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By Southern Oregon Artists Resource, 1982 contributed posts
View all Southern Oregon Artists Resource's posts. About the author: SOAR: The Southern Oregon Artist's Resource is a directory of Southern Oregon artists, artisans and those who serve them and calendar of their art events, and Art Matters!, our blog posting Southern Oregon art events and matters of interest to artists, enthusiasts and patrons of the arts near and far. SOAR was created and is maintained by art advocate and web designer Hannah West in Jacksonville, Oregon to promote our diverse and talented arts community to our visitors and the rest of the world.
Ashland Gallery Association Exhibit Openings & Artist Receptions
First Friday Art Walk, February 1st from 5 to 8 PM
Stroll the galleries and take in the visual delights in downtown Ashland and the Historic Railroad District. Enjoy this free year-round community event, filled with a diverse array of artwork, live music, artist demonstrations, refreshments and lively conversation!
For more information about all of our exhibits and to download the February Gallery Tour map, please visit: www.ashlandgalleries.com
Ashland Gallery Association – February Spotlight Exhibits
Hanson Howard Gallery
40th Anniversary: Works from the Collection of Hanson Howard Gallery
2019 is our 40th anniversary and that has us feeling like taking a trip down memory lane. Over the years, the gallery has amassed a healthy collection of exceptional regional artists who have at some point been represented by us. Was there an artist that you loved and no longer see at the gallery? Maybe you wish you had collected one of their works. Now you may have a second chance.
Join us in February for an exhibition of works from the Hanson Howard Collection made available for purchase at original prices, maybe even with some flexibility as we may have held onto a little too much work….who can blame us?!
Show runs February 1st – 26th. Opens First Friday, February 1st, 5-8 pm.
Judy Howard, “Park Shadows”
Photographers’ Gallery
Featuring Debra Harder
Debra Harder’s new show, The Comforts of Home, opens on Friday, February 1st at The Photographers’ Gallery At The Ashland Art Center.
Photographing in the comforts of home on cold winter days is one of Debra’s favorite things to do. She enjoys creating still life scenes reminiscent of old paintings. These images include some of her beloved possessions such as her collection of English White Ironstone. The natural light streaming in from nearby windows is all that is needed to “paint” the items being photographed. Debra’s still life images truly reflect her personal style not only in photography but also in her home.
Debra Harder, “Two Pears and a Book”, photograph
Shepherd’s Dream
“Pictorial Lullabye” Paintings by Lindy Kehoe
Lindy Kehoe’s fantastical illustration style is its own mythos. This Pittsburgh native received her B.F.A in 2001 at Ohio University. Her adventurous spirit led her to the West Coast in 2005, where she began exhibiting with the Visionary Artist Community. She has been living on the Rogue River in S. Oregon with her California-born husband who has been a deep inspiration to her work. Landscapes depicting dreamy characters and animals can be seen throughout her paintings. Lindy works in a variety of mediums, including oils, acrylics, ink and watercolor, as well as, graphite. Her intention of creation is steeped in the celebration of the child-heart wonder. Lindy also has expertise in live painting during her exhibitions and this month is no exception.
She says of her work…”My work is inspired by serendipity, a momentary feeling of interconnected magic, that often feels like a dream. I am motivated to create images that bring peaceful energy to the viewer, a place of remembrance, a place of innocence. The Oracular tendency keeps me fascinated by the mystical process.”
She will be joined by a special musician of her choice and a foodie to round out our February event.
Lindy Kehoe, painting
Ashland Art Center
Shades of Blue:Dyeing with Indigo
Studio Artist Shared Exhibit, “Shades of Blue,” features Marta Marthas, Jo Ann Manzone, Peggy Biskar, Janine Twining and Gayle Erbe-Hamlin.
This group of studio artists at Ashland Art Center share a passion for textile design and using natural dyes, especially Indigo. They explore multiple ways of using Indigo hues in their textile art.
Botanical sources of the blue dye, Indigo, have been used for thousands of years by people of many cultures to color natural fibers. This exhibit will demonstrate the wide color range that can be achieved with natural Indigo dyes and outline the process used to dye with Indigo plants. Handmade garments and textile wall art pieces dyed with Indigo will be featured.
Featured Gallery Artist: Jennifer Anne Nelson
Show: Freed from the Halls of Amenti
Medium: eco oil paint, soldering iron, ink
Jennifer Anne holds a B.A. degree from UC Berkeley in Art Practice, and is currently living in southern Oregon where she is a gallery artist at The Ashland Art Center. Her artworks investigate the mysteries transcribed in ancient legends, working in partnership with the materials to allow archetypes, symbols, and wild landscapes to emerge.
