BTS Artists Teaching at CREATE

CREATE with Cloth, Paper, ScissorsMixed Media Retreat in Rosemont, IL - Aug 25-29th; the following BTS Artists will be teaching at this venue; open for registration now

Wed, Aug 25th
Leslie Tucker Jenison and Jamie Fingal - Dreaming in Canvas: A Painted Quilt
Jane Davila - Fiber Collage House
Natalya Aikens - Mix your Media with Photoshop
Jeannie Moore - Monoprinting your design with Fabric Paints

Thurs, Aug 26th
Susie Monday - Rainbow Printing with Water Soluable Crayons
Jeannie Moore - Stitch & Paint
Natalya Aikens - Upcycling Art Journaling: Transforming Everyday Journals into Art
Jane Davila - Minding your Business
Leslie Tucker Jenison and Jamie Fingal - Musical Chairs: A Painted Canvas Collaboration
Judy Perez - Tea & Ephemera Fabric Collage

Fri, Aug 27th
Jane LaFazio - Fused Sheer Collage
Jane Davila - Gyotaku Collage

Sat, Aug 28th
Jane LaFazio - Collage 101
Judy Perez - Ornamental Fiesta

Sun, Aug 29th
Jane LaFazio - Sketching & Watercolor: Journal Style
Judy Perez - Ornamental Fiesta

Postcard Design

Beneath the Surface - This will be an over sized postcard - conceptual artistry by

Suzanne Staud

She lives in Modesto, California - visit her amazing website by clicking on her name

Artists Profile - Curating

 









1. How did you select the theme, and did you get what you expected from those invited to submit, or are the results completely unexpected?
J) We each have lists of theme ideas, brainstorm via e-mail and then decide. Sometimes we ask a few of our artist friends for their input. My only expectation is quality artwork that interprets the theme in the art quit and that the statement reflects it.
L) We started out with quite a different idea for this year's theme, but decided there might be some unresolved copyright issues, and moved on to a subject that would invite a broad array of interpretations.

2. How did you come up with the idea of an invitational juried exhibition to be shown at Long Beach/Houston?
J) We wanted to have a great exhibit, but wanted some control on who we asked to participate, like asking people we know personally. And it was our desire to ask some artists who have never entered a piece in a large show. I enjoy the learning curve, to help an inexperienced artist achieve their goal to be accepted into our exhibit.
L) As fate would have it we were able to secure sponsors for both exhibitions this year. Last year we asked participating artists to pitch in financially if they were able in order to take the exhibition on to Houston. As a result we received a lot of additional exposure for the artists' work, and the Edges exhibit was featured in a substantial article in Quilting Arts magazine. Yay!

3. What’s on tap for next year’s invitational?
J) We are working on that now, and haven't decided what the theme will be for 2011.
L) We do have some ideas up our sleeves, but we welcome any thoughts from the BTS artists!

4. This whole undertaking is a ton of work, (thank you very much!) what do you two personally get from it, that makes you take it on?
J) I love bringing people together - all kinds with a variety of experience in the quilting world. I enjoy working with Leslie and we compliment each other in our skills. To see the big picture - from start to finish is quite rewarding in itself. To be able to share a knock out exhibit with the public at the best venues.
L) Several things: Jamie and I enjoy working together. We come at the work from different perspectives which is both wonderful and challenging. We love to see where the themes take the artists, and for many, just the size of the quilt presents a unique challenge! It is Interesting to see how people decide to interpret the theme(s). It is all very exciting to us. Yes, it is work, but it is truly a labor of love for both of us.

5. What sorts of things do you have to do as curators that the artists might not know is part of your job?
J) Working with a variety of people on a professional level, meeting deadlines, being highly organized, and having fun at the same time. Leslie is a wonderful and considerate writer, which I so appreciate when it comes to writing letters, sponsor letters, theme paragraphs, etc.
L) There is a LOT of paperwork involved. Being on the other side of the "fence" as curator/jurors we have an opportunity to intersect with a wider variety of people running the quilt shows. Jamie is extremely organized which is so wonderful!

