Urban Elegance

Urban Elegance
K. Velis Turan and Bob Turan Artwork and Artwear
featured at the 2012 Vanguard Designer Showhouse

This year Vanguard is stepping into a new territory with the 32nd annual Designer Showhouse “Urban Elegance”, in Albany, NY. The Showhouse will dazzle you with the beauty of 21st century condominium living. This historic building has been renovated to house 24 boutique condominiums.

The 2012 Vanguard Designer Showhouse is located at
17 Chapel Street • Albany, NY 12210
Tuesday, May 1 – Sunday, May 20, 2012
CLOSED ON MONDAYS
For complete information: http://www.vanguard-aso.org/designershowhouse.html

View from MOMA

K. Velis Turan’s mixed media fiber “Urban Landscapes” pieces focusing on New York City are on display in the Vanguard Cafe.
(pictured above “View from MOMA”)

KVT artwear – Kimono Jackets, Scarves and Opera Bags will be featured in the Vanguard Showhouse Gift Shop.

Eye of Providence

Bob Turan designed the Eye of Providence for the Showhouse’s rooftop garden. It is constructed of welded stainless steel, painted mild steel and polished concrete with embedded blue glass. The design is reminiscent of arcane symbols and Masonic imagery. The pyramid-shaped center piece with its “eye” can rotate with the wind.  ThsEye of Providence is 3’ x 3’ x 6’ including its steel pedestal and weighs 300 pounds.

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SDA Member print design for H&M AIDS Benefit

SDA member Jessie Fair was one of a few hand selected international artists to be commissioned to design prints for H&M’s 2012 Fashion Against Aids Collection.  Three of Fair’s vibrant hand-dyed textile designs were featured in multiple pieces in the collection, including the kimono, top, and beach towel seen below.  In stores April 26^th, 25% of all sales will go directly to international youth HIV/AIDS awareness projects.  See H&M’s full press release at, http://about.hm.com/content/hm/NewsroomSection/en/NewsRoom/NewsroomDetails/Fashion-against-aids.html

 

BIOGRAPHY

Jessie Fair is a fiber and mixed media artist based in New York.  Her work combines hand dyeing, painting, felting, stitching and collage.

View Jessie’s artwork at http://www.jessiefair.com/ and her blog at, http://shiborilove.blogspot.com/

Fair is also the artist behind, ShiboriLove, a wearable art label launched in 2008.  In ShiboriLove, a love for fashion is fused with the artistry of hand dyed fabric.  Each piece is one of a kind, dyed in layers to create intricate abstract patterns.  Shop ShiboriLove hand dyed apparel and accessories at http://shiborilove.com/.

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Cut Fold & Weave

Cut Fold & Weave
Works by Bajus, Frackiewicz and Chandler

Artspace Buffalo Galleries
1219 Main St
Buffalo, NY

Show will be up for viewing until April 30, 2012.

Here are selected images of Jozef Bajus’s work from the show.

"Combing Wave" from Postcard Series
paper, mixed media
2008

"Before the Rain" 1-5 Kosovo Series
paper, cotton threads, binders
2008-9

"Composition"
cotton strings, paper woven on vertical frame loom, mixed media
1989

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Wearable Art at Runway 5.0

Last week was the Annual “Runway 5.0” show that blends the Buffalo State College Fashion Technology Department and the Fiber Design Department to showcase explorations in fashion and wearable art.

The Fiber Design Students (who collaborated with the Interior Design students) displayed their project “Body Armor / Wearable Space”

Many artists are becoming more and more environmentally conscious and they purposely reaching for unwanted materials that are otherwise going to be thrown away. With the growing importance of recycling in our lives artists are just beginning to explore the aesthetic potential of post-primary-use-products. They are being used as starting point for the creative process by converting, repurposing, recycling these products. This creates a fascinating dialogue between the original purpose of these products and their new use and aesthetic expression. Students were introduced to the new methods of designing of mixed media projects using traditional and nontraditional techniques with great potential to create future garments, interior design projects or mixed media artworks for display at the gallery space.

Instructors: Jozef Bajus, Associate Professor & Jorg Schnier, Associate Professor

For more information about Runway 5.0 please visit their blog.

