Cyber Fyber Exhibition Journal

CYBER FYBER 2 Postponed Indefinitely!

2009-03-18T18:29:00.000-04:00

I have been composing this entry for the past several weeks. I'm distraught but see no other way to avoid this unpleasant decision.

During the past two months I have been investigating the needs to mount CYBER FYBER 2. I've learned so much, collected valuable information, and made many new contacts. I've also had to face facts. It pains me to announce that CYBER FYBER 2 has been postponed indefinitely....maybe until 2011...maybe longer. Current economic realities are harsh. A bright future might be on the horizon but there's no way to determine when it will blossom. South Carolina ranks second in US unemployment statistics and daily the numbers increase. I know teachers whose contracts will not be renewed after decades of loyal service. I know too many people in the arts and elsewhere being forced to take numerous, unpaid vacation days in order to avoid layoffs. I've had former Mouse House employees call asking if I have any openings. (I don't.) One of the people on my "Selected Reference List" is now looking for a job....needing references of her own. Our newspaper has cut staff because company advertising is so low. This cutback eliminated the entire arts section...writers and editors. The owner/editor of the region's monthly art magazine just took out a second mortgage on his house. The gallery in which my 2007 show with Janet Kozachek was held has closed its doors. I know of at least one other art gallery doing the same.

How can I, in good faith, approach businesses for financial support? I can't! How can I apply for grants from arts agencies that are experiencing as much as 25% reductions from their sources? I can't! How can I proceed knowing that Steve and I can't personally cover the expenses or expect help? It's impossible.

I don't, however, have to remove the show's listing from the Gallery 80808/Vista Studio's website. These two weeks in the incredible gallery space are mine! I WILL USE THEM to mount my own solo exhibition. The "working title" is "Life Everlasting". This installation will focus on personal and universal identities through art inspired by grave markers and epitaths.

There will be more developments, of course. For one thing, I've recently submitted exhibition proposals for "Personal Grounds" (including the entire Decision Portrait Series) and Blues Chapel. Also, I've applied for several artists residency programs and also for a summer scholarship to Penland. Depending on the outcome of one of these programs, I will hopefully be traveling to Austria with Pian and Annica (my Swedish stitching buddies) to take a workshop with Sara Lechner! I've started submitting my work for gallery representation too. In a nutshell, I'm redirecting my focus...away from CYBER FYBER 2 but toward an exciting, artistic year in art.

Ellen Kochansky's Installation

2009-02-02T16:26:00.004-05:00

(Above: The flier announcing the opening of Embedded Energy by Ellen Kochansky.)

Ellen Kochansky is a very, very talented fiber artist from Pickens, South Carolina. For several months she's been in residence at 701 Columbia Center for the Arts, 701 Whaley Street, Columbia, SC. Her work has been fashioned into a textile installation called Embedded Energy. Celebrating the people, stories, and rosources of the Olympia Mill and community, this major installation will be on view from February 5 - April 5, 2009. The opening reception is this Thursday, February 5 from 7 - 9 PM. I will be attending and posting more images. The photos below were provided to me for this post. They show Ellen and her new creations. For additional information, call (803) 779-4571.

The Last Day for CYBER FYBER...the First Day for CYBER FYBER 2

2009-01-20T10:09:00.003-05:00

(Above: Caroline Commins and me at CYBER FYBER.)

(Above: Caroline Commins posing in front of her fiber postcard # 75...the one with the recycled silk tie.)

Everyone knows that today is a historic day. There's an inauguration in Washington, DC....lots of buzz on television, the Internet, and in this morning's newspaper. It's a big day here at CYBER FYBER too.....a big day on the heels of a big weekend....at the end of a major fiber exhibition here in Columbia, South Carolina. Yes.....CYBER FYBER ends today at 5 PM.

There were all sorts of details, pretty pictures, precious memories, and tidbits of information I meant to capture for this blog. Alas, I could only do so much! So...here's a few things I'd like to share:

Caroline Commins, the creator of Postcard # 75, flew into Columbia late last Saturday night from her home in northern California. Steve and I had attended a black-tie wedding celebration earlier in the evening (a busy way to wrap up ATC DAY!) and arrived at the airport clad in a tuxedo and a floor length, red trimmed black kimono. We held up a sign with Caroline's name and tried to tell her that proper Southern hospitality always means formalwear at the airport! (This really should have been a blog photo!)

On Sunday I hosted an informal gathering in Caroline's honor. Susan Sorrell, Caroline's long-time on-line fiber instructor, had cancelled but the afternoon was still lots and lots of fun.

Yesterday was a busy one in the gallery. Caroline was able to tour Ellen Kochansky's art residency studio at 701 Columbia Center for the Arts. We went to dinner at Gervais and Vine. Then, I tried to sleep but dreams of all the people, inspiration, and future plans for CYBER FYBER 2 danced in my head.

CYBER FYBER has attracted so many people.....those who only go to art venues now see stitches in a new light....many who sew see their creations destined for gallery walls...there were ladies from the Charleston quilt guild, the Fringe Sisters, a group of French quilters whose husbands work for the Savannah River Plant, women from Charlotte, Nellie Durand and her husband from Tennessee with friends, Betyann Shaver's entire family from Aiken, Joni Fedderson and her husband from Sumter, Jill Rumoshosky Werner at the opening reception, Fulvia Boriani Luciano and fiber friends on ATC day, Mimi Renne Sainte-Laudy's family, tatters and knitters and those who crochet, all sorts of people who learned about ATCs and others who didn't think anyone else in the area even knew what an ATC was. Linda Neely, the Interim Dean of Education and Art Professor at Lander University sent three ceramic ATCs for the International Random trade....and I didn't knew know she was aware of CYBER FYBER! Sarah Graham, a local librarian who helped with ATC Day was one of the lucky receiptants of these interesting cards. Deirdre Mardon came to Sunday's party and was thrilled with the response. As director of the Conagree Vista Guild/CYBER FYBER's lead sponsor, her impression is quite important. We brain-stormed about the future direction for CYBER FYBER 2. Every day has been an adventure. Today is the last one for the show at Gallery 80808/Vista Studios....but the journey is far from over!

Steve and I will dismantle the exhibit at 5:00 PM today. We'll be boxing all the artwork in the Main Gallery and sending it back to the artists....except for Veleta Staffney....all three of her pieces are sold! We'll have an opportunity to thank the Vista Guild for their support at tomorrow's monthly meeting....and "warn" them that we'll be needing their help again in 2010!

So....today is the last of CYBER FYBER....but it is just the beginning of CYBER FYBER 2, January 7 - 19, 2010.

I can honestly say that the coming show will NOT be the same as this exhibition. I have no problem doing lots and lots of work again....but it absolutely CANNOT be the same work! CYBER FYBER must evolve....it must be an exhibition that shows how the threads of communication established this year have stitched us together into something else! I also know that the future show requires in put from our supportive, global community of Internet connected fiber artists! So.....let me know your ideas! Post a comment or email me at cyberfyber@prodigy.net!

PEOPLE'S CHOICE

2009-01-17T17:54:00.003-05:00

(Click on image above to enlarge. Mimi Renne Sainte-Laudy's winning postcard being presented by her sister Georgette Zissel and her daughter-in-law Debi Combis of Charlotte, North Carolina! It was so very exciting to have them present for the announcement!)

Today the on-line votes and the physical, paper votes from Gallery 80808/Vista Studios were added together. The winners were determined! The announcement was made! Here it is:

PEOPLE'S CHOICE POSTCARD
POSTCARD 231
Mimi Renne Sainte-Laudy
http://mimi837.oldiblog.com/
FRANCE

PEOPLE'S CHOICE ATC
ATC 134
Leslie Casey
http://stitchinfingers.ning.com/profile/Leslie44
Malawi, AFRICA

CONGRATULATIONS!

Manning the CYBER FYBER exhibition

2009-01-16T10:33:00.002-05:00

(Above: Ellen Meder, the lovely University of South Carolina college student who wrote an article about CYBER FYBER for the Daily Gamecock!)

(Above: Betyan Shaver and her family visited CYBER FYBER last Sunday. They are posing under her fabulous postcard # 8!)

(Above: Nellie Durand, the fabulous creator of Postcard # 113, and I together at the gallery....just yesterday! She's coming back today and we'll take more photos!)

Lots has been happening here at Gallery 80808/Vista Studios in Columbia, South Carolina where CYBER FYBER is on display. Every day people come to see the show! The publicity has brought all sorts of people who have never been to the gallery, looked as textiles as art, or heard of ATCs and postcards being traded. All sorts of local quilters, embroiderers, and other textile artists have also come.....most of whom I've never met. Thus....all sorts of wonderful new connection are being made and common interests are being shared! It's been exciting!

CYBER FYBER gets a review!

2009-01-14T14:11:00.002-05:00

The following review just appeared in this week's edition of the local, Columbia weekly publication, The Free Times.

Exhibit Shows Internet’s Impact on Art World
A review of Cyber Fyber, on view at Gallery 80808/Vista Studios through Jan. 20.
BY
MARY BENTZ GILKERSON

Alree Barr, Cache (detail)

Cyber Fyber is not your average gallery exhibition. It is the culmination of a monumental, yearlong project developed by Columbia-area fiber artist Susan Lenz. The project was inspired by the sense of community she developed with other fiber artists around the world through her blogging experiences.

The Internet is a vast web of resources that is very attractive for visual artists in particular. Most artists use it to market their work through web sites and online galleries. But many others are taking advantage of the social and professional networking opportunities not only to market their work, but also to create ties with other artists throughout the world. Some limit themselves to the main social networks like MySpace and Facebook; others use using free blogging sites to create their own networks.

Lenz has done all of the above: She has 12 blogs associated with the Cyber Fyber exhibit alone.

The quality of the artwork is high, but the most important thing about the exhibit is the process Lenz used to put it together. It is a manifestation of the paradigm shift in the art world resulting from artists making full use of the Internet to control their own careers.

Art entrepreneurs like Lenz are going beyond simply organizing their own local exhibitions to building national and international networks that they can use for both marketing and professional support. Lenz was able to curate a truly international fiber arts exhibition purely from the contacts that she made via her blog, an unthinkable feat 10 years ago. The show includes work by artists from more than 26 countries including Australia, England, Germany and Canada, as well as the United States.

Cyber Fyber has two components: 400-plus fiber cards that Lenz traded with other artists, and larger works by 17 artists in an invitational section.

Some of the small cards are little gems, but the main impact of this section comes from the sheer visual weight of so many pieces. The grid pattern that was used to hang the pieces makes this section read as one large quilt.

The invitational section has some more traditional work, but most of the work could stand on its own in any contemporary art setting. Cyber Fyber is a four-panel book piece by Jacqueline de Jong of the Netherlands. Accordion folds allow the work to stand on its own on the pedestal where the viewer can see both the front and the back of the panels. She uses a range of dark earth tones in her richly textured abstracts.

Fulvia Boriani Luciano, from South Carolina, also works with abstract forms and shapes. She creates quilted hanging pieces in various grid formats, exploring subtle color relationships.

Penny Sisto of Indiana also makes quilted wall pieces, but she uses representational imagery to create narratives that deal very openly with social commentary. Strange Fruit VI is dominated by a large female figure, her mouth open in a scream or cry. To her right, six male figures swing in the branches of a tree.

The range of work in both sections gives an overview of the broad range of styles and content being addressed by contemporary fiber artists. The invitational has allowed Lenz to go deep with the work of the 17 selected artists.

The exhibit showcases the potential of the Internet to change the reigning dealer/artist art-world paradigm. The role of the middleman, i.e. the dealer, hasn’t been eliminated — yet — but that role is definitely shifting.

Cyber Fyber will be on view through Jan. 20. A variety of related activities are taking place in conjunction with the exhibit. Visit the main Cyber Fyber blog at
cyberfyberexhibition.blogspot.com for more information.

Ellen Meder publishes an article on CYBER FYBER in the USC Gamecock!

2009-01-13T13:27:00.005-05:00

The following article appears in the University of South Carolina's daily newspaper, The Gamecock. This is a link to the website on which the article appears. It includes a wonderful slide show put together by Ellen Meder, who is as delightful as talented!

Gallery features artists bound together by online connection

Local exhibit showcases innovative artwork, unites creative minds from across country

Ellen Meder
Assistant Mix Editor

Sometimes the most unsuspecting communities are the closest knit. Cyber Fyber, an exhibit of the works of fiber artists from around the world, opened Jan. 8 at Gallery 80808 in the Vista. The show can only be described as the physical manifestation of a pre-existing, complex network of the creative blogs from people who weave equally intricate works of art.

A concept of local Columbia artist Susan Lenz, the show features a diverse group of fiber artists' larger works in the main gallery, as well as hundreds of other artists' trading card and postcard sized miniature pieces.

The coordination of this revolutionary exhibition has been in the works for more than a year. In late 2007, blogging and reflection lead to one ultimate thought for Lenz.

"It was very, very obvious to me that the most influential thing that had happened to me that year was the gradual involvement in the international community with other fiber artists online," Lenz said.

Soon with a desire to merge the online community with her physical community, in addition to the fact that in her five years of renting studio space at Vista Studios she had yet to utilize her two free weeks of gallery space, Lenz produced the project now known as Cyber Fyber.

"I wanted to show other people how easy it might be, no matter what their interests might be, to be part of a global sort of group of like-minded creatives," said Lenz.

When Lenz announced her invitations to the exhibit, naturally via blog, the enthusiasm was immediate and the comments on the eclectic nature of the group were numerous.

One of the more unsuspecting artists is Nikki Wheeler, a 35-year-old mother who, until the opening of Cyber Fyber, had never exhibited before. However, with her dainty fabric scrolls erupting from a purple cube, Wheeler represents a younger generation of fiber artists, who utilize online sites such as the Ebay-like Etsy.com and refitted cigarette machines, called Art-O-Mats, to sell her unique work.

Across the room from the amateur is Dijanne Cevaal, a world-renowned fiber artist, author and curator. Though seemingly simple in concept, the intricacy and vibrancy of her tapestry-like piece, "All the perfumes of Arabia," is nothing short of exquisite.

Other highlights include Jill Werner's installation piece "Transformed" with its brilliance in color and concept as well as Penny Sisto's moving and mind-bending portrayal of a heart wrenching lynching in "Strange Fruit VI."

For those who still don't quite understand the amazing skill, patience and craftsmanship involved in the stitching of each of the pieces, Emmy Schoonbeek's "TAST Book of Stitches" gives gallery-goers a chance to actually hold and feel the many amazing ways the artists painstakingly transform fabric, thread and yarn into high art.

