Featured Artist Profile: Janice Filler

Today I'm thrilled to bring you the work and comments of Janice Filler, one of our regional SAQA members from here in Oklahoma.  I was privileged to meet her and talk to her at the SAQA conference this spring in Santa Fe, and am so excited for you to all see her fabulous work.

1. Who are you and where do you live?
My name is Janice Filler, and I live in Oklahoma City.  I am the current state representative for the Surface Design Association (SDA), as well as a member of SAQA.

2. Tell us a little bit about your artistic journey and how you got started.
I learned to sew from my grandmother, who was meticulous and expert at garment construction and tailoring.  My mother taught me and my sister to crochet and embroider, which my sister mastered.  I got distracted in my college/medical school years and the following medical practice of pediatrics, but retirement found me dragging out my sewing machine.   I have very much admired beautiful traditional quilts, but after a “detail-oriented” profession, I was looking for something spontaneous and more liberating; I found my passion in art quilting/ surface design.  I love exploring new surface design techniques and hand-dyeing fabrics.

Doorway (Time Portal), Janice Filler 2011

3. How do you describe your work? 
Mostly pictorial, but often with humor or an ironic twist.

Vanishing Habitat, Janice Filler 2012

4. Do you have any favorite techniques or approaches?
I am an admitted technique-junkie when it comes to surface design.  Lately I have been interested in digital imagery and the use of transparency in design, whether by use of sheer fabric, or layers of color/design.  I find words or phrases to be inspirational, and frequently use them as I design my work, whether or not they are used literally in the work.  Sometimes, I focus on the less conventional meanings of words.

The Forest's Treasure, Janice Filler 2012

5. What do you want to communicate with your work?
Often irony or humor; sometimes the juxtaposition of different ideas, or just visually pleasing design in the unexpected medium of fiber.

Oklahoma's Sons and Daughters: Will Rogers, Janice Filler 2013

6. What methods, or lifestyle tips, or time management tips do you find helpful to producing work?
In a good week, I try to spend some time in the studio every day.  Most weeks, I don’t succeed, but feel most productive when I am able to do that.  It is helpful to my creative process to have an abundance of visual imagery around me, and I use my design wall partly for that purpose when it’s not in use for a current project.

Nod to Gustav Klimt, Janice Filler 2009

7. What kind of studio/workspace do you have and what features of your surroundings are most helpful for your productivity/work?
I have a home studio with an inspiration/ design wall and areas set up for “wet” work, (i.e. sink, paint, dyes, refrigerator, microwave, elevated print table, silk screens, etc.) and for “dry” work, (i.e., cutting table, fabric storage, sewing/ felting machines, shelves for embellishments and thread, etc.).  I have a small “office” area with computer, wide-format printer, books, journals, etc.   A favorite is an automated massage chair in an alcove for “recovery” after a long day.

8. What artists, other individuals or subjects currently inspire you?
I am especially drawn to fiber and quilt artists who keep pushing their boundaries in art, especially in regard to the variety and manipulations of materials they use, and who think about using fiber media in non-traditional ways.

Profile (Tippi Hedren's Revenge), Janice Filler 2011

Thanks so much to Janice for sharing with us, and please let me know if you're interested in being a featured artist on the blog or have any announcements to share.

Featured Artist Profile: New co-Rep Cherrie Hampton

Update:  You guys!  I'm so thrilled to let you know that Cherrie's beautiful quilt Oklahoma Windsong (first one below), just won The Future Of Quilting Award at IQF Houston.  So fabulous!

Hi All,  today I'm super excited to share with you a little bit about our new co-Rep Cherrie Hampton.   Her work is just gorgeous, and has won many many awards. I had the pleasure of meeting with her recently and was thrilled and encouraged by her great ideas and enthusiasm.  I'm sharing her profile today and then later this month I think we'll have a post about our other co-rep, Ada Niedenthal.

Please remember to send me an e-mail if you're interested in being a featured artist on the blog.  It's not a complicated process and I'd love to see more participants share their work!

1. Who are you and where do you live?

My name is Cherrie Hampton and I am a native of Oklahoma City, OK.

