second round in paris

My second trip to Paris was very exciting. We went non-stop the entire time going to museums and site visits and just walking around the city.

As a disclaimer, the wordpress editor does not want to separate my pictures when I try to put space in between them, which is why everything is going to be a little close this time. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesnt, its a very fickle thing this wordpress editor. Anyways, on to the photos…..

Our first stop was Prell. They are a 5th generation weaving company.

They created the fabrics used in the Marie Antoinette movie from the original fabrics in their archives. All of the fabrics they produce now come from their archives. Their current exhibition is their Art Nouveau fabrics.

The Pompidu Center was having an Alberto Giacometti exhibit, one of my favorite artists.

He mostly used plaster but his figures look like they have been rusted.

Giacometti used his studio walls to work out his ideas. They are like pages from his sketchbook, he would draw and write all over the plaster walls. After he died, his studio landlord wouldnt renew the lease, so his wife had the walls removed so they could be preserved.

We also went to the Christian Lacroix exhibit at the Louvre. They had his pieces separated by color and pattern. My favorites were the Blancs.

The Greens.

Polka dot dress with lace.

A Paris metro station with beautiful painted graffiti on the walls.

Thats me freezing my tush off in front of Notre Dame.

Prayer candles inside Notre Dame. We happened to be there during mass so we sat for a little while and took communion. It was a very nice experience.

We went to Li Edelkoort, which is a trend forecasting studio. I wasnt allowed to take photos in the studio, so I took one in the bathroom. I liked the trough sink. We watched a presentation on trends and color forecasting for summer 2009. The studio and the trend books were amazing, I wish I couldve photographed them to show you.

A Paris street.

My feet on a Paris street.

After the rain, the trees had so many gorgeous colors.

On our last day we went to an antiques market. I got scolded a few times for taking photos. Oh well.

I couldnt read what the letters said, but I imagined them to be old love letters.

A suitcase full of buttons.

This was the sink in the Avignon train station. The left nozzle is the automatic soap dispenser, the middle is the automatic sink, and the right is the automatic hand dryer. Genius.

jennifer collier

I think this is the most beautiful thing Ive ever seen.

Jennifer Collier is brilliant.

midterm check-in

Ive been going non stop all weekend!

Quilting is complete on the quilt Im calling Baby Steps. So many channels.

I love the texture that the channels create. I cant wait to finish the binding and put it in the wash.

I have had this idea for a pillow since last spring and Im finally getting around to making it.

This is the Repair series. I cut the felt in strips and sew it back together.

This is the top I pieced using those strips of fabric I showed last time. This quilt looks suspiciously like this. I adore Jen and love her quilts, as well as Denise Schmidt’s (whom she interned for during grad school). I think their designs are modern and accessible and I feel Im learning a lot by letting their design sensibilities influence me while Im still getting the basics.

These are the fabrics I am using for my next quilt which will have more of my aesthetic. Simple and clean (at least I hope that will be the outcome).

a few things i meant to post last week…

My friend Jen’s quilts in the window of ShopSCAD, one of my favorite galleries in Savannah. It has the most innovative and creative art, and it its always inspiring.

Jen Jenkins is a graduate of the MFA Fibers program. Her fine art website blows me away. When working on her thesis show, a period of only a couple months, she said she sewed over 1 or 2 million stitches and had to have her Bernina serviced twice (or something like that, which apparently is a lot!). The surfaces are heavily stitched and textured. Her production design company, Double J Designs makes gorgeous (functional) quilts. Make sure to check her out!

Vogue Knitting Stitchionary and a handspun skein of yarn from Urban Gypz that I got while I was in Asheville. I love this book! Not only are the samples interesting but the layout is clean and easy to follow. This is really embarrassing, but since working on one of the samples Ive realized I have been doing yarn overs wrong! Wow. But now I know and I am following an eyelet pattern and learning a lot. Like, I dont really like following eyelet or lace patterns… but I do like the way they look so Im gonna stick it out for now.

Im going to use the yarn as the fringe for a dark brown cable knit scarf Ive been trying to finish for a year now. Check out her etsy shop, she is awesome!

Beautiful beautiful raw fleece. I got this from an art supply store in Asheville.

I had such a busy weekend because we were having a few events at my gallery for an Italian artist, Stefano Cecchini.

Thats me on the left, Stefano, Brenda and Joey. I had a great time hanging out with my co-workers and Stefano but I seriously have to get some work done now. I hope you all had a great weekend!

Oh! Before I go……

Chris got a Mohawk! Its awesome! 🙂

 

weekend in asheville

Our trip to Asheville, NC this weekend was so much fun. The minute Chris and I stepped out of the car we looked at each other and said, “Yeah, we should live here.” It is such a cool city. I think we are seriously considering moving after I graduate, we absolutely loved it! We met our friends big Chris and Jessica (he’s big Chris because he’s taller than my Chris) and stayed in a cabin about 5 minutes from downtown. I was pleasantly surprised that the cabin had quilts on the beds since Im trying to get inspired for my quilting class.

We went to a gallery called Blue Spiral 1 and it was one of the largest galleries Ive ever seen! And filled with the most beautiful art. One of my favorites was David Eichelberger’s ceramics.

I love his simple lines and drawings on the surface.

I was very interested in Bryant Holsenbeck’s animals. He wrapped them in strips of fabric, wire and twine.

One of my other favorites was Alice Ballards ceramics. So beautiful. She also created large acorns and leaves from white stoneware that were simple and graceful.

Lisa Clague’s ceramic sculptures were amazing. From what I could tell, even the base of this piece is ceramic. It looks like wire but I dont think it is, I couldnt touch it so I guess I cant be sure, but if it is ceramic she is a genius. How did she get it to support that much weight?! I also love that little skirt.

There were three floors of incredible art at Blue Spiral and I was just blown away and totally inspired.

A warning: be wary of Asheville cab drivers. Our first cabbie almost ran off the side of the mountain because he was trying to show big Chris a picture on his phone where he looked pregnant, and the second one missed our exit, slammed on the breaks and reversed on the highway. I was not impressed. But overall the trip was great, we did some shopping and checked out some local music and had so much fun with our friends. I’ll be back soon to post pics of a few things I got in Asheville. I hope everyone had a great weekend!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

a few quick things

Since my camera is still MIA I thought I’d share a few quick things.  The best moment happened at work today.  A small child walked by the gallery and exclaimed, “oooohh art!!”  It was priceless!  I love how in tune to art children are.  I believe that everyone starts as an artist, imaginative and creative, and if it is not nurtured life gets in the way and you loose that innocent creativity. 

I found an amazing blog/shop today called UNIFORM studio.  Martha is an artist in Minneapolis and the way she talks about art and process just makes me want to cry.  She is so beautifully eloquent in talking about her thoughts and ideas and her studies really inspire me. 

I also found an artist in Seattle making cute quilts and aprons and who also has Celiacs disease.  She writes the blog Cherry Tomato.  Its amazing how many people are discovering that they are gluten intolerant. 

SCAD starts Fall Quarter on Monday!  I am nervous and excited and cant wait to get going again, even though the break was way too short.  I will be taking Surfaces and Structures and The Art Quilt.  I cant wait!  Savannah is so beautiful right now!  The weather has finally cooled off and picnics in the park are bearable again. 

I still am so frustrated about the camera thing, I just cant stop thinking about it.  You dont realize how important something is until you dont have it anymore.  I think I may have taken it for granted.  Im gearing up to get a new one, hopefully soon so I can show you what Im working on and a photo that might be shocking to some of you!  Stay tuned!!