Prints, Quilts, and Patchwork Pieces

*A new print: Whirl & Wonder*

*Detail: What to say?*

*The full print.*

*Detail: the moon...*

*Detail: thread and pencil.*

Hello, my friends. Here's a glimpse into a few of the handmade things that I've been making in my studio. The winter brought with it a renewed inspiration for sewing and stitches. I found myself turning to a stack of craft books to learn new knots in hand-sewing, new stitches on my trusty Singer, and a new appreciation for stencils, cut-outs, and other forms of printing on paper and fabric.

I made this new print just after the DomestiCity show opened. I was hoping to keep the prints-on-paper to a weekly rate and churn them out like a little printmaking factory. Turns out, I am not a factory. Some weeks I want to work with words and poems and long careful narratives; some weeks I want to work with fabric and thread and stitches; and some weeks I'm drawn to nothing but linoleum blocks and ink and paper. And I've decided, this is all okay! I like the way this print came together and just listed it in my Etsy shop.

*And, I made a baby quilt.*

*Yellow & blue vintage chenille blocks.*

*The yellow backside, detail of the hand-stitched binding.*

*Detail: All tied up with coral color string.*

*Detail: the binding.*

I finished this baby quilt that I started three years ago. Yes, three years ago! I can't really think of any other project that sat in my studio completely dormant for such a long stretch of time, before being brought out of the suitcase and back to the work table. Finally, it's done and listed in my Etsy shop. And I learned a bunch about my impatience by sewing that binding by hand. Who knew I was so impatient with my stitches? I'm working to grow this part of my art practice: patience. Yes, please.

***

2 more things:

*THANK YOU for those of you who came to the DomestiCity show for either the opening or closing reception. I am SO glad you were there to join us. And THANK YOU to those of you who purchased artwork during your visits, I am so grateful!

**Check out this performance by my friend, Erika Chong Shuch. I was lucky enough to see it in person on Feb 13 at City Hall in San Francisco. I love Erika's work, and this show is worth talking about: Love Everywhere. See you soon... xoxo, k.

A Photo Narrative: Part Two of the DomestiCity Exhibition

1. (The Tale of Two Ladies Dressed-Up in the Park.)

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

11.

12.

I think of this photo shoot like a short story. Yes, "The Tale of Two Ladies Dressed-Up in the Park". I've actually been working on editing this same collection of "short photo stories" since I was a senior in college--some 12 years ago. The collection currently has about 7 or 8 stories (this one is the most recent) and each story has the same 4 parts:

1. A small group of women dress-up in very particular outfits or costumes.
2. They travel to the woods, the cemetery, a large city park, or some other place that evokes wilderness, strangeness, reflection, vastness, and/or expanse.
3. They mull over a handful of questions that revolve around a central theme and most likely that theme involves gender, femininity, women's roles, maybe archetypes, goddesses or heroes.
   
4. They talk, they giggle, they listen, they debate, they stare quietly off into the distance.

More and more, I think the collection of photos are also about fashion and wilderness and how the two are odd bedfellows-- place dictating norms and styles in fashion, how those norms and styles become more exaggerated as the fashion and landscape enter some sense of conflict, awkwardness, unexpected contrast or surprise.

In this series, "The Tale...", I was inspired by a conversation that transpired as we were pooling our color-coordinated garments into the center of the room before heading out to the nearby park. I was sharing my themes for the show, my exploration of mid-century modern furniture, color, patterns, the image of the 50s American housewife and how that image has been reclaimed, resisted, and/or re-imagined. One of them equated domesticity with loneliness, with feelings of isolation, obligation, and confinement. I was struck by this thinking and am still mulling it over now. In the editing process, I found myself drawn to the images that better expressed these feelings.

