On The Road Part II, Alice Kettle and El Anatsui

The greatest part about being at a conference like this is getting to see work that I otherwise only see in books.   Yesterday at the Belger Arts Center I saw four great shows- including El Anatsui and Alice Kettle, two of my favorite artists.  Alice Kettle, a British artist, had many of her new works on display, including a few made on a shiffli machine, something I've been researching.  The majority of her work is stitched by machine using a home sewing machine on heavy canvas.  This was the first time that I had seen any of it in person and I had not realized how huge they are- a few feet taller than me!

I have seen a lot of El Anatsui's work lately (in New York  in San Francisco) but the magnificent scale of his work is overwhelming each time.   The huge "cloths" are constructed from discarded liquor bottle caps and other debris.  The glittering mass of metal looks breathtakingly lightweight and beautiful.   I linked above to a NY Times article about his work, but you have got to google image search his work.

I'm here at the conference all week and will try to post images from the workshops that are of relevance to Lillstreet- and I'll be back for June classes posting images from the homebase. Stay tuned!  

Lillstreet Textiles- on the Road in Kansas City

This week, a small handful of Lillstreet Textile folks are on the road in Kansas City at the Surface Design Conference.  Yesterday I attended the gallery walk and saw an enormous amount of inspiring work.   Kim Eichler-Messmer's work at The Late Show (a gallery on Cherry Street) stuck out. I thought you all would enjoy seeing this printed, dyed, stitched work.  Her sense of color (hooray for Procion Turquoise!) and beautifully layered patterns are beautiful. Check out Kim's website for more images.  Stay tuned for more posts from the conference!

Congratulations Lindsay Obermeyer!

Congratulations are in order to commend Lillstreet Textile teacher Lindsay Obermeyer on her latest accomplishment.  A piece from her bead embroidery series, Visions of Paradise was just acquired by the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.  Hooray!  At a time when lots of artists are struggling, this is the kind of news that makes my day.  

The piece pictured above is called Notting Hill, 11x11" 1992.  If you are interested in learning more about bead embroidery, check out Lindsay's class, which starts June 4th.

Allison Rose at the Indie Designer's Market

This last weekend, Allison Rose, who teaches Beginning Print for Fabric among and First Time Print for Fabric here in our department was  featured in the Indie Designer's Market, a new addition to the  Chicago Antique Market, over in the west loop. 

Her whimsical mono-printed accessories and prints were on display, and look who stopped by to take a look.....

Rachel Walker!  Rachel's going to be teaching the advanced print class this summer as you may remember from a previous post.     The market will be featured four more times throughout the summer, with lots of great entries, including Allison's.  It's air conditioned and there's a free trolley from downtown.  If you're out and about, come support a great teacher!

MARKET ADDRESS

1350 Block of West Randolph and in the historic Plumbers Hall between Ada and Ogden.

MARKET DATES- 

June 27-28, 2009, Saturday 10am to 5pm and Sunday 10am to 4pm

July 25-26, 2009, Saturday 10am to 5pm and Sunday 10am to 4pm 

August 29-30, 2009, Saturday 10am to 5pm and Sunday 10am to 4pm

September 26-27, 2009, Saturday 10am to 5pm and Sunday 10am to 4pm

We Love to Thrift!

At Lillstreet Textiles, we love to thrift.  So many of our students use old sheets to print new patterns.  It's one of the best ways to get inexpensive fabric- where else are you going to get a 80"x80" piece of Ralph Lauren 300 dpi cotton for less than two dollars?  Others are grabbing up napkins, t-shirts, and kid's stuff to transform with print and sewing into new treasures. Have you all seen the hats that the first time sewing students are making?  Old sweater, meet the coolest hunter's cap ever.    

We're working on a map of our favorite thrifts, to be posted this June.  Please leave a comment here noting what thrifts you like to haunt and why, eg:,I love the  hankies and doilies wall at the Unique on Sheridan and Montrose, it's out of control.    We'll gather up the results and make a map of Chicago treasures to share with our blog readers.  Thanks for sharing, and stay tuned!

