Happy Thanksgiving!

I know we are all gearing up for the big holiday season and our minds are on our families, food,  and our never-ending to-do lists.  In the midst of it all take a moment for yourself and look at, create, or think about something fiber.  It will be a moment well spent.  If you think of or stumble upon anything you want to share with your fellow fiber artists please let me know and I will post it to the next blog, and never be afraid to toot your own horn!

Facets of Fiber: Deadline 12/5/11

Now taking entries!!  This is an Art Show for SDA members in the Colorado area!  It will be presented at the Art Institute of Colorado Gallery in Denver CO.  The show will run from 1/20/12 – 2/26/12.  The deadline for submissions is 12/5/11.  Please review the Entry Form,  located below; just download the document to review all the details. I would love to see everyone submit, remember it is a juried show so not all work will get in, but the more submissions we get the more variety we can present in our exhibit. We can really show Denver all the amazing Facets of Fiber.  I think this will be a wonderful show and I am looking forward to having my email box overflowing!  I will start looking for volunteers next month so for right now, get your submission in and then enjoy the holiday!

Facets of Fiber

Now Showing….

  

  Swimming Upstream: Juried Contemporary Print Exhibit

  44T Artspace, 44th and Tennyson, Denver, CO

  OCTOBER 7 – NOVEMBER 26

  CLOSING RECEPTION: Saturday, NOVEMBER 26, 6-10pm

  Ayn Hanna is a juror for this national show of original prints using    traditional printmaking by hand techniques such as etching, woodcut,  screen print, etc. (no digital or photographic media).  This wonderful    print show includes the work of 13 artists from 10 states and Canada.

 

Coming Soon…

  Rose Legge has an article about Tulip Paint Printing      on fabric coming up in the Feb/March issue of Quilters Newsletter  magazine.    It will be featured in their Workshop section, and will  include photos  of the step-by-step procedure.  The finished banner is  entitled,  ”Winter’s Glow”.

Rose’s Website

 

 

 

 

 

Paper, Fabric and Paint

 Ayn Hanna & Barbara Gilhooly

  

  Bas Bleu Theatre

  401 Pine Street, Ft. Collins, CO

 Artists Reception: December 2, 2011 5-7pm

 

 

 

Resource 

There is a new Denver Gallery Guide.  It was just released and is a wonderful and interactive resource of many of Denver Galleries.  It includes…

1.  Extensive database of searchable galleries by district, medium and style of art


2.  Additional points of interest including museums, landmarks and other cultural institutions


3.  Access to First Friday Art Walk information


4.  Exhibition openings


5.  Map of Denver’s Public Art collection


6.  Links to recommended cultural itineraries

Take a look!

Member Spotlight

  Ayn Hanna

  Artist Statement: Trained as a printmaker, I create richly drawn active  surfaces, exploring drawing and mark-making.  In my textile work, I  use hand-dyed fabrics combined with multiple surface design techniques  including painting, discharging, screen printing, and deconstructed  screen printing to create abstract mixed media textile paintings and art  cloth.  My textile paintings include layers of fabric combined with thread  “drawing” to develop texture and line.  I am inspired by our many systems for mapping and organizing ideas, stories, and data.  I enjoy the overlaps I have found between art and science – using math and chemistry skills, I find making art a perfect combination of intuitive fun, magic, and learned process.  I am also fascinated by connectors and connections, both physical and spiritual.  My work is a mapping of my inner and outer world, combining imagery and personal symbols to convey my feelings of places and experiences.

Biography: Ayn is a printmaker and textile artist.  Her subject matter includes imagery from the natural world as well as abstract compositions informed by her dreams.   Her work is an exploration of media and processes as well as ideas, with the underlying elements of strong composition, rich texture, layers, patterns, and color as foundational supports.

Formally trained as a professional fine art printer, Ayn began exploring the textile medium in 2005.   Her current work is focused on merging processes and techniques from her printmaking background with the fabrics and threads of the textile medium, the results of which she calls textile paintings.  She also creates art cloth – unique hand-printed fabric made through deconstructed screen printing of procion MX fiber reactive dyes.