For now, these lovely ladies are exhibited at "DomestiCity" on view at Project Sprout Gallery until this Sunday, February 21. We'll be hosting a closing reception on Sunday from 2-5, if you would like to swing by for some cookies and coffee and tea. Only 7 of these photos are on display in the exhibition, blown up big to 11" x 17". I wanted to show you *so* many more of them, so I settled on 12 for this post. Without telling you which 7 I selected, I'd LOVE to know which 2 or 3 are your favorites! Join us on Sunday, if you're in town...

A View of the Garden in Winter

for a moment, nothing but blue skies...

calendula, sunlight, silver, & denim...

acacias bloom, my favorite blue meets yellow...

the plum tree has a few pink buds...

patches of chamomile receive an honorable guest...

my mister, after digging-up the potatoes...

butterflies drink from the calendula patch...

rosemary, such a sturdy year-long friend...

Hello, my friends. Since the exhibition opened last week, time seems to have been restored to a more manageable pace. Busy? Yes, busy, but also full of little openings for making slower stitches, reading twisty poems, and taking a cup of tea up to the garden for the breaks between rain. I know that portions of the country are experiencing epic cold--and having spent more than 20 years in the chilly Northeast, I empathize completely. But, we had a bit of a blissful break in weather over the weekend and I took a moment to get a little sun across the bridge of my nose.

I've lived in CA for 7 years. I can hardly believe it, but it's true. Not all 7 years at once, but 7 years total. Though, make no secrets, I still consider myself a New York girl at heart. Of the places I've traveled, the states and cities and small towns I've called home, the beautiful CA blue skies will never go unnoticed. Each time there's a break in our winter rains, I smile up at the clouds with equal parts delight and disbelief.

I'll always miss the NY snow, the romance and promise of a full-foliage autumn, the fireflies in summer, the complete liberation of an East Coast spring. But! I love this CA blue sky like nobody's business. Amen! After the exhibition opened last weekend, I was super inspired and fueled to go back to the studio and start working again. But, I fully admit to a slowed down weekend, complete with a hike, a batch of homemade cookies, a night at the movies, and several hours in the garden.

I do have a handful of handmade things to show you, so I'll be back to do that soon. In the interim, I hope you enjoy these yellows, and blues, and greens... xoxo, k.

"DomestiCity"...is...open!

(The front entrance: Jen's work on the left, mine on the right.)

(As you enter: My red chair prints, Jen's collage on wood; My large white prints, Jen's ipola photo wall.)

(My mixed-media prints on paper--please forgive the glare!)

(Collage work by Jen, one large photo far right by me.)

(My photo narrative--more on this soon-- Jen's small collages bottom right.)

My prints, up close:

"Lineage of a Human"

"Two Fly Off to the Sun"

"Home is Where the Heart is"

"Sing to Me, Birdsong"

"Furniture Thoughts, Thinking"

***

The show is open! Hooray! "DomestiCity" had a lovely opening reception on Saturday night complete with a very full room of friends and colleagues. (Thank you to those of you who came to join us in person. I'm so thrilled you were there!) It was very festive and full of good conversation, flowing wine, a few platters of snacks, pretty flowers, and finished artwork. Oh, happy day.

I took these photos just as the sun was setting and the indoor lights were focused and ready to go. Our visitors hadn't yet arrived, Jen wasn't yet in her pretty black dress, I wasn't yet in my pink dress and black tights, the room wasn't yet buzzing with our excitement and the attention of our dear guests. I like looking back on this moment, the brief pause when we had finally finished installing the artwork, but hadn't yet opened the doors and welcomed the first guests. Such a brief, but important pause, just before we officially finished. Phew!

Jen & Bob Lake have done an amazing job of turning their live/ work space into a home gallery. I love the current trend of alternative art venues popping up in people's homes. In the past few years, I've been to house poetry readings, home performances, home music concerts, and now a home gallery. I love that Jen is taking her Sprout Studio work one step further to create Project Sprout Gallery. And, I'm honored that I got to be the other 1/2 of the very first exhibition in their new pretty space. Phew, I finished! xoxo, k.