Felting Fun!

As you know, Lillstreet Textiles offers a felt beadmaking workshop every few months.  It's one of the most popular workshops that we do around here, filling with waitlists every time.  But did you know that you can also take a longer felt class here in June?  Lindsay Obermeyer, felter, stitcher, knitter, is offering Felting Fun this summer.  If you've liked the workshop- or missed the workshop due to over enrollment, join us in the studios this summer for the class.   These images are of one of Lindsay's new felted bags, which are available for sale on her etsy site (see sidebars)

Summer Repeats

I hope everyone has been enjoying the newly summery weather that we're having here in Chicago.  There were people swimming in Lake Michigan yesterday, but over at the textile studios, the windows are open and people are hard at work.  One of our monitors, Rachel Walker, has been working on a series of window curtains this spring, and they just keep getting better and better!  Check out these bold, fabulous repeats!   They are printed with a combination of inks and dyes.  For bigger pictures of Rachel's work, check out her new website, AND- to figure out how to make your own fabulous collection of printed repeat patterned cloth this summer, check out her repeats class that we're offering in July and August.   

Natural Dye Workshop

Many of you have asked about the process of dyeing with natural materials. We are so lucky at Lillstreet to have Pamela Feldman, an expert on the subject. This June, Pamela is running a four day workshop that is a perfect introduction to the mysteries of natural dye. The details are at www.lillstreet.com, and the course description is below.

Learn the process of using natural dyes in this four-day workshop. We will cover all the basics: how best to prepare fibers for deing, mordanting, how to extract colors from plant, color mixing and an easy way to dye with natural indigo. Students will learn how to start a natural dye garden and discuss community dye gardens in Chicago. Each student will take home a color book of dye samples. Open to all levels. All dye supplies (including fabrics) are included

Handmade (re-made) Napkins

Check out these napkins made by Lillstreet student Jackie Pogue.  She's been a napkin making machine, cranking out collection after collection of beautifully printed napkins that she's finding in droves at the thrift store.  If you've wanted to spruce up your house with handmade re-use, we're offering a printed housewares class this June http://lillstreet.com/class-detail/588 (click there to register or call 773.769.4226.  See our sidebar of links for information on Chicago thrift stores!

Felt Beadmaking workshop this Saturday!

If you've ever wanted to try your hand at felt-making, this Saturday from 2-6 is your chance. Our ever popular felt bead-making workshop is back.  Learn the basics of making felt beads and ropes and try your hand at dyeing wool.  We'll offer this workshop again on June 20th if you're busy this weekend.  Call 773.398.5760 to register. 

Flags!

The inaugural flags of the year were raised at Lillstreet today. Spring is Here! Janae Easton, an artist from Tallahassee, Florida made these. They're constructed from old sheets and appliqued with found fabrics and burlap. I took these pictures as the storm clouds were rolling in today (you'll be happy to know that they survived both the wind and the rain). For a better view, go to Janae's blog http://janaeeastonatplatypusfile.blogspot.com/ where you can see them pre-installation. The two best places to see the flags in person are the Montrose El stop and Lillstreet's roofdeck. I hope you'll make a trip by the studios to see them, they will be up all month. Swing by the textile department to see what's hanging on our clotheslines when you're in the neighborhood!

Canning with Thickened Dyes

Frances Krueger Jackson, another one of our fabulous monitors, recently had this hanging on the clotheslines.  It's a tablecloth printed and canned with thickened dyes- another in this blog's ongoing series of Polka Dots!  

Nejiri Shibori Workshop

There is still space available in Akemi Nakano Cohn's weekend workshop - Nejiri Shibori.  If you're a printer who's wanted to know more about dyeing or a natural dyer who would like to explore acid dyes, this is a great workshop for you!    The workshop is this Saturday, May 9 from 2-6, call 773.769.4226 to register.