Linda Matthews

http://www.Linda-Matthews.com

I'm an Australian now living in Central Florida and I've been a textile artist in one form or another most of my life. After landing in the US in 2001 I quickly discovered and fell in love with art quilting. I then spent quite a number of years traveling throughout the US teaching creative sewing and art quilting classes and workshops, as well as exhibiting my art quilts.

These days though I prefer to stay close to home in Central Florida where I still teach locally from time to time and where I also self-publish a series of instructional dvds which are full of fabulous techniques specifically for textile and quilt artists. I also get to spend lots more time in my studio where I now work exclusively with digital art and design, as well as processes for printing on fabric, and in particular textured fabric.

I’ve also rediscovered my love of “working small” and have developed methods for preserving my digitally printed textile art so that it becomes durable and workable and suitable for using on items such as handbags, purses and accessories. My current ambition is to produce textile art that is beautiful but also practical; art that doesn’t necessarily need to hang on a wall or sit on a stand to be admired, it can also hang on your arm or be carried about with you.

Working with new technologies that intersect with artisan crafts is challenging and rewarding; new methods melding with old techniques resulting in textile art that is different, fresh and exciting.

Artist's Statement: Making art with fabric and thread is both a creative and an emotional experience for me, and I find my direction changing every so often. The older I get the more difficult it is to let go and move forward, and learning the futility of fighting the muse seems to be my life's greatest challenge. The only constant in my work seems to be the desire to encourage and inspire the creative spark that lives in each of us and ultimately I think, that is enough.

Location: Deland, Florida, USA

Online shops: Linda-Matthews

Blog: linda-matthews

Membership: SAQA

Languages spoken: English

Daisy Art Bag by Linda Matthews

Tags: textile art, fabric art, digital art, inkjet printing, printing on fabric, digital grounds, fabric paper, wearable art

Castilleja Cotton

www.castillejacotton.com

Castilleja Cotton has been in business since 1993. We have created many one of a kind designs for our quilt patterns and fabric art. We produce quilt patterns and fabric art (small wall quilts), larger wall quilts and other quilted items. We sell our quilt patterns to quilt shops and our small quilts to selected gift stores.

-Diane McGregor

Mission: To create one of a kind fabric art.




Location: Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Online Shops: 
   castillejacotton
   castillejacotton  (Etsy)
Blog: castillejacotton
Twitter: diane_designer
Membership: Quilters Without Borders
Languages spoken: English

"Georgina" by Diane McGregor

Tags:  fibre art, art quilt, quilt pattern

Folkwear

www.folkwear.com

Since 1976, Folkwear has offered unique sewing patterns based on ethnic costume and vintage fashion. Each multi-size pattern includes full-size pattern pieces ready to trace or cut out; easy-sew and special construction techniques clearly explained and illustrated; historical lore that sets the garment in its own time and place; and instructions for traditional embellishment.

-Kate Matthews

Mission:  We believe that ethnic and historical garments have a lot to offer in the way of inspiration, imagination, and design details, as well as aesthetic and functional beauty. When you combine historic or ethnic styles with modern materials and innovative fabrication, the resulting garments become unique expressions of the maker's vision. Folkwear is proud to contribute one element to each maker's creative process.


Location: Asheville, North Carolina, USA
Online shops: Folkwear patterns can be found at www.folkwear.com. The Dealer Locations page of our web site links to the web sites of Folkwear dealers around the world.
Languages spoken: English

Tags: costume, ethnic dress, historical clothing, central asian, japanese, victorian, edwardian, cultural clothing, peasant dress, fisherman's pants, clothing for men

Ulrika Leander / Contemporary Tapestry Weaving

”Downtown” by Ulrika Leander

58” x 128”

http://www.ctw-tapestry.com

Contemporary Tapestry Weaving specializes in large-scale hand-woven tapestries in a contemporary European style and weight with a strong Scandinavian flair. Primarily my work is for site-specific commissions for corporate offices, public buildings, religious environments, health care facilities and private homes. However, I also weave some tapestries that are available for sale and are exhibited in my studio and on my web site.