Oklahoma Windsong

2. Tell us a little bit about your artistic journey and how you got started?

Although I have been sewing and quilting for many years, art quilting is a new phase of my creative journey.  My formal career was as a college professor teaching singing, specializing in opera and musical theater.  I have designed and made numerous costumes and sets as well as training singers as actors.  These experiences formed the artistic eye that now guides my art quilting.

3. How do you describe your work?

I produce mostly small wall art quilts with construction techniques which are appropriate to the image concept.  I like for my work to be realistic and easily self-descriptive.  My theatrical training leads me to consider the impact of the quilt from a distance as well as the nuances of detail.

4. Do you have any favorite techniques or approaches?

Since taking up watercolor painting 4 years ago, I have found that painting on fabric has opened a new avenue for realistic expression.  I have used inks, pencils, fabric pens, crayons, acrylic paints, pretty much anything that allows me to apply color to fabric.  I also use commercial fabrics in my applique process.

5. What do you want to communicate with your work?

I am daily renewed by the beauty of creation around me.  I strive for realism in my work because I want to share the colors, textures movement and images as I see them.  I am particularly interested in portraiture and some of my first efforts in art quilting have involved human images.

6. What methods, or lifestyle tips, or time management tips do you find helpful to producing work?

In my studio I have music playing most of the time.  My favorite "creative" music is gentle music with no words but with nature sounds laced throughout the melodies.  I find this type of music acts as an eraser of other thoughts and concerns and helps me enter into a peaceful mindset.

7.  What kind of studio/workspace do you have and what features of your surroundings are most helpful for your productivity/work?

My studio has a large north window and is arranged with two work spaces, one for sewing and cutting and the other for painting.  I view my work much as one would a stage setting, and for that reason my design wall is my most important creative tool.  I tis located across one entire wall of my stuido directly across from the sewing machine. I also draw inspiration and energy from my wall of threads which is arranged in color families and my wall of fabric held in open baskets.  I am surrounded by rainbows of color.

8.  Which artist, other individuals, or subjects currently inspire you?

I am constantly searching blogs to understand other artists' methods and works.  These research soirees have helped me to begin to develop my own voice and preferences as an artist.  It is also interesting to find other artists with similar voices and  inspirations.  I have learned so much about how to create my own art and how to be an artist by observing Velda Newman, Patt Blair, and Maria Elkins.  I am also challenged by BOB, a small group of quilt artist who meet monthly.

Thanks so much to Cherrie for sharing and for stepping up as our co-rep.  Please feel free to e-mail her or Ada with ideas about what you'd like to see our SAQA region do.  You can e-mail Cherrie (her info is on the left sidebar) or check out her blog, http://windsongquilts.blogspot.com/

Carol Gilham Jones: 12 Months of Free-Form Quilts

I'm excited to share with you today that beginning October 3, 2013 one of our members, Carol Jones, will have a gallery show titled  "12 months of free-form quilts" .

It's being held at:

Strecker-Nelson Pop Up Gallery

406 Poyntz Ave.

Manhattan KS  66502

785 537-2099

Each quilt is based on a visual impression from a month of 2012.

If you are in the area, please stop by and see the show; and be sure to spread the word to others who might be interested.

c. Carol Jones

Don't forget if you're having an upcoming show or are featured in an upcoming show, let me know so I can share the information here!

Featured Artist Profile: Ruth Powers

Today I'm thrilled to introduce Ruth Powers.  She is a long time professional artist, teacher, and lecturer and her award-winning pieced quilts are just gorgeous.  I encourage you to visit her website to see more of her art.  www.ruthpowersartquilts.com.

1. Who are you and where do you live?

My name is Ruth Powers and I live in rural Kansas, south of Topeka with my husband and two dogs.

2. Tell us a little bit about your artistic journey and how you got started?

I have always been artistic but didn’t start quilting until 1989, when I wanted to make a wall hanging for my home.  I did not expect to enjoy it so was very surprised to discover that the whole process was totally satisfying and I was hooked! When I first started, the work was more traditional, but still artsy, That very first wall hanging was a combination of traditional blocks and a pieced scene similar to what I do now, only less intricate.  In 1994 I started my own pattern company, INNOVATIONS, which now has 57 patterns ranging from traditional to picture piecing, wall hangings to bed size.

