Sunday, November 21, 2010

Getting Back to Go

I spent yesterday getting the studio back to working order.  Neal's going to be building a wooden ship over the winter, so I need to re-organize all the beading supplies.  I've ordered shelving, and will jam it in somewhere!  I figure one more day for re-organizing and I'll be able to play... err... work.  :)

Thursday, November 18, 2010

Whew!

Open Studios was a rousing success, with a good stream of folks coming through... including almost all of my friends and family members!  It was great fun, including having my sister and her jewelry there.

Now comes the job of putting away all of my displays and getting the studio back into working shape.  It's been weeks and weeks since I've been able to work on my art, with the run-up to the event.

Remember, if you're in the Saxonville area on Saturdays, I'm usually there from 10a until 3p.  Come on up and ring the bell.

-Perry-

Monday, October 11, 2010

Open Studios... closer and closer!

Save the dates!

Our Saxonville Studios Open Studios 2010 preparations are in high gear.  Gallery 2B has a fresh coat of paint and a new carpet, and will soon be hung with artwork from all of the artists.  Our flyer is ready to print out and distribute.  Invitation postcards are ordered and will be mailed out at the end of next week.  We're all spiffing up our studios in readiness for you! 

I hope you all can come to this free and family-friendly event.  We are a really diverse group of artists and artisans, and will have everything from oil painting, acrylics, watercolors, encaustics, silk painting, photography, jewelry, sculpture, textile and fabric art for viewing and holiday shopping.  Stop in and view the art, chat with the artists, and see working artists' studios.

Free and ample parking.  More info, map and directions at:  http://www.saxonvillestudios.com/

See you there!

-Perry-

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Post Road Art Center "Abstract Show 2010"

I was juried in to the Post Road Art Center's "Abstract Show 2010".  Opening night is tomorrow, 5:30p until 8:00p, at the Center in Marlborough.

Read more here-- hope to see you there!

http://www.postroadartcenter.com/Abstract_Show_2010_Page_1.html

-Perry-

Saturday, September 18, 2010

I Love Saturdays!

Saturdays are the only days I seem to be able to carve out for the studio right now, but I make them pretty inviolate.  From 10a until 3p, you can find me there.  Sometimes earlier.  Not usually later.  My friends are always welcome to come by to visit or play-- I love having company while working.

Today is a mixed kind of day.  I need to put together more embellished purses for the museum store, but I also need to make a fabric skirt around my sink (it's a LONG sink-- eight feet long but four inches deep -- perfect for felting) to gussy the place up a bit for the open studio event the first weekend in November.

You are coming to the open studio November 6th or 7th, from noon to 5p, aren't you? 

Good.  It should be fun.  The Saxonville Studio artists are hosting an event where you can meet all of the artists and see their work.  Come see how we work in Saxonville's old mill complex.  It's a family-friendly event, and free!  More as we get closer to the date-- but please put it on your calendar now!

So, breakfast and then off I go!

Saturday, September 11, 2010

Vacation Week is Over

My week of vacation is over, but I got a few pieces done in a few extra studio sessions.

I finished "Bird's Eye View of Tidal Pools" in needlefelt.  I'm torn on whether or not to wet-felt it.  I probably won't, as I like it the way it is now and am not sure how it would alter.

I started and finished "Roses at the Light", and am pleased with it as I was experimenting with various aspects of it.

And then tried a piece called "Winter Departs" with mixed wool and silk.

My sister joined me and made a gorgeous fossil coral and copper crystal necklace, bracelet, and earrings on copper.

Lunched with Colene, Michelle, Valarie and Elton and admired the shibori in progress.  Am looking forward to playing with them now and then, torturing silk and cotton with dyes and string and bleach.

Sunday, August 29, 2010

This Week in Review

My sister joined me in studio Saturday, making jewelry.  Lynnette came in for lunch.  I like company and visitors.

I needlefelted detail on Peace Felt 2010, and it's complete for mailing out in a week or two.

Finished Pink Pockets.  Pockets is turning into a theme.  It's very lightly needlefelted.  I like the feel of fluffy batts of wool, and coaxing pockets into it.

