Lotta Helleberg

www.lottahelleberg.com

I am a Swedish born textile artist with a background in graphic design and print making. I work primarily with linen utilizing a technique in which leaves and other plant material are coated with paint and pressed onto fabric. I am also exploring natural dyes and eco-printing, where the plants themselves release color pigments which bond with the fabric. The resulting impressions are incorporated into quilts, fabric collages, and a variety of functional and decorative objects, such as pillows, table linens, and purses.

The beauty of nature is a constant inspiration and a common theme in my work. I am also committed to environmentally sound production methods, including the use of water based, non-toxic inks and dyes, and natural, or reclaimed fabric. All my pieces are created by hand in my Charlottesville, Virginia, studio.  My work can also be found at The Barn Swallow in Ivy, Virginia.

Artist's Statement:  I am in awe of the natural world and the beauty it produces. I try to reflect a sense of that amazement in my art, by using and replicating imagery from nature in my dyes and prints. I also cherish the slow process involving dyeing, printing, and stitching by hand. Ultimately I believe that the objects we surround ourselves with should be both purposeful and beautiful. Something well made and delightful will bring joy into our everyday lives.

Location:  Charlottesville, Virginia, USA

Online shops:  Etsy, Big Cartel

Blog:  inleaf

Memberships:  Fiber Transformed

Languages spoken:  English, Swedish

 "fallow fields no 1" by Lotta Helleberg

leaf printed plant dyed linen, machine stitched

reclaimed oak frame, 15" x 15"

  

Tags: leaf printing, eco printing, handmade, linen, art quilt, fiber collage, botanical, natural dyes, stitching, textile

 

Cath Stonard

"Summer Squall" by Cath Stonard
cathstonardtextileart.com

Most of what I do is purely textile based art to hang on walls. I occasionally dabble in jewellery, mainly brooches, or greeting cards, and these are made mainly for family and friends. I have exhibited locally in a small gallery, and I also belong to a small art group, and have shared exhibitions with them. Time is my main enemy,as I still work three days a week, but with retirement just around the corner, I hope to extend my repertoire. 

Artist's Statement:  My passion is for cloth, texture, colour, thread, dye, paint, putting them together in various proportions, experimenting, playing and generally thoroughly enjoying myself. Sometimes I will translate landscapes, seascapes, flowers, or a still life with these mediums, and other times I will allow these materials to speak to me, inspiring a piece of work that is more abstract. I also enjoy the unexpected results that can occur from a spontaneous approach.

Location:  Carshalton Beeches, Surrey, UK

Blog:  stitchclothcolour

Memberships: 
   kairos-artists
   Contemporary Quilt Yahoogroup 

Languages spoken:  English

"Woodland Walk", Art Quilt by Cath Stonard

Hilde Arts

http://weaving-arts.blogspot.com/

Hilde Arts lives and works in Antwerp, Belgium. She is an independent artist and works as a weaving and textile teacher for several institutions.  She has a degree in  Product Development (Industrial Design) but was born an artist. Yarn and fiber were a revelation.

Constructing textiles became an obsession. From the very start of her weaving career she was intrigued by the complexity and possibilities of Jacquard weaving . This is the focus of her present work.

Artist's Statement:  Being an artist, designer and hand weaver,  my interest goes out to complex weaving structures. I work on shaft looms (ranging from 4 to 24  harnesses) and an electronic hand jacquard loom (TC1).

I seek innovation in visual experiences through use of structure, color and form. My work is  a constant evolution of study in these three aspects, the relation and interaction between them. 

Location:  Antwerp, Belgium

Blog:  weaving-arts

Facebook:  personal page
Other social media:  LinkedIn 

Memberships:

   European Textile Network
   Textile Society of America
   Complex Weavers

Languages Spoken:  Nederlands (Dutch), English, Français  (French)

 Weaving by Hilde Arts

Tags:  weaving, jacquard, dye

Floris Flam

"Currents" by Floris Flam

www.florisflam.com

I learned to sew as a child, but didn’t discover the world of art quilts until 1986. The world of fiber art quickly became my passion. My work is inspired by the geometry of the world around me, both natural and man-made. Some of my work is realistic, based on my own photographs; other work is abstract and improvisational. I enjoy using a wide range of fabrics and quilting threads and have increasingly incorporated my own dyed and painted fabric in my quilts. Most of my wall hangings are small, well suited for the home or office.

My work is sold at the Potomac Fiber Arts Gallery in the Torpedo Factory, Alexandria, VA and at the Fiber Art Studio @ VisArts in Rockville, MD and has been exhibited in local and regional shows in the Washington, DC area.  Many of my quilts are in private collections. 

