Tag Archives: FASA

Celebrating arts diversity – clay, glass, fiber

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Vincent van Gogh wrote, “I am seeking. I am striving. I am in it with all my heart.”

Good artists keep refining and redefining their medium, pushing boundaries and asking questions of themselves and their fellow artists. The San Antonio arts community has this kind of commitment – deep roots and diversity that would make any city proud. And they share and collaborate.

This evening, the San Antonio Potters Guild and the San Antonio Glass Art Guild are joining together to meet at the San Antonio Art League, viewing and discussing the work of sculptor and painter James Hendricks. And later in the fall, the Fiber Artists of San Antonio will tour the Art League Museum. I love this city and its multi-talented artists!

Speaking of the Fiber Artists, I was lucky enough to get a sneak preview of Friday’s opening of the 43rd Juried FASA Exhibit. The photos of the work are amazing.

Here’s a short video of some of the work you will see at Friday’s opening:

Fiber Artists of San Antonio: Preview of 43rd Juried Exhibition from Lyn Belisle on Vimeo.

And here’s the exhibit info – the juror, nationally know fiber artist Doshi, has done a remarkable job in her selective process:

  • FASA 43rd Annual Juried Fiber Art Exhibit
  • Opening Reception: Fri., Oct. 13, 2017, 6-8 p.m.
  • Exhibit on display: Fri., Oct. 13 – Fri. Nov. 17, 2017
  • Semmes Gallery, University of Incarnate Word, 4301 Broadway St.
    San Antonio, TX 78209

Doshi is not only a discerning juror and curator, but a fantastic fiber artist herself. While she is in San Antonio, you can meet her and see her own spectacular work. She creates exquisite hand dyed clothing in original designs that range from contemporary to traditional. Her technique uses knotting, pleating, rolling, pressing or sewing during the dyeing process. The resulting designs are the memories of the method used to resist the dye.

Want to see for yourself? You’re invited!

Art is everywhere in every form. Celebrate it and share it – and even wear it!

 

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Mermaids, fiber arts and Friday freebie

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1First things first – the Friday Freebie – I was amazed at the response to the Mermaid Shard Faces that I posted on Etsy this past week. They flew (or swam?) out of the shop and are now sold out, but I’ll be making more of them as a regular item in my EarthShards gallery.

Did I forget to save you one for the Friday Freebie? No! Here’s your chance to get a Mermaid Shard Face of your own to tie to a branch and add mermaid-like elements (See mermaidkaren copymy friend Karen’s wonderful example, left). These faces come from press molds I make from old cemeteries and sculpture gardens, so they have good mojo. Be a SHARDS subscriber by Sunday at midnight and you’ll be in the drawing.

Now, onto the fascinating subject of fiber arts – if you work in paper or mixed media or fabric or felt or anything string-like or woven – listen up! The Call for Entries from the Fiber Artists of San Antonio for their Juried 41st Exhibition at the swanky Plaza Club in November opens next week. If you’re accepted, your work will be seen by zillions of Plaza Club members and guests who appreciate – and purchase – art. So here are your instructions:

  1. Read the info poster (below) to see three great reasons to enter this show with any of your fiber-related work
  2. Then, if you need inspiration, watch the video at the end of this SHARDS post. You’ll see six fiber artists demonstrating easy, eclectic techniques from the FASA Artists Buffet meeting last Monday.
  3. Enter the FASA juried show – the deadline’s not till October, but time flashes by like a mermaid’s tail!16exhibitflyer

And here’s your Inspiration Video! Good luck with the FASA entries AND the Friday Freebie!

Fiber Artists of San Antonio Style Show 2015

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fasaWhen I joined FASA, the Fiber Artists of San Antonio, I knew they did more than quilting and knitting, but I didn’t realize that “fiber art” includes basketry, beadwork, braiding, clothing design, crochet, dyeing, embroidery, felting, hooking, knitting, lacework, mixed media, needlework, paper, quilting, sculpture, sewing, spinning, surface design, textile design and weaving. As a mixed media artist, I’ve discovered a lot to learn and love in this group!

Many FASA members create one-of-a-kind garments for the juried Fashion Show, an annual event that is wildly popular and usually a sell-out. I was lucky enough to get a ticket by the stage this year, and happily present to you a sampler of the artistic fashions.  The theme was In Harmony With Nature – and these talented designers combined nature, art, imagination and fashion in their creations. Take a look!      

One last note – the winner of the Walnut Ink Friday Freebie is Jo Etta Jupe – congrats, Jo Etta! Let me know how you’d like to receive your fabulous freebie 🙂
 

 

Junanne Peck rolls out printmaking fun with FASA

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The Fiber Artists of San Antonio sponsored a workshop yesterday afternoon with printmaker Junanne Peck, whose printmaking techniques include collagraphs, drypoint, polyester plate lithography, etching and monotypes. I had taught printmaking in public school, but it was a long time ago and I learned some new things from Junanne that I thought I’d share with you.