6. What enticed you two to begin curating shows?
J) I’ve curated a handful of shows before I organized an exhibit of quilts made about Long Beach in 2008 made by groups "Everything Under the Sun." The second exhibit "Edges" began on my own and then brought Leslie in to help with the jurying process, and the rest is history. Throughout our friendship, we have found that we work well together. Henceforth, curating seemed a natural progression for both of us.
L) While I was co-owner of FiberArtspace I had opportunities to curate a number of shows as well as jury a call for entry. Jamie and I worked together on curating an online exhibition and found that we really enjoyed the collaborative effort.

7. Where did the "Dinner at Eight" name come from?
(J and L) When we go to Festival in Houston, our reservation is for 8:00pm and our artist friends are with us! We thought it was the perfect name for our curating efforts.

8. What is our greatest asset?
J and L) Perhaps a good reputation in the quilting world and we're easy to work with.
L) I think we have done a good job of presenting an interesting array of work in both exhibitions we have co-curated. We work well together.

9. What other projects do you work on as a collaboration?
J) We team teach one hour workshops in MIU at Festival in Long Beach and Houston. We are also teaching at CREATE with Cloth, Paper, Scissors in late August in Rosemont, IL. Leslie and I both enjoy cooking, so we started a blog “Artists Cooking with Gas.”
L) As Jamie stated, we have a number of common interests in addition to making art. Some of these have become collaborative endeavors and it has been quite enjoyable.

10. What are a few things you haven't done but would love to do?
J) Oh my gosh, where do I start? I would love for one of our exhibits to travel after Houston onto the Quilt Visions Gallery in San Diego and Karey Bresenhan's gallery in LaGrange, TX. I want to do an exhibit about Women Authors. I would love to do an exhibit about something emotional, that tugs at your sleeve, that changes you inside, that is gripping...a girl can dream.
L) I want to write a book. I hope to get my work into Visions and Quilt National someday. I've got a lot of dreams and goals, artwise and otherwise!

Jamie Fingal - Orange, California

1. How do you describe yourself? Funky, eclectic, over the edge, goes to the beat of a different drummer, thinker, organized, social, driven, generous, humorous, wife, mother, sister, daughter, cook, gardener and dog lover...and grown up Girl Scout!

2. What is your creative process? There is alot of pre-planning in my head way before it gets to paper, writing on post-it-notes, and then sketching in my journal. My abstract work begins with a zipper, and then the fabrics. I always have a small Moleskin journal with me so that I don't miss any inspiration that comes my way.

3. What's your style? Over the edge abstract, but I also love vibrant colors in portraits and whimsical pieces that I create. I find that I get bored easily, so it's nice to go back and forth between the two styles. I dabble in surface design with hand made stamps, block printing and acrylic paint.

4. How long have you been a quilt maker/fiber artist? I made my first nine patch in 1981, and took the leap to art quilting after wondering what else I could do if I bent the rules a bit. I've been making art quilts since 2001.

5. Do you listen to music when you make art? I love listening to music when I work - some easy listening, show tunes, rock, punk and what I call strong women music - and I want to hear it in every room that I am working in. It gets the juices flowing!

6. What do you do when you are blocked creatively? I am not blocked very often, but when I am, I go shopping - to see all of the colors and textures. I visit the Orange Library and sit in the childrens section and look at the three large quilts that I designed and made with the Cut-Loose Quilters in 2007. Something usually sparks my imagination.

7. Do you teach? I have taught in Make-It-University at Festival in Houston and Long Beach for about 4 years. I am tipping my toe in the water by teaching at Create this summer in Rosemont, IL with Leslie Jenison. I really like it when you are sharing your experiences with other people - techniques - talking to them about being messy and letting loose, and not following the rules. The ah-ha moment that occurs when the light goes on in the face of a person - to visibly see the joy in what they accomplished - there is nothing like that.

8. Are there artistic endeavors that you have yet to do? Yes, many more I hope, and some to be public projects. I would love to write another book and make some "group" quilts. I enjoy co-curating and teaching with Leslie.

9. How do you balance your family life and art? Since moving my art studio to an office park, my life has been way more balanced. My family is important to me and always comes first. All of our kids have their own amazing lives. Steve and I have a routine and thoroughly enjoy our time together. My dilemma of balance lies between administrative and creativity.

