Harvest Festival

Good Evening Fiber Friends,

Ahh...crisp morning air, frost, apples and pumpkins...


As we finished setting up for a month of selling at Green Bluff Grange Hall for the Harvest festival the other day, I decided to snap a few photos.  We have a wonderful location that has allowed us to display my art on both sides of our grid wall!  It doesn't show it in the pictures because we later changed things around, but my husband is set up demonstrating needle felting on one side and I have a cozy spot to demonstrate wet felting on the other side.  We want to thank everyone that came by this past (first weekend) to see us.  We had a delightful two days getting to know all our neighboring artists and visiting with Festival attendees.  Let's keep fingers crossed that the beautiful fall weather continues!

We will be at Green Bluff through the end of the month on both Saturday and Sunday 9-5.  Then look for us at the Kootenai Winter Market on December 8 at the Fairgrounds.  www.kootenaifarmersmarkets.org

AND you can see me modeling my Dream Fantasy Gown at the Kootenai Environmental Alliance's 4th Annual Fashion Show...Saturday, Oct. 13 at the Eagles in Coeur d' Alene.  http://kealliance.org/junk2funk/

In the meantime, I am busily working in my studio and squeezing in students when I can.  So far I have taught two Nuno felt sessions and I have a third scheduled.  It is exciting to see my students amazement when the bits and pieces all come together and they find they have created a one-of-a-kind work of art! Makes a teacher (me in this case) quite proud.

This week I have four Nuno scarves to finish as well as a custom ordered vest...which is going to be awesome!  Pictures will be posted.

Have a wonderful week everyone,
Janet

Enjoying the Great Outdoors

Most of the time I have to stay indoors and out of air currents because it messes with my fibers and ruins my design work...However, today I am at home - outside at the patio table - working!

At the end of last week I had partially felted 14 handbags of various styles and designs.  It took me days to lay them all out at my studio.  They occupied 3 tables.  My reward?  As we move into blissful Indian summer weather, I can sit outside at home and felt while enjoying my garden and the more moderate temperatures!  While I have enjoyed having a seperate studio...I have missed 'being home'.

This blue bag will be one in a series I call: Blossom Bags.

Tomorrow we are off to sell at our local market.  www.Kootenaifarmersmarkets.org

Have a great weekend!  Hope to see you around,
Janet

Hello!

Whew!  I know!  I know! It's been awhile since I last wrote anything to you so let me update you on some of the goings on in my life and that of Sapphire. We have both been very busy. 

I attended my last scheduled class at Pacific Northwest Art School at the end of July.  Jorie Johnson, of Japan, was our instructor.  Our assignment: Construct a complete garment without any seams.  I made...a full length dress!  I had already tackled a coat and a vest so the next thing was either a skirt, a longer coat or a dress.  I had been toying with ideas about a dress already, yet I was unsure of a few of the construction details...but Jorie had all the answers!

And while what we were creating was quite interesting...it was my fellow students that awed me.  I may have a few details slightly askew but essentially we had students from: from Israel, Kazakhstan (an artist with a thousand more artists from her country working under her in an artist cooperative), Canada and around the USA from CA, WY, ID, WA, and Ohio.  There were two college textile professors, a costume designer for a Repertory Theater in WA, a Past President of an Art School, a Immigration and Naturalization Officer, a budding artist/mom, a Rancher/Artist and several local Whidbey Island fiber artists. Wonderful discussions during breaks!

Toward the end of August we attended the second Artist's Reception in the POAC Sandpoint (Idaho) Art Walk 2012.  I took this opportunity to introduce some of the Art Walkers to sheer felting.

With September beginning we headed even further north to Priest Lake and Entree Gallery Trunk Show.  It was a lovely late summer day and we had a delightful place under the willow tree on the grounds...and I tried to demonstrate sheer felting for these folks but the wind was blowing enough that is was darn near impossible to get any of my fiber laid out.  I improvised by wetting out my surface before laying my fiber so it had something to stick to right away, but still it was too much for me. {Sigh}  That piece is headed for the recycle bin!

Then just two days ago we held Coeur d' Alene's first ever Studio Tour!!!  We had at least 150 people through Sapphire Studio in just 7 hours.  By all accounts it was a good turnout and hopefully will be funded again next year.  I enjoyed all the people that took the time to come by and see me explain and demonstrate just what it is that I do.  A bonus was the time spent meeting more artists living in this area.

I also took time to formulate and launch my Fall Class Schedule which you will find on a TAB at the top of my blog...just under the header picture.  Since opening my studio I have pretty much been busy creating or traveling.  Hopefully Fall and Winter will allow me to devote some time to teaching in my studio.

Oh!  Did I mention that I was invited to model my newly felted dress in a "Runway Show"?!  Never been down that kind of runway before...yikes!  This event is held each year as a fundraiser for Kootenai Environmental Alliance.

More to come...but for now I have to go get some sleep,
Janet

My New Pink "V" Coat

Evenin'' Everyone,

I am trying out new photo software.  My previous uploads were through Photo Bucket and often failed to load properly...now I am using Picasa.  Hope it continues to be easy to use AND that my photos load quickly and correctly.

It is now the second week of July and things are really starting to hop around here!  I was browsing through my email at the beginning of the week and saw a message announcing a jewelry contest with an online gift company called Uncommon Goods.  Sooooo I spent the middle of the week getting a few samples made; photos taken and sent off on the airwaves.  There will be an in house panel first.  If I make it out of that round then I go to the public voting round.  If I am in the top five after that round then two jewelry judges get a shot at my designs...the winner gets $500 and a vendor contract with the company.  To see what I sent off, scroll back to the top of this page. I'll let you know if and when it is time for the public vote or you can follow along at www.uncommongoods.com

These necklaces are made from merino, stones or glass (made right here in Cd'A) which I embed into my felt.  Then I add eyelets...or are those grommets...I can never keep that straight!  I then either felt a cord from merino or use a hand-dyed, handmade silk ribbon and add the clasp on one end and the flower pendant to the other.  Each necklace can be custom made.  To accompany the necklaces, I made earrings of Lucite flowers, stone beads, and Swarovski crystals.

I also found out this week that my Studio and I have been selected to participate in the first ever Studio Tour in Coeur d' Alene.  It is going to be on September 8th.  The sponsor of this event is Coeur d' Alene Arts and Cultural Alliance. More details on this later...just save that date!!! www.artsincda.org

And lastly, I have finished my first coat!  This beautiful pink and purple "V" coat is absolutely wonderful to wear.  I am not a model, yet it was fun enough to model this coat and flirt with the camera for a few quick shots of it before we drove it up to Kristie and her shop Blue Flag Weaving Studio.  www.blueflagweaving.com

This flirty, fun, wide sash collar, wrap around coat is made of cotton gauze, merino, a mixture of designer wools from Montana, silk cloth and silk fibers, metallic fibers, buttons...and the bottom purple border which is a recycled blouse...it is a stretchy burned-out velvet like material.  The inside, which is more geometric than random/abstract is as fun as the outside and I wanted to make it reversible but I just couldn't do it! (sigh)...maybe next time.

 

And tomorrow is Saturday so we are off to Farmers Market again...unless...well the prediction is for 70% chance of thunderstorms...so if it is raining in the morning I will just stay home and work on my Ode to the Ocean vessel!

Ta ta for now Fiber Fans,

Janet