Thoughts & news
The bubbles that didn't burst
Mindful Scribbling #2
I have fantastic news, but first let me ask you this: How do you react to good news--not about others, but about yourself? Good news about others is easy; I'm all whooping and congratulating. I seem often to meet good news about myself with shock and disbelief. It's like my brain just turns off for a few seconds, sort of the way the cable box reboots after a momentary power outage.
That's what happened this morning when I got the email notification that my artwork was selected by the jury to be included in Quilt National 2023. First it was shock, then disbelief, then re-reading the email THREE times to make certain it said "Congratulations" and not "Regrets", and finally walking upstairs to find Dan to say in a small voice, "I got in." I had a similar reaction last month when I got the notice that another piece in the same series (Mindful Scribbling) was accepted into Quilts=Art=Quilts 2022. These two art quilt shows are easily among the most sought after in North America, and I’d venture to say, given the international draw of applicants, the world. It’s a thrill and and honor to be included in either, not to mention both.
As I write about this I'm realizing that part of my shock comes from the magnitude of the thing, but another part comes from the hope that I’ve carried in my heart in the months since I submitted my applications. It’s always the same; I mark the expected announcement date on the calendar (the way a group facilitator uses a flip chart “parking lot”) to get the idea out my head so I can move on to the next thing while the jurors or curator do their work.
That hope seems like a soap bubble—so fragile that a sideways glance or a breeze will pop it. This time my bubble (bubbleS!) didn’t burst. But, they certainly have in the past, and they will again in the future. It’s the nature of subjective work. I alway give myself some version of the same pep talk when I don’t make the cut. “The jury was looking for something else.” “It’s not a condemnation; it’s one show.” But there’s alway the other voice—and it’s a loud one—”Why NOT me?” and “What did I do wrong?”. It’s the dark side of seeking public exhibition of your artwork. Sometimes the answer is “No”.
And so, to all who have received shockingly good news about a personal achievement, I hope that you can close you eyes for a moment and feel all of the good feelings. For those dealing with a disappointment, I know from personal experience—which I will have again—that disappointment comes from an unfulfilled hope, and that deserves a bit of grieving. This feels like a dark moment, but you are not alone.
May the road ahead be filled with a healthy balance of success and disappointment, each giving us perspective and appreciation for the other.
Restocking after a big weekend
Many thanks to everyone who has taken advantage of the deep discounts in my online store and to those those who turned out for our first-ever wearable art garage sale. My goal was to reduce inventory, and we’ve definitely done that! I’ve just added more items to the online store (https://russlittlefiberartist.com/shop-wearable-art), but this will most likely be the last addition this year.
The 50% sale is still running. All wearable art in the store is marked with its discounted price. Unlike last week, there’s no need to enter a discount code during checkout to get the sale prices.
Items usually ship within 24 hours of your order. However, due to holiday travel, we won’t be shipping on Thurs, 11/25 or Friday 11/26.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone. I’ve got quite a few things for which to be thankful, not least of which is this really successful sale.
50% off sale
Yes, you really did read that correctly. I’m having a huge sale to reduce my inventory of one-of-a-kind wearable art scarves.
After 10+ years of making and selling wearable art scarves I’m shifting the focus of my studio art practice to emphasize fine art textile. This isn’t a snap decision; I’ve been gradually moving toward this for awhile now. But, I will say that the upheaval caused by the pandemic and the things that Dan and I have been through these past 18 months have brought into clear focus just how precious time and opportunity are. I feel strongly that my path has shifted and I need to follow where it leads.
I’ve found joy and fulfillment in creating artwork that my clients have worn and enjoyed—things that have made them (you) feel even more attractive and confident. My studio practice has always been about creating fine art. Wearable art was an offshoot of that. My goal now is to simplify and go deeper.
Now for the fun part. As the flyer below describes, I’ll be hosting an in person sale this Saturday (Nov 20) in the garage at our house in College Park, 1:00 - 4:00 PM. Every wearable art scarf will be on sale for 50% off the marked price.
If you can’t make it in person, everything wearable in my online store is also 50% off starting right now. You can shop the online store at https://russlittlefiberartist.com/shop-wearable-art.
Hope to see you on Saturday for this rare opportunity.
The making of Reformation #1 - #9
If you haven’t already done so, take a few moments now to read the preceding post titled Reformation: A new artwork series because it sets the stage for what will follow.
