Linda Branch Dunn

Stencil Happy

2012-01-19T14:06:00.000-08:00

View towards my studio window

Monday was a vacation day. This meant someone else was home to walk the dog, and I could stay at my Lowell studio, happily printing away. I used a new stencil to rework a half-dozen silk scarves. One failure, but o the successes.

green and black on yellow

This was pale yellow with gold circles

pale sky blue reinterpreted with black, blue and purple

Now back to sewing. Boro scarves: two commissioned, finished. Delivery tomorrow.

Invitation to the Muse

2012-01-13T10:53:00.000-08:00

Start a sketchbook. Play with paints. Experiment with pattern.

Registration open at Arlington Center for the Arts.

Hope to see you there.

A tale of two commissions

2012-01-12T06:52:00.000-08:00

I invite commissions because I enjoy the journey.
Customer's requests often take me places I would not otherwise go.

Two people commissioned Portable Art just before the holiday.

Here are the pieces that resulted. (My apologies for the dark photos.)

This customer wanted rich colors, specifically gold and purples.

Two pieces spun out of her request, and she loved the second version.

This customer asked for a "more masculine" feeling, with musical elements.

But he rejected the resulting piece as too dark, "not uplifting enough."

A lesson in mismatched understandings of vague terms.

I like it, though. Eventually, it will find its home.

Another Journal Page

2012-01-11T10:08:00.000-08:00

Pears pears pears. They have the most sensuous shape. And they are forgiving: no perfect circle, not even perfect symmetry. Just that feminine slope and curve.

So many layers on this page. It started with text. Then I played with watercolor through a new Seven Jewels stencil from ArtistCellar. A bit still peeks through on the bottom.
As I laid in a color gradation with acrylics. Once that was dry, I doodled with markers, and the pears began to emerge. So, more acrylic, some waters-soluble crayons, sandpaper (to take areas back a level) and white correction pen to bring some bright to the page.

Not a finished composition by a long shot, but perhaps some ideas.

Time to turn the page and see what's next.

Thermofax Class and more

2012-01-10T09:12:00.000-08:00

I'm offering two classes this month.

Thermofax Printing on Fabric:
2-day workshop
Sundays, 1/22 & 1/29, 1-4pm

Returning students and newbies
will work side by side. Experiment with multiple images.
Create repeats, resists, watercolor effects, and improvisational prints.

We'll discuss cropping, stitching, and appliqué, and
make at least one personal collage in class.

Visual Journaling
Fridays, 1/20-2/17, 10am-1pm

We will explore layers of color, texture, text and image.

Student will create beautiful pages with personal meaning.

Learn how to capture time while you tempt the muse.

Registration now open at Acarts.org.

Do Everything You Know

2012-01-06T12:07:00.000-08:00

A motto to consider.

As Lynn Krawczyk, aka Fibra Artysta, noted, interest has grown this year in art journals. I've been surveying the literature, gleefully bringing home armloads of picture books from the library.

I love picture books.

A spare table became art journal central. I check in with my sketch book during my morning coffee. In the evening, I settle in again for a second round.

This is just for pen and pencil work. But the journal work at this table often leads to a messier idea, and I drift upstairs to my studio. The second wind carries me through until bedtime.

But just what do I do? My method seems quieter than much of what's on-line. So I thought I'd post some pages and talk about how they came to be.

This page began out as notes on True Visions, by L.K. Ludwig. You can see the list of recommended journal artists in the corner. Later I added a pair of pears
So, in December, this was a nearly blank page:

But then came Christmas and the arrival of new stencils from ArtistCellar plus a new box of colored pencils. I took these and my trusty Koi watercolor set to the in-laws house. (They're used to me now.) After dinner, I doodled away. So the result was unplanned, and unexpected: the accretion of layers and colors, each answering or ignoring what came before. It's a meditative place to be. I have no idea what is coming next.

Portable art to Lowell

2012-01-04T08:29:00.000-08:00

Three of my Portable Art series are up at the Loading Dock Gallery, part of our annual "50 under $50" show. It's a wonderful chance to snap up art by your favorite Lowell artist for a bargain price.

Open Studios this Saturday, noon-5pm: I have a commission to finish for then, so get thee behind me, internet!

Transformation from the heart

2011-12-22T13:58:00.000-08:00

Another kind of Boro, not Melanie Testa's Rock Star style but from the heart.

Two weeks ago, a friend asked me, what could I do with clothes - those last special pieces - from his mom, to make a gift for his sister this Christmas?

We discussed an art piece, but then I said, what about a scarf?

Something warm and full of memories?

He was thrilled. A few days later he brought me a huge box of clothing.

Could I make one for him, too, and for his niece as well?

The clothes were lovely pastels, full of beads and detail.

As I pieced, trimmed, and rearranged, patterns emerge

Joining pieces

Getting closer

Some features begged to be preserved. This lovely bit of handwork is now at one end of the scarf.


Hand beaded and emboidered

Other places felt plain, and I created new detail from scraps to continue the floral feel.


New stem from scraps

The first scarf is done, a second is one its way.

I love how work feels when it's for someone who cares.

Ready to line

Mending + Art

2011-12-21T14:55:00.000-08:00

Indigo Boro Futon Cover, early 1900s

The internet introduced me to Japanese boro, and periodically I've browsed sites like this and this with admiration. But I never thought of calling my own inclinations by the name until yesterday, when I read Melanie Testa's series on Rock Star Boro.

