Cherry Blossom Festival Celebrates Textile Art 2009

Blossoms and Nest 2009, Kirsten Chursinoff

Here's some info about three events of interest to textile artists. Let me know if you've heard of other events that tie into the blossom-textile theme and I'll add them too!

#1

Cherry Blossoms: A Textile Translation
Exhibition
March 28 - April 25, 2009
Opening reception March 28 from 1 - 4 pm
Mason Sewing Centre
6184 Fraser St. Vancouver BC

Invitational exhibition by Friends and Members of FibreEssence.

#2

Blossom Tree by Kirsten Chursinoff 2009

UNDER THE CHERRY TREE

Saturday March 28
Sunday March 29
10.00am – 5.00pm

Under The Cherry Tree is the opening event for the 2009 Cherry Blossom Festival.
This festival is presented with the support of the Van Dusen Botanical Gardens and the Consulate General of Japan in Vancouver. Over 2,000 members of the public are expected to attend this family friendly two day part of the festival. As well as fine crafts hand picked by Leon and Pickles, this event will also feature the cultural arts and cuisine of Japan. Demonstrations will be taking place all weekend on the walkway adjacent to the hall as well as on the stage of the Floral Hall.

The Floral Hall of Van Dusen Botanical Gardens, 5251 Oak Street (37th and Oak), Vancouver The gardens are centrally located, have free parking and are convenient to public transit. The Floral Hall is beautiful and well managed - refreshments and music will be provided. Admission will be free of charge to Under The Cherry Tree.

#3

CHERRY BLOSSOM SUITE
By
Judy Villett
At
Unitarian Church of Vancouver
949 West 49th Ave (Oak and 49th)

March 4 – April 5, 2009

Everyone is welcome to an ARTIST’S TALK Sunday, March 22, 1 – 3 p.m.

This series of six quilted wall hangings portrays the breathtaking emergence of cherry blossoms after the long, grey winter in Vancouver. Contoured city landscape provides great views of the rolling waves of pink, a result of extensive boulevard planting. Appliquéd and machine pieced waves of cloud, mist, blossoms and landscape are an important aspect of these pieces. Waves are also used as a horizontal quilting element to signify the energy of the earth, and how all these elements are interconnected. A veil of quilted and beaded rain angles across the winter scenes, changing to falling, painted petals in the last, late spring scene. The rhythm and harmony of nature is transformed into a visual symphony in six movements.

The exhibition is open to the public Sundays from 10–11 a.m. and 12–1 p.m. or call the office during business hours to arrange a viewing. 604-261-7204

During the same time period, Judy Villett has a collection of smaller textile pieces celebrating spring in the Fireside Room, Hewett Centre, Unitarian Church of Vancouver.


More info:
Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival
http://www.vcbf.ca/

Publish Your Fibre Art in Magazines

by Kirsten Chursinoff

I get a thrill of excitement when I see the artwork of someone I know in print. If you are thinking about submitting your artwork to be published, here are a few things to get you started.

One of the entry points is to enter “Reader Challenges” mentioned in many magazines. Sometimes you may need to submit to several before you see results. The work submitted must follow the guidelines so read the instructions carefully. Sometimes you can send photos, but in some cases you may be asked to mail the art to the magazine. You are not usually paid for this use of your image (unless there is a prize), but you will be given credit and exposure.

Choose a publication that most closely matches your type of work. Examine back issues to analyze the style and quality of the work previously published.

Some magazines will accept print photos, but many have moved to digital submissions, so always read the submission guidelines or the challenge instructions. These will usually be printed in the magazine or are available on the websites. And make sure you send excellent quality photos.

The “Artist Profile” or “Spotlight” feature is often written by a staff writer. They may interview you by phone, or a combination of phone, email and portfolio review. Themes include: celebrating a body of work, your techniques, or the stories behind your pieces.

Feature Article: If you’re a writer, you may wish to write about your techniques or fibre related topic. This requires a focused query letter sent to the editor, outlining your specific article idea. Be clear and concise. A query letter is a “pitch” for an article, not the whole article.

Consider themes and seasons and check to see if there is an editorial calendar. Plan a year ahead. Magazines are often international in scope, so submit to American and international publications too!

Search the pages of magazines for competitions and opportunities and also seek out opportunities on magazine websites. Online versions of magazines and magazine blogs also encourage submissions.


Links:
Fiber Arts Magazine
http://fiberarts.com/submissions/submissionguidelines.asp

Surface Design Journal
http://surfacedesign.org/Journal-writers-guidelines.asp

Write an article for Quilting Arts or Cloth Paper Scissors
http://www.quiltingarts.com/cpsmag/submissions.html

General Artwork Submission Guidelines for the following:
Belle Armoir
Stampington and Co
Somerset Studio
Art Doll Quarterly
Altered Couture
http://www.stampington.com/html/wanna_get_published.html

American Quilter Magazine (see column on the left)
http://www.americanquilter.com/publications/

Machine Quilting Unlimited
http://www.mqumag.com/submissions/

More magazines to try:
http://www.interweave.com/

International Fibre Art Opportunities
http://fiberartcalls.blogspot.com/

This article was originally written for the newsletter of the Vancouver Guild of Fibre Arts.
http://www.vgfa.org/

Tyvek - "Innovative Uses" Feature

Detail of Tyvek, heat-treated and stitched to the surface of
"Anemone Tidepool 1"

There is a new blog promoting the innovative uses of Tyvek. Douglas Khon, of Material Concepts, asked if they could use one of my images to represent the creative uses of this versatile material. Also featured in this blog, is work by Barbara Strembicki of Joggles.com and a link to more info on how to use Tyvek in artwork. There is also interesting info about recycling Tyvek here:
Material Concepts

With my work I've heated pieces of Tyvek so that it puckers and bubbles a little. It's very strong, yet it can be stitched very easily. I mostly use it to depict sea textures, bubbling waves, eggs, and general textured effects. It also accepts acrylic paint very easily and produces stunning effects.

Anemone Tidepool 1
Copyright Kirsten Chursinoff 2009

More info about this piece here:
Anemone Tidepool 1

Commercial Design

About a year ago I was approached to design textile props which would then be computer animated. Although I was not directly involved with the project in the UK, here's an overview of the elements in my artwork that interested the advertising company, and the final result they created.

The ad as it appears in print in BBC Good Homes Magazine.

My original piece "Daisies" was the first piece discussed.

They also liked "Hyacinths"



Detail of stitched edges of leaf stalks.


Detail of stitched edges of leaf stalks. Note the stitching down the centre of the flower petals.


Detail of flower with stitching down the centre of petals.

I like the idea of using textile elements to advertise a product that will be used to condition fabrics. Their whole ad series is quite fascinating.