Little Miss Dynamite leaves home.....

Little Miss Dynamite is
officially in her new home
at the Somerset County
Health Department in
Westover,Maryland,
having cleared
customs without an
international
incident!

October is Breast Cancer Awareness month both in Canada and the United States and I've had close associations with BC charitable causes on both sides of the border for several years now.

This year I chose to honor Victoria Adams Brown , the original Art Bra calendar creator and founder of The Way to Women's Wellness Foundation by creating Little Miss Dynamite ( my nickname for her) and donating it as a gift to the Somerset County Health Unit for their exclusive use in their health education programs to promote breast cancer awareness.

Somerset is sponsoring the Designer's Cup Challenge, a bra art competition to raise awareness and educate women about the disease. The competition is open to anyone who lives or works in
Somerset County. Vickie gave permission for Somerset to use some of the images from the Art Bra Calendars in their brochure for promotion purposes.

All bras received by the October 10th deadline will be evaluated by a committee of judges selected by the program sponsor. Prizes will be awarded for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Place, as well as a People’s Choice Award, voted on by attendees of the opening reception to be held on October 29, 2008 at the Governor Tawes Library in Crisfield MD. In a separate post I will share more photos and descriptions of techniques in the making of Little Miss Dynamite. Below is a copy of the Press Release for LMD.

Press Release
“LITTLE MISS DYNAMITE” COMES TO SOMERSET COUNTY

WESTOVER, MARYLAND, OCTOBER 7, 2008 ---- The Somerset County Health Department’s Designer’s Cup Challenge recently received an art bra entitled “Little Miss Dynamite”. The bra is a gift from designer Léonie Hartley-Hoover of Ontario, Canada in honor of the original Art Bra calendar creator Victoria Adams Brown of Perkasie, PA. Brown’s dedication and sacrifices via her advocacy and promotion of breast cancer awareness, research, mammogram programming, and patient support has led to her being referred to as “Little Miss Dynamite” by the artists who have contributed their time and artistic talents to aid Brown in her efforts. Brown is also the founder of the Way to Women’s Wellness Foundation. Brown is one of those rare people whose enthusiasm and vitality is infectious and her determination and hard work are at the core of the Art Bra movement. The result of her efforts is evidence indeed that one woman, with the support of a few friends, CAN make a difference!
“Little Miss Dynamite”, which is for promotional purposes and is not eligible for prizes, will be available for public viewing along with the art bras submitted for Somerset County’s Designer’s Cup Challenge at the reception on October 29, 2008, 6:00 – 8:00 p.m.at the Governor Tawes Library in Crisfield. Refreshments will be served. Suggested dress is jeans and dressy tops. The cost is $5.00 per person, payable at the door; however, reservations are required and can be made by calling 443-523-1760. Any proceeds after expenses will benefit Women Supporting Women Crisfield Chapter and/or the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.
# # # #

Science, Engineering,Travel = Stitching?

I have always tried to encourage my students to see the world through different eyes. Sometimes people just get so locked into reading stitch related books and magazines that they tend to see the world with blinders on. If you reach a point where you feel you've reached a creative block, pick up a magazine or book that has a very different topic to what would normally attract you. You just might surprise yourself as to what can inspire you. This week I have been watching for the Science and Engineering Visualization challenge results. Look at these photographs - the wonderful color combinations, shapes, sizes and design elements you can pick out from them. I can see so many beaded pieces in these photos - can you?

http://www.nsf.gov/news/special_reports/scivis/index.jsp?id=win2008

Then hop over to the Telegraph newspaper in the UK and check out their fabulous Nikon travel photography competition. You will see the top ten choices but to the right hand side of the page under "Related Articles" you will see the rest of the competitors' works. The pics are impressive and will definitely stir up some feelings in you. Enjoy!

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/3086912/Nikon-travel-photography-competition-The-10-finalists.html

Long summer gone.....catching up with Fall !

Well, there's blogging and..... blogging.....there are those who are faithful daily to their blogs and well, there's the rest of us. I've never been one to keep a diary capturing day to day life - just too busy living to write about it ! However, our blogs keep us in touch with others and update us from time to time on events and creative endeavours. With the colder weather settling in and hibernation mode approaching, perhaps I'll be prone to writing a few lines more often! I'll give it an honest go.

