Milagros @ Charlevoix Circle of Arts.

Greetings All,
Here are photos and information about FAC exhibit posted by Kathie Briggs and my piece "Behold The Child" is a part of this exhibit and I hope that you enjoy.

Milagros at the Charlevoix Circle of Arts

Milagros, a traveling exhibition by the Fiber Artists Coalition is the featured exhibit in the all-media show of the same name at the Charlevoix Circle of Arts in Charlevoix Michigan.

Milagros are small metal figures used to thank Christian saints for fulfilling requests in time of need.  Milagros as a custom accompanied the Spanish as they arrived in the Americas and continues to be a part of folk culture throughout rural areas of Spain as well as in Central and South American and parts of North America.  In Spanish, the word milagro literally means miracle or surprise.

The spirit of Milagros inspires the art in this collection.  Members of the Fiber Arts Coalition and eight guest artists have created pieces offering comfort, hope, peace and strength. 

The fiber pieces make up the majority of the exhibited artwork and are accented by assemblages, sculptures, blown glass and paintings created by invited artists.

Spring inspires Clairan Ferrono’s series of three works celebrating the season. “Spring in the Midwest is the longed-for miracle of rebirth.  The bright colors and green shoots of bulbs bursting forth after an extended period of snow and cold make me smile and dance!”

But spring is not the only season that inspires. Joy in the Morning by Linda Witte Henke is “inspired by the subtle color and nuanced beauty of the Indiana winter landscape, bears witness to the hope and promise ingredient in each new day.”

Hope by Kathie Briggs celebrates the hatching of a wild Whooping Crane chick to the Easter Migratory Flock of this majestic and highly endangered bird.

And Shelley Brucar’s Counting Stars II reflects on the simple pleasure of “the carefree times when we would lie in the grass at dusk, watching the stars appearing in the sky” which remains a magical even to her.

Milagros opened on December 7, 2013 and will run through January 14, 2014

And Still We Rise - update

Greeting All,
Here's a video of interviews from some of the artist in the "And Still We Rise" exhibit at the Underground Freedom Center.  I hope that you enjoy and if you have not seen this exhibit, I encourage you to attend.

Happy Thanksgivings

The Journal Project/SWAQ Journal

 Greetings All,
Here is an update on The Journal Project.  We I have changed one of them by re-constructing the tree (below).  I am so very pleased with this new one and several have found new homes, so they are being well received.  They make great gift ideas and the covers can be remove and framed/hung.

Below is my new series of journals named after a group of friends/artists that we use to meet and have "Play-dates" and whom I miss greatly.  All the fabrics I either dyed, over-dyed, painted, stamped, stenciled and the shadow profiles represent me looking forward to meeting up sometime again.

The Journal Project/Pieces of the Week.

Greetings All,
The Journal Project was inspired by this lovely journal (left/below) that was created by fiber artist Lauren Austin whom I met at the Underground Freedom Center at the opening "And Still We Rise".  I love Lauren's work so much I decided to create a series of my own.  Thank you Lauren for inspiring me to do so. 

Behold my Black Bird Journal series and my pieces of the week..

Sapphire & Crystals @ Gallery Romain

Greetings All,
Sapphire & Crystals came to town for the Citywide Celebration of Women Artist at Gallery Romain here in Peoria, IL.  The exhibit run October 15th - November 15,2013.  This exhibit includes works by Rose Blouin, Juarez Hawkins, Malika Jackson, Renee Williams Jefferson, Joyce Owens, Felicia Grant Preston, Pearlie Taylor, Patricia A. Stewart, Shahar Caren Weaver, Dorian Sylvain and Trish Williams.  The gallery address is 1919 N. Sheridan Road, Peoria, IL 61604, so if you are in the area stop by and say hello.  Tuesday thru Friday 10am unit 6pm and Saturday 9 to 5.  Enjoy the slide show.

Citywide Celebration of Women Artists/Prairie Fiber Arts Guild.

Greetings All,

Here is a gentle reminder of the Citywide Celebration of Women Artists 

events.

 

Below I have three pieces that will be in this style show.  Left-Gateway, center-Cream Dreams, and right-Mud Slide.

Gallery Romain/Citywide Celebration of Women Artists - Felica Grant Preston

Greetings all,

In conjunction with the Citywide Celebration of Women Artists  this week's featured Sapphire & Crystals member is Felicia Grant Preston.