Holy patchwork, honey. It has a name.

My mom used to darn socks while I did my grade-school homework.

Darning interested me more than the times tables.

Mending + Art = Time + Love

So, thank you, Melanie. Here's my latest scarf - stitched together from ten year old school knit samples, plus bits of lace, abandoned, reclaimed, over-dyed.

Not to mention scraps of Parisian velvet, linen samples and thrift-shop sweaters.

The patches started because of moth holes.
At some point functionality left off and art set in.

Toasty warm and full of memories.

Off to new homes

2011-12-20T15:42:00.000-08:00

Evensong

Four of my pieces found their owners this season, including these two.


Transition

A heartfelt Thank You to Stebbins Gallery in Harvard Square,

and Winchester's NEXTDoor Theater,

and its Gift of Art holiday show.

It's always exciting when a piece you love goes home with someone else.

The circle feels complete.

Thanksgiving

2011-12-19T07:21:00.000-08:00

I'm preparing for my January classes: art journaling and thermofax printing.

First: let me thank the wonderful people who I've taught this year.

I love the staff and students at Carleton-Willard Village. The people there always teach me. Together we rediscover the amazement of putting paint on paper.

Watercolor by John Hands

Thank you to the people who came to my Thermofax Printing classes in Lowell. They brought such a spirit of adventure. As usual, I forgot to take pictures because so much was happening, so here's a shot from an earlier class. (It helps to have a student who's a professional photographer!)

photo by Kerry Hawkins

And finally a big shout out to the wonderful women in The Sensuous Surface, my class this fall at Arlington Center for the Arts.

They came to class, after a hard day or a long week, and turned into artists.

We had a lot of laughs, used a lot of paint, and made a ton of good work.

Their energy and enthusiasm brought me joy.

I can't wait to do it all again next year!

At Lowell Fiber Studio

2011-12-01T12:11:00.000-08:00

When you visit us this weekend

You'll find

Scarves, bags.
Quilts, jewelry.

Wall art.

Good conversation.

A chance to relax.

You won't find:

Shrink wrap.
Excess packaging.
Mass production.
Duplicates.

Knockoffs.

Imports.

Lowell Fiber Studio:

Seven Artists

Tons of style

Proudly participating in

So here they go

2011-11-29T16:21:00.000-08:00

Here's a group shot, on my kitchen table, the night before delivery.

You can find my work this month at

The Concord Art Association,

Stebbins Gallery in Harvard Square

the Loading Dock Gallery in Lowell

and the first two weekends of December

in Studio 512, Western Avenue Studios, Lowell:

All I Wanted Was to Paint

2011-11-22T13:59:00.000-08:00

Who said that life's what happens while you make other plans?

Today's plan: buy a dozen cradled boards.

Sand, prime, paint, glue.

No boards at the local store, so I headed north.

On Tobin Bridge, my car took on something else from the upper deck.

Glass shards everywhere and very nearly a couple of holes all the way through.

It looks bigger when you are peering through cracks at rush hour traffic.
The cracks are quite beautiful in the tunnels - they look like water
running across the windshield.

So instead of a peaceful afternoon doing this:

I've drove to the State Police downtown,

and home in rush hour.

Everyone has been kind.

I did get those cradled boards.

They need sanding.

But first, a cup of tea.

Groton show goes up

2011-11-17T08:59:00.000-08:00

Common Threads, curated by Deborah Santoro

This week started with a first for me: helping to hang a mutli-artist show.

Amazing to move the pieces about and see how they play with each other.

Juxtaposition reveals the links between traditional and contemporary.

The room grew richer as we worked. If you live near Groton, come enjoy the show.

Common Threads

Owen Smith Shuman Gallery

Groton Public Library

Now through December 28

Reception with the Artists

Saturday, December 3, 1-2:30pm

Art in the Heart of Winchester

2011-11-12T09:02:00.000-08:00

This lovely show is run by the same organization that brings you Kidstock, an amazing hands-on theater program for young children. For one week, the theater's lobby becomes an exquisite gift shop. All the items for sale are made locally.

This year, each artist will work on-site for one shift. If you stop by Friday 2-4, you can come watch me make the fabric collages which become the basis for my portable art series.

What with gallery sitting and teaching I look forward to the time to work, even if it's in public!

Holiday Work

2011-11-03T05:38:00.000-07:00

With the arrival of November comes a slew of holiday sales.

When I am not teaching, I am in my studio, making bags and portable art.

The wee bags are bigger this year.

Larger, cheerful clutch bags are happening too.

I love the upcycled mix of store-bought and hand-printed fabric.

Here is the start of this year's Portable Art collection:

small fabric collages mounted on cradled board and glazed with medium.

For first choice, come to Western Avenue Open Studios

this Saturday, November 5.

But come visit me in studio 512 first, since I have to leave early.

I'll be in Studio 512 from noon to 3 PM.

Monday November 6, find me at the Quilter's Connection Holiday Boutique,

at the Arsenal Center for the Arts, in Watertown, 6-8:30PM.

learning

2011-10-25T13:25:00.000-07:00

It is good now and then to put on student shoes and take oneself to a new place.

Two weeks ago, I joined Linda Germain at her Haverhill studio for a day of gelatin printing on paper. I learned that printing on paper is a whole different animal from fabric work.

