BOOK: Storied Stitches: Quilts and Coverlets of the Smokies

I bought this book on our trip to the mountains last year.  I found it in the Smoky Mountain NP Visitor Center.  It's a great little book detailing some wonderful history of handmade items that were produced in the area.  I thought I'd share a bit of it because it was quite fascinating to me. This is an excerpt from the introduction; "People in the Great Smoky Mountains certainly knew thin times.  But no matter how threadbare things might have gotten, they always thick bedcovers to keep them warm at night.  Quilts and coverlets made by hand wee part of almost every mountain home."

Quilted cushion and doll quilt.

The quilt examples in the book are quite stunning.  You can definitely see the work that was put into them.  It mentions several women, but the Walker sisters in particular are pretty interesting.  They fought hard to be able to stay on their land.  Most of the people in the area were kicked off so the national park could be established.  They, however, were granted a lifelong lease to remain on their land.  There were well-known quilters (and pretty tough broads). 

The Walker sister's treadle machine

A young girl at a loom-1930

 The old photographs are so fascinating to me.  Documenting the lives of these women and the hard work they did.  I can only imagine the work that went into their every day lives.

Master weaver Karen George showing the technique of finger weaving. I"d love to learn to do this!

The coverlets discussed in the book are also quite stunning.   It also discusses weaving that was done by the Native Americans of the area.   The intricate patterns and the amazing colors that can be created are so beautiful.  I've done some loom weaving in college and I know it's a lot of work!

A woman and her boys working the dye pot--1920s.

 Most of these women had to make everything they used.  So to make a piece of fabric for a coverlet you had to do a lot of work; gathering and preparing the fiber, spinning it into thread, dying the thread and then weaving it into a piece of fabric. Amazing really.

 

Fanny and Zillah Wilson piece fabric together for a quilt--1933

I'm so glad I picked up this book.  It's a great look into the past and has beautiful pictures and stories of these amazing women.  It's so important to preserve this history.  At the end of the book, you'll even find six traditional quilt patterns like Log Cabin and Tulip to try for yourself.  If you're interested in getting yourself a copy of this, you can find it here.  I would recommend it if you are interested in the history. You definitely gain some perspective on how hard people had to work.

Inspiration: Elaine Bradford

I stumbled across the works of Elaine Bradford and was immediately blown away.  She makes wonderful sculptures with crochet, other mixed media materials and taxidermy animals.  I would love to see them in person.  You can check out her site and flickr for more info and photos.   Here's a few of my favorites.

"Little Guy" 2010  

I really like them when they are photographed outside.  Adds a sense of surreality to them.

'Family Portrait as Panda Bears" 2010     This is one of favorite pieces.  I love the little world she created. 

'Harry, With Worlds on Top"

"Divided Attention" 2006

'Of course it Quacks, It's a Duck"  This piece is amazing--the gold feet and bill are so great.

'No Legs" 2007

This elephant is just amazing.  Can you just imagine the size of this?  Wow. 

Well I guess that's enough---please go check out all of her photos.  She has a ton of work--each piece worth a look. 

Inspiration: Eva Hesse

I first discovered Eva Hesse in college taking my Fiber Art classes.  Her work is beyond compare: so tactile and raw.  She had a wonderful sense of materials and space.

"Contingent" 1969

There was always sensuality to her work that I just couldn’t quite put my finger on.

 As a female artist ( and a sculptor at that) working in the 1960’s, I can only imagine the struggles she had, especially with some of the materials she chose to use, like fiberglass and rope.

"Repetition Nineteen III" 1968

To say I’m a fan of her work doesn’t seem like enough praise—she transcends that for me and is a true inspiration.

"Right After" 1969

This is a great video about her work.  If you'd like to see more of her work please go here. 

Inspiration: Julianne W. Sterling

I was strolling through etsy like I usually do when I'm a bit bored and uninspired and came across a wonderful artist, Julianne W. Sterling.  She has some amazing work in her shop. Her artist statement is fantastic:

"I paint about the realities, complexities and absurdities of life as a woman.  With some bittersweet humor I explore the place where I rub up against the gender conditioning of my youth and the expectations of being a woman, wife and mother.  My paintings are about little secrets women keep to themselves.  As Cornelia Otis Skinner said “...Women keep a special corner of their hearts for sins they have never committed.”  I’m drawing from the rich history of portrait painting with this work, creating a likeness but also musing on cultural norms and ideals of women.  My subjects are drawn from the women and children in my life."

She obviously is concerned with the "Princess" culture of girls and her "Pushing Fairy Tales" series explores that.  