Jo Ann Manzone, print, Rust
Please see the attached “Spotlight Exhibits” and February Gallery Tour Map:
By manzone, 30 contributed posts
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Mushroom season is just beginning in the higher elevations and I love to forage for the elusive Morel Mushroom.
Morel Mushrooms
My husband Russ and I have learned to hunt above 3,000 feet as Russ has never met a poison oak plant that hasn’t found a way to his body. I am transformed when I enter the forest. It is the one place I seem to be able to let my mind relax and take in the sights and smells of the earth and tree’s.
I am fascinated with the look, shape and texture of morels. Everything about them suggests earthy and organic. I wanted to honor the morel by incorporating the texture of the mushroom into my nuno felt. I started with a circular shape and cut out a spiral pattern.
Scarf Layout
I used silk, merino wool and wool yarn to create the pattern.
By manzone, 30 contributed posts
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3-Dimensional felting, also called seamless felting is popular among felter’s making garments, vessels, hats, handbags and booties. I personally find a multitude of fitting issues with seamless garments and choose to utilize overlapping and hand stitching to create decorative seams for my vests and dresses. Having said that, I do enjoy making seamless sculptural vessels, hats, handbags and booties.
Seamless felting requires the use of a resist or template that keeps 2 flat layers of wool from felting together and allows the fibers along the edges of the 2 halves to join to create an invisible seam. It is helpful to have some basic wet felting experience before you attempt seamless felting but as I like to tell my students, almost any mistake in felting can be made to look intentional by embellishing with surface design.
Here are some examples of seamless felting:
Felted Vessels
Vessel: A resist was used to create a hollow form and several little resists were used to create surface design on the vessel.
Felted Hat
Hat: A resist was used to create the basic shape. Some hand stitching was used to adjust the fit.
By manzone, 30 contributed posts
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I attended Diane Ericson’s Design Outside the Lines Retreat in Ashland, Oregon. The theme was “Coat as Shelter” and the guest instructor was Carol Lee Shanks. This was my second year attending the coat retreat. Last year I made a coat using Carol Lee’s method of pattern design. Her process for approaching fabric is intuitive. She works primarily with geometric shapes and transforms cloth into textural works of wearable art.
Diane likes to approach design with pieces of fabric that she makes into what she calls “bits.” They are draped on a dress form and the creative process unfolds. She utilizes paints, stencils and hand stitching to weave a story which becomes a theme for her garment.
Gwen Spencer was Diane’s “angel” assistant. She is an extremely talented seamstress and works closely with Marcy Tilton. She brought some discarded fabric pieces she acquired on a trip to Paris and I watched her transform these pieces into a beautifully textured fabric. She offered assistance and guidance to all 19 of the participants of the retreat.
I decided that I would use Carol Lee’s method again this year. The fabric I chose for the coat was a 1950’s
1950 vintage wool with applique
vintage embroidered wool that I purchased in the spring from Sandy Ericson, Center for pattern design. I cut my fabric, put it on the dress form and started pinning. The fabric did not slide easily on my body so I consulted with Gwen and decided to line the coat sleeves and shoulders with dupioni silk. Luckily I found a pale pink dupioni at Fabric of Vision. It matched the embroidery on the wool fabric and made a beautiful cuff for the sleeves. Gwen, with her expert eye and sewing skills, helped me construct and attach the lining.
Next came some fit issues. The coat was too big in the back and the underarm/bust area in the front. Carol Lee started pinning pleats in the area’s that were too big and I stitched the pleats with embroidery thread. The coat was then hemmed with some asymmetrical lines.
Coat Front
I did not want to put a collar on the coat but I wanted something that could become a companion piece. I found a grey fabric with lots of texture, cut bias strips (with Gwen’s assistance), and made a cowl. Using one of Diane’s techniques for creative play and design, I made bits of fabric with the silk and attached it to the cowl.
The four days I spent in this retreat were magical. I met some amazing women who were sharing, laughing and creating. A little bit of their spirit is still with me as I go back to my studio for some creative play.