10. What is the best part about what you do? Realizing the dream and making it happen. Working with other artists, connecting, making art together - being part of a community.

http://www.JamieFingalDesigns.com/
http://JamieFingalDesigns.blogspot.com/
http://artfulfoodandfiber.blogspot.com/

Leslie Tucker Jenison - San Antonio, Texas

1. How do you describe yourself? I’m an artist, mother, and “naturalized” red head. I am a textile & mixed media artist with a focus on the quilted surface. I dye, print, and make marks on paper & cloth. I enjoy working with unconventional materials, exploring their possibilities and how I might integrate them into my work. I refer to my hair color as “crazy-woman red”!
 

2. What is your creative process? I spend a lot of time looking at things that interest me. I’m obsessed with the effects of pressure upon objects & materials, such as a pile of river rocks, cracks in pavement, earth, and buildings. I photograph things that interest me and often sketch or paint them repeatedly. Sometimes I am inspired by an event, a photo, or by a piece of cloth I’m working on…frankly the inspiration can come from many places. It seems that my other interests inform my artwork.

3. What's your style? Much of my work leans toward the abstract, but I let the idea dictate how I will interpret it. I utilize photography, dye, paint, and a variety of techniques to achieve the end-result. 

4. How long have you been a quilt maker/fiber artist? I’ve been making quilts since the, gulp, late 70s, when I was still a baby. I began as a traditional quilt-maker. Through the years of working full-time as an RN and raising children I wasn’t very prolific. I transitioned to creating my own original work in the early 90s. Without question, the move to San Antonio from Kansas had a huge impact on my art.

5. Do you listen to music when you make art? I listen to music, and it ranges from classical (I love YoYo Ma’s Bach concertos!), to quite a range of rock, alternative, and even an occasional C&W tune! Recent favorites include Spanish Harlem Orchestra, Johnny Flynn, and Leona Lewis. Sometimes I put headphones on and listen to an audiobook on my ipod while I work. There are days when I need silence. I love to hear the birds singing outside my studio window. When I’m doing “wet work” I almost always listen to music with my headphones on.

6. What do you do when you are blocked creatively? I love to use mixed-media collage or spending time in my garden as a way of flexing my art-muscle when I need a jump-start. I never seem to be out of ideas, but occasionally get stuck as to how to interpret a particular project. Switching gears is a good solution. Sometimes writing and/or sketching will break things open.

7. Do you teach? I have begun teaching a few workshops. In my past life I was a nurse-educator and I really loved teaching. I’m gradually teaching a bit more quilting & mixed-media locally and for Cloth Paper Scissors Make-It-University. I’m thrilled when a student has an “aha” moment in the classroom. 

8. Are there artistic endeavors that you have yet to do? Oh yes! I’m learning a bit about encaustic, and I’m mesmerized by fire, a sort of “wanna-be -pyro”, so I would love to work with glass and metal. 

9. How do you balance your family life and art? Balancing art and family is often challenging. My family always takes priority, without question. We moved to Texas in 1997 but I frequently commuted back to care for my mother in Kansas until her death in 03. I have 3 daughters and the youngest left for college less than 2 years ago. It was after these changes that I was able to focus more on making art. My husband is equally passionate about his work and is quite supportive of what I do.

10. What is the best part about what you do? Being in “the zone”, whether it be dyeing or screen-printing, piecing, painting, or quilting. Being so engaged in what I am doing that I have no idea how much time has passed. Ahhh: Nothing better. I love each step in my art-making process. I get so much joy from doing what I do. I consider myself a very fortunate woman, indeed.

http://leslietuckerjenison.blogspot.com/

Muna Elias - Murrieta, California

1. How do you describe yourself? I am a yesterday kind of person...I like things to happen yesterday...not tomorrow or next week or even now...but a day ago. Being a mother of lots of little ones (7 to be exact) has helped me to become much more calm and patient.

2. What is your creative process? I am a process driven kind of artist. I LOVE trying to think of how I can use a new or creative techniques in my art work. I have a plan for everything, like color, and general direction, but I like the spontaneity of when things just happen. Some of my best art work started in one direction, but I made a left turn in the process and allowed myself to go in that direction. I recently started an art journal so I can get my idea out of my head and not worry I will lose the thought before I can start creating it. I now have pages full of potential art work that I know when the time is right I will get to make.

3. What is your style? I consider myself a surface design embellisher. I enjoy starting off with a solid color whole cloth. I then will dye, over dye, discharge, add fiber, add more fiber, maybe some paper or metal and then thread paint it flat. The stitching or quilting is my favorite part in the process.