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Coloring Fashion

Coloring Fashion
Natural and Synthetic Dyeing in Textiles Today
May 4, 2012 – Parsons the New School for Design, NYC

Coloring Fashion is a one day seminar featuring international experts discussing the advantages and disadvantages of historic and contemporary natural and synthetic dyes, practices, and aesthetic factors within the context of innovative textile and fashion business models, scaled production systems, and biodiversity.

As we aim for more ethical, less environmentally harmful, and more socially equitable practices, what that involves insofar as textile dyeing is concerned remains difficult to assess. Be a part of the conversation and find out what solutions are being explored.

YOSHIKO IWAMOTO WADA (Slow Fiber Studios) will be joined in round table discussions by fellow esteemed industry leaders, including: TOM CHAPPELL (Tom’s of Maine), ANNE DE LA SAYETTE (CRITT Horticulture), PETER WEBER (bluesign© technologies); and LYNDA GROSE (“Fashion and Sustainability: Design for Change”).

This event is OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

REGISTRATION OPENS APRIL 15 (Free to public)

May 4, 2012 PARSONS THE NEW SCHOOL FOR DESIGN

Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Auditorium

Sheila C. Johnson Design Center

66 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10011

9:00 am – 5:30 pm

Register for tickets on eventbrite

Download the press release
Download the program

Yoshiko Wada will also be giving a talk on India at the Long House Reserve in East Hampton, NY, May 5. Why not make a weekend of textile talks and go to both?

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NY SDA artist published in “Showcase 500 Beaded Jewelry” by Ray Hemachandra

Jennifer Wells a resident of Victor, NY will have her beadwork featured in “Showcase 500 Beaded Jewelry”, by Ray Hemachandra. This recent publication by Lark Publishing showcases photographs of beautiful contemporary beadwork from their acclaimed 500 Series. This gorgeous book features 500 images of the world’s best contemporary beaded jewelry, produced by nearly 300 international artists whose work is notable for exceptional technical expertise, innovative combinations, and sheer beauty. It includes excellent work by beadweavers, studio jewelers, wire workers, and bead makers.

Jennifer Wells Studio, LLC was founded by Jennifer Wells in 2011. A graduate of the School for American Crafts at RIT in Rochester, NY Jennifer Wells has been designing and fabricating jewelry for over 15 years. She has worked as both a jeweler and art teacher, her work experience as a designer combined with her mastery of beading techniques has led to a truly unique breakthrough in beaded jewelry. JWS designs are largely influenced by natural, organic shapes while exploring surface textures, color and pattern. A majority of the pieces in the jewelry line are cuff bracelets, earrings, necklaces and pins. Each piece is   hand‐sewn using an embroidery technique known as ‘applique’ and finished with fabric, which adds a unique sculptural dimension to her work. Consistently beads, gemstones, cabochons and precious metals are incorporated and finished with the JWS wrapped signature stitching. Jennifer Wells’ work is shown in exhibitions and sold nationally in boutiques. Her work has been featured in Cowboys & Indians Magazine, Beadwork Magazine and “Showcase 500 Beaded Jewelry”, by Ray Hemachandra of Lark Publishing’s acclaimed 500 Series. She regularly participates in gallery exhibitions and is a member of organizations such as The Surface Design Association, Crafthaus and The Rochester Contemporary Art Center. JWS business cards were available in the GBK gifting suite for the 2012 Academy Awards and we will be gifting the press at the MTV Movie Awards. Jennifer Wells is a fan of the 500 Series and the various artists included in these books she is extremely honored to be included in this book.

http://www.larkcrafts.com/500-series/

For press inquiries regarding Jennifer Wells Studio LLC, please visit http://www.jenniferwellsstudio.com or email info@jenniferwellsstudios.com.

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Lecture in East Hampton, NY

India Unfolds:
Seeing India through Textile, Architecture, Landscape, People
A Personal Odyssey since 1983

A Lecture with Yoshiko Iwamoto Wada. Which is a prelude to LHR’s “Insider’s Tour: Passage to India” led by Yoshiko & Jack Larson (Oct/Nov 2012)

Saturday, May 5, 2012 at 5:30 pm

Longhouse Reserve
133 Hands Creek Rd.
East Hampton, NY 11937 

Reserve your spot by either calling Joanne 631-329-3568 or email events@longhouse.org. Tickets are $20 for LHR Members and $30 for non-members.