By manzone, 30 contributed posts
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Summer Sewing
I have taken a little break from felting to focus on some summer sewing. Summer is a great time to work on
4 Square Dress
lightweight frocks and improve my sewing skills. In May, I attended Diane Ericson’s Design Outside the Lines Retreat. Sandy Ericson, Center for Pattern Design was her guest artist. Sandy has a wealth of information about pattern design and in my opinion is the “Queen of Drape.” During the retreat, she demonstrated draping principals and I made a bias cut 4-square dress. I chose a fun comfortable fabric with great drape. Mary Glen, a very talented seamstress and a regular at DOL guided me through the process. One of the things I loved about making this dress is that no pattern is required! You just need enough fabric. We played with the shapes, rectangles instead of squares. The rectangles were different sizes which created a variety of options for styling the dress.
Faultlines undershirt and capitola pants
The next piece I worked on was a casual summer vest. I was looking for some whimsical fabric and chose “animal cookies cotton,” from The Smuggler’s Daughter. I made the undershirt from Diane Ericson’s Faultlines Vest pattern. I can never find pants that I love so I made Diane Ericson’s Capitola pant to go with the vest.
Back View
Marcy Tilton Vogue Pattern
Now I am feeling my sewing oats and decide to take on a Marcy Tilton dress pattern: Vogue #9081. I choose a lovely black silk linen and combined it with light weight Japanese linen from Fabric of Vision in Ashland. I am now more in my comfort zone with color going with black/white and a little bit of red. I decided to omit the bottom piece of the dress and opted to make this a top. My friend Ute gave me some private sewing lessons and helped me complete the top. It will look great with black leggings. It is a piece that I can wear into the winter with a black shirt or sweater underneath.
My last piece was part of a design challenge to make Vogue pattern #8968. I chose a beautiful piece of Japanese fabric that has been sitting in my “coveted fabric stash” waiting for the right project. I combined it with some fabric from Marcy Tilton and some other stash fabric to make this Asian flavored dress.
Design Challenge Dress
Design Challenge Dress Back View
Taking a break from felting has sparked lots of new ideas for my fall collection. I am now ready to start working on some new cape’s and coats.
By manzone, 30 contributed posts
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Libery Arts, “Filaments and Fiber” Runway show
On May 15th, I headed to Yreka, California to participate in Liberty Arts Gallery’s new exhibit, Filaments & Fashion. Three of my pieces were juried into the exhibit. Opening night kicked off with a high energy fashion show. I walked the runway in one of my pieces and had two lovely models wear my Peach Melba nuno felt wrap and Wedding on the Beach nuno felt long dress/vest. Laura Lawrence, www.mydancingthreads.com, a fellow fiber artist also participated in the runway show. Enjoy these pictures and video.
By manzone, 30 contributed posts
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Working Hands
When I was a little girl, I would watch my mother and grandmother’s work with their hands. On Sunday’s they would make “a pot of gravy,” our name for marinara sauce. Meatballs and pasta would accompany the sauce. Sometimes I helped make the meatballs, my hands squishing all the ingredients together . I can still smell the gravy cooking on the stove and hear the soft bubbling sound as the sauce simmered.
My mother’s mother would get together with her sisters once a year and make pizza dough in the basement of my great grandparent’s home in preparation for our summer family picnic. The dough would be kneaded, set out on a big table and allowed to rise. Four generations of family would come to eat, laugh and tell stories. The pizzas could not come out of the oven fast enough and by the end of the day; we had consumed close to 50 pizzas, some eggplant parmesan and Italian pastries for dessert.
After dinner the women would sit around in a circle and knit. They would talk about their children and recipes and their plans for the summer. I loved listening to their stories and watching them create blankets, booties and sweaters.
When I was 10 year old, my mother and grandmother took me to our local yarn shop to pick out my first knitting project. Little did I know that I would be turning this skill into a lifelong passion for working with fiber. When I walked into that little yarn shop stacked with wool, I took in the bright and warm colors and was filled with a sense of beauty and possibility.
I was 16 when I made my first garment; a knitted dress made with chunky pink merino wool on size 32 needles. It was the 1960’s; a time of changing and diverse trends in clothing. This influence of breaking fashion tradition is visible today in the playful way I combine wool, silk and other fibers to create nuno felted fabric. Nuno is a Japanese term meaning cloth. I use silk as my base cloth and add merino wool, silk roving and strips of fabric that I then use to make clothing and accessories. Recently, I have been experimenting with other “shrinking” techniques to create fabric to incorporate with my nuno felt. I enjoy up cycling garments; taking them apart and incorporating them with my felt fabric to create new fashion.
When I am creating, I feel connected to my mother and grandmother. It takes me back to them and it lets me feel like I’m a part of a circle of women, working with their hands; connected and loved.