First Quilt, 1989, Ruth Powers

3. How do you describe your work?

Mostly what I am doing now is machine pieced pictorial work made from commercially printed and hand dyed fabrics.  They are very heavily free motion machine quilted on my Bernina. 

4. Do you have any favorite techniques or approaches?

My current love is Picture Piecing. I work from my own drawings or from photographs or a combination of the two.  These are broken down into sewable sections,  enlarged and transferred to freezer paper which becomes my pattern for the sewing. The seams can be either straight or curved.

Eagles Soar, 2013, Ruth Powers

5. What do you want to communicate with your work?

My love of nature and color.

6. What methods, or lifestyle tips, or time management tips do you find helpful to producing work?

As a professional, this work is my priority, my job. So most days are dedicated to some aspect of  it. Not just sewing and designing, but shipping, computer work, entering and keeping track of shows and exhibits,  teaching and lecturing and running my pattern company. 

7. What kind of studio/workspace do you have and what features of your surroundings are most helpful for your productivity/work?

I have a wonderful, large studio that was built as an addition to our home specifically to house the business and the sewing space.  There is plenty of room for storage of all kinds, office space, my quilting/art library, TV, seating area,  and of course the expected sewing area with everything I need, including an 8x8’ design wall. With windows looking out over the water garden and bird feeders, it is my perfect work space.

Ruth Powers, Studio

8. Which artists, other individuals or subjects currently inspire you?

I enjoy the work of Ruth McDowell whose things are similar but quite different from my own, but for inspiration, I usually go to nature. 

Many thanks to Ruth for sharing her work with us in this space! 

Featured Artist: Candyce Copp Grisham

Today I'm pleased to feature the wonderful work of Candy Grisham.  I love her earthy colors and different ways of featuring botanicals.  I hope you'll take a few minutes to browse through her blog  candyce54.blogspot.com !

1. Who are you and where do you live? 
Candyce Copp Grisham.  I live in Washington, MO outside of St. Louis 

2. Tell us a little bit about your artistic journey and how you got started? 
I have been sewing all my life and self taught to quilt from high school.  It's in my blood and genes.  As I have continued, I find using the traditional but adding a twist or a new take has appealed to me.  I have sought out new tools, new methods but always seem to bring a bit of my traditional background in somewhere and somehow. 

3. How do you describe your work? 
Ever-changing.  I still haven't settled on a style that I can say is what I always do.  I love to try new techniques, to make them my own vision and to express my joy with fabric and texture. 

4. Do you have any favorite techniques or approaches?

 I tend to work rather intuitively.  I love to learn new approaches, to bend the rules a bit to make something that pleases me. 

5. What do you want to communicate with your work? 

Nature and color.  Architecture and graphic modern.  Traditional and contemporary.

6. What methods, or lifestyle tips, or time management tips do you find helpful to producing work?

 I work in small bits of time whenever possible.  I find that if I have 10-15 minutes I can get a lot done.  I also work on different projects at once as they are often in different stages of development and I can fit them to my mood

7. What kind of studio/workspace do you have and what features of your surroundings are most helpful for your productivity/work?

I have 3 different areas of work space:  sewing with machine and fabric, messy with paints, screen-printing and dyes and my long arm machine space.  This way I can keep different projects in the works without overlapping or getting too messy. 

8. Which artists, other individuals or subjects currently inspire you?

 Elizabeth Barton always - her design and color style, her buildings.  Stephen Redfern (English artist) for her fabric creations and books, Anything to do with maps,  Deborah Boschert for her collages 

Thanks so much to Candy for sharing!

Regional Meeting

Hi All,

I hope you guys can attend the upcoming SAQA meeting for our region.  It's being held Saturday September 14th in Kansas City.  Ada and Dora and the other meeting organizers have put a lot of work into the event and it should be tons of fun.  We'd love to have more people sign up to attend. Here's the info!

Fiber Arts Show in Topeka

Sharon Bass just sent us this announcement about a current ongoing Fiber Arts show in Topeka featuring many of our regional SAQA members.  I encourage any of you in the surrounding area to check it out!

