Honorable Mention!

Twist and Shout received an Honorable Mention (Janet Rhyne Andrews Award*) at the Alamance Artisans Guild's exhibit at the University of North Carolina's William and Ira Friday Center for Continuing Education.  What a great surprise :)!

(and so much better than a dishonorable mention...)

* The Janet Rhyne Andrews Award for Creativity and Excellence was established by the Alamance Artisans Guild in 2010 to honor Janet Rhyne Andrews for her work in support of the arts in Alamance County, as Program Director for the Alamance County Arts Council for many years and, since 2010, as Curator of the Wooten Exhibits, funded by the Wooten Family Endowment

The Backstory

A little bit about what is behind my creating...

Al McCanless, fellow ArtBrake! artist, made this video recently - thanks Al!

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.

Meanwhile, back at the easel...

Impression of an Impression IV (a diptych) is coming along...

The green strip going through the middle is just the surface I'm working on.  Chuck's working on the frames and I'm hoping to finish the two panels...soon! 

(The Chatham Studio Tour is only 2 weeks away - AAACCCKKK!!!)

The Ocean: after

After all of that 'wet' work, here's what The Ocean looks like...wet.

Then I tore it and scrunched it and laid it out to dry.

Et Voila, two waves up close! 

 The texture and color is all in the paper.  The top wave shows one side with the darker blue paper on top, and the lower one is basically flipped with the turquoise paper on top.  But the other papers show through.

The Ocean: before, during...

The Ocean

For "Unforgotten II" I'm using a technique called Joomchi for the elements.  Joomchi is a Korean technique using layers of mulberry paper, water and hand agitation to make the layers bind, or felt, together.  

The papers in the photo, above, are layered and wet down, below.

Then I gather up the wet stack carefully

 and begin agitating it by squeezing and rolling the paper in my hands.

Stay tuned for the "after".

In the Studio...

A huge thank you to all of you who visited me on the Alamance Studio Tour.  It was a great weekend (minus the weather) with so many visitors making the trek to Pam Watts' beautiful farm.

And now, on to getting ready for the Chatham Studio Tour (first two weekends of December).  I'm experimenting with a technique called Joomchi using mulberry paper.

It may look a little like a mess in the photo, but I promise it will come together.  The technique is very much like wet felting and the white paper above even has some orange wool fibers and green silk pieces along with threads in between the layers.  I'll be using this to create elements for a new idea for a series of wire mobiles that I'm working on.  ...and did I mention I'm also working on two more pieces for my "Impression of an Impression" series?  Yikes!

AAACCCKKK! Oh, it's just Halloween

Thought, in addition to Christmas ornaments at the Alamance Studio Tour this weekend, I would include some Halloween ornaments....

©Christie Minchew 2013

approx 5"-7"

wool, wire, hand felting

Three of Four: the beginning of a new series...

...or should that be "mini-series"? The first two will be at Stop #26 of the Alamance Studio Tour this coming weekend, October 12 and 13.  See here for directions.  The third one below is at the preview exhibit at the Graham Library, Graham, NC (next to the Alamance Arts Council).

 Impression of an Impression I

©Christie Minchew 2013

15" x 15"

wool, silk organza, paper, hand felting, hand dyeing

Frame of local walnut by Charles Minchew

  Impression of an Impression II

©Christie Minchew 2013

15" x 15"

wool, silk organza, paper, hand felting, hand dyeing

Frame of local walnut by Charles Minchew

   Impression of an Impression III

©Christie Minchew 2013

15" x 15"

wool, silk organza, dryer sheet, hand felting, hand dyeing

Frame of local walnut by Charles Minchew

Ta Daaa!

 No.3 Vessel is finished and mounted.  Here is a sneak preview...

 The Unique Effect

©Christie Minchew 2013

11" h x 9" w x 26" long

I think it's easier to really "see" it in person, but this give the idea.

Wool roving and black yarn are going in the left side...

©Christie Minchew 2013

detail

Handfelted objects are coming out the right side, close up of one below:

Come and see it from all angles this Saturday, August 24th, at Come Out and Play Sculpture and Art Show.

And take the shuttle bus from Storybook Farm (just 1 mile north on the same side) - it's free and easy!

Getting The Place ready for the Tour

Photo - Christie Minchew

Getting the studio and "gallery" ready for the Chatham Studio Tour this weekend.  The pin/pendants have a home. Not so much the cards, ornaments and framed pieces :).  That's why there are still 4 days left - ACK! 

Ornaments for the Holidays and Everyday

Photo and Ornaments © Christie Minchew 2012

Having fun with wire and wool...and yarn and my hand-dyed silk and ribbon.

Fabric and string are next.

I'm having fun :)!

Cast Loose with Needle Felting

Cast Loose! © Christie Minchew 2012

A detail from my most recent framed piece.  It's an experiment in letting go a bit.  In "casting loose".

Twisting the Day Away

Twist and Shout! © Christie Minchew 2012

I call this Twist and Shout!

Can you blame me?

20th Annual Chatham Studio Tour

The 20th Annual Chatham Studio Tour is coming up!  

This is a wonderful opportunity to enjoy meeting artists, seeing their studios and purchasing their art.  There will be 50 artists on this year's tours and these include fiber artists (I'm partial), jewelers, metalsmiths, sculptors, photographers, painters, potters, basketweavers and other media. Many of our tour's participants are award-winning artists as well.  Tour map and descriptions of each artist can be found at Chatham Artists Guild.  

 

Reception at FRANK Gallery

Examples of each artist's work will be on display

Thursday, November 29, 2012, 6pm to 8pm (corrected time!)

109 East Franklin Street, Chapel Hill, NC 27514

919.636.4135

Artist Reception

Examples of each artist's work and an exhibit of local student art 

Friday, November 30, 2012, 6pm to 8pm

Central Carolina Community College (CCCC), Pittsboro

Studio Tour: 1st weekend

Saturday, December 1 & Sunday, December 2, 10am-5pm

Studio Tour: 2nd weekend

Saturday, December 8 & Sunday, December 9, 10am-5pm

All Studio Tour events are free & open to the public

Wearable fun

© Christie Minchew 2012

I've been having fun - a lot of fun - making wearable needle felting in the form of pins and necklace pendants.   The number is growing by the day and they range from the monochrome to the crazychrome :).  I've worked fabric, yarns, beaded wire, and paper with the wool fibers into little mini-art for your lapel, hat, scarf...or wherever you'd like to add a shot of colorful self-expression.  There will be many of these at my studio when it opens on December 1 and 2, and 8 and 9.  From 10 am-5 pm.  See the Chatham Studio Tour for all the info.

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.