After receiving a MA in fiber art and design in Stockholm, Sweden, I taught weaving and design at the course Center at the University of Lund before moving to the USA. My present studio located in Bellevue, MD opened in 2000 and my largest hand-weaving loom has the capacity to produce tapestries up to 12ft. in one direction and over 30 in the other.

In addition to designing and weaving tapestries, in the summer I convert part of my large studio into an art gallery showing work in a wide range of media including textile, glass, ceramic, precious metals and wood. I find my artists at major art and craft shows and by travelling in Scandinavia visiting studios during the annual art tours. Located an hour and a half from Washington DC and Baltimore, The Gallery By The River is a popular attraction for visitors crossing the Tred Avon River using the Oxford-Bellevue Ferry, the oldest operating ferry in the country.

Artist's Statement:  I grew up in South Eastern Sweden where to this day textile art is one of the most frequent forms of artistic expression found in public buildings and in private homes. The rich history and tradition of textile art and design became part of my consciousness at a very early stage of my life and the Scandinavian design aesthetic is a strong influence to this day. Most of my tapestries are woven for clients who have formed, to varying degrees, their own concepts of theme, space and color, and I find this confluence of ideas and personal interaction both artistically challenging and very rewarding.

For me, painting is the gateway to tapestry and as I create my water color images, I am thinking of the fiber experience to come, the range of colors and fiber characteristics that will be needed, the intensification of colors that comes with the scale-up to a very large surface and the technical challenges of faithfully weaving the details of the design. I believe that I am drawn to weaving tapestries by the endless fascination of watching the gradual unfolding of the chrysalis that is my design into a mural-scale tapestry that will uplift the spirit and bring new life to an architectural space in a way that fulfills my client’s expectations for a work of enduring beauty and worth. From my personal point of view, weaving a tapestry draws on many parts of my being, the artist’s imagination, the weaver’s skill and the human ability to create.



Location: Royal Oak, Maryland, USA
Membership: The American Tapestry Alliance
Brick and Mortar: The Gallery By The River
Languages spoken: English and Swedish

”Lovers” by Ulrika Leander

72” x 45”

Performance at Ulrika's The Gallery By The River:

Tags: Tapestry, weaving, wall-hanging, gobelin, textile art, art, contemporary tapestry, studio, gallery, hand-woven, art gallery

DharmaKarmaArts

http://dharmakarmaarts.etsy.com

My name is Indira. I create original yoga art in watercolor, sari wall art in mixed media, recycled silk scarfs from old Kanchipuram saris, decorative wooden boxes and jewelry inspired by my Indian heritage.  I have a successful career in higher education but have been an artist/craftswoman of some kind or the other all my life. I paint in oils and in watercolor and came to jewelry making only recently. I am self-taught in many of my crafts and what I did not learn myself, I learned from my mother.

My mother taught me to sew. She learned sewing from a Portugese woman who taught her to cut patterns precisely and efficiently. My mother once told me that during the period she was learning to sew, she made one new frock for me every week. For a long time, she sewed clothes for the entire family and as we grew older she taught us to make our clothes. It was not until our adulthood that we revolted and started getting our blouses and petticoats sewn by professional tailors! Sewing your own clothes had become quite unhip.

I got my first sewing machine as a wedding anniversary gift from my husband. Like my mother, I made dresses for my daughter till she revolted against feminine dresses for blue jeans upon entering kindergarten!

I left India a long time ago but India has not left me yet. My work is grounded Indian aesthetics, especially that of the Tamil culture. I use the colors, materials that were part of my life growing up in India and which have informed and shaped my own idea of beauty in my artistic creations.  If you have a taste for Indian culture, artwork and colors, then Dharmakarmaarts is for you.  I donate all proceeds from the sales of my products to aid physically handicapped children and adults through Sukriti Social Foundation. For more information about Sukriti, go to http://www.sukriti.org.




