Wired for the Holidays!

Wire and hand dyed fiber Wreath

 Just finished this wire wreath.  

Aluminum and copper wire with hand dyed silk and synthetic fiber and twisted and curled and ready to celebrate :)!

Wire and hand dyed fiber Wreath 

Right now there is just one but hopefully more will be ready before the Chatham Studio Tour, December 6th and 7th, 13th and 14th (two weekends) from 10am-5pm each day. Head for Stop #12 to see what I've been having fun with lately.  

But first, Happy Thanksgiving!

 © Christie Minchew 2014

Butterflies or Dragonflies? That is the question!

  Anisoptera Flamboyantus © Christie Minchew 2014

6"x 6"

At my last show, the Alamance Studio Tour, I had my most recent creations. During the show, someone asked if I ever do dragonflies.  I do now!

So what do you think: Butterflies or Dragonflies? 
And, whichever gets the most votes (Butter or Dragon) will be at Stop #12 on the Chatham Studio Tour!

Anisoptera Colorfulus © Christie Minchew 2014

6"x 6"

My Latest: Papilio Series

 Papilio jubilee © Christie Minchew 2014

6"x 6"

I decided to do some needle felting and do a butterfly (Papilio) series.  There are five 6"x6" shadow box framed butterflies. They were fun to do...especially the antennae ...and the tutu (see bottom) :)

Papilio polkadotus © Christie Minchew 2014

6"x 6"

Papilio graffitius © Christie Minchew 2014

6"x 6"

Papilio winter wood © Christie Minchew 2014

6"x 6"

Papilio ballerinus 'Degas' © Christie Minchew 2014

6"x 6"

They are $50 each and you can see them at the Alamance Studio Tour this weekend - Stop 10.  There are 5 other artists at Jill Troutman's home and the place looks fantastic!

In my studio...purses!

Santa Fe © Christie Minchew 2014

wool, ribbon, wet-felting

I took the advice of a fellow artist and made some purses this week.  I dusted off my wet-felting skills, and we had the perfect weather for playing in water!

Peacock © Christie Minchew 2014

wool, ribbon, wet-felting

Glasses not included :)

Come see them (and me) at the Alamance Studio Tour, October 11 and 12.

Dog Kisses and Sweet Words

 

Dog Kisses © Christie Minchew 2014

fiber rush, bamboo skewers, cardboard, paper, tuille and joomchi (mulberry paper)

I had a get together with my college roommate and her daughter a couple of weeks ago and made these prototypes for them.

Dog Kisses © Christie Minchew 2014

I wanted to experiment with a couple of things: odd shapes, variations of height on the sides and adding a bit of a surprise when you looked into the basket.

Sweet Words © Christie Minchew 2014

fiber rush, bamboo skewers, cardboard, paper, and joomchi (mulberry paper)

I learned a lot from these little experiments.

Sweet Words © Christie Minchew 2014

And Kim and Suzy were willing guinea pigs :).

Penland School of Crafts - How I spent...

My first attempt at coiling - oh the possibilities! © Christie Minchew 2014

How I spent my summer vacation?

At least 2 weeks of it was at the Penland School of Crafts and it was fabulous!  I took Sculptural Weaving with Nathalie Miebach and my head is still spinning with all the new techniques and materials I now have to draw from.

© Christie Minchew 2014

I spent countless hours with my fellow classmates in the Lily Loom House (above)

burning the midnight oil (ok, I only lasted until 10pm on a good night!)

My Final Project: My Penland Experience (unfnished) with a curvy, roller coastery road leading to a random-weave world of Penland © Christie Minchew 2014

and making very odd objects that both frustrated and exhilarated me.

Nathalie Miebach was a wonderful teacher of the unconventional (using conventional basket weaving techniques), and my classmates were the greatest group of artists to learn from as well.

Top that off with a filled-to-capacity campus of like-minded artists to chat with, yummy (and plentiful) food and 3 wonderful roommates and I hated to say goodbye.  But alas...

Playing with my food (and other things)

Playing With My Food © Christie Minchew 2014

 I've been working on (ok, playing with) this piece for about 2 years off-and-on (mostly off).  Finally, after ArtBrake! was over, I allowed myself to pull it back out and finish it.  This was a real commitment.  It's about 7 feet high, so it took the majority of floor space in my studio.  And there was stuff, lots of stuff, alllll over the floor around it.  In other words, it wasn't something I wanted to put away and take out too many times.  

Playing With My Food © Christie Minchew 2014

When we put it up over the fireplace, I realized just what a ...statement it made.  The other 3 components I had planned to put with it were, understandably, sacked.  I think this is all the statement I can take in our living room.

Playing With My Food, detail © Christie Minchew 2014

What is in it, you might ask?

Store bags, Chiobani yogurt cups and lids and box pieces, twist ties/labels from organic produce (purple), twist ties from other produce (yellow), fuschia helium balloons, green foil from pointsetta plants, a couple of shower/spray nozzles and hoses, white and yellow plastic spears from a couple of fruit gift arrangements, the green plastic casing from around electrical wire, pieces of creative experiments gone wrong, wood flower stems whose flower heads had detached long ago, and, the only not-used-before ingredient, orange and pink surveying tape.

 Playing With My Food, detail © Christie Minchew 2014

Ahhhh, I finally have my studio floor back!  And my back and knees are much happier, too.