Schoonbeek is featured in the exhibit in more than her art though. Her likeness is featured in one of Lenz's Decision Portraits. A part of a larger installation concept called "Personal Grounds," each portrait confronts a major life-altering decision made by the subject, with stitched words that work in conjunction with titles such as "Teenage Mother," "25 Years Sober" and "Death Wish." One wall actually features four decisions made by four of the show's featured artists. In some ways the deep personal nature of each piece, stitched on tea-stained muslin, conjures a revitalized age-old concept that quilting is about storytelling; this online community not only impacts each member's artistic future, but helps chronicle and express their pasts.

But how to incorporate the hundreds of artists that could not be in the show?

"I made ATCs, artist trading cards, two-and-a-half by three-and-a-half, based on baseball cards," Lenz said. "I started with 130. Then I made 163 of postcard size. I thought it would take me all year and lots of begging to get them all traded. In less than six weeks they were all gone and I was making more."

In total, Lenz traded small pieces of work with more than 400 fiber artists from more than 27 different countries and all but five states. Best in show and people's choice awards will be chosen (tallying gallery votes as well as online comments) for each size category. The modest prize, leftover scraps from Lenz's studio and Columbia's House of Fabrics, is like hitting the jack pot for a fiber artist.

The full show is open to the public daily from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. through Jan. 20. In true multimedia fashion though, the exhibit is also posted in its entirety on the Cyber Fyber blog, http://cyberfyberexhibition.blogspot.com/, which is the hub of links to each individual artist's own blog. With the success of the show, Cyber Fyber 2 is already on the 2010 calendar. But Lenz, who will have pieces in two national juried competitions in the next month, has plenty of tricks left up her sleeve.

"I know it won't be a repeat of this," the ever-creative Lenz said. "It's important to me because any idea like this, meant to be reflective of evolution, must also continue to evolve."

Not knowing how long the slide show presentation would be available, I've copied the images and included the text that accompanied each image.

Above: Artist trading cards and postcards, all made of fiber materials, disply the unlimited range of possibilities from simply running stitches to elaborate beading or batik. Photo Credit: Ellen Meder/Assistant Mix Editor.

Above: Relative unknowns who learned all of their quilting techniques online are featured alongside writers of internationally published books and tutorials, such as Maggie Grey. Photo Credit: Ellen Meder/Assistant Mix Editor

Above: "Binary Humanity," by Maggie Grey, author of influential fiber art books, displays print outs of various comments left on her blog about the life changing nature of an online community. Photo Credit: Ellen Meder/Assistant Mix Editor

Above: Artist Susan Lenz has rented space in Vista Studios for just five years to professionally pursue her passion and experimentation in fiber arts. Photo Credit: Ellen Meder/Assistant Mix Editor

Above: With over different fabrics, Susan Lenz's quilt depiction of Mamie Smith is not only bue. It is exemplary of the blues singer's first recording "Crazy Blues". Photo Credit: Ellen Meder/Assistant Mix Editor

Above: Susan Lenz's self portrait, embroidered with the words "I quit my job to persue art," represents her 2001 decision to turn a life of working around art into a career of creating art. Photo Credit: Ellen Meder/Assistant Mix Editor

Above: Professional fiber artist Penny Sisto focuses her works on the diversity of people. Her piece "Strange Fruit VI" comes from her 2007 Slavery series. Photo Credit: Ellen Meder/Assistant Mix Editor

Above: "Wetlands," "Mother Earth," and "Midnight Lace" by Veleta Staffney were created as part of an online monthly beaded journal challenge. Photo Credit: Ellen Meder/Assistant Mix Editor

Above: 247 postcards utilizing an array of techniques keep visitors to the CYBER FYBER exhibit entranced for long periods of time. Photo Credit: Ellen Meder/Assistant Mix Editor

Above: Self-taught fiber artist Corinne Stubson specializes in altering books to create more three-dimensional art, such as "Flower Girl". Photo Credit: Ellen Meder/Assistant Mix Editor

Above: Emmy Schoonbeek's "TAST Book of Stitches" gives people foreign to the diverse world of stitching a detailed glimpse into the world and vocabulary of fiber artists' techniques. Photo Credit: Ellen Meder/Assistant Mix Editor

Reception Video!

2009-01-12T23:23:00.002-05:00

I've complete the CYBER FYBER reception video! All the images are from that wonderful evening...January 9, 2009 at Gallery 80808/Vista Studios, 808 Lady Street in downtown Columbia, South Carolina. Every moving clip and still photo was shot by either my fabulous mother, Linda Lenz (Postcard # 14), or my incredible youngest sister Sonya Lenz. Please enjoy!

Sunday at CYBER FYBER

2009-01-11T16:09:00.004-05:00

It's just past 4:00 PM on Sunday afternoon. I'm in the gallery manning the CYBER FYBER exhibition....like I'll do every day through January 20th....from 11 - 5. Last week and especially the weekend were a whirlwind of CYBER FYBER activities....pre-opening preparations, news paper coverage, opening day, the reception, announcing BEST OF SHOW winners, and Fiber Day. I think my body is starting to feel tired but I know my mind is in overdrive. I'll sleep deeply tonight.

Yet, before then, I want to write....to blog...to share my impressions while many are still raw data, emotional moments, unforgettable details, special glances from friends, smiles. I'm lucky. I type quickly....nearly at the speed of a strong stronger drawl. (I don't have a Southern accent...but living here in Columbia I hear this sing-song slow tempo frequently. I type with the same rhythm.) I want to remember....I want to return to the feelings, the sights and sounds of pleasure...I want to capture the essence of CYBER FYBER...thus I write....I type.

When in this sort of mood, I like to let my fingers try to keep pace with the words and visions in my mind. Over the keyboard.....stream of consciousness is released. Thus, if reading this post and finding the language confusing.....simply stop. This is just my mind and heart rambling.

I want to bookmark some of the images.

My mom and Sonya looked absolutely beautiful....decked out in fashionable outfits...walking down the hall early for the CYBER FYBER opening...bringing the large plastic trash can from home.....there to share, to help, to do whatever was necessary, to enjoy and celebrate with me....family...I had a few moments to share the exhibit with them.

Jill Rumoshosky Werner walks up and introduces herself. I knew she planned on coming to the show. I didn't know when. I didn't know to expect her for the opening. I nearly faint. Here she is...in person....one of my personal icons....a physical manifestation of the word "concept". She never got my message asking if she needed a place to stay on her visit...but she's here anyway! We talk of family....deep, moving experiences. We talk of influences, fiber, the interconnectiveness in the fiber community. I feel like I've always known her. I, too, "want to live in the world of Jill" forever.

Alex shows up....my tall, handsome estranged son....I also hug his girlfriend Erica and whisper, "Thank you for bringing him." My mother and sister get to touch him, see him, talk to him....first time in over a year. They don't stay long...but he came! He even dressed up for the occasion. There is hope.

The spread of food is almost too beautiful to eat....a bed of parsley on which the sweetest asparagus beg for consumption....dipped in the prettiest hot pink beet dip....nuts, cheese, the most tender meat....it was such a fancy affair...certainly not "just another" art opening...I've never tasted such delicious art....and it truly was art....not a catered affair at all....an edible installation....Thank you Suzi....from the bottom of my heart. You played the role of a caterer even though you are my patron, a collector of my work, someone who I should have served....not the other way around...but you brought me champagne. I raise this glass to you.

Bert and Ed come. They pose for my mother in front of Poet, my Decision Portrait....Ed with the stitched words "I married Bert". Sonya and I pose in front of Wanda's portrait. Mom snaps another picture....three daughters, one a xylene portrait, one the maker of three blackwork masterpieces in the main gallery.....but she's here with us.....Mom and Sonya call her.

Foreigner....Foreigner....another "model" for the Decision Portrait Series...a young college freshman from a far away country I can't pronounce. I snap her picture...she signed the "model release" on the edge of the table from which wine and champagne are being poured. She's perfect! Stitches sparkle in my mind....stitches for her....stitches for another "model" who found me series on-line....someone from across the country willing to share her story for Overcoming Domestic Abuse....I can almost see the stitched words "I Press Charges" even though I've never seen her face. Beyond the emotional high of an art opening, I'm soaring with anticipation....eager to "get to work".

My best friend Sharon Licata plays hostess....greeting so many familiar faces that I can't greet...welcoming new people....supporting a show, a medium, an entire community that she's not really part of....I'm so very, very lucky to have such a true and wonderful friend.

Neil buys Nikki Wheeler's Grow. There's a big to-do about the red dot....just as it should be...electricity is in the air. Kay Reardon is infected with fiber....a recent student from the Columbia Museum of Art class I taught this summer. Doni Jordan brings an armful of fresh cut flowers. Jeanette Grassi came from Charlotte. Virginia Scotchie pays me a compliment and I didn't even know if she knew who I was....she's famous, you know! I'm honored. John Whitehead admires the mix in Penny Sisto's quilts. I'm just so glad to see him....he's always been there for me, for Steve, for Mathias and especially for Alex. The entire Boiter-Jolly family comes. We laugh, we hug, every such occasion a reunion. Kristine Hartvigsen probably doesn't attend every function with which her magazine is involved....but here she is....not putting in some obligatory visit but really involved, enjoying, looking at all the art. More and more....I'm honored, humbled, amazed.

Polly Stout is impressed and has great ideas for CYBER FYBER 2....isn't it wonderful! A true friend, like Deidre Mardon, on the Vista Guild. So many friends....Guy and Cynthia (on crutches!), Alice P, Ginny N, Rachel Haynie, Betty M., Sandi and Pat, Dolly and Sims, Fred Delk, Lisa and her husband, Pat G, Denise and Bruce, Cyd and her group of well heeled friends, Stephen Chesley, David Yaghjian, Pat Gilmartin, Jeff Donovan, Michel McNinch...most of Vista Studios resident artists.

I'm sitting the floor....my Swedish stocking against Denise's colorful hoses....Jeffrey Day's flashy socks....lots of laughter. My first cousin's daughter and her boyfriend come. Kim Bendillo tells me that she's found a fiber friend in Australia....someone from the exhibit to give her advice for her upcoming trip Down Under....connection! I've forgot some of the many, many people who offered good wishes, congratulated the success, told me how impressed they were.....I'll have to add more later!

For now!

FIBER DAY!

2009-01-10T17:21:00.003-05:00

Today was Fiber Day.....in partnership with Creative Sewing Center of West Columbia. We had a schedule but were having so much time that we didn't stick to it strictly. In fact, joyously all the demonstrations seemed to happen simultaneously from 10:30 until 4:00. The Bernina 830 purred patterns and elegance as the new Babylock embellisher astounded eager visitor who waited in line to try the "make-it/take-it" bookmarks. The traded postcards and ATCs were admired greatly. Guests stuffed votes for their favorites into the containers. It was great!

Early this morning I posted the video of Ellen Kochansky's selection for BEST OF SHOW POSTCARD and BEST OF SHOW ATC. It is here. The video includes Ellen's comments on each card and the jurying process. Below is a list of the winners and the honorable mentions! CONGRATULATIONS!

BEST OF SHOW POSTCARD
Hope Clinchot
Viriginia, USA
Postcard # 101

Honorable Mention Postcards
(Random Order)

Diane Mularz
Viriginia, USA
Postcard # 83

Fulvia Boriani Luciano
South Carolina, USA
Postcard # 48

Jocelyn Goodger
NEW ZEALAND
Postcard # 127

Sara Lechner
AUSTRIA
Postcard 167

Patty Van Huis-Cox
Illinois, USA
Postcard # 240

BEST OF SHOW ATC
Silvia Gardiol
ITALY
ATC # 141

Honorable Mention ATCs
(Random Order)

Fannie Narte
Texas, USA
ATC # 110

Suzanne Clarke
AUSTRALIA
ATC # 66

Maureen Cross
United Kingdom
ATC # 152

Neki Desu
SPAIN
ATC # 92

Shirley Hayes
Maryland, USA
ATC # 20

Tatting

2009-01-08T16:36:00.005-05:00

(Image above: Pam Freck's tatting shuttle styled business card.....picture composed like Brett Flashnick's image of Natalie Richard's ATC below! Brett is a photographic genius!)

Please scroll down and read the wonderful article that appeared in today's newspaper! I'm thrilled, of course! Yet, I have no earthly idea how tatting became part of the article! Had I been asked, I could have said that my Grandma Baker had three sets of pillowcases with elaborate tatted insets and trim. (I now proudly own them!) I could have said that I've tried smocking, cutwork, withdrawn embroidery, needle lace, and even knitting....all techniques I tried, didn't master, and don't currently consider doing ever again! But tatting? No, I've never done any tatting.

I know what tatting looks like; I admire it greatly; I'm familiar with tatting shuttles too. But....I still have never tried it.

So, I read the article in the newspaper, smiled, and figured that my friend Jeffrey Day simply embellished the article a bit. As an embroiderer, a little embellishment never bothers me!

By 11:00 AM I was in the gallery, ready to receive visitors. One of the first people to wander in was Pam Freck, past president or program director (I can't quite remember now!) of the Palmetto Tatters Guild! She came right away after reading that I tat! Wilma Black, a member of Logan Lap Quilters, Devine Quilters, and the Greater Columbia Quilters, joined us in my studio. (Image below: Pam on left; Wilma on right!) We had a lovely time sharing stories of stitches! What a wonderful world....when a little embellishment added a new fiber dimension to CYBER FYBER!

One of the stories we swapped was about the Artfull Bra Project done by the Quilters of South Carolina. Wilma created the Mardi Gras (Let the Good Times Roll) bra on page 2.

CYBER FYBER article in THE STATE newspaper!

2009-01-08T16:04:00.005-05:00

Artist Susan Lenz, poses in front of a wall of small pieces that are part of her Cyber Fiber exhibit at Gallery 808 in Columbia, S.C., Friday, Jan. 2, 2009 (BrettFlashnick.com/Special to The State)

- Brett Flashnick /Brett Flashnick

Today CYBER FYBER opened! Today The State newspaper ran this article with colored images on the front of the Life & Style section!

Thursday, Jan. 08, 2009

Blogging inspires fiber artist in new Columbia exhibit

By JEFFREY DAY - jday@thestate.com

Susan Lenz makes her art in an old-fashioned way — with needle and thread. She communicates with other artists working in fiber in a new way — through blogging.

The two come together in “Cyber Fyber,” made up of about 400 pieces of small fabric artwork (none more than 4 by 6 inches) as well as another 40 larger works. The pieces come from as close as her studio and as far away as Australia.

