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Happy Summer!

Thank you all for your dedication to the developing of your work this semester in Fiber Sculpture. It has been wonderful getting to know each of you and very rewarding to introduce you to some of the potential that textile making processes might offer your art making futures.

Here is the class picture from the final sentimental send off activity last week that I wanted to share.

Happy Summer and keep at it, the world needs your voice!

#classpicture #csulbarts

Pretty gross is happening this Wednesday 4-6pm

Check out this project by Fiber Sculpture community member Siena Nahl happening on Wednesday from 4-6pm in the Chora Gallery at CSULB!

From the show inviite:

“pretty gross. A micro art show experience featuring my pieces from the past three years at school. Visit the Chora Gallery at CSULB’s sculpture department from 4pm to 6pm for a chance to be fitted into @aspiringleo and I’s collaborative bodysuit pieces and a chance to look at my works. Viewers are encouraged to take on a personal experience of “wearing” someone’s else’s skin and undergoing a meditative inward experience. Pretty gross is a play on being pretty and gross at the same time and exploring the psychological responses to work that carries themes of beauty, sexuality and the relation to the human figure.”

#arttosee #CSULBarts #SienaNahl

Art to See: April Bey @ Band of Vices

I’m looking forward to checking out this show by Los Angeles based artist April Bey. This show looks to be an excellent example of a contemporary approach to making art that thoughtfully incorporates fiber because material and process matter!

Check it out...

Images above from top:

2 artworks by April Bey included in the exhibition and the promo materiel for the show with pertinent details on the when and where...show opens this coming Saturday May 12th

From the press release:

“Made in Space is the brand or label we see on clothing and space helmets used by gender fluid universe travelers focused on anti-colonizing adventures.

Made in Space includes works from the AfroFuturist Womanism series, which explores female afrofuturistic millennial entrepreneurialism via social media and the Internet. Blerdy in nature, juxtapositions of Star Trek and hip-hop culture also manifest in this series. Looking to the future acts as a therapeutic excretory practice in dealing with current day issues around race and discrimination globally. West African knock-off Chinese wax fabric is hand sewn as text to connect black celebrity women with equally real women selling the fabric in the markets up and down the West African coast (Senegal, Nigeria, Benin, Togo and Ghana)—AfroFuturist memes.

This work is a focus but is part of a generalized exploration of the actual resilience of women as they navigate through high-impact experiences of the body, psyche and demands of womanhood. There’s an ironic hypocrisy in the expectations of women and specifically black women to be sovereign and robust while at the same time inept and emotionally weak/unpredictable when leadership roles are sought.

Material matters and process is essential—the process in all of the work directly emulates the labor women execute on a daily basis to persist—it is uniquely and defiantly “feminine” executed in aggressively “masculine” ways.There is sewing but into wood and resin. Each hole is hand drilled. Rule-based, all materials that intersect with the Hitarget wax fabric are MADE IN CHINA referencing Chinese neocolonialism currently rearing its head in parts of West Africa and The Caribbean. The needles, thread, fabric, needle threaders are all low-quality products MADE IN CHINA but that market to a target audience of souls living in poverty.

Made in Space occupies the space often taken and exploited offering up fictitious worlds where labels are non-existent and we are allowed to float within our self-defined identities—smoking cigarettes in 0 gravity.”

#arttosee #AprilBey

#questionsoftheweek

Wednesday’s Guest Critic: Jennifer Kim

I’m so excited to have artist Jennifer Kim join us for conversations about your final projects on Wednesday, May 9th.

Jennifer Kim is an artist working primarily within the realm of textiles. She holds a BFA in fibers from CSULB and I met her in this very class years ago. You see images of her work and also follow along with her practice on instagram @meanderingcrafts

Images above:

a few screenshots from Jennifer’s instagram....

#guestcritic #JenniferKim

Monday’s Guest Critic: Katie Wigglesworth

I’m so excited to have artist Katie Wigglesworth join us for conversations about your final projects on Monday, May 7th.