Each student got a private table, with plenty of room for a large palette, a gelatin plate, multiple brayers, and piles of paper. We had free reign with supplies: stencils, found objects, stamps, paints and papers, even a moldy gelatin plate.

I felt continually surprised and sometimes frustrated. Still, each print suggested another.

I came home with an armload of attempts and a brain on fire with ideas.

I was so tired, I went to bed at 8 but I saw gelatin prints all night in my dreams.

So now what? Frame? Make books? Work back into them?

Tear them up and collage? Or print some more?

In flight

2011-10-13T09:54:00.000-07:00

These pieces have been brewing for months.

Finally I stopped, focused, and let them arrive.

Above

Live Fully

Each one started with a reclaimed cotton sheet, probably from Goodwill.

I random-dyed the fabric, then printed on it with original thermofax screens.

Fly

Once the fabric was mounted on 6x6 inch cradled boards, I started painting.

Each surface now has several layers.

Some wanted text, another lace. (Hand-made tatting: the labor involved amazes me.)

All of them wanted the moon.

Blue Moon

They will be for sale at Loading Dock Gallery starting October 26.

Unless, of course, you'd like to buy one directly from me before then.

Ideas in Progress

2011-10-11T04:56:00.000-07:00

From my sketchbook: a morning spent in the shade, drawing what the world provided.

The birds were small as mice, and moved as fast.

Seed pods and tiny berries: they hold still for their portraits.

Birds are the ultimate gesture drawing.

This last started out as a yucky print, so I just kept going. I like the flow of words across color. There's an idea there.

Harvard Square: Stebbins Gallery

2011-10-10T06:02:00.000-07:00

A cooperative gallery requires energy, focus, flexibility as well as dedication. That magic combination has resurfaced at the Stebbins Gallery, a lovely space under the First Parish Church in Harvard Square.

My quilt greets you at the door:

Perspective

You'll find hand-made lampshades, jewelry, cards, scarfs, hats and art for your wall. I gallery sit most Saturdays, 3-6. Please come in and say Hi!

Stebbins Gallery

Zero Church Street

Thursday and Friday evenings, 7-9

Saturdays 1-8:30

Sunday 1-6

Open Studios this weekend

2011-09-30T06:21:00.001-07:00

The Lowell Sun posted a lovely slideshow about Western Avenue Studios this morning.

Come see us this Saturday and Sunday, noon-5.

I've been making some extraordinary wool scarves,

and I'll demo thermofax printing Sunday, 1-3, outside Studio 512.

Open Studio Preparation

2011-09-26T04:58:00.000-07:00

Sing

The week before any event one's mind begins to run: do more work? finish stuff? clean the studio? send more email? This results is hours spent, during the dead of night, listening to crickets and wondering if keeping that file clerk job wouldn't have been more peaceful. Which just shows you how long it's been since I was a file clerk, that I can get sentimental about that job.

Today Lowell Fiber Studio meets. So many people express amazement that seven women share a space and work side by side, but why this surprise? They are colleagues, friends, a support system and an inspiration. They help me get things done. I love them.


Lost in the Garden

These photos are from my latest photo shoot with Joe Offria.

Unfolded Time (detail)

My studio is waist-high in small production ideas - scarves, purses, small art work. I hope the humidity drops soon.

Cast off the bow lines

2011-09-22T05:12:00.000-07:00

An artist of great talent, Ann Brauer posts today asking "how do you rage against the night?

Before my cancer diagnosis, I focused on production work. The disorientation of disease knocked a hole in that plan.

Angry Quilt Linda Dunn

This piece came when I finally responded with my hands and my eyes to what was happening. A journal page of sorts, for anyone to see.

The piece was a turning point. I still make work to sell, but I welcome the ones that are more personal, too. This quilt was made in response to my father's Alzheimer's disease:

Trying to Remember Linda Dunn

Most recently, I have been pondering change and age. My daughter is about to fledge.

Notes to My Daughter Linda Dunn

My mother's sister died in childbirth. My mom is nearing death. This painting is from a photo of my mother's sister, as a toddler. She died in childbirth when I was three.

Lost in the Garden Linda Dunn

Our lives are ephemeral and yet we are so intensely here. Memory is fluid, mutable, but it drives so who we are. It's all a mystery.

So is making art. I am never so here-but-not-here as when the paints fall on fabric.

Printing away

2011-09-20T04:37:00.000-07:00

I'm taking advantage of these perfect fall days to play with discharge, paints, and printing.

This afternoon, after teaching, I'll work on black velvet.

The first results are on sale at Stebbins Gallery in Harvard Square, on Church Street. It's open regularly now, and full of work by local artists. Check it out: Thursday and Friday 6-8, and Saturday and Sunday afternoons til 6.

Thermofax Demo

2011-09-13T07:14:00.000-07:00

Two hands printing, photo by Steve Errat

I'll demonstrate fabric thermofax printing on Sunday, October 2, 1-3PM. Find me outside Studio 512, Western Avenue Studios, Lowell, MA. You can watch, ask questions, give it a try, even buy a screen to use at home.

My demo is part of Lowell's annual 2-day, city-wide Open Studios. Lots of demos, lots of work, lots of fun.

Printing Session, photo by Steve Errat

Lowell Fiber Studio is in Studio 512, on the fifth floor of Western Avenue Studios, at 122 Western Avenue Studios. As always, free parking, and elevator service to the fifth floor - my favorite.

2011-09-08T06:11:00.000-07:00

Another great opportunity to support local art.

