Nature's Vessel and Nature's Creature

Seems like I'm always a little late on blogging about things that are time-sensitive.  I've confessed in the past that it's much more enjoyable to create items than talk about them.  Marketing my work is not one of my strengths, but this show is definitely worth talking about. 

Nature's Vessel

Nature's Creature

The Kennedy Heights Art Center in Cincinnati currently is exhibiting some AMAZING 3-D art in a show called Fibers: The Next Dimension...curated by Carole Staples, a woman whose confidence and encouragement in my own art has helped me really push some boundaries.  Two of my items, Nature's Vessel and Nature's Creature, were juried in to the show.  My work is on display with gorgeous fiber art from Cincinnati folks like Pam Kravetz, Robbie Porter, Robin Kusten Hartmann and Larry McKenna (not sure if I'm spelling his name right...will correct when I find out.).  Photos above depict my two pieces....the felted log on the bottom of the top photo, and the suspended figure on the bottom.  I did not catch the names of the pieces in the spaces my work shares, but I'll just say if you live in the Cincinnati area, you should go check out this show.  It offers a lot of great color and texture therapy and is on display through Saturday, September 26, 2015.

There is also a small gift shop that features gifty items by participating artists (but there is also another amazing gift shop right inside the front door.)  Yes, my pieces are for sale!  Treat yourself to something weird!  My selection of gifts consists of my "Femmes of the Forest" decorative art dolls, beaded portrait brooches (collaboration between me and Heather Zimmerman) and some felted wool cuffs and coffee cozies.

The KHAC has a gorgeous garden on the south side of the property.  Found another Monarch Butterfly today.  All smiles!

Call 'em what you want.

I'm selling off my sweet vintage glass tribal beads.  "Vertebrae", "Chevron", "Zig-zag".  They're wavy and they nestle together to make a solid striped necklace or bracelet when strung.  These are available for sale in my Etsy shop only. When a color is gone, there are no more of that color.  Get 'em soon before I change my mind!  Speaking of that, I have created a section for Clearance/Destash stuff.  While I consider the beads below a "destash" of sorts, I'm not opposed to using them for an inspired art project.  They're cool and deserve a spot in the "Vintage Beads" section instead.  Each photo is linked directly to the listing.  Shop away!

                         

New Felt Cuffs on Etsy

Howdy!

My newest finally-finished felt wrist cuffs are listed on Etsy.

I made the felt myself with roving...really fun stuff.  They are flat but wrap around with a button enclosure.  Edges are wrapped with yarn or embroidery floss to secure the wool.  Because of their fairly large size and visual pop, I'd definitely consider these wearable art.  Click the photos to go straight to each listing.

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By the way, I'm also having an end-of-year sale on everything in my shop.  This includes new items, old items, clearance items, normal items, cheap items and pricey items.  Enter HNY33 to get 33% off of your whole single purchase.  Offer expires midnight December 31st, so get shopping!

Goodnight, Ovenfried Beads

Today I finally retired the name Ovenfried Beads.  Since polymer is barely on my radar nowadays, I want to share with you that there are some new sites you should bookmark or follow if you want to continue to see my work. 

Etsy:   Two possible names that I wanted to use were taken or retired, so I decided to go with AmyEclectic.  That name didn't just come to me today by accident.  It has stewed for a while.  Today I just had the balls to do it. 

Facebook:    It's simple.  Amy E Wallace - Artist.  I can't ask for much more freedom in what I decide to share of my creations.  I didn't want to call it AmyEclectic in the event I should leave Etsy.  Etsy is just a selling venue, not my creative identity.

Tumblr:    This photo blog is primarily nature photography.  I'll occasionally share one of my handmade items if I think it will appeal to my audience.  It has been titled A Very Pedestrian Snail since I started it.  My photos are heavy in lichen, fungi, leaves, bark, and natural oddities I find on my hikes.

Flickr:  There is so much updating to do....I haven't touched it in forever.  If you want to visit it, here it is..