First, she is a demonstrator artist for Akua printing inks, a division of Speedball. We used this ink for monotype printing and I was impressed with the texture and pigmentation. They also make fabric printing inks that are permanent once dried. Check it out.

DSCN6690But the item that really intrigued me was the PinPress – a hand operated roller-type system that produces beautiful monotypes.

DSCN6703It’s made by Akua – here’s what they say about it: The PinPress was designed specifically for monotype printmaking. The roller is precisely machined to an incredibly even and smooth surface for uniform contact between the roller, paper and plate. Durable all metal construction made of aluminum and brass bushings insures long lasting, trouble-free printing.

I used this press during the workshop to make a monotype print with the Akua inks and liked the feel of it a lot. It costs $235, so it is a bit pricey for a small studio, but if you are into monoprinting, the PinPress is a great solution and produces nice prints with good embossed edges. And it’s definitely cheaper than a conventional heavy flat-bed press!

All of us enjoyed the afternoon with Junanne – she’s a great teacher. Here are some photos from the workshop.

Last but not least, congrats to the Friday Freebie winner of the texture tool set whose email address is “justakid@sbcglobal.net.” I like that! Send me your contact info and I’ll get these to you right away – you can scratch and texture to your heart’s content.

FASA fun and face shard fabrications

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Friday night was the opening of the FASA Juried show – I felt darn lucky to get accepted, but never in my wildest dreams expected to win an award – and for People’s Choice! Here are my pals Sidney and Mary Beth getting ready to fill out their orange voting slips for my piece, “Rune and Relic Bundles.” Thanks, guys (and to everyone else who voted)! And congrats to Susie Monday, Dian Lamb, Linda Rael, and Lisa Kerpoe who won awards from the Juror. It was an absolutely fantastic show. Look below for the video – amazing work from these fiber artists, and SAY SI! was the perfect venue.

FASA1

After all that, I was so inspired that I got to work on some new pieces for the Studio show on December 6th. Here are some work-in-progress pieces and one that I just finished from that bunch. I love making these little Shard beings! Every one of them has its own personality.

It was a busy weekend, but not too busy to draw a name for the Friday Freebie, a small Guatemalan purse from Friendship Bridge with a Shard Face inside. And the winner is . . Zet Baer! I saw Zet at the Fiber Art show – how nice to draw her name. So congratulations! Let me know how you’d like to receive your FF, Zet, and thanks to everyone for subscribing and reading and commenting.

Now, on to thoughts of turkey, dressing, mmmmmm . . . .

 

 

 

Mysterious FiberShards

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Two things collided: one, the deadline for the Fiber Artists of San Antonio fall exhibition is fast approaching, and, two, I discovered MeinkeToy Fiber Art Supplies and its owner, Eleanor Love. Result: Mysterious FiberShards. You’ll hear more from Eleanor in October – I’ve asked her to be a guest blogger – yay!  So I wanted to show you what I’m discovering about fibers while experimenting for the FASA show.

Shards and fragments of artifacts have always fascinated me, and I’m building little re-imagined ones from various fibers (paper counts – and a few of these are papier-mâché). Some of the other materials include felt, cheesecloth, and silk – take a look.

mystobj

One of the mysterious objects is part of a silk cocoon – guess what you get when you cut open a silk cocoon? Yep – a big ol’ fat dead silkworm. He’s not in there. . .he, er, went away.

Working with fibers is a lot more than knitting, y’all – it’s almost unlimited in its possibilities. Check out Eleanor’s MeinkeToy website and see what I mean.I have a feeling that I’ll be doing a lot more FiberShards in the near future. Thoughts?

Surface treatment

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So I joined the Fiber Artists of San Antonio in March under false pretenses – the only fiber I knew anything about came in my granola. But I am learning so much from this talented group – it started when I met Sherrill Kahn at the first meeting I attended.

Today I took the plunge and worked a bit with surface design on fabric. It was amazing! And fun! After about four hours steady work in the Studio, I completed three pieces (well, the surface part, anyway). I even had time to do some sewing on one piece. The materials I used were Gesso, acrylic paint, India ink (that may have been a mistake – it’s very intense and unforgiving – live and learn), pattern stamps, and gold leaf sealed with acrylic medium. I also tried a digital heat transfer on one of the pieces. Here are the results. i don’t know where I’m going from here, but I do know that I’m hooked on working with fabric and fiber. Look out, FASA 🙂.