Feltwerker

http://www.feltwerker.com

Fiber Artist – recycling wool sweaters into wool felt; flower pins, fingerless gloves, scarves, pincushions, etc;

Felt making maniac since 2006. Denise has been drawn to making things since she first learned to knit at 10 years of age.

With an old washing machine, simple sewing machine and crochet hook she creates a myriad of felted objects with the intention of marrying beauty to function.

Denise can be found exhibiting her work throughout Chicagoland.

Artist's statement:  To create beautiful functional everyday objects.

Upcycling sweaters into felted objects satisfies Denise's desire to help the planet and work with beautiful natural fiber.

She strives to minimize waste and packaging in her business and uses recycled paper whenever possible.

Location:  Chicago, Illinois, USA

Online shops:

   feltwerker  (Etsy)
   feltwerker  (Artfire)

Blog:  feltwerker
Social media:  Twitter

Languages spoken:  English, Spanish

Recycled sweaters into accessories by Feltwerker.

Tags:  recycled, fiber, wool, felt, accessories, flower pins, brooches, felted wool, fingerless gloves, flower pin kit

Design Talented One

http://www.etsy.com/shop/designtalentedone

I love colors and whatever possible colors can go into a creation.  I sell supplies on Etsy and started out with yarns, then moved into silk sari ribbon, silk cocoons, silk sari ribbon yarns, cording and rope.  I will recycle saris and rip them into a ribbon and then create by knitting or crocheting it into something wonderful.  If I can't find a color I need I will dye it using environmentally safe dyes. 

I found a fair trade supplier in India who is now working on ribbons and silk thrum yarns for me.  I decided that it would be nice to share this love and supply that I have on Etsy and it has really taken off, leading me to meet other wonderful artists.  Sitting at the table, I think back, never in my dreams imagining that I could share this with others and have it grow into a live business as it has.  

I make purses, accessories and clothing that are out of the ordinary.  When you work with fibers and silk sari ribbon you step outside of the box!

Artist statement:  I hope to provide a creative vision, guidance, knowledge, motivation and inspiration to all ages.  While heightening passion for fiber art I hope to push the boundaries of silk sari ribbon use and fibers in all applications.  I aim to provide joy to those who embrace color and love wearable art.   I love recycling, bringing the old into a new creation.  Through all of this, I hope to understand what the other person sees and feels through my work. 

Location:   Illinois, United States

Online shop:  Design Talented One

Social Media: Ravelry, Facebook 

Languages spoken:  English

Silk Ribbon Supplies by Design Talented One

Tags:   silk sari ribbon, handspun yarns, silk hankies, cocoons, silk, felted items, flowers, jewelry, recycled items, scarves

Danny Mansmith

"My Shrine for Me" by Danny Mansmith

http://www.etsy.com/shop/SCRAPdannymansmith

Hello.

I'm an artist who, for the most part, is self taught.  Making art and working with my hands fuels me to be in this world.

So much of today's society doesn't appeal to me so I have turned to creating my own world in my art.

I really wish to share my art with others and try to inspire others to express themselves to follow their own paths.

Artist's statement:  Working with my hands has saved my life.

Instead of being the fastest or the smartest I found my strength, sanctuary and cushion from the world in making art.

My grandma gave me my first art lessons when I was very young. She sewed my clothes growing up and this influenced me to later teach myself how to use the sewing machine - allowing imperfections, emotions, and child like energies to fuel and inspire me to create.

Danny Mansmith's studio.

I want to push myself to make art with the things around me, to be resourceful and to follow my heart’s inspiration.

Making something wearable, drawing with sharpies or the sewing machine, sculpting, to creating installations that incorporate all of these elements has become my spirituality - my survival.

Location:  Chicago, Illinois, USA

Online shop:  SCRAPdannymansmith
Social media:  
   LinkedIn
   Facebook   (personal page)
Languages spoken:  English 

"Fabric Leaf Cut Out Necklace" by Danny Mansmith

Tags:   unique, individual, authentic, inventive, spiritual, installation art, sewing machine, self taught, resourceful, evolving, outsider art

Julaine Lofquist-Birch

www.etsy.com/shop/TheCreativeSpirit

My work in textiles has definitely been an extension of my life so far.  I'm very comfortable breaking the rules and challenging myself to see what's possible!  From my portfolio of eclectic mixed media pieces,  my art quilts that always tell a story, and my felted wearable accessories, one can be sure to find just the right piece to add to a collection, or to share as a gift.

