Tag Archives: Vermont Studio Center

Conquering Isolation

We’re all adjusting.
It may be grasping at straws, but the upside to the challenge of social distancing and remaining at home is that we’re shouldering this together … and virtual cocktail parties are becoming de rigueur.

Dyed

As I promised last post, the following photos show my progress to date, in living color. This shot is of the piece still folded, pleated, and stitched, fresh from the dye bath.

Whole Cloth

The stitches removed and the piece ironed open, reveals the dyed pattern. Note that the colors lighten significantly as the fabric dries – a point I have to keep in mind while dyeing.

I feel guiltily lucky that my studio is at home so that my work hasn’t been upended or interrupted. It’s made it much easier for me to forge ahead and to more easily distract myself through the inevitable waves of anxiety we all seem to be experiencing to some degree. Nigel Cheney, an artist whose drawings and stitched pieces always surprise and amaze me, wrote recently, “I live a life of near perpetual self-isolation already…”, a fact that is largely true for many of us whose work requires large spans of solitude.

Dyed Stitching

Because the image was stitched with silk thread, it too absorbs the dye with the silk fabric ground, largely obscuring the image from view.

Outline

Selective outlining starts to bring her forward. Varying the line between solid and dashed is a simple but effective way to suggest both depth and translucence.

For the most part, it seems that other artists I speak with aren’t feeling the pinch quite as acutely as those who are usually out and about, interacting with the wider world as a necessary part of their day-to-day. But that isn’t to say we aren’t just as much in need of helpful resources to get us over this hurdle.

Fill-In

As I fill areas in with stitch and work to suggest form, I constantly lean on what I’ve learned, and continue to learn, via cross-hatching in my drawings. Although there are obvious differences, there is also a strong relation between the patterns of marks that build up, whether via thread or ink.

Eyes and Mouth

No question, a corner is turned when the features are fleshed out and color is added. The piece really began to come to life once the irises of the eyes were added.

The arts community is pulling together on many levels, demonstrating that learning and culture refuse to kneel to COVID-19. What follows are some resources that surfaced this week. I hope you’ll find something in this list that’s helpful to you as you cope.

Color

I am working back and forth between the figure and the background and still have a long way to go.

The Vermont Studio Center (grants, emergency funding, online events and discussions) and Vermont Arts Council (general resources for the creative sector) are compiling ongoing lists of resources for artists and writers affected by the coronavirus. Each of these links will take you to those pages.

I’m sure others of you also received an email from Andrew Simonet  of Artists U entitled “Artists, This is What We Train For”. If you didn’t, please follow the link to read what he has to say and then take it to heart. As an artist, you have something unique to offer during times of crisis.
(But that said, don’t let it stress you out. Here’s a humorous response to the currently popular tidbit that Shakespeare wrote King Lear during a time of plague.)

Danny Gregory and Sketchbook Skool are offering a free Coronavirus Creativity Guide, including live drawing sessions every weekday on YouTube and FaceBook.

Urban Sketchers London, who by definition usually draw outside on location, have posted the Thirty Day Indoor Sketch Challenge with 30 proposed prompts. If you’ve been meaning to begin a sketch habit, this a great time to start.

Museums and galleries are closed and observing social distancing, but you can tour some of the world’s most famous museums for free without leaving home. No crowds or inconvenient hours to get in your way.

Alyson Stanfield is adapting her Art Biz Podcast to the current situation with new episodes specifically geared toward helping artists weather the COVID-19 storm. The most recent episode, “Structure Your Days to Be in Control of Your Art Business Now”, discusses adaptable work habits that take into account the challenges that being confined to home may have on your practice.

Need a lift? On his blog Still Learning to See, Photographer John Snell shares his view of the world through stunning photographs and insightful musings. There’s no better time to be reminded of the beauty and wonder that surrounds us each day, while keeping in mind our shared humanity.

And finally, a good book is always a great way to escape the news cycle. I am currently deep in The Golden Thread – How Fabric Changed History by Kassia St. Clair, and am fascinated by the details she unearths about the importance textiles have held throughout history and across cultures.

Please check in to let me know how you’re doing. I’d love to hear what coping mechanisms you’ve put in place and the bright spots you’re discovering along the way. And there’s always the question: what are you reading?

We’re all in this together.
Be well, be smart, and be safe.

A Week with the Tribe

To say that my week at the Vermont Studio Center was amazing is beyond an understatement.

Empty Studio

First day, empty studio

Plenty of room

I had plenty of room to spread out — loads of wall space, two long flat tables, and area for my easel, drying rack, and bins of supplies without any fear of tripping over something.

