Craft Space: Jill Bliss
All photos by Leah Verwey Artist Jill Bliss was one of the first crafters I connected with years ago when I first started working for CRAFT at a time when she still lived in the Bay Area. Now based in Portland, OR I asked Jill if we could take a peek inside her new studio and see how she works.Read on after the jump for more photos and a Q&A with Jill!Read the Full Story » | More on CRAFT » | Comments » | Read more articles in Craft Rooms & Organizing | Digg this! blog.craftzine.com |
Antiques/Art/Crafts
Antiques/Art/Crafts Annual Pennsylvania Dutch Festival Experience & celebrate the traditions, foods & crafts of the Pennsylvania Dutch. Reading Terminal Market, 51 N. 12th St. 8/13-14. philly.com |
How-To: 3D Thread Illustrations
By Wendy TremayneMy friend, textile artist and blogger, Heather Cameron of True Stitches says of crafter Gretchen Elsner, "Writing about Gretchen is like trying to remember a dream that keeps slipping away the more you try to capture it."sThe dream that I am having of Gretchen Elsner is one populated by archetypal creatures. At the busy intersection in which Gretchen stands, she stitches worlds together. Strewn about are handwritten script letters that scratch out quick-witted phrases as they dance along colorful stuffed fabric. The letters are as bridges connecting a bounded reality to one not yet known. An eyeball, Victorian vanity, bird, slug, wooden shoe, they delight in crossing over. They are composed of heaps of thread, colorful, tangled, wild and free.Gretchen, the one who gives them life, traverses an imaginary field wearing a textile pop-up book of her making. The story spills from it. Gretchen is the story. We are reminded that not all tales ought to appear in books made for children. "Come on in," we think we hear, "but careful or you might get lost." Just as the colorful fabric scenes seem to finally join together and resemble something familiar the dream slips away. It is just as Heather warned.Idiosyncratic clothing designer, performance artist, electronics maker, mother, builder, and dream weaver (to name a few) you'd be hard pressed to separate artist from art in any of Gretchen's works. Today she whisks by to lend to us a quirky, fresh vehicle of self-expression that she stumbled upon and then nuanced. It is a way of creating image using cotton threads or whatever is lying about.Gretchen recalls how she stumbled on the find, "I felt stupid throwing away all the loose ends of thread that are left over when you cut the piece away from the machine, they all looked so pretty all wadded up." When she began using the technique she laboriously hand sewed the wads into shapes, then she discovered a product called Solvy which modified the process into what she offers us today in the form of a DIY.Read the Full Story » | More on CRAFT » | Comments » | Read more articles in CRAFT Projects | Digg this! blog.craftzine.com |
Crafts and culture combine at Teatro
Arts, crafts and culture blend together at Teatro De Artes. For area kids, the cultural center hosts a one day-a-week event focused on all three areas, said VISTA volunteer Megan Connolly. seguingazette.com |
How-To: Jam Jar Cozies
Dottie Angel shows you a few different ways to make these cute jam jar cozies. From using vintage doilies, old sweaters, to crocheting them yourself - learn how to make this stylish and warm display for your home. [via whip up]Read the Full Story » | More on CRAFT » | Comments » | Digg this! blog.craftzine.com |