Artist's Statement:  I work improvisationally, using either a collage technique or free form machine piecing.  My work starts with color and fabric and proceeds interactively as I add or take away fabrics and shapes until I’ve achieved a pleasing composition.  I machine quilt my work to reinforce the composition and to add a further layer of interest.  My quilts often hint of architecture and of forms receding into space.  I strive for an overall impression of balance and serenity.

Location:  Bethesda, Maryland, USA

Memberships:

   Studio Art Quilt Associates
   Surface Design Association
   Potomac Fiber Arts Gallery

Languages spoken:  English

"Autumn View" by Floris Flam

Tags:  art quilts, abstract, architecture, USA: Maryland, Surface Design, hand dyed

KnittyKnittyBangBang

http://knittyknittybangbang.etsy.com

Janie Bull and Ashley Ammons have known each other for nearly 25 years.  Ashley and Janie's eldest daughter, Amanda have been best friends for the span of that time as well.  This is how Ashley and Janie are ""related."" 

When Janie moved up to the Fort Worth area to be closer to her girls, she brought all of her knitting with her, naturally.  So this rekindled Ashley's love of knitting.  Janie and Ashley began their Etsy shop, KnittyKnittyBangBang, during the spring of 2008 and have been going strong ever since.

We both specialize in knitted apparel and accessories.  Janie prides herself in being an expert sock knitter while Ashley likes to crank out the hats and scarves.  Every item is knit by hand with knitting needles.  When they say ""handmade,"" boy do they mean it!

Ashley and Janie welcome custom orders and want to see their customers happy with the product they've purchased.

Ashley and Janie are typical knitters who love to buy good quality yarn.  Recently, they've become fans of spinners and yarn dyers on Etsy.  Ashley has branched off into her own ""solo career"" as a spinner and yarn dyer herself.  This couldn't have been possible without a little help from her future husband, Erik, who bought her an Ashford Traditional Spinning Wheel for Christmas (2010).  She's been spinning ever since.  You can find her Etsy shop at dye2spin.

Artist's statement:  It is the mission of KnittyKnittyBangBang to create a high-quality hand-knit product for its customers.  This mission is fulfilled using yarns and other materials that not only speak to them as knitters but also work up into a premiere product.

Location:  Fort Worth, Texas, USA

Online shops:  knittyknittybangbang, dye2spin

Blog:  knittyknittybangbangetsy

Ravelry: knittybangetsy

Memberships:

   Etsy Knitters Team

   Etsy Fiber Arts Street Team (Etsy FAST)
   Etsy Fort Worth Street Team

Languages spoken:  English

KnittyKnittyBangBang by Janie Bull and Ashley Ammons

Tags:  knitting, handmade, socks, hats, scarves, afghans, local, merino, wool, texas

 

Kathryn Clark Fine Art

www.kathrynclark.com

Kathryn Clark lives and works in San Francisco. She worked as an urban designer and architect for seven years before becoming a full time artist in 2005. She has a degree in Interior Architecture, but has been an artist for over twenty years.

Her art revolves around reminding people of the beauty of simplicity and awareness of time. Although trained as a painter, her studio slowly became full of remnants of yarn, wire and stacks of linen and burlap. One day, she put the paints and paintbrushes away, pulled out the fabrics and began sewing and layering thread. These tools express the time and effort it takes to create each piece while emphasizing simplicity.

Artist's Statement:  From 1999 to 2004, I worked for a private urban planning firm designing New Urbanist neighborhoods throughout the US.  In 2007, as foreclosures began to occur I questioned the development work I had made during those years. Did I add to this in some way? I was aware early on that these foreclosures were just the beginning of something bigger yet I felt alone when I mentioned it. Few agreed with me or seemed concerned.

I needed to find a way to bring this into my artwork but was unsure how. I wanted to map the affects of this crisis to show viewers who might be unaware how severe the problem has become. Making quilts seemed an ironic solution to this question. It is during times of hardship that people have traditionally made quilts, often resorting to scraps of cloth when so poor they could not afford to waste a single thread of fabric. Foreclosed lots are shown as holes in these quilts. Frequently, half the lots within a block have been foreclosed upon.  These holes question the protective nature of a quilt. Times are so hard now that even a quilt can’t provide the security one needs. The neighborhoods shown are not an anomaly, they are a recurring pattern seen from coast to coast, urban to suburban neighborhoods across the US. The problem has not been solved, it is still occurring, just changing shape, affecting more of us.

Location:  San Francisco, California, USA

Blog:  kathrynclark
Other social media:  twitter

Languages spoken:   English

Foreclosure Boro: Las Vegas, 2011. 12" x 36" 

by Kathryn Clark

Tags:  linen, minimal, conceptual, quilt, boro, pojagi,  fine art, natural, abstract, fiber art