ART FEST 2011

Bradford Common

Main Street, Haverhill MA

This Saturday, September 10 10 AM to 4 PM, you can find lots of local artists ready with new work. I'll make a special effort to get there, because I love the work of Linda Germain. She takes the simple medium of gelatin printing and makes it leap to the stars. Come Saturday to see her prints, fiber art, and more.

Rock Local Artists

2011-09-07T09:14:00.000-07:00

While the sun still shines, take a walk over to

South End Open Studios

original art by Jessica Burko

Saturday and Sunday

September 17 and 18

11-6 both days

Jessica Burko, whose art I love, will demonstrate encaustic collage and paper quilting be happening throughout the day. The event features hundreds of artists working in the South End neighborhood of Boston.

Time for a break

2011-08-29T08:19:00.000-07:00

After opening at the Stebbins, the show in Lowell, a trip to Lancaster PA, and the small adventure that was Irene, I am ready for some down time.


Dawn

My Lowell show was supposed to come down yesterday, but with tree limbs down and roads flooded, a 40-minute commute did not seem smart. So we hunkered down at home. Power stopped at 11AM. Without coffee, I slept through much of the afternoon. Puttered in my studio. As the light dimmed, we gathered at the kitchen table, with all the candles we could find, and NPR on the battery-operated radio. I was struck by how quiet the world became, and how unused we are to not having chatter or music, and a general hum of equipment in the background.

Up at dawn to day, I drove to Lowell and took down my show. You may be able to see some pieces of it in Studio 512, during Open Studios this Saturday, noon to 5. Me, I'll be on the Cape, all my projects in a box, taking notes from the dog and sleeping in the sun.

On the road again

2011-08-19T06:35:00.000-07:00

I am off to Lancaster PA to visit my mother, who turned 86 this summer. "A baby," commented one of the women in my painting class.

I go via Poughkeepsie NY, where I'll meet up with my sister. It's a long way, at least 7 hours, no matter the route or the mode of transportation. Once there, it's another country: Lots of rolling fields, friendly people, slower pace,and much more casual clothes. Plus the Nursing Home world of the elderly. A journey of the soul as well as the body.

Birthday Gifts

2011-08-16T15:00:00.000-07:00

I am a shade plant, so I count yesterday's drop, on my birthday, to a cool and rainy 69 as a personal gift.

To celebrate I brought home fresh peaches from Busa Farm in Arlington. It is a hidden gem, tucked off a main road not a mile from my local Trader Joes:

The rows of sunflowers were alive with bees and goldfinches.

I made birthday muffins with local blueberries.

And noodles with basil and tomatoes from my porch garden.

Suzanne Abrams, a new talent at Lowell Fiber Studio, surprised me with this lovely bag, made from fabric she hand printed. All this plus ice cream. A lovely day.

Quilts and Art in Lowell This Month

2011-08-07T08:09:00.000-07:00

At the Brush Gallery: A rt Quilts: The Sea, a juried exhibit of work from Canadian and US artists. The show runs from August 11 - September 10, 2011, with a reception on Saturday, August 13, 3 - 5 pm.

At the Whistler House Museum, the juried exhibit Art Quilts 2011. The exhibit runs from August 10 through September 3, with special events including afternoon tea and sweets August 12, gallery night August 11, and a reception Saturday August 12.

Bulbs by Pamela Allen

For more traditional quilting, plus a raft of vendors and events, visit the Lowell Quilt Festival, tat the Lowell Memorial Auditorium. I especially recommend the lecture by Beatriz Grayson, a wonderful quilt artist.

At the National Quilt Museum, Maine's Quilt Heritage, an exhibit of quilts dating back to 1804.

At the American Textile Museum, two exhibits. Grace and Glamour: 1930 Fashion features the limpid, sensous style and the modernism of that decade.

Marking Time: Voyage to Vietnam records how soldiers used marks, including graffiti and stitch, to mark their time on a US transport ship.

At 122 Western Avenue, in Western Avenue Studios, the Loading Dock Gallery is open Wednesday-Sunday, 11-4:30. Explore work by several artists from Western Avenue Studios, as well as the textile art show, Moment of Pure Seeing.


Trio: Tranquillo, Grazioso, Quieto by Linda Dunn

Open Studios in Lowell today

2011-08-06T06:25:00.001-07:00

P8053597, a photo by The Loading Dock Gallery on Flickr.

I'll be up in studio 512 at Western Ave studios today. Hope you can stop by.

Moment of Pure Seeing

2011-07-29T05:09:00.000-07:00

The show is up.
It looks beautiful.
Stop by the Loading Dock Gallery for a moment of tranquility.

At the Loading Dock Gallery, 122 Western Avenue, Lowell, MA, from July 29 through August 28. Artists Reception will be held Friday, August 5, 6-9pm.

Remember: Lowell offers many reasons to visit in August.

August 6, studios will be open for you to visit at Western Avenue Open Studios .

The weekend of August 13 and 14, don't miss the Quilt Festival, with special events at galleries and museums around town.

work keeps coming

2011-07-18T05:05:00.000-07:00

Echos - work in progress

In David Bayels' fine book, Art and Fear, there is the parable about the ceramics class. Students are divided into two groups. One group's grade depends only on quality: they must submit their one best piece for their grade. The other is told they will be measured only on quantity. At the end of term, each student's work for the semester will be weighed: the heavier the load, the better the grade.

