Techniques in other media

Archive for Techniques in Other Media

I’ve always liked the look of chokers. May be it’s because I have a long neck that I like wearing them. Since I have had a lot of opportunities for dress-up, costume, and black-tie parties, I’ve often made my own accessories. This beaded choker on black velvet was one of first attempts. There is a central blue-black glass button in the middle flanked with two flat carved rose quartz beads. I then proceeded to cover the surface with all kinds of flower and vine motifs,stitched in seed beads and accented with gold oval beads. The piece ties around my neck with black 1/2″ ( 10 mm) wide satin ribbon.

This next piece I wore to one of President Clinton’s 2nd Inaugural Balls. My ex was a classmate of his at Georgetown, so we got to go to several events over the years at the White House. Since my birthday is January 20th, I got an early birthday present of having a professional clothing designer coach me in how to make my own evening gown. This choker, that went with the dress, has a series of commercially beaded leaves that I fastened onto a satin ribbon that had a gold and black edging. I was quite please that the height of the leaves did not restrict me bending my neck, as I couldn’t be sure that that would not be the case until I had finished the choker. A hook and eye fastens this piece around my neck.

Several years, a favorite niece had a medieval wedding, and of course, I couldn’t pass up a chance to dress-up. While my dress was probably more Elizabethan than medieval, it fit into the scheme of things all right. The backing fabric of this choker is an olive green brocade with round Asian designs on it. To play off of those motifs, I used a large central gold, green, and black glass button. It’s flanked on either side by smaller green, glass buttons. I had green ribbon tendrils spilling out of my hair, so I was rather pleased at the effect I created.

Finally, this last piece is more of a collar than a choker. I didn’t make it and haven’t worn it yet, but bought it because it was so beautiful. I imagine that it was made in the 1930s, as that’s about the time period for the flowered sequins that stretch around the length. Coming up from the base of the fabric is a black bugle bead, then the flower sequin, and than a black bead before the needle passed back down through sequin, the bugle bead, and then through the fabric. That process allows for each flower to “stand” on a short stem. The flowers are spaced closely enough so that the whole field of flowers stands upright from the background by about 3/4″ (2.8cm).

I loved playing dress-up as a child, and that passion has persisted into my adulthood. Clothes do make this woman, and I love taking on “roles” as I put on finery of one kind or another. I’ll have some pics soon of some more of the wearable art pieces that I’ve done. It’s not all about art quilts, you know!

How do you like to adorn yourself? I’d love to see some well-lit photos of pieces that you’ve made from buttons and/or beads and fabric that I could consider for a future blog. Please send your pics and a short description of the piece(s) to info@fiberfantasies.com .

Why not leave a comment as to your thoughts on this posting. Please take a minute, fill out the form below or by clicking on the “comments/no comments link” at the top of the posting, and then share your ideas with the rest of us. We all grow when we share our thoughts and impressions, so why not join our growing community of those who appreciate art quilts and textile arts. We’d love to hear from you!… and PLEASE tell like minded souls about this blog! The more readers and contributors, the more I write because encouragement helps the words flow!

You can see more of my art work on my web site at www.fiberfantasies.com (be patient as it loads; it’s worth it), my spiritual healing work at www.transitionportals.com and can find me on Google + , Facebook (for Transition Portals) Facebook (for Fiber Fantasies), and Twitter.

To find out how to buy my art work, please check out “How to Buy my Art Work” in the “Pages” section to the right of this blog.

Category: Techniques in Other Media / Tags: art quilt blogs, art quilts, beaded chokers, fiber art, jewelry with buttons and beads, Nancy Smeltzer

Ties Through the Ages – Recycled Wearable Art

June 12, 2013 / Nancy Smeltzer / No comments

Nancy Smeltzer, MFA

I didn’t realize that 450 men’s ties would be the gift that they turned out to be when my brother gave me 4 trash bags full of them. As an artist, I love having lots of the same materials to use in a piece that I’m working on. It’s even more fun when I’m creating wearable art by recycling something. My brother helped to clean out my great-uncle’s basement after he died, and that’s how I got my bags of treasures. They were already tied and hanging on coat hangers, so that all you had to do was to slip them over your neck and tighten them to fit around the wearer’s neck.