Location: Summit, New Jersey, USA
Online shops: 
   dharmakarmaarts on Etsy
   dharmakarmaarts on 1000 Markets
Blog: dharmakarmaarts
Languages spoken: English, Tami, Hindi

 Recycled silk scarf by Dharmakarmaarts

1000 Markets

DharmaKarmaArts

Visit the Shop

Tags:  sari wall art, kanchipuram silk, recycled

Linda Friedman - Linda's Art Quilts

 

lindasartquilts.etsy.com

A life long love of the written word and art led me to dual Bachelor of Arts Degrees in English Language and Literature and Fine and Applied Arts from California State University at Los Angeles.  I have published poetry, have taught business writing in the academic/business sectors, and was the manager of a surgical fellowship program at the University of Southern California.

My commitment to education is equaled only by a passion for my family and for the arts.  Early on I was a freelance cartographer for the University of California, Los Angeles, sold miniature paintings to such establishments as “The Egg and the Eye”, a Los Angeles folk art gallery at that time, Robinson’s Department Store and Virginia’s Gift Shop at Knott’s Berry Farm.  I received a Presidential Recognition Award for my contributions to Los Angeles’ Allesandro Elementary School’s mural project, while I also taught arts to a group of gifted students.  I created an adult sized rocking horse, the plans of which grew into a small business operation and experienced a level of international success through such publications as Popular Mechanics.

All the while I immersed myself in quilting, sewing formal gowns and original designed clothing.  When not sewing, I was painting and had my work exhibited at California State University, Los Angeles, and the University of Southern California.  It wasn’t until the year 2000 that a colleague prevailed upon me to attend one, just one, local quilt guild meeting.  Henceforth an entirely new focus and passion began to consume my artistic applications.  I became part of a group that spearheaded the formation of an art quilt subgroup and I joined “Quilt Visions” of San Diego, Studio Art Quilt Associates, and Quilts on the Wall.  The rest is history. I was hooked.  Due to a set of very fortunate circumstance, I was able to exit the world of academia, move to Vista, California, where my entire hilltop home has become a studio filled with the wonder of color and fabric.

My art quilts have sold from Glendale, California to the Gulf shores of Florida with resulting commissioned requests and are exhibited at a local retreat center.  As with any passion, there are never sufficient hours in the day to quickly enough follow the muse into ever-new territories.  Every day, in some way, is dedicated to the arts with a special emphasis on the art quilt genre and fabric surface design.  My days are filled with designing, and stitching, and painting and dinking in the untold wonders of the world that keep creativity alive.  As a result of popular demand, I am now formulating class outlines and will teach various aspects of fiber arts commencing in August, 2010.


Artist Statement:  My mission is to create lasting works of art that elevate the spirit, bring joy and pleasure to others through visual and tactile interaction, and thereby spark the innate creativity in others.


Location: Vista, California, USA
Online shop: Linda's Art Quilts
Blog: Linda's Art Quilts
Twitter: LindasArtQuilts
Memberships:
   SAQA 
   Quilts on the Wall 
   Quilt Visions
Languages spoken: English

 "Aspiration", Art Quilt by Linda Friedman

26 x 30 inches

Tags:  Quilt Artist, Fiber Artist, Fabric Surface Design,  Embellishments, Silk Screen,  Fabric Painting, Thread Painting, Embroidery

Ann Ridge Magic Stitches

 

www.ridge.ch

I’m basically a contemporary quilt artist who has become more versatile using many of my hand painted, hand dyed and screen printed fabrics plus mixed media to make unusual yoga mat bags, household items, accessories and lampshades to supplement my income.  I’ve become accustomed to describing my work in southern Spain as a painter who ""paints"" with threads on fabric.  I have 3 sewing machines each with different capabilities to be adventurous with free machine embroidery.

-Ann Ridge 2010

Artist's Statement: I may use multiple techniques in one piece to make a personal statement.  From 2001 a series of 70 mixed media quilts called “Table Gems” were made not larger than 11 x 8” (28 x 20 cms).  Collage pieces were made by fusing, painting, laminating paper, appliqué, melting plastic, or incorporating embroidered fragments to be finally quilted by hand or machine.  I combine found materials, repeat elements, a wealth of surface treatments to produce intricate works. From these stem the much larger textural quilted objects that recalled China.  Current work reflects southern Spain in 12 x 12” (30 x 30 cm) format and will do for some time except commissions allow for larger pieces.