The Art Bra Ladies continue to thrive and have created wonderful blocks again for this year's wall quilt contribution. The calibre of the stitchery and creativity among this group is superior and I feel very privileged to be among these artists. Every year the quilts are more spectacular and being a participant is daunting as one has to strive to be better always so as not to disappoint oneself or the group. I'd like to thank all of the women in this group for setting the bar high and for encouraging me to push the limits with my work. Below is my block for 2008 and if you click on the Flickr site below that, you will see an enlarged version of my block, in addition to the fantastic blocks my friends have made for this year .

Léonie's 2008 block

http://www.flickr.com/photos/artbraproject

I will post pictures in due course, when the quilt is completed, as the final result is always breathtaking and eye candy worth ogling!

Victoria Adams Brown has also featured my block on her blog's August 3rd posting where she gives more information about the Art Bra quilts and this year's offering.

http://itsonlyribbon.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2008-08-03T17%3A14%3A00-07%3A00&max-results=7

Fall is the time for getting back into the swing of teaching and workshops too. I am teaching two repeat online classes with Joggles this semester, Bead Embroidery for Beginners and Intermediate Bead Embroidery. The classes have just started this week so if anyone is interested, it's not too late to sign up, so hop on over to http://www.joggles.com/onlineclasses.htm for further information and sign up.

Glorious landscapes

Who doesn't love Mother Nature? She has long been a beloved subject of artists of all genres. Of late, it seems there has been a passionate interest among textile artists to create landscape art and there are numerous blogs and tutorials available to pursue the technical aspects of same. However, we are always seeking inspiration to kick start our creative bent. The photo heading up my blog today is of an iris bog not far from my home. After what seems like a " forever" winter, one is greeted by a sea of yellow and rich greens which lifts the spirits and warms the heart. I hope to incorporate part of this glorious scene in my ongoing Earth, Sea, Sky tryptich which I will be blogging about in the future.

For breath taking photos that will hopefully give you some inspiration, clink the link below. Thanks to Smashing Magazine for their always insightful and informative blog articles:

http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2008/07/11/50-remarkable-nature-wallpapers/

Do you tend to explain your art?

"Explanations are the traitor of art
Serious art defies easy interpretation, and artists should resist the call to explain themselves"
......Jonathan Jones

This quote from the Art & Architecture blog in the British Guardian newspaper http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/art/2008/07/explanations_are_the_traitor_o.html
gave me food for thought this morning. As textile artists, do we explain too much or does the need for explanation go hand in glove with the medium?
There are a myriad of blogs out there in cyberspace written by textile practitioners, many of whom are professional teachers or by those who naturally teach as they write to their readership. Everywhere you look tutorials abound. BUT I notice that aside from the " tutes" and blogging, many textile artists seem to have a need to explain their work and why they did it etc. Even at Gallery Openings where texile art is prominent, I hear artists explaining their process to viewers or prospective clients. I personally don't see this done as much in other mediums in these type of venues. More often than not, you see the viewer immersed in deep thought over a painting or sculpture and you can almost see the wheels going around while they try to discern in their own mind what the artist is trying to say.
What are your thoughts on this? Does our medium demand explanation or is it the fact that there is a largely female population immersed in this art and verbal communication comes more readily to women? As females and nurturers, does teaching or explaining come naturally? Do women artists in other mediums feel a need to explain their work?
Hmmmm.....????????

For my CQ Friends

Many of my good buddies are Crazy Quilters and I personally LOVE the medium. My ever vigilant son , the DA, put me on to the Apartment Therapy site recently. Goodness knows how he came across it!
I've often thought about crazy quilting the old wing back chair in my studio and this patchwork link has certainly got me re-thinking this again!

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/ny/fabric-textiles/patchwork-upholstery-from-squint-limited-055717

OK ladie and gents- start the wheels going around!

July 4th - Happy Independence Day to my American Friends!

Textile of the Day

On July 4, 1776, the United States claimed their independence from Britain and Democracy was born. Today Independence Day is celebrated all over the nation and by Americans stationed around the world.

Greetings to my American friends and have a safe and enjoyable day!

To follow up on our Textile for the Day here's an interesting site to learn more....

http://www.ushistory.org/betsy/index.html