dear ada

pamela sunday.

Oh my am I in love with the sculptures of pamela sunday. Love I say! The primal forms and their intriguing range of textures, patinas and color palettes are simply stunning. Nature at it's most fundamental, molecules or seeds or cells. Each so perfect in their own right but can you imagine a grouping of two or three of them together? Oh be still my heart!

koko zoo.

These funny felt animals by koko found at 2modern make me smile. I love their crafting and the transparency of how they were made. Obvious stitching, blended felt, happy colors. What's not to love?

sarajo frieden and marci boudreau.

I love the magical work of sarajo frieden. So it's not surprising that I totally love this collaboration between she and embroidery artist marci boudreau. Drawing plus embroidery, a wonderful conversation between 2 artists with such lovely results. Does it get much better than this?

dorothy caldwell.

This is such a stunningly beautiful and sublime quilt by the textile artist dorothy caldwell. At first glance I thought this piece might be a monotype or mixed media painting. It's a fine example of how one medium can feel like another, in this case how fabric might feel like paint or ink. But regardless of how it was actually made, I totally love it's abstract yet graphic expression of energy and emotion. It's raw and still at the same time. Whether destined for a wall or over a bed, it's unquestionably an object of desire.

deb todd wheeler.

I love these amazing flowers made from plastic shopping bags by visitors to the live experiments in human energy exchange exhibit designed by deb todd wheeler. I love the story of the reuse of garbage, ubiquitous plastic bags that also happen to be made from the diminishing and controversial resource of fossil fuel. It's surprising as a material for art and is also a statement about the wasteful and destructive habits of modern society at the same time. But it's the fact that each of these whimsical flowers was made be different people, the audience if you will, that's the most magical part to me. And the forms themselves are incredible. I love the variation on the theme. I love the intent. Ah, this makes me so very happy.

anne wilson.

These are a couple of details from the amazing textile installation by anne wilson. Beyond their intrinsic beauty and compelling patterning, these pieces are part of a larger exploration of the intersection between craft and digital rendering, topography and organizational composition making. "In this new project, the webs and networks of found black lace are deconstructed to create large horizontal topographies, 'physical drawings' that are both complicated and delicate." "The computer affords another means of close observation: lace fragments are scanned, filtered, and printed out as paper images. These computer-mediated digital prints are then re-materialized by hand stitching and are placed in relationship to the found and re-made lace in the topography." Such a contemporary approach to the process of art making and in the end, such a stunning result.

Original happy link via le territoire de sens.

ying gao.

This is a gorgeous, folded, crisp, white dress from ying gao. It's perfect in it's balancing act between what we think of in terms of apparel and sculpture, origami and draping. The crafting is superb, happily pushing the boundaries of what a garment might be. I would love it just as it is in these photographs, on a dress form, in a place of prominence to be seen and appreciated from all angles. Sigh.

alabama chanin.

I've been a fan of alabama chanin for years. Utterly unique and amazingly crafted, the apparel by the talented natalie chanin remains some of my favorite of all time. The story of this incredible company, the breathtaking, time consuming process of making their signature textiles, the fact that each is hand crafted by a single person in the community surrounding the company, are just some of the things that make this product and person so magical. I could just go on and on about them.

Well it seems there's more that's being added to that already magical mix. These wonderful wire and scrap bird sculptures by butch antony are now being offered through alabama chanin too. So whimsical, so fresh. And as if that wasn't enough, they're also offering up do-it-yourself kits as well as workshops to learn some of their signature processes for your very own. Like these strange and lovely mums made from shredded textiles and scraps below. All so fun. And so very exciting too. Yes, it's most definitely a very charming and particular world at alabama chanin that's well worth a visit.

ruth laskey.

These are details from the simple, twill weavings by ruth laskey. I'm not exactly sure why I'm so drawn to them, but there you have it, I am. Maybe it's the simple geometric forms, one or two colors, on a clean white ground. Maybe it's the fact that there are so many of them, lot's of studies of the same idea. Or maybe it's just because as art pieces, they teeter nicely between the every day craft that women have done for centuries without much attention or celebration and the modern tradition of minimalist, geometric art. Are they heady and esoteric, or utilitarian and decorative? Maybe both, which is probably the reason why I'm so drawn to them. Oh how I love that ambiguity!

inga blix.

I find these textile assemblages by inga blix pretty compelling. From far away they feel like type studies, but up close their physical construction and crafting becomes apparent. I love the fact that the graphic imagery of these pieces could be found on a cover of a magazine or sign in some urban setting, but their material and crafting make them capable of functional comfort and protection. I'm not saying that what they are intended for is warmth or to be worn, but rather the fact that they're textiles and not paper means they carry a different story and possibility beyond their simple, graphic expression. In this case, material and the medium really do matter.