“I knew I wanted an exhibit to show people how access to the Internet changed my art,” Lenz said. “It created my supportive, global community, ; and it’s fun.”

Both sewing and blogging sneaked up on her.

“I didn’t learn to stitch while a Girl Scout or from my grandmother — though both tried on at least one, horrible occasion,” said Lenz, who grew up in Ohio and Pennsylvania.

Instead she got interested looking through the crafts on display at the Ohio State Fair. There she saw all kinds of needlework, none of which she knew much about.

“One was called tatting, and I didn’t know what tatting was,” she said. (Tatting is a technique used to make a kind of rugged lace; it’s how those chair-arm doilies at grandma’s house were made.)

They looked simple enough, said Lenz, who has a degree in medieval and Renaissance studies. So in 1985, she entered an embroidered pillowcase and won a blue ribbon. For the next year, she immersed herself in studying sewing, embroidery, knitting, crocheting and yes, even tatting.

“I checked out — repeatedly — the ‘Reader’s Digest Complete Guide to Needlework’ from the library,” said Lenz, who owns and operates the Mouse House, a framing business. “My only supplier was Frank’s Nursery and Crafts — a local version of a 5- and 10-cent store.”

Since then she’s gone off on many nontraditional tracks — cutting and burning fabric. She’s recently been doing installation art projects that involve almost no sewing.

Although she had been making items from fabric for almost 20 years, she didn’t consider her work to be “art” until a few years ago, after she moved into Vista Studios in late 2002.

“My first ‘art’ was created in my current studio, and really, nothing dates to years in the 20th century,” she said.

The Web has become a big part of her life as well, but that too was happenstance.

About four years ago, she volunteered to keep the Gallery 80808/Vista Studios online listings (a kind of blog) up to date.

“I’d never even heard of blogs,” Lenz said. “But it was just like sending e-mail, and since I’d journaled all my life, it was not a big deal, and no one was reading it anyway.”

Then two years ago, she began a blog to keep people abreast of a ballet competition in which her son, Mathias, was participating. It was in Bulgaria and not much news was getting out — except for hers.

“It got like 1,000 hits,” she said.

That’s when she saw the power of blogs to connect artists , and in her case, artists who work with fabric.

“I’m part of the 21st century, and the Internet is definitely part of the journey.”

And part of blogging is also, like sewing, an old-fashioned skill: writing.

“Through writing you spot trends you’ve experienced, developments in your work you might not have been aware of when you were doing it,” she said. “It gives you the ability to step back and say, ‘Why am I doing this?’”

And in the end, it can lead to a show that connects the small group of people like Lenz making contemporary fiber art in Columbia to Dijanne Cevaal, a Dutch artist who lives in Australia and has curated and been in exhibitions around the world, to a Washington state stitcher who has never been in a show.

“Basically,” Lenz said, “everything is possible in an Internet community.”

Artist Susan Lenz, holds a piece by California based artist Natalie Richards, which is part of her Cyber Fiber exhibit at Gallery 808 in Columbia, S.C., Friday, Jan. 2, 2009 (BrettFlashnick.com/Special to The State)

- Brett Flashnick /Brett Flashnick

BEST OF SHOW

2009-01-06T11:06:00.004-05:00

(Click on image to enlarge.)

It was a lonely, hard job......but someone had to do it! That someone was the fabulous ELLEN KOCHANSKY, a world renown fiber artist from Pickens, South Carolina who's in the midst of a textile installation residency at 701 Columbia Center for the Arts. The solitary task was left to her.....pick one, only one, BEST OF SHOW postcard and one, only one, BEST OF SHOW ATC. I took nearly two hours....which isn't surprising at all considering the depth of talent and number from which to select.

In the end, Ellen selected the two winners and several "honorable mentions" (no "award" but a ribbon will be sent!). Videos were taken of Ellen naming these stitchers and giving her comments. I will post this after Saturday, Fiber Day at Gallery 80808/Vista Studio, when the official announcement will be made!

Ellen used little scraps of neon lime green paper to tag dozens she considered strongly....so don't confuse anything in this image as an indication of any final decision! This image was taken shortly after Ellen arrived....not anytime near the end!

By the way, Ellen saved all the scraps of paper for her future work!

Sunday....count down to CYBER FYBER's opening

2009-01-04T16:32:00.003-05:00

(Click on image above....."after lighting!")

Today I'm working on the labels and signage. It took almost two full hours to carefully position all 400+ labels on the ATCs and postcards. I've taken some video for a soon-to-be-created/released "feature film" too. Tomorrow there should be an invitation/newsletter sent to everyone who has traded, all the email addresses that I could find for fiber related shops in South Carolina, the entire database for Gallery 80808/Vista Studios, the Congaree Vista Guild list, etc. If you are reading this after tomorrow and didn't get one of these invitations, email me!

By the way, if you are coming to CYBER FYBER from out of town, especially those who have traded with me, please let me know!

CYBER FYBER UPDATE

2009-01-03T16:29:00.006-05:00

(Click on image to enlarge. This is the opening from the central hallway/entrance into the large gallery. There are additional "before lighting" photos of the exhibition at the end of this rather long post!)

There's lot to report! First and foremost, CYBER FYBER, the physical exhibition is a REALITY! All the artwork is here and hung! Every fiber ATC, all 225+ fiber postcards, and a beautiful gallery full of art by the stellar, international group of invited artists is in place. I'm still working on the signage for the main gallery....but the hundreds of labels for the postcards and ATCs are done...just waiting to be stuck in place!

Thus, I'm ahead of schedule! Why? Well, Jeffrey Day, the arts reporter for The State Newspaper, has written a major article for Thursday's edition. He sent the nicest, young photographer Brent Flashnick, to take photos....including a "portrait" of me in front of the ATCs. (I'm praying I looked acceptable...especially since I stopped wearing any make-up over a year ago!) The photo shoot was scheduled for Friday....so I went into "high gear" and hung the show early!

(Click on image to enlarge. Central hallway/entrance to Gallery 80808/Vista Studios!)

Voting for PEOPLE'S CHOICE postcard is coming along very, very well....please also remember to vote for PEOPLE'S CHOICE ATC!

(One of two small hallways at Gallery 80808/Vista Studios.)

This evening my mentor Stephen Chesley spent an hour or two helping me set the lights. This was a task I dreaded.....having never lit a show before. Stephen, however, is an expert at analyzing light, painting light, enjoying sunsets and breaking dawns, and also how to find the dim areas in a room. He positioned all the spots and floods. It all looks much, much better than most of these photos....so, I'll be taking more shots soon....and videos! Just compare the

"before lighting" photo

to the "after lighting" photo!

Here's another shot of the rest of the postcards....they occupy five sections of wall in three rows each! That's a lot of postcards!

The ATCs occupy one of the longest walls in the atrium. They are below (after Stephen set the lights!)

I've also updated the blog post for FIBER DAY. Click here to see more photos from the amazing Creative Sewing Center of West Columbia, the partner for Fiber Day. There are also images and information on some of the discussion/demonstration leaders.

Above is just one of the photos from Creative Sewing Center.

Now....I have an important announcement! There are going to be two more awards! In addition to the two PEOPLE'S CHOICE awards, there will be "BEST of SHOW" postcard and "BEST of SHOW" ATC. Ellen Kochansky, an incredible fiber artist from Pickens, South Carolina who is currently in the midst of a textile installation residency at 701 Columbia Center for the Arts, has graciously agreed to jury the award selection. Poor Ellen! She really doesn't know yet how difficult this is going to be....especially since I'm planning on creating a video of the award selection....featuring her, of course! I've written an email suggesting next Monday evening as a time for her to view the walls of work. If all goes well, the official announcement will be made during Fiber Day, Saturday, Jan. 10.

The prizes will include all sorts of "goodies". Lori Brown, owner of House of Fabrics, collected up a bag full of things to be divided for the four awards. I've been adding to the stash. Below is a photo of Lori in her downtown Columbia shop....now in its 52nd or 53rd year of business! It was started by Lori's grandfather who still lives about the shop! Scroll down to see some additional shot of House of Fabric....lucky me....I live about one mile away from all these exotic fabrics, buttons, and trim! Lori is also very special to me....she, her son, and her partner posed for my Decision Portrait Series piece called Happy Family.

Mentioning the Decision Portrait Series.....there are all now part of CYBER FYBER too!

Here are the rest of the "before lighting" photos of CYBER FYBER!

Invitational Artwork Updated!

2008-12-30T23:57:00.002-05:00

This is just a quick note to say that most of the work in the invitational section of CYBER FYBER has been uploaded. They are here. I am only expecting the work of one more artist!

This is also a note to say that a few of the ATCs and Postcards in the on-line exhibition are unfortunately not orientated the way the artists had intended. Please know that photographing, color/contrast/resizing/naming, uploading, and linking over 400 images is quite a task! If a card looked "okay"....it wasn't rotated. I actually think the presentation looks better with the vast majority of the trades being presented in a horizontal fashion. At the exhibition, most of the postcards will be shown horizontally; most of the ATCs will be shown vertically. They look great. They look really great in this presentation style. I hope too many feeling aren't hurt.

Also, when I first envisioned CYBER FYBER, I really didn't think about whether my own work would be part of the exhibition. I sort of thought that the artwork would "tell a story" of how Internet exposure has affected my work....not necessarily including my work. During the year, I applied for a grant from The Friends of Fiber Arts. At that time, I made the conscientious decision NOT to include my art in CYBER FYBER. This was one of the requirements for funding. The "curator" (me) was not to be part of the show. I was perfectly fine with this....especially if it meant getting funded. Only.....the grant was not approved. There was no good reason for me to withhold my fiber arts.

Gallery 80808/Vista Studios is a very, very large space. The main space measures 32' x 21'. The atrium is 18' x 18'.....and there is a very spacious entry hall, back hall, and another smaller hallway. Therefore.....I actually NEED my own work! So, I'm going to be including several of my Decision Portrait Series pieces...especially those depicting life altering decisions made by some of the fiber artists I've met over the Internet!

Lake Murray Columbia Magazine

2008-12-25T22:39:00.005-05:00

Columbia is the capital of South Carolina. Our largest newspaper is The State and it publishes a monthly magazine called Lake Murray Columbia. Actually, there's a "northeast" magazine too...it is exactly the same except for the cover. Both magazines feature CYBER FYBER inside....but the Lake Murray Magazine has an image of my wrapped nails on the cover! It came out on the same day that I received notification from HANDCRAFTED, the national fine crafts juried exhibition in Rocky Mount, North Carolina. These very nails and Bessie's Quilt were accepted! I'm thrilled with the coverage! Interest in the exhibition is building! Click on any image to enlarge for reading!

ON-LINE ATCs and POSTCARDS

2008-12-24T18:36:00.003-05:00

I was going to include the recent article and COVER of the recent Lake Murray Magazine with this post.....but I've been sitting in front of the computer since early this morning. I'll post this great coverage tomorrow...Christmas Day. For now, I'm thrilled to announce that the ON-LINE EXHIBITION is up! The ATCs are here; the Postcards are here! As the last few arrive, I'll update. In fact, there are still plenty of postcards available and a few ATCs. Just today my close friend Doni Jordan came by Mouse House to trade postcards! Doni just got a blog....in fact FOUR blogs. Her main/solo/personal place will be here but you can find the others on her blog profile.

PLEASE....if you find an error (spelling, link, whatever!) Please email me or leave a comment somewhere! I'll fix it!

ALSO: PLEASE NOTE: I'm going to have a PEOPLE'S CHOICE AWARD for the traded postcards and the traded ATCs. The postcard and ATC with the most combined comments and votes from the actual exhibition at Gallery 80808/Vista Studio will win a prize! So far, Lori Brown, owner of Columbia's fabulous House of Fabrics on Main Street, has donated an extremely large bag of swatches, remnants, fabric scraps, buttons, and assorted "goodies". I'm collecting even more and will throw in a bunch of great things from my personal stash too! SO VOTE! That means.....leave your comment on the blog entry for the postcard and the ATC for which you want to vote! Don't try to vote by leaving the comment here! It'll be too confusing! Thanks!

Introducing Fulvia Boriani Luciano

2008-12-21T18:11:00.005-05:00

(Above: Fulvia Boriani Luciano's design wall and supplies. Click on image to enlarge.)

Almost a year ago I created a "wish list" for the invitational portion of CYBER FYBER. I selected artists I wanted to invite to display work at Gallery 80808/Vista Studios. It was a difficult task. Some people call this "curating an exhibition". I guess that's the right phrase but I'm not really comfortable with it. It sounds rather elitist and that's not how I envisioned the exhibition. CYBER FYBER is meant to showcase the benefits of Internet access for all fiber artists, beginners to established professional. It was important to me that the invited artists come from every level of artistic achievement. Together, they represent the diversity and openness of the community. I selected artists because each one represented a unique aspect of the fiber arts on-line community....at least how I see and experience it.

(Above: Another view of Fulvia Boriani Luciano's studio.)

During the year I applied for various grants and recently I've been sending information to the press. I have a document to which I refer often. It is a list of the invited artists with the reason for each one's selection. It is below, but I mention it because I just invited another artist to join this part of CYBER FYBER. That might sound odd considering the others (with the exception of Annica Lindsten) were asked a long time ago.

In the beginning I couldn't have invited Annica because the specific benefit hadn't occurred yet! Annica represents the important benefit of learning about an opportunity that would never have otherwise been known....at least to me! Annica blogged about the Swedish Embroidery Symposium and the class with Tilleke Schwarz. I would never have known of this fabulous opporunity without my relationship with Annica over the Internet. So, I went! Once this was a reality, I could ask Annica to be part of CYBER FYBER's invitational art exhibition. Wonderfully, Annica accepted.

(Above: Fulvia's spinning wheel. She quilts, dyes, rusts, spins, felts, etc.! Most amazing! Below: A selection of handspun yarn! Click on images to enlarge.)

During the year I've also been trading hundreds of fiber postcards and ATCs. This journey brought about another important benefit to the Internet community of fiber artists....one that hadn't occurred to me until Fulvia Boriani Luciano asked to trade with me! Because of CYBER FYBER I found another, wildly talented fiber artist IN MY OWN STATE! I waited until last week to ask Fulvia....just to see if I would have made some other connection with her. But it never happened. It took CYBER FYBER for us to be introduced. I went to Fulvia's studio last Thursday. Truly, the Internet brought us together and it was most definitely an incredible benefit to me, to CYBER FYBER, and as an example of an important benefit of an Internet connected community of like-minded artists!

(Above and below: Details of samples, inspirations, and other items tacked up to the sides of Fulvia's design wall....including the CYBER FYBER postcard for which she traded!)

