Kathie Briggs

www.kathiebriggs.com

My love of fabrics began when I made my own dress for a 7th grade party. Over the years I’ve enjoyed sewing fashion and home dec projects and designing fiber art dolls but my passion is creating textile artwork inspired by the flora and fauna of northern Michigan where every season bring new wonders.

I am fascinated by the interplay of color, form and texture.  My artwork sometimes includes tactile elements like beading and layering as well as dimensional components such as wired leaves.  I enjoy combining my own hand-dyed and painted fabric with a wide variety of commercial fabrics. 

My work has been exhibited in galleries, art centers and at national and international quilt shows; and has been featured in books and magazines. I am a member of, the Charlevoix Circle of Arts, the Crooked Tree Art Center, and the Jordan River Arts Center, and a professional artist member of the Studio Art Quilt Associates.

In addition to my artwork I offer a variety of art workshops including "Creating Strong Compositions" and "Capturing the Muse," as well as several art doll workshops.

Artist's statement:   It's the visual and tactile texture of fabric enhanced by the impression made by the stitch that induces me to create art with fiber.

 

Location:  Charlevoix, Michigan, USA

Blog:  kathiebriggs
Other social media:  LinkedIn 

Memberships:  

   Studio Art Quilt Associates
   Fiber Artists Coalition

Languages spoken:  English

"Polyphemus Moth", 40" x 28", by Kathie Briggs

"Heron on a Stump",  28"x 40", by Kathie Briggs

Tags:  Textile Art, Fiber Art, Art Quilts, Art Dolls, Nature, Layers, Seasons, Wildlife, Michigan

Sally Manke Fiber Artist

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

Despite my high energy level, there is never enough time to create all the ideas bouncing around in my head!

Fiber and creativity have been a part of my life since a very young age. I created a pattern from newspaper then sewed my first garment on a Singer Featherweight at around the age of eight. An undergraduate degree in home economics and a master in art lead to a twenty-five year career teaching art and life skills (current idiom for home economics).

Although, I enjoy crafting traditional quilts, dolls and holiday items, my passion is fiber art. A perfect day is one spent in my home studio with fabric spread far and wide creating confetti art. Confetti quilts bring together color and texture with the skill and methods of stitching layers of fabric. Each confetti quilt has thousands and thousands of tiny bits of batik fabric “painted” on quilt batting and backing. Inspiration comes another pastime; hiking trails and beaches here in Michigan or on far flung family vacations.

My confetti quilts have been in several juried local quilt shows here in northwest Michigan and Wisconsin. Additionally, my quilts have been selected for display at the International Quilt Festival in Chicago, Long Beach and Houston. I teach at quilt shops and quilt guilds.

Artist's statement:  My mission it to delight others with textile art that allow for my joyful, creative expression with color and texture.

Location:  Arcadia, Michigan, USA

Online shop:  SallyManke

Memberships:

   International Quilt Association
   American Quilter’s Society
   Quiltsy Team on Etsy

Languages spoken:  English 

"Autumn Trees", Art Quilt by Sally Manke

Tags:  fiber art, art quilt. textile art, confetti quilt technique, machine quilting, wearable art, landscape artist, fine art, color, texture

Fairytale Incorporated

www.fairytaleincorporated.com

In a one hundred year old barn perched upon a sand dune in Saugatuck Michigan, there you will find Fairytale Incorporated. Inside you will discover the divine madness of a buzzing sewing machine, a lovely alchemist that resides in the form of a kiln, and the most important ingredient of all, wild laughter and humming happiness.   All allowing  the production of delightful accouterments for the heart, home and soul.   

-Lesa Werme

"Be with those who help your being."  

-Rumi

"To draw, you must close your eyes and sing."  

-Pablo Picasso

Location:  Saugatuck, Michigan, USA

Online shop: fairytaleinc

Blogs: fairytaleincorporated, fairytaletreasury

Languages spoken:  English

  Fabric Treasure Box by Fairytale Incorporated

Tags: jewelry box, recipe box, fabric, quilted, fabric covered, lamp shade

Anna Kocherovsky

“Passage” tapestry by Anna Kocherovsky

21”x 61”

www.tapestrystudio.com

“Floating” tapestry by Anna Kocherovsky

36”x 48”

Educated at Moscow’s School of Visual Art, I turned to hand-woven tapestries in the search of a fresh visual language and a distinct process I could call my own.  