My uncle’s parents, my great-grandparents on my mother’s side had owned a second hand clothing store, so I imagine that’s where all of the ties came from. I can remember going into it when I was very little and wandering up and down the aisles. Things were piled floor to ceiling, and it was easy for me to hide among the clothes, as my mother visited with her grandparents. The wooden floors and big bins were very different from the department stores where I was used to going into with my mother, but I always got some candy from my great grandparents.

The ties that I received chronicled the history of men’s neckwear from the 30s up until the 80s, when my uncle died. Some were as wide as bibs and would have covered most of a man’s chest. Other’s were very narrow and barely more then 2.5″ (6.5cm) at their widest part. Some of them had food stains on them, so I threw them all into the washing machine to clean them. A few were ruined in the process, but after the remaining were dry, I color sorted them into bins and waited for inspiration.

For this vest, I chose a very simple pattern that was flat with no darts for shaping at the bust line. I cut out a lining of a navy, cotton blend fabric with a sun, moon, and stars pattern. There were three pieces, two for the left and right fronts and one piece for the back. Keeping the point of the ties intact, I then cut various lengths of ties from the navy print colors and pinned them in place onto the lining. I hate to rip out stitches, so I left most of the linings in the ties themselves. After arranging the various tie lengths onto the lining pieces and pinning them into place, I stitched them onto the lining. I then went around the neck and armholes with a bias binding that I made from one of the ties to cover up the raw edges. I left the bottom of the vest to be made out of the points of the ties, some from the widest part of the tie and others from the narrowest.

This photo has my great-grandmother standing on the left of the second hand clothing store. I’m guessing from other pictures that I’ve seen of her, that this photo was from the 40s. Notice that she has on a “pearl” necklace and earrings to go to work. That habit she passed on to her daughter, my grandmother, who would get dressed in the morning to mop the kitchen floor. My great-grandfather is in the second picture in the same store, I imagine on the same day that the first picture was taken, as these are the only two surviving pictures of them in the store. I only have one memory of him sitting in the corner of their house, as he died when I was about two and a half years old, so other than an obituary notice, this is all that I have of him.

It’s fun to look at these old pictures and see where my ties came from. I now have them neatly sorted by colors and stashed in big boxes around my studio, waiting for the next project to haul them out. Ties are made out of rather nice fabric and depending on the style in vogue at the time, can take up to 3 yards of fabric to make, as ties are cut on the bias or 45 degrees so that they’ll stretch around a neck and lie flat. I like the idea of using something, such as ties, for another purpose, such as this vest. Do you have any other ideas for me to try with my stash?

How have you re-purposed a material that was intended for one use but used for another? Do you have any well-lit photos of your creations? If so, then send me some to me at info@fiberfantasies.com as I’m always looking for ideas for posts for this blog.

To find out how to buy my art work, please check out “How to Buy my Art Work” in the “Pages” section to the right of this blog.

Category: Techniques in Other Media / Tags: art quilt blogs, art quilts, Nancy Smeltzer, recycled art materials, wearable art

Embellished Clothing I did Finish for my Mother

June 4, 2013 / Nancy Smeltzer / No comments

Nancy Smeltzer, MFA

Over the years, there were a number of things that I did finish for my mother, (unlike some of the UFOs or unfinished objects that I’ve been writing about lately). Her walls were pretty much filled with presents from living in the same house for over fifty years, so embellished clothing items were often what I gave her as gifts throughout the year’s events.

One of her favorite activities was her monthly Red Hat Society gatherings. They are a group of ladies who get together and have lunch at a restaurant or a house and dress up in outrageous hats and feather boas. The organization is based on the poem by Jenny Joseph entitled “Warning”. The first two lines say…. “When I am an old woman I shall wear purple, with a red hat that doesn’t go and doesn’t suit me.” My mother loved meeting with her friends and her phone conversations with me were often about where they had eaten and what had been served. So, when she bought this purple hat and asked me to make a feather for it, of course, I began on it right away.