Katie Wigglesworth (b.1990) is a sculpture and installation artist, working primarily within the realm of textiles. She holds a BFA from Biola University where she studied both sculpture and photography. Her studio practice includes both of these mediums, although photography, for her, is supplementary—serving less as a formal practice and more as a means to inform and inspire her tactile, three-dimensional work and to sharpen her awareness of the world. She has been active in the contemporary art field in Los Angeles for the past six years showing in solo, juried, and group exhibitions and working in different teaching, apprentice, and freelance positions.

You see images of her work and learn more about her practice on her website, linked here. You can also follow along with her practice on instagram @katiekeely

You can see one of her installations locally currently on view in the annual “Made in California” exhibition at Brea Gallery until June 15th. Info here.

Images above:

2 works by Katie Wigglesworth

#GuestCritic #KatieWigglesworth

In-Class Work Sessions all this week

Here are a few snapshots from the Fiber studios last week during our in class work sessions.

I’m really looking forward to seeing how these projects evolve this week...

#fibersculpture #worksession #csulbfibers

Final Critique Schedule

As we determined in class last week, here is the critique schedule for our final project critiques coming up next week:

Monday May 7th:

Emillie, Grace, Jordan, Siena, Jianna, Annmariz, Kim, Jade, EV

Wednesday, May 9th:

Harumi, Sarah, Stephanie, Sage, Christian, Amy, Evelyn, Alex, Bryan

Images above:

2 images of work by artist Mary Little from her Los Angeles exhibition “The Shape of Cloth”, on view now through June 2nd at the Craft in America Center.

From the press release:

“Subdued and flawless, the sculptural fiber wall hangings of Mary Little will be on view in an exhibition at the Craft in America Center from April 21 through June 2, 2018. This group of meditative works stem from Little’s passion for the magical and metaphorical qualities of cloth. For this exhibition, Little will additionally be making a site-specific, three-dimensional fiber form suspended in the Center window that will complement the patterns and inspiration of her wall pieces. Little recently began investigating fiber spaces in her practice as an extension of the contemplative and poetic qualities she strives to achieve throughout her work. With her remarkable ability to maintain a balance between the delicate and striking, Little’s art flows between big emotions and subtlety.

Now based in Los Angeles, Little takes inspiration from the landscape of her childhood on a peninsula in Northern Ireland. After moving to downtown L.A. four years ago, she visited her mother in Ireland and realized just how much her sculptural sensibility was reflected in the scenery of the soft rolling hills and textured coastline in the area where she grew up. Little evokes the contrasts of land to abstract the terrain and create line and pattern via shadow and light. Little solely uses unbleached artist canvas because of its utility and simplicity and because of her history in working with the material as a furniture designer. Using upholstery techniques, Little manipulates her material by creating seemingly ephemeral folds and tucks that are permanently documented in the cloth. Her minimalist aesthetic is apparent in her neutral palette, humble material, and precision of form.”

#finalcritiqueschedule #MaryLittle #arttosee

Frances Stark Visiting Artist Lecture, Tuesday May 1st @ 5pm

Check out this lecture by Los Angeles based artist Frances Stark if you can happening this Tuesday at 5pm in the Carpenter Center.

#csulbarts #FrancesStark

Open Studio, May 1st 3-7pm

My husband Joe (check out his work here) and I do an annual Open Studio event for our current students. This event is optional and outside of our regularly scheduled class time, but you are all invited to stop by sometime between 3 and 7pm on Tuesday May 1st to see our work space and some work in progress, here in Long Beach.

(Street Parking can be annoying so carpooling is recommended.)

#openstudio2018 #JoeLloyd #TinaLinville

Art to See in Los Angeles

A few exhibitions on my radar at the moment that I wanted to share...

Images from top:

Check out Give and Take: Recent Acquisitions at MOCA Grand Ave featuring new works added to the permanent collection over the past year, including “Strange Fruit” by Haegue Yang pictured above. (often on the list for fiber artist research for this course). This show is up until September 3rd.

Also on view at MOCA Grand Ave is an immersive and evolving site specific installation project of multi media cave like spaces called “we still here, there” by Los Angeles based artist Lauren Helsey. This exhibition is also on view all summer long, closing on September 3rd.