The Reformation series is about trying to let go of things and ideas from the past and allow them to become something new—at least that’s my current thinking. As I was developing the first works of art in this series, I gradually began to see the the whole thing as a metaphor for letting go of—or at least holding loosely to—long held ideas about what is/was most valuable from the past and about how the future would play out. Events in my life and in the life of the world this past year have altered my perception of both past and future. The future that I think about today is different from the one I contemplated a year or two ago. Perhaps I can allow the past and present to inform the future and let it be what it will be (cue strains of Que Sera Sera).
The first 9 pieces in the Reformation series began by cutting up the three finished art quilts pictured below. These selections weren’t trivial. All of the pieces have been publicly exhibited, and the two pieces from Restructured Circles are part of the largest cohesive body of work that I’ve created to date. The first cut was a breathless moment, but once I started there was no going back.
What came next was step-by-step, largely unplanned combination and transformation of the pieces that I cut from the finished quilts. I wish that I’d taken more process pictures, but I say that at the end of every project. I worked hard to keep the process as loose as possible, and I allowed myself the freedom to do anything to the pieces at any point. I painted and printed over the fabric to add visual texture and shift the hue and value, lightening some pieces and darkening others. I fused fabric to add new elements and machine couched yarn to add linear elements. I also cut, sewed, cut again. Because I was working with dense, thick material (the quilted fabric was make up of a top layer plus batting and backing) I assembled the new quilt by butting cleanly cut edges together and zig-zagging over them.
And, if that wasn’t enough, all of the pieces (or at least these first 9!) are in original hand painted float frames or mounted on similarly painted cradle boards—all my own design and construction. The overall framed dimensions are 20 x 20 inches. The question is, did I really need to make the frames myself and did I have to make the process so complicated? Well, it undeniably cost less than paying a framer, but it quickly became more work than I’d intended. I began the frames with the plan of painting them all solid black. As I was doing the carpentry work I started thinking about how much I like painted and embellished folk art frames and how such a treatment might speak to the outsider quality of artwork. And so the hand painting happened.
So, here they are, the first 9 pieces of Reformation, each in its own custom frame.
Visit the Reformation section of my portfolio for more detail shots and information about each piece. Yes, they are for sale, but I haven’t had the time to add them to my online store. Feel free to email me if you’re interested (russ@russlittlefiberartist.com). They’re all $500.
Reformation: A new artwork series
Reformation #1
If you’ve been following my life through Facebook this past year you likely know that, in addition to the generalized concerns about politics and pandemic, my husband Dan and I have been dealing with the aftermath of his nearly fatal car accident on June 2, 2020. If that news escaped you and you want to learn more of our story you can refer to Dan’s Caring Bridge site that I started last summer (https://www.caringbridge.org/visit/danryancollegepark). Stated simply, my priorities shifted during the months Dan was hospitalized and the months of PT, OT, and several more “T”s that followed. The studio was abandoned and I did no art work.
In mid-winter I began tinkering a bit in the studio, trying to work in a bit of art time around a very full schedule of medical and therapy appointments. But, it wasn’t until April that Dan’s recovery had progressed to a point where I was able to begin to venture back to the studio in any serious way. Once there I found myself lacking in every way. I had no stamina, concentration, or inspiration, so I did what I usually do in such situations: I cleaned, put away, organized and rearranged.
In the midst of the cleaning I attacked the storage closed that holds all of my complete work. As I unrolled quilts to give them a good airing out I began thinking about the future of some of the older work. Some hadn’t been exhibited, but some had. Obviously, none of it had sold. Was it going to? Did I want to hang any of it? What if something happened to me; would anybody want this stuff?
That’s when I started wondering if I might be brave enough to “kill my darlings.” That’s a writer’s term for objectively editing your writing and letting go of words, paragraph, scenes, characters, even story lines that you might love but which don’t really don’t belong, are overused, cliche, whatever. In other words, it’s the writing that you, the author love, for reasons that are in no way apparent to the reader. I’m not entirely sure all of these pieces my artwork were “darlings,” but they weren’t exactly dogs either. Could I really cut up a finished work of art or slather it with paint?
The answer turned out to be, “Yes, I can,” and I did.
At first I thought I was just playing around, trying to jumpstart my creative engine with something radical; at least it was radical for me. As is most often my experience, I began to see this little play project as something with far deeper meaning. I gradually began looking at it as a metaphor for what I was going through in my life. Dan’s recovery has been altogether miraculous, but his accident has altered our lives and our expectations about the future. He continues to recover and we’re optimistic about the future, but it’s also true that the future will likely be different from what we used to imagine. Stated another way, some of our long-held expectations might need to be rethought, just like I was rethinking that older artwork.
“Reformation: the act or process of improving something or someone by removing or correcting faults, problems, etc.”
