Questions for Curators: Jamie Fingal

Jamie Fingal

1.  What are your goals for yourself as an artist?  Design quilts, patterns, fabric, stencils, curate quilt exhibits, collaborate with other artists 2. What changes do you see coming to the art quilt world? I see a sort of union happening between fiber artists, traditional quilts and the modern quilt movement, with the acknowledgement of how similar we really are with fabric and thread.
3. Curating these exhibitions has to be an awful lot of work. What motivates you to do it?  The work always shines through, and seeing what artist create with fabric and thread is something to be shared.  We both enjoy the process, and working as a team is always better than working alone. 4.  What did you do in your former life (before Dinner @ Eight)? I made quilts, entered juried shows, painted watercolors, Girl Scout artist, and put together quilt exhibits, and worked with friends on public projects.

5. What do you enjoy most about putting this exhibit together each year?  One of the best parts for me is bringing everyone together at the table for the Friday night dinners.  I miss Festival in Long Beach so much, because of this one amazing thing.  We'll always have Houston! 6.  What is most important to you in curating a show like this?  To show amazing work, with all kinds of styles, colors, and subjects. 7. How do balance time spent creating and promoting your exhibits, and time for your individual creative endeavors?  Through the deadline process. For example, the artists profiles, I give myself a deadline to get them all done in a certain amount of time, in between my current schedule. That is pretty much how everything works right now. If I can't do something, Leslie can step in to help me, and vice versa.  Social media helps us to promote our exhibits, and we can both do that. This is when technology really works well. 8. How did you two meet?  We connected through an online group - the Quiltart list in 2002.  We met in person at the Tiara Parade at Festival in Houston in 2003. We were part of the Journal Quilt Project.  Through a series of dinners, tiara parades, exhibits and online conversation we became very good friends.
9. Do you ever totally abandon a project and if so, at what point do you know it’s a lost cause?  When I know that it will not photograph well.

10. What grabs you first, color or composition?  Color and Contrast 11. When did you start quilting? 1981

12. How long does it take you two to decide on a theme each year?  a couple of months.  It's not a constant thing.  We run a few ideas via texting or email.  We think of how broad or narrow the theme is. How it would translate. 

Bonus Question
How do you gently tell someone that their work wasn't accepted without causing them to feel defeated and quit. How do you also encourage them to keep going and try again?  These are the letters we don't like to send.  It is important to us, that we word them for each person, not just a form letter.  And anyone can ask us why their quilt didn't make the cut, and we will give a thoughtful critique. 

Questions for Curators: Leslie Tucker Jenison

Leslie Tucker Jenison
Co-Curator

1.    What was your dream job when you were a kid?  Did you ever think you would be a fiber artist?  -My dream job was to be a registered nurse.  I practiced nursing for many years, always in some aspect of women’s health & community health education for women and families.  My avocation was to be an artist.  I was an enthusiastic painter as a young girl and I was fortunate to return to painting, then quilt making and surface design.  How lucky can one woman be?!

      What are your goals for yourself as an artist? To make work that is meaningful to myself, to always push myself artistically, to work with intent.

      What is your aesthetic in art? Layered, abstracted.

     How do you balance it all!  How does anyone?  We are “all bozos on the same bus” when it comes to figuring out that balance.  It helps that we are both “empty nesters” who have supportive husbands.  My family responsibilities changed after the deaths of my mother and sister in 2001 and 2003.  Between our move to Texas in 1997 and 2003 I spent nearly half my time in Kansas.  Now, each day when I walk down the hallway to my studio I thank my mother for giving me back the gift of time to make art.  I know she would like that.

What keeps quilting fresh, for you?  I continually try to push myself out of my own comfort zone.  That keeps it somewhat scary and fresh for me!  Also, I have returned to some of my earlier roots in making a few useful quilts and doing more hand-stitching.  Sometimes, what is old is new again.

What grabs you first, color or composition? -Ah, this is a tough question but I will go with color.  That said, if the composition isn’t working the color loses its “flair”.

 When did you start quilting?  I started quilting in my mid-20s (late 70's).  Although I grew up observing my paternal grandmother making quilts I was not interested-enough at the time to learn from her.  I was inspired, then mentored, by a fellow nurse in the Labor and Delivery unit I worked in.  Those early years were not all that productive, between working a full and part-time job and raising babies..