Resident of Michigan from 1989, I am working as a studio artist, designing and weaving tapestries. From that time, I exhibited my work in the numerous shows in Michigan and as well nationally. I also participated in the special projects, such as “Inaugural Lady Liberty Project” for ACLU of Michigan (2006) Detroit, Memorial Tapestry (2003), Purim Flag for the JCC in Manhattan, NY (2002) and completed several commissions.

My work is soft, quiet and reflective. I am very much interested in mythology, especially Jewish mythology and traditions; because it is very vivid and reflects who I am.  I love to read and often it gives a starting impulse for the new work.

Artist's Statement:  When exploring the theme for my new tapestry, I produce numerous drawings to experiment and clarify the idea for the new work. I enjoy the energy and spontaneity of process of drawing and want to carry the same element of excitement in my tapestries. 

Location:  West Bloomfield, Michigan, USA

Membership: The American Tapestry Alliance

Languages spoken: English

“Tree of Life” tapestry by Anna Kocherovsky

40”x 43”

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

Teri D. Springer

Cinque Terra - Manarola by Teri D. Springer

http://www.teridspringer.com

I am a retired nurse who is reinventing myself in my first real interest as an artist.  I work primarily in fabric and thread making studio art quilts but I also work with yarn, odd fibres, beads, wood, found objects, etc.  I have no set theme for my work.  I really love to depict the seashore of Nova Scotia in abstract terms but I also enjoy depicting other aspects of nature and architecture.

Artist's Statement:  Over the years I have worked to find my “artistic voice.”  I have studied with great art quilters and artists in other mediums throughout this journey and have finally concluded that my work, like my life, is meant to be eclectic and, well, somewhat ADD.  While I love working in the abstract as I find it very freeing, making images taken from both nature and man sometimes requires a more realistic approach to convey.  Thus, my work continues to evolve and maintain a multi-phase personality that I use willingly and enthusiastically; whatever it takes , both in image and use of materials to get my thoughts and feelings across.


Locations: Chester, Nova Scotia Canada
    and Richland, Michigan, USA
Brick and Mortar Shop: I have a 600 sq ft. gallery in the Park Trades Centre in Kalamazoo, MI where I sell my own work and the work of several other artists.  Currently I have fibre art and hand-made furniture.
Blog: Snow Moon Studios- Adventures in Fibre and Thread
Memberships:
   SAQA (Studio Art Quilt Associates)- Regional Co-rep for Atlantic Canada
   SDA- Surface Design Association
   PTCAA (Park Trades Center Artist's Association)
Languages spoken: English

Canadian Sunrise: The View from Frieda''s Beach 

by Teri D. Springer

Tags: Art Quilts, Fibre Art, Nature, Architecture, Sea, Sailing, Ships, Nova Scotia, Coastal

Chandra Stubbs

www.chandrastubbs.com

I have been a professional artist since 1997.  I travel all over the United States showing my work at juried exhibitions, fine artand fine craft shows.

My formal training is mostly in ceramic arts, but my love of textile and the process of needle felting has brought about my new body of work "porcelain + felt".  I was introduced to the world of fiber by my sister Heather.  She is a veterinarian and very successful Shetland sheep breeder. Windswept Farms is the ideal place to fall in love with the process of sheering, dying, spinning, weaving, and felting, and I did!

Working with the wool has been a rejuvenating experience for me in the studio. I work very spontaneously, creating each piece specifically for each porcelain ring or grouping. I create the felt from Merino rovings, cut designs, and build my fabric as I needle felt layers of color and texture.  I enjoy the contrast of working with the dry wool and am still in awe of the process.

All of my porcelain is hand made. Large rings are thrown on the wheel. Smaller rings are extruded and hand sliced and finished. I use a clear Celadon glaze and fire the clay to cone 9.  I like the way the porcelain frames my felt.  There is a real familiarity in the combination of the two mediums that I can not explain. 

The whole body of work is still young. I am still exploring and learning.  I expect great growth and look forward to things that come!

You can find my work at Pewabic Pottery, Detroit, Mi. and the Jill Underhill Gallery, Harbert, Mi.

Visit with me in person and see my work at various art and craft shows across the country. My web site has my current show calendar.

Location: Sawyer, Michigan, USA

Memberships/Links: The Craft Council, Wind Swept Farms
Languages spoken: English, some Spanish

 

"Acorns" by Chandra Stubbs

Chandra Stubbs on Facebook

Tags:  felt wall art, ceramic wall art, felt bowl, decorative felt, ceramic + felt, porcelain + felt, felt and ceramic, felt and porcelain