As this idea of rethinking and revising percolated in my brain I started gravitating toward the word, “reformation”. I wasn’t thinking of the 16th century Protestant Reformation or creating an homage to Martin Luther. I was thinking of the word as “re-formed” or “formed again”.
I nominated 8-9 of my older art quilts to be my starting point and then chose 3 to cut up to begin the experiment. Today, 3 months later, the first 9 works in my new Reformation series are making their online debut.
You can see the new pieces in Art Quilt section of my online portfolio or by going directly to the Reformation page.
You can also read this blog post about The making of Reformation #1 - #9.
Art Quilt Elements 2020 virtual opening reception and artist talk
Art Quilt Elements 2020, one of North America's premier juried art quilt exhibitions, was originally scheduled to hang at the Wayne Art Center outside of Philadelphia in March 2020. And then came Covid-19.
AQE 2020 will now open virtually this May 14th with an online gallery and live virtual artist reception. This event will also include the release of the 2020 print catalog and the debut of the AQE 2020 video.
I'll be speaking briefly about my piece "Beautiful Chaos #1" during the meet-the-artists portion.
The Zoom opening event is free, but does require pre-registration Visit https://www.wayneart.org/exhibitions/aqe-2020-online-exhibition-live-event/ to signup and get login info.
And now for something a little different…
I generally reserve my website for things related to my artwork or the workings of my studio. I’m posting this essay here partly because I need a place to park it besides Facebook, and partly because it touches on the core of who I am and is thus related to the art I make. If this topic isn’t of interest to you please feel free skip this posting and know that I will continue posting occasional updates about art here and on my studio Facebook page and Instagram feeds.
And then I asked them to pray!
Russ Little, 16 June 2020
Over the past two weeks I’ve called on a wide circle of family, friends, colleagues, and acquaintances to pray for my husband, Dan, who is in a trauma ICU fighting to recover from a near-fatal car crash.
I asked people to pray, and that’s made me think a lot about what exactly that means. What is prayer? What does it mean for me to make such a request? What is my own prayer life like? Is it hypocritical to ask for something that I’m not even sure that I do all that well? Part of the way that I’ve been working my way through these thoughts is by writing this short statement—writing it and rewriting it.
I’m not especially interested in proselytizing, evangelizing, or any other “izing.” I think that faith is a very personal choice and I believe that it’s arguably a faithless act to assume that only one tradition or belief system is right, and thus all others are inherently wrong or evil. So, you do you. As long as that means that you’re kind to others, strive to practice diversity, equality, respect, and love, and you’re grateful for the good things in your life, then I think we’re both headed in the same direction.
And yet, I asked people to pray. What if the concept of “prayer” is foreign, off putting, or downright antithetical to your own beliefs? Am I adding to the grief and confusion folks are already feeling about this terrible accident by throwing prayer into the mix? I think the answers lie in a shared understanding of what prayer means to me. If I take this moment to say a little more about my own understanding of this particularly loaded word, “prayer,” then… We’ll, I don’t know. Maybe we’ll all be more comfortable.
I’m not going to regurgitate what I’ve been taught about prayer. This is what I personally believe—prayer according to Russ. I use prayer as an umbrella term to encompass the many forms of mindful contemplation, by which I mean gently holding a thought with an open mind, an open heart, and a willingness to welcome new feelings, insight, or healing. My thoughts about formal intercessory prayer (asking for a specific thing on behalf of another) are complicated. I’m not comfortable with the notion of a quid pro quo relationship with the universe—“If I say X or promise Y, then Z will happen”. But, I do pray for others. I think prayer does two things, one tangible and one intangible. First, I think that prayer—mindfulness, presence, contemplation, and openness—can be a source of personal growth and healing. It can make your own life better, and a healthy, grounded you means an incrementally healthier world. Second—and this is the harder part to embrace—I believe that the same prayer that expands your own heart and mind has the potential to reach others, either through a change brought about in you or through some intangible and inexplicable metaphysical shift.
So, when I ask you to pray for Dan, me, and our family, what I’m asking is for you to bring us into your mind in those quiet moments and hold us in love. My hope is that this will bring you peace and hope and that some of that will spill over to Dan himself.
As to the mechanics of prayer, they don’t need to involve mats, altars, incense, icons, beads, or other appliances unless those things help you. The two best prayer times for me are while walking and when I’m in the studio. I’m a working studio artist. When I’m painting, drawing, or stitching it’s helpful for me to disengage as much of my conscious mind as possible as a way of opening up creative flow. A quieter mind also allows me to hold a concern or another person in my heart while I work. Walking does a similar thing. Getting out of the house and putting one foot in front of the other creates a similar kind of open inner space. I also use prayer beads, not a rosary but sort of. Working my fingers slowly along a circle of beads as I walk helps me to hold focus on a specific thing—or gently return to that focus when I drift. It’s a balancing act between focusing and not focusing so much that you close your mind to all else. It’s also worth noting that keeping the beads in your pocket while you walk might be discrete but it also looks a little...um...suspicious.