Just remember to email me at any time if you have an upcoming show to publicize or solicit entries for.  I'd love to share it in this space!

Featured Artist Profile: Kathy Suprenant

Today I'm thrilled to be featuring the work of Kathy Suprenant.   When I first came across her work featuring chromosomes I was excited to find another scientist/quilter, and am always surprised by how many of us there are!   You can find her art online at her website http://kathysuprenant.com/.

1. Who are you and where do you live?

 Lawrence, Kansas, has been my home for nearly thirty years.  I was born and raised in Hudson Falls, New York, and before moving to Lawrence I lived in Santa Barbara, California and Charlottesville, Virginia. 

I work at the University of Kansas where I teach cell biology at the undergraduate and graduate level (http://www.molecularbiosciences.ku.edu/kathy-suprenant).

2. Tell us a little bit about your artistic journey and how you got started?

 I decided to make a baby quilt for a friend.  When I got home I realized that I didn’t know how to make a quilt.  The very next day there was an advertisement in our local newspaper for a quilting class at a local fabric store.  What kind of quilt?  A baby-sized log cabin! Truly.  After several classes, I learned how to make many traditional-style quilts.  And then there were THE triangles, a shape that I never mastered and never wanted to master.  From that point onward I began to experiment with small art-like quilts.   

  

3. How do you describe your work?

My small quilts are simple in design, figural and graphic. I use commercial and a few hand-dyed fabrics.  Recently, I started using walnut-dyed fabric that I create in my backyard.  There are ten healthy black walnut trees in my yard that are prolific producers of large green walnuts.

  

Kathy Suprenant, Too Good to Eat

4. Do you have any favorite techniques or approaches?

 I often use freezer paper piecing for the background and hand-applique for the foreground.   All of my recently completed quilts are hand-quilted and occasionally beaded.

Kathy Suprenant, Protozoans

 5. What do you want to communicate with your work?

I try to combine my conceptualization of cell structure and function with the traditions of quilting and surface design. My goal is to create a unique set of shapes and symbols that CELL-ebrate the exquisite organization and behavior of living cells, and their repeating patterns of growth and death.

Kathy Suprenant, Chromosomes and a Door

6. What methods, or lifestyle tips, or time management tips do you find helpful to producing work?

It has taken years and many boxes of unfinished work to focus on finishing a single piece.  For me, it is more efficient to work on one quilt at a time from start to finish.  I may not make another quilt for several months.  In the meantime, I keep a sketchbook to record any new ideas.

7. What kind of studio/workspace do you have and what features of your surroundings are most helpful for your productivity/work?

I work in a spare bedroom where I installed a large overhead color-corrected fluorescent light.  Everything I need is in this room, including a computer and printer, a large mobile folding table, a drawing table, fabric and other supplies, and a comfortable chair from which I can watch television while I quilt, or just watch television. 

Kathy Suprenant, Butterfly Weed

8. Which artists, other individuals or subjects currently inspire you?

I am very fond of Judith Martin’s website and blog.  Judith is a Canadian textile artist who gathers much of her inspiration from her home on Manitoulin Island, Ontario, Canada.

In addition, I am inspired by the many nationally recognized quilt artists and historians in Lawrence, Kansas.  These include, but are not limited to, Barbara Brackman, Marla Arna Jackson, Chris Wolf Edmonds, and Mary Anne Jordan.


Thanks so much to Kathy for sharing her fabulous work, and check out her website for more information!

Featured Artist Profile: Jan Holzbauer

Today I'm pleased to feature Jan Holzbauer, a wonderful art quilter from Oklahoma.  She can be found online at www.janholzbauer.com.  I was pleased to meet Jan this past weekend at the opening of Fiberworks 2013 where Jan's beautiful piece "Bruiser" is being shown.  I was just amazed at the density and texture in the thread painting; it was fabulous to see it in person.  Bruiser's expression is so very cat like, regally waiting to offer judgment on whatever wanders into his domain.

1. Who are you and where do you live?
I am Jan Holzbauer.   I live just outside of Jennings, OK which is between  Tulsa & Stillwater.