I now sell from  my home.  Because I make home made jams, marmalades and chutneys I have tasting sessions in my home and people often end up buying small textile items, too.  They also see a small selection of art pieces in my workshop.

You can also find my work at various Arts and Crafts market sites in Andalucia, including Galeria Mar Bella and nadfas-de la frontera.

Location: Marbella, Málaga, Spain

Memberships:

   SAQA

   Quilt Visions

   Avenue 50 Studio 

Languages spoken: English, Spanish, German

"Where to Now", Art quilt by Ann Ridges

Tags: Layered forms and imagery, collage, multiple techniques and mediums, patterns, lines.

Original Women

 

www.original-women.com

Original women is a women-owned social enterprise dedicated to celebrating the artistry of women from around the world! 

We strive to make the world more harmonious, happy and beautiful.

-Gwendy and Anelle, Co-Founders

Mission:  We celebrate the artistry of women from around the world.  We embrace the passion they have for their culture and heritage.  We are inspired by their achievements.  We showcase a unique collection of their creations - wearable, decorative and functional.

We celebrate tradition and innovation, intuition and intention, creativity and skill.  We follow Fair Trade principles and showcase ethically produced products.  We support women expressing their creativity and using their skills to make their lives, their families' lives, their communities and our world a better place.

Nature is our original inspiration. We respect and care for the environment and our planet. We encourage rethinking, recycling and innovation in using and reusing materials.  We believe in relationships, partnerships and cooperation.  We strive to make the world more harmonious, happy and beautiful.

Location: New York City, New York, USA

Online shop: Original Women

Blog: Original Women
Languages spoken: English, French, Spanish, Textile

  Hand woven cotton, silk and silver metallic sheer shawl-

available at Original Women

Tags:  handwoven, embroidery, textiles, India, artisan

Fiberarts Connection - Anne Copeland

"Winter Migration" by Barbara Williamson, 

Physically challenged fiber artist.  

www.fiberartsconnection.blogspot.com

We are a nonprofit 501(c)(3) founded originally in 2003 by Anne Copeland. We seek to make good networking connections and locate more resources for physically/developmentally challenged fiber artists. We also are seeking to provide opportunities for children to have a safe and wonderful, inexpensive  means to express their creativity through some of our current and ongoing venues. We have long wanted to provide this opportunity, so this year is our first challenge geared to include children. You can find the challenge on our blog site under Calls for Entry.

We have events where pieces are sold to raise money for worthwhile causes and to assist the physically/developmentally challenged artists.  We also do Smilebox presentations online, and we have done online show catalogs that can be printed out to include in a portfolio or to just have to remember the events the fiber artists enter.

Mission: Our mission is to assist physically/developmentally challenged and emerging  fiberartists who wish to be professional with getting good exposure for their work and teaching them professional development. Although the nonprofit is located in Southern California, we serve physically challenged fiber artists in the United States and abroad.

Founder, Anne Copeland, is an AQS certified appraiser who specializes in art quilts, wearables, art dolls and other textile items.  She also appraises regular antique and traditional quilts, but specializes in the more contemporary items.  Anne lectures and teaches some classes, especially her quilt restoration class, which is quite popular.

Location: Lomita, California, USA
Blogs: ohmimola, fiberartsconnection
Memberships:

   SAQA
   The Alliance for American Quilts
   Cut-Loose Quilters
Languages spoken: English

Barbara Williamson, Secretary, Fiberarts Connection

Tags: Nonprofit, physically challenged fiber artists, developmentally challenged fiber artists, venues for physically challenged fiber artists, challenges for physically challenged fiber artists, challenges welcoming participation of children, opportunities for physically challenged fiber artists, resources for physically challenged fiber artists

Margaret C. Wheeler

"Silk Fusion" by Margaret C. Wheeler
www.margaretcwheeler.com

Nothing is more pleasing than to find someone who connects with my work, is moved by it and wants to take it home. Creating is only half of the equation. It must be seen and appreciated to complete the process. My misson is to find ways to connect with a bigger and bigger audience. 

