“Every time I purchase something new for the shop, my heart starts racing and I am lost in the land of possibilities.” ~ Eleanor L. Love

Lyn Belisle, Rune and Relic Bundles (detail) 2014

This past year has been my Year of Discovery with fiber art. In much of my new work, you can find silk cocoons, hand-dyed cheesecloth, wool roving – it’s all wonderful fodder for inspiration! Much of the credit for this goes to Eleanor L. Love, owner of MeinkeToy Fiber Art and Mixed Media Supplies. I can easily get lost in her online catalog of goodies, from silks to stamps to dyes and yarns and even Thermofax screens by our mutual friend, Sherrill Kahn.

Many of my fiber artist friends whose work is in the current FASA Exhibit know about MeinkeToy – if you don’t, here’s your chance to learn. I asked Eleanor to share some thoughts about the business of fiber art and mixed media. When you read to the end, you’ll see her list of fiber art trends and exciting new products for 2015 (plus a special discount for SHARDS readers).

Lyn Belisle, Amate Bundle, 2014

Lyn : Eleanor, thanks for sharing with the SHARDS readers. I know from your bio that you were a fan of MeinkeToy long before you bought the company in 2012. As an active fiber artists, how does it feel to own the business you used to buy from? Do you find yourself too busy running the company to do much creative work of your own? Or does it give you more inspiration and access than ever?

Eleanor: I have been knee-deep in fiber art, painting and collage for about the last 20 years.  Prior to that, from about age 13 until my twenties, I made all of my own clothes, plus clothes for my siblings and Mother.  Then there was a long period of time when I didn’t have time to do anything creative.  All of my energies were put into my career and raising my family.  A friend introduced me to traditional quilting, and I can’t even count the number of quilts that I started and never finished. 

My introduction to art quilting opened a whole new world for me.  I didn’t have to use a pattern and cut out tiny pieces of fabric and sew them back together. I could do whatever I wanted!  I started buying new, cutting edge fiber art supplies from Deb Meinke at MeinkeToy.  Back in early 2012, when I found out that Deb Meinke was going to close her wonderful online shop to move on to other interests, I jumped on the chance to change her mind and let me purchase the business.  I was so happy that I would be able to carry on the MeinkeToy tradition of bringing unique, hard-to-find products to the marketplace.  I haven’t had too much time to do my own creative work over the last 2-1/2 years.  Running MeinkeToy, plus another business that I have, has me working two full time jobs.  I haven’t lost my inspiration yet.  Every time I purchase something new for the shop, my heart starts racing and I am lost in the land of possibilities.

Lyn: MeinkeToy is a wonderful online shop with lots of unusual products for the mixed media and fiber artists. I love your Abaca Tissue paper, for example. Do you select the products yourself? And, if so, what makes you say, “Aha, that’s a winner!”

Eleanor: I am the chief cook and bottle washer at MeinkeToy, I do it all.  I select all of the products myself.  I started out with the base of products that Deb Meinke had been selling and have expanded the products carried from that starting point.  I spend several hours a week on the internet sourcing products. Finding unique items that can’t be purchased in some of the big box craft stores (no names mentioned) is a huge challenge.  When I see something that really excites me, I purchase it for the shop.  I know that not everyone’s tastes are the same and I try to keep that in mind, but if it isn’t a good quality product and doesn’t interest me, I feel it won’t be of much interest to anyone else either. 

Lyn: You have an inside track on what fiber/mixed media artists are buying and using – do you see a trend toward more non-traditional work and away from such formats as block-pieced quilting? What products are your most popular?

Eleanor: I think that the market has grown to accommodate both traditional and non-traditional fiber and mixed media artists.  My experience has been that individuals that are immersed in traditional quilting tend to stay away from anything that is non-traditional.  I gave a presentation at a quilt guild not too long ago on art quilts, and one of the members came up to me afterwards and said that all “of that other stuff” scared her.  She just wasn’t interested in trying something new, and that is fine.  I do think that the emphasis on art quilts and using non-traditional materials has been fueled by all of the wonderful teachers out there who have spent the time experimenting with new products, and then go out and teach it, as well as all of the great books that have been written.  Same thing applies for mixed media.  There is such a cross-over between fabric and paper and what you can create. Some of my most unusual products are Evolon and Evolon Soft, Abaca Tissue, Crystal Spunbond, Heat-Distressable tissue, as well as some of the other man-made spunbond fibers that I import from the U.K.