2. Tell us a little bit about your artistic journey and how you got started?
I have sewn since I was a little girl making my doll clothes, then graduated up to making my own clothes.  I got started as a traditional quilter in 1986 when I made my first quilt for my 1st step-daughter when she turned 16 years old.  Then the other three step kids got a quilt, my daughter has gotten several and now I’m working on grand kid #5.  My art quilt journey started when I went back to college in 2006-2010 at OSU and finally talked my professors into letting me do my work in thread painting.

Pinwheel BOM 1, c. Jan Holzbauer

Hadiya 1, c. Jan Holzbauer

3. How do you describe your work?
I like to make representational art pieces using fabric and thread.   I enjoy making portraits of people and animals.  Mostly if you have a photo – I can thread paint it.

Bruiser, c. Jan Holzbauer

Bruiser, detail, c. Jan Holzbauer

4. Do you have any favorite techniques or approaches?
I love free motion thread painting.   I don’t use a computer to digitize my pieces.  Some call it free motion embroidery but it entails so much more than just embroidery.

5. What do you want to communicate with your work?
I like to make memories for people whether it is of a person, place or pet.  To give them a special type of way to remember that special thing.

Rod & Jackie, close up, c. Jan Holzbauer

6. What methods, or lifestyle tips, or time management tips do you find helpful to producing work?
Get up from your work frequently; stretch; get something to drink; take a brief walk.  Take a few steps back away from your work to get a different perspective.

Black Bear, c. Jan Holzbauer

7. What kind of studio/workspace do you have and what features of your surroundings are most helpful for your productivity/work?
When I am working on my longarm quilting machine it is in an upstairs room because that’s the only place it would fit.  But I get my exercise going up and down stairs because I usually have something downstairs in my ‘regular’ sewing room that I need.   Downstairs in my ‘regular’ sewing room is where I do most of my work.  It is where I do my thread painting and painting on fabric.  Although it sometimes feels a little crowded in my sewing room I like it because I know where everything is located and I try to keep it somewhat organized…although that doesn’t always work.

8. Which artists, other individuals or subjects currently inspire you?

I love Pam Holland’s work, Hollis Chatelain, Lura Schwarz Smith & Maria Elkins.

Thanks for sharing your work with us Jan!

OK Call for Entry: Fiberworks 2013

Although most of you may know already, Fiberworks 2013 is coming up.  It's a juried show for all types of fiber art, and is open to all Oklahoma artists.

Work is to be dropped of for jurying July 7-8 so there's still time.  For more information and the prospectus check out:

http://www.fiberartistsok.org/fiberworks/

Featured Artist Debbie Ross

Happy Monday everyone.  Today I'm pleased to feature the lovely work of Debbie Ross.  She blogs at http://debsbitspieces.blogspot.com/ and can also be found on flickr at http://www.flickr.com/photos/debr33/.  I was initially drawn to her use of color and line in pieces such as "Brush Strokes", and am thrilled to share more of her work with you guys.  As always, e-mail me if you're interested in being featured here.  We're excited to share work by both established and emerging artists!

1. Who are you and where do you live?

My name is Debbie Ross.  I was born in Tulsa, lived in St. Louis for 30 years and moved back to Tulsa in 2005.

2. Tell us a little bit about your artistic journey and how you got started?

 I started sewing as a small child.  I am self taught in sewing, quilting, crocheting and knitting.  I love all forms of Fiber Art.  I don’t remember a time that I wasn’t working on a project.  I started seriously quilting in 1999.

Debbie Ross, Sedona Red Rocks

Debbie Ross, Sedona Red Rocks, Detail

3. How do you describe your work?

My work for the most part is colorful and a lot of geometric shapes, I am starting to embrace more abstract art and this is starting to influence my work more and more.

Debbie Ross, Reflections

4. Do you have any favorite techniques or approaches?

My favorite techniques right now are fusing, foundation type flip and sew techniques, and a lot of hand embellishments.  I am using a lot of decorative stitching and I have taught classes using this creative stitching and embellishing with hand stitching and beading. I am starting to use my own hand dyed fabrics and solid fabrics in my work.