I did another piece in my "Times of My Life" series, Baby.  Baby is a very lightly needlefelted piece.  So I have Baby, 8, Hippie, 28, and Bride.  I need to take photos of all of these.  Hippie is the first piece of textile art-to-wear I ever made, back in the late 60's-- a pair of hip hugger bell bottom jeans that I patched and embroidered (NFS of course).

I started a needlefelt background for a rocky beach, and worked on another piece that's a birdseye view of sea and marsh that needs to be wet-felted before I needlefelt detail.

In more mundane efforts, I threw all of the loose stuff in front of the shelves into bins, so it looks a little more organized.  Open Studio is coming up the first weekend of November, and the studio needs to be accessible and I need to have display space.

Looking forward to taking Lynette's class in encaustic.  (http://www.lynettehaggard.com/)  Should be fun to experiment with mixing encaustic and fiber.

Counting down the days until I get back in the studio next Saturday.  And vacation week follows-- up to Maine for Monday through Wednesday, and then home and studio.  Need to gather together new things for the Danforth Museum Shop for the fall season.

Saturday, August 14, 2010

Today was an abbreviated day at the studio, but I did finish up the Peace Felt project piece, and worked on a new landscape.  Pockets is completed.  And I worked on a felt purse that I'm just adding needle-felted embellishments to, for the museum store in the fall.

I'm going to try to get down one afternoon this week to dye some pashminas.  I'd like to solid dye them, and then later try some shibori with bleach and see how they come out.  Total experiment, but it could be fun!

Monday, August 9, 2010

What I'm Working On

I had a productive weekend in the studio, spending most of Saturday and then Sunday morning starting a few new projects.  I'll post some photos soon.

1)  An abstract called "Pockets" that has an under-sea feel to it that's lightly needlefelted.
2)  A wet-felted abstract piece with varied shades of purple wool and silk hankies.
3)  A needle-felted purple abstract piece for my Peace Felt Project recipient.
4)  Several hyperbolic crochet pieces for the Smithsonian Community [Coral] Reef Project.

As I said, a productive weekend.  Very satisfying.


Some other pieces from July...

Whither Blows the Wind? (Gulf Coast Summer of 2010)


Birch Tree, 2010


Dawn Breaks While Mother Nature Slumbers, 2010

Saturday, July 31, 2010

Green is the Color

We've had a verdant summer, and I've been saturated in greens.

This piece is entitled "Green is the Color", and shows a crisp rocky stream at the foot of gently rolling grass, bordered by a mossy stone fence.

Traditionally matted and framed, showing that fiber art can be more conventionally mounted.

Monday, June 21, 2010

"Off the Wall" Exhibition at the Danforth, 2010



Katherine did an amazing job at mounting the exhibition at the Danforth... and I'm not just saying that because my piece was on the title wall. :) What a talented group of artists at the Danforth-- I'm so honored to be included in this exhibition!








Monday, June 14, 2010

At the Danforth Museum of Art, Framingham, MA

Annual Members’ Juried Exhibition "Off the Wall"
Artists' Reception 
Thursday June 17, 2010  -  5:30pm - 7:30 pm

I'm very excited that one of my pieces, Time Passages, was selected for the Off the Wall exhibition.  This is a wet felted piece, with needle felted detail.  Please view the exhibition, along with the juried Community of Artists exhibition, at the Danforth during the Artists' Reception -- I'd love to see you, and I promise that you'll enjoy what's on view!

Saturday, May 22, 2010

2010 INTFF "Somewhere In My World"


Come see our show!  The 2010 International Freeform Fiberarts Guild presents:  Somewhere in My World

Enjoy!



View my page at:

http://www.freeformcrochet.com/2010/Pages/perry.html

Saturday, May 15, 2010

Annual Juried Member Exhibition

I was thrilled to get the word that my piece "Time Passages", originally created for the 2009 International Freeform Guild's annual exhibition and entitled "Four Seasons", was just accepted in the Annual Juried Member Exhibition "Off the Wall" at the Danforth Museum of Art.  The Exhibition runs from June 12 through August 8, 2010.

