handstories

into the bins

    I've talked about Mandy Greer before.  She is one of my favorite artists, and lucky for me, she is local.  Yesterday, a friend and I attended her cowl making workshop held at her Silver Studio.  The intent of the project was to think about consuming, re-using, and self-sustainability.

    Before the class, we were sent to the thrift store outlet store. . . "The Bins".   I enjoy thrifting, but this place was a different experience all together.  A warehouse full of bins and bins to dig through and buy by the pound. 

    It was strange and overwhelming.

    After gathering old t-shirts and cutting them into strips, off we went to Mandy's cool studio.

      Using large versions of spool knitting we knitted the afternoon away.

    The creations could be worn in a myriad of ways.

    It was a great afternoon, enjoying the creative process with others, surrounded by pieces of Mandy's imagination.  

more mandy

    Things have been very busy with work and family, very little time to stitch thread or yarn.  Mostly, just stitching the square in the morning and a little knitting on the playground. 

    BUT, last night, my artist friend and colleague, jodi and I went to a wonderful gathering.  It was a community crochet event with Mandy Greer, one of my favorite local artists.  I went on and on about her here.  Last night we contributed to her latest work, "Solstenen".  (You can read more about it here .)  We all worked with silver, grey and black fibers, crocheting chains or ruffles, depending on our skill levels.  The above photo shows the pieces jodi and i worked on.  

    While crocheting, there were two guests artists, Saskia Delores and Rodrigo Valenzuela, who shared short films, intermingled with inspiring discussions about their work and the fears and obstacles we are afraid to, but must overcome, if we are to be artists who are sharing our truths.

    It was lovely to spend an evening being surrounded by artistic creations- in people, sounds, visuals, and in our hands.  To top it all off, there were sparkly crochet hooks to use!

she is her son's mother (see "don't tell" 3/28)

Here are the photos from the Mandy Greer (see last post) workshop....

The workshop description:

    "Seattle Art Museum Creates: Extraordinary Ensembles” Join Seattle-based artist Mandy Greer for a hands-on workshop for adults, to create a wearable works of art inspired by Nick Cave's Soundsuits using paper mâché and found materials......Nick Cave's wildly improbable beings are made from unusual materials that don't often get a second life: potholders, spinning tops, sequins, buttons and thrift store sweaters...."

 works in progress...

my friend, j, and me (so much for my secret identity!)

building the base  

adding treasures, including beaded necklaces that the boys made for me when they were small (I knew they'd come in handy some day) 

a bunch of us...

Mixed media is not my usual thing (unless all the media is fiber related) and paper mâché gives me the willies, but this was great fun, being with creative spirits who were letting loose in all kinds of directions.  Other than the occasional yelps from glue gun burns (many of them mine), all of the sounds were happy, oh!-ing, and scurrying, as we couldn't work fast enough to keep up with all of the ideas bursting out.  

mandygreer.wordpress.com

 

 

mandy greer

Still haven't put together photos from yesterday's workshop with Mandy Greer  (mandygreer.wordpress.com), so I thought I'd share a previous experience with her...

"Mater Matrix Mother and Medium"  an installation created by artist Mandy Greer.

    This was created in pieces at public gatherings (street fairs, libraries, art festivals, etc.) during the summer of 2009.   Anyone in the community could come by and join Mandy at these events.  She would give crochet lessons if necessary, you could do a few stitches or stay for hours.  The finished "water" was 300 feet long, woven/draped/crocheted around the trees of Seattle's Camp Long.  It has been installed in other places around the country since.  Mandy's vision was one that celebrated communities and their urban creeks and watersheds.  My photos don't do it justice. The matermatrixmother.wordpress.com blog has better ones, and some that show it being installed, and some of the gatherings. I was able to participate at two gatherings, bringing some handspun and rusty crochet skills, it was wonderful to work with and listen to Mandy.  

    I had seen her work at a few exhibits here in town (her life-sized downed white fabric stag with crocheted/beaded entrails spilling out, filling the space with so many shades of red is one of the most powerful exhibits I've seen).   I had expected an off-beat wild loud artist.  She was nothing like that.  A calm, kind, generous spirit with brilliant exciting visions.  What a gift it was to be a small part of this amazing work.

needed a helping hand

Back from an all day workshop with Mandy Greer at the Seattle Art Museum. 

Hot glue gun blisters- 4+

Cardboard paper cut- 1 

Fun and inspiration- tons

Will write more about it when I catch my breath & fingers are back in working order.

(photo by mr. blue)