Teresita de la Torre’s solo exhibition “Hilando Relaciones” recently opened at Eastside International Los Angeles and is on view through May 26th. From the press release:

“Through embroidered domestic artifacts, Mexican-born, Texas-raised artist Teresita de la Torre publicly invites viewers into a private conversation. Navigating the fraught waters of family, culture, tradition, and sexuality, de la Torre imbues common household items from her childhood with confessions and devotions of identity and heartbreak. Things left unsaid between the artist and her mother are literally sewn into the fabric of pillows, towels, tablecloths and other domestic items. Each declaration poetically subverts its object’s function – washing one’s hands, sleeping and dreaming, keeping things clean – and reveals strategies for incorporating one’s true identity into the tightly-woven tapestries we are born into.“

#arttoseeinLosAngeles #HaegueYang #LaurenHelsey #TeresitadelaTorre

Insights opens at University Art Museum May 10th

The 2018 annual CSULB School of Art Student Exhibition opens May 10th from 5-6pm.

My BIGGEST congratulations to our Fiber Sculpture community member Kim Deleon whose contemporary sampler project was juried into the exhibition in Fibers!!!!

Besides showing support and recognition for Kim and her excellent sculpture, this show is a great way to familiarize yourself with some of the excellent work happening on campus by your peers. As future alumni of CSULB you are connected to this network of creatives, so get to know each other now. This is your larger community and one of the big assets of studying art here.

Images from top:

Insights 2018 promo branding

Kim’s sculpture “Adult Acne”, also great example of an portfolio quality image of an artwork

#Insights2018 #KimDeleon

Fiber Artist Presentations, Day 2

Check out the links below to learn more about the artists presented in class on Wednesday last week…

Images from top:

Shinique Smith presented by Jianna

Liz Collins presented by Sarah

Maria Nepomuceno presented by Harumi

Marie Watt presented by Grace

Tanya Aguiniga presented by Sage

Lara Schnitger presented by Alex

Jim Drain presented by Amy

Louise Bourgeois presented by Bryan

Andrea Zittel presented by Stephanie

#fiberartresearch #forfurtherstudy #ShiniqueSmith #LizCollins #MariaNepomuceno #MarieWatt #TanyaAguiniga #LaraSchnitger #JimDrain #LouiseBourgeois #AndreaZittel

Sewing Samples

I would like to see your independent research into soft sculpture construction methods in your sewing samples. Please make the following samples to show what you have learned about the following techniques:

Sewing Machine

Include an image of any samples you have that demonstrate what you have learned about using the sewing machines. (If you do not have a personal sewing machine, you can use the sewing machines available to you in the Fiber classrooms.) The first image above shows some examples of what these samples might look like...for example showing experimentation with sewing machine stitches, pleating, seams, darts..etc. I need to see at least one example that demonstrates your engagement with the sewing machine. Refer to the handouts that were distributed about fabric construction techniques to help guide your research or use the internet. (Be sure to link to any helpful sites or tutorials to save for future reference.)

Applique

Applique is when you attached pieces of one material onto another material. There are lots of different strategies to do this. We talked about this in class briefly and you were given a PDF that introduced a few different applique techniques. Please include an image of 1 sample of applique as part of your sewing sample post. The second image of above shows a few examples of applique. These can be done by hand or with a sewing machine.

Stuffed Form

For your final sewing sample I’d like to see evidence of your research into soft sculpture techniques in terms of making stuffed form. Please include an image of a 3 dimensional form you have created using sewing that has been stuffed. These can be done by hand or with a sewing machine.

Your sewing samples are due at the end of the semester, graded as part of your final blog check. The last blog check is due the end of finals week, Friday May 18th.

Images above:

some examples of exploration using a sewing machine (all techniques here are included and described in more detail in your Soft Sculpture Techniques handout on beachboard)

some examples of exploration of applique techniques (all techniques here are included and described in more detail in your Applique handout on beachboard)

#sewingsamples

#questionoftheweek

Identity Art Panel in Los Angeles, May 12th

As I think about the kinds of art practices I see being developed this semester in Fiber Sculpture, I’m noticing that the majority of you are making work about your identity.

If you are interested in hearing three amazing artists talk about identity and art, Artillery and Bermudez Projects are presenting a panel discussion on May 12th at 3pm.

The panelists include: John S Rabe, Thinh Nyugen and April Bey.

More details on the event here.

#ArtEventsinLosAngeles #paneldiscussion #identityart