      When do you do your best work – under a deadline with pressure, or relaxed and no deadline?  I tend to have both of these going….I need to ruminate about the method of interpreting my idea.  Then, I wait until I’m backed into a corner and seem to perform best under a bit of pressure.  I can’t tell you how much I wish this were not my method.

     Do you ever totally abandon a project and if so, at what point do you know it’s a lost cause?   I will “walk away” from a project, sometimes for months.   Sometimes it stares at me from the design wall and finally I can figure out where to go next.  There have been many pieces that have been cut into smaller parts, sometimes painted over, because they just didn’t work.  You have to know when to walk away.

      Where do you see dinner@8 in 5 to 7 years?  Goals?  Dreams?  I really don’t know!  I think Jamie and I are both committed to continuing as long as there are artists willing to submit work for consideration.  We have some good years ahead, in my opinion!

         How did your collaboration come into being?  Jamie and I had both curated shows in the past.  She approached me to co-curate an online exhibition, then asked if I would be willing to co-curate Edges with her.  We decided it was a great collaboration and we really have fun together.  We are so crazy when we travel together!  After we arranged a couple of artist-dinners for the entrants and we tend to eat at 8 pm…the rest is history.

1.    What do you enjoy most about putting this exhibit together each year?  I believe it challenges us to see the work for its own merit as well as whether it will work in the collective body  of the exhibit.  Often, we disagree and then we are required to “justify” our position to the other!  I think this is good for both of us!

Bonus Question-- 

1    What has been the best part of the press and awards tour for Tim's Vermeer?  Thank you for asking!  For me, the best part of this adventure, hands-down, has been all the amazing and interesting people we have had the pleasure of meeting.  It seems that so many people have been inspired by Tim’s project.  At this time last year the 5 Jenisons were sitting in a small theater in Telluride holding hands nervously as the film premiered.  We couldn’t have imagined how people were going to respond to it.

Artist Profile: Jamie Fingal

Jamie Fingal
co-curator

Orange, California
www.JamieFingalDesigns.com

1.  Describe your signature style in 5 words: Fun, bright, sassy, complicated, whimsical

2.  Do you ever work in another medium and, if so, what is it and what appeals to you about it?  I enjoy painting with watercolors, collage with paper and fabric, and decoupage.  I believe in working in these other mediums helps me in my journey as a fiber artist.

3.  What's coming up for you in your artistic world?  So excited that my second line of stencils were launched this month with StencilGirl Products, going to be a guest on QATV and Teaching at Quilter's Take Manhattan in NYC in September, Article in Quilt Scene, Second fabric line coming out at Fall Quilt Market, and teaching at Festival. Life is good.

4.  Do you have any studio rituals?  I thank my Dad, upon entering my studio for his generosity.  If he were here, he would love it, almost as much as I do. I open the truck door and turn on the music!  The day begins.

5.  Who has inspired you on your artistic journey?   Yvonne Porcella, Freddy Moran, the artists in our exhibits, and Leslie Tucker Jenison with our text messages and critiques.

6.  What are the 5 essential things in your studio that you cannot live without?  Havel's Scissors, Mistyfuse, BERNINA sewing machines, iPhone, Iron

7.  What is on your design table right now?   Prep work for step outs for QATV

8.  How do you juggle your artistic life, family, friends, etc?   I think that having my studio outside my house helps me to stay balanced.  It's a job that I go to Mon-Fri and have the weekends off for family.  I still enjoy cooking dinner every night.  I try to have lunch with friends at least once a week.

9.  Do you have any studio companions (human or otherwise)?  I have a Godzilla squeak toy that my husband gave me before we were married.  And a red knitted beaver who guards the stash. Barbies and a talking Ken, which every girl needs.

10.  What was the biggest challenge in creating your piece for Reflections?  First idea didn't photograph well, but found that out early on.  Second piece was a bit of a challenge in sewing it together with 31 pieces.