(Below: A selection of the supplies on hand!)

(Below: A stash of hand-dyed and rusted fabric....every piece unique!)

The images spread throughout this post are one I took in Fulvia's sun-drenched studio. Her website is amazing....but not half as amazing as meeting her in person. She refused to pose for a photo but promised to allow the camera to capture her likeness while at the CYBER FYBER opening! I'm thrilled to include Fulvia's work. I'm particularly happy that I now know someone so close to me.....just an hour's drive away! I'm planning to learn, to share, and to continue our relationship both over the Internet and in person!

Below, a "word document" used to seek funding and for publicity:
List of fiber artists participating in the Invitational section of the exhibition

It is important to note that this is intentionally a very eclectic list. CYBER FYBER is meant to showcase the benefits of Internet access for all fiber artists, beginners to established professionals. The invited artists come from every level of artistic achievement, reflecting the diversity and openness of the community. Instead of lengthy resumes, a brief reason for inclusion is listed. The names appear at random but with an Internet address.

Corinne Stubson (http://glitz-oh.com/about.html)

Corinne is a support team member of the Altered Book Yahoo Group, a blogger, and a book artist who works in fibers. She is creating a book especially for the exhibition. She represents the crossover artist who incorporates fiber into her mixed media approach

Doreen Grey (http://doreeng.blogspot.com/)

Doreen is a cyber friend to many, including CYBER FYBER. She was instrumental as a sounding board, proofreader, and site monitor. Doreen is also a modern day example of the grandmother teaching stitches to her nine-year old granddaughter Ebony, along with modern techniques and Internet exposure. Ebony has traded over forty ATC cards internationally with her grandmother’s help. The quilt’s fabric was donated by several stitchers following the blog.

Emmy Schoonbeek (http://emmyschoonbeek.blogspot.com)

Emmy participated in the 2007 TAST (Take a Stitch Tuesday) embroidery challenge creating an artist book of the fifty-two weeks of stitches. She blogged about each stitch throughout the year and is sending the completed book along with other, mainly hand-embroidered art quilts. Emmy represents the foundation of hand stitching.

Sharon Boggon (http://inaminuteago.com/cv.html)

Sharon is an international fiber artist and teacher. She developed the 2007 on-line challenge TAST (Take a Stitch Tuesday) and the 2008 on-line challenge TIF (Take it Further). She also created the social network forum stitchin fingers and wrote the best on-line stitch dictionary available. She represents one of the most influential catalysts in current fiber arts trends and undoubtedly the most Internet connected fiber artist in the world.

Penny Sisto (http://www.pennysisto.com/biography.asp, http://www.pennysisto.com/resume.asp)

Penny is a professional fiber artist who uses her website as a tool to reach new audiences and connect with other fiber artists. Her work is about the diversity of people. She is sending two art quilts from her Slavery series for CYBER FYBER. She represents someone without a blog but one using a website for communication with other like-minded artists.

Beate Knappe (http://beates-fabric-art.blogspot.com/)

Beate is a professional fiber artist and photographer who has written and is marketing an instructional series for the embellisher in both German and English. She represents world-class work on one of the newest machines available to individuals, the embellisher, a dry felting machine, as well as how one can reach wider audiences through a bi-lingual approach.

Dijanne Cevaal (http://origidij.blogspot.com/)

Dijanne is the international curator of the following traveling exhibitions: 2000 Australian Bounty (traveled to France, England, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Australia)
2001 Under the Southern Cross (traveled to the Netherlands, England, New Zealand, Australia)
2002 Twisted: Interpretations of the Natural Environment (traveled to England, the Netherlands and Australia)
2004 Organic (traveled to the Netherlands, Australia)
2005 Oceania (traveled to France)
2006 Across Australia (traveled to the Netherlands, Libya, Egypt, Syria, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Israel, The Palestinian Territory, Australia)
2007 Sense of Place (traveled to Syria, France, Australia)
2008 My Place ( Australian coordinator)- an exhibition organized by New Zealand, South Africa

Dijanne Cevaal’s blog was the first I ever read regularly. She represents a level of international fiber work that would not generally be accessible to most working in the field….that of a true curator.

Veleta Staffney (http://sammystuff.blogspot.com/)

Veleta is a fiber artist working with beads. She has participated in several on-line beading challenges, trades, and collaborations. Veleta represents how beads can be more than an embellishment but the foundation for a fiber artist.

Jill Rumoshosky Werner (http://www.wernerstudio.com/resume.html)

Jill is the recent recipient of the mid-career art fellowship in Kansas. She has a blog and a website. She is sending one of her 3D conceptual art quilts, Transformed. She represents fiber art as sculpture, a conceptual approach to art, and a sense of humor.

Lynda Monk (http://www.fibreinform.com/index.html)

Lynda Monk experiments wildly with fabric and generously posts free, on-line tutorials as well as many blog posts documenting her new work and new techniques. Lynda represents the generosity of free tutorials available on many blogs and websites.

Nikki Wheeler (http://nikkiwheeler.blogspot.com/)

Nikki represents youth. She’s only 34, home schooling four children, and at the beginning of her artistic journey which is growing impressively through on-line connections that include blogging, an esty site, and making her work available through Art-o-Mats. She shares her paper-fabric techniques freely.

Susan Sorrell (http://www.creativechick.blog-city.com/)

Susan is a professional fiber artist who supplements her income by teaching with the on-line courses offered through Joggles. In addition to representing how the Internet can supplement an artist’s income through teaching opportunities, Susan Sorrell also represents another contemporary fiber artist in South Carolina/

Arlee Barr (http://arleebarr.squarespace.com/designjournal/)

Arlee represents how Internet exposure is a lifeline to those living in remote areas. She has also organized international round robin projects for contemporary stitchers, thereby bringing collaboration with other fiber artists into a physical reality despite her remote location.

Dale Rollerson (http://downunderdale.blogspot.com/)

Dale is the owner of The Thread Studio in Perth, Australia, a supplier for contemporary fiber arts. She experiments with her new produces and shares this through her blog. She represents a respected opinion on new supplies and materials as well as the insights as a retailer in the field.

Maggie Grey (http://magstitch.blogspot.com/)

Maggie Grey is an international artist, writer, and teacher. She blogs about her work and also the efforts of putting together exhibitions, trade show booths, and the processes of publishing. Maggie created a unique piece specifically for CYBER FYBER. She asked in a blog post for comments about blogging and how it changed one’s art and life. She used the response as text in her piece.

Jacqueline de Jong (http://jacquelinedejongarts.blogspot.com/)

Jacqueline is a contemporary art quilter who shares her experimentations and new ideas on her blog. She exhibits internationally and also creates fiber books. She represents international and a bilingual approach to developing a professional fiber career that also incorporates both a blog and website.

Wanda Lenz (http://wandalenz.blogspot.com/)

Wanda Lenz represents two important aspects in this exhibition. First, an important benefit to on-line communication is the ability to share one’s work with family. Wanda is the sister of CYBER FYBER’s organizer Susan Lenz. She lives in Germany. Susan lives in Columbia, South Carolina. Wanda is also the only traditional stitcher in the group. She is an accomplished cross stitcher and blackwork expert. She is currently starting goldwork.

VIDEOS!

2008-12-17T14:03:00.003-05:00

My plan is going smoothly! I'm proud to announce that a new blog has been attached to CYBER FYBER! It is for the videos!

Currently, there are two videos available. One is for the ATCs and the other is for the Postcards! They are rather long....because there are lots of both! The ATC video is seven and a half minutes. The Postcard video is nearly thirteen minutes. I used Window Media Movie Maker to create these. The default for such a "slide show" presentation gives each image about four or five seconds. I had to manually drag each image to only two or three seconds in order to shorten these videos! The postcard video is about as long as Blogger can post. I'm pleased with this one....but I might remake the ATC one later....with different music, titles, and the few additional ATCs that are still arriving here in South Carolina.

I will be moving the video of Emmy's TAST fabric book to this blog soon. Also, I'm planning to create videos of the other books that will be part of the exhibition. Of course, I'll be making videos of the opening reception, Fiber Day, and ATC Day too!

I hope everyone enjoys these "teaser" videos. The on-line exhibition will be available on Christmas Day!

Happy Holidays!

Another Update!

2008-12-12T14:33:00.002-05:00

The photos of the ATC are finished (except for a few that are still in the mail!). A video has been created! Each ATC is featured for approximately three seconds before fading into the next. The video runs for seven and a half minutes! That's because there's 163 ATCs! I'm working on a video...or maybe two...for the postcards. There's 276 of them! These videos will make their debut next week....as a teaser for the on-line exhibition.

Here's my plan: I'm going to spend at least eight hours on Christmas Eve uploading all the images for the on-line exhibition. This is my Christmas gift to BLOGLAND! I hope everyone enjoys it! Merry Christmas! There will be additional videos and posts to cover the physical exhibition, Fiber Day, ATC Day, etc.....so "stay tuned"!

INTERNATIONAL RANDOM ATC SWAP

2008-12-10T13:24:00.002-05:00

DEADLINE: January 17, 2009
ALL ATCs and self-addressed, sufficiently stamped envelopes must arrive here before January 17, 2009

Address:
CYBER FYBER
2123 Park Street
Columbia, SC 29201
USA

Click here for more information!

CYBER FYBER update

2008-12-08T17:49:00.000-05:00

(Click on image above to enlarge.)
In exactly one month CYBER FYBER opens at Gallery 80808/Vista Studios here in Columbia, SC. I've been swamped with preparations. Right now....this is how it looks.... full sized notebooks of postcards and little, CD sized notebooks of ATCs. All the exhibition labels have been created and printed. Emails have been sent to those from whom I've not yet received a trade (and most of these people responded in record time! Thanks!)

The boxes at the back of the table are for the International Random Trade....one for the envelopes....one for the ATCs! I'll be blogging about this more tomorrow! It's not too late to join in! (Just send one, two, or three ATCs in any media with self-addressed, stamped envelopes in your own country's stamps....they must arrive before ATC Day, January 17th!)

The invitational section of CYBER FYBER has been edited....and I've been in contact with each of the invited artists....and received some wonderful artwork already! I've also created a mailing list for a special email invitation to the exhibition...everyone who traded should be on it! I'm excited! I hope everyone is too! Next....creating the on-line exhibition....no peeking....I'm not going to upload the photos until all the posts have been created! I'll edit the pictures into the posts later!

More Funding and Six Weeks in Paradise

2008-10-13T13:13:00.003-04:00

It's been a while since I've posted here....but there's more than a few good reasons!

First, I'm currently on Maine's remote Westport Island at the prestigious MacNamara Foundation spending six weeks at an artist's residency program. It is a paradise. I can still hardly believe that I was selected for this opportunity: room & board, studio space, and time to create art! Above is a photo of the front of the renovated 9000 square foot, 1860s era Pennsylvania barn that was moved to the property. It is called "The Barn". The interior is exquisite. Original art is everywhere. The studio space (below) is central, open, and totally equipped for every artistic need. All this luxury, all these hours of uninterrupted work time, and spotty Internet connections make blogging a lower priority....but productivity has never been higher! I am, however, blogging about the work I'm creating on my personal blog: http://artbysusanlenz.blogspot.com. Check it out!

Second, I've been busy with CYBER FYBER seeking additional funding sources and am proud to announce that Leonard Long of Kiawah Development Partners in Charleston has come through with a check. Leonard Long probably wouldn't want me bragging about him. He hates anything remotely "ostentatious". Leonard is larger than life with a strong historic grounding, excellent tastes in everything, and he leads with strong professionalism and a clear, informed vision. I've had the privilege to frame for him and his "projects" (entire golf clubhouses, sales centers, schools, private residences, etc.) for over fifteen years. He is amazing. He loves art and artists. My best business efforts are always for Leonard Long. His support means the world to me.

ATCs in Binders and MONEY!

2008-09-04T16:40:00.003-04:00

Labor Day weekend provided an opportunity to really "labor"...uninterrupted work time...a chance to really get some important organizational things done for CYBER FYBER. I worked on the 163 ATCs for two days, creating all the exhibition labels and the small binders. Each binder has approximately 20 plastic sleeves. Each sleeve has a page with an image of the ATC I traded and its description plus the name, country, and blog/webpage for the fiber artist who created the ATC that is also inside the plastic sleeve.

(Click on either image to enlarge.)

It was really fun doing all this because it gave me an opportunity to peek in on several blogs. One of the unfortunate things about CYBER FYBER is that I don't personally have the time to read blogs like I used to do....but....once this is over, I've got lots of great places, new friends, and diverse blogs to really follow on a regular basis.

And now for some really GOOD NEWS: The Cultural Council of Richland and Lexington Counties has decided to fund CYBER FYBER with an $800 grant! I've got to add the "required blurb" on the site but I'm really thrilled as all this money will be going toward Internet access for Gallery 80808/Vista Studios....for CYBER FYBER's physical exhibition to be legally in touch with the rest of the world...with a strong signal! Hopefully, there'll be lots of people learning more about our blogs, blogging in general, and about fiber arts of all kinds!

UPDATE!

2008-08-28T18:18:00.002-04:00

(Above: Embroiderers admiring kanthas after Dorothy Tucker's lecture.)

I'm been more than a little negligent in updating this blog. In my defense, I'm been busy....really, really busy. One of the most important things has been a trip to the Swedish Embroidery Symposium. I learned about it on Annica's blog. Annica helped me get enrolled....she met me at the train station (first stop past the airport!), she brought my bed linens (the symposium was held in a boarding school with dormitory accommodations), she arranged a place for my last three nights in Stockholm, she gave Sara Lechner and I guided tours through her home city, and she shared stories and stitches. OF COURSE, ANNICA IS NOW PART OF THE INVITATIONAL SECTION OF CYBER FYBER. This experience was only possible because of the wonderful, Internet connected community of like-minded textile artists! This is what CYBER FYBER is all about.

I've also had an opportunity to pitch CYBER FYBER to the entire board of directors of the local Cultural Council....but I don't have any photos. I'm still trading both postcards and ATCs in Round Two. I've arranged a promotional display for CYBER FYBER at another local art event called Unearthed. I'm ready to send "Artist Exhibition Agreements" to the artists in the Invitational section of the show. Cindi Boiter is submitted articles for publication. I'm still soliciting for grants and sponsorships. Plus, the "Artist Exhibition Agreement" contracts are ready to be sent to those in the invitational section of the show! Amazing! I'm also preparing to go to Maine for six weeks and still be able to conduct CYBER FYBER business via a laptop and my wonderful husband Steve. Amazing again!

