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

Katherine K Allen

"Almost Alone" by Katherine K Allen
53" x 60"
Acrylic Paint and Screen Print Inks on Cotton

 www.KatherineKAllen.com

I am an artist who uses painting, stitching, photography and writing to explore plants, birds and landscape. My artworks are inspired by my experiences in the natural world. I spend a lot of time listening to nature while in my kayak, walking the woods, or riding my bicycle.  I believe art can provide a healing, joyful space and fills a fundamental human need.

I am interested in making connections with people who feel that art is the most interesting subject there is, that making things by hand must endure, and that cherishing nature can help to preserve it.

I love working with individual and corporate clients to create site specific art.  I enjoy exhibiting,  making new works, photographing nature and writing about art, art making and artists.

Art may be purchased directly from me at my studios in Easton, Maryland and Fort Lauderdale, Florida.  I welcome visitors.  Please contact me to arrange a visit.  Or,  you may contact my gallery in Scottsdale, Arizona, www.cervinihaas.com.

Artist's Statement: My art is a meditation on Nature.   From garden, wetlands and woods I gather the raw materials I use in creating my "soft paintings".  These imaginary botanicals and abstracted landscapes are begun by painting and printing in multiple layers on un-stretched silk or cotton canvas.   With machine and hand stitching I work into and through the painted surface.  Marks made by hand, brush and stitch interweave with natural forms from the earth to communicate memory, emotion and my philosophy of co existence in harmony with nature.  My goal is to create an evocative artwork that nourishes mind, eye and spirit in equal measure.


Locations:  Easton, Maryland, USA and Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, USA
Online shop: KatherineKAllen
Blog:  softart
Social Media: Facebook, LinkedIn
Memberships:
   Fiber Artists Collective            
   Surface Design Association
   Nature Printing Society
Languages spoken: English

 "Blue Moon " by Katherine K Allen
51" x 49"
Acrylic Paint and Screen Print Inks on Silk

 

Tags: Zen, Graphic, Fiberart, Meditative, Art Quilt, Sumi, Asian, Silhouette, Green, Plantscape

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

Judy Jordan

http://judyjordanart.com/

I am a mixed media artist.  I often use fiber as my medium of choice in portraying a female figure in a biographical way with some emotive content.  My love of fiber has led me to placing my figurative images on fabric using various transfer and printing methods.  I have also used stitching, collage, painting and quilting in these works.

Location: Annapolis, Maryland, USA
Memberships: SoWeBoArts
Languages spoken: English, Some Spanish

 

Controlled by Judy Jordan

Two Sided Black and White by Judy Jordan

Tags: feminine imagery, wall hangings, womens issues, figurative, mosaic, birds, nature, stained glass, folk art, sculptures

Aynex Mercado

www.aynex.com

I started quilting in 1998. At first I did some traditional quilts but very quickly got bored following directions and patterns. I started adding my own ideas to patterns until I wasn't using patterns at all, working exclusively on art quilts. I have exhibited at the International Quilt Festival in Houston and The American Quilters Society Quilt Show in Paducah among others. I was the KY/TN Regional Representative for Studio Art Quilts Associates.

In 2008 my life changed and my main focus now is web design and graphic design although I still create quilts. As a quilter and web/graphic designer, I understand the needs of fiber artists better in terms of promotion and marketing their art. I would be happy to help other textile/fiber art businesses achieve a more professional image on the web and in print.

Location: Frederick, Maryland, USA
Blog: Aynex
Social Media: 
     Facebook, Twitter, YouTube
Languages spoken: English, Spanish

Matera by Aynex Mercado

 

   One of the many videos Aynex made when she lived in Paducah.
This one features Caryl Bryer Fallert.

Tags: art, quilt, graphic design, web design, abstract, architecture, maryland, quilting, designer

Debbie Babin

www.studioquilts.com

Working with my hands is vital and nourishes my artistic soul.

Concepts develop from deep within my mind and are translated through cloth.  Colorful handmade textile art is what I am known for. I love discovery and prefer to work spontaneously; I never know what might spark a creative train of thought.  The results are fun and joyful.  Comments on my work mostly pertain to the colors and combinations I use.

 

I have two individual art focuses:

1-Contemporary designs-which include painted surfaces machine stitched and often include mixed media such as painted paper

2-Conservative designs developed primarily with hand stitching.  The look can range from contemporary to somewhat retro.

My goals are to produce the best art I can.  Most of what I create is available to purchase; however, this is not my primary focus.  I prefer to focus on the content and the end result; holding myself to a very high standard, personal levels that I have set.  The challenges I set for myself fuel my energies for juried exhibits which are important to me.  Over the last ten years my work has been accepted into numerous National and International exhibits; I am very proud of this. 

An art collector will respect the levels of accomplishment that I strive for. Anyone who loves color and dynamic designs will appreciate having my art hanging in their home or office.  Attractive, high energy, striking colors describe my work. 

Debbie is a full time professional artist. Her main body of artwork is exhibited in the galleries on her website.   A separate gallery-blog Zen Cloth presents hand stitched art cloth. She also offers Textile art courses online.

Artist Statement

My passion for textile art is fueled by my love of adventure. I consider making art to be the greatest adventure; for the opportunities are limitless.

Location: Southern Maryland, USA

Online Stores: See galleries on my website,  Zen Cloth

Blog: Zen Cloth

Memberships:  Studio Art Quilts Association
Languages spoken:  English 

Net Profit by Debbie Babin

Tags: Fiber, Fabric, Studio, Slow Cloth, Slow Stitch