Lyn: When we talked on the phone, you remarked that you can run your online art and fiber supply company from almost anywhere. That’s fascinating! Is there a brick-and-mortar MeinkeToy shop? Will there be?

Eleanor: That’s right, that is the benefit of an online company.  MeinkeToy is only online and I have no plans to ever open a shop.  Right now, I can run MeinkeToy from anywhere that has UPS, FedEx and a Post Office.  I really like the flexibility that this business affords me.

Lyn: The 40^th Annual Fiber Artists of San Antonio Juried Exhibition is on exhibit now at Say Si! Gallery and the juror, Barbara Schneider, is known for her sculpturally contoured dimensional work. Is this 3-D approach to fiber construction going to be the next new thing?

Eleanor: There are already some remarkable artists making 3-D fiber constructions.  The structures can be built to stand up by using heavy duty stabilizers, or they can be more rigid, using wire mesh or wire cloth as the structure.  There is a really interesting product that is fairly new to the market that I am taking a look at.  It stiffens fabric so that it can be sculpted.  As soon as I have done all of my research, I might just decide to carry it.  Actually, I can hardly wait to get it and try it out myself.

Lyn: Tell us little about your own work – what are you working on now, and what are your influences and passions? Do you have a favorite artist mentor?

Eleanor: My own work is all over the place.  My favorite medium is what I happen to be working with at the moment.  I love to paint and collage, scan the image into my computer, do some alterations in Photoshop and then print the image out onto silk fabric or onto a transfer paper, such as Transfer Artist Paper (TAP), which I then transfer onto fabric, generally silk.  Same thing for my photography.  That way I have fabric and images that are unique.  I then heavily embellish them with stitching and beading.  I have always had an appreciation for all forms of art and art from different cultures. I am always reading and looking at art books.  I love pattern, texture, color and design.   Even though we might not realize it, everything we look at informs our visual vocabulary.  It’s all there in our heads, just waiting for us to draw down on it.  I am currently in the process of making samples using products that I sell on MeinkeToy.  I don’t have a favorite artist mentor. I appreciate all of the great artists that are out there doing their work.  I don’t have an art degree, and everything I have learned has been through classes I have taken and books I have read.  In the end, I always seem to come back to fabric. 

Lyn: Finally, please tell us about which new product at MeinkeToy you’re most excited about as we go into 2015, looking for artistic inspiration and fresh ideas.

Eleanor: As far as what 2015 will look like, I have quite a back log of well over 100 new products to get up on the website.  I am in the process of having a new website set up, so I have been holding off putting up products on the existing site so I would just have to do it once on the new website.  It is taking much longer than I expected, so starting in the next few weeks, there will be lots of new products on the existing MeinkeToy website.  I am excited about so many items that I have a hard time narrowing it down.  I have purchased two other fiber art and mixed media businesses that I am merging into MeinkeToy.  There will be lots of new fibers, fabulous embellishments, some tribal and ethnic embellishments, some collections of vintage French fabrics that will be sold as kits, authentic African fabrics that will be sold as kits, lots of new hand dyed fabrics, fibers for felting and the list goes on and on. 

I like to think of myself as a facilitator.  I put products into the hands of people who are looking for something new and exciting to work with.  If anyone ever has any questions about products, I encourage them to contact me by email or phone.  I have always enjoyed helping other people.

I would like to extend an offer to the SHARDS readers by offering them a 10% discount on their order (not including shipping) through the end of December.  Just enter SHARDS10 as the coupon code when checking out.

Lyn: Eleanor – you are amazing. I have learned so much from you. Thanks for sharing!

You can contact Eleanor L. Love at MeinkeToy Fiber Art and Mixed Media Supplies via email or by phone: eleanor@meinketoy.com and/or 800-330-5663. Check out the Extensive MeinkeToy catalog here.

OK, so maybe Boston isn’t *that* far away, but it sure was good to see Rick last night closer to home.  Bookpeople hosted Rick Riordan in Austin at the Westlake Community Performing Arts Center to introduce his latest book, The Blood of Olympus (which happens to be the #1 best-selling book at Amazon – just thought I’d casually throw that in). There were hundreds of enthusiastic kids in orange Camp Half-Blood t-shirts – it was so much fun. While we were backstage, I also got to see my brother Rees who lives in Austin – kind of a mini-family reunion. Yay.

For those of you who want to hear Rick’s take on his upbringing and how he became a writer, you can see the video of his appearance at the New York Public Library a couple of days ago. (Actually, I put the video here so I can watch it as much as *I* want to!)  Yep, I am one proud mom.