The beaded “feather” ended up looking more like a leaf than something that came from a bird, but my mother was very proud of it and loved showing it off. The base for the beading is made of purple felt, which made for an “easy to sew through” fabric that wouldn’t ravel. The barbs or side ribs of the feather were stitched in shiny gold metal beads. The whole motif was accented with purple and aqua glass beads lined with larger purple ones. I mailed the feather off to her when I was finished, so she could show it off. However, I needed to see the hat on her before I could stitch it into its final location, as the hat is soft and floppy, and sits differently on each wearer. She liked showing off things that her daughter, “the artist” had made, so I’m glad that she got to wear it for a few years.

This commercially made navy sweater that I embellished with hand and machine embroidery I think I must have given to my mother in the early 90s. (I know that the navy print that’s the main design motif here I was using in some of my art quilts then.) I satin stitched around fabric cutouts with my sewing machine to keep them from unraveling, and then layered them on the shoulders of the sweater along with white lace cut-outs. White buttons and beads were added to add a lush look. As for the pocket, I repeated one of the fabric designs and some of the lace cut-outs. I only did one pocket, as I like asymmetrical looks, but also part of the problem is that the space inside of the pocket was small. That made it hard for me to get my hand inside of the space to attach very much, so I gave up after decorating one pocket. Art decisions are often based on what’s convenient. or at least that’s been my experience.

Here is another gift that I made out of a commercially produced white sweater. Here, I used big stitches, done by hand, to go around the outside of the fabric cut-outs. She must not have washed this sweater very much, as the edges of the fabric would certainly have unraveled after repeated washings. Since the fabric was black and white with yellow accents, I added buttons and beads in those colors to add lushness to the shoulders. On neither of these sweaters, did I add any textures to the backs, as that can often be uncomfortable when wearable art is smashed against a chair back.

I was glad that I found these pieces as I was cleaning out my mother’s closets. While I know I’ll wear the hat, the sweaters I might cut up and use as a quilt dedicated to my mother. I have an ink jet printer that can print on prepared fabric and I might make a quilt based on her photos. Then, these appliques could be added to it…or I may not. Still, I’m glad that my presents did not end up being given away to someone who wouldn’t know the history of them.

Hand sewn gifts are just one way that people have given presents over the years. What are some of the presents that you’ve made for your loved ones? Any handprint paintings or popsicle stick creations out there?

To find out how to buy my art work, please check out “How to Buy my Art Work” in the “Pages” section to the right of this blog.

Category: Techniques in Other Media / Tags: art quilt blogs, art quilts, beaded art quilts, embellished clothing, Nancy Smeltzer, wearable art

A Shirt for My Back From My Mother

May 30, 2013 / Nancy Smeltzer / No comments

Nancy Smeltzer, MFA

I’m not exactly sure when my Mother made this shirt for me, but I think that it was the early 80s. It was popular then to take already made clothes and decorate them, and I had done some for her ( details in an upcoming blog). I had taught her about padded quilting, or trapunto, and I was also doing a lot of hand quilting at the time, so that may have been some of the inspiration for the design techniques.

She folded white rick rack in half and stitched that along the edges of the cuffs and also along both sides of the placket and the edge of the collar. The leaves and stems of the flowers were hand appliqued on, but the lady bugs and the flowers themselves were stuffed … a lot! They stick out about two inches (5 cm) from the surface of the shirt, making the front of the shirt a little top heavy when worn. She also added on a pocket on the front, and used the same fabric to line the inside of the cuffs and collar, and to make one of the flowers’ petals.

The stem of one of the flowers on the shoulder on the front extends to the back and has a different flower on it. The padding on that flower and the lady bug near it hit me an uncomfortable place on my back, as I remember. Still, I wore the shirt as an over blouse a number of times until I put it away in my closet.