Below are additional photos from the Swedish Embroidery Symposium!

(Above: Tilleke Schwarz's class.)

(Above: Sara Lechner stitching.)

(Above: A group project!)

(Above: Embroiderer hard at work in the Wij Gardens.)

Another Sponsor!

2008-08-02T18:37:00.004-04:00

Above is a photo of my dear friend Connie Williams. Connie is one of those wonderful, rare individuals who loves the arts and PUTS HER MONEY into it. She and her husband Carl have sponsored visual artists, art events, ballet, drama programs, and served on several arts organizations. Connie used to be on the board of directors at both the local Cultural Council and the South Carolina Arts Commission. Believe it or not, Connie and Carl celebrate their 40th wedding anniversary next year! I would likely be "swimming in money" for CYBER FYBER if I could promise that every donor would feel so good about giving that she'd end up looking as young and happy as Connie.....but.....maybe you will! Contribute and see....any amount will do!

I'll be attending the Swedish Embroidery Symposium starting TOMORROW....gone for a week where I'll be studying design under the renown Dutch fiber artist Tilleke Schwartz, meeting the other international teacher Sara Lechner, and meeting several cyber friends including the fabulous Annica! From the beginning of CYBER FYBER, I put this upcoming experience on my "wish list". If it hadn't been for blogging, I'd never have heard of this symposium. Because of blogging, I'm being met at the train station and helped even with accommodations in Stockholm! I plan on learning new approaches and conceptual ideas for stitch while asking some of the participants to send work for the CYBER FYBER invitational section of the exhibition. Obviously, travel and real life encounters are an important aspect of Internet exposure.....so I'm really excited about this benefit....mind, body, and soul!

Going to Manchester for a week!

2008-07-07T13:42:00.002-04:00

This post is just a little notice for those who might be wondering about the status of a trade or the reason why an email might not be immediately answered. Steve and I are going to Manchester, England for a week. Mathias, our elder son, will be dancing peasant pas (this is a really big deal!) in Giselle and will also be appearing in the Stravinsky triple bill with Birmingham Royal Ballet. We are planning a day trip to Buxton and time in some of the local museums. We return on Tuesday, July 15!

Creating images of wonderful postcards!

2008-07-07T13:18:00.007-04:00

(Click on image to enlarge)

Upper left: Postcard 10 by Jacque Davis, Illinois, USA
Lower left: Postcard 23 by Jane Howie of New Zealand
Upper right: Postcard 6 by Anne Marie Desaulniers of Canada
Middle right: Postcard 1 by Virginia Spiegel of Illinois, USA
Lower right: Postcard 12 by Karen Stiehl Osborn of Nebraska, USA

Thank goodness CYBER FYBER has a professional writer who understands the "ins and outs" of submitting articles for publication. It is lots more complicated than I ever imagined...especially since we're aiming for some impressive magazines....like Fiberarts.

One does not just write an article....one submits a synopsis with appropriate visuals (300 dpi, 5", Tif format) accompanied by writing samples and a resume! Then....if they like it... one is commissioned to write an article. This is professional, top notch, and....thankfully CYBER FYBER has just the writer to do this.

I created some of the "visuals". These seven images are NOT them....but they look EXACTLY like them....just in a smaller size and in a jpeg format! It was difficult to select which ones to photograph because each trade is simply wonderful. I worked quickly....just grabbing ones that looked good together....ones that I thought might reproduce in a magazine well. So, this is a "sneak preview" of some of the wonderful postcards.

Cross your fingers that an article is commissioned!

(Click on image to enlarge.)

Vertical on left: Postcard 72 by Donna Royer of Canada
Vertical on right: Postcard 30 by Susan Sawatzky of Washington State, USA
Center, top: Postcard 36 by Pat Thornhill of the United Kingdom
Center, middle: Postcard 75 by Caroline Commins of California, USA
Center, bottom: Postcard 46 by Judy Carpenter of Georgia, USA

(Click on image to enlarge.)

Vertical on left: Postcard 34 by Fannie Narte of Texas, USA
Vertical on right: Postcard 58 by Anne Jones of France
Center, top: Postcard 62 by Susan Devonport of the United Kingdom
Center, middle: Postcard 42 by Pearl Hamilton of Canada
Center, bottom: Postcard 68 by Nikki Wheeler of Washington State, USA

(Click on image to enlarge.)

Top, left: Postcard 79 by Linda Watts of Cyprus
Top, center: Postcard 48 by Fulvia Boriani Luciano of South Carolina, USA
Top, right: Postcard 49 by Yvonne Moxon of Scotland
Bottom, left: Postcard 44 by Myra Stuart of North Carolina, USA
Bottom, right: Postcard 70 by Annica Lindsten of Sweden

(Click on image to enlarge.)

Top, left: Postcard 91 by Barbara Bunchuk of Florida, USA
Top, center: Postcard 147 by Karen Christensen of Illinois, USA
Top, right: Postcard 113 by Nellie Durand of Tennesse, USA
Bottom, left: Postcard 84 by Juliane Lofquist-Birch of Illinois, USA
Bottom, right: Postcard 103 by Suzan Widecrantz of New Jersey, USA

(Click on image to enlarge.)

Top, left: Postcard 85 by Dagmar Kessler of Germany
Bottom, left: Postcard 121 by Val Foster of Colorado, USA
Middle: Postcard 101 by Hope Clinchot of Virginia, USA
Top, right: Postcard 100 by Cynthia St. Charles of Montana, USA
Bottom, right: Postcard 105 by Maggie Harris of the United Kingdom

(Click on image to enlarge.)

Top, left: Postcard 114 by Diane Lochala of Mississippi, USA
Bottom, left: Postcard 158 by Linda Stokes of Australia
Top, right: Postcard 124 by Carol Taylor of Wales
Center, right: Postcard 110 by Helen Suzanne Alexander of Scotland
Bottom, right: Postcard 127 by Jocelyn Goodger of New Zealand

Cindi Boiter wins award!

2008-07-03T10:23:00.002-04:00

Cindi Boiter, the wonderful writer for CYBER FYBER, was just named as one of the winners of the prestigious 2008 South Carolina Fiction Project. The announcement included the following:

A resident of Chapin, Cynthia Boiter ("Shoes") is a six-time winner of the S.C. Fiction Project, a former fellow of the South Carolina Academy of Authors in both fiction and non-fiction, and the recipient of the Porter Fleming Award for fiction and the W. W. Norton 2008 Women on Writing first-prize winner. Her first Fiction Project winning story, "The Proposal," was included in the Hub City Writer's anthology, Inheritance, edited by Jeanette Turner Hospital. When she is not writing she teaches in the Women's and Gender Studies Program and the Department of Sociology at the University of South Carolina.

Meeting at the South Carolina Arts Commission

2008-06-25T09:45:00.007-04:00

Yesterday I pitched CYBER FYBER to three important staff people at the South Carolina Arts Commission. I brought unopened CYBER FYBER mail too....because it is always impressive. The trades were spectacular, of course. Above is Sara June Goldstein, Program Director for Design Arts and Literary Arts and County Coordinator for Calhoun, Lexington and Richland Counties. I'm in Richland County...so she's the representative to whom I first spoke. Sara June set up this meeting and is pictured here opening Elena Chipara's envelope from ROMANIA! Even the stamps were impressively artsy!

Above is Harriett Green, Program Director for Visual Arts...for the entire state. She is opening Linda Cunningham's well padded and equally impressive trade from Canada.

The meeting was held in Executive Director Suzy Surkamer's spacious office. It was a wonderful opportunity to talk about the exhibition, the artists involved, the progress made thus far, and other avenues I might try for funding. It was also the first meeting at which the people involved were thoroughly familiar with the project. They'd all done their "homework", so to speak....which I appreciated so very, very much. No other meeting has been able to talk about the exhibition in detail. This was more than an "introduction"; it seemed much more serious. Unfortunately, the Arts Commission can likely grant no funds because Richland county has a sub-granting agency....the Cultural Council with whom I've already met and applied for a grant. Yet, these people were genuinely interested and said they'd look into any possibility to help...even financially! I considered the forty-five minutes quite successful. I'm grateful that they saw me at all!

Above is Ken May, Deputy Director, showing off Joy Brooks' ATC...with a subtle dragonfly that also appeared on the nice notecard and was the image on the postal stamp too....really impressive details!

(Above and below are other pictures of Sara June and Harriett.)

Sorry I haven't posted in a month! Hard to believe!

2008-06-19T11:39:00.003-04:00

I just titled this post with my intended first sentence! It seems appropriate; so, I'll leave it. I haven't posted here in a month but it's not for lack of information. I've been BUSY! CYBER FYBER is coming along nicely.

I'd like to say a few words about Round Two of the fiber and postcard trading. They aren't flying out the door like the first round did....which is GOOD! I never expected all 163 postcards to be gone within six weeks. I thought I'd be begging people to trade with me. I've been using Sharon B's wonderful new stitchin fingers on-line community of textile artists to contact people living in countries and states that haven't yet participated. There are enough postcards and ATCs from which these new people can select. It has been wonderful. Here's the list so far:

Countries involved with trading: USA, Canada, Scotland, England, Wales, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Germany, Italy, Spain, France, Belgium, The Netherlands, Cyprus, India, Israel, South Africa, New Zealand, Austria, Romania, Poland, Japan, Malawi, Austria and Australia.

States involved with trading: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, Wyoming and an APO address in Europe.

I also want to thank everyone who voted for CYBER FYBER in the New Carolina Idea project. Your votes propelled us into the final round but we were not selected. To be honest, I never thought we'd get as far as we did. It was suppose to be for "business" ideas. Let's face it, CYBER FYBER isn't a business! Nonetheless, it was a lot of good exposure in South Carolina and the connections might result in something else.

As far as additional funding it concerned, CYBER FYBER received a monetary donation from one of the trading participants, Gail Vandenhout of Carthage, NC. She will be listed on all the printed material at the exhibition....and so will anyone else sending any contribution at all.

Also, I've contacted the Friends of Fiber Arts International in Western Springs, Illinois and have received an application for funding which is due by the end of the month. I'm quite excited. In a telephone conversation, I asked if the board of directors or any of the membership involved would be willing to share any feedback or ideas at all....so maybe something will come of this even if it isn't money! One way or the other, I'm grateful to a group working hard to promote fiber arts all over the globe.

One last item! My trip to Sweden for the Embroidery Symposium is all set up...at least I've been accepted, have an airline ticket, and managed to get my local bank to figure out how to wire money for the fees! This is just one more example of the fabulous opportunities one can learn through Internet access. Without reading blogs I would never have known that Tilleke Schwartz was teaching design (Telling Your Own Story: Inspiration for Narrative Design) and Sara Lechner will be teaching "Surfaces to Stitch" which includes embellishing machine instruction. I'm taking Tilleke's class. The decision was based on the fact that my embellishing machine will not operate on the electrical system in Sweden. (Although later I was offered a "loaner", I stuck with this decision. It would be too tempting to duplicate Sara's incredible work...which I adore...and now, because of CYBER FYBER, actually own in postcard form!) Thus, the last remaining part of my INVITATIONAL WISH LIST can be added....I'll be looking for work that represents the symposium for CYBER FYBER. Internet access made this all possible. Learning about such educational opportunities is a definite benefit to on-line communication!

CYBER FYBER has a writer

2008-05-14T13:09:00.004-04:00

Yesterday I met with Cindy Boiter, a local freelance writer and adjunct faculty member in the Women's Studies department at the University of South Carolina. We discussed CYBER FYBER and its publication needs. Cindy has agreed to fill these needs....so CYBER FYBER HAS A WRITER! Recently, Cindy won the first prize in the WOW! 2008 Winter Flash Fiction contest. She was interviewed here. The story, which is wonderful and short....so READ IT...is here.

ROUND TWO BEGINS TOMORROW

2008-05-10T10:20:00.004-04:00

How many people knew that posting over 50 entries within 24 hours causes lots of problems on Blogger? First, there's a "word verification" window with impossible to recognize letters...some of which are capitalized but don't look it. Sometimes, Blogger simply forgets to show the tangle of letters at all but expects you to fill in the blank tab...just try guessing! Blogger was very slow yesterday...and then uploaded a bunch of postcards are verticals despite the fact they aren't. I also can't count. There is no postcard # 228. I have no idea why. I just skipped that number completely....

...but....

ROUND TWO is posted and ready for trading tomorrow! This is for NEW TRADERS ONLY! Please, everyone else....just spread the word! I'm working on another "connected" blog for the INTERNATIONAL RANDOM TRADE. I'll be coming soon. In the meantime, I'm seeking funding but have found a writer and a caterer!

ATCs
POSTCARDS

CYBER FYBER needs votes!

2008-05-08T11:08:00.001-04:00

As most people reading this probably know, I've been pitching the CYBER FYBER to various groups, creating information packets for business leaders, and seeking funding for the exhibition. The Vista Guild awarded $1000. New Carolina had no money but an opportunity to submit the project into their "idea contest". They are giving away well over $8000 to various South Carolina ideas. Cyber Fyber has made it into the second of three rounds. To advance, votes are needed. Please click here and vote for the LAST IDEA LISTED! Thanks a million!

ANOTHER ROUND OF TRADING!

2008-04-30T12:08:00.004-04:00

I've got over 120 fiber postcards and 30 or so ATCs finished and ready to be photographed, numbered, described, and unloaded for another round of trading. Trading will begin on Sunday, May 11, Mother's Day here in the USA. This is for NEW PARTICIPANTS! You must have a blog, website, active profile, Flickr! account, or place for the PUBLIC to leave to a comment in order to trade! This is first come; first serve.....but...

I am particularly interested in people living OUTSIDE these countries:

USA, Canada, Scotland, England, Wales, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Germany, Italy, Spain, France, Belgium, The Netherlands, Cyprus, India, Israel, South Africa, New Zealand, and Australia.

ANYONE IN SOUTH AMERICA? PLEASE!!!

I am also particularly interested in people living OUTSIDE these states:

Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Wisconsin and an APO address in Europe.

Meeting at New Carolina

2008-04-28T15:20:00.004-04:00

(Above Amy Love, communications director at New Carolina, opened Mary Lammers postcard from Eagle River, Alaska. Click on image to enlarge.)

Today was another meeting in which I had the opportunity to pitch CYBER FYBER. It was held at New Carolina. It went very well; but, to be honest, I'm a little depressed...and a little thankful.

I'm happy that my days aren't filled with meetings, that I don't have to seek funding for employment, and that I'm not part of any bureaucracy. I've always DONE things...I was a part time typist/secretary in high school. I waited tables. I delivered singing and dancing telegrams. I started my own business framing pictures. I'm an artist. I DO things...everyday...something always gets accomplished.