The outcome is that the students searching for one, best piece become stuck. The students producing in quantity make discoveries and produce better work.

So it's no surprise that the hardest part of getting ready for the upcoming show is having to stop. Ideas spread like honey, rise like saplings. They are the children of the work that's already finished, the parents of work still to come.

Lost in the Garden - work in progress

Moment of Pure Seeing

2011-07-17T04:05:00.000-07:00

This is the last week before "Moment of Pure Seeing" hangs. I am wrapping, stapling, sawing, hammering away. Another trip to the photographers is in order. The work itself gets more enigmatic. One piece leads to the next.

The image of these two girls - my mother and her sister - weaves in and out of several pieces. My mother turns 84 this year.

Her sister died decades ago, in childbirth. My mom is, I believe, the only person who remembers her now.

I think a lot about time and memory: how memory changes, how its source disappears, the life it has inside our heads. When I work with my nursing home patients, I try to see past the surface to the memories they share. I hope some of this comes through in this show.

There and Back Again

2011-07-06T08:51:00.000-07:00

Last week my daughter and I went to London: her first trip there, and my first since before she was born. We shared a flat in Fulham, about 20 minutes outside the city center, with my sister and her husband.

The view out my window

The song "One Short Day" from Wicked kept popping up in my head: we had six short days to see as much as possible.

We walked everywhere. We started at the British Museum the day we arrived. Where the I remembered a dark entrance, this vast space now greets you. It is the largest enclosed atrium in Europe:

So large the hordes of visitors seem small

We took a random turn and walked smack into "Ram in Thicket" from Ur, in southern Iraq.

Dates from about 2500 BC

It was the first in a seemingly endless stream of amazements, to be in the presence of places and objects we've known only through books for so long.

London's museums are free. So the next day we began what would be our pattern throughout the week, of returning to where we left off, to take in still more. This is the Egyptian wing:

There are few guards; much of the work is within reach. You can stand nose-to-nose (or more often with the monumental works, nose-to-toe) with ancient masterpieces:

A quartet of serene goddesses

Throughout the week, an unplanned turn, a mistake navigating, would lead us into something we'd spend the next two or three hours on. Lost at one point, we stumbled on James Smith And Sons, a world -famous, 3-story purveyor of walking sticks and umbrellas:

In business for almost 200 years

We were looking for old, for the past. We spent a great deal of time at museums. On the streets, it was often the "unimportant" that captured our eye:

graves stones along an alley

A wonderful store sign

1930's ceiling at Harrods

Random street corner


Parlor window, Fortnum and Mason

Because my sister is a Shakespeare scholar, we went to the Globe theater twice.

Wonderful

This was our last vista, at the end of a long day, approaching Westminster to hear evensong. It is the view from Buckingham palace, across St. James Park - the oldest of royal parks in London - to the London Eye.

We have started saving for the next trip.

Ready set go

2011-06-24T06:18:00.000-07:00

I have been locked away in my studio, sewing purses, in anticipation of the Stebbins Gallery , Harvard Square, reopening for the summer.

A wonderful influx of summer colors and fabrics. Makes me wish I could create as fast as I can think.

I plan to deliver new work to the Loading Dock Gallery in Lowell, too, this Saturday, in time for Open Studios.

All this in the midst of chasing down the last paperwork for my mom's taxes, working on her long-range financial plans, and ferrying my daughter to the first evenings of her new job.

Sunday she and I leave for a week in London. So I had to stop and make myself and new purse, yes? Just right, with pockets inside for glasses, phone, and camera, plus a piece of my own on the outside.

Traveling Forward

2011-06-13T13:28:00.000-07:00

The first set of photos are back from the photographer. I work with Joe Ofria. I'm always amazed at the difference his work brings to mine.

Most of the tree and bird series is ready to hang. A second series on memory is coming into the home stretch. The goal is to photograph them next month. The show goes up July 29, with a reception August 5.

Last night we took a total break and went to see Propeller, an all-male theater troupe, do Comedy of Errors. Here's a little sample, just a crumb compared to the whole wonderful magical cake of it all:

"Shakespeare dragged kicking and screaming into the 21st century." Anyone reading this in the Boston area, go to Bostix and get yourself a half-price ticket. They're here for one more week.

Exploration

2011-06-08T05:02:00.000-07:00

It's done. Three panels. And now I think I'll make two more, little ones, to go on either outside edge.

Recently I attended another Golden Working Artist workshop. Adria Arch is our representative, leading workshops about paints, mediums and techniques. The workshops of course promote Golden materials, but I appreciate the chance to experiment with guidance, not to mention free supplies.

The most recent workshop was on gelatin transfers. I'd been having so much trouble at home I went. Surprise: the big lesson of the day was just how finicky and unpredictable the technique is, dependent as it is on ink level, paper type, even the weather (very cold and dank that morning.) Yet, among all the failures, this piece:

Twice Two Linda B. Dunn

Today the weather swings to the outrageously hot - nearly 100. (Calm, gradual weather shifts: did I make these up or do I really remember them?) I'm working on the press release copy today: good work for an air-conditioned coffee shop. Then a college friend arrives, and in the afternoon I teach, then I pick up new sunglasses and my DVD from my photo shoot the other week. So poof another day flies by.

I need to figure out how to support this piece. My daughter, the set designer, says she can walk me through building a box for it. Can't be too hard, but, like any thing new, I'll appreciate some guidance on my maiden tour.

