PATTERNS AND TONES

"Riverside County Fair and International Date Festival No. 1 "  It's that time of year when the county fairs of California begin to entertain and amuse us with sounds, smells, tastes and thrills. This year I started out by going to the Riverside County Fair and International Date Festival out in the desert community of Indio last month. This is the first county fair of the year and even though it was held in February, it was particularly warm. I'm sure the fair would be too uncomfortable for folks to enjoy later in the year when the average temperature is a cool 110º. Just 30 minutes east of Palms Springs in the Coachella Valley, Indio is considered the date capital of the world! The groves of date palms lined the fair grounds and gave it a distinctive back drop. I had a lovely conversation with "The Queen of the Dates" Ms. Linda Beal who had grown up on a date farm in town. She graciously described the history and mystique of Indio back in the 40...

"Baby Doe von Stroheim" from Home as Hat EMBROIDERY PATTERNS "I don't approach fashion. Fashion approaches me!" —Daphne Guinness For the past few yeas I have been learning how to apply various embroidery patterns to cloth. Not all of these patterns are easy to create on paper but I do enjoy seeing how stiff paper becomes a canvas on which to draw with thread.  Basic techniques like the cross stitch, chain stitch, buttonhole, running stitch, stem stitch and satin stitch lend themselves to working on this project and give direction and visual motion to the "hats" I'm constructing. I'm fascinated by the many decorative motifs and patterns that have evolved worldwide throughout the centuries. Developing out of the necessity of patching and mending precious hand woven fabrics, it  was employed as a way to embellish clothing.  Embroidery patterns became a mark of wealth as well as rank and social status. Textile workshops evolved to...

"Lynn Peril" from Home as Hat THE HISTORY OF STITCHING AND WOMEN IN THE ARTS "I don't do fashion. I am fashion." — Coco Chanel The history of fiber art and its implications for women is a fascinating subject in and of itself. As I sat stitching this picture I couldn't help but wonder home many times this repetitive but decorative act had taken place over the years. Both my grandmother and my mother had taught me how to sew as a young child, and I remember how excited I felt to stitch two pieces of fabric together. Its alchemy was intoxicating. Yet my younger brother was never taught the magical art of sewing and I never questioned why my male counterpart was not introduced to it. Fiber art has long been viewed as representing domesticity and feminine nature. It has been a vehicle for women to express themselves in the confines of a male dominated social structure but it has also a means of commerce and power. The manufacturing of cloth c...

"Carla Braswell" from Home as Hat DECORATIVE THREAD “Fashion is only the attempt to realize art in living forms and social intercouse.” — Sir Francis Bacon "What you wear is how you present yourself to the world, especially today, when human contacts are so quick. Fashion is instant language." — Miuccia Prada As this series begins to expand and solidify, I am very happy that I have chosen to hand craft these images with embroidery floss. This decorative thread is a 6 stranded cotton loosely twisted which comes in a stunning array of colors. It can also be made from silk, linen or rayon. I am keenly aware when selecting the color thread for each photograph. Symbolically, each color ton top of the black and white portraits are representing the spirit I see in the individual and their juxtaposition with their surroundings.  The textural and physical nature of stitching onto paper resonates wtih me.  The thread gives the images a thr...