Rarely do I spend hours and hours, days upon days, weeks after weeks...planning, interfacing, scheduling, or just talking about remote possibilities and future endeavors. I have an idea, decide on an action plan, and do the work. That's how I approached CYBER FYBER and probably why most people recognize how organized it is. That's also why others are impressed that so much has happened...so many trades, so many countries and states, so many plans in place.

I'm a bit depressed, of course, because that's not how things are done in the corporate world. The meeting didn't generate any funds...but it did provide positive feedback and discussion. It might lead to more meetings, introductions to businesses related to the textile industry, and new ideas. Thankfully, I've got a few ideas of my own...a quiet action plan that just might have to be put into action if all this networking is just a bunch of unattached wires.

Well, there's my rant for the day. The meeting did include a few major highlights....unopened envelopes were presented. There is always a rush when a lovely textile creation appears inside. The images here depict that excitement.

By the way, today, April 28, is my personal SECOND ANNIVERSARY OF BLOGGING! I'm having my first ever "give away" on my blog. Overall, the fabulous postcards and ATC that were unveiled this afternoon and this anniversary make today truly special!

(Above: Andy Witt, executive director of the Richland and Lexington Cultural Council, opened Lora Martin's postcard from Santa Barbara, California. Click on image to enlarge.)

(Above: Lindsey Spires, administrative and research assistant at New Carolina, opened Sarah Graham's ATC. Click on image to enlarge. Sarah is the only person from my hometown with whom I've traded. She and I met last Thursday night in my studio during the annual spring art event, Artista Vista. She had agreed to help me with ATC Trading Day, January 17, 2009!)

(Above: Amy Love opened Sharon Schutt's postcard and ATC from Fort Wayne, Indiana. Click on image to enlarge.)

(Above: Andy Witt opened Karen Wentworth's postcard from South Africa. Click on image to enlarge.)

(Above: Lindsey Spires opened Myfanwy Hart's postcard from the UK. Click on image to enlarge.)

Hurrah for the Vista Guild Board!

2008-04-12T09:47:00.000-04:00

Deirdre Mardon is a WONDERFUL lady! Her Vista Guild Board is a WONDERFUL group! They voted to fund CYBER FYBER with $1000. I'm thrilled pink!

Vista Guild Board Meeting

2008-04-11T10:15:00.003-04:00

Last night was one of those sleepless ones....filled with anticipation and worry....wondering what words to choose during a brief presentation before the Vista Guild's board of directors....pitching CYBER FYBER and hoping for funding. The wonderful Deirdre Mardon (she's the nice lady closest to the camera) arranged for me to speak. I prepared packets of information including the working budget and a list of the countries and states involved. Each one received one of my fiber ATCs too. Most were interested in the possibilities of visitors coming from outside our city limits....so, if anyone is planning to come to Columbia next January, drop Deirdre an email. staff@vistacolumbia.com. All in all, the presentation went well. My fingers are crossed that these folks voted to support the show financially! Thanks to Deirdre, I feel positive energy! This has been quite a learning experience.

Home from Manchester!

2008-04-07T17:45:00.002-04:00

(Above: Laura-Jane Gibson, me, and Mathias at Costa Coffeehouse in Salford Quays, England.)

It took twenty-one hours from the time I left the hotel until I arrived in Columbia, but I'm back. The trip was WONDERFUL. Above is a photo of me with Mathias and his girlfriend. They were both spectacular in Birmingham Royal Ballet's production of Swan Lake. I took 699 images, wrote dozens and dozens of pages in my journal, went to York, Bradford (Texera Mills), Chester, and to the Whitworth Gallery in Manchester. I'll be writing about these experiences on my blog....but, otherwise, I'm working on CYBER FYBER again...a bit every day!

I'm going to England...Next Week!

2008-03-24T14:37:00.002-04:00

Steve recently went to England...flew in and out of Edinburgh, Scotland. He visited Durham, York, Edinburgh, and Sunderland....a whirlwind of sight-seeing and watching our elder son Mathias, a second year member of Birmingham Royal Ballet. Mathias is dancing the second male principal role in Swan Lake....okay, he's in the six cast...but he got to perform and will be doing so again on the evening of April 2 in Manchester. (Casting is listed here.) Steve said that we'd just have to frame a bunch more pictures because I had to go too! Steve is a real "wiz" on the airline websites. I'm leaving here on March 31st. I'm planning day trips to York and Chester. I return the following Sunday.

So....any other suggestions...great places for fibers? Anyone live anywhere near these places? Want to meet?

(For those who'd like to see Mathias dancing....here his Corsaire variation performed in Varna at the IBC...International Ballet Competition...during the summer of 2006. He won the Junior Gold medal.)

Another Round of Trading Scheduled for MAY!

2008-03-18T10:50:00.002-04:00

(Click on image to enlarge.)

To tell the truth, I never thought I'd be able to trade all 163 postcards or over 110 of the ATCs...NEVER...much less in about six weeks. More honesty reveals that I never thought I'd be able to trade with fabulous stitchers in 21 different countries and in 36 states here in the USA...NEVER.

Thank you all for proving that NEVER is NOW! For proving that our cyber community is deeper, more generous, and ever growing! YOU ARE ALL WONDERFUL...and TALENTED...and AMAZING!

To celebrate....I'm going to have another round of trading! The image here is of an older piece...a silk painted experiment...which is about to go under the rotary cutter and become postcards! The coming round of trading will be for NEW PARTICIPANTS! I'm especially eager to see if I can have all 50 states and a few more countries represented....so....here's the list:

COUNTRIES: USA, Canada, Scotland, England, Wales, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Germany, Italy, Spain, France, Belgium, The Netherlands, Cyprus, India, Israel, South Africa, New Zealand, and Australia.

STATES: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Wisconsin and an APO address in Europe.

Pitching CYBER FYBER

2008-03-12T14:32:00.003-04:00

(Click on both images to enlarge!)

I hardly slept last night. Visions of my computer screen, of CYBER FYBER trading, postcards, and ATCs faded in and out of view, a twilight sort of restlessness...stress! I shouldn't have worried. I was quite prepared....packets of information that include site meter numbers, a working budget, a mission statement, my business cards, and a list of the countries (21) and states (36) involved.

I also brought two of the 3-ring binders full of traded postcards...quite impressive! Plus, I brought yesterday's unopened CYBER FYBER mail! Fred Delk, Executive Director of Columbia Development Corportation (on right), is opening Sharon Young's, envelope from the UK. Out popped an incredible postcard that she blogged about here. Andy Witt, Executive Director of the Cultural Council (left), is opening Helina Penttinen's envelope from Finland. Not only was there a beautifully stitched postcard, but there were four ATCs...one in exchange for ATC #130 and three for the International Random trading (scheduled for Saturday, January 17, 2009!) This was a perfect way for me to introduce this part of the event!

All in all, the meeting went well...despite the fact that three people weren't able to attend. Andy DeWitt has already written an email to solicit corporate sponsors and will be writing a grant. He also said I can apply for another grant as an individual artist. (I'll be doing it!) Fred Delk has a lead for possible in-kind help with the Internet needs. (Another meeting!)

From this meeting, I went on to talk to Deirdre Mardon. Deirdre has published seven novels, numerous story stories and was recently one of the 2006-07 South Carolina Fiction Project winners. She is also the director of the Congaree Vista Guild. She's pictured below opening Yarnpunk's envelope from Alaska. Inside was a postcard and ATC of complex texture and richness...quite impressive! Deirdre needs a statement and a brief presentation next month to her board of directors. No problem...another meeting...another sleepless night and a morning of excitement! I can handle it!

By the way, the envelopes were selected totally at random. Thank you Sharon, Helina, and Elizabeth (Yarnpunk!) for providing the dazzle for these meetings!

The Exhibition is Insured!

2008-03-11T21:36:00.003-04:00

After several telephone calls, my darling husband managed to request/arrange/confirm a "rider" on our business insurance policy for Gallery 80808 during the month of January 2009! I am proud (an more than a bit relieved!) to announce THE EXHIBITION IS INSURED!

Tomorrow is my "big meeting". I've resisted opening the trades that have arrived yesterday and today. I'm taking these nice, internationally stamped envelopes with me. I plan to photograph and blog about the meeting and feature those in attendance opening my CYBER FYBER mail! Hopefully, this will cause such a sensation that funding will easily follow!

POSTCARDS ARE ALL TRADED!

2008-03-10T14:13:00.002-04:00

The last of the postcards is now in its envelope waiting to go to Finland! All 163 are gone. I haven't posted in several days....but....I've been busy with CYBER FYBER.

First, I've got a big meeting with all sorts of "heads" of things this Wednesday...with the head of the local Cultural Council, the head of Downtown Columbia Development, and the heads of some corporations and/or businesses that might sponsor CYBER FYBER with funds or in-kind services. I've been working on my budget, creating a packet of material about the exhibition, and preparing for the meeting.

In the meantime, Steve solved the issue with the scanner. It now works again...just won't open using PhotoShop for some reason. The three-ring binders are ready to process and accept the trades in an organized fashion...labels and everything! I'll be getting the time I need this week because Steve is leaving for England tomorrow. He'll be seeing Mathias dance the principal role of Benno in Birmingham Royal Ballet's Swan Lake. Here at home, work slows to a crawl when one of us is away.

I am thinking about doing another round of trades in May...with those who haven't traded yet. I have two more older pieces that can go under the rotary cutter. I'll post photos of them soon...before cutting! I just bought a new digital camera too....so that Steve can take my older one to England.

LEAP DAY....and CYBER FYBER and I made the newspaper!

2008-02-29T11:35:00.004-05:00

Earlier in the week, my friend Jeffrey Day, arts writer for The State Newspaper, sent me an email asking what I planned to do for Leap Day. I wrote back. He returned my message with a request for my age and a photo. I told him that I came from a time when dinosaurs roamed the Earth...also known as 1959. I furnished a photo taken last summer by Stephen Chesley, my mentor and a great oil painter. I was painting out the rest of my heat-active paints on a long roll of white Kraft paper. I just posted the article on my "regular" blog, here.

One of the best things about this is the fact that the CYBER FYBER link works in the on-line version of the article and it is the first time CYBER FYBER has been mentioned in a public newspaper! I'm thrilled.

Mail....and looking for MONEY!

2008-02-26T17:37:00.007-05:00

The organization of the exhibition has required me to keep every trade I've received in its envelope, stacked in a now totally overflowing box. I'm still working on the three ring binder system in which everything will be placed, labeled, and numbered. There will be a photo of the postcard I traded with each one that I've received. Right now, our scanner is acting up and we might just pitch it for a newer, better model. In any event, Steve and I have opened each one in amazement and cannot wait to get prepared to take the next organizational set.

While the trading seems to be coming to a close, I'm just now really able to turn my attention to MONEY! That is FUNDING and GRANTS and writing a BUDGET. This is all a new world for me, but I've got lots of friends willing to help...some with loads of experience in the area. Just yesterday, I went to lunch with Fred Delk, the head of the Columbia Development Corporation and had a wonderful meeting about WiFi zones and Internet in the Vista area of Columbia, about grants, about possible corporate sponsorship...and generally "how things happen" in our city. Fred had already visited the CYBER FYBER site, was impressed, and is willing to help me.

Just before I was about to leave, the mail man arrived with a pile of envelopes from all over the world...CYBER FYBER trades. I didn't open a single one but put the entire bunch into a large bag and left. I also brought print outs of the site meters connected to these blogs, a list of the countries from where trades have happened, and several other "documents".

Fred was quite impressed with the site meter numbers, the countries, the response, but the envelopes made a far better impression. Since we were eating, we opened one...only one. Besides, I couldn't afford to let anything get mixed up before I am able to photograph, label, and place each trade into the right spot! So, one it was...Fred selected...it was from LuLu

Fred just couldn't believe this postcard and ATC! He turned both over and over again and again, raving about the detail, the beads and the quality of the stitching. If Fred Delk had any reservations before, they were swept away. I haven't photographed the card yet but it was based on one of my very favorite oil paintings by Abbott Thayer called Winged Angel Seated Upon a Rock. I've admired the original many times over the past several years where it hung in the grand hall of the Renwick while the Smithsonian's American Art Museum was being renovated. I've visited it since it moved back after the 2006 reopening. I love this image. Thank you LuLu!

(Above: Abbott Thayer's Winged Angel Seated Upon a Rock)

Shifting Gears

2008-02-21T16:38:00.003-05:00

The trading seems to be coming to a close. There are few ATCs left and fewer postcards. I am truly amazed. Trading only officially began just under three weeks ago. I am almost ready to start documenting each trade....major organizational plan is in place! There's pictures to be taken, labels to create, and three-ring binders to fill. So, I'm shifting gears from on-line trading to exhibition preparations.

I've got a meeting with the head of Downtown Columbia Development on Monday...a real "business lunch"....something that is a very, very rare occurrence! I saw this man at another meeting I attended last night. I didn't even have to start the conversation. He's looked at the CYBER FYBER site and is already impressed. I know his help is going to be invaluable.

I also met the editor of a slick, artsy new quarterly magazine called Undefined. It's a local publication using freelance writers. With any luck, I'm going to be connected with some young, energetic writer who will submit articles for publication. I subscribe to only two fiber related magazines: Fiberarts and American Craft. There website's have clear submission guidelines. However, I don't really know much about quilt magazines, craft magazines, or other publications that might be interested in an article about CYBER FYBER....especially magazines in, say, Great Britain and elsewhere in the English speaking world. I have no idea who or how to approach foreign magazines. I'd love to hear suggestions....hint, hint, hint!

I have other great news: The MacNamara Foundation has awarded me a six week residency in Maine starting in mid-September....uninterrupted creative time in a professional, studio environment! I am truly stunned. The timing is also such that I can easily take these six weeks without CYBER FYBER and still have everything in order for the exhibition in January.

Valentine's Day

2008-02-14T20:17:00.002-05:00

I breezed in and out of the mammography unit at the doctor's office this morning. It was painless...just a bit uncomfortable. I'm cancer free and urge every woman to take the time for preventive screening. Together we can spread awareness and give support. Get your mammogram! Anyway, the speedy test left more time for CYBER FYBER trading and a few other artistic pieces of paperwork. I turned in my CD-ROM for the Verner Award Art sale. I've been fortune enough to have been selected for this event each year for the past six. I heard from my parents too. They've just returned from visiting my sister Wanda in Germany. Wanda is sick. She's in the hospital now with a severe case of bronchitis, on an IV and several antibiotics. She's not allow to speak, even in a whisper, and will spend three days under the hospital's care followed by a week recovery at home. Reinhard, Wanda's childhood sweetheart and now her "special" friend, is tending to her care. I've heard that wedding bells might be ringing soon. Wanda deserves a happy marriage, a wonderful husband, and a chance to recover...she's one of the invited artists for CYBER FYBER! Maybe there will be a honeymoon in the Carolinas next January...though my husband is hoping for a wedding in Radstadt, Austria followed by a sled riding reception!