Article about Margaret on Subversive Stitchers: Women Armed with Needles

Artist's statement:  I work in fiber. I have been doing things with fiber of some form for the last 45 or more years. My love of fabric/fiber was nurtured by my Mother who made all our clothes and had at one time aspired to be a designer. The opportunity never came. I think I decided I would try to do what she could not. I first started by making my clothes wearing them a short time and then selling them so I could buy fabric for the next garment. Soon I was sewing for friends. I was given the opportunity to design costumes for a play and ended up spending the next 25 years designing and sewing costumes. I worked alone and loved the experience. It was very hard work but I found I had a natural understanding of design, color, and construction. I had no trouble getting work.

We moved from the area I was working in to a more rural area and I decided I was not a gypsy so I retired. During the years of costuming I had been studying weaving. I had purchased several looms and thought I would spend my time creating new fabrics and designing wearable art. I sadly developed severe allergies to most of the fibers so started looking for other ways to express myself. I have always taken lots of classes in things like color study, embellishment, and of course weaving but one day at a conference I saw a short seminar on Silk Fusion by Karen Selk from Salt Spring Island, BC. I took it and fell in love with the technique of making sheets of silk by bonding them together. I have combined my weaving and embellishments knowledge with the silk fusion to create one of a kind art pieces.

I also love paper and a friend convinced me to join the NorthWest Collage Society and I now also work in collage. As a child I always loved paper but did not know that I could create art with it other than drawing. Imagine how excited I get now when I am working with it. That same friend got me to join the Contemporary QuiltArt Association even though I had only made one small wall quilt for my granddaughter. I have found that they are all much related in the way I approach them. It doesn’t matter if it is fabric or silk fiber or paper. When I am working in one of these three mediums I always think “Oh, this is the one I love most.” But I actually love all three and will continue to explore all of them. I now made four more small art quilts. Quilt making uses all those years at the sewing machine. I think I could sew blindfolded.

My studio is next to my house so it is a short walk to my haven. I never get tired of working there. It seems the rest of life gets in the way of my work but that is okay. I have been married for 50 years; have 4 sons and 4 daughter-in-laws and 7 grandchildren and one great grandson. All these things influence my work and why I work. I want to leave something more than the usual for my descendants. I want to leave a legacy of a creative spirit. On my web-site I have written “Creating is not an option, for me it is a passion, it is my life." 

Location:  Leavenworth, Washington, USA

Memberships: 

   NorthWest Collage Society

   Seattle Weavers Guild

   Contemporary QuiltArt Association

Languages spoken: English

"Desert Rhapsody" by Margaret C. Wheeler

Tags: weaving, beading, bowls, silk, paper, yarn, ribbon, quilt, paints, dolls

Emöke

http://emoke.free.fr

Forming the rhythm of different colors, shades and forms is fascinating. Rhythm (just like fiber) is there in all forms of life and connects them with the Universe.   When we see dancers, we can observe that the foot, the hand, the head, and the hip moves in geometric lines, curves, triangles, circles and ovals. This geometry, even if somewhat strict, never harms life, for it stands for freedom, not for forceful constraint or restriction. Order is not machine-like, but rhythmical, flowing like a dance.  Winter and summer, right and left, up and down, day and night all function In the name of this rhythm.

I have tried fibers and threads of different types, qualities and thickness, and different weaving techniques in order to produce different surfaces that are pleasant to the touch and pleasing to the eye. So instead of the usual notice “Don’t touch”, these tapestries should have one next to them that says: “Important to touch”.

 ***

La recherche du rythme entre les couleurs et les proportions est un travail passionnant. Le rythme, comme le fil, commande toute vie, et la lie à l'Univers. Quand on observe une danse, on s'aperçoit que les pieds, les bras, la tête, et les hanches bougent selon des lignes géométriques, en courbe, en triangle, en rond, en parabole. Ces formes géométriques, même quand il est le plus strict, ne peut outrager la vie, car il n'est pas sous le signe de la contrainte mais sous celui de la liberté. L'ordre n'est pas mécanique, mais rythmique semblable à la danse, il n'est jamais machinal, mais cadencé. L'hiver - l'été, la droite - la gauche, le haut - le bas, le jour - la nuit toujours en fonction au nom de ce rythme.