When I went to look for this shirt in my closet to check out some details, I couldn’t find it, and am afraid that after I took the photos for it, (several months ago) I sent it to Good Will as I hadn’t worn it in quite awhile. While cleaning out one of my Mother’s closets, I found another one of these shirts, and I seem to remember that my mother had made one for me, my sister, and one for herself. That one, too, went to Good Will, as I thought that I still had one at home. If I had known that my mother was so near death when I took the photos, I don’t think I would have let go of this shirt yet. I know that I can’t keep everything and I still wouldn’t have worn the shirt, but I think that I would have held on to it longer as if it were a way to hold on to her longer.

What have you discarded, only to regret later that you hadn’t held on to it? How are you recording memories now so that you’ll have them for later years?

To find out how to buy my art work, please check out “How to Buy my Art Work” in the “Pages” section to the right of this blog.

Category: Techniques in Other Media / Tags: art quilt blogs, Nancy Smeltzer, wearable art

My Mother’s UFOs -Wondering Why They Weren’t Finished?

May 28, 2013 / Nancy Smeltzer / One comment

Nancy Smeltzer, MFA

While helping to clean out my mother’s house where she had lived for fifty years before she died, I came across some of her own UFOs (Unfinished Objects). While she never did what I would call artistic sewing, she did make all of my sister’s and my clothes until we were in Junior High. This first photo is of a simple unfinished school dress (of course, we wore dresses back then!). Judging from the size of it, it would have been when one of us was in the first or second grade. The blue and white cotton fabric I imagine was chosen as it was a simple print that wouldn’t show too many stains. The wide hem is already finished, and was obviously made to be let out as one of us grew taller. The sleeves have been pressed and pinned in place, but not hemmed yet with equally long hems for letting out. The back has been pressed into place for buttonholes, but not marked yet for their placement.

This detail photo shows the simple trim on the front of the collar of a handmade bias trim made from the same fabric as the dress. In the back, where the collar has points, there is a mitered corner in the trim. The dress was made back in the late 1950s, which was before the time of the wonderful bias trim makers that are out on the market now. Back then, you had to cut a sizeable length of the desired fabric at a 45 degree angle from the side, sew it together with the right sides facing in and then laboriously turn it inside out and press it flat. I am so glad that there are specialty tools now for the home sewer that make that job so much easier than in years gone by.

This red velveteen top that I found is finished with a zipper in the back, and lined. The only thing left would have been to either attach the bottom to a skirt, or hem it. The two darts in the bust tell me that this top was for my mother, not for my sister or myself. My mother and father went to a lot of dressy parties, so I imagine that this was for one of those affairs. He died however, when he was 36, (I was eight years old), so I imagine that is why this one was never finished. The size of it (about a modern day size 10 or 12) also suggests that this top was started at that time in my mother’s life. I imagine that at the time, she didn’t see any point in finishing it, as there was a lot of despair in her life regarding our future, and I don’t think parties were on her mind.

My mother is no longer around to ask questions about why these pieces weren’t finished. They were found stuffed in the bottom of her voluminous sewing supplies, so I imagine that she had forgotten that these pieces were still even around. However, the sewing lessons for clothes that my mother taught me are still alive inside of me, such as taking the time and care on whatever you are making. While I rarely make clothes for myself, the times we shared at the sewing machine are not forgotten.

What sewing memories do you have from a parent or a teacher that have influenced your work? What memories are you helping to create for the next generation as you make your art work now?

To find out how to buy my art work, please check out “How to Buy my Art Work” in the “Pages” section to the right of this blog.

Category: Techniques in Other Media / Tags: art quilt blogs, Nancy Smeltzer, sewing lessons as a child, sewing memories, unfinished sewing projects

« Older Entries

Buttons&Beads&Quilts!

Archive for Techniques in Other Media

Ring Around the Collar – A Choker for my Neck!

Ties Through the Ages – Recycled Wearable Art

Embellished Clothing I did Finish for my Mother

A Shirt for My Back From My Mother

My Mother’s UFOs -Wondering Why They Weren’t Finished?

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