Beginning, Middle, End Linda B. Dunn

On My Desk Right Now

2011-05-20T15:53:00.000-07:00

I am a sewing fool. With the help of a mix CD leftover from a pre-teen girl party (B-52's Love Shack, anyone?) I have been stitching away on the Trio. I basted up the first Monday afternoon, quilted it Tuesday and buried the ends while waiting in the doctor's office Wednesday.

Cut trim for the edges and basted a second last night while my daughter ran through her Latin. Trimmed and sewed on the first's edging this morning.

The house has been empty today, and so the second two are quilted.

So many steps beyond creation to completion. Are there as many for painters? I know that bronze, when removed from the mold, requires hours of brute work to go from rough to smooth. My goal is to have all three ready for hand-stitching Monday, so I can move on to other pieces that have emerged since this project began.

Field Trip

2011-05-17T14:39:00.000-07:00

Satuday I met three of my colleagues from Lowell Fiber Studio at Wellesley College's Davis Museum. To our delight, the finalists for a fashion course had their work on display in the lobby. This one's made of magazines. Notice the origami detail at the neck.

This one, by Wendy Chen, '14, combines computer parts and old lace. I love the computer keys for a bodice. The "tulle" over the lace is made from transparencies for circuit board manufacturing:

But we were there to see the exhibit, "When I Last Wrote You about Africa," by El Anatsui.

This photo is the small image from the college website. No photos were allowed inside. That's okay, because quickly I was so engulfed by color and texture that I had no mental energy for photography. I wish I could fill this blog with images. Instead, you will just have to here to read about his process and here to see the results.

The exhibit is his first career retrospective, and the show has paused here in Massachusetts on its way between much larger venues. The work spans ceramics, painting, prints, drawings and sculpture, but the most amazing pieces are the monumental cloths created from cut and pounded metals. They drape and shimmer. They are huge. They speak of hours of labor, and, by extension of years and of lives.

The show is up through June 26, and it's free. Grab a friend and go.

burst of energy

2011-05-12T08:12:00.000-07:00

The weather has been grey, with a steady, smart breeze, for three days now. Something large hangs off the coast: you can smell the sea. We need some sunshine.

Yesterday afternoon I taught my Alzheimer's painting class. A full house, new and old faces. Favorite students ares slipping away; new ones have joined us. One woman, once so calm, frets and repeatedly asks, what are we doing? I don't know why I'm here. Another, a former engineer, still smiles and enjoys the painting but the images he produces are much more simple than two months ago. A third, lovely, genteel woman, now has visible trouble making the brush go where her mind would will it. I rest my hand lightly on her frail one; we draw together. She smiles.

Yesterday, for some reason, the class was full of energy. The work spilled out so fast I was running around the table. Perhaps they've learned, about simplifying the image, about being free to make any mark. Perhaps there was a group activity in the morning. Perhaps everyone had a good night's sleep. Who knows?

One student put little dots, like a horizon, across her painting. I was so charmed, I had everyone do the same. I love the rhythm of those marks. Another spent considerable time painting the horizontal stripes made by the ripples in the glass that held the flowers. I showed him how to paint little marks that say "birds" to the viewer. "It's all magic tricks," I tell them, "It's like writing. These are symbols. Not the real thing. No one can paint the real thing. But with your paint, you tell someone else about what you saw, and how it made you feel."

Most of all I love how they unwind and focus during our hour together. Breath relaxes. Trouble floats away. Each person comes into the moment: Paint, color, line. At the end, I thank each one for coming. From the heart, I mean it. They are a highlight in my week, and put so much into perspective for me.

On my desk now

2011-05-10T08:31:00.000-07:00

Three more works for the summer show are pieced. They are a trio, related in size, color and imagery. I basted the second last night.

I stitched most of Saturday, while I gallery-sat for Open Studios Day at the Loading Dock gallery. Some experimental works continued, no pictures yet. Plus, hooray, I attached the binding and sleeve on this, probably the largest piece for my show in August:

The transition from flat to textured is always a surprse. It's not always right for the piece, but here the quilting lines are themselves part of the image, of trees and growth:

But first, Work. I need to arrange flowers for my painting class this afternoon. Also, I have to revise and print out photos for a commission in progress, about a family and their home in France. I've got the fabric primed; I'll print their additions tonight, and hope to start stitching the work together tomorrow.

Spring shows

2011-04-30T05:45:00.000-07:00

My work will be in Winchester next week, as part of the NEXT door Center for the Arts. It's a great place to shop for Mother's Day, weddings, graduations.

Western Avenue Studios holds Open Studio too, from noon to 5 on Saturday May 7. You can join our Spring Art Thing:: tour the building, get your card stamped and become eligible for one of three gift certificates good with any artist in the building. If you visit, get to the fifth floor and visit Lowell Fiber Studio - meet my colleagues and see what we've been up to.

Stop by the Loading Dock Gallery on the second floor - I'm at the desk that day!

Collage Class

2011-04-28T09:22:00.000-07:00

fun in the studio

This past weekend I had the pleasure of taking a class with a local artist, Alexandra Sheldon.
I've admired her work for years. Turns out her studio is just a subway stop from my house, and our kids are one year apart at the nearby high school. Small world.

Alexandra's a calm, inspiring teacher, ready to share. We built our own stamps and used gesso to create patterns on a variety of humble papers: newspaper, mostly, plus old magazines and sheet music.