Having sewn most of my life, it was about 15 years ago when the light came on and I knew that I needed to get my work out of the studio and into the fiber art world.  No regrets, I am not looking back!

If seen in my studio at home, I am usually adding color or stitch to materials that sometimes border on the unusual. A friend once told me that I was a ""deconstructionist"" and to that end, I am proud to say that I have a ""healthy disregard for materials!""

I love dyeing fibers - cotton, silk, rayon, linen and wool roving.  I have a passion for adding color with artists' crayons to whatever comes to mind and can spend a whole afternoon doing this, wondering along the way what to do with these interesting pieces!

As a part-time volunteer curator for our church's art group and together with artist friends, we have hosted 6 exhibits each in the last two years.  This has been a wonderful experience and is so inspiring to me to see our members and other local artists come forth and share their beautiful art with us.

One of the other sides of life involves teaching what I have learned - I teach art classes for adults and children at the Rockford Art Museum and at other venues. It's wonderful to experience that ""a-ha"" moment when students realize that they are indeed artists.

I am inspired by life and the movement all around me, whether it is in the people I love and meet, in nature and spirituality, and always humor.  This sometimes mature woman seeks and finds the little girl inside and is always ready to play.

My work can be found at:

   Celebration Room Gallery at Emmanuel Lutheran Church, Rockford, Illinois

   Art2Go Gallery Shop, Womanspace, Rockford, Illinois

   The Bomb Shop, Rockford, Illinois

Location:  Rockford, Illinois, USA

Online shop:  TheCreativeSpirit

Blog:  julaine 

Memberships:  Artful Quilters, Ravelry

Languages spoken:  English

Mixed Media Series by Julaine Lofquist-Birch

Tags:  art quilts, textiles, fiber art, wearable art, mixed media, nuno felt, hand dyed, teaching, accessories, beading

Pamela Penney Textile Arts

www.pamelapenney.com

Fiber, textiles, yarn and color have always been an integral part of life for Pamela Penney.  Her mother was an accomplished seamstress and quilter and had a large trunk of fabric that Pam would explore as a young girl.  She loved playing with the colors and the textures. Pam soon begged her mother to teach her to knit and sew at a very young age and both have been a passion for Pam ever since.  In high school Pam began to design and create her own garments combining sewing and knitting techniques.  Her interest in art, color, design, math and physics led Pam to study architecture and get her BA degree in Interior Design.  After several years designing corporate interiors Pam chose to develop her textile art business while at the same time raising her two children and doting on her husband, dog and cat.

Pamela Penney started her business out of her home when her children were young, designing and creating one-of-a-kind garments for women and children.  Using hand and machine knits, hand dyed and hand painted fabrics with crocheted edgings and beaded embellishments, each item became a work of art. In 2003, after several years working at home, Pam opened her studio on Harrison Street in Oak Park, Illinois.  This gave her the opportunity to expand the gallery space to show the artwork of several regional artists as well as offer more classes and improve her own studio working space.  She continues to grow and develop her business in the vibrant and funky Oak Park Arts District just outside of Chicago, Illinois.

Artist's statement:  Finding time to create is essential to my health and well being and I believe it is for everyone.  That is why I feel strongly that I must share my passion with others through teaching the textile art techniques that I find so enjoyable.  I’m interested in exploring a wide variety of techniques and looking for ways to incorporate them together in new and unique ways.  My work combines hand and machine knits, crochet, embroidery, fabric and yarn dying, wet-felting, needle-felting and salvaged woolens and cashmeres.  My credo:  Don’t box me in to one technique!  My current work combines the eco-friendly salvaged fabrics and the beauty of wet felted wools.  I love adding a dimension of hand and machine stitching and beading to give more texture and interest to my felted pieces.
 
In addition to producing her own artwork, Pam has been teaching for over 25 years to both children and adults and loves to ignite the spark of creativity in others.  She finds teaching is a path to continual learning for both her students and for herself.

