Sundancers, Wild Women and DreamWeavers

Coffee Filters as handmade fabric

Photo © Lucia Matzger.

Lucy Matzger and her friends and family save coffee filters to be used in two and three dimensional works of art.

The kimona, "Cafradice" shown is typical of her work.

The oils from the coffee permeate the filters and give it the unusual discolorations. The filters have been carefully dried, the grounds dispensed with, after which they are cleaned, ironed and worked in various manners.

Xeroxing, sewing, stapling, and stamping are some of the ways to embellish the filters before forming them in different shapes. Durability is obtained by coating each filter on both sides with a mixture of polymer media and umber. The threads are used to tie the filters to the work after the piece has been glued together.

A working artist since 1980, her work has been featured in:
Surface Design Journal, Winter/2002; Cover and article.
"Textile Plus", no. 182 December/02; portfolio.
"Fiberarts", Nov./Dec. 2002; review.

Katharine Cobey - knitted sculpture

Photo © Katharine Cobey.
Katharine Cobey lives and teaches knitted sculpture in Cushing, Maine. She has long list of laurels spanning a career going back to at least 1985 when she had a studio at The Torpedo Factory.

Her current project is to complete her new book on techniques and sculpture (prospective title) "A Different Slant: Diagonal Knitting with Katharine Cobey". Meanwhile, her work is in the "Fiberarts Design Book 7". The works featured are: "Boat with Four Figures" & "Throw Caution to the Winds". The Fiberarts book is slated to be available this spring.

Cobey says "I believe clothing should comfort the wearer and delight the eye, that simplicity is graceful and enhances our beauty in movement. Quality of materials and loving workmanship reflect my commitment to the meaning and importance of daily life... I think that art is transformation - the taking of a material and making it into another thing. Whether we use oil paints or plastic bags, marble or wool, the challenge is to make significant and expressive forms about the things we use, ourselves and the worlds we live in."

The example of her work shown above is a visual example of her philosophy. The knitted coat, entitled "Slick" is composed of handcut, handknit garbage bags.

Orthodox Novo-Tikhvinsky Cloister - embroidery revival

Arghhh! The Chinese have a wonderful curse: "May you have an 'interesting' life." Life has been all too "interesting" lately. I had a mild heart attack last week - that, in addition to the newly found Reactive Hypoglycemia, (the stuff puts diabetes in the shade for difficult-to-manage) is putting me way behind in the articles I have in progress. You can expect, I hope, one decent article a week and a boodle of links for a while.

I've begun putting together what I can for the Colorado Nework Project. It begins with Pueblo, Colorado, my home town. There are a few interesting references there with links - Pueblo has excellent websites - pop in for a tourist moment.

On to today's great link: The Novo-Tikhvin Womens' Monastery located in the Urals of Russia (or whatever it is called now). Novo-Tikhvinsky, a Russian Orthodox cloister was revived in 1994. Bygone traditions are gradually being revived at the monastery, including icon painting and what they term as "the new embroidery". This consists of "traditional church vestments for clergy, canonicals for churches, monastic clothes, and everything necessary for this big household." All these are traditional patterns, but done via computerized machine embroidery. "The cloister tries to revive the relics of the Urals land as best as it can."

It's a lovely website, full of information, history and pretty decent pictures. Every page is packed with fascinating insights into what was hidden from the world for all too long.

Bernie Leahy, stitched drawings

Images © 2000-2003, Bernie Leahy


Bernie Leahy, a prominent textile artist from Dublin, Ireland, is a new presence on the web with her new site, efiberart.com Her focus is
fiberart as line, most often as beautifully executed portraits. These are accomplished by a combination of free machine and hand stitchery.


The stitched drawing at right is entitled "Elsewhere", size: 30cm x 25cm, technique: machine stitched "I Wonder", executed in 2000 for a group show, is a panel 4'x6'.


Leahy's artist statement: "I am interested in Embroidery as mark making, as undecorative & defined line:
The line or mark often delineates the space around the forms, allowing them to emerge out of a tangible ground. The defined line or mark has a hole or point from which it decidedly begins or ends. Currently work is mostly in black and white.
Subject matter is often the portrait, used to convey fleeting moods, glances, moments. Landscape themes, abstracted through a profound interest in colour, also feature in these textile drawings.


