Susie Monday . El Cielo Studio

I've been trying to figure out how to better describe my approach to artcloth. Improvisational is OK, but taken. And all of my methodologies aren't precisely improvisational -- I intend to print an image at times -- I just like it to fuzz away under and over and beyond some of the other surface aspects. And I don't care a lot about how precise the placement or even the coverage is. Maybe its pure and simple laziness, but if so, I am trying to take the trait and push it into a positive attribute! And I am not so interested in making something elegant as I am in making it tell some kind of quirky story.

So I was taken by the discussion of a Japanese concept called "iki," on one of John Maeda's blogs (this a new photo blog on Technology Review).

"Nozomi and I chatted about the strange "fuzzy logic" fad in Japan of the early 1990s, when it was not uncommon to see a "fuzzy logic vacuum cleaner" or a "fuzzy logic rice cooker" on sale in the Akihabara electronics district of Tokyo. The premise is quite simple: instead of encoding values as numbers, ranges of numbers are tagged as having membership association with a word. Words are such great containers of knowledge.

Nozomi suggested that our conversation was essentially about iki (pronounced "ee-kee"). It's something to do with inexactness and openness but all in all "the right fit" to a complex issue. Although it's difficult to comprehend, I totally got it. I guess iki is iki too."

What do you think? I love the part about inexactness and yet, "the right fit." As the wikipedia link above shows, iki is related to wabi-sabi, but unlike that aesthetic term and concept, has more modern and current useage in Japan.

I love this part of the definition:

An iki thing/situation would be simple, improvised, straight, restrained, temporary, romantic, ephemeral, original, refined, inconspicuous, etc. An iki person/deed would be audacious, chic, pert, tacit, sassy, unselfconscious, calm, indifferent, unintentionally coquettish, open-minded, restrained, etc.

An iki thing/person/situation cannot be perfect, artistic, arty, complicated, gorgeous, curved, wordy, intentionally coquettish, or cute

I am not sure but that my life, not just my work, aims for iki. Course there is that unfortunate cross-meaning and slightly different pronunciation.

Looking and reading further reveals a whole host of information about iki, and it will be interesting to study further. Just a glance revealed that "I am iki" is an impossible statement, and the following in a Master's thesis by Yamamoto Yuji gives me pause -- I think my work is too complexly textured layered to adopt iki as a descriptor, even if I thought anyone would know what I meant.

Other examples of spontaneous manifestations of iki include the locution of casual conversation, a
certain posture, dressing in a gauzy cloth, a slim body, a slender face, light makeup, simple hairstyle,
going barefoot etc, suggesting how innocuous everyday phenomena emit iki. On the other hand, works
of art can be iki, but their “artfulness” makes them rather difficult to be iki.

At any rate it is an interesting idea to ponder. Tanslated concepts are a rich gift of living in such a connnected world. 

All three of the photos on this post are examples of some recent artcloth. Each of them is pretty small -- the largest is about 40" long and they were are created as demo samples during my recent workshops on scraps of cotton and old sheeting. Now the challenge will be to find the same feeling and get the same qualities on larger pieces of fabric, maybe even on silk.  The first two were monoprinted with dye and/or textile paint. Then soy wax batiked with both handpainted wax and with a soy wax silkscreen. The purple and yellow piece was first layered with brown and pale blue with a deconstructed silkscreen, then soy wax batiked with a soy wax silkscreen (the same screen used on the other two pieces). I really like the batik quality one gets with the soywax screen -- I think its an interesting faux batik look that goes well with a direct waxed process on top or under. One gets the repetition of the screening process, with the overall compositional quality and layering of color of the batik. Now, just finding time and emotional focus to do some bigger pieces! iki or not.

Another, less layers, but done with the soy wax screen and thickened dye:

I thought I might could just wait it out, but no, now I have been tagged twice with this seven things thing. My fear: there is noone else left in the bloggosphere (blogasphere? bloggingsphere? ) who has not yet had to find seven other bloggers to lead all of you eager readers to.
But no, with two tags -- first by Thelma Smith and then by PaMdora --

1. Link to your tagger and post these rules.
2. Share 7 facts about yourself: some random, some weird.
3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post and list their names (linking to them).
4. Let them know they’ve been tagged by leaving a comment at their blogs.

