Oaxacan Carpets

The other day when we were having tornado warnings here in New Orleans I decided to do some uncluttering, as I needed to unplug my computer (and other electronics). I sorted through some of the pieces of paper I have collected for this blog, but never gotten around to writing.

I confess I tossed a number of business cards and ephemera of other artists because they no longer spoke to me. Writing their stories no longer 'sparked joy', but not these cards... I still wanted to share these fiber artists with my readers.

I met the artists, Wence and Sandra Martinez, at the Smithsonian Craft show a couple years ago. On their web site they call that very show "the holy grail of juried national craft shows."

Their work reminded me of my time in Oaxaca because I bought myself a carpet while I was in Mexico.

Coincidentally that same afternoon, when turning my computer back on, I decided to unclutter some of my computer files, too, and came across some photos from my trip to Oaxaca back before 2008 or so. I swear, I did not go looking for them.

There was a confluence of images, which made me realize it was time to write this entry.

These images are poor quality because they were not taken digitally, they are photos that I scanned.

That's my rug, right there. The artists are finishing up my very carpet. (It's not like I commissioned the carpet... and it was a total impulse buy/souvenir.)



I love that you can see some of the other rugs they have in their studio. You can see, too, that I like bright colors... brighter than the more traditional colors. I love that carpet. It always makes me happy.



The town was very small. I hope all the weavers benefit from the success that the Martinez's are having.

PS - Happy birthday to both my Dad and my very good friend, Derek.

Chicken Footstools

I have no idea when I picked up the card. I can visualize the chickens, but not where I met them.

I am amazed by people's imaginations. Where did this idea come from? I took this explanation from the website:

The chickens are handcrafted in Lyons, Kansas and Kansas City, Missouri with care and delight, upholstered to function as footstools. Each is one-of-a-kind, unique in posture and personality. A turned wood egg-shaped core stands on bronze feet and is connected to a bronze beak. Feathers are handcrafted with traditional fiber art techniques- dyeing, felting, spinning, knitting- and are stitched by hand. And a surprise? Their heads bob.

I can't seem to grab a photo from the website to post here, so you must got see them here.  Aren't they the cutest things you have ever seen? I love the brightly colored ones. Not cheap, but delightful ($1,450 - $2,600 range). I just watched the videos, and I take it all back... worth every penny. They are amazing.

Wait, wait, found another way, taken from the Fort Worth Arts Festival web site:

Hmmm... I wonder if the knitters ever thought about getting themselves a foot stool to use while they knit sweaters for real chickens.

James Michalopoulos - New Orleans Painter & Sculptor

Whoa. Went to hear the artist speak at the Ogden Museum of Southern Art. Mr. Michalopoulos is incredibly prolific and his paintings are fun! I probably respond as I do because in many cases the subject is architecture... and New Orleans architecture to boot. I love the colors and the Dr. Seuss-esque quality to the perspective.

You can find his bio on his website, but I will reproduce here:

Celebrated New Orleans artist James Michalopoulos was born in 1951 in Pittsburgh. After graduating from Bowdoin College with a Bachelor of Arts degree he pursued the life of a modern-day itinerate artist, traveling throughout the South while capturing its unexpected, everyday exotica in his paintings. He eventually settled in New Orleans, drawn to the city that would become his muse. He studied fine art at the New Orleans Academy of Fine Art and at the University of New Orleans. He began painting en plein air in the French Quarter, working in oil on canvas, and became known for his energetically distorted interpretations of vernacular New Orleans buildings. His paintings capture the life, movement and personality of his subjects. His has a uniquely musical, energetic style–full of color and broad brushstrokes. He lays paint on thickly, sculpting the paint with a palette knife until his subject emerges. “My style is an abstraction of the figurative. I like color, volumetric shape and graphic lines. While one may recognize the subject of my painting, through my work one discovers the spirit of it.”