More info about the Danforth Museum and this upcoming exhibitions at:

http://www.danforthmuseum.org/annual_members2010.html


Each year two concurrent juried shows showcase artistic talent of emerging and established member artists. Off the Wall communicates the unique vision of renowned guest jurors, while Community of Artists provides a snapshot of some of the most exciting work done by artists living and working in New England.
Two evening events celebrate participating artists. Our Off the Wall Patron’s Preview on Saturday, June 12affords collectors the first opportunity to purchase art at a special discount and hear guest jurors discuss their selections and curatorial vision. Proceeds from the event and sale of work support exhibitions and related educational programming. Our Artists’ Reception on Thursday, June 17 from 6-8 pm is free and open to families and friends of exhibiting artists.

This year's jurors were:

About Jen Mergel
Recently named the Beal Family Senior Curator of Contemporary Art at Boston's Museum of Fine Arts, was formerly associate curator at Boston's Institute of Contemporary Art.  Before joining the ICA, Mergel did curatorial work at the Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery at Skidmore College, helped with the 2004 Whitney Biennial, and was a curatorial fellow at the Addison Gallery of American Art at Phillips Academy in Andover. She received a BA in visual and environmental studies from Harvard University and her MA at Bard College’s Center for Curatorial Studies and Art in Contemporary Culture. The Boston native has taught studio art courses Harvard and, more recently, curatorial studies at Boston University.



About Helen Molesworth
Recently appointed Chief Curator at Boston's Institute of Contemporary Art, Helen Molesworth was formerly head of the department of modern and contemporary art at the Harvard Art Museum, where she organized the exhibitions "Long Life Cool White: Photographs by Moyra Davey" at the Harvard Art Museumas well as "ACT UP New York: Activism, Art, and the AIDS Crisis, 1987-1993," "Corbu Pop"by William Pope.L; "Paul Chan: Three Easy Pieces" and "Felix Gonzales-Torres: "Untitled" (Placebo -Landscape - for Roni)."  Previous to joining Harvard, Molesworth was chief curator of exhibitions at the Wexner Center for the Arts in Columbus, Ohio, where she co-curated the first United States retrospective of Luc Tuymans. Before that she was curator of contemporary art at the Baltimore Museum of Art from 2000 to
2002; and director and curator of the Amelie A. Wallace Gallery at State University of New York (SUNY) in Old Westbury from 1997 to 1999. Molesworth also served as senior critic at the Yale School of Art and taught at the Bard Center for Curatorial Studies; SUNY, Old Westbury; and the Cooper Union School of Art. She was a co-founding editor of"Documents," a magazine of contemporary visual culture. She received a Ph.D. in the history of art from Cornell University in 1997.

Monday, May 10, 2010

Fulling vs. Felting

Speak like a pro:


Felting is the making of a non-woven fabric.
Fulling is the shrinking and strengthening of any wool fabric (knit, crochet, woven, or felt).

So, if you knit or crochet something, and then you wet it to shrink it, you are FULLING the fabric. You are not felting it.

If you are taking loose fibers and needling or manipulating them into a fabric, you are FELTING. If you then take that felt and wet it to shrink it, you are FULLING the felt.

Clear as mud? :)

-Perry-

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Thursday, March 11, 2010

Fun with Color

Neat color IQ test...I got an 11. 


X-Rite: 
Get exactly the color you need, every time, anywhere in the world.

www.xritephoto.com

Saturday, March 6, 2010

Fun with Felt

I signed up for Felt Alive Wool Sculptures by Kay Petal's "faces" class, and had a great time today in the studio working on a piece.  Fun, fun, fun!

Not too bad for my first 3d felt attempt, eh?

The class notes are great, and the videos wonderful.   www.feltalive.com

-Perry-

Thursday, March 4, 2010

2010 Peace Felt Project









Help Create a Circle of Peace Felt Around the World in 2010 

http://www.peacefelt.org/


Mission

To promote peace and connectivity among nations, loving kindness among individuals, gratitude in our hearts and in our consciousness - knowing that WE create our world through our thoughts, words and actions.

To, as Gandhi reminded us, "Be the change we wish to see in the world."

To promote awareness of the ancient art of felt making and the modern craft of needle felting for its qualities of being earth friendly, extremely versatile, and easy to learn!