So, seven facts about myself.

1. I lived for 35 years in the same house, then picked up and moved to the country, Pipe Creek, which has a post office but is not anything incorporated or politically real in terms of elected officials.

2. Our companion animals: Rodeo the border collie, Sam the killer old man cat, Cheech, the indoor Burmese with three legs, Lucky, the kid -- Maine Coon. 

3. I never learned to type until I was a feature writer for a major metropolitan daily.(didn't want to end up a secretary, ever). The most interesting assignment was going out into the middle of the Gulf and watching people scubadive into the Flower Garden Reef, or maybe it was having to learn to rock climb, or the little family circus on the Texas border.

4. My inlaws call me Susiepedia. I think they mean it as a compliment, but I am not certain.

5. I LOVE to take driving vacations with Linda in to Mexico. Mexico is an incredible country with amazing people and breathtaking natural beauty and most Americans -- even most Texans --  never get beyond the resorts.

6. This should be no surprise to anyone who knows me: I am the eldest child, eldest grandchild on both sides. (that is me and my little sister above)

7. In another life,  (maybe my next one) I would be a travel tour organizer or a travel journalist.

 Seven taggees:

Sabrina Zarcos 

In the Mood for Arte 

Gay Pogue 

That's all I can come up with for now. Maybe more later, maybe not. It's kind of annoying to have to do this. Like a chain letter with recipes or underwear or recycled paperbacks. It sortof seems like a good idea at the time, but doesn't quite seem to pay off the way you think it might.. so I hope those I tagged forgive me if they pay any attention. 

This art quilt is destined to hang at the Kerr Arts and Cultural Center -- an example of the kind of art quilt journey that my end-of-November workshop will inspire. It was fun to take my own course today, taking memories, journal pages, the color palette of the countryside and the architecture and turning it into this piece. Making it today let me relive a day spent in and near Lucca -- Lucca has a Medieval wall that surrounds the old city. It has been preserved as a park that features a 2 mile path perfect for bikes and hikes around the circumference. We rode bikes one morning, and this old villa was one of the sights. It seemed abandoned but grand, and I can just imagine what kind of meals and parties and family dramas must have once filled those windows.

Here's one of the original photos; followed by a detail of the art quilt.

AND, this is the town closest to where I 'll be teaching a workshop in March. The Italian Adventure continues with the course, co-taught with writer and creativity workshop leader Carol Ikard. I am still waiting for the "official" brochure to be completed, but here's what I know so far:

 DATES: MARCH 15- 22 --- This is spring break weekend here in San Antonio, and is the weekend before Easter, so one might want to add a week on to the excursion and spend Easter in Florence or Rome.

LOCATION:  Selva, a compound of restored farmhouses and gardens near Lucca, located on a 1000-acre estate owned by a Baronessa. Working vineyards, orchards and olive groves are part of the estate, as well as the rustic mountainous area where Silva is located.

Cost, all inclusive, except for transportation to either Pisa or Florence: €2150 double occupancy

 Here's the four fiber art classes, just part of the full schedule of activities (morning writing workshops, cooking classes, field trips almost every day, activities for spouses or non-fiber friends who want to come along for all of the fun,

Monday -- Field Guide to Tuscan Color" --
Color is the one of the first design elements we associate with Tuscany - the warm rustic hues  of old walls and stacked stone, the rich botanicals and jewel tones from the grapes, flowers and foliage, the natural siena and ochres that come from the very earth. Using modern low-toxicity dyes, and some simple natural dyes (onion skins, beets and rust), participants will create organic and textural patterns on silk scarves and quarter-yard lengths of rayon, silk and cotton textiles to use in the week's subsequent sessions.

Tuesday -- "Beyond the Terrace" -- The beauty of Selva's landscape and its grasses, leaves and trees will inspire designs for printing on our fabrics.  Using the natural world as inspiration for design on fabric and paper participants will try their hands at solar printing, direct leaf printing, and develop designs for stencils and stamps.