View

Quite the view out my studio window

It’s hard to describe the euphoria of spending a series of unimpeded days in the company of over 50 visual artists and writers, each as thrilled as I was to be immersed in the freedom of having the better part of a week to work through any and all artistic impulses with no other worries, let alone the daily responsibilities which tend to constantly interrupt ideas and progress.

Stitched resist

©2018 Elizabeth Fram,  Stitched-resist Dye on Silk, 16 x 21.5 in.        Each of the following pieces are dyed with stitched resist, making for wonderful and new (to me) patterns.

Arch

©2018    Elizabeth Fram, Stitched-resist Dye on Silk,  32 x 24 in.

 

Hologram

©2018    Elizabeth Fram,  Stitched-resist Dye on Silk, 13 x 22 in.    By layering organza over raw silk, each dyed separately with different stitched-resist patterns, a wonderful holographic-like effect was created that is difficult to capture in a photo.

Black and Red

©2018  Elizabeth Fram,  Wrapped and Stitched-resist Dye on Silk,  23 x 16 in.

Our studios were accessible 24 hours a day, the food was plentiful, fresh, and delicious, and the ready conversation was intriguing and warm. One could work for hours on end in solitude without thinking about anything but art, yet find instant connection and camaraderie across the table at every meal. Companionship was readily available when sought, but there were no overtones of rudeness or guilt for choosing to hibernate in one’s studio in order to keep working.

Peony

©2018 Elizabeth Fram, Wrapped and Stitched-resist Dye on Silk, 10.5 x 20 in.

Wrapped Circles

©2018 Elizabeth Fram, Wrapped and Stitch-resist Dye on Silk,  10 x 20 in.

Bright

©2018 Elizabeth Fram, Stitched-resist dye on silk, 14 x 11 in.

The scope of work being made was wide and inspiring, as anyone who attended the Open Studios on our final day certainly experienced. And it was a gift to have the fresh eyes and vibrant conversations that public visitors brought with them on that afternoon. It was a week of experimentation and exploration for me, testing and mixing new and diverse shibori patterns, with the goal of discovering new frameworks for future stitched imagery. Many of us don’t often have, or necessarily want, input on work that is so early in its progress, but I was grateful for the fresh insights that cropped up during the studio visits.

©2018 Elizabeth Fram      1. Stitching a big circle.   The following images represent steps of a process, leading to the finished piece. I didn’t get as many photos as I should have along the way, but these show the major stages.

Pleated

©2018 Elizabeth Fram      2. Folded cloth.  I didn’t realize I’d forgotten to take a photo of the finished dyed circle until I’d gotten this far in the folding process – and couldn’t bring myself to go back.

Dyed

©2018 Elizabeth Fram      3. Stitched again, then dyed.   It was hard to know whether or not the central circle that had been dyed first would be obscured by the second application of dye

It wasn’t surprising that many experienced hills and valleys within their  work during the week. If you spend any time at all talking with artists, hurdles are a subject you can count on surfacing. Collective experience and the gift of time brought quick turn-arounds, but knowing how pervasive self-doubt can be, it seems both timely and appropriate that Nela Dunato Art & Design’s latest blog post deals with this issue. Check out what she has to say for a refresher that suggests ways to work around this very common stumbling block.

Finished

©2018    Elizabeth Fram, Stitched -resist dye on silk, 34 x 32 in.    4. The finished piece.   I’m thrilled the circle wasn’t entirely overdyed. Now to keep going to see how I can fine-tune this process.

I can’t say enough good things about the week.  And as is often the case, the best part was the other people. We arrived for the most part as strangers, but I think everyone left feeling more connected and uplifted by the sense of togetherness the week offered. It really did feel like being part of a tribe.

 

Out of the Studio, Into the Studio

I am at the Vermont Studio Center’s Vermont Artists Week this week. What a privilege!
Who knows what I may be up to when you read this, but it will definitely involve thread, dye and silk…with hopefully some unexpected results.  We’ll see.

Coffee Table 1

Coffee Table 1 ©Elizabeth Fram, 8.5 x 11 inches, Ink on Paper

That said, I prepared this post before leaving, which is why it’s so brief.
I’m reaching back into my sketchbook archives from January because these end-of-day sketches of the disarray on our coffee table seem to best (& humorously) illustrate the general state of my brain as I was getting organized before leaving.

Coffee Table 2

Coffee Table 2 ©Elizabeth Fram, 11 x 8.5 inches, Ink on Paper

This Sunday, May 6 from 2-5pm, will be Vermont Artists Week Open Studios. Details are in the link. Everyone is welcome, so please come to the Studio Center in Johnson to see the work that was created during this past week by the more than 50 artists and writers attending.
Hope to see you then!