J’exploite des fils de différentes matières et de différentes épaisseurs, selon différentes techniques de tissage, pour obtenir des surfaces diversifiées, qu'on a envie de toucher C'est pour cela que près de mes tapisseries, au lieu de l'affichette habituelle « II est interdit de toucher », on devrait mentionner « Il est nécessaire de toucher ».

Location: Marseille and Paris, France

Social media: Facebook (personal page)
   MySpace

Languages spoken: French, Hungarian

"Le saut du Gaul" by Emöke
80 x 130 cm

Artisa 2008 Grenoble

Emoke | MySpace Video

Tags: workshops, weaving, tapestry, woven, pillows, rugs, wall hangings, europe, texture, wool

Yermit

http://www.yermits.com/

Yermit Art Dolls

Each Yermit softie is a hand crafted, unique stuffed animal. Plush cats, vampires, bears, people, zombies, spacemen, art dolls and whatever else I can come up with.

I am addicted to fabric and notions. I'm inspired by colour and texture and motion.

The Yermits surface out of whatever is in me that day that needs expression. I never use patterns, but I will sometimes have a vague idea in my head of  the statement I want to make. Sometimes I have a a vision of the finished product but often I'm just drawn to a piece of fabric and just start sewing.

I studied to be a children's book illustrator so I'm drawn to characters and story.  I like to use dolls as an artform because I think there is always an interesting narrative behind them. I love that when people fall in love with one of them they will think of it as a friend, with a personality of its own.

-Jenny Croal

Location: Guelph, Ontario, Canada
Online shop: Yermit

Blog: Yermits

Social Media: Twitter

Languages spoken: English

 Yermit Softies

Tags:  handmade, doll, art doll, softie, plush, fabric, unique, stuffed, one-of-a-kind, yermit

Anna Lisa Sorensen

www.shiboridesigns.etsy.com

My name is Anna Lisa Sorensen I am a fiber artist and designer. I currently work as a tie dye designer for an established T shirt printing company, I also do independent dye work that I sell online, in various brick and mortar venues and wholesale.  I hope you enjoy my creations as much as I enjoyed making them!

Artist's statement:  My entire adult life has been colored by dyes and driven by a desire to create. I have worked for many years designing tie dyed t-shirts and now I am trying to stretch the boundaries of my craft. I seek to unite the unpredictable beauty of hand dyed fibers with the elegance of good design. As an artisan I am exploring the intricacies of shibori as well as other dye techniques and utilizing the results to create unique designs in paper and fabrics.

You may find my work at  Waves of Creation (330 Main Street,  Wakefield,  Rhode Island) and 
Strandz (Putnam Pike Chepachet, Rhode Island).



Location:  Chepachet, Rhode Island, United States
Online Shop: Shibori Designs
Blog: Kaizen Journey
Memberships:
   The Fiber Focus Group
   Surface Design Web Ring
   Design Style Guide
Languages spoken:  English

Heat Set Ginko by Anna Lisa Sorensen

Tags: shibori, hand dyed, tie dye, resist dye, fiber, art, sewing, colorful, nature, experimental

Tracy Hudson

 

http://einesaite.blogspot.com

"I am a textile collector, researcher and artist who has lived in various parts of Asia and the U.S.  My eyes are always open to details of pattern and texture, my mind always absorbing the influences of my surroundings.

Any opportunity to discuss textile topics with others is a boon to me.  Our work with textiles can encourage the prominence and prosperity of this invaluable heritage in the world.

My own manifestations take the form of handspun yarns and garments created from them, in addition to quilts and dyed fabrics.  My designs are featured on Ravelry.com, and my blog shows a more personal (if sporadic) glimpse of my work ."


Artist statement: I am driven by textile-related dialogue and discovery.

It astounds and thrills me to touch cloth that has been worked by another's hands, in a distant culture or time.

To learn with my own hands, to produce original craft, within this global textile vocabulary – this is my life work.