Artist Profile: Leslie Tucker Jenison

Leslie Tucker Jenison
co-curator
San Antonio, Texas
www.LeslieTuckerJenison.com/

1.  Describe your signature style in 5 words: Depth, Layered, Stitched, Narrative, Collaged

2.  Do you ever work in another medium and, if so, what is it and what appeals to you about it?  I work with paper, and love to combine it with cloth, paint, and stitch.  I am also a painter.  Having other artistic outlets is a lovely way to stay creative all the time.

3.  What's coming up for you in your artistic world?  I’m taping some episodes of QATV, traveling to Ohio to study with Nancy Crow, I’m dyeing fabric like crazy, working in my studio to finish several quilt and mixed media projects.

4.  Do you have any studio rituals?  Yes.  I always thank my mother when I walk down the hallway into my studio before I begin my work day.

5.  Who has inspired you on your artistic journey?  I have many people who have inspired me along the way at some critical junction.  My paternal grandmother inspired me to quilt, Virginia Robertson was my first quilt instructor, Jane Dunnewold & Hollis Chatelain have been wonderful mentors.  I am always inspired and entertained by my wonderful co-curator, Jamie Fingal.

6.  What are the 5 essential things in your studio that you cannot live without?  My wonderful BERNINA, my silkscreens, my paint and dye, my fabric & paper, and my “thinking couch”.

7.  What is on your design table right now?  A mess (LOL)!  I’ve been working with some small cloth & paper collages for a project called “Tea Flora-Tales” inspired by Cas Holmes of the UK.  I plan to take them along with me when I travel over for the Festival of Quilts in Birmingham in a few days.

8.  How do you juggle your artistic life, family, friends, etc?  It is less complicated now that we are empty nesters.  My husband is very supportive of my work and I have plenty of creative time to be in my studio.  We have been traveling a tremendous amount this year and that has presented a challenge to productive periods in the studio.

9.  Do you have any studio companions (human or otherwise)?  Oh yes.  My Miniature Schnauzer, Bizzi, is my constant companion.  She naps on the thinking couch!

10.  What was the biggest challenge in creating your piece for Reflections?  Figuring out how to create an obvious reflective surface that gave it the feeling of reflected light in an urban setting.

Artist Profile: Cathie Hoover

Cathie Hoover
Modesto, California
www.CathieHooverStudios.com

1.  Describe your signature style in 5 words: appliquéd, colorful, unusual, amusing, polished workmanship.

2. Do you ever work in another medium, and if so, what is it and what appeals to you about it? No

3. What's coming up for you in the artistic world? My plan is to publish my second pattern, and publish a book in 2015 on my techniques.

4. Do you have any studio rituals? No. When I enter my studio to work, I get to work.

5. Who has inspired your artistic journey? Jean Ray Laury, Roberta Horton, Michael James, Yvonne Porcella.

6. What are five essential things in your studio that you cannot live without? Great lighting, several Berninas, my 35 year old fabric stash, a great tools.

7. What is on your design table right now? Another intersecting rings quilt that will be on the cover of my second pattern.

8. How do you juggle your artistic life, family, friends, etc.? Sometimes I do not juggle them well at all! My family loves what I create, but they do not always appreciate the time and effort it takes to create original quilts. My friends are quilters and understand the same language I do!

9. Do you have any studio companions (human or otherwise)? No animals any more. I have taught a new friend the basic of quilting and she is now hooked. Perhaps we might be able to work together in the future.

10.  What was the biggest challenge in creating your piece for Relections? I have hundreds (possibly thousands) of photographs from my childhood and parenthood. It was very difficult to sort through all these photographs and select the ones that held the essence I wanted for "Quelle Vie." Several were deleted when I realized some photographs needed to be larger than I had originally planned. The quilt's size, 24" X 60", can only hold so many photos! The "ah hah!" moment came when I chose the photograph of me sitting on a granite throne - a focal point was chosen.

Artist Profile: Terry Grant

Terry Grant

Portland, Oregon

www.andsewitgoes.blogspot.com

1.  Describe your signature style in 5 words: representational, graphic, unembellished, quiet, warm

2.  Do you ever work in another medium and, if so, what is it and what appeals to you about it? I love drawing and have been teaching myself to draw and paint on my ipad, using ipad apps.

