[-fiber art, alterations-]

mormors syskrin grandmothers sewingbox

Originally uploaded by gunnels.

This morning’s inspiration comes from Gunnel Svensson of Sweden. She posted this lovely sampler to the flickr Practically Creative pool. It’s made of things from her grandmother’s sewing box.

What treasures!

What a wonderful idea!

Most of us who love fabrics, also love collecting old bits of lace, crocheted edges, ribbons, thread, buttons. Putting them together into a fabric collage is the perfect way to not only save them but also to display and pay tribute to them as well. As Gunnel shows, we can use buttons and thread and even scissors!

It’s a lovely way to incorporate small stitchery projects that were never completed. Now there’s a tribute to our creative but overly busy ancestral womenfolk—finally *completing* their incomplete projects! I would be delighted to think that my granddaughter would care enough to do that with all my incompletes some day!

Think not only of monograms and lace but also quilt squares and scraps made from those gorgeous old fabrics that cannot be duplicated by modern means. Or how about those handmade items that have long since worn out but that are too precious to be thrown away? I know I have some of those tucked away.

Think of it as Heritage Art whether the bits and pieces are from your relatives or are things that you’ve picked up along the way from antique stores and flea markets. They were done by someone’s ancestors and more than likely by women who had very similar instincts for making something beautiful out of what was at hand.

Thank you, Gunnel for your inspiring art.

Click the image to get a closer look at Gunnel’s work.
Please visit Gunnel’s bog.
Edited to add: I just found on Gunnels blog that her sampler has been made into postcards. How lovely! Check them out here.

[process, inspiration]

Book box

Originally uploaded by cramzy.

A Good Sunday Morning in May to you all!

The photo to the right is one from The Practically Creative Group on flickr. It’s posted by ‘cramzy,’ a wonderful fibre artist whose work has impressed me continually.

Cramzy, also known as Emmy Schoonbeek, does all kinds of fanciful, beautiful and colourful stitchery, constructions and embellishments. This one caught my eye because of its cross-pollination effect. It’s so many things and includes so many things all at once.

It’s fibre art. It’s collage. It’s construction. It’s functional. It’s art. It’s a box. It’s a book. It’s got words, music, textile, paper, beads and probably lots more that we can’t see. Do click the image to see it in larger form.

I believe that this process of cross-pollination is one of the best ways to be freshly inspired and motivated.

It’s easy to utilize various skills and interests in our work when we’re already FEELING inspired and creative. That’s part of what makes it fun when one good idea or impulse bounces off another to create something new and unique. But it also can work for us when we can’t find that FEELING.

If you are in the doldrums with painting, try writing in your journal. Brainstorm. Do calligraphy until it turns into something else. Play with letters until they are abstract shapes.

If you can’t get started writing, do a quick symbolic collage of your main character. Or put on music that you love but don’t often listen to.

Another trick is to use these alternate parts of ourselves to be creative while taking a break from whatever has depleted our motivation. For example, when I’ve written myself into a corner, I find cooking to be a wonderful activity to immerse myself in. It’s creative and involves the senses but it doesn’t require a lot of mental concentration. This flow of activity allows my mind time to wander in a relaxed way. Without forcing it, I often find a way out of that corner and come back to the writing inspired and motivated—with a good meal under my belt!

Thanks, Emmy, for your inspiration this morning. Be sure to visit cramzy on flickr and at her blog.

[-fiber art, journals, art-]

second stage, my heart current
© 05 - 07 all rights reserved

Uploaded by arlee.

This work of fiber art by arlee is the second stage of her ongoing work on a fabric art journal she calls, My Heart Current.
About this arlee said that she’s trying new things such as:

foiling, the use of my own hand dyed fabrics, some rough edge applique and lots of spontaneity!

Journaling has undergone quite a transformation in the last few years. What used to be a simple pen and paper way to chronicle thoughts or life events has become an art form in and of itself. Now fiber artists are taking it further, making the whole journal a piece of art. These art journals can be made of paper or textiles or both.

Thanks arlee, for sharing your process and your finished products.
See more of arlee’s work and thoughts at Albedo Design

Here’s a collaborative blog: fabricartjournals.blogspot.com
All our Journaling posts.
Articles on Altered Books
- Karen Hatzigeorgiou
- Nancy’s first attempt is chronicled and illustrated

Originally published by permission of the artist in the original Practically Creative blog, February 2006; slightly edited for re-publication

[-art, photography-]

The following images were featured in the October 2005 issue of The Practically Creative Quarterly, theme: collections. Read the rest of this entry »

[-photo essay & interview-]

Some collections happen because we are engaged in creative practices that require materials. The more we create, the more we love our materials, the more we need and want to acquire more. Often we acquire so many that we couldn’t possibly use all that we’ve gathered. The materials themselves becomes a collection. Here we have an interview with and photographs of the studios of Teesha Moore, founder of artfest and artFIBERfest.

Read the rest of this entry »

[-poetry, photography-]

by Teresa

One by one the pile grows, Read the rest of this entry »