"Waiting for Snow White..IV"

"Waiting For Snow White"

The "Mommy Assassins" series is another fantastic commentary on modern motherhood and identity.

How amazing are the tinker-toy guns?

"The Mommy Assassins III"

"The Mommy Assassins II"

I love her layering.  The subtle colors and layers leaving something just under the surface.  And she draws damn good figures.  I've never been that great with the figure so I'm always jealous of those that are. 

"How To Live With A Man"

"Slip"

Really fantastic pieces. Please check out her other pieces on her site

and read through her bio. I'm so glad I stumbled across her work.

Inspiration: Emily Stout

While flipping through the new issue of "New American Paintings" at the bookstore, I saw something so amazing I just had to post about it...the work of Emily Stout. Particularly this piece.

The Mermaids  Charcoal drawings, Quilted tails

I was blown away by this imagery and the combination of the drawings with the patchwork quilts. Absolutely amazing. I'm so intrigued by these words from her statement:

Enchanted forms such as the mermaid, are symbols of the unexpected or unknown in my work. I frequently work with hybrid forms that violate natural law or more specifically contemporary scientific explanation. I am interested in the classic depiction of the mermaid in folk tales and legends as beautiful yet monstrous creatures. They are outcasts; abnormal curiosities. They are neither this nor that, they lie between, questioning the logic of natural order.

Further explorations of her website brought me to this piece:

Destructive Reconstructors  Mixed media

I want to see this in person so badly. The legs of the male figure seem to be three-dimensional but made of what?  Stuffed fabric, lighting trickery?  Agh I must know! 

S witch Board Apparition Theater Mixed media, Wood, Quilting, Paste-ups, Paint, Telephone Receiver Speakers

This piece was listed under "Puppet Show". If it was indeed used for a puppet show, I'm very curious what the show was about because the theater is quite remarkable. 

I hope you've been just as blown away as me with Emily's work. I know I'm going to keep an eye for whatever she has planned next. 

Inspirations: Camille Rose Garcia

What can I say about Camille Rose Garcia? Her work is so stunningly beautiful that there really are no words.  When I look at her work, I am truly knocked speechless.

"Mirror, White Mirror" 2011

She creates worlds and characters that are both beautiful and frightening. I want to dive into her paintings and get lost for while. Really explore the layers of colors and darkness. They are beautifully haunting. 

"Emerald Cavern Night Raid" 2006

 The way she juxtaposes the idea of fairy tales and other happy creatures with the grimness of reality (detachment from nature, use of drugs to make yourself happy, false sense of security) truly amazes me.  She  uses her art to tell a story--a story of a grim truth based in a surreal landscape.  She is definitely one of my inspirations.

"Royal Disorder Poison Party" 2005

She helps me to believe that the worlds I create in my art aren't really all that strange, but a reality of my own making. And that it is OK to really create the things that are in my head--even if they are not always pleasant.

"The Night Greed" 2004

Do yourself a favor and look at her work here. It will blow your mind.  I just hope that I will be able to see one of her pieces in person, to really explore the depths of it. 

"Arctic Cavern Hideway"

Here's are some links if you'd like to know more about her and her work.  

*Article about her new show "Snow White and the Black Lagoon"

*A video showing her create one of her wonderful ink drawings

*A great interview with her

*She has a few books you can buy here, here, here, here, (I have a few of them and they are wonderful)

Inspirations: Houses

I'm going to start a new segment of this blog and talk about some inspirations of mine for my work. I use houses often in my artwork as a symbol of many things-mostly personal as so much of my work is (as most art is I think).

("Multiplying" detail)

It is such an iconic, familiar shape. I just like the actual shape of a house—there is something so inviting and comfortable about it--the square sides, the pointed roof. I think about the way children draw houses, the simple forms and shapes that actually mean a lot. Then there is, of course, the deeper meaning of houses and the lives led inside them can be so meaningful--both positive and negative. So here are some other images of houses that inspire me.

"White Swan Deluge" by the incomparable Camille Rose Garcia. She will soon get her own inspiration post because she is the most amazing painter working right now. Period.


"Lost and Found" by one of my heroes Miriam Shapiro I discovered her in college and she is so influential to me.


"Hey Courbet, Fresh Produce" by Emily Eibel. She creates these wonderful images with fabric and stitches.

Camilla Engman has the most beautiful blog. Her paper works are fantastic.

"Fever" by lanydevening The simplicity of this piece is what is so beautiful.

Doll House no 364by sushipot. This piece blew me away.

With these works, you can really see how the shape of a house is used in different ways. How they are used hold a different meaning for each piece. The beauty of art is that are always multiple translations.