3.  What's coming up for you in your artistic world? I am participating in a show and sale locally in early October and the Open Studios Tour late in October. I currently have work showing in two local shows, and have work accepted for another.

4.  Do you have any studio rituals? Before starting a new project I always clean the studio and put everything away so I can start with a clean slate and no leftover baggage from previous works.

5.  Who has inspired you on your artistic journey? Giotto, Leonardo, Vermeer, Michelangelo, van Gogh, Renoir, the Egyptians, the Amish quilters, Lautrec, tribal art, etc. etc. etc

6.  What are the 5 essential things in your studio that you cannot live without? Scissors, thread, my sewing machines, my stash, a tall glass of ice water.

7.  What is on your design table right now? Small pieces for sales this fall.

8.  How do you juggle your artistic life, family, friends, etc?  Family first, then art, then everything else.

9.  Do you have any studio companions (human or otherwise)? NPR on my radio

10.  What was the biggest challenge in creating your piece for Reflections? cutting all those little triangles

Artist Profile: Julie Schlueter

Julie Schlueter Orange, California www.fiberdose.blogspot.com
1.  Describe your signature style in 5 words:
Experimental, curiosity-driven, colorful, textural, changing.

2.  Do you ever work in another medium and, if so, what is it and what appeals to you about it?
No.

3.  What's coming up for you in your artistic world?  Working with a fine art nonprofit group.  Learning from two wonderful curators.

4.  Do you have any studio rituals?  Not really.  I try to play.  Life is too short not to play.

5.  Who has inspired you on your artistic journey?  Many, Jane Dunnewold, Nancy Crow, Ruth McDowell...

6.  What are the 5 essential things in your studio that you cannot live without?  Sewing/felting machine, beautiful fabrics with great color and texture, amazing threads, hand stitching threads and needles and, of course, scissors.

7.  What is on your design table right now?  Some handwork play.

8.  How do you juggle your artistic life, family, friends, etc?  Unfortunately, my artistic life gets pushed to the back.  I used to be more prolific.  I keep thinking once I get organized I will spend more studio time playing/working.

9.  Do you have any studio companions (human or otherwise)?  Just me, and beautiful fabric and thread.  Anything else is too distracting.

10.  What was the biggest challenge in creating your piece for Reflections? Thinking of the design.  Once I got that set, it was all fun from there.

Artist Profile: Terry Waldron

Terry Waldron
Anaheim, California www.terrywaldron.com
www.terrywaldron.com
www.motelymassofmusings.com

1. Describe your signature style in 5 words: fanciful, free, focused, upbeat, personal

2. Do you ever work in another medium and, if so, what is it and what appeals to you about it? I love to draw. Drawing focuses my looking, and most of all, forces me to eliminate what's not necessary, and get to the heart of the matter more quickly. 

3. What's coming up for you in your artistic world? Lots and lots of teaching and speaking at major venues, some even back-to-back. Lots of traveling… I'm even more judging now for quilt guilds and county fairs, too.

4. Do you have any studio rituals? They are secret!

5. Who has inspired you on your artistic journey? Joan Colvin was instrumental in helping me focus on Nature, my favorite inspirer. Without her early presence in my art quilt life, I would have given up this thing called quilting in a year and a half after beginning it.

6. What are the 5 essential things in your studio that you cannot live without? My 8-foot-high design board, my fabric from Ghana, my hand-sewing caddy stuffed with my straw needles and every color of thread, my trusty scissors, and my comfy floor to sit on.

7. What is on your design table right now? Sadly, the beginnings of my best idea for a piece ever… but that hasn't been touched for too long.

8. How do you juggle your artistic life, family, friends, etc? I gave up on that a looong ago. One of the three always takes over for a while, and finally gives way to another… and so I'm always out of balance!

9. Do you have any studio companions (human or otherwise)? I have several large woven African baskets that don't seem to be pulling their weigh in my studio, but I sure love looking at them!

10. What was the biggest challenge in creating your piece for Reflections? My biggest challenge was deciding if the foreground ought to be a reflecting lake or a rain-weary, muddy road. The muddy road with standing water reflecting the sunset won out.