Felicia Grant Preston received a BA in art from Southern Illinois University, an MS ED from Northern Illinois University, and an MA from Chicago State University. In addition, she has studied at the University of Illinois, The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Governor State University and The Savannah College of Art and Design. Her work has been exhibited at the Museum of Science and Industry’s Black Creativity exhibition, A.R.C. Gallery, Woman Made Gallery, Artemisia Gallery, Hyde Park Art Center, South Side Community Art Center, Susan Woodson Gallery, Nicole Gallery, The South Shore Cultural Center, Neleh Artistic Expressions and Gallery Guichard to name a few. She has also exhibited at Fort Wayne Museum of Art Alliance, in Fort Wayne Indiana, Vaughn Cultural Center in St. Louis Missouri, The Art Exchange Gallery in Detroit Michigan, The Savannah College of Art and Design in Savannah Georgia, Florida Community College in Jacksonville Florida, Art Jaz Gallery in Philadelphia Pennsylvania, and in numerous private collections.

Gallery Romain/Citywide Celebration of Women Artists

Greetings All,

Here's the postcard for the exhibit hosted at Gallery Romain in Peoria, IL for the citywide celebration.  I would like the thank Jonathon Romain for allowing us to exhibit during this venue and thank Kendal Anderson for his graphic skills.

Art work was created by (from top to bottom) Rose Blouin, Malika Jackson, and Pearlie Taylor.

Galley Romain/Citywide Celeabration of Women Artists - Malika Jackson

Greetings all,

In conjunction with the Citywide Celebration of Women Artists  this week's featured Sapphire & Crystals member is Malika Jackson.

My focus has mainly been the female figure.   Through the use of various elements of paint, clay and wood I interpret a mood, feeling or emotion, with the use of color, shape, line and form.   I can tell a story of serenity, faith, hope, friendships and more.  Building upon layers of color or the use of flat warm and cool colors helps to draw my audience into a realistic, interpretative and /or cubistic female art form. 

Through the use of clay, I create form and movement-a cerebral and aesthetic link to the earth.  When I can bring a character to life, or tell a story by transforming a simple lump of clay to a third dimension, I get great joy and satisfaction through the use of this expressive medium.

I want my work to be my voice, to impact and move my audience to bring a smile, tears, joy and even for some-change; not only for now, but for perpetuity.   

           _ Be the change you want to see in the world - Gandhi_

 

 

 

And Still We Rise

Greetings All,

 Finally, the exhibition I've been working on for the past three years is opening. And Still We Rise: Race, Culture and Visual Conversations opens at the National Underground Railroad Museum in Cincinnati, Ohio on October 11, 2013. The opening reception is at 6:30PM. There is a $35 charge for museum members and $45 for no-members. The exhibition will be up until the end of March.

And Still We Rise: Race, Culture and Visual Conversations, explores the path of black history with a timeline of 79 original narrative quilts. The exhibit traces the course of black history in America from 1619 to present day. The catalogue will be published by Schiffer Press.

 



 

 

 

Galley Romain/Citywide Celeabration of Women Artists - Pearlie Taylor

Greetings all,
In conjunction with the Citywide Celebration of Women Artists  this week's featured Sapphire & Crystals member is Pearlie Taylor.
 

Pearlie Taylor is an abstract expressionist artist of over forty years who work primarily in acrylics. She has worked in a variety of mediums but chooses acrylics for the depth of color and her wet in wet painting style.

Her initial focus of portraiture and landscapes changed during middle age as she began to gravitate toward abstract art, where she found her passion as an abstract painter.

 

Her goal is to create paintings which are interesting, provocative, and beautiful, without the appearance of deliberation, intent, or planning. She believes the use of color can affect a conscious and positive change in   individuals, creating a “subliminal communication".

Citywide Celeabration of Women Artist - Rose Blouin

Greetings all,
In conjunction with the Citywide Celebration of Women Artists  this week's featured Sapphire & Crystals member is Rose Blouin.

Rose Blouin is a photographer who has worked in the medium of photography since 1980. Photographic areas of particular interest include fine art and documentary work. 

