It's in the Bag: in*ter*face

Mandala made by Austin artist Virginia Fleck from recycled plastic bags; this design (as well as several others) is also a free ecard you can send!

SDA (Surface Design Conference) is holding its conference here in San Antonio. Find out more here. 

I hope you are planning to come to the conference this June. The lineup of speakers and workshops is fabulous. My pre-workshop study tour to see embellished Fiesta gowns -- and a stop by SDA president Jane Dunewold's new studio -- is already filled! But lots of fun is still to be had.

Meanwhile, start making an upcycled bag to share, trade and make famous. The whole upcycling by artist world is a rich one, and you can join in with this little collective -- and social -- project.

IT'S IN THE BAG! from SDA President Jane Dunnewold  ..................................................................................................................................... WHAT IS SNAG-A-BAG? We're all very aware of waste in the studio. So I got the idea to take those bags we all have hanging around & up-cycle them to create re-purposed conference totes.  Cynics may say it's just a way to save SDA money. But my vision includes inviting you to exercise your talent while stimulating new contact between SDA members AND making every SDA dollar count - all at once. HOW? Bring an upcycled carry-all to in*ter*face conference & exchange it for a new one. The conference won't even have started and you'll feel good. Feel even better when you see your bag across a crowded room (Some Enchanted Evening?) & slide on over there to talk it up & introduce yourself as The Artist Who Made the Bag. I can hardly wait to see this happening in San Antonio! LOCAL BAG ACTION! We're already allover this in Texas. So why not PLAN A UPCYCLING EVENT for your local SDA friends & colleagues? Send an invite. Pool your supplies. Rev up the sewing machines. This could be even bigger than the conference! Spend a morning transforming some bags then bring/send them to San Antonio. Your creativity will boost our collective economy. Bags not snapped up by conference attendees will be sold on SDA website - with proceeds going to support member programs.

For some truely inspired plastic bag art (way past bags) take a look at the work of Virgina Fleck (photo above from her website). I'm hopeing it will inspire my attempts -- using bags collaged on bags!

From her website:

Since 2002, Virginia Fleck has been working exclusively with recycled plastic bags creating site specific, ecologically conscious art works that have been commissioned for several high profile, green building projects including the US Embassy in Rwanda, Whole Foods World Head Quarters in Austin TX, LeBonheur Children’s Hospital in Memphis TN and Dell Children’s Hospital in Austin TX -the first hospital in the world to attain LEED platinum certification. Fleck is a featured artist in the book, recently published by Random House:  Craft Activism: People, Ideas, and Projects from the New Community of Handmade and How You Can Join In.

 Fleck was born in New York City. She began making artwork in childhood and eventually studied at two art schools: Portland School of Art in Portland, Maine and at The School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, Massachusetts.  In 1990 Fleck moved to Austin, Texas where she continues her work as a visual artist.

And for more amazing art made from recycled materials, close to home at the Southwest School of Art in San Antonio see Anita Valencia's installation inspired by West Texas, completely from recycled stuff. The show closes on Sunday, so hurry, hurry. (By the way, for any of you complaining about your age out there, Anita is 80.)

This week is the final week you can see Anita Valencia's Sun She Rise, Sun She Set & You Ain't Seen Texas Yet; Justin Boyd's Days & Days; and Juan de Dios Mora's Laters! at the Southwest School of Art. The final day to see Mora's exhibition at the Ursuline Campus is Friday, Feb. 8. The gallery closes at 5pm. The final day to see Valencia and Boyd's exhibitions at the Navarro Campus is Sunday, Feb. 10. The galleries close at 4pm.

PS If you are not going to the conference, you can also recycle unwanted conference bags here:

http://www.bagstoriches.org/#!individual

PPS: VIrginia Fleck has an opening in South Austin tonight:

From Here to Tokyo Electron

This beautiful exhibit of work by members of the Austin Fiber Artists (and Fiber Artists of San Antonio members who were invited to submit, also) at Tokyo Electron in Austin last night. Here are some photos generously shared by Dorte Weber whose recycled plastic weaving is also in the exhibit.  (One of her pieces is the striped piece here on the wall, but you can see much better pieces of this body of work on her website!)