This blog.  I have already changed the name....I plan on making some other adjustments over the next few weeks.  Last week I lost my only camera, but I have lots of in-progress photos I can share.  There is so much to do!  I'm not sure if I can change the URL.  Too tired to look at that right now.

You are invited to visit these sites.  Please "Like" or "Follow" if you would like to know what I'm up to in my art.

Thanks for your support.

Marbling Fabric = Science Art

My newest Etsy listings for marbled fabric mention that I have a deep creative interest in science, namely biology.  Astronomy and geology rank a tight second.  I am fascinated with natural design with fractals and interconnected patterns, fluid dynamics, repetition and shapes/structures.  Patterns and designs that can are similar in minute and large scales are very appealing to me.  If you open a random biology, zoology or other related natural science textbook, you'll see images that can be achieved in a myriad of way artistically, including illustration, painting, or achieved through the "random" use of paint on a liquid.

Marbling fabric is my way of satisfying my need to see natural forces at work with little control from my end.  This is where fluid dynamics and chemistry come to play. The final image is where a moment of movement is frozen in time and preserved.  And that's where one of the hardest parts of marbling come in....knowing when to stop adding dye, stop swirling, stop manipulating, and drop the fabric down.  It is a most gratifying activity, and it's amazing to see what manifests when I know darn well I couldn't have invented it in my head first.  I can visualize (which is a foundation of creating), but I never know how it will end up looking.  Typically when I pull the fabric up off of the base medium, the first thing that comes out of my mouth is "Holy s#%t, that is AMAZING!"  Every time.

Here is a video from Interweave that skipped the prep work and goes straight to the fun part of marbling fabric.


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Below are images of my own marbled fabrics.  These pieces really are little works of art, created by the Universe with a little nudge from me.  If they were hand-designed, painted, illustrated or otherwise created using paint from a brush, a marker or another slow process, they'd be very laborious, thus very expensive.  The fact that it's on fabric adds another dimension of longevity and use...if it gets damp, it won't be destroyed.  It can be sewn, embroidered, embellished, over-dyed, quilted, or otherwise altered by an artist who needs a framework or base to work from. They can also be framed as they are.  If you are interested in seeing more photographs of each of these and designs not shown here, click on the photos to go straight to the Etsy listings.  Purchasing is possible there.  If the act of marbling fabric interests you, there are lots of sites and books out there to help.  I highly recommend you do it outside or on concrete floors.  Give yourself a whole day to it to really immerse yourself into it.  Pun intended!

Cabochons/Buttons/Pendants on Etsy.

And there's more to come!

I'm digging deep into the chasms of my polymer clay stash, coming up with some fun stuff that I just know I won't finish to completion (as in buttons, bead embroidery, jewelry, etc).  For a while before I retired from polymer jewelry earlier this year, I went on a cabochon-making bonanza.  They are finished as far as cabs can go, but I know that there are creative folks out there who can use them in fabulous fiber art, embellishments and jewelry.   They are all small batch.  Click on the pictures to go straight to the listing on Etsy.  In the listing you will find out more about the techniques used, how they are finished, dimensions, etc.  I will be adding many more over the coming days.

Follow me on Facebook for more frequent updates. 

Now THESE fiery things could end up in something really cool.

Three different designs from the same chunk of clay.

Like a circus.

The Stacker Bead Destash

Today I posted 4 listings on Etsy for the beginning of my bead destash.  These beads are from my original jewelry supply stash.  If you click on each picture, you will be taken to the individual Etsy listing.  These listings contain the majority of my current Stacker bead stash.  When they're gone, they're gone!   Make sure you also check out my new Rusty Fabric panels that are now available for purchase.  They are hand-dyed, one-of-a-kind, and ready to be used! 

Excellent set of beads...creme of the crop!

 

Great fall jewelry colors.

 This was added 7/10 due to popular demand.

 

This massive lot of 148 beads has a ton of potential.