If you’ve read this far then you have my thanks. I hope that by sharing these thoughts I’ve created a place of common ground between us. Prayer need not be the elephant in the room. Feel free to call it by another name that’s better aligned with your own beliefs. I hope that some form of prayerful engagement will bring you peace, improve our world, and bring healing and grace to those you love.
With love,
Russ
My video interview as "Guest Creative" for Jane Dunnewold's Creative Strength Training seminar
A few weeks back I had the genuinely delightful opportunity to sit down for a conversation (via Zoom) with Jane Dunnewold. Artist, author, teacher, and mentor, Jane created and now facilitates a program called, “Creative Strength Training.” Each month she interviews a fellow artist as part of the “Guest Creative” component of the program. When she asked me if I’d be willing to sit for an interview I leapt at the chance. Who wouldn’t? Conversations with Jane are always a perfect combination of easy, free flowing, and substantive. This one was no exception. Click the link below to watch our discussion.
I confess that I’m usually horrified at the sound of my recorded voice and by the way that I come across on video, but this is an exception. I have to credit Jane and Zenna (Tech Consultant at Jane Dunnewold Studios) for making the entire process easy, putting me at ease, and posing stimulating questions. Thanks for this wonderful opportunity.
Visit my booth this weekend at the Greenbelt Festival of Lights Art & Craft Fair
It feels like the Thanksgiving dishes are barely in the dishwasher yet suddenly it’s December and we’re anticipating the next round of holidays with all of the associated gift giving and merriment. I’ll be doing my part this weekend, selling my originals wearable art scarves and shawls at the Greenbelt Festival of Light Art & Craft Fair. I hope you can make time in your weekend plans to stop by to see my newest creations as well as the work of other local artists. This is a juried show and it consistently attracts a good group of talented artists selling their own original fine craft and art. It’s also a great way to shop locally and support artists in your community.
When:
Saturday, Dec 7, 10 AM - 5 PM
Sunday, Dec 8, 10 AM - 4 PM
Where:
Greenbelt Community Center, 15 Crescent Rd, Greenbelt, MD 20770
I’m donating to HIAS and I want you to help
The November midterm election results give me hope that the pushback against hatred is gaining ground. But, the undeniable truth is that we live in troubling times and there’s still much to be done. Consider the following.
On Saturday, Oct 27, 2018 an anti-Semitic terrorist stepped into the Tree of Life Congregation Synagogue in Pittsburgh armed with an automatic rifle and multiple handguns. He then murdered 11 people and wounded 6 others, all of whom were gathered for worship.
In a country where words like Pulse, 9-11, Oklahoma City, and Charleston Emanuel AME are etched into dark and tearful places in our minds, why does this latest atrocity stand out? It’s the antisemitism. It’s the hate-filled killing of innocent people, several old enough to have already witnessed and experienced more than enough suffering for a single lifetime. It’s the attack on people in a holy place in the very act of worship. It’s the terrorist’s bigotry that he twisted into a rage over the work of the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS) and their efforts to help people fleeing danger and persecution.
It’s not the first hate crime, and it won’t be the last. But, for me it was the last straw for that particular week—one already marked by other acts of violence and remembered violence. There are undoubtedly mental health considerations in all of these cases. I just can’t accept that humans are born to hate and kill one another. So, while I’ve been mulling that over, wondering how to forgive and how to have hope, I’ve been thinking about other things.
Since the attack I’ve taken the time to learn a bit more about HIAS, their history, and their work. You can read about the organization on their website at https://www.hias.org, or you can visit Charity Navigator (https://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=search.summary&orgid=3820). For now, I can think of no better response to these killings than to do good in the face of evil, and to do it in a way that’s diametrically opposed to the supposed object of the terrorist’s rage.
That’s why I’m donating to HIAS, and I want your help. Here’s how.
I’m offering 8 wearable art scarves for sale and donating 100% of the sale price to HIAS.
Each of these lightweight cotton scarves features affirmative words appropriate for our present situation, and patterning reminiscent of…well let’s just say “past times of protest” and leave it at that. Let’s work together to push back against the darkness and send a positive message and good energy out into the world draped around your neck. Click the SHOP button in the menu above to visit my online store and select “HIAS Fundraiser” from the lefthand column.