I'm going to my studio!

2008-02-13T17:28:00.002-05:00

If you are still waiting for me to trade with you or answer an email, please be patient. I'm actually going to my studio to work there on my own art....Don't worry! I haven't totally neglected my personal work. I've been hand stitching everyday....but I need to visit my machines. Tomorrow I'll be back to work on CYBER FYBER but not all day. I've got a mammogram....gotta do it....I'm old and the doctor insists.

Almost Caught Up!

2008-02-12T19:01:00.001-05:00

For the first time in days I'm easily within twenty-four hours of answering messages addressed to CYBER FYBER. There are so many, many wonderful things that have happened...and I pray that I remember them all so that I can share each little miracle....like MY MOM IS TRADING WITH ME! She actually thought she'd "cheat" and use my sister Wanda's blog! So, last night, my husband Steve and I created a brand new blog just for her! In fact, several new blogs have been created...just in order to trade with me. Now this is news that brings tears to my eyes while almost taking my breathe away! I do intend to post all these new places in a separate message soon.

Another fun thing that has happened since late last week is the fact that my husband Steve starts hanging around the front door in the early afternoon...looking for the mailman. He's beat me to him every day and acts like a kid on Christmas morning when we're opening the packages.

Right now, we're headed to see the National Symphony Orchestra...we're seriously late!

(Click on image to enlarge.)

PS The performance was wonderful. They started with Mozart's Magic Flute overture and ended with Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition, which is a rather special piece to me. Two years ago I created a game board that mixed elements from Trivial Pursuit and Parcheesi to be shown at a local Philharmonic fund raiser. Technically, the game could be played...but even I don't remember enough to answer the questions and collect the portfolio of artwork required to win. For a finale they played part of Copland's Appalachian Spring that will be forever "Lord of the Dance" to me...fond childhood memories of church camp. Now, this is Martha Graham dance music...something I'll likely never see Mathias perform...but then they play Stars and Stripes and my mind was full of Balanchine choreography and grand pirouettes.

Tomorrow I promise a post on the EXCITING NEW DEVELOPMENTS for the INTERNATIONAL RANDOM ATC TRADE...plus private emails to all those whose trades arrived today (and will arrive tomorrow). Oh, I have a meeting with the head of the Downtown Columbia Development Corporations to discuss making Gallery 80808 a WiFi zone...that's coming up in two weeks. Steve is starting the insurance issues. We're going to "race" to see who's the quickest to gain our goals!

ANOTHER UPDATE!

2008-02-08T15:36:00.000-05:00

Last night was WONDERFUL. When Steve and I arrived at the art reception we noticed that one of my smaller pieces was already labeled as having received a "Patron Purchase". As far as I was concerned, this made my evening. The food was incredible...mostly homemade and totally delicious...there was live music and lots of nice people. At about 8:00 PM the juror, Carrie Brown said a few words and the awards were presented. I WON ONE OF THREE FIRST PLACE PRIZES for In Box XXXIX! It was a total surprise and a high honor!

Today, I did get some framing work done but spent most of the day trading postcards, ATCs, and trying to work on CYBER FYBER. I'm still behind....so, if you haven't heard from me....please be patient. I'm now off to Florence, South Carolina again...for an evening in my "booth" followed by a day there as well...half a day and "break down" on Sunday. I'll be back to trading on Sunday morning and again on Monday.

UPDATE!

2008-02-07T15:29:00.000-05:00

CYBER FYBER is trading wonderfully. There have been some very interesting email exchanges...some of which had me trying to remember a few words in German! How my admiration for bloggers using a second language has grown! There have also been several brand new blogs created. I plan on posting more about some of these special moments....but....there's trading to do first.

Also, SOME OF THE TRADES ARE ARRIVING HERE! This is SO exciting. Everything that has arrived has been carefully opened, marveled at, and put back into their envelopes. As soon as I can, I'll be photographing and documenting all of these items in their proper places and putting the pieces with their labeling information....everything absolutely will be labeled correctly next January for the exhibition! Lenna Andrews' was the first to arrive followed by Pam Snow's. My husband Steve is now really excited about all this too. He was always supportive...but now he's genuinely thrilled and generally beats me to the door when the mailman arrives.

I have to quit for the day. I'm off to an art reception for a juried show in Florence, South Carolina. I have two pieces in the exhibit....but there's more. This exhibit is part of a weekend arts event that includes a sale. It is the very first time that I've ever had a "booth" for my work in such an event. I can sell things tonight, tomorrow night, all day Saturday, and on Sunday afternoon. I'm also taking some hand stitching with me.

Oh, one more thing....many of the trades for CYBER FYBER have included a note that says, "This is my first trade ever". Guess what! CYBER FYBER is my first experience trading too. Now I know why so many people love this! Thank you to everyone that's trading...keep it coming...spread the word!

Twenty-four hours behind!

2008-02-06T00:19:00.001-05:00

Please note...I'm not complaining...but...if you have requested a trade and haven't heard from me yet please just be patient. I'm approximately twenty-four hours behind! It's not that I'm slow but some of the trades are more difficult than others. Some requests are not followed up with a private email including a "real" address...so I have to write a note asking for this. Also, I'm editing all the posts to reflect the trade and including links to the blog/website/profile/image account of each person with whom I'm trading. Of course, the system of trading requires labels...lots of labels...in order that next January's exhibition looks professional and everyone receives due credit. Then, of course, there's the actual envelopes to address, etc. If I only were doing this, I'd be more prompt...but I'm doing this while at work. I own the business...so I can't really get in trouble with the boss...but clients keep coming in needing my attention! So, I'm going as quickly as I can...and meeting some really nice, totally interesting people along the way...and seeing some really incredible fiber work on the blogs I'm linking...and addressing envelopes to exotic places in Alaska, Cyprus, Spain, and the northern island of New Zealand, etc. I'll be at it again tomorrow! Thanks for your patience!

CYBER FYBER UNDER WAY

2008-02-04T17:09:00.001-05:00

It's been a busy weekend. Trading is amazing. It is also a lot of work in order to keep everything organized and all "real" addresses private. I'm not complaining though because the first postcards and ATCs have already arrived. Soon, I'll start posting this....but I'm busy emailing people, addressing envelopes, and labeling everything very, very carefully! Steve posed with a handful of trades as he went to the post office earlier today! It's all very exciting. Thanks to everyone for your support.

ONE!

2008-01-31T12:29:00.000-05:00

It has been brought to my attention that I didn't make this very clear!

I can trade ONE Fiber ATC per person.
I can trade ONE Fiber POSTCARD per person.

Obviously, a person can trade one of each....but not more than one of each.

I would really love, however, to start getting some ATCs with self-addressed, sufficiently stamped envelopes for the International Random drawing scheduled for Saturday, January 17, 2009....any media....flat....limit THREE! (We are working on PayPal for those out of the USA...although we can accept VISA/MC via private email. $5.00 for the first ATC return envelope and $2 for the second and $2 for the third!)

Dale Rollerson and Sharon Boggon accept invitations to display!

2008-01-30T14:38:00.000-05:00

There's just one more name on my "wish list"...so my dreams are nearly a complete reality! Dale Rollerson of The Thread Studio in Perth, Australia and the very famous Sharon B (Boggon) have accepted their invitations to display at CYBER FYBER. Of course, I will add to the invitational section of the exhibition after the August trip to Sweden. It is impossible to anticipate the best way to include art/artist(s) that show how an Internet relationship results in international travel before actually going!

Several weeks ago I planned to "officially" announce CYBER FYBER on Saturday, February 2. At the time, I didn't think I could get all the postcards and ATCs stitched, photographed, and uploaded before that time. I certainly didn't think as many invited artists would have agreed to participate. I thought I'd be pulling my hair out frantically trying to prepare for an Internet launch. Instead, I'm waiting. I'm ready. I'm eager for Saturday...though, admittedly, a bit nervous. It's an excited sort of nervousness though...one I'm anxious to enjoy.

Acceptances and trading

2008-01-28T16:04:00.001-05:00

All the personal messages have been sent to those on my "Wish List". There are only three more artists from whom I've not heard...but its been only about twenty-four hours! I'm nervous but thrilled to announce that Jacqueline de Jong, Arlee Barr, and Beate Knapp have accepted their invitations to exhibit.

Beate Knapp's acceptance has really touched my heart because it was made with a huge leap of faith. Although I speak some German, I cannot write adequately in German. Without understanding the fine details, Beate accepted anyway. Fortunately, I have a dear friend Britta Cruz who now lives in Chicago. Britta was born and raised in Germany, has lived in Spain (and speaks Spanish fluently), and now resides with an adopted daughter (3 years old) and newly born twins, Aiden and Mia. Britta is a great ceramicist who also spins, knits, and expresses herself with fibers. I emailed my letter, Beate's response, and the link to CYBER FYBER. Within a few hours, Britta was typing to Beate. Britta is also now trading a postcard, and I am absolutely thrilled at the idea of having Beate's wonderful work in the exhibition! This is just another wonderful way in which the Internet has formed a supportive, global community for fiber artists.

Britta also let me know that she has work in the newly published book by Pluckfluff

INTERTWINED: The Art of Handspun Yarn, Modern Patterns and Creative Spinning

More Acceptances and first trades!

2008-01-24T13:30:00.000-05:00

Well...let's see...Nikki Wheeler accepted her invitation to participate in CYBER FYBER. Doreen Grey also accepted. That meant yesterday was a great day.

Dianne McGarth worked with me on the first fiber postcard trade and the first fiber ATC trade. They serve as an example. I took the first envelope to the post office and learned all about the costs of overseas shipping...information for ATC Trading Day and the International Random ATC Trade! That meant yesterday was a great day.

Corinne Stubson mentioned CYBER FYBER on her blog which resulted in a traded postcard with Dawn Sellers...before I got the starting day posted! Dawn provided some cool links to another fiber postcard group. That meant yesterday was a great day.

Before going to bed last night I checked the CYBER FYBER email...Dijanne Cevaal accepted my invitation. I hadn't even gotten up the courage to write to her yet! Now, that meant yesterday was a great day.

Today started out really well too. Peggy at Creative Sewing responded enthusiastically to my email about CYBER FYBER....hopefully, this means I'll have a business partner for Saturday, January 9, 2009, FIBER DAY!

Corrine Stubson Accepts Invitation!

2008-01-22T16:08:00.000-05:00

More good news! Corrine Stubson has graciously agreed to display one of her incredible books at CYBER FYBER!

ATCs finished and Penny Sisto joins Invitational Art

2008-01-22T15:35:00.000-05:00

Who would have ever guessed that eBlogger requires a word verification on each post past the first fifty during twenty-four hours! This it not deter me. Today, the ATCs were all posted...all 130 of them. Better news: Penny Sisto agreed to send two artquilts from her fabulous Slavery Series for the Invitational Art Section of CYBER FYBER.

ATCs and remaining postcards have been photographed

2008-01-20T11:30:00.001-05:00

(Click on image to enlarge. This is how the ATCs are organized.)

There's done! There are now 163 postcards and 130 ATCs. I've got them all photographed and organized. Tomorrow, I'll start color & contract corrections, reformatting, and uploading them. I'm getting more and more nervous. I hope people want to trade. The faster I work, the sooner I'll know!

130 Postcards on view

2008-01-18T10:20:00.000-05:00

There are now 130 postcards on view! I'm still finishing the two dozen others I've started and the four dozen more ATCs. Hopefully, I'll be photographing the ATCs and these remaining postcards by tomorrow.

Doreen caught all sorts of spelling errors. These have been corrected. My sister Wanda viewed this site and accepted her invitation to exhibit in that portion of the show...leaving the first comment. I'm starting to get worried...wondering...will anyone really want to trade with me? I sure hope so; I'm just excited and with this comes a case of "nerves".

Postcard system

2008-01-15T15:54:00.000-05:00

This afternoon I continued uploading each postcard onto the postcard blog. I thought I'd share my "system". Each postcard is filed and labeled with the same number used on the postcard blog. So far, I've posted the first 65...halfway there. Now it's time for me to go to the studio and get some ART done!

I've fixed the site meters. I still have to add the three other people, including Doreen, to the invitational wish list. I also must create a connected blog for ATC Trading Day and the information for the international ATC random trade. So far, Robert Kennedy, Stephen Chesley, Sharon Licata, Pat Callahan and Jeff Donovan has agreed to create ATCs from Vista Studio to start the random trade off. They're the only ones I've seen to ask, so this is a positive response.

I'll start the ATCs photos when the postcards are done...but I still have about two dozen more postcards and four dozen more ATCs waiting for edging in my studio. There's so much to do...but it is also time to share this with Doreen...before it becomes overwhelming to proofread. I'm going to send her a message before I leave for the studio.

Uploading pictures

2008-01-15T11:48:00.001-05:00

(Above: Photo of the backs of several ATCs being signed and dated in free motion embroidered stitches. Most of the postcard backs were done the same way.)

I'm taking a break from uploading the postcard images. It is going very well though. I noticed that my site meters are applied incorrectly. Somehow I managed to get only the site meter to the main blog applied...to all the connected blogs too. I'll have to look into this. More postcards will be uploaded later in the afternoon.

From focal point to fiber postcards

2008-01-14T23:37:00.000-05:00

(Click on image to enlarge.)

It seems like ages ago when I made this piece. In truth, it was the first piece I finished in January 2004...only four years ago. I called it Last Light Before Vespers. It measured 35" x 40" and was made by applying chiffon backed with unpainted Wonder Under to a large piece of polyester. The design was first affixed to that polyester using heat-activated transfer paints. I pieced together several sheer, black chiffon scarves over the entire work and added the details in free motion embroidery using a variegated thread. At the time, it was an "important" piece. I needed it. I was about to have my first solo show. Sure, it wasn't a "big deal" in the art community...but it was a big deal to me. The show was at Spartanburg Day School...a beautiful, friendly, and wealthy private institution with a great art center. The school printed and mailed color invitations, hosted a reception with live music, and hired me to teach their upper school students for two weeks as an artist-in-residence. It was an enchanting experience. I will be forever grateful...and I knew I needed something "BIG" for the exhibition. All the other work was 21" x 17"...smaller. The art center was BIG. I needed a BIG focal piece. Last Lights at Vespers was it. It looked fantastic...right in the middle of the large wall. I also used the piece in my solo exhibition at the Sumter Museum of Art, in Blues Chapel, my installation. Yet, I won't need it for Blues Chapel in Pickens this coming summer. The piece is too old to submit for other venues. It is too big for many other opportunities. It's been collecting dust in the back room for over a year. The frame was damaged...but the blue linen liner and the gold inner liner might look great if cut down on another piece I'm currently stitching. So, it was time to remove it from the frame. It was time for it to find a new life...to become POSTCARDS...forty-five or so postcards and several ATCs. Funny, I like it better as postcards than I ever did as a whole work...despite all the memories!

