not to be a totally finished person". - Leigh Steinberg

Buried Alive

I've been buried alive in paperwork this week.  I am part of a small contemporary craft guild called InspiredArts.  We are planning a major craft show to be held at Flat Rock Playhouse.  Flat Rock Playhouse in Flat Rock, North Carolina is the state theater.  A wonderful, magical place where all sorts of creativity abounds.  Flat Rock Playhouse has never held a craft show and InspiredArts has never run a craft show -- so this has all been a unique adventure.  Last Tuesday we completed our jurying process.  We now have 42 artists who will be converging on the YouTheater at Flat Rock Playhouse over Mother's Day weekend.  My job has been to handle the jurying which has meant accepting the applications, organizing the jurying, notifying the applicants after the jury process and sending out acceptance packets.  Sounds pretty simple when I compact it into a sentence like that.

The jury process this last Tuesday was quite wonderful. I mean who can complain about sitting and looking at images of art all day long!  We all enjoyed it and the creativity that we saw was overwhelming at times.  Of course since then I have been overwhelmed with paperwork and computer work and calling people and so on and so forth.  Who would have thought that so much energy and planning would have to go into a gathering of creative souls?  

Today I sit here confident that things are under control, all my lists have been checked twice (or three times or four times but who is counting).  The acceptance packets are almost ready to send out and I'm to take a few deep breaths. 

"We can lick gravity but sometimes the paperwork is overwhelming."  - Wernher von Braun