The fine print:
When I say 100%, I mean 100%. I will absorb all of the credit card processing fees and material/labor costs. All I ask is that you pay the sales tax and shipping costs. So, purchasing a $60 item results in a $60 contribution from me to HIAS.
I’m not operating a 501(c)(3) charitable organization, so yes, you do need to pay sales tax on this purchase; and no, I cannot provide a gift letter for your income tax preparer.
In order to give everyone equal access and make this truly a first-come-first-served kind of thing, all purchases must be made by credit card through my online store.
If you live locally and would like to arrange to pick up your scarf at my studio, go ahead and complete the purchase online and use the code HIASFUNDRAISER during checkout. This will apply a $7 discount to your order, thereby reversing the shipping charge. You must then contact me to arrange a pickup time ASAP.
From paper to fabric: Surface design methods that embrace the intersection of manual and digital design
This article originally appeared on the Art Cloth Network blog in March 2018 (http://artclothnetwork.blogspot.com)
This is the second of two articles that deal with my ventures into digital fabric printing. The first article dealt with digital printing in the context of my larger journey and identity as a fiber artist. This time I want to discuss the different sorts of digitally printed cloth and the ways in which I’m using digital printing--ways that I believe are a bit different from what I’ve seen from other artists.
The type of designs and images digitally printed on cloth can be organized into several categories:
- Utilitarian: Banners or other signage that were once screen printed and are now produced on a digital printer.
- Yardage: Traditional repeat patterns of graphic elements, or an abstract, non-repeating pattern printed on cloth to produce yardage for garments, home dec items, etc.
- Faithfully rendered photographs: Think of a memory quilt that incorporates photos of your grandparents printed on fabric.
- Manipulated photographs: Colorized, filtered, and altered images typically printed with the intention of making art.
- Computational art: These are designs created entirely within a computer program specifically designed to create digital images. For example a program that creates fractal designs.
- Whole cloth compositions: A length of digitally printed cloth that is a finished product or a step along the way to creating a finished artwork. Subsequent steps might include dyeing, painting, stitching, cutting, etc.
You could easily argue that the boundary between these last two categories is a little fuzzy, but for me the distinction is whether or not you start with one or more photographs.The work that I’m most interested in falls in this last category. I think we can break this group down still further and say that these whole cloth compositions can be:
- Created entirely in the computer through drawing, manipulating images, or using a computer program to create an image.
- Created in a hybrid manual/digital space that involves creating a design on paper, scanning or photographing that work to get it into the computer, then manipulating the image further to create a result that is ready to print on fabric.
With some trial and error I’ve settled into two work methods within the hybrid manual/digital approach, embracing some of the best of both paper and fabric. Specifically, I’ve found that the mark quality that I get from cutting paper with an X-ACTO knife is completely different from what I get when I cut fabric. The resulting compositions are different as well. It’s as if this way of working taps into a different part of my brain with its own distinct voice. These two methods both rely on digital fabric printing technology--wide carriage inkjet printing on fabric (I’ve been using spoonflower.com). I’m calling them “Digital design using hand cut elements” and “Paper compositions rendered on fabric”. There are pros and cons to each.
A composition created using the "Digital design using hand cut elements" method
"Nuclear Family", Russ Little, 2015 (digitally printed cloth, quilting)
Digital design using hand cut elements
The goal of this approach is to use cut paper to create marks, shapes, and motifs that can be scanned into the computer, and then used to create a composition on a background. Here’s how I do this.
- Paint black paper. Depending on your intended design you can create a very dense black or something with more visual texture and brush strokes. Alternatively you can use black construction paper, but I prefer the visual and physical texture of the paper I paint myself. I use a variety of papers including old newspaper, receipts, found bits of paper, and Bienfang Graphics 360 marker pad.
- Cut shapes and linear elements. The goal is to build a vocabulary of curved and straight lines, both thin and thick, as well as a variety of shapes.
- Glue the shapes and lines to white card stock. Uhu glue stick is my preferred adhesive. You’re not trying to create a composition, just get them on the page without overlapping.
- Scan or photograph the resulting pages, then store the originals someplace flat, dry, and safe so that you can return to them in the future if necessary. I use sheet protectors in a loose leaf binder.
- Open the image file(s) in a graphic editing program (e.g., Adobe Photoshop or Illustrator). From here you can select and copy your individual shapes then scale, stretch, rotate, flip, and colorize them to meet your needs. The reason for creating these shapes in black is so that they can be easily selected, then black can be replaced with other colors.
- Build your composition in a separate file by copying and pasting your shapes and lines onto a background of your choice.
- When the design is finished, upload it to an online printing service or take the file to an appropriate local print shop for output on fabric.