Although he remains inspired by the duality of beauty and decay that is the heart of New Orleans, Michalopoulos’ recent canvases also capture the human form – both in portraiture and social scenes, abstracted landscapes–mostly of the woods and fields surrounding his home in France, and occasionally animals that have managed to catch both his eye and imagination.

His work has been shown extensively in the U.S. and abroad, including: France, England, Germany, Switzerland and Holland. He has been named Official Artist of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival six times, with his work appearing each time on the coveted poster, an unprecedented, and–to date–unmatched honor. Gambit Weekly has declared him “Best Artist of the Year” eight times. His work has been collected by such distinguished figures as: Jackson Browne, John Goodman, Linda Hamilton, Bonnie Raitt, Sharon Stone, Aaron Neville, Emmylou Harris and Bruce Willis.

Public and corporate collections include: the Ogden Museum of Southern Art, the Governor’s Mansion of Louisiana, Universal Studios, the New Orleans Museum of Art, Chevrolet Motor Corporation, the Chrysler Corporation and Northwest Airlines, among others.

I enjoyed hearing about his process and to hear about the daily life of an artist. Makes one think that everyone can do it, but also understand that it takes some serious commitment and a special life perspective to do it. I envy him.








It appears one can buy some posters or prints of his work... and he is also a very talented sculptor. Very colorful and whimsical.

Vicki Lee Fine Art (Another Lee, but not fiber art, either)

I came across Vicki Lee's work at "The Shops at 2011 Magazine". You know I had to promote her because a) I liked what I saw and b) her family name is Lee. A lot like this previous promotion of Victor Lee, who also is not a fiber artist.



I saw some of her encaustic abstract landscape pieces. I can see how they can set a mood in a room.

Given how many places she sells her art, I would suggest that she is a prodigious artist.


Here is what she writes about herself on her web site:

Thank you for viewing my artwork. My paintings express my desire to show a "less serious" side of life. I hope to transport my audience to an interesting and imaginative place where they can dream of future visits or remember the old ones.
Any of the abstract landscapes can be painted with other color palettes and sizes. Please contact me if you would like to view any of the paintings offered.
In New Orleans, my paintings are available for purchase at Estella's Home located on Metairie Road.
In Seagrove Beach, Florida, my paintings are available at Fouquet Design, 3723 E. 30A., Suite 6, Seagrove Beach, Fl., 32459, 850-534-0972 and Beau Interiors, 22 East County Hwy 30A, Grayton Beach, FL.
Thank you,
Vicki Lee

Book Idea - Coureurs-de-Bois

I'm reading Creole New Orleans: Race and Americanization edited by Hirsch and Logsdon. I just started it, but so far, very good. It is a series of essays.

The first essay, by Jerah Johnson, mentions coureurs-de-bois, young men/boys who were sent to live among the indigenous peoples in order to learn the language and customs. I should think a novel or story from the perspective of these young men about the formation of current day Louisiana would be good. And vice versa, as young Indian men went to France. (Mostly this trading of young men occurred with the French settlements in Canada.)

Taken from here

The essay has been very helpful to understand the French policy which explains some of the backstory to what we descendants of the English settlements call the French and Indian Wars. I certainly know about them, but never really understood why the French and Indians were fighting together against the British. 

I don't recall the story of The Last of the Mohicans, but I suppose there might be some overlap in the story context, but with an English sensibility, which I believe was markedly different than the French approach to policy in North America.  

The sin of ‘cultural appropriation’

Ok, this doesn't have a lot to do with genealogy... maybe travel and fiber art, because of sources of inspiration. Mostly I just thought it was interesting. I found it here, from the Week Magazine.