Wednesday -- "Etruscan to Tuscan -- Historical Imagery to Inspire" -- We'll design and create printing blocks and stamps using historical imagery, photos taken on the week's field trips, images from Etruscan and Roman antiquity, as well as our own sketches and collections from the Tuscan landscape. Printing on fabric (if I can solve the technical and shipping issues)

Friday -- "Layers of Tuscany" -- Using all of the materials and tools from the art sessions, participants will layer their imagery to make one-of-a-kind art cloth, then cut, fuse and hand-stitch a small wall hanging. Simple embroidery stitches, beading embellishments and the use of fusable webbing to create original designs will be included in this final session

The schedule for participants is tentatively designed to include the following.                                                        
Sat        Arrival in afternoon; welcome with sparkling wine & refreshments; Susie & Carol introduce the program; begin limoncello making process; dinner under the pergola  
Sun    08.00    Early morning visit to the shepherdess to see the magic of pecorino cheese and ricotta.    
    09.30    Brunch   
    11.00    Creativity Expanded: unpacking creatively; feeling art and responding; thinking art   
    12.00    Walk around the property to search out natural materials for later fiber arts sessions, photography  
    13.00    Lucca Antique Market (opportunity for more materials)   
    17.00    Fiber arts workshop: Field Guide to Tuscan Colors   
    20.00    Dinner prepared by Emanuela   
Mon    08.00    Breakfast   
    09.00    Creativity Expanded: The Committee and Drawing left-handed   
    10.00    Beyond the Terrace  Fiber Arts Workshop
    13.00    Lunch at Selva and break   
    15.30    Lucca:  fabric shops, weaving museum, private collections of antique fabrics, button shop, da Vinci exhibit, etc.   
    20.00    Dinner prepared by Emanuela   
Tue    07.30    Breakfast   
    08.00    Van to Florence: museum of silks, Renaissance archive   
    13.00    Lunch in Fiesole; Etruscan museum and Roman amphitheater  
    17.00    Leave for Selva   
    20.00    Dinner at Selva prepared by Emanuela   
Wed    08.00    Breakfast   
    09.00    Creativity Expanded: seeing designs and symbols 
    10.00    Fiber Arts Workshop: Layers of Tuscany   
    13.00    Lunch at Selva and break
    15.30    Return to Lucca to explore more fabrics and shops   
    19.00    Puccini concert   
    20.30    Dinner at Puccini Restaurant at Piazza Puccini   
Thu    08.00    Breakfast   
    09.00    Creativity Expanded: Enlarging art and enjoying mistakes, writing about ideas and art  
    10.00    Etruscan to Tuscan Fiber Arts Workshop
    1.00    Lunch at Selva and break   
    3.30    Tour of baroque villa with antique fabrics and tapestries plus fantastic garden   
    5.30    Begin cooking lesson with Emanuela   
    8.00    Dinner   
Fri    08.00    Breakfast   
    09.00    Creativity Expanded: 
    10.00    Fiber Arts:  (Felt, beads, embroidery)
    1.00    Lunch at Selva and break   
    3.30    Tour of vineyard, wine and olive oil tasting   
    7.00    Pizza with Eduardo   
Sat        Departure   

 Let me know if you're interested. The trip is limited to


 

When I learned tonight through Planet Textile Threads that this was a blog action day for environmental action, i had one fast thought. As an art cloth maker and an art quilter I recycle A LOT. And right now, I am trying to reuse and use up. For every thing I don't buy, don't have shipped, don't order online or find at Office Max I save energy -- usually both mine and the world's.

Here's to you doing the same. Which may just mean using up the stash. Using the dye you have. Using the paint that has been sitting on the shelf. It is quite easy as a fiber artist to be seduced by the catalogs, by the new techniques, by the fun toys. I am certainly no saint. But, I am on a mission this month to cook up the deep freeze, go to the dyes on the shelf. shuffle some stuff out of the boxes into thrift stores for someone else's good use. Catalog and sort my piles of old table linens and send what I can out to the holiday sales. All of these are actions with environmental consequenses on the plus side of things. What else as artists can we do?