Cut paper shapes ready for scanning
Pros
Because all of the elements exist as separate objects in your digital design, you can easily move them around until the composition is to your liking. You can also create an unlimited number of variations.
Cons
The computer is a wonderful tool, but I find that sometimes the technology can be a little cold and detached, creating a separation between the artist and the work. I don’t get the same feeling from this process that I do when I’m working exclusively on paper.
A composition created using the "Paper composition rendered on fabric" method
"Collage #1", Russ Little, 2017, (cut paper collage digitally printed on cloth, quilted)
Paper compositions rendered on fabric
The solution to the coldness of the computer is to leave it out of the process entirely until it’s absolutely necessary. This is currently my preferred way of working:
- Paint paper in a variety of colors (a full range of hues and values; don’t forget the neutrals).
- Prepare a painted background on card stock.
- Cut the shapes from your colored paper required to create a composition.
- Arrange the shapes, lines, etc. on the painted background.
- Add other drawn or printed elements to the composition if appropriate.
- Glue the shapes and lines in place on the background.
- Scan or photograph the resulting composition, then store the original someplace flat, dry, and safe. As noted above, I’ve been storing my work in sheet protectors in a binder.
- Open the image file in an image editing program (e.g., Adobe Photoshop) and do whatever retouching, adjustments, or color correction is necessary. Crop or scale the image as needed.
- When the design is finished, upload it to an online printing service for output on fabric.
- For me, the final, optional step is often to layer the printed fabric with batting and backing, then add dense quilting that speaks to the printed design. I often incorporate hand stitch as well.
Pros
The design work is completely analog. The computer is only used as a means of getting the resulting composition printed on cloth. Working this way keeps me slow and focused and avoids those times when I get lost in trying to figure out how to do something using Photoshop that I can easily do by hand.
Cons
To my way of thinking there aren’t many cons to this method, except for the one that’s inherent in all works of the hand. Unlike the digital design method described above, when you cut something it’s cut; when you make a mark it’s made. There aren’t too many easy undos, but isn’t that part of the fun?
Technical and design considerations
There are several technical considerations to bear in mind when using either of these hybrid manual/digital methods, particularly if you are using the second approach to prepare an entire composition on paper for later printing on cloth.
Resolution and scale
If you prepare your cut shapes or your entire composition at a size smaller than you intend to print it, then you will need to enlarge your image before printing. That means that you need to consider two things:
- Understand the relationship between the image resolution from your camera or scanner and the final resolution required for printing on cloth. Some manipulation of the resolution will be required and you need to consider the resolution requirement of the printer.
- Regardless of image resolution, if your final printed cloth is larger than your original paper composition, then you are scaling up. That scale change means that you need to plan for your design elements to be enlarged or you need to work on larger paper. Those delicate marks on your paper design can become a lot less elegant at 400%.
Photographing and scanning
If possible and practical, use a flatbed scanner to create an image of your paper composition. You might still need to do some color adjustments, but your work will be held perfectly flat, lit evenly, and imaged at a high resolution.
If your work is too large to scan (e.g., larger than 8.5” x 11” or 8.5” x 14”), then you can either scan it in sections or photograph it. Scanning in sections requires planning up front. For example, will you build your design across several sheets of paper or will you work on one large sheet and cut it into smaller pieces for scanning? Ultimately, these individual images will need to be combined to form a single seamless image.
If you’re photographing your composition because you don’t have access to a scanner or don’t want to cut up a piece that’s too large to scan, then it’s important to photograph the piece as flat as possible, light it evenly, fill the camera’s viewfinder as completely as possible to maximize resolution, and make certain that your camera is square to the plane of the artwork (i.e., not tilted, twisted, or angled). Use a tripod and focus carefully to insure that the image is as sharp as possible.
Color correction and management
To get the color from your printer that you want on your final cloth you’re going to need to pay close attention to color throughout the process. That likely means color correcting what you’re getting out of your camera or scanner, working on a color corrected monitor, and accounting for the color profile of the printer that will be used to create your fabric. Alternatively, you can just not stress over color and accept what you get back from the printer.
Text
Finally, if you incorporate painted newsprint or any other paper with visible writing on it into your composition, realize that even if the text is upside down and backwards the viewer will try to read it and assign meaning to it. Be intentional in your use of text and pay close attention to the amount of text that is visible on your painted paper.
