I hope you are having a lovely weekend. I wanted to share some further developments on my work “Thought Gesture.” This involves layered white sheets of tulle fabric with sewn gestural lines. I have discovered a type of polyester thread made in Germany that has an almost iridescent light reflective quality. Really enjoying the experience of working with it. The pieces measure about 8’H x 8’W but I intend to make them about 24′ long total in a series of reds, blues and greens.
I hope you are all having a lovely and restful holiday. I wanted to share a new experiment I am working on with nylon tulle fabric that is off-white and very transparent. I sew the tulle with an elaborate network of red thread and I had begun to layer on my wall. The sunlight through my studio window caught the layers and highlighted the shadows of the sewn lines in a way I really enjoyed. I intend to do a series of three of these tulle “assemblages” in red, green and blue thread. Here is a sample of the red version. Cheers!
I am happy to share some video documentation of “Flight Pattern” and “Reverie” that was recorded by Al Wong. This video is 3:24 minutes in length and provides a very good sense of my creative process which is fundamentally iterative as I respond back and forth to the materials. “Flight Pattern” is the collage installation with cut paper, hair netting and thread which is the piece I am actively working on in this video. “Reverie” is the vegetable netting work in reds and greens on the wall behind me.
I also wanted to share an additional 1:34 minute video from Al Wong of me at my sewing machine assembling the vegetable netting that comprises of the “Reverie” wall installation. There are a couple of things that you might notice in this video; the first is the sound of jazz master Paul Desmond in the background. I love jazz and it is a continual source of inspiration in my work. The second of course is the powerful grinding sound of the sewing machine itself, a 1968 Singer workhorse, Fashion Mate model 237 made of solid cast iron. It is probably one of my most treasured tools as an artist.
In front of my sewing machine and at my work table; my all time favorite place to be!
This week, I wanted to ask a question as well as share more images and thoughts about my work. For those of you who live in the San Francisco Bay Area, are you aware of any artist communities or collectives where one can participate in critiques, workshops and group show activities? I deeply value being in connection with others engaged in visual practice. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.
In addition, attached are further updates on “Flight Pattern.” I have started integrating hair netting material into my work which is normally worn by food service workers. It is a thin paper-like net that I cut up and tear and then sew upon. I have been layering it upon the deeper colored/textured elements and it appears to have a gossamer like effect to me. I have also started using cut up paper foil doilies in the work with the goal of a subtle shimmering beneath the surface of the piece. Hope you enjoy and have a great week!
These are detail views of a new series of small works (7″ x 7″) which involves hand-sewing embroidery floss to drawing paper. I enjoy the intimacy and speed of working at this size and there is an immediacy in the way the colors of the bright thread interact. I use maroon thread to anchor the embroidery floss to the page and that practical action is its own design element.
This week, I focused on layering the vegetable netting in different colors to see how things started to interplay. The strong primary colors of the plastic netting really activate each other visually and I overlay with black netting and a network of sewn black lines to give a sense of depth. This wall installation now measures approximately 9’L x 7’H.
I have made some interesting changes on my piece called “Flight Pattern.” I had been working simultaneously on 11″x 14″ thread drawings in various colors but was resistant to the restrictions of the rectangular paper. I have now cut those drawings up and integrated them into the larger “Flight Pattern” wall piece in progress. There is something about the flow of color, the tangle of thread and the “leaves” of paper that overlap that I really enjoy. Reminds me of the Camellia trees outside my window.
With my sketchbook pages, it is often the space where I feel the most liberated. This drawing is from my studio journal from when I was working on “Constellation.” It shows my interest in certain parts of the installation having a focused center of gravity and weight.
I am currently working on collage elements for “Flight Pattern” which involves cutting images primarily from fashion and interior design sources and starting to arrange by groupings of color and texture. I then piece them together with my sewing machine and then will eventually attach these to pieced Duralene backing. This work is about fragmented color and how beauty feels most profound to me when it is imperfect and constantly reinventing itself.
This is a work in progress that I am excited about called “Revery.” It is made from plastic vegetable bags, the red, green and yellow plastic netted bags that hold ginger, avocados, and oranges. I sew them together, cut them up and sew back in a meditative pace as they slowly develop a type of web on my wall. I find it very soothing. I am attracted to the vegetable netting because it feels organic and malleable but yet is not. It is that place when both things can be true and I try to really explore that in my work.
