(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.
