6/07/2013

Uncommon threads

23



"When you start to think of the arts as not this
thing that is going to get you somewhere in
terms of becoming an artist or becoming
famous or whatever it is that people do, but
rather a way of making being in the world not
just bearable, but fascinating, then it starts to
get interesting again."





These eyelashes sent me on a wild train of thought 
(aside from the little girl in me who wanted to play dress-up & would beg
to try these on just once) ...
I asked myself,
what if all of us who make things
were to change our perceptions about
common
materials ... the tried & true materials we use over and over?
What might happen?
















:::


Captions under each photo are clickable for the original websites



23 comments:

  1. Beautiful post, Christi, LOVE the work here!! And that quote, just might need to copy that one down!!

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    1. Ditto, V, copied here, too.
      If you have a few spare moments you might enjoy clicking on her name to go to the link. Reading about her teaching style (and you, being a teacher yourself) might be very enjoyable - she is NOT conventional.

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  2. The stitching on wood, that just holds me...

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    1. Did you see in the caption that the stitching is actually on photographs ... then laid on wood!
      But the illusion is FANTASTIC, isn't it?

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  3. Amazing work, especially the prayer vest and stitching on trees, wow. Love the quote, its going to have to go in my quote book

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    1. Mine, too, Debbie ... so simple but right to the core. Lynda Barry is a cartoonist and teaches classes in a nonconventional, nonthreatening format. Hope you had a few moments to click the link over there - made me wish she'd been one of my teachers!

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  4. Gorgeous post, not only for the artwork show, but most importantly for the message. Love the lace and cement. Saw Roz Ritter's Love Letters in person in Pittsburgh and can say just how stunning it is. Thanks for this post!

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    1. Thank you, Jennifer. I was fairly gobsmacked when I read the materials list for Naomy's pieces, kept staring at them trying to understand *how* she did them. Then came the, why? Something about that delicacy with hardness that is so compelling.

      Oh, how fortunate to have seen the Love Letters in person!

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    2. An artist juried into a guild that I'm a member of a few years ago. Her panty hose and concrete piece held me spellbound. I'll find the link and send it along.

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  5. i think about this a lot. but i always come back to cloth.

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    1. I understand.
      It's very telling what we keep coming back to, isn't it? And what we keep running from as well, I suppose.

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  6. Lovely, lovely! Thank you once again for putting it all into perspective for me. Thinking of new ways to do 'old' things is one of my favorite pastimes. I'll be coming back to look at this post over and over again.

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    1. ... spending a lot of time this end rethinking things. All of a sudden it seems I'm attracted to a weird,
      eclectic mix of other materials. Just running with the thoughts.

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  7. it's what intrigues me so about found objects repurposed into something new. elevated from commonplace into "art". I'm always thinking, "what can I do with this?"

    Jilly Morris' work sent my heart a pitter patting! xo

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    1. Me too, Jen ... spent quite a bit of time over at her website lookinglookinglooking.
      Maybe we should revisit your idea of a collaboration, perhaps toward the end of the year?

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    2. and you think I forgot? ha! fat chance girlfriend. you said you wanted to wait until after the workshop in Sept. so I've been biding my time. you are SO on the hook. lol

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    3. yikes, did I ALREADY say that???? shows you how wackydoodle I've gone & it's only June ;>/

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  8. oh those lace net eyes Christi! I am going to try it in the privacy of my own bathroom definitely not the look for the 58 year old visage in public but it will be fun to have a go!

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    1. GO GO GO!!!
      Then do let me know how it went, please.
      I almost wish a whole group of us could get together & *do* each others eyes ... now THAT would be something indeed!

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  9. Absolutely marvelous, Christi. Thanks for sharing these thoughts and thought-provoking artist's images.
    -sus

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    1. So glad you enjoyed, Susan, these artists certainly sent my mind into some unchartered territories.

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  10. Ditto to Susan, above... ditto to all. Love the so-true L. Barry quote!

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  11. I saw Roz Ritters wedding dress in person at Fiber Art International in Pittsburgh and had a nice chat with her. I love this piece.

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