Register by August 1, 2010.

The sending and receiving of your PEACE FELT will take place in the month of September as a symbolic celebration of the International Day of Peace, celebrated on September 21st, 2010. 

Each participant or group will be connected with a Receiving Partner and a Giving Partner.
The participant will send their PEACE FELT to their Receiving Partner, giving it in the spirit of unconditional love, free from the expectation of a return gift in "exchange". Instead, that same participant will receive a PEACE FELT from their Giving Partner allowing them to be the recipient of unconditional love without anything expected of them in return.

Sunday, February 28, 2010

Tide Pool Project

http://www.tidepoolproject.blogspot.com/

CALL FOR ENTRIES: WE ARE SEEKING SUBMISSIONS FROM TEXTILE AND MIXED-MEDIA ARTISTS FROM AROUND THE WORLD TO CREATE A COLLABORATIVE TIDE POOL MADE UP OF TEXTILE STONES, KELP, ANEMONE, BARNACLES, OCTOPI, CRABS, SHELLS AND OTHER RELATED FLORA AND FAUNA. OUR GOAL IS TO CREATE A TEXTILE TIDE POOL THAT WILL BRING AWARENESS TO THE IMPORTANCE OF OUR COASTAL WATERS AND THE DELICATE AND CRITICAL BALANCE THEY PLAY IN THE HEALTH AND FUTURE OF OUR PLANET.


Deadline for submissions: January 15th, 2011


This is a project that I'm just going to HAVE to contribute to, as I'm in process of making my own little coral reef, as well.  Check out the blog page for how to participate.  There's plenty of time and inspiration!


-Perry-

Friday, February 19, 2010

My Sister Clootie Tree

A fiber friend of mine is creating a Clootie Tree-- a wish tree, and I thought it was such a great idea that I'd do one in my yard, also... a sister tree to Aileen's in Scotland.  I am making ribbons for hers, and she is making ribbons for mine.  My Clootie Tree will be in my front yard, near a sidewalk.  I'm hoping that pedestrians will catch the idea and make ribbons for it, also.

If you'd like to make a ribbon, please email me!

Wish Tree is an individual tree, usually distinguished by species, position or appearance, which is used as an object of wishes and offerings. Such trees are identified as possessing a special religious or spiritual value. By tradition, believers make votive offerings in order to gain fulfillment of a wish.



Thursday, February 11, 2010

INTFF Exhibitions

The International Freeform Exhibitions are on my mind as I start working on my 2010 entry. 

Check out previous years at  http://www.freeformcrochet.com/

I have or am participating in:
          2010 Theme:  Somewhere in Our World
          2009 Theme:  Four Seasons
          2008 Theme:  Through Our Eyes

The exhibitions are collected into annual books, designed and executed by Myra Wood, freeform artist extraordinare (http://www.myrawood.com/), and are available for purchase, too.  All proceeds go to a women's charity each year.  Links are on the above weblink.

Interested in freeform crochet/knit?  Join our Yahoo group http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FFCrochet

-Perry-

Thursday, February 4, 2010

Freeform at Lion Brand Studio

I'm envious of all of you New York city people, who have the chance to see a magnificent freeform crochet work of art "up close and personal".  Prudence Mapstone, from down under (where fiber art is magnificent), has a piece up at the Lion Brand Studio.  Catch it there until the end of April.

http://www.lionbrandyarnstudio.com/lionStudioBlog/

Follow her "Scrumble a Week" at http://prudencemapstone.blogspot.com/

-Perry-

Saturday, January 2, 2010

Yurtle the Turtle Has Nothing on Kate

Kate Pokorny has successfully used Kickstarter to fund her Yurt-making project -- hand-crocheting a functional yurt with local New Hampshire wool that is felted into yarn.  More here:

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/yurtalert/yurt-alert-lets-crochet-a-home

INTFF Coral Reef

I remember when I first heard about the coral reef, and I rushed to make my first hyperbolic creation to send to them for their display.

Listen to this fascinating talk on the INTFF Coral Reef Project and how the feminine art of crochet and sea slugs have proved the impossible to prove.

http://www.ted.com/talks/view/id/519