4. How long have you been a quilt maker/fiber artist? I started in garment construction and have made wearable art for both the private collector and Cooperation. I started making traditional quilt tops 15 years ago, but the quilting of the layers together is what I really caught my attention. About 4 years ago I made the real transition to make whatever it was that I wanted to make. I wanted to see my art hanging in my house, on my walls.

5. Do you listen to music when you make art? I absolutely listen to music when I am in my studio creating art. I like different music for different creative output. Something with a heavy base when I am creating fire in my quilting and classical music for creating calm water on a piece. Music really helps me get into the zone.

6. What do you do when you are blocked creatively? I have not had a problem with being blocked creatively. I am inspired by my family daily. The kids help me to look at things through their eyes, not overlooking even the smallest of bugs or colorful sunsets. If anything, I get over loaded and what to create ALL what I see and NOW. So I have found that I need to step back and realize that I do not have to create it ALL.

7. Do you teach? Yes I teach, free motion and long arm quilting, I had to take a break this past year after giving birth to our youngest child. My favorite part of teaching is the fact that I can inspire others to try something that they may have had a fear of. Thread painting and hand quilting are my favorite things to see others come out of the box to create.

8. Are there artistic endeavors that you have yet to do? Many..I think if I stop wanting to create, I will stop creating!!! I enjoy working with others on creative projects, so I have found a friend to collaborate with. The fact that I am a process driven artist, is the reason I will never run out of the need to create!

9. How do you balance you family life and art? This is tough and maintaining a perfect balance is wishful thinking!! The fact that 6 of the kids (the baby is too young) will create art with me is true harmony. At our house art is part of daily life. I might be playing with a new dye technique and next thing you see the kids go grab their fabric and we are all outside dying yards of fabric together. I do most of my major work at night between 10pm and 2am, when the kids are sleeping. They have their own art supplies which allows them to create when they want and I feel it helps them to want to create art too. We all go the quilt show together and they are the ones pointing out the "Best" pieces in the show. Having them be a part of quilting is what makes this all good and helps maintain balance.

10. What is the best part about what you do? The best part of creating art is when I have just finished a quilt and I share it with the kids and they look at it and their eyes light up and they let me know just how "COOL" it looks and how they think the have the best mom in the whole world!!! Or when I hang it up on the bottom of the stairs and my husband will stare at it and give me that smile..that, "it looks good look." Or when I have a piece hanging in a show and I hear ... now HOW did she do that? This keeps me going and puts a BIG SMILE on my face.

Judy Coates Perez - Chicago, Illinois

1. How do you describe yourself? I am a mixed media textile artist.

2. What is your creative process? Usually when I make an art quilt it is not a spontaneous process, I spend a lot of time just thinking about the concept and how I best want to approach communicating the idea. I can think about an idea for a couple years before I am ready to start committing anything to paper. In the mean time I start collecting imagery to reference for illustration purposes and sometimes to evoke a particular aesthetic style.

3. What's your style? I like to make work that tells a story or expresses an idea. My preferred method is painting imagery on whole cloth and use the quilting stitch to add further interest to the over all design, but occasionally I diverge from this method to create a different kind of expression.

4. How long have you been a quilt maker/fiber artist? I think it would be around 25 years now.

5. Do you listen to music when you make art? I usually listen to audio books while I am painting and quilting, unless I am in a part of the process that demands a lot of decision making and then I prefer silence.

6. What do you do when you are blocked creatively? I don’t sweat it, if you put pressure on yourself to create some unique idea more than likely you will just draw blanks. I switch to knitting or play around with other processes. I don’t think there is an art medium or technique that I haven’t liked or found inspiration from doing.

7. Do you teach? Yes. I love meeting people and helping them learn new techniques that they can use to create their own vision. We all have so much to share with each other, there is no better place than being in a room full of people making art.

8. Are there artistic endeavors that you have yet to do? Of course, there is an endless list of new things to explore.

9. How do you balance your family life and art? My kids have grown up knowing that making art is an integral part of life. Most of the time we will all be creating work in our various preferred methods within fairly close proximity, it sort of feels like having parallel play when the kids were little.

10. What is the best part about what you do? I love the excitement of starting a new project and getting lost in the painting, it is my favorite form of meditation.

http://JudyPerez.blogspot.com/