Meanwhile, to continue the study of traditions, to document the textiles in context, to appreciate their role in the growth and perseverance of peoples – this is an ongoing fascination.

The two move hand-in-hand, the material study and execution; the intellectual reflection and research.

I dream of the time when the true value of textiles is acknowledged, when people and institutions revere this aspect of human culture and promote its study.


Location: Doha, Qatar
Blog: eine saite
Memberships/Sites:
   Textile Society of America
   Spin-Off Magazine
   Ravelry
Languages spoken: English, Hindi, Ladakhi, French, wee bits of several others....

 "Court Jester", an original design made by Tracy Hudson 

with her own handspun yarn.  

Pattern available on Ravelry.

TAGS:  tribal, resist dye, research, spinning, spindle, art, yarn, hands

Lynn's Texas Fibers

www.texasfiber.com

I sell beautiful fibers to feltmakers and spinners of all levels of experience.  Some of my current offerings are wools and wool blends (including handpainted), silk, bamboo and milk latte.

-Lynn Williams

Mission: My goal is  to provide fast, friendly service and quality products at a reasonable price.

Location: Pearland, Texas, USA
Online Shop: Texas Fiber
Memberships:
   The Contemporary Handweavers of Houston
   The Contemporary Handweavers of Texas
   Houston Area Fiberartists
   SAQA
Languages spoken: English, some French

Wonderful supplies available at Lynn's Texas Fibers
Sample from Chasing Rainbows Dyeworks

Tags:  Feltmaking, spinning, silk fiber, wool roving, hand dyeing, merino, bamboo, silk fusion, needlefelt, fiber

Something Else Studio

www.somethingelsestudio.com

"I'm living my Dreams :)  As a full time artisan I have the sheer joy of getting up each morning and working in my studio to create wearable art in the form of purses, pockets  and renaissance inspired accessories.  I have many more ideas then I have time to create them, so I look forward to bringing to my festivals new items and new designs each season.  When I set off to college as a returning adult student seventeen years ago I had every intention of becoming an Art & Skills For Living school teacher, but somewhere along the way I ran off and joined a very talented group of gypsies know as renaissance festival artisans!  It is a lot of work to create, promote and manufacture your own designs for my festivals and websites, but it's an adventure I wouldn't trade for anything.  So follow your dreams and BELIEVE in the magic of our own creative soul. 

~ I am a self-supporting artist. With hard working hands & a creative heart I have crafted into reality my dreams with imagination and perseverance. Thank you for supporting my journey ~"

Find me at Sterling Renaissance Festival, Sterling, NY  USA  and The Maryland Renaissance Festival, Crownville, MD  USA.

Artist's statement:  "In 1995 I opened my design studio where my love for art, history and imagination could all take flight. I works out of my home studio creating enchanted accessories for  Renaissance, Faerie & Art Festivals.

With the focus on accessories as wearable art, I design a very unique look that transform the wearer from function to Fancy.  Each One-of-A-Kind creation brings it's own enchanting finishing touch, all handcrafted with extra attention to every detail.

I have been creating for 30 years, gaining experience with medieval design by making costumes for Renaissance Festivals. I have spent time doing quilting, fabric dyeing, crewel, beadwork, and photography, all of which I employed when my son decided on a medieval-themed wedding. Now I use all of my diverse skills to offer you all the services of a medieval guild.

I graduated from Eastern Michigan University with a Bachelors Degree in Fine Art with a focus on graphic design and drawing. I love working in mixed media with painting, textiles, murals, photography, and plaster relief paintings on wood, resulting in dimensional artwork. Some of my painting become interactive as viewers open doors or press buttons to interact with the artwork."

-Jannelle Olmstead

Location: Palmyra, New York, USA

Online shops:

   Something Else Studio

   SEStudio on Etsy 

Memberships:

   Arts Cultural Council for Greater Rochester
   American Crafts Council
   Etsy Fantasy Artists Team 

Languages spoken: english & ren speak :)

Wearable Art by Something Else Studio

Tags:  purses, pocket, bag, wearable art, fabric painting, mixed media, fantasy, whimsical, original designs, historical