Artist Profile: Jane Davila

Jane Davila Ridgefield CT www.janedavila.com

1.  Describe your signature style in 5 words:  graphic, stylized, linear, organic, simple
 2.  Do you ever work in another medium and, if so, what is it and what appeals to you about it? I started out as a printmaker and often returned to printmaking or incorporate the techniques into my fiber and mixed media work. I adore the process of printmaking, the layering of plates of color, the way it shows the hand of the artist, and the ability to make multiples or variations. I also create digital collages and have begun to use these in my work.
 3.  What's coming up for you in your artistic world? A new book is underway! Plus I'm working on a line of large-scale, hand-printed textiles to be used for home dec applications. And I'm developing the prototypes for a furniture line I've had in my head for years - small occasional tables with a modern ethnic inspiration.
 4.  Do you have any studio rituals? I love listening to the Worldbeat channel on Pandora. I try to leave one table cleared off and ready for action for the next time I'm there so I don't fall into my bad habit of "procrasti-cleaning".
5.  Who has inspired you on your artistic journey? My father-in-law, Alberto Davila, was a big influence on me. He was a well-known abstract expressionist in Peru and he shared a lot about his work ethic and how to comport oneself as a professional artist, all of which made a lasting impression on me as a young artist. He went to his studio 7 days a week. I remember asking him what happens when he gets there if he doesn't feel like painting. He replied that this was his job and it was his responsibility to take himself and what he does seriously so that other people would. Showing up every day was a big part of that. If he didn't feel like painting there were always a lot of other tasks to do - stretching canvas, taking photos, cleaning brushes, etc. "Showing up to do the work" became my mantra.
6.  What are the 5 essential things in your studio that you cannot live without? Music, icy cold water, gel medium, light, paper towels
 7.  What is on your design table right now?  A ton of kits for the Create Mixed Media retreat in Chicago. And a lot of sketches for new fabric designs.
 8.  How do you juggle your artistic life, family, friends, etc?  Not well! I don't sleep much and I always feel behind. I need one day a week that no one else knows about, haha!  Being a freelance artist/author/editor/designer means that I'm always working on multiple projects with multiple deadlines. I love what I do and wouldn't trade any of it but it would be great to have a true day off once in a while or to feel partially caught up on everything.
 9.  Do you have any studio companions (human or otherwise)? Daisy, my Norfolk terrier rescue dog, is my studio buddy. She has a big comfortable bed in one corner and a few toys that we toss around when I need a break. She's very supportive of my work and is a good listener. :)
10.  What was the biggest challenge in creating your piece for Reflections? I worked with a cotton voile as the background for the first time. It was a bit of a challenge to paint the background ombre to match what I saw in my head and I'm really pleased with the way it turned out.

Artist Profile: Sherri Lipman McCauley

Sherri Lipman McCauley
Lakeway, Texas
www.SherriLipmanMcCauley.blogspot.com

1. Describe your signature style in 5 words: abstract, geometric, asymmetric, serendipitous, and extemporaneous.

2. Do you ever work in another medium and, if so, what is it and what appeals to you about it? I sometimes work in collage on mounted canvases. I enjoy working on a smaller scale and the flexibility of using found objects and paint.

3. What's coming up for you in your artistic world? I am currently co-curating two shows for the fiber group I belong to - Austin Fiber Artists. One will be hanging in the Austin Bergstrom International Airport from July-October 2014. The second is a show for the Texas Federation of Fiber Artists within the Austin Area Quilt Guild Show in September 2014.Additionally, I recently completed a 2 1⁄2 year Art Mastery program with Jane Dunnewold, and our class show will be part of the Houston IQA Show in the fall of 2014.

4. Do you have any studio rituals? It seems like before I get started, I always need to clear off a space to work on. De-clutter should be my mantra. And then, music gets turned on (Suzanne Vega, Carly Simon or Carole King), and the fun begins!

5. Who has inspired you on your artistic journey? Jane Dunnewold, Kerr Grabowski, and Sherill Kahn.

6. What are the 5 essential things in your studio that you cannot live without? Music, a cutting mat, a rotary cutter, paint, and a great view out my window (my studio overlooks Lake Travis).

7. What is on your design table right now? An abstract piece I have entered in a juried show for Austin Fiber Artists and patterns to make a funky dress for my daughter.