The magic happens when you add layers of acrylic washes. The gesso instantly produces a second value, plus any images on the papers produce shades, so for one color you get two, three or more values in related designs all over the surface. A thrill for such as me.

Two of my own students showed up. It was great to see them again, and to work beside them. Six students altogether, who produced three walls of papers in less than 2 hours.

After a break we created collages on bristol board, using the papers we'd made. In all, a satisfying day of escape, thought, creativity. I came home and started working with the same techniques but incorporating fabric. More of that, soon.

Idea in Progress

2011-04-23T06:33:00.000-07:00

The fortune cookie on this collage reads: "Make up your mind and do what you want to do." Good advice.

Here I am, surfing and typing before I walk the dog, early on a wet Saturday morning. Antibiotics, much sleep and the simple fact of time (and more sleep) have brought my daughter and me back to something like working speed. To celebrate we watched back-to-back episodes of Dr. Who last night. At last: time just to enjoy a good story.

I am turning the next piece(s) over in my mind. Something to do with daughters and time, the moment seen, the moment past. I've one larger fabric printed, and I'm trying to figure out whether to cut into it:

I also printed on blue. That piece is raggedy now, as I cut out the best images. They seemed to want to be isolated/rearranged. The remaining fragment has a blurred but intriguing quality to it:

I also have a strip on white ripstop nylon, that gives an eerie, translucent quality to the image, and reminds me of an old film strip.

Any thoughts?

Layers of memory

2011-04-21T05:11:00.000-07:00

I have a a show in three months. Just a heart beat ago, it was half a year away. Somehow Life takes up a lot of time. Taxes, bills, family. Transportation, worries, plans.

This piece began years ago, a salvaged linen table cloth. The deepest layers were dye, screen printed one spring over plant snipping I brought into the studio. Over a year later I printed again with dye. Then I waited, listening for what it wanted to be. A painting class with Elizabeth DaCosta Ahern raised new questions about intent. Now it is layered with acrylics, both printed and painted, and then several top coats of glaze. It reads almost like an encaustic. I'm pleased.

Meanwhile, at the beginning of the process, are prints made from a photo of my mother and her late sister, when they were girls.

It fascinates me, this sense of time captured, time remembered, time lost. What to do with these feelings, these images?

On My Desk Right Now

2011-04-15T18:00:00.000-07:00

Spring finally sneaking around the corner. Pansies, daffodils, buds on the trees, even if the temperature is going down into the 30s tonight. I have been down with the flu and flat out with family stuff. Now, my head is clearing. In March I said this piece would be done. Now, well, I'm getting close.

Merill Comeau

2011-03-12T10:04:00.000-08:00

Merill Comeau at work

My friend, Merill Comeau, was a member of Lowell Fiber Studios. She now has her own studio in Maynard, MA. She works on a large scale, with mostly reclaimed fiber. She collages, prints, and paints her fabrics, and recreates them in stunning images of nature. Merill's new show opens today at the Arnold Arboretum. Check out this lovely interview for more.

Fab Fabrics - one more week to go

2011-03-11T12:55:00.000-08:00

With a new trusty camera I went to the next evening of classes. The students worked on collage with fusibles and acrylics while Gershwin played and Vox One sang.

I brought is a variety of fusibles, as well as glue and acrylic medium. We made collages from scraps. As always, it's amazing and delightful to watch materials take new shape at the hands my wonderful students. Everyone has such a personal voice. One student has taken sample from each week and turned them into small quilts. Here is her piece from the week we did thermofax screen printing:

We got so involved we didn't have time at the end of class to put work up on the wall, but here's Helen and Helena, deep in their work:

Fab Fabrics

2011-03-04T10:04:00.000-08:00

Fabulous Fabrics met again last night at the Arlington Center for the Arts. My students are wonderful: energetic, fun, creative.

They bring tremendous focus to each class. Last night I introduced them to thermofax screens.

. Each student received at least on screen of her own design, plus I brought in some from my own library. The images above are from a book of ancient kimono designs. The flock of birds is one I created.

Much more exciting work resulted, but my camera did not fully recover from its trip through the wash.

Taking flight

2011-02-16T06:20:00.000-08:00

Taking Flight, copyright Linda B. Dunn 6"x6"

I'm off for a week, to visit my mom in her nursing home in Lancaster PA, then my 90-year-old god mother in Maryland. Along the way my daughter and I will visit colleges and watch movies and listen to NPR and favorite songs. A long time in the car, for my tastes, but with moments-to-be-enjoyed along the way.

"Behold" detail

The New England Quilt Museum's show, No Holds Barred, continues through April 9. If you can get there and you're interested in surface design, this is a show to see. Lovely work. Three of my pieces are there, including this one, "Behold."

Celebrate; take a break

2011-02-15T08:53:00.000-08:00

Kitchen renovation starts today.

I was going to post photos of the hearts I pinned all over my studio, for my daughter, who will be sleeping there while my brother-in-law (who will be doing the work) stays in her room. But in my excitement about having the kitchen and company, I put my camera in the wash with the towels. So here is a belated Valentine from one of my favorite artists and people, Virginia Fitzgerald:

The simultaneous loss of camera, kitchen and (correspondingly) living space, means no blog posts for the next couple of weeks. Saturday I set out on the first annual Little Old Lady tour of Lancaster PA and Maryland, plus some college visits. Wish me luck.

