Getting busy indeed

Posted on by jackiekeirnanhale

I have been very busy this year. So busy I have lost track of what I have or have not done. I am still working out all the possible new art quilts that I want to create from my amazing trip to Alaska this summer. So green and so breathtaking, I just need to start.

So, what is an artist to do? You find something to distract you just as anyone else would do. I surfed the internet, not really looking for anything in particular. I stumbled upon an entry for a group show at a local art association. I am happy to report that my art was accepted for the show, Prairie Village State of the Arts in Prairie Village, Kansas. The show was open from the beginning of September thru the end of October. I had previously been accepted in this show in 2016 so it was good to see I still had work that this group enjoyed. In fact, the juror liked it well enough I received an honorable mention for my artwork Spring Growth.

Spring Growth, Fiber collage and hand embroidery 12 X 6

I have posted this artwork on the blog before, but it did surprise me that I got an award for this small but mighty artwork. I was pleasantly surprised that a dear friend of mine caught my silly expression for this award

I have to admit the picture of this piece behind me looks so good blown up I need to consider doing this again in a larger scale. It would be harder to get the feeling of branches and coloring at a bigger scale, but I am always up for a challenge. I will add that to my ever-growing list of artwork ideas.

With the success of this show I was empowered to keep entering calls for shows. I entered another group show in the Kansas City area. I am happy to announce that I have two pieces accepted at the Jones Gallery for the December show. Another gallery I have shown at before and the owner of this gallery accepts a variety of art including fiber art. I am happy to see that he can see that any style of art is “art” no matter the medium. My art quilts are varied too, one being my go-to size of 14 X 11 and the other is 48 X 24.

Tuscon Sundown, Fiber collage, hand embroidery 24 X 48

As my husband and I were on a road trip back to Kansas City from the west coast, I just had to take a picture of this wonderful sunset going out of Tucson, New Mexico. I used Derwent Inktense pencils to capture the sunset colors. This was the best way to capture the awesome colors from my photo. I then added strips of batik fabric to indicate a dark foreground of rocks and sand, added some cacti and hand embroidery in the bright orange of the sky.

The second accepted artwork was created while I was at a retreat several years ago. I was inspired by the beautiful hand dyed cotton I used for the sky then started layering fabrics and fibers that I had on hand during this retreat.

Tequilia Sunrise Fiber collage, hand dyed velvet, hand embroidery, silk ribbon embroidery, wool roving, beads. 11 X 14

I did this work a while ago and shows a lot of my experimenting with techniques and styles. I just enjoy the colors and textures in this piece. The swirly wool that is hand dyed and give the impression of laid down grasses is just what I was aiming for. I like the mossy looking velvet that contrasts with the stark tree limbs. The crescendo of the bright sunset is the cherry on top.

Enough gushing here are the details for this show. Jones Gallery is located at 1717 Walnut, Kansas City, MO. The show opens on Wednesday November 30 and will run thru December 29th. Gallery hours are 10:00 am to 6:00 pm Monday thru Saturday. Artist opening on First Friday, December 2nd from 5:00-9:00 pm. I will be happy to chat with you at the opening.

I now need to get back to being busy, have a commission that needs attention and maybe take a walk or a nap.

Hello again my friend

Posted on by jackiekeirnanhale

I have been so neglectful on my blog posts. No real reason just had not thought about anything to write about. So here I am today to say Hello my friends and get this going again. Introductions please.

For those that know me personally you can skip this part. I have considered myself an artist since I was a small child. Being raised in a large family it was my way of sneaking extra time with our artist mother. Under her encouragement and a sprinkle of sewing knowledge from my grandmother I thrived and blossomed. I also enjoyed tramping thru the woods finding everything fascinating and colorful.

I then attended art school with an intention to soak up as much as possible. First year was a total immersion into all types of art making with no consideration of major field of study. By the end of this year, I was able to declare graphic design as my major. I continued taking electives in other fields such as painting, printmaking, ceramics and fiber arts. All of these classes were interesting, but I didn’t want to be the starving artist either.

After college, family life and a non-creative job, I started painting again but struggled, not meeting the quality I envisioned to what I could produce. I picked up cross stitch as a stress releasor but soon got bored with preprinted kits. Having work friends who quilted I was invited to join them on a retreat. While there I took a workshop in free form ribbon embroidery, taught by Judith Baker Montano. I worked thru the steps of creating an imagined underwater seascape, then got my ah-ha moment and decided to use fabric collage as my medium to create my art.

This is a collage of batik fabrics for the leaves, organza for the windowpanes, embroidered yarn for the styles of the windows, trim for the white flowers, embroidery and bead work. This was my next step in exploring after taking the workshop. I found my style in this new form of art making and have not looked back since. I find it meditative to stitch the small details and use a mix of fabric, thread, beads and trims to convey nature. I am inspired by Impressionist paintings and love the use of small things that give the impression of nature. I do want you to see the joy I receive from creating and the beauty of nature.

Here are a few more recent pieces I have completed but I will be updating my gallery pages with what I have been up to lately. Please take a look at my sight and send me a message if you have any questions.

Monet Mood 12 X 12 fabric collage and Inktense colored pencil $450.00

Twisted Seaweed 12 X 12 fabric collage, organza ribbon, hand dyed trim, silk ribbon embroidery, bead embroidery and hand embroidery $450.00

Prairie Spring 12 X 6 fabric collage on stretched canvas, Inktense colored pencil, hand embroidery, silk flowers and bead embroidery $500.00