By manzone, 30 contributed posts
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When I spent time with Polly Stirling in Ashland, Oregon last May, she strongly encouraged me to explore botanical printing and dyeing also known as eco-printing. She has been botanically printing her felt for years and feels strongly about reducing the use of “toxic” dyes and paints in clothing. I had the opportunity to study with Polly at her family’s camp in upstate New York last year
Felt Dress printed with crab apple’s and leaves. Dyed with comfrey flowers
and as part of the felting retreat, she introduced me to botanical printing. She and her sisters gathered a variety of local plants, nuts, pods and flowers. They were laid out in neat piles outside of Odd Fellows Hall, our felting room. It was exciting to set up all the dye pots and treat and wrap the felt for printing and dyeing. I choose to print a felted dress with crab apples and dye in a copper pot with comfrey leaves and flowers and a felted tunic top was dyed in a black walnut bath.
Since that time, I have been dyeing and printing my felt and silk with eucalyptus leaves and bark, onion skins, ornamental plum, maple and rose leaves. The results have been spectacular. The nuno felted pieces take on a leathery look once they are printed and dyed. I have been experimenting with raw silk fabric, printing with eucalyptus leaves I collected in Northern California. The raw silk prints beautifully. I have added some raw silk tunics to my collection for those who are allergic to wool.
I held a workshop at my home last month and students learned different ways to prepare silks and cottons for eco-printing and dyeing. On hand were eucalyptus, ornamental plum and rose leaves, onion skins, avocado pits and a few other “goodies.” We used a cold extraction/hot bundling process. Once the fabric was printed, students had the opportunity to dip their bundles in a eucalyptus bark bath or a madrone bark bath. The results were stunning. It was fun to see how the plant material printed on the different types of fabric.
I will be teaching another eco-printing class in September.
By manzone, 30 contributed posts
View all manzone's posts. About the author:
When I spent time with Polly Stirling in Ashland, Oregon last May, she strongly encouraged me to explore botanical printing and dyeing also known as eco-printing. She has been botanically printing her felt for years and feels strongly about reducing the use of “toxic” dyes and paints in clothing. I had the opportunity to study with Polly at her family’s camp in upstate New York last year
Felt Dress printed with crab apple’s and leaves. Dyed with comfrey flowers
and as part of the felting retreat, she introduced me to botanical printing. She and her sisters gathered a variety of local plants, nuts, pods and flowers. They were laid out in neat piles outside of Odd Fellows Hall, our felting room. It was exciting to set up all the dye pots and treat and wrap the felt for printing and dyeing. I choose to print a felted dress with crab apples and dye in a copper pot with comfrey leaves and flowers and a felted tunic top was dyed in a black walnut bath.
Since that time, I have been dyeing and printing my felt and silk with eucalyptus leaves and bark, onion skins, ornamental plum, maple and rose leaves. The results have been spectacular. The nuno felted pieces take on a leathery look once they are printed and dyed. I have been experimenting with raw silk fabric, printing with eucalyptus leaves I collected in Northern California. The raw silk prints beautifully. I have added some raw silk tunics to my collection for those who are allergic to wool.
I held a workshop at my home last month and students learned different ways to prepare silks and cottons for eco-printing and dyeing. On hand were eucalyptus, ornamental plum and rose leaves, onion skins, avocado pits and a few other “goodies.” We used a cold extraction/hot bundling process. Once the fabric was printed, students had the opportunity to dip their bundles in a eucalyptus bark bath or a madrone bark bath. The results were stunning. It was fun to see how the plant material printed on the different types of fabric.
I will be teaching another eco-printing class in September.
By manzone, 30 contributed posts
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I recently taught a 3 day workshop with Marilou Moschetti, in Aptos, California. The workshop; Dye, Felt, Sew; focused on creating yardage that would be custom fit to each students individual silhouette for a vest or a jacket. The patterns used were Diane Ericson’s Fault lines Vest and the Plaza Jacket.
The first day students created a color study using Colorhue dyes. They had fun experimenting with different color combinations. They learned how to create warm and cool colors and how to tone. They then dyed their silk for the next day’s felting. Students also spent time sketching design ideas for their felt yardage.
The second day was spent creating the yardage for their jacket or vest. Some students created designs using flat felt surface while others played with 3-D techniques. Pattern pieces were fitted for each individual’s body type.
The last day was spent cutting, fitting and sewing the vest or jacket. At the end of the day we had a mini fashion show. The workshop was a great success.
