Hope 1993 a work in progress

Sewing was one of those things my mom and I fought about. She tried patiently to teach me while I would rush, make mistakes and get frustrated. My mom would rip the seams, hand it back to me and ask me to do it again. I hated sewing. But like most things our mom’s make us do, like eating our vegetables, I was grateful later. Who would have thought I would be putting my basic sewing skills to use to finish one of my pieces for the She’s Got Issues show.

 

I knew what I wanted the finished pieces to look like, the figure mounted on mirrored glass and surrounded by quilted fabric. The cast glass sculpture was finished, now for the fabric portion of this project. I dusted off my mom’s sewing machine and read the manual to remember how to thread the machine. Using the machine for the quilted protion wasn’t too bad since it was just straight lines. Then I had to figure out how to make room for the glass to come through the quilted fabric. I made a pattern on newsprint, pined it to the quilt and did a simple slip stich straight through the pattern and fabric.  Once sewn I cut out the inner part of the pattern and removed the remaining pieces of paper. With the fabric complete, I mounted the relief sculpture to mirrored glass, apllied the fabric over the casting and framed the entire piece so it would hang from the wall.

 

The finished piece will be one of two pieces (Hope 1993 and Hope 2010) on display as part of She’s Got Issues at HighWire Arts from June 13-20.

Getting Ready to Visit Artisans

 soda lime glass - work in progress

 

With the pieces for the She’s Got Issues show completed and delivered, I have been spending this week getting ready for my June visit to Artisans in Fredericksburg, Texas. Using a layout I have favored in the past, I started cutting transparent glass for plates, platters, draped vessels and ring dishes. I’ve been firing these layouts every night since Monday with the plan to have a new series ready to deliver to Artisans on Saturday. So far so good, I appear to be on track.

She's Got Issues - Show Opening

As honored as I am to have been invited to participate in this show, I was a little nervous to drop-off my pieces. I had worked on them on and off for sometime and to be honest don't think I believed they would ever actually be finished.  The shows curator, Gail Stouffer, may have been wondering the same thing herself since, as is my nature, I procrastinated till the last minute to turn them in. These are not the typical jewelry or plates I leave with galleries to sell. These are pieces where I have something personal to say. There a part of my story, a representation of my own journey. And there lies the seed of my angst. Are they good enough? Will they be well received? Did I pack them well enough so they will be safe? But I still could have done more... These are thoughts that run through my head. I guess those are my own personal issues.

 

If you get a chance, please join me and the other artists for the show opening on Friday, June 13 between 6-10pm at High Wire Arts. The show will run from June 13 through the 20th. If you don't make it out you can see all the pieces in the show catalog.

 

Hope 2010

Soda Lime, Float and Recycled Glass