2019 April - Show & Tell

Today was fine-tuning day of our May exhibit at the First Methodist Church in Portland, and our July exhibit in Sisters, OR.  We are also looking for other venues to exhibit our newest collections.  We'll keep you posted ...

Kathy shared her new piece "Pollen Buzz", very appropriate for the season

Kathy and Betty shared their new work as part of MIX's series examining the concept "scraps."  These pieces are all rendered at 18" square, include any or all techniques, and incorporate materials beyond fabric and thread.

Kathy's MOSAIC GARDEN

Betty's THE WRATH OF PLASTIC

2019 March - Our Exhibit is coming together

We are ready for the show on May 2!

Circles and Cycles!  Our lives are full of these two things from marbles to polka dots to peas to the seasons and even a life itself.  And so our group decided to take on these two concepts and see where our imaginations might carry us.

It was decided that either or both ideas could be used, and so there is a piece about the moon which can be round at one point in its phase, or many other shapes throughout its cycle.  And then there is a tongue-in-cheek bicycle because after all, you can’t cycle if you don’t have circles!  Some abstracted tulips show their life cycle with dramatic changes of color, and tiny bubbles become something else entirely as they are enlarged and playfully arranged in color swoops.  And that’s just the beginning.  We hope you enjoy this theme and the ways we have chosen to express it.

2019 January - Happy Scrap Day

Here we are, starting the year with our annual Scrap Day.  Taking a break from the serious projects, we gather our scraps and meet for one day to play.  Missing from the picture are Kathy (who is taking the photo) and Elaine who is in a sunny place.

2018 December - Happy Holidays

We celebrated another year of friendship with a delicious and beautifully handcrafted holiday lunch at Valri's.  We laughed, talked about everything you can and cannot imagine, laughed again and enjoyed food and company.  Cheers!

                   WISHING YOU A WONDERFUL HOLIDAY SEASON AND HAPPY NEW YEAR 2019

2018 November - More discussions, More ideas

As we continue to research venues to exhibit our work, we also continue to expand our portfolio.  New ideas about formats, themes and techniques continue to take shape during our meetings ... it is a never ending process and discussions tend to be very lively.

We will keep you posted as things materialize!

Annette and Hilde did some Show&Tell.

Annette is working on entries for two upcoming SAQA exhibits.  Here are sneak peeks of her two projects:

Hilde created bowls with inserts using the "layering and burning" techniques she learned at our August workshop with Ailie Snow:

October 2018

The October meeting was helpful for planning next years shows and work. Suggestions were made for new venues and the inclusion of additional work was discussed. We also talked about new ways to finish pieces.

Elaine showed us some of the work she has been doing this summer. She started this under the guise of "The 100 Days Project". Her decisions included working exclusively with some hand painted canvases, only using things she already owned, always adding some hand stitching, and experimenting with new types of marks and tools. After each piece, she documented what she had learned and what she might do differently next time. Here are a few of the pieces.

2018 August - Textile Tantrums with Ailie Snow

Two full days with New Zealand visiting textile artist Ailie Snow, what a treat!  We ripped, burned, distorted and hand stitched collages and leaves.  Learned some kiwi expressions and also learned to listen as our group tends to be on the lively side.  All 8 MIX members attended and Melanie who recently moved to Idaho joined us too.

Sometimes pictures speak more than text ... here are some:

Focused and listening to Ailie's (left) introduction of her work and process. 

Two samples of Ailie's work.  The bottom piece is first treated with Potassium Permanganate and then stitched till ... finished.

Our turn!  Burning and distorting polyester.

Looks like we are cooking ... sprinkling Potassium Permanganate on our silk samples.

Making a little collage with our burnt and distorted fabrics.  This is Valri's.

Diane's

Melanie's

Elaine's

The second day started outside with a very stern lecture on safety procedures when using the soldering iron or wood burning tool.  We listened!

Ailie's demo on how to burn your beautiful work.

Ailie's sample leafs ... that's what we are aiming for.

Our work!

And here we are with Ailie in front of Lee Fowler's quilt.  Thank you Ailie for a wonderful workshop and a fun time!