The 11th annual sculpture and art show

Stream of Consciousness 1 © Christie Minchew

The 11th annual Come Out and Play outdoor sculpture and art show is just around the corner.  The kickoff is Saturday, August 25 at noon until dark.  But not to worry if you can't make it, it continues every Saturday through the end of September from 4pm until dark.  Food and drinks compliments of the hosts, Debbie Meyer, Eric Brantley and Beckett.  It's a wonderful show and a great way to spend the afternoon.  Live music will also be featured with local musical talents.

The location is 150 Wild Horse Run, Pittsboro, NC 27312.  It is about 7 miles south of Chapel Hill off of Jones Ferry Road.  Hope to see you there!

Open Studio comin' right up!

Crawford Dairy Corn by Linda Anderson

I have the good fortune of living in an area that is rich with talented artists.  A number of us have decided to fling our studio doors open to the art-interested in April.  Here are the particulars:

Local Artists Open Studios

Fine Art and High Craft

April 28 and 29, 10am to 5 pm both days

Location: Not too far from just about anywhere!

So far our artists' media include oils/acrylics/watercolors, wood, fiber, metal.  But there will be additions coming soon.  So save the date on your calendar and join us where spring will be blooming and art will be calling!  (Additional details will be shared on this site.)

A Cross-section of Fiber Art - Handstitched and Handfelted

Mahogany

One of my latest pieces, finished in October, has been traveling with me to many places as I stitched and stitched.  I am often inspired by the microscopic and the telescopic. This was inspired by a photograph of a cross-section of mahogany wood that was magnified 400 times. 

©Christie Minchew

37" h x 10"w

The green is handstitched with two colors of thread,  the long, wavy lines are wire and the deep red are handfelted pieces with stitched detail.  It is on a background of cotton and crinoline. It is suspended by wire in a mahogany frame that was made by my husband and woodworker, Charles Minchew.

Attack! for Lung Cancer

As many of you know, my best friend (and college roommate) was diagnosed with lung cancer in December 2009. While we're still waiting for those golden words "she's cancer-free", she is fighting an awesome battle.  It just so happens that a friend here in North Carolina is heading up a very fun Art Auction to be held on September 10, 2011 at Roxy Farms Antiques to raise funds for the local chapter of the NC Lung Cancer Partnership .  Of course, I was "in" as soon as she told me!  Below is my latest piece made just for the Art Auction and what I wrote about it.

Attack!

This piece is made with cotton and wool cloth, wool fibers, thread and yarn. The techniques are hand wet-felting and stitching. The frame is local wild cherry and made by my husband, Charles Minchew.

“Attack!” was inspired by my internet research into what is being used to fight cancer today.  I read over and over that the objective is to shrink, slow, limit, neutralize, or detonate “the bad guys”. “Attack!” is my expression of what it looks like in my mind to watch the good guys pushing the bad guy out of the picture.  Forever.

This is dedicated to Melyssa, my college roommate and best friend, who is attacking her lung cancer right now with gusto! 

All photos Copyright © 2011, Christie Minchew.

First Galaxy all stitched up!

Finally!  I posted about First Galaxy's start and its continuation, and now I can show you how it all turned out.  When I finished hand felting it, I was disappointed with it but couldn't figure out why.  After much contemplation, I realized that I needed a third dimension.  So I pinched up the black swirls and hand-stitched them and voilà!  I'm so happy with the result - yea!

Hi-o Silver!

It was a bright and chilly day.... I was busily stitching away in the waiting room of the car service station when up rode a cute little gal with a white hat (well, actually that was her hair) packing her own heat (more on that later).  She saw that I was fighting off the frays and arrows of an organza shape with my trusty running stitch. Without much ado, she dropped a button hole stitch into my arsenal.  And, as she rode off into the sunset, I began using a loose version of that.  Wow!  My enemy was defeated! Thank you to that (not) masked woman whose name I never learned.

The Reveal

(weathered plywood)

One advantage of winter is that I discover all sorts of interesting things that were always there but were obscured by foliage.

And, ohhh, the potential! The colors...

(lichens on a vine-covered rock)

the textures...

(vine on rock)

the dimensional effects.
Driving home on our rural roads today, I saw two places (a huge, painted rock and a broken down out-building) that I hadn't noticed before.  They just begged to be photographed.
I'm giddy with ideas!