Location:  Oak Park, Illinois, USA

Online shops: 

   pamelapenney on Etsy
   pamela-penney-textile-arts on smashing darling
   pamelapenney on mybisi

Brick and Mortar:

   Pamela Penney Textile Arts
   130 Harrison Street
   Oak Park, Illinois  60304
   (just outside of Chicago, Illinois)

Blog:  pamelapenney 

Memberships/Important links:

   Illinois Artisan Program
   Oak Park Arts District
   Visit Oak Park

Languages spoken:  English

Art to Wear by Pamela Penney Textile Arts

Tags: fiber art, nuno-felting, multi-media, art-to-wear, textile artist, dyeing, knitting, embellishment, teaching, chicago artist

MarketPlace: Handwork of India

www.marketplaceindia.com

MarketPlace: Handwork of India is a nonprofit organization dedicated to increasing economic opportunities for women artisans in India, and empowering them to bring about changes in their lives, the lives of their families, and their communities.

Our clothes are rooted in a long tradition of artisan work, rather than based on fleeting trends. Reflecting classic styling, our designs are fresh and versatile.

“Leadership By Design” sums up our strategy. Planning and controlling every aspect of production has given women basis skills that they use in planning other aspects of their lives and taking initiatives in community actions, their children’s schools, and changing relationships between them and their husbands and children, especially their daughters.

Women are involved in design workshops, executing plans for production, the entire quality control, and managing the transfer of skills. MarketPlace is currently working with 14 cooperatives, representing over 480 artisans, most of who are women. The clothing and textile products made by these groups are marketed in the U.S. through an attractive catalog, website and a number of specialty and clothing stores. Sales in the U.S. in 2008 was almost $1 million.

Location: Evanston, Illinois, USA
Online shop: marketplaceindia
Blog: marketplacehandworkofindia
Memberships: MarketPlace is well recognized in the Fair Trade Movement and was one of the founding members of the Fair Trade Federation and is a member of the World Fair Trade Organization.
Social Media: Twitter, YouTube
Languages spoken: English

Reversible jackets by MarketPlace: Handwork of India

Tags: fair trade, veggie dyes, embroidered clothing, cotton clothing, Indian clothing, economic development, Mumbai, SHARE

Brenda Abdullah

http://Brendaabdullah.com

I am an artist joyfully striving to live out the fullness of my creative self. After raising a large family,  I am finally at the point in life in which all of my waking time can be spent on creating or thinking about making beautiful and practical clothing from uncommon resources.

I've been a lover of arts and crafts since childhood . As a young adult, I attended various  art schools and later graduated with a B.S. in Arts and Crafts.  I honed all of my self taught sewing skills, while working  my own business as a custom dressmaker for about 25 years. Today  my two passions, art and sewing,  have been fused together.  I  now create and sell one of a kind wearable art and accessories from my Etsy shop, Brendaabdullah.etsy.com. I also  participate in several yearly art shows in the Chicago land area.

Most of my garments are the result of an organic design process in which the colors and the textures of the selected materials dictate the design. I may have a general idea of the shape or form, however the details and end results are always a pleasant surprise to me. This freedom is extremely gratifying and inspires me to do it again and again. Positive feedback from customers make the whole process even more rewarding.

For me, I find a unique advantage of using pre-owned clothing in the creation of my designs. There are endless possibilities in fabric variety and a basic practicality of reusing materials already available. That only adds to the rewarding benefits of  doing the work that I love.

Artist's statement:  I am an Eco-conscious artist/designer of high quality one-of-a-kind wearable art using re-purposed clothing. Through the use of gently used clothing and vintage textiles, I bring together fashionable silhouettes with artistic fabric collage and coloration. Each garment is a study of color and textural relationships and stands as a testament of my love for beautiful textiles no matter from where they were originally derived.

Location:  Chicago, Illinois, United States

Online shop:  brendaabdullah 

Languages spoken:  English

Sweater Coat by Chicago Clothing Designer,

Brenda Abdullah

 

Tags:  reconstructed sweaters, sweater coats, repurposed clothing,wearable art, patchwork scarves,  fingerless gloves, knit tunics, accessories

Judy Coates Perez

"Primordial Sea"  Art Quilt by Judy Coates Perez

http://judyperez.blogspot.com

I am a mixed media textile artist living in Chicago. I teach workshops in art quilt and mixed media techniques nationally and internationally. I have written numerous articles for Quilting Arts and Cloth Paper Scissors magazines, have three instructional DVD's available from Interweave, and have been a guest multiple times on Quilting Arts TV.

You can see my art quilts at art-quilt-portfolio  and my mixed media work at mixed-media-portfolio.