Creating the work

2008-01-14T23:11:00.000-05:00

Doreen G. is one of the only people who know about my plans for Cyber Fyber. She and Jean Bourque have agreed to proofread and advise me along the way...helping to make this exhibition successful. I am very, very grateful. I sent Doreen this image the other day and thought I had about forty or so postcards. After this weekend, I thought I had almost 100 complete...at least 90. Well, I can't count.

Today, I photographed all the postcards individually, color & contrast corrected each one, reformatted and numbered each image and started to post them on the connected blog for the postcards....there are 130...roughly 30 to 40 more than I thought. There are also two dozen more waiting to be edged in my studio. I think this is quite adequate for now!

Thoughts over the weekend, Jan. 12 and 13, 2008

2008-01-13T21:51:00.000-05:00

(Above: I can't stand the edges of the postcards and ATCs. They just won't zigzag perfectly...or at least I can't make them perfect. The corners aren't lovely. The layers show on the sides. Yet, Kate North told me that "anything goes"...so, that means paint. I've painted the edges of almost every postcard and ATC I've created...filled in the corners...made them "pretty". Above and below are pictures of the pieces I made this weekend...drying outside my studio door.)

Last weekend I decided to make my idea for an exhibition a reality. I decided that I would mount an exhibition called CYBER FYBER. I booked the dates for the show and I started making postcards and ATCs for trade. Throughout the week I've had to spend most of every day at Mouse House, my business, framing pictures...but my mind has been on CYBER FYBER. Every spare moment was spent on the computer, creating these blogs and my "wish lists". My late afternoons were spent back in the studio...cutting up older work for even more postcards and ATCs. It's been invigorating.

Today and yesterday were glorious weekend hours...full days in my studio...making postcards and ATCs. There's nearly 100 postcards and about 70 ATCs now. About two dozen more postcards and four dozen more ATCs are just waiting to be edged. I pinned up row after row of them in the gallery and shot pictures...suggestions for the exhibition to come.

I posted a picture on my blog about painted Wonder Under (Bond-a-Web)...as if this was how I spent my time. Truthfully, it takes me about an hour to paint a bolt of Wonder Under and clean up the brushes. Honestly, I was just trying to maintain my blog while subtly showing off the fabulous gallery that will host CYBER FYBER. I was also thinking...thinking about the things I need to do.

I need to select a blogger I've regularly read that successfully and beautifully can contribute a piece showing last year's "Take a Stitch Tuesday" challenge. There was a blogger making a book of all 52 weeks...who was she? Can I find this again? Who should I invite...it can't be Sharon B's blog because I need to add her to the invitational show for her new design challenge. There is also at least one other person to invite...Doreen G. She exemplifies the best reason for reaching out to a cyber community...friendship.

Doreen reads my blog, comments regularly, writes personal messages of support. She responded immediately to my half-hearted post about the "possibility" of trading Christmas ornaments. She provided most of the physical addresses I needed in order to surprise other bloggers with my first (rather poor) attempt at making postcards...Christmas gifts. She sent me the only ATC (other than my own) that I currently own. She's agreed to proof read and help with CYBER FYBER. I don't think she's on the Fiber Arts Friends blogring....she's just a TRUE FRIEND, who happens to live half way around the world.

To change the subject, I've also been thinking about contracts. I'll need to revise one of the contracts I've signed in order to establish a professional relationship with the invited artists. I've been thinking of the things I'd like to see in this contract if I were being invited. Obviously, dates of the show, deadlines for sending the art, time table for return of the art, insurance, return postage arrangements, invitation allotments, publicity matters....this is going to be hard, but I'm going to try my best to make this the sort of show I'd be honored to be in. The biggest problem is insurance. I don't know if it is even possible, but I do know a prominent, local artist with an insurance agent for a husband (my life insurance agent). There must be a way...but will it be affordable? I'd like to pay for all return shipments...but this would depend upon funding. I will be seeking funding...but how can I say that I'll provide it if I can't get it covered? I don't know but I'll work on this...personally, one-on-one with the invited artists...if each one gives me a chance...if they don't laugh first and say "no". I wouldn't say "no"...but I'm a risk taker and "hungry" for opportunities, willing to try anything with even a slight chance at promoting my art. I just don't know how some of these better known, more important artists will take my invitation. I do know that I'll work hard for them...for us...afterall, I am going to be part of this!

That's about it for today....yes, this entry is an exercise in "stream-of-consciousness" writing...just typing out what comes to mind...no editing...sharing my concerns, my plans, my hopes....hoping that the words ring with the sincerity of my convictions. Thankfully, I type fast...really fast.

Oh, one more thing for the record...Penny Sisto emailed me. Now, this is the Internet in action. She doesn't even have a blog. She has a website. Her granddaughter dances ballet. Her daughter mentioned her fiber arts when I read the posts on Ballet Talk for Dancers. Of course, I looked her up. Of course, we communicated through emails. Of course I've checked out her new series of art quilts. Of course I put her on my "wish list" for the invitational artwork. Evidently, she noticed CYBER FYBER on her site's meter. She emailed me today....oh, the power of the Internet...oh, the reach of a supportive, global community.

(Above: The stack of postcards made on Saturday...after the painted edges dried on Sunday!)

Creating CYBER FYBER

2008-01-11T13:11:00.001-05:00

While I was working in my studio, I began to think about how an exhibition like CYBER FYBER ought to be organized...and why people would come....and how I could best represent the effects of the Internet/blogging on my art...what the purpose of the exhibition was...and when the show ought to be held. Selecting the dates was the only easy thing.

The purpose became clearer and clearer...the purpose of this exhibition is to show viewers how access to the Internet can create a supportive, global community. By using me and my art as the example, viewers will see how such exposure changes a person, an artist, and might even change the viewer.

In order to best communicate this purpose, one thing became quite clear. I'd need Internet access during the exhibition. There will be at least two laptop computers available for viewer use...for viewers to post comments on the blogs of the participating artists. More than anything else, this will be FUN! Creating a cyber community is FUN! Viewers become participants. The purpose is met.

Next, the community I've established would need a physical presence...and the various aspects of this community as it applies to me would need physical definition. What does that mean? I'd need to show off work by as many cyber fiber friends as possible. I'd need to show specific reasons why this community is important to me and my work.

Well, the fiber postcard and fiber ATCs trades should certainly show off works of an international community of blogging fiber artists...it'll likely expand my community too! I didn't want to ask people to send something for nothing...hence, the trade! If this works well, I could need lots more fiber postcards and ATCs!

The trickier part, however, was showing specific examples/benefits of blogging. I had to think a long, long time because there are so many good examples, talented stitchers, fabulous pieces....and I know I couldn't include them all. This was going to have to be invited work. This was going to be hard...asking myself tough questions, picking some, not picking others. I'll never want to be a juror now. I've learned a lot of respect for those who curate, those who jury, and those who make these difficult decisions.

I've got my WISH LIST. I hope each artist says "yes". I am certainly willing to entertain other ideas!

WISH LIST (in no particular order)
Corrine Stubson, as an example of fiber books
Penny Sisto, an an example of finding a fiber artist through a non-fiber but computer communication (We are everywhere!)
Beate Knappe, as an example of an embellisher
Dijanne Cevaal, as an example of an international artist/curator and the first fiber blog I ever followed
Veleta of Sammy's Stuff, as an example of a beader
Jill Rumoshosky Werner, as an example of a conceptual fiber artist and communication from a former fiber forum
Nikki Wheeler, as an example of "inches" and "fabric paper"
Lynda Monk, as an example of a professional level student (City and Guilds) and writer of free on-line tutorials
Susan Sorrell, as an example of an Internet fiber instructor
Arlee Barr, as an example of a small group/RR organizer and how community is established in remote areas
Dale Rollerson, as an example of a supplier
Maggie Grey, as an example of a published author and for her close association with Valerie Campbell-Harding
Jacqueline de Jong, as an example of experimental techniques influencing work
Wanda Lenz, as an example of family communication

ATC Trading Day/Lunch with Jean Bourque

2008-01-11T13:09:00.001-05:00

I invited Jean Bourque to lunch earlier in the week. Jean is a passionate artist who also has a very informative blog, especially for artists living in the Midlands of South Carolina. Jean belongs to several local art guilds, knows all sorts of art teachers, is professionally organized, often works with fibers, and was an excellent person with whom to share a meal and discuss CYBER FYBER. Jean has agreed to help promote the exhibition on her blog and through her many contacts. This is going to be really important for the success of ATC Trading Day, Saturday, January 17, 2009.

This is the vision for that important part of CYBER FYBER: An afternoon get-together for artists of all ages and media trading ATCs. ATC stands for Artist Trading Card. They are all 2 1/2" x 3 1/2". They can be in any media. Obviously, the success of such an event depends on artist participation. That, of course, means that local artists will need to understand what an ATC is, make them, and come to trade them. I've already got a few of the artists at Gallery 80808/Vista Studios willing to participate. I'm counting on Jean to spread the word...especially next fall!

Now, how can artists in other areas participate......INTERNATIONAL RANDOM ATC TRADE!

Yes, Part of ATC Trading Day on January 17, 2009 at Gallery 80808, 808 Lady Street in Columbia will allow artists from all over the world to send an ATC for trade. Those in the USA will need to send a signed ATC and a self-addressed, sufficently stamped envelope. Those outside of USA will need to send an signed ATC and arrange (via private email) a $5.00 US VISA/MC payment through Mouse House (my business) in order for me to generate the stamped envelope! During ATC Trading Day, January 17, 2009 we will randomly pull the ATCs and stuff the envelopes. Everyone that sends an ATC will receive someone else's ATC...a trade! ALL MEDIA....as long as it is flat enough to go in a paper envelope. This is going to be fun. I plan on inviting various ATC trading groups in the USA and abroad to participate.

Getting Started

2008-01-11T12:01:00.000-05:00

The idea for this exhibition isn't entirely mine. It started with a conversation in my studio. Janet Kozachek, a mosaic artist from Orangeburg, suggested a show of artists that blog. The idea was a great start but too large for a single show. I asked her how she planned to focus such an exhibit. She wanted "good writers". That sounded funny to me. Too many of my favorite blogs are written in the author's second language, with help of an on-line translator that doesn't quite get all the words and doesn't understand all the grammar...but the content is still outstanding...and there are blogrings for writers. I said something like, "Janet, if I were you, I'd focus on either South Carolina artists who blog or mosaic artists that blog".

To the best of my knowledge, nothing ever developed after this conversation other than a seed sprouting in the back of my mind. I kept hearing that seed's voice, "What about fiber artists that blog?" By January, I knew I was going to take the idea forward. I knew I wanted an exhibit to show people how access to the Internet changed my art; created my supportive, global community; and how FUN it all is! I'd opened "Pandora's Box".... I was going to show the magically things inside. CYBER FYBER was about to be born.

Cyber Fyber Exhibition Journal

CYBER FYBER 2 Postponed Indefinitely!

Ellen Kochansky's Installation

The Last Day for CYBER FYBER...the First Day for CYBER FYBER 2

PEOPLE'S CHOICE

Manning the CYBER FYBER exhibition

CYBER FYBER gets a review!

Ellen Meder publishes an article on CYBER FYBER in the USC Gamecock!

The following article appears in the University of South Carolina's daily newspaper, The Gamecock. This is a link to the website on which the article appears. It includes a wonderful slide show put together by Ellen Meder, who is as delightful as talented!

Gallery features artists bound together by online connection

Local exhibit showcases innovative artwork, unites creative minds from across country

Ellen MederAssistant Mix Editor

Reception Video!

Sunday at CYBER FYBER

FIBER DAY!

Tatting

CYBER FYBER article in THE STATE newspaper!

Blogging inspires fiber artist in new Columbia exhibit

BEST OF SHOW

Sunday....count down to CYBER FYBER's opening

CYBER FYBER UPDATE

Invitational Artwork Updated!

Lake Murray Columbia Magazine

ON-LINE ATCs and POSTCARDS

Introducing Fulvia Boriani Luciano

VIDEOS!

Another Update!

INTERNATIONAL RANDOM ATC SWAP

CYBER FYBER update

More Funding and Six Weeks in Paradise

ATCs in Binders and MONEY!

UPDATE!

Another Sponsor!

Going to Manchester for a week!

Creating images of wonderful postcards!

Cindi Boiter wins award!

SPONSORS

Meeting at the South Carolina Arts Commission

Sorry I haven't posted in a month! Hard to believe!

CYBER FYBER has a writer

ROUND TWO BEGINS TOMORROW

CYBER FYBER needs votes!

ANOTHER ROUND OF TRADING!

Meeting at New Carolina

Hurrah for the Vista Guild Board!

Vista Guild Board Meeting

Home from Manchester!

I'm going to England...Next Week!

Another Round of Trading Scheduled for MAY!

Pitching CYBER FYBER

The Exhibition is Insured!

POSTCARDS ARE ALL TRADED!

LEAP DAY....and CYBER FYBER and I made the newspaper!

Mail....and looking for MONEY!

Shifting Gears

Valentine's Day

I'm going to my studio!

Almost Caught Up!

ANOTHER UPDATE!

UPDATE!

Twenty-four hours behind!

CYBER FYBER UNDER WAY

ONE!

Dale Rollerson and Sharon Boggon accept invitations to display!

Acceptances and trading

More Acceptances and first trades!

More Artists Accept Invitations and All Postcards Are Up!

Corrine Stubson Accepts Invitation!

ATCs finished and Penny Sisto joins Invitational Art

ATCs and remaining postcards have been photographed

130 Postcards on view

Postcard system

Uploading pictures

From focal point to fiber postcards

Creating the work

Thoughts over the weekend, Jan. 12 and 13, 2008

Creating CYBER FYBER

ATC Trading Day/Lunch with Jean Bourque

Getting Started

Ellen Meder
Assistant Mix Editor