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Monday, April 26, 2010

Sources of Inspiration

I find myself being drawn to fibers and textiles as sources of inspiration.  I don't know why I should be surprised ... fabric was my first love.  I did a little crude weaving in my early 20's from a handheld cardboard loom I made myself.  See, I told you it was crude!

As an interior design student early on in my life as a "professional student," my teacher would look at my work and say, "That looks like a textile design."  Of course, I was too insecure at that time to ever take things to the next step.  But I find it funny somehow that later on, after I gained some self-confidence, that I never took that route ... considering all of the mediums I've explored.  I think textiles and fiber creations are wonderful inspirations for paintings, jewelry, you name it.  And, it needn't be handmade works of art, like the ones that follow.  Textile designers are highly sophisticated colorists!

There's a great magazine called "Surface Design."  It's put out by, guess what, the Surface Design Association.  Here are some images from their website that spoke to me.  I thought some of you might like these bright, fun colors ... which are perfect for enamels, too!


Spirulina Whorl by Cheryl Deibel



Cultivate Roses in Full Sun by Cheryl Deibel



Archaen Remains by Candace Edgerley

On Saturday, Vicki Bennett, a fiber artist and instructor at the Morean Arts Center, was a student in my enameling workshop.  I have a feeling she'll be having me as a student in her class in the not too distant future.  It was fun seeing her thought bubbles come to the surface with ideas of things to do with the enameling.  

In the workshop, we enamel things I call "Flower Bells," for lack of better words.  They are the 20 mm Moroccan Lantern beads broken in half at the seam.  You can get really fancy with enameling them because you can create all kinds of special effects ... drips and flows ... at the lower edge without mucking up the removal process from the mandrel.  Vicki was saying that she could see these Flower Bells cupping each end of a felted bead.  Doesn't that sound glorious! I can't wait to see what she does with them!  I hope she'll let me share her creations here. 

17 comments:

TesoriTrovati said...

What a great source of inspiration! I love it when one art medium collides with another. I am hoping to take a watercolor painting class with my favorite local artist Ann Singsaas. It would be fun to see where my ideas take me after taking that class! Enjoy the day! Erin

SummersStudio said...

I love textiles too and they are one of my favourite sources of inspiration. I have never heard of Surface Design. Thanks for the link!

mairedodd said...

i am not surprised that the queen of all trades had her hand in textiles! but i am glad that you are revisiting them and are able to interact with other artists doing this work... enameling those half beads sounds wonderful... would love to see how they look finished!

Cindy said...

Barbara...I'd love to see your creations going down this road. The images you provided here are just GORGEOUS...I especially love the Spirulina Whorl!
Cindy

Judy said...

Such gorgeous textiles...I certainly can see why they are so inspiring. I am feeling like I must make something green and blue, love it!

Riki Schumacher said...

Ah ha, another life revealed! Isn't it fun how all those past lives come together and make up who we are and inspire our creativity in this life? Love that. These pics are so amazing, very inspiring colors and textures. Thanks Barbara. Riki xoxo

amarkonmywall said...

I LOVED the workshop and thought you were a wonderful teacher! I posted a bit about it over at my place. I'm so enthused that Radha and I are getting together tomorrow to do some more. Today I'm seeing how these beautiful beads work with felt and I'll get back to you and let you know. Thank you so much! And now, I'm off to explore more of your posts and links here.

stregata said...

Wonderful textil pieces, Barbara! Those colours are so lovely together. And why shouldn't one medium inspire another? A muse won't let herself get put in a box...

BlueAntiquities said...

Barbara,
These fabric pictures (quilts) are very inspiring. Luckily I have my blue/green enamel waiting, in the garagio! So much fun art happening with textiles in fashion and interior design. Love the way artist have the knack for melding the mediums together and mixing it all up!

Maria said...

I'm a blue and green kind of gal! :) Great post. I love textiles too.

Barbara Lewis said...

Erin, Can't wait to see how the w/c class influences your work ... because we all know it will! Have fun.

LeAnn, No doubt a potter loves fiber ... texture, texture, texture!

Maire, We're going to get you started, whether you like it or not!

Cindy, I love the greens and blue in your work. I can see why you're attracted to Spirulina Whorl! What is a Spirulina anyway?!

Judy, I can count on you to make something stunning with the blue and green. I'll be watching!

Riki, There's someone up there with a great sense of humor and the Marionette strings!

Vicki, I am humbled by your praise because I know the respect your students have for your talent and your teaching.

Renate, No boxes for either of us!

Laura, We gonna be playing soonI I'm glad you said "melding the mediums together" and not "melting the mediums together!"

Maria, You definitely love those blues and greens ... and purples! Can't help but be influenced by our environment in gorgeous Flo-Rida!

Thanks for taking the time to visit me today! Get a copy of Surface Design ... you will really like it!

Createology said...

Beautiful fibers and surface design. I can imagine the crossover to enamel and how gorgeous it would be also. Thank you for sharing. Happy creating...

Lori P said...

The pictures are gorgeous! I've kinda done the same thing. I used to buy this magazine called something like "Art Quilting" just to look at the pictures. It was amazing.

Barbara Lewis said...

Lori, I know you as a fiber person ... even though you make jewelry. LOL You do amazing work ... in both media!

Jane Dunnewold said...

Barbara, I am a vice president of the Surface Design Association and I was so thrilled to see your site and your work. Wow! I just wanted to share our vision of uniting artists with a love of surface design (which is all kinds of things) with you and your followers. The Journal is one of the highest regarded publications in the field - so inspiring! Membership and news about our on-going plans, including a knock out conference in 2011 can be found by googling Surface Design Association. We welcome anyone interested in gorgeous surfaces.Join us!!
Jane Dunnewold
complexcloth.com

Christine said...

WOW. I have a terrible addiction to fabric and sewing and textiles and pretty much everything to make stuff with...now I *have to* try incorporating fabric design into my enameling! What a great source of inspiration that I hadn't thought of!

SueBeads said...

I love fabric too, good thing I don't buy it, can't sew to save my life! But I love the inspiration you showed. And I know, I'm very late in posting!