Artist's statement:  One part gypsy and two parts visual alchemist, I believe that all the places I have lived have in many ways taken up residence in me and manifest in the diversity of my work. Exploring themes drawn from folklore, history and nature, I enjoy working in a variety of media. Often blending quilting skills with techniques drawn from my graphic arts background, I use textile paints, dyes, inks, acrylic powders, artist’s pencils and occasionally stitch metal onto my fabric. 

Location:  Chicago, Illinois, USA

Blogs:  judyperez, paintedthreadsprojects

Other social media:  facebook (personal page)

Memberships/links:  

   SAQA 
   PAQA 
   LinkedIn  
   Behance 

Languages spoken:  English

"Moon Garden"  Art Quilt by Judy Perez

Tags:  Art quilts, mixed media, painting, wholecloth painted quilts, wholecloth art quilts, sewing metal, quilting

Allison Svoboda

"Assembling", painting on silk by Allison Svoboda

www.allisonsvoboda.com

In my artwork I use simple materials; ink and paper or silk.  The paper pieces are collaged into large scale works with lots of texture.  I first create 100's of smaller paintings and then work into the composition through collage.  When I work on silk, I manipulate the surface with stitching.

I have shown in many galleries throughout Chicago and the Midwest such as ARC, Womanmade, Coalition Gallery, Artropolis and the Art Prize.  I am represented by Soho Myriad out of Los Angeles, London and Atlanta.  My pieces are in collections though out the United States, Europe and Israel.

Artist's Statement: There is an inherent ethereal quality working on paper, especially rice paper.  It’s unpredictable nature; fragile yet resilient lends an intuitive nature to my work.  Examining our natural world, I look at the fractals in a leaf’s structure to the branching of a tree in the dead of winter.

Other influences in my work come from the ethnographic textiles of Asia.  Their simple geometric shapes are often a meditation on nature. Having spent many years in Asia working with remote tribes as an ethnographic art dealer, I am forever inspired by the artisan’s traditions.  For example, I worked with ikat weavers in Sumba for several years; much of their imagery such as the fertility symbol, the mamuli is derived directly from nature.

The rhythm, symmetry and repetition of the patterns in nature and ethnographic images illustrate the lifecycle renewing itself.   Finding these patterns and closely examining them inspires my work.

Location: Chicago, Illinois, USA

Memberships: 

   Chicago Artist Coalition

   Soho Myriad

   George Lowel
Blog: Allison Svoboda

Languages spoken: English, French

"Branching", painting on silk by Allison Svoboda

Tags: ink, paper, stitched, wax, black and white, botanical, abstract, Asian, landscape, silk

 

Jacque Davis Textile Arts

Fugitive Dust by Jacque Davis

21 x 20

www.jacquedavis.com

What can I say?  ...I love cloth! Whether it is painting, stitching or rusting it to create my own cloth to be used in art quilts made to hang on the wall.

My one of a kind art to wear designs are created using discharge pastes and objects found in nature,  thrift stores, or parking lots (a great source for lost earrings and funky shaped rusty metal).  Dyeing silk scarves is my hot weather treat . I am passionate about the bright vivid colors created in dye baths in my outdoor studio.

Teaching surface design and dyeing is a love.  Students teach me so much and I love to see them light up when they try something new.

Artist's statement:  Every person’s mind builds images while asleep or day dreaming. This language helps us to process and communicate our thoughts and feelings. Even as our dreams are uniquely ours, they have a thread of the everyday world in them. It is this thread that allows us to recognize the common language spoken in dreams.

Cloth, paint, and thread provide the perfect tools to capture the evocative nature of the dream world. Cloth, soft and familiar to us all, provides the foundation. Thread connects the layers and lies visible on the surface, and paint can highlight or shadow an image adding another layer of interest.

My art work is a celebration of our connection to one another. When the separateness created by culture, society, and life disappears for a time, together we can rest in a quiet familiar place.

Location:  Freeburg, Illinois, USA

Online store: website

Blogs: Jacque Lynn Davis, Gallery Threads 

     and Fiber Artists Coalition (group blog)  

Other social media: Facebook (personal page)

Memberships: Fiber Artists Coalition. SAQA,  

     Surface Design Association 

Languages spoken: igPay atinLay  HA!

 

Summer Unraveled by Jacque Davis

20.5 x 26

Tags:  surface design, dyeing, color, cloth, stitch, paint , discharge dyeing, dancing, textiles, rust