PS: what camera should I buy?

All's owl-right

2011-02-02T11:13:00.000-08:00

Pooped out from shoveling, with ice and snow piles towering, I'm taking a break to let you all know about my friend Mimi Kirchner's wonderful owls:
I feel warmer just looking at them. And some hand-woven wool in my stash might be just the thing to make one of my own.

On my desk now

2011-01-29T07:24:00.000-08:00

This quote from Jane Dunnewold jumped out at me. I have posted it opposite my desk in my studio:

Right now, the faces of the very old fascinate me. I suppose this comes from studying my Alzheimer's students as they work. I think about all they have seen and loved.

I am also caught by the photos of my family when they were very young. A theme is emerging: loss, love, where we stand, how we fade.

I am groping, watching how the materials work and the images change.

Just by Doing

2011-01-24T15:03:00.000-08:00

I had been wait-listed for the Golden Artist's workshop "Not Your Mother's Acrylics" at the Arlington Center for the Arts. But last Thursday, one place opened up. So Saturday I spent from 9-4 with Adria Arch and Patti Mollica, learning about Golden gels, grounds, and paints.

I discovered I loved things I thought I'd hate (honestly: pumice ground? Why?). Techniques that sounded clumsy turned out to have rich potential. (Thank you, Jeanne Williamson, for bringing in your samples.) And processes I'd found awkward turned out to be much more straightforward when you use the right supplies. Eye-opening.

I had such a hoot I kept painting in my sketchbook between class assignments.

After dinner I went to my studio and painted more. I am trying to take risks while calming down. I need to listen to the paint, to watch the color leave the brush, to learn what happens when colors and textures combine.

When I paint I feel frustrated, awkward. At the same time, I feel high as a kite. I feel like I'm coming home.

Poet Audre Lorde said, "You get there just by doing. Your job is to keep your hand moving." Maybe I can get to the art supply store before the next storm blows in.

A Stamping Fool

2011-01-21T04:49:00.000-08:00

Gallery-sitting last Saturday for the Loading Dock Gallery in Lowell, I brought my class notes to edit. But I also carried supplies for making stamps. After an hour of editorial work,out came the insulation tape, foam core, etc,( including my trusty linoleum cutting set, given to me about 45 years ago). My experiments included carving foam core like a linoleum block and manipulating self-stick insulation tape:

Then I discovered - hallelujah!- an ink pad in the desk. All thoughts of writing were abandoned. Much merriness ensued:

Today is another SNOW DAY. So while my family sleeps, I've made waffles and walked the dog. Now I'm going to my little studio. I'll finish that Valentine's Day project, get out my paints and become a printing fiend. Until it's time to shovel.

cleaning house

2011-01-14T16:06:00.000-08:00

It started with the kitchen.

The cabinets, 10 years old when we moved in, are collapsing. So, in February, my brother-in-law arrives to redo the kitchen. May I go here while the work happens, please?

I started to empty the kitchen this week. But we live in a tiny apartment, so first I had to clean out the living room.

You can still play "spot the vintage items" from the sofa, but all this is going to be donated:

Then I realized I needed to clean out my studio, because my daughter will sleep there while my brother-in-law uses in her room.

For two days I have been digging, dusting, mopping, sorting. I have taken out 4 bags of recycling and two of trash. Tomorrow I carry fabric, trims, buttons, patterns up to the studio for friends at the studio to share.

My hope is that clarity will rise up where the clutter has been. I can see the ideas I want to work on. Heck, I can see into the closet.

Certain items refused to leave. I know what I want to do with this but I'm not quiet sure how:

I have an idea about all these slides (remember slides?) too, but it may be a dead end:

Just got word that my class at the Arlington Center for the Arts is going to run, starting Thursday, so I need to martial those supplies as well. Maybe those go in the closet?

A Whimsy Detour

2011-01-07T12:18:00.000-08:00

Sometimes the past just swings up to me, and I am five years old again.

As the baby, I looked up to everyone. They seemed so big and confident in the world.

Somehow, this child view is linked with the many chapters in my mind's visual dictionary on domestic textiles.

Aprons, napkins, dishtowels, bridge cloths, potholders: they all resonate of aunties, kitchens, grandmas and past times.

My home was a 50's development. We had air-raid drills at school. On weekends I went to the grocery store and the lumber yard with my dad. Afterwards we pasted Green Stamps into books. I still have some somewhere.

So last year I went on a vintage-apron kick, restoring some and printing on others. Several have sold out of the studio. This one's just been listed on Etsy:

Maybe I should offer to ship it with a genuine Church Key, perhaps? Or how about some Green Stamps?

Evening Sketchbook Therapy

2011-01-05T06:45:00.000-08:00

I bought beautiful fruit for the watercolor class I teach at in the assisted living at Carleton Willard Village.They glow in the evening light on my kitchen table.

So, while I run lines with my daughter or listen to the radio, I have been sketching on whatever paper is handy, such this, the back of a piece junk mail: The notes include reminders about library pickups, and medical-procedure preps. But the drawings are the keepers:

My holiday gift to myself was a new box of watercolors: I cannot resist it, and have taken to coloring over old notes, celebrating and transforming to-do-lists gone by:

Today I'm off to the Big Studio to deliver inventory to the Loading Dock Gallery and then cut out new bags. In the afternoon, I lead my Alzheimer's watercolor class. This recipe for veggie lasagna for dinner I think.