Here's my Pajaro/Sirena and a piece by Georgia Zwartes.

Georgia Zwartes' Austin Autumn

 The exhibit will be up for several weeks and open to the public during business hours. For more details, see AFA blog.

Austin Fiber Artists Exhibit Opening & More

Artwork shown (Left-right):Georgia Zwartjes, unidentified, Oscar Silva, Susie Monday

I've a large piece in the Austin Fiber Artists annual exhibition. If you are in Austin, please stop in at the opening on Wednesday!

 Another opening the same night in San Antonio:

What: Vive La Difference: 13 Artists, 13 Vision
When: Opening Reception Wednesday, February 6, 2013, exhibit runs through March 31
Where: Weston Centre, 112 E. Pecan St., San Antonio, TX (Free parking in Weston garage on Soledad south of Pecan.)
Why:  Stunning art in a stunning location and 10% of proceeds from sales go to the Make a Wish Foundation. 
Who: 

Pam Ameduri
Lyn Belisle
Lauren Browning
Janice Elaine Cooper

Nancy L de Wied

Charles Ingram

Lisa Kerpoe
Luis Lopez
Ruth Mulligan
Steven Smith

Scott Vallance

Doerte Weber-Seale

Cody Vance
Deborah Wight

Contact Lisa Kerpoe for more information at lisa@lisakerpoe.com if you have any questions.

My Work on New Walls

Coming soon (in a little more than a month) consider this a "save the date" if you are in the Texas Hill Country area. I'd love to see you at the exhibit on Sunday, October 28, 2-5 pm:

You’re Invited:

Recent Work by Artist Susie Monday

Textile art created by local artist and ABC member Susie Monday will be featured in an exhibit at the Salon d’Artist, Palace Ione this fall. Hosted by Baron Don Clausewitz and Jacob Bustamante, her exhibit of art quilts and art cloth will be in the West Gallery from October 28, 2012 through January 9, 2013.

The opening reception will be from 2:00 - 5:00 in the afternoon, Sunday, October 28, with an artist’s tour of the exhibit at 3:30. Desserts, champagne, lemonade and coffee will be served, and guests will be able to enjoy tours of the Palace Ione’s other galleries and live music in the chapel. Susie will also be signing her new book, The Missing Alphabet, A Parents’ Guide to Developing Creative Thinking in Kids, released October 23, 2012 by Greenleaf Book Group.

Susie’s colorful work in fabric, stitch, dye and printed image is inspired by the stories, icons and images of the Texas Hill Country, as well as being an expression of her sense of the divine feminine spirit. She uses both artist-made textiles and recycled and repurposed ethnic fabrics and thrift store finds in richly patterned and emotionally powerful visual stories. A lifelong artist, Susie graduated from Trinity University, and has worked as a museum exhibit designer, a journalist and a creative arts specialist for International programs. These experiences, as well as her life at El Cielo Studio here in the Borderlands, inform her work and make it particularly meaningful to all of us who share this region’s riches. For more information about Susie, see http://susiemonday.squarespace.com.

Palace Ione is located at 1070 Mustang Drive, Pipe Creek, TX, 78063, near Bandera, about one hour from downtown San Antonio. Dedicated to Don’s mother Ione, two undeniable strains in the history of art in the world converge in the concept of Salon d'Artiste.

First, Salon d'Artiste is inspired by the Salon Society of Montmartre in the early 1900s -- providing a place for artists to exhibit, to discuss, to converse, to meet their supporters and to gain audience for their work. Secondly, special events and openings for invited audiences present the work of young and emerging artists and musicians, as well as the work of established artists of the region -- a unique showcase for creativity. Upstairs, apartment/studios provide living and working space for artists-, writers- and scholars-in-residence. The purpose of such an ambitious undertaking is the discovery of new talent and to provide a fit setting for existing private family collections and archives. For more information, see http://www.salon-d-artiste.com.

 Those wishing to view the exhibit at another time, can call either Susie, 210-643-2128, or Don, 830-510-4414.