5. What do you want to communicate with your work?

I see my work as pulling the viewer in because of the use of color.  I also think once the viewer is close they see so much more with stitching and subtle design elements. 

Debbie Ross, Brushstrokes

6. What methods, or lifestyle tips, or time management tips do you find helpful to producing work?

 I was once told by a quilt artist to treat my art as a job.  What she meant is set a time that is yours to create uninterrupted.  I let friends and family know that I check for messages at lunch and after 4:00 on most days.  This lets me get into a creative mode and work on my art. I also carry a sketchbook everywhere I go.

Debbie Ross, Composition

7. Which artists, other individuals or subjects currently inspire you?

The artists that currently inspire me are Sue Benner, Katie Pasquini Masopust, Jean Wells Keenan, and Lisa Call.  I am inspired by the colors of nature. 


Thanks so much Debbie for sharing with us!

Featured Artist: Charlotte Hickman

Hi All, and welcome to our first featured artist profile.   I'd love to feature you and your art here, so just comment here or send me an e-mail if you're interested.

Today we have Charlotte Hickman, who was the first art quilter I met in Oklahoma.  I was privileged to get to talk to her a little bit more at the recent SAQA conference and then to see a sampling of her award-winning work at the recent MQS show in Wichita.

1. Who are you and where do you live?
Hello, my name is Charlotte Hickman and I live on the northwest side of Oklahoma City.


2. Tell us a little bit about your artistic journey and how you got started?
Designing, sewing and knitting garments have always been a part of my life.  However, after buying a Bernina 180 embroidery machine in 1998, I have become totally addicted to the world of art quilting.  Presently I sew, free-motion embroidery and quilt on my Bernina 820 and 830 machines.

 3. How do you describe your work?
I have an interest in the many ways that fabric can be interpreted in quilt art by designing and using bold colors of nature.

4. Do you have any favorite techniques or approaches?
Both piecing and appliqueing are used in my show quilts and in the patterns I make featuring flora and fauna subjects.

5. What do you want to communicate with your work?
I want people to see and fell my love of nature's colors which are visually evident in my design work, free motion embroidery and quilting.

6. What methods, or lifestyle tips, or time management tips do you find helpful to producing work?
I create art quilts, design patterns, teach many classes and workshops, and lecture at guilds.  When I am home, I am always working on my design wall and sewing on my Bernina domestic machines.  Thus the congenial ambiance of the physical arrangement in my home is suitable for my creative interest.

7. Which artists, other individuals or subjects currently inspire you?
The generous spriti and enormous artisitic talent of fiber artists whose workshiops have inspired me include Ruth McDowell, Hollis Chatelain, Velda Newman, Jane Sassaman, Ricky Tims, and most recently Cathy Wiggins.

Thanks so much for sharing your work with us Charlotte, and I hope all of you in blogland have enjoyed seeing it!

Welcome!

Hi all and welcome to the regional blog for SAQA Kansas/Missouri/Oklahoma.  I hope this can become a place where we share our art and all the things associated with it that are going on in our region.  To get an e-mail whenever new blog posts are up, you can sign up using the box in the right sidebar.  You can also follow the blog via bloglovin' if you choose.

For more information about our region, you can e-mail our regional co-reps Ada and Charlotte whose information is in the left sidebar.  If you have any questions about the blog or are interested in participating in it (as I hope some of you are), just send me (Shannon) an e-mail, or comment on any of the blog posts.

To start the getting-to-know-you process, we'll be featuring one artist every week, so if you're interested in participating, just let me know as I don't know very many of you yet to ask.  In addition, if you have a blog or website you'd like me to link to just e-mail me the info.

I'm also looking for people willing to gather and submit information for posting on calls for entry in the Kansas and Missouri areas.  I'll be posting info on the Oklahoma area, but need someone to help with the other stuff.

Finally, any time you have something to share, such as a relevant gallery show, class/workshop, artistic achievement, or any other piece of news that might be of interest to the art quilt community, just let me know and I'll see that it get's posted.

With your help, the blog can become a great resource for our SAQA region.  I hope you enjoy it!

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