8. How do you juggle your artistic life, family, friends, etc.? With coffee.

9. Do you have any studio companions (human or otherwise)? My mini-dachshunds - Vienna and Cinnamon - like to keep tabs on me while working in the studio.

10. What was the biggest challenge in creating your piece for Reflections?  Coming up with a design that embraced the topic was my biggest challenge. I had a number of ideas, but none of them seemed to capture the sentimental mood of Reflections. After a visit to my aging parents, I came up with the final idea for my entry. I began to think about the age of my parents, reflecting on the ages of my daughters, now in college, and I realized that there is joy on both sides of the continuum of time - in memories and thoughts of the future. My dad passed away after submitting my entry, so it is a bittersweet memory to have my quilt accepted.

Artist Profile: Larkin Jean Van Horn

Larkin Jean Van Horn

Whidbey Island, Washington

http://www.larkinart.com

1.  Describe your signature style in 5 words:  abstract, richly colored, spiritually symbolic

2.  Do you ever work in another medium and, if so, what is it and what appeals to you about it?  Beadwork on fabric, either as details on a larger piece, or a fully encrusted work.  Perhaps, as my husband likes to say, I am part raven and attracted to bright, shiny things.  But I also love the texture that beads provide.  Beading is meditative work, and cannot be rushed.

3.  What's coming up for you in your artistic world?  Two solo exhibitions:  one at the Latimer Quilt and Textile Center in Tillamook, OR in September 2014, and the other at the LaConner Quilt and Textile Museum in LaConner, WA in January 2015.

4.  Do you have any studio rituals?  Yes - Clean up yesterday's mess before starting today's work.  The sorting, folding, and moving around of my materials allows me a pause to reflect before beginning the day's work.

5.  Who has inspired you on your artistic journey?  My three muses:  my Grandmother Grace and her sisters, Helen and Nonie.  They are all departed now, but each in her own way encouraged me when no one else did.

6.  What are the 5 essential things in your studio that you cannot live without?  Fabric, threads, beads, needles, scissors.

7.  What is on your design table right now?  My entry for the Sacred Threads exhibit.

8.  How do you juggle your artistic life, family, friends, etc?  Gently.  I take my art making seriously, but the care of family and friends is just as important.

9.  Do you have any studio companions (human or otherwise)?  Music.

10.  What was the biggest challenge in creating your piece for Reflections?  My work tends to be small and intimate, so the size requirement is a big challenge for me.

Artist Profile: Sherry Kleinman

Sherry Davis Kleinman

Pacific Palisades, CA

www.sherrykleinman.com

1.  Describe your signature style in 5 words:  figurative, realistic, narrative, painted, drawn

2.  Do you ever work in another medium and, if so, what is it and what appeals to you about it?  I have tried many arts and crafts over my lifetime.  I work weekly in a mixed media figurative workshop.  I love translating the human form.  Faces have fascinated me since I was a child.  I love the challenge of "seeing" what  is in front of me and interpreting it.  Working with textiles combined with drawing and painting has provided me my most inspirational moments.  

 

3.  What's coming up for you in your artistic world? I am in the "pondering and planning" stages right now for a large piece due for an invitational exhibit early next year.  I have work currently traveling with SAQA traveling Exhibits:  Text Messages, Color Wheel of Emotions, and People and Portraits (I am a featured artist in Martha Sielman's book of the same name).

 

4.  Do you have any studio rituals?  I work on more than one project at a time (some times 3 or 4!)  Moving from one piece in progress to the other keeps my mind open and creative.  I can return refreshed to a project that I may have been stuck on, seeing it in a new light.

5.  Who has inspired you on your artistic journey?  My long time fine art drawing and painting teacher David Limrite.  He is a master teacher who encourages me to explore, see, and create in new ways that challenge me to grow as an artist.

6.  What are the 5 essential things in your studio that you cannot live without?  Sewing machine, textiles, computer and iPad, threads, and books.  Hard to limit answer to 5, as I could go on and on.

 

7.  What is on your design table right now?  As a new grandmother to a 7 month old granddaughter and a 5 month old grandson, my recent passions have involved making baby things.  (Lucky me!)  Currently next to an unfinished teddy bear are sketches of figures painted on canvas.  The figures are waiting on design wall for my inspiration to tell a story with them. 