Thanks for indulging me, you guys! And now, back to art, congrats to mixed-media artist Susan Gantz from Virginia who won the Milagro Journal Friday Freebie. I haven’t met Susan, but am always glad to get to share with fellow artists. I emailed her to let her know, and she wrote back, “This is amazing. I love your blog, and the videos (special favorite is the glue stick/gold leaf).” Thanks, Susan – it reminds me that we’re all in this together – if you have ideas, blog posts, websites – whatever – to share, send me an email and I’ll post them when I can. OK, now go buy Rick’s book <grin>.

Celebration Circle’s Monday preview opening of its annual Altar Show was great. I’m always amazed at the way artists’ minds work, and this is the place to see that in action. You can access a digital catalog all of the altars here on Celebration Circle’s website. Among my personal favorites – Deborah Keller-Rhin’s altered (no pun intended) photograph which was presented on the back side of the wooden structure. It’s delicate and strong and totally engaging. Deborah consistently brings a spiritual component to her photography – you can learn more about her in this video.

I also loved Jane Dunnewold’s for its simplicity and elegance. Jane is a consummate  fiber artist, teacher, and author and her work has hidden depths. When you visit her website, you can catch a glimpse of the many influences that inspire her body of work. The title is “Fragile Illusion of Containment” and it’s such a strong visual metaphor for our illusion of safety and separateness – artists like Jane have such a way of expressing complexity with ordinary objects and materials.

One of the cleverest constructions was Mark Kohnitz’s Bad Cats. I had a entertaining  conversation with Mark at the opening – his altar celebrates all of the kitschy cat figurines that are found in collections (“Oh, let’s get that little white china cat for Grandmother”) and end up at garage sales. BTW, the wine glass belongs to some wandering artist and is not part of the altar 🙂 Mark said he had a fine time collecting these little felines and actually has some left over from his cat quest that he will offer in an “adoption basket” during the silent auction gala. If you can’t make it that evening, I’ll pick up one and offer it as a Friday Freebie. Meow.

Here is the Celebration Circle Altar Show information – go visit the Bad Cats and the other altars (including mine) in person and bid on YOUR favorite.

September 1st through 30th
One People, Many Paths: The Sacred Art of Altars
Celebration Circle’s 11th Annual Exhibit and Silent Auction of Handmade Altars

On display for viewing and bidding in a month-long, silent auction that is open to the public during normal business hours in the Art Gallery at the Bijou Cinema and Bistro, located at Wonderland of the Americas.Closing Reception and Movie: Tuesday, September 30, 6:00 – 9:30pm, $15 in advance (sign up now)

Pueblo – 5×7″ collage – Lyn Belisle

Think of one of those art workshops that features fantastic artist who show you how to do cool stuff and charge you a ton of money . . . now, forget the money part. At the second Show and Tell from 2-4 at the Studio tomorrow, you’ll get to see some amazing demos and tips from artists who are sharing with all of us just ’cause they love it! If you need further encouragement, here’s a video from the first S&T last month.

Sherry Christensen, Fiber Artist – wrapped and sewn construction

At that last Show and Tell, I learned so much about Citra-solv papers from Bonnie and Rosemary that it inspired me to try some new collage techniques. You can see the results in these pics – I love this altered paper. Bonnie will be back tomorrow, and so will Michelle Belto, Sherry Christensen (detail of her beautiful work in photo on left) and other super-creative people to show us lots of new ideas. And even I will demo – I’ll show you the simple transfer process that we did in the last workshop. It involves nothing more than wax paper and an inkjet printer. Honest!

Strata – 5×7″ collage – Lyn Belisle

Come to the Studio from 2-4 p.m. tomorrow to get great ideas, network with other interesting people, or bring ideas of your own – it;’s very informal. There will be refreshments and info on upcoming events. Email me with questions (especially if you want to bring something to show). Yay for Show and Tell and the generous artists who are sharing with all of us!

Shards of wisdom, free of charge – these two five-minute practices will make your  life much happier. They are little gifts to yourself.

WASH YOUR BRUSHES
No matter how tired you are, wash you paint brushes before you go to bed. And do not even *think* about leaving them in the water because “the paint won’t dry and I can do it later”. You *know* it will ruin the bristles eventually. For you non-painters, this means straightening up your mess, however minimally – line up your tools, put the top back on the glue – YOU know what I mean.