Ayn maintains an active exhibition schedule.  Her work has been shown in numerous regional Colorado and national exhibits, including shows in Tillamook, OR, Reading, PA, Huntsville, TX, and LaConner, WA.  Ayn has taught drawing and printmaking and currently teaches an art cloth workshop at the Ah Haa School for the Arts in Telluride, CO.  Her work has been featured in publications including American Quilter and Machine Quilting Unlimited Magazines.

Born and raised in the Midwest, Ayn moved to Colorado to attend college at Colorado State University where she earned a BFA in Graphic Design and an MFA in Printmaking and Sculpture.  After graduate school, she moved to New York City and spent several years working as a professional Fine Art Printer in a Master Printmaking Studio, making etching prints with many accomplished contemporary artists.   She returned to CO a few years later and currently lives in Fort Collins, CO where she is the owner of Taft Canyon Studio.

Ayn’s Website

The Business Corner

In the Business of Surviving -Mary Hertert

I’m having serious “talks” with myself these days. My silk painting isn’t selling, it’s harder to get people in the door for workshops and I’m wondering if it wouldn’t be easier to just join others in the job search for a regular paycheck. I’ll bet I’m not the only one having this conversation.  Daily we are bombarded with bad news of economic meltdown -from job loss to closing galleries to low sales at art shows.  This sky-is-falling reporting has been relentless and the unfortunate consequence is that it causes each of us to doubt ourselves and our chosen professions as artists and business owners.

What stops me from opening the want ads is the thought that even with this negative economy there is still tremendous opportunity for our businesses to flourish.  In some cases it may be just the kick that’s needed to move some of us out of comfortable circumstances into uncomfortable but invigorating changes. If nothing else – this economy will force creative and intuitive solutions.

Choosing to stay in an art business will require creative and thoughtful practices, additional energy to keep positive, and foresight to determine the new direction. This investment of thought, energy and foresight should deliver the return of an expanding rather than just surviving business. Nothing should be off-limits for review or modification – neither my business practice nor what I consider my artwork. I must be willing to challenge my concept of the core business, explore new ideas for products, identify different customers and come up with creative ways to reach them.  In other words – I must be willing to shed the old way of doing things and look forward to new ways.

• Flexibility is the new black.  Workshops are empty. Is it financial or is it scheduling? I’ve been filling slots “on the fly” with impromptu tutorials and table space for rent. I have to work longer hours to make the same revenue as I might for a workshop – but at least people are coming in the door.
• Innovation is the new red. The silk scarves don’t sell but people are willing to pay for fabric-covered doors or boats. By being willing to take on odd requests and projects, I can open up my thinking to new ideas. It builds my skills with unusual materials while opening up new worlds of possible retail products I would not have thought of on my own.
• Taking risks is a rainbow. A Local clothing retailer had a warehouse of white garments that couldn’t be sold or returned. Can they be dyed? I worked with the staff and now they have a wide variety of fresh new colors and control over both their inventory and their attitudes towards modifying clothing.
• Renting space generates green. I’ve always worked with special needs groups providing alternative art projects, but now I can either provide programming or just rent the space to small attendant care services needing art space.   This is true as well for a budding young service to young people on blind or computer dates. Instead of the movie or dinner – several couples have decided that painting silk together is a new and safe way to learn about one another
• The new marketing paradigm is collaboration. Surrounding business owners are asking about coordinating art walks and other events to help bring customers to the area.  Instead of mirroring a well-established traditional First Friday – we’re opting to hold events that encourage art participation – all in odd places. We’re combining drawing while in the gym; painting in a bank; making art books in a café and selling out of the trunks of vehicles.
• Redefining value is the new success. What is the value of my art or the services that my business provides? It’s time for me to find out from my customers. I’m being asked for something other than what I’ve provided for the last few years. My artwork is not being sought out – but my space and my skills in working with fabrics are.
• Education is in.   I will be bumping up attendance in seminars and workshops geared towards business marketing and new technologies. The website is getting a facelift and a new set of tools so I can maximize new ways to communicate across the web. While it’s not clear how if any of this will benefit my business – it is clear that without the knowledge I can’t make the decisions.

Bad economy? Yes. Will the business survive? No guarantees. Will I roll over and go down with the ship? Not on your life.