8.  How do you juggle your artistic life, family, friends, etc?  With a retired husband who adores golf and tennis and 3 adult daughters, (married and with families of their own), I am pretty much in my studio most of the time.  Even with new babysitting duties I am constantly thinking of what I can create next.

9.  Do you have any studio companions (human or otherwise)?  My big black shaggy dog Mac (imagine a large body/short legs like a Bassett Hound) sleeps by my side when I am at my sewing machine or computer.  He is a very patient and non critical companion. 

 

10.  What was the biggest challenge in creating your piece for Reflections?  I chose to do more hand stitching than machine stitching; creating a perfect way to "reflect" and slow down as I worked.  Unfortunately some of my body parts (elbow and hand) objected to the hours of stitching!

Artist Profile: Desiree Habicht

Desiree Habicht
Riverside, CA
http:myclothesline.blogspot.com   website:www.desireesdesigns.com

1.  Describe your signature style in 5 words: contemporary realism with a twist

2.  Do you ever work in another medium and, if so, what is it and what appeals to you about it? Yes, I work in watercolor and pastel. I love the ability to create beautiful things with shapes, color and value

3.  What's coming up for you in your artistic world? I am working on some new pieces and I will be teaching at the San Diego Quilt Show this year.

4.  Do you have any studio rituals? I have my goals, ideas written on a giant sticky note on my wall which I review and add too everyday..

5.  Who has inspired you on your artistic journey? Carol Taylor, Velda Newman are just a few

6.  What are the 5 essential things in your studio that you cannot live without? My iron, design wall, My Truecut rotary cutter and ruler, paints - Oh I have more!

7.  What is on your design table right now? A new quilt pattern I am working on for Houston

8.  How do you juggle your artistic life, family, friends, etc?  I am scheduling my work week so that I have time in the studio, days that I am working on the business side and I still have time for enjoying time with my family

9.  Do you have any studio companions (human or otherwise)? My daughter Jennifer and her dog Chloe are my studio companions. When I am sitting doing quilting or piecing she and Chloe come in and we watch movies together, well they watch and I listen!

10.  What was the biggest challenge in creating your piece for Reflections? The biggest Challenge was creating and developing the quilt so that it told the story I wanted to tell. I required using photoshop, digital manipulation, photo transfer and then adding the applique and paints to get that look I wanted.

Artist Profile: Susan Fletcher King

Susan Fletcher King
Houston, Texas
http://www.susanfletcherking.com/ 

1. Describe your signature style in 5 words:  Illustrative, Graphic, Asian Influences, Nature

2. Do you ever work in another medium and, if so, what is it and what appeals to you about it?  Yes, as a graphic designer and illustrator, I worked with a lot of other media such as pen and ink, various paints and some forms of printing like silkscreen.  I am coming back around to these various applications and enjoy mixing them in with the art quilting.  The other media are useful to enhance or alter the purely textile approach which I had originally done when I began my art quilting journey.

3. What's coming up for you in your artistic world?  I will have a piece that is going to show in the Craft Texas Biennial this year at the Houston Center for Contemporary Craft. Also one or two pieces will be included in The World of Beauty at the International Quilt Festival.  I am also beginning to branch out and do some lectures and teaching mostly in the Houston area since I am still tethered to the home with my husband and son.

4. Do you have any studio rituals?  A good studio cleaning after a project is completed so that I can start off with (literally) a clean slate for the next project.

5. Who has inspired you on your artistic journey? My own childhood and my mother surprisingly!  I find myself working on an idea for a piece and will often realize that it is from some deep memory of my childhood experiences.  My mother was always bringing bits of nature ( bird’s nests, an interesting stone, a lizard or bee) to my attention and even into the house.

6. What are the 5 essential things in your studio that you cannot live without?  Good outdoor lighting – one whole wall of my studio is windows, my Bernina sewing machine, air-conditioning!!!, design wall and music.

7. What is on your design table right now? A variety of aluminum cans for a new experiment.

8. How do you juggle your artistic life, family, friends, etc? Family will always be first and then comes my art along with my friends.  A lot of my friends overlap into my art world.