Products and services referenced in this article:
- Adobe Photoshop (https://www.adobe.com/products/photoshop.html)
- Adobe Illustrator (https://www.adobe.com/products/illustrator.html)
- X-ACTO #1 Precision Knife (https://www.dickblick.com/products/x-acto-1-knife/)
- Uhu Stic Glue stick (https://www.dickblick.com/products/uhu-stic-glue-sticks/)
- Bienfang Graphics 360 marker pad (https://www.dickblick.com/products/bienfang-graphics-360-marker-paper/)
- Spoonflower.com online digital fabric printing service
- Staples medium weight sheet protectors (https://www.staples.com/Staples-Standard-Sheet-Protectors-100-Pack/product_40713)
Wrestling with surface design guilt
This article originally appeared on the Art Cloth Network blog in March 2018 (http://artclothnetwork.blogspot.com)
This is the first of two articles that deal with my sojourn into digital fabric printing--the why and how of it and what it means in the context of my larger journey as a fiber artist. We’ll start with the big issues in this article. I’ll dig into the methods in the next one.
I’ve been dyeing and printing fabric for close to 20 years, and I still find it exciting. I love the process of getting color onto and off of cloth. I love the details--the measuring, weighing, and calculation--that allow me to create predictable, repeatable color. I love the toolmaking--carving relief printing blocks, designing and burning silk screens, and gathering found objects that become mark making implements. I love painting and printing big pieces of cloth. And then, of course, there are all of the things that happen to that printed cloth. It becomes art cloth for the wall, it gets quilted or stitched, or it becomes art to wear--one of a kind scarves or jackets. Lately though, I’ve been wrestling with a guilty feeling that I’ve been disloyal to my craft, or at the very least veering off on a tangent.
"Illumination: Counting"
Hand dyed art cloth
Russ Little, 2013
In all of my time as a dyer, I’ve been a quilt surface designer. I’ve made pieced quilts as well as quilted whole cloth paintings. But, for the last year or so, the thing that’s excited me the most is cut paper collage. I paint paper--drawing paper, found bits of paper, old newspapers--with gouache in an array of colors, then cut it into shapes and arrange them to form a composition. This method is anything but new. Many artists have worked in collage, Matisse being not the least among them (try Googling “Matisse collage”). To give credit where it’s due, I started getting excited about collage through workshops on color theory, collage, and design that I’ve taken with David Hornung.
Collage takes many forms: combinations of found images and/or text, combinations of solid color shapes, figurative, abstract, the whole gamut. You might say that the term “collage” is a big umbrella term that covers lots of forms of “sticking stuff to paper”.
For me, there’s something totally different that happens in my brain when I’m cutting, arranging, and layering paper compared to cutting and piecing fabric, or even painting directly on fabric. Designs and motifs emerge when I cut into paper with an X-ACTO knife that are completely different from what happens on my design wall with fabric. But I still want to work in fabric, and I want to incorporate the textural layer of quilting into the final composition.
"Collage #3"
Cut paper collage digitally printed on cloth, quilted
Russ Little, 2017
With some trial and error I’ve found my way to two work methods that embrace some of the best of both paper and fabric. They both rely on digital fabric printing technology--wide carriage inkjet printing on fabric. I create shapes or full designs on paper, scan or photograph them, then send them to a service provider for printing on cloth. When I receive the printed cloth I can them treat it as finished art cloth or add more layers to it through paint, stitch, quilting, etc. Detailed discussion of these methods will be the subject of the next article in this series. For now it’s enough to know that I’m allowing a computer to put dye/pigment on cloth, rather than doing it with my own two hands.
So, what’s all this hand wringing about “surface design guilt”? Well, it comes down to the simple facts of change and that newest of buzzwords, disruption. I’ve spent years building knowledge, skill, and experience in the manual work of hand dyeing and printing cloth. Now I find that I’m able to create a finished work of fiber art without ever touching dye or fabric paint, and it makes me a little uneasy. It sometimes feels inauthentic. Heretofore, part of the challenge--the foundational craft in this particular art form--has been the skillful manipulation of dye, paint, and cloth to produce the desired result. The computer and printer certainly bring their own set of challenges, but those aren’t generally surmounted using the skills I’ve worked so hard to learn.
In the end, the peace that I’ve made with all of this is perhaps the same peace that others have made. As artists we must embrace new opportunities, tools, and ways of thinking, while remaining grounded in those traditional and foundational skills. Perhaps a fitting comparison might be that a artists using a knitting machine is probably better able to make effective use of that tool if they first learn to knit by hand.
I also wonder about the future. I hope that young artists will continue to learn about traditional, manual ways of working before making the leap of digital tools. I have no desire or intention to stop working with dye, because that particular set of tools and techniques produces different results for me than digital tools. However, it’s also interesting to consider that at some point in the future I might live someplace different and might not find it practical or even desirable to have a full fledged dye studio. The new processes I’ve been exploring lend themselves to a way of making art that requires not much more than a computer, internet connection, cutting table, and sewing machine.