In the powerpoint lecture, “India Unfolds: seen through a textile artist’s eyes,” Yoshiko will explore the varied strands of traditions and cultural expressions practiced on the Indian subcontinent. With a focus on historical and traditional designs in architecture and textiles, weaving across landscapes and intertwining religious practices, Yoshiko will share her rich and flavorful experiences — of living in Ahmedabad; her research studies throughout Western India; of community empowerment and welfare projects in the South and Northeast; and her many travels across the subcontinent since 1983.

 

This lecture will highlight the Indians’ extraordinary sense of color and their practice of design, one imbued with cultural heritage that speaks of human relationships with remarkable people. Yoshiko will illuminate aspects of India — both high and low, which every visitor knows is the very challenge and reward of being there.

Yoshiko Iwamoto Wada is an artist, author, curator, textile researcher and has long been an exponent of traditional and sustainable practices in fashion and textile production. She received an BFA in Japan and an MFA in USA. Yoshiko was named a “2010 Distinguished Craft Educator – Master of Medium” by the James Renwick Alliance.  She received the Japan Foundation Fellowship in 1979 and in 1996. Her research yielded the definitive publications, Shibori: The Inventive Art of Japanese Shaped Resist Dyeing, and Memory on Cloth: shibori now. Grants include: Matsushita International Foundation; Renwick Fellowship at the Smithsonian Institution. She lived in India 1983-84 under a fellowship from the Indo-US Sub Commission for Education and Culture, and has since been traveling there annually.

Yoshiko will be leading the first LongHouse Reserve “Insider’s Tour: Passage to India” along with Jack. A veteran tour leader for LHR, she led the unbeatable Insider’s Tour: Japan program three times.

The LongHouse Reserve along with Yoshiko Iwamoto Wada, a longtime friend of Jack Lenor Larsen, invite you to a presentation about India as they share stories of the wondrous sights and moving experiences India holds within its lands. The presentation is a prelude to the fall tour Yoshiko and Jack will be leading, “AN INSIDER’S TOUR: Passage to India” (25 Oct – 9 Nov 2012).

www.longhouse.org

www.yoshikowada.com
www.slowfiberstudios.com

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Exhibiting Encaustic in Kingston, NY

Hot Off the Press:
New Encaustic Printing

Curated by David A. Clark

Participating Artists:
David A. Clark
Diana Gonzalez Gandolfi
Jane Guthridge
Kathleen Lemoine
Alexandre Masino
George Mason
Paula Roland

The Gallery at R&F
84 Ten Broeck Ave,
Kingston, NY

Exhibition Continues through May 19
Opening Reception April 7, 5-7 pm
Encaustic Printmaking Demonstrations from 2-5 pm

Gallery Hours
Monday – Friday 10 am – 5 pm
For information call (845)331-3112.

The title of this exhibition puts a new spin on an old term. With encaustic printmaking, there is no press, but there most definitely is heat. Images are created with pigmented wax melted on a hot metal plate, then lifted off of it onto paper. The process has become increasingly popular in recent years, and this show highlights a strong and visually rich grouping that will give viewers a sense of the many extraordinary works that are being printed with wax today.

Please visit the gallery website.

Paula Roland
"Language of Beauty XII"
Encaustic Monotype on Shikoku Paper, 39" x 25"
2012

To view more of Paula Roland’s work, visit her website. She also offers workshops.

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Fiber Exhibit in Western New York

Carol Ann Rice Rafferty’s exhibit “Metaphors & Memories” consists of a collection of selected works from her career. It will be on display at the Hilbert College in the McGrath Library until the end of April. The college is at 5200 South Park Avenue in Hamburg, New York.

The college will be holding an artist reception April 26, from 6:30-8:30 pm.

Gallery hours are as listed:

Monday -Thursday: 8am-10pm
Friday: 8am-6pm
Saturday-Sunday: 11am-4pm

One of Rafferty's works.

To see more of Rafferty’s work, please visit her website.

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