9. Do you have any studio companions (human or otherwise)?  No – in fact I am thankful that I have a good door to close my studio so my 2 cats stay out.  There’s enough fur flying in the house without their added bits in the studio.

10. What was the biggest challenge in creating your piece for Reflections?  I always try and set some new goal in each piece I work on, so this time it was experimenting with different paints and trying to do more of a 3-D construct.

Artist Profile - Natalya Aikens

Natalya Aikens
Pleasantville, New York
http://www.artbynatalya.com/

1.  Describe your signature style in 5 words:Architecturally inspired and delicately stitched.

2.  Do you ever work in another medium and, if so, what is it and what appeals to you about it? Occasionally I will paint with acrylics or draw with markers or draw in my iPad. When I use paints or markers, the appeal is getting messy with my hands and really feeling the tooth of the paper and the texture of the paint. The opposite is true when I draw on my iPad, I enjoy playing with apps and seeing what different effects I can produce and there is no mess!

3.  What's coming up for you in your artistic world? Lots! I’ll be teaching at the Create Retreat in New Jersey on July 9th and 10th. My former entry for D@8 Rituals exhibit “Dacha” will be on view at the Osilas Gallery at Concordia College in Bronxville NY from July 10th to August 10th. My piece “The City” is now with Quilt National 2013 at the San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles until July 20th. And I am really looking forward to teaching at the Hudson River Valley Fiber Art Workshops in March as I’ll get to devote five whole days to teaching playing with Photoshop and printing!

4.  Do you have any studio rituals? 

Not particularly, aside from making a huge mess when working on a project and then having a major cleaning and organizing session when I’m all done. Although sometimes that cleaning happens after several projects..

5.  Who has inspired you on your artistic journey? 

Oh that list would be long! All my teachers, and that includes my actual art teachers from high school through college and beyond, other artists that I have learned from in person or online and other creative people who have inspired my with their drive and perseverance.

6.  What are the 5 essential things in your studio that you cannot live without?

My Bernina machines (home and industrial), my thimble, scissors, matte medium and currently my stash of plastic shopping bags.

7.  What is on your design table right now? 

A home portrait for a client. It’s being created from the ephemera collected by the owner, including sheet music, passport page and a wedding veil.

8.  How do you juggle your artistic life, family, friends, etc?  

One day at a time, and sometimes just 15 minutes at a time. I’m striving for balance always…

9.  Do you have any studio companions (human or otherwise)?

Nope, it’s just me usually. Although my youngest daughter has been known to invade every now and then… ;)

10.  What was the biggest challenge in creating your piece for Reflections?

Finding just the right photo to start me off from my gazillion of images.

Artist Profile: Lyric Kinard

Lyric Montgomery Kinard

Cary, NC 

www.LyricKinard.com

1.  Describe your signature style in 5 words:  whole cloth, textural, simple, complex

2.  Do you ever work in another medium and, if so, what is it and what appeals to you about it? I sometimes layer and screen print and paint on board. It’s almost instant gratification compared to the slow process of working with cloth. Every autumn I get the irresistible urge to paint individual leaves in watercolor. It’s a completely different type of meditation for me.

3.  What's coming up for you in your artistic world? I’m working on two new instructional DVD’s, one on thermofax screen printing and one on different mounting methods for textile arts. Stay tuned at www.LyricKinard.com if you are interested. 

4.  Do you have any studio rituals? I clear off my drafting table before starting any new project. It feels like clearing the cobwebs.

5.  Who has inspired you on your artistic journey? My parents and siblings for their artistic creativity, Caryl Bryer Fallert for her incredible generosity and business sense.

6.  What are the 5 essential things in your studio that you cannot live without? Social media, photoshop, my thermofax machine, my iPad with it’s art and photo apps and a good length of blank cloth.

7.  What is on your design table right now?

A crazy colored self portrait.

8.  How do you juggle your artistic life, family, friends, etc?

Not very well often. My balance is more long term, like a see saw that is often all the way up or down.   

9.  Do you have any studio companions (human or otherwise)? No. Blissfully alone after 18year of having toddlers home with me.

10.  What was the biggest challenge in creating your piece for Reflections? For almost the first time in my artistic life a piece flowed through me. Almost (not quite) effortlessly.