Dia de los Muertos

 

 

Last night was Day of the Dead, dia de los muertos. We celebrated as we do every year with an altar and stories about those who have crossed the veil, whom tradition says are particularly close to us at this time of year. This year it took over the living room fireplace hearth, spreading out into the room, with a blue norther whistling in upon us just as the candles were lit.

My papa was honored along with Linda's parents, other relatives, and friends departed recently and long past. Julia, my dear friend and colleague of many years, was with us and added her list of departed creative mentors to the table. We had all the yellow flowers the drought-struck garden could provide, an amazing display actually, especially with the new button mum from HEB. Also gingerbread and hot chocolate and sweet stories and sharings. I am so blessed to have made this cultural tradition of the region part of my own life for so many years now. I wonder how others in our world do without this special time.  It is a special time and kind of memory honoring, both personal and universal, of story and shared poems and prayer, of images pulled out from the drawers, mementos of lives lived richly, now shuttered. A little teary, but mostly happy, recounting the laughter, the gifts, the unique human lives of those we have loved, and , if not here exactly, are never really lost to us. I am who I am from their guidance, their influences, their givings and boundaries, their lives taken as lessons. 

Working from Inside-Out

above: Milagros and Apocolyse

I was chided by a friend and sister fiber artist last night for not telling her (and others) about my recent award (first) at the Fiber Artists of San Antonio exhibition at Gallery Nord here in San Antonio. Not really false modesty -- I simply have not been able to get to the exhibit to take some en-site photos!

2009 NW Military Highway
San Antonio, TX 78213
GOOGLE MAP
T: 210.348.0088
F: 210.348.6862

Gallery Hours
Weds-Sat Noon-5pm
Closed Mondays and Tuesdays

But since time is flying, and the exhibit goes down at the end of the month, here's the notice (Gallery Nord is open Wednesday through Saturday in the afternoons) and a bit of back story:

First, the work that was recognized by Juror Ilsa Aviks was one of the series I worked on this August about the death and life of my father, James Lee McAtee, Jim, who died earlier this summer. This particular work is called Milagros, and is about the gifts of spirit, teaching and everyday life that blessed my life through my father's care and conversation, from writing letters, to important facts of the heart.

Ilsa, I heard from one of the artists present at the judging, recognized the joy and meaning in this piece. I think I benefited from having her judge the show, as Ilsa is a strong proponent and advocate of working from a personal narrative, whether literal, figurative (as in my work right now) or abstractly, as she does with her own stitched works.

I am also really happy to have work in this gallery because of its wonderful modern design. The space was created by architect Allison Peery, who I had the privilege to know in my youth. This gallery is a wonderful space to be in. From the gallery website:

ALLISON B. PEERY, AIA

1924-2005

Allison Peery considered himself one of San Antonio’s few uncompromising modern architects. The exterior of the building is simply dramatic with its soaring, winglike roofline balanced by an abstract design of stained glass and mosaic tiles at the main entrance. The interior, with its plentiful natural lighting, consists of three gallery areas - two on the main floor and an upper gallery reached by a curved staircase. Peery’s modernist ethos of expressed structure, honest and coherent use of materials creates the perfect environment for exhibiting contemporary art.

Art Cloth Inspiration and Techie Photo Apps

I've been traveling and meeting with Art Cloth Network members in St. Petersburg, Florida. Linda Dawson did a great job organizing the meeting venues and Susan Ettl, our outgoing chairwoman, kept us on track. As usual the best part of the meeting was the show and tell galleries. We all went home inspired to tackily some large pieces of fabric, and hope I keep the inspiration in mind!

Some of the time was spent on tech talk and updating a commitment to post on the Art Cloth Network blog ( (http://artclothnetwork.blogspot.com/2011/10/art-cloth-inspiration.html) so I did, with a series of sunset photos that includes the one above.)

That one was taken with a great little iphone app that stitches together panorama photos almost instantly, it's called Photosynth and its free! Here are some other photo apps I've found helpful for design work, inspiration collections and simple manipulations that find their way into thermofax screens and stamps and stencils.

PS Express
Sillhouetter
PerfectPhoto
SketchMee
Instagram

Art Cloth Forever

We 22 brave souls are meeting in St. Petersburg this weekend at the umpteenth Art Cloth Network meeting for our annual show-and-tell and a not-too-painful business meeting.

we've been bumped from our Hampton Inn meeting room across the street to the SP Yacht Club, and it's quite nice if small, but a great poolside view over the marina.

What's even more spectacular to see is the array of art cloth shared by the artists. I'll try to get permission from the artists to add some of their work to this blog. Meanwhile check out the website at http://www.artclothnetwork.com.

What is art cloth?
It is cloth transformed by adding or subtracting color, line, shape, texture, value, or fiber to create a compelling surface.

If you'd like (occasional) updates, here's the blog url:
http://artclothnetwork.blogspot.com/
We plan to make this more active and welcome your comments!