So, I suppose the “guilt” I’m feeling is mostly rooted in the idea that I simultaneously want to try new thing and be part of the change, and yet I don’t want to see things change too much. And, since we can’t have it both ways, I’m going to forge ahead with one foot on each side of the line between tradition and technology.
In the next article in this series I’ll examine how that blended approach is influencing the way that I work.
Visit my booth at the Greenbelt Festival of Lights, Dec 2-3
All of a sudden the holidays are upon us. As you contemplate gifts for friends, family, and self, please consider supporting the local craftspeople and artists who will be at this year's Greenbelt Festival of Lights Juried Art & Craft Fair. It's a wonder show in a community that really supports the arts.
The event runs Saturday Dec 2 (10-5) - Sunday, Dec 3 (10-4) at the Greenbelt Community Center (directions). I'll have a booth again this year, selling wearable art. I hope to see you all there.
New items in my online store
Check out the newest items in my online store--the fruits of an intense month of dyeing!
New items in the portfolio section
Collage #1
If you follow my studio Facebook page, you might have seen some quick & dirty snapshots of recently finished work in early September. I've just finished properly photographing all of those pieces and adding them to my online portfolio. Take a look at:
Wonderful art cloth exhibit in Miami
Photo: Daniel Portnoy
This has been a confounding year so far. After a couple of surgeries (3 in 9 months), I feel like I've addressed some deferred maintenance issues, which is good. But, it seems that every time I've sort of gotten my feet back under me I've fallen over again--metaphorically speaking. As a consequence, the studio as been a disjointed, unproductive, unfulfilling confusing, mess--but things are turning around a looking up. I have 5 art quilts nearing completion, and I feel like I'll be strong enough in a few weeks to safely lift dye buckets.
Meanwhile, wonderful things have been happening for the Art Cloth Network. Our exhibit team has landed some outstanding venues this year, the most recent of which is the terminal gallery at Miami International Airport. The gallery is part of Miami-Dade County Division of Arts & Cultural Affairs, and they've been fantastic to work with. They even produced a stunning color brochure to accompany the show. The show is in a gallery that's inside the security perimeter, but if your travels happen to take you through MIA, check out the "Material View" exhibit.
That's my piece hanging at the entrance to the show--BIG SMILE. (Photo: Daniel Portnoy)
Photo: Daniel Portnoy
Art Cloth Network's "Anything Goes" opens at the San Jose Museum of Quilts & Textiles
"Focal Point" on display at the San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles through Jan 15, 2017
Hey folks, if you find yourself in the Bay Area between now and Jan 15, 2017 consider a trip to the San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles to see the Art Cloth Network show titled, "Anything Goes."
This is our second exhibit at the museum, and we're delighted to have an opportunity to show our work in such a distinguished venue for fiber. I'm delighted to have my piece "Focal Point" included.
http://www.sjquiltmuseum.org/current-exhibitions-sjmqt-museum-art-downtown-sanjose
Greenbelt festival was a big success
The russlittlefiberartist booth at the Greenbelt Festival of Lights, 2016 (Photo: D Ryan)
I'm happy to say that we had another great year at the Greenbelt Festival of Lights Juried Art & Craft Fair. I got to reconnect with many of my longstanding local customers and supporters, meet many new folks, and enjoy the company of some outstanding fellow craftspeople. This is a really wonderful event. It always happens the first weekend in December. Pencil it in on your 2017 calendar now.
If you couldn't make it this year, but still need that unique gift for a special someone, please check out the growing list of new items in my online store. The last day for shipping pre-Christmas orders is December 20.
Visit my booth at the Greenbelt Festival of Lights Art+Craft Fair this weekend
I'll have a booth this weekend at the Greenbelt Festival of Lights Art and Craft Fair at the Greenbelt Community Center. Stop by Saturday (12/3) 10 AM - 5 PM or Sunday (12/4) 10 AM - 4 PM. I'll be offering a whole new selection of original art scarves as well as framed art. Look for preview images later this week.
This is a wonderful show. I'm been fortunate to participate for several years, and I've always been impressed by the turnout and by the work of my fellow art/craft vendors.
Hope to see you there. Spread the word to your friends.
Just posted a new "how to" on hanging art cloth
Check out the new "How To" tip that I just posted in the Resources section of my website explaining how I hang art cloth.
http://russlittlefiberartist.com/how-to/2016/4/29/how-to-create-a-top-sleeve-for-hanging-art-cloth