MAKE YOUR BED
No matter how rushed or sleepy you are in the morning, make your bed. Tuck in the sheets, fluff up your pillow. You’ll get on with your day and forget that you did it, but at night when you’re ready for bed, you’ll smile and say, “I loved me enough to prepare a smooth and comfy place to sleep.” If you have had a bad day, you’ll appreciate it even more. And you’ll sleep much better.

Just to show you that I practice what I preach, here’s a photo of my brushes that I washed last night, almost didn’t, but did it anyway – boy, was I happy this morning when I went into the studio (after making my bed) to see clean brushes ready for a fresh start! It’s the little, free things in life that you do for yourself that make you want to make others happy. So, Happy Wednesday! 

Actual clean brushes in a semi-clean mason jar

Happy New Year, everyone! What a year of adventure and discovery. I thought I’d round up a few of my favorite semi-random mostly-artful surprises and discoveries from the past twelve months to share with you – I’m so glad that you were part of my 2013!

Art Material: Model Magic Air-Dry Clay

Yeah, I know – that purple dragon on the package put me off, too – but when I started playing with this stuff, I found that it has amazing possibilities, some of which I’ll share in upcoming workshops on air-dry clay. You can stamp into it, make molds from it, and imbed stuff. Stay tuned . .  . I’ll be teaching an online workshop at Artful Gathering featuring this clay and similar media this summer

Cheap Art Tool: Dental floss

Another discovery from the Exploring Air-dry Clay workshops – it cuts clay beautifully and can also be used as super-strong, thin cord for stringing beads. I have a bag full of little sample-sized floss at the Studio. Oh yeah, and if you happen to be eating corn-on-the cob during a workshop, it comes in handy there too.

Art Tech Tool: Evernote

I’ve had Evernote on my phone forever but never knew how to use it until I downloaded the desktop version, too. Now I can save short memos to myself (my memory is fading fast) and I can clip notes and ideas from the web and save them in folders on my phone and computer. It’s free and seriously easy – you just have to remember that you have it. That it doesn’t do for you.

Art Process: Encaustic on Watercolor paper

It was an “A-ha!’ moment when Michelle Belto showed me these new wax on paper panels she’d been creating on #300 watercolor paper. They are small jewels of layered translucency and mystery. She demonstrated this in our Wax and Wings workshop – my attempts are still pretty pedestrian, but hers soar!

Studio Gadget: My Dymo Labeller

I took a very helpful online organizational course for artists from Alyson B. Stanfield in November, and of all the good suggestions, this one I actually put into practice almost immediately. It really helped me separate stuff and think about how I used it. For example, I realized choose beads mostly by color and not by size or material, so that’s how I separated and labelled them. Plus you can print out goofy labels for your own amusement 🙂

Website: Pinterest

So, mabe I happen to be the last person in the world to discover Pinterest. I knew about it, but now I understand its usefulness for artists. It’s not so much about finding products or outfits, but it’s about inspiration. I have a Pin Board on ideas to steal – anything from the designs on a Masai headdress to a giant abstract painting by DeKooning. It’s also fun to see what other “pinners” like.

Art-Idea Book (rediscovery): Griffin and Sabine

Nick Bantock is a dang genius. I found my copy of Griffin and Sabine and the sequels just a couple of months ago – there is inspiration on every page, both visually and literally. It may be one of the most beautiful small books I’ve ever encountered. If you’re not familiar with it (because it was published over two decades ago), take a look. Nick Bantok’s website is pretty awesome as well.

Art Process Book: Wax and Paper Workshop

Again, I thank my lucky stars (and Carol Mylar) for introducing me to Michelle Belto. This is her book, and it is a wonderful example of how to teach a complex process in an engaging and approachable way. It’s also a stellar example of organizational model for an art process book. Gorgeous photos, too. I can’t wait for Michelle’s next book – she is a master at her medium.

Natural Material: Cactus skeletons

I love these netted plant skeletons! They are lightweight and strong and infinitely varied. They can be painted and used as stamps or just used by themselves. A workshop student from Floresville brought me some recently. Why are they so hard to find around here when the land is loaded with prickly pear cactus?? If you have a source, send it my way! Will trade for shards.

Art Store: 10,000 Villages

This is not the place you go to buy acrylic paint, but the ideas are rampant. Textile patterns, wood carvings, incised silver – and all made by craftspeople from across the world in a fair trade environment. It opened at the Pearl just a couple of months ago. If you need some fresh ideas and an optimistic look at the state of human creativity, go here!

Please send along your favorites from 2013 – I’ll pin ’em on my Pinterest stealboard, put ’em in my Evernote file, and post them to SHARDS! Happy New Year, dear friends – be safe.