Blouin’s work has been exhibited in a number of museums and galleries including Isobel Neal Gallery, Woman Made Gallery, Nicole Gallery, The South Side Community Art Center, Artemesia Gallery, The North Suburban Fine Arts Center, Evanston Arts Center, and the State of Illinois Art Gallery. Her work has received awards in juried exhibitions including Black Creativity (Museum of Science and Industry), Du Sable Museum Annual Art Fair, and the Milwaukee Inner City Art Fair. Her work was selected for inclusion in an artists' billboard project (juried) coordinated by The Randolph Street Gallery, Chicago. Blouin’s photographs have been published on the covers of South Side Stories (City Stoop Press), Columbia Poetry Review (Columbia College Chicago), Killing Memory, Seeking Ancestors by Haki Madhubuti (Lotus Press), The Chicago Musicale, and Menagerie (Chicago State University Literary Magazine). A photo of Gwendolyn Brooks was included in Say That the River Turns: The Impact of Gwendolyn Brooks (Third World Press, Chicago).

Blouin has had solo shows at the South Side Community Art Center and at the Ferguson Gallery of Concordia University featuring photographs from South Africa. She is also a founding member of Sapphire & Crystals, a collective of African-American women artists.

Blouin is recipient of an Illinois Arts Council Special Artist’s Assistance Grant and a Community Arts Assistance Grant from the Chicago Council on Fine Arts, and has served the Council as Chair of the Photography Panel. In addition, she was invited by the Chicago Historical Society to present docent training on viewing photographs and a photography workshop for children.
 

 

FYI about Sapphire and Crystals

 Greetings All,
FYI about Sapphire and Crystals that I just wanted to share.


Sapphire and Crystals is a collective of professional African American women artists. The artists self-determine when, where and with whom they exhibit.  Focusing on the aspect of collaboration, the women artists generally are committed to showcasing exciting new work for each exhibition. Working closely with institutions on all exhibitions, the artists may perform tasks including curating, designing and installing the art, and contributing to publicity and promotion. The signature self-portrait silent auction during selected opening receptions presents a special opportunity for collectors on the first night only. The individual personal work by each member addressing various themes such as race, gender, limited palettes, our pasts, etc., exemplifies the diversity within our ethnic group, one of the missions of the group. The collaborative site-specific installation is an exhibit feature distinct to this collective that is produced with most exhibitions.

The Sapphire and Crystals’ first exhibition was held at the historic South Side Community Art Century (SSCAC) in 1987; the group revisited the center’s Margaret Burroughs Gallery in the fall of 2010 and this year, 2013 for a memorial exhibition honoring Marva Pitchford Jolly (1937-2012). The second exhibition in 1988 was held at Nicole Gallery in Chicago’s River North.  The African American women artists returned to Nicole Gallery 21 years later in 2009. The group has exhibited at Elmhurst College's Frick Center, The Noyes Cultural Center in Evanston, IL, ARC Gallery, Woman Made Gallery, Wood Street Gallery, South Shore Cultural Center, Chicago State University and Artemisia, among many other galleries and art centers within the city and beyond.

Membership in Sapphire and Crystals is decided by existing members. We require that artists have begun seriously pursuing art on their own. Marva Pitchford Jolly and Felicia Grant Preston conceived of the idea to organize women artists over the years including: Margaret Burroughs, Geraldine McCullough, Renee Townsend, Mary Reed Daniel, Anna M. Tyler, Shirley J. Sullivan, Shyvette  Williams, Joyce Owens, Dorian Sylvain, Rose Blouin, Annie Lee, Rhonda Wheatley, Shahar Caren Weaver, Renee Williams Jefferson, Pearlie Taylor, Dorothy Carter, Joanne Scott, Candace Hunter, Makeba Kedem DuBose, Patricia Stewart, Venus Blue, Lillian Morgan-Lewis, Faith Davis, Frances Callaway Parks, a poet, Arlene Turner-Crawford, Juarez Hawkins, and others. Some new artists may show their works once or twice, and some artists have participated in multiple exhibitions over the past 25 years.

The artists were honored by two public art works: at the National Museum of Mexican Art in 2010 six of us constructed an Ofrenda to Dr. Margaret Taylor Burroughs, and currently the Chicago Public Art Group and the Hyde Park Art Center honor the group with a mural showcasing selected artists in Hyde Park under the 51^st Street viaduct. In November and December 2012 we held a 25^th Anniversary exhibition at Woman Made Gallery.

Prairie Fiber Arts Guild

Greetings All,
The Prairie Fiber Arts Guild mission is to promote the awareness of the fiber arts throughout the Prairie State. A Guild for fiber artists working in all fiber media and here is a slide show some of what we do.