If you are lucky enough to live near London or are passing thru in June of this year, Leahy has a solo exhibition June 2-12, "Line" opening at Fabrications Gallery, London (nearest tube Bethnal Green.)

San Franciso Bay area fiber scene

I find the neatest sites tracing my stats! When Google finds this site, I look up the search words and see what else is out there... Today someone used keywords: folk+art+fiber+art. It mystifies me how I got on the search list! However I found Fiberscene.com. An "Eye Site" (i.e good for eye and soul) with a large gallery of fiberarts from weaving to fiber sculpture.

There are approx. 45 artists listed (many established names), a brief bio on each, and a large gallery of work. All is from the San Francisco Bay Area. The site was conceived by Myra Goodall Block, textiles curator and collector. One of the most interesting things I found was the research deparment. There 5 types of ethnic textiles being studies and preserved there. Of course, living in the Southwest, I found the Navajo rugs irresitable. There's a gorgeous contemporary (1990) Navajo rug weaving that is beautifully dyed with indigo and vegetable dyes indigenous to the Navajo reservation located in New Mexico/Arizona. The dye plants are listed, but unfortunately not displayed.

If you do natural dying, or just curious, drop me a note or comment I think I can likely look them up. I have cottonbrush in the front yard - it produces a nice dye. Would anyone like to see the results of a Southwestern desert/prairie dyepot?

Sharon b, artist - embroidery meets computer

Sharon Boggins is a remarkable, prolific fiberartist in Canberra, Austraila. Her contributions to the world of textile arts and textile arts on the internet are both impressive and important. A tour of her sites will take more than one afternoon of complete self-indulgence... and return trips to savor her artisty. The image above is entitled "Digits Count" from a series she did on the importance of handwork.

Sharon b's personal site holds an archive of her  5 major exhibitions studying "the connections between digital technology and textiles".   She combines computer and embroidery into works that are warm, personal, & beautiful. The detail shots are exquisite.

Each of the 5 exhibitions present her theme in a different way. Her "Shareware Project" and "Playing False" utilize objects from people on the internet. The result is very like a "www.friendship crazy quilt", stitching together very personal "patches" of people who are, otherwise, merely a visitor or homepage design.

In a minute ago is Sharon's weblog. It focuses on contemporary and historical textiles, embroidery, fiber and paper arts, networked art, and textile practice. Sharon b's online Collection of Stitches for Hand Embroidery is thorough, crossed referenced and beautifully illustrated by her own hand.

Her influence encourageded me to begin my this weblog after featuring my stitchery in her weblog here. Be sure to visit Sharon's Links, a huge resource.

Elsa Wachs, ecclesiastical textiles

Elsa Wachs has been creating fiberart since the 70's. Her creations encompass the whole range of fiber techniques from hand stitching to thermography & handmade paper.


Her portfolio centers on Judaic ritual garments, traditional ritual items - Torah mantles, bridal canopies - and personal expressions in the form of soft books and family heirlooms.


At right is a tallit (prayer shawl), "Hear, O Israel", honoring the 50th Anniversary of the State of Israel. The "High Holy Day Shulchan Cover", here, is embroidered with the Hebrew verse and translates : "Mercy and truth are met together, righteousness and peace have kissed each other." I especially was delighted with her explanations of Judaic tradition, design sources & technique that accompanied each work shown.


Family memorabila, Hebrew verse, traditions and history are combined to make each creation a unique treasure. She incorporates family names, bits of family vintage garments, and a wealth of scanned objects applied via thermography.


On rare occasions, I've been lucky enough to see a piece of work so right that I am utterly lost in it. This woman's creative spirit and soul shines & reaches out. I wish there were links to larger photos... textile details deserve to be seen.

Cheryl Rae: introducing myself

I earnestly tried handweaving, but was frustrated by the constraints of warp and weft thinking. I like to work "here" and then "there".

When I happened on Wilcke Smith's work, I knew I had found my "Yes!". Finally "extreme"
texture, color, and a free-wheeling means of design, leaving the yarns really free to speak.

The desert and canyonlands of New Mexico, along with the mix of cultures, are a constant
theme. I celebrate life, the land, seasons, myths, and the magic.


Along the way I also became a printmaker. And, finally, turned to the computer.
My contemporary fiber work can be seen at RareAir Designs 2. It's an overview of 35 years.