July - Fiber Junkies

I came home from our Fiber Junkie meeting on Thursday so enthralled with the possibilities of how screen printing can be incorporated into my work......but more so in awe of the talent in our wonderful small group.

We met at Val's home........which sits at about 3,000 ft. elevation, overlooking the North edge of Asheville. Having lunch on her deck was like being in a tree house....fabulous. Although I have to admit......her driveway was about as steep as a roller coaster. I drove down it gripping my steering wheel HARD......and Val had to back my car up and out onto the road at the end of our day. Really....it was in her best interest I'd have surely back it into her living room!! I'm not a good backer-upper.

This is just a portion of her studio in the lower level of her home.......large sliding glass doors offer another opportunity to enjoy their astonishing view. It must be difficult to keep focused on the work!
Carol Sloan's husband has been providing us tastings of his various wine labels.......the one Carol brought this month had been renamed Fiber Freaks......

Carol sees the beauty in the most unusual objects..... Nancy Bruce's husband found this (almost petrified) winged bug on a fence post during a hike......yes, we are all on the lookout now for 'Carol worthy' things.

She incorporates them into her mixed media art. This piece is displayed in a shadow box....which is a perfect solution for hanging her pieces. Carol will be having a booth in a Greenville, SC art festival soon.....check out her blog....she'll have the info posted for anyone local who wants to see her work in person....and perhaps take a piece home!

Here's a closeup view of another piece.....Carol painted the bird (finch??).....note the small feathers she's incorporated. One could spend a long time examining all the details she adds to her art.

Patsy Thompson brought a piece that she recently completed. At a previous meeting she was looking for input about finishing the top due to her concerned that the yellow was too overpowering....sadly my photo doesn't replicate the color correctly. The group consensus was for her to add yellow piping when she bound the quilt......YES.....it was the answer!

Nancy Bruce again dazzled us with her hand dying experiments.....She brought about a dozen different pieces. This is such a good use of recycling those white on white fabrics that we may no longer have a need for. Both sides are interesting....though the back side seemed to be our favorite.

The back of this white on white was also voted the best.......though it doesn't show up well in my photo.

I promised to share what I learned about screen printing.....seriously, I had NO idea how much equipment and steps were involved. I took 94 step-by-step photos....obviously that's a book.....but tomorrow I'll begin to share some of them to give you an overview of the process.