Citywide Celebration of Women Artists - Peoria, IL

Greetings All,

I am getting geared up for the Citywide Celebration of Women Artists here in Peoria, IL.  This venue will run October 15th thru Nov 15 th and below is a map of participating galleries and detail about each.  So if you are in the area during this event please visit one or more of these locations.

Gallery Romain will be hosting an exhibit of "Sapphire and Crystals" a Women Artists Collective.  Also I will be participating in an exhibit and style-show with the Prairie Fiber Arts Guild and I will post more later about each groups.

Benefit Auction

Greetings All,

SAQA's 2013 Benefit Auction begins in just 2.5 weeks!

Help promote our biggest fundraiser by sharing the Dream Collections or posting your favorite pieces on your blog, Facebook page, Pinterest board, etc.  Tell your friends, your mother, your workout coach - the more people who know about the Auction, the better! 

There are 421 gorgeous pieces of art up for bid.  The action will start on Monday, September 9th at 2:00 Eastern.  Bid early and often to help promote the art quilt!

Broad Changes: Women of Social Justice exhibition and Fiber Artists for Hope

 

Greetings All,

My piece "Harriett's Gone Up Yonder" will be a part of  "Broad Changes: Women of Social Justice" art quilt exhibition.  An Exhibition featuring 25 original artworks from an international fiber artist group, Fiber Artists for Hope.

August 16th- September 15th, 2013...
Opening Reception: Friday August 16th, 6-10PM

Chicago, IL—The HumanThread Center at the Bridgeport Art Center proudly presents the work of The Fiber Artists for Hope in its next exhibition, Broad Changes: Women of Social Justice. The
Fiber Artists for Hope (FAH) is a diverse group of artists representing all aspects of the human experience including race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, religion, age, and nationality committed to creating fiber art that addresses today's social issues, promoting dialogue for change, and fostering understanding.

Exhibition Concept: The word "broad" is a feisty reference to women; when combined with "changes," it implies a double meaning, since broad can mean big. This term used in our title aligns with the definition from Womanwords: A Dictionary of Words about Women (1985) by feminist Jane Mills, where she defines BROAD as, "a woman who is liberal, tolerant, unconfined and not limited or narrow in scope."

Opening Night Reception: Bridgeport Art Center, Friday August 16th, 6-10pm.

BAC: 1200 W. 35th Street, Chicago, IL 60609 (Enter on North Side off of Racine/34th).

There is a parking lot next to the building. Exhibition will be on the 5th floor. This is in conjunction with Bridgeport’s 3rd Friday opening receptions, including several other art openings and open studio tour.

ABOUT HUMANTHREAD

HumanThread is a non-profit organization that seeks to popularize a Culture of Peace and non-violence through educational, artistic and cultural programs and events focused on youth. Celebrating a culture of peace, HumanThread expresses Chicago’s creative culture by curating monthly exhibitions that discuss issues of cultural identity and social importance.

The HumanThread Center:

Website: www.humanthread.net

Email: info@humanthread.net
Tel: 312.646.0627

Curated by: Jeanette Thompson (jevirgo27@gmail.com)

Update - SLO Jazz Festival

Greetings All,

I got this email and thought that I would share it with you.

"Hi Trish,

I found the image for your International Textile. Great work! I love it.  I'm creating a new website for SLO Jazz Festival, and would like to request permission to use your image for a page on our site relating to Jazz Conversations - a new series of talks relating to our new education program. Would you be willing to let us share this artwork and spread knowledge of your work to California? We can include an artist mention on the page where we feature the graphic - of course want to give you
proper credit".

Well I did check him out and found out that this was legit and so I went ahead and gave them permission to use the image.  I love jazz and thought why not?  I asked what international textile site he found my work on and was pleasantly surprised when he said Fiber Artists Coalition.  I have gotten more exposure being member of this group than any of the others that I belong to and just wanted to say thank you for allowing me to be a part of it and we got international status in some one's eye.

Mancuso - FAC - Pretty Planet exhibit.

Greetings All,
Do you ever Google yourself to see what's out there?  Well today I did and this is what I found.

Pretty Planet is an exhibit of art quilts inspired by the beauty of the earth. Members of the Fiber Artists Coalition find inspiration in the environment, the people, and the joy of living in a wonderful world. Whether firmly planted in the soil or soaring through the sky, their art absorbs and reflects this pretty planet. Left: "Big Sky"  8/15/2013 - 8/18/2013 Manchester, New Hampshire

  
Thank you Mancuso, Laura Wasilowski, and FAC for allowing me to be a part of this exhibit.