Katy Perry dressing like a geisha in a music video. White American women learning to belly dance. The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston allowing visitors to try on kimonos made in Japan. All of these have been angrily attacked in “the new war on cultural appropriation,” said Cathy Young. Today, any artist or person who incorporates or experiments with styles, music, or ideas from another culture—no matter how positively—is condemned for committing “a creative sin.” The concept of cultural appropriation began as a justifiable critique of the literal cultural theft of art and artifacts by colonial powers, and of “glaring injustices” such as white artists getting rich off black musical styles without sharing the wealth. “But the hunt for wrongdoing has run amok.” Culture cops now rebuke non-Asians for wearing jewelry with yin-yang symbols, or the museum in Boston for engaging in “yellow face” by letting non-Japanese try on a kimono. “What will be declared ‘problematic’ next? Picasso’s and Matisse’s works inspired by African art?” Non-Asians cooking Thai food? To respectfully blend cultures is no sin. In fact, it’s the American way.

Cathy Young
The Washington Post

Michael Meads at the Ogden

Ok, this has nothing to do with travel, health, genealogy or fiber art, I just really liked the exhibit.

I am reporting on this exhibit a little late.... Only there until the 28th of February. You can find info about the Odgen here.

I heard Michael Meads speak about his art and the creative process the other day at the museum. So wonderful to hear an artist talk about their work. He spends a full day on his art - starting at the studio around 9 and ending around 4:30 pm. He says his hand cramps up. The size of his art is dictated by the size of the studio; such practical considerations.

I loved it. Such incredible detail; such beautiful colors, such a variety of media. Boy, though, does he love penises and round bottoms. For an example of his very colorful watercolors, go here.

Here is the blurb from the Ogden:

Here is an example of his work taken from his web site:

First Mover...

** UPDATE 11/21/2015 ** I drove by the warehouse where I first saw the cyclops dog and it has been painted over!

Dang - my idea has been taken!
Well, maybe by the artist him/herself... I hope so.

While walking along Tchoupotoulas street in New Orleans I saw a wonderful graffiti on what looked like an abandoned warehouse. I took pictures.

And then later I found an even better example on the side of a truck.
>

So, I made myself a needlepoint canvas...

Finally the other day I finished the needlepoint. (The project traveled all through Turkey with me.)

But here is why I am bitching and moaning... Someone has made a sticker of the graffiti! I saw this the other day when I was back in New Orleans.

I saw this on the backside of a traffic sign - again on Tchoupotoulas.

Now I need to figure out what to do with the piece.

Didn't get a postcard... or a painting

But I thought Suro Kim's work was wonderful. I wish I had purchased one of his pieces, but alas I was not fast enough. I love the street-scape, Dr. Seuss, and bright colors all combined. Again, nothing to do with fiber art or genealogy... can I claim travel, maybe?

Sarah Bean - 3 dimensional heirlooms

I found Sarah at the Bethesda Arts festival as well as Jason of the Marisol Spoon, featured yesterday.

Now Sarah's work initially appealed to me from a genealogical perspective. The first piece of her's I saw was based on James Joyce's Ulysses. The collage probably appealed to me because it images of Ireland. (Turns out the images are actually from West Virginia, but it could have been Ireland.) I have been exploring my Irish side, recently, so I would say Ireland and the Irish experience has been on my mind.

Sarah has been taking books and using them as the basis of her collages. She will also do privately commissioned work - which is intriguing.

Marisol Spoon Painting

I realize this is not fiber art, but their images spoke to me. I will confess to have not been overly inspired this year by the fiber artists.

I met Jason at the Bethesda Arts festival. They have recently moved to Charleston, SC and they got severely flooded; not as bad as people in Columbia, but Jason showed me a photograph of his front porch and it looks like he lives on a houseboat!

Taken from their website:

Marisol Spoon is a husband/wife artist team. We hail from the beautiful Appalachian mountains. Nature’s enchantment, vintage aesthetics, off beat tales, and classical painting are some of our inspirations.

Aside from our postcards, we produce everything in our shop by hand and in-house.

Southern Adirondack Fiber Festival

This will happen on September 26th and 27th this year. (The card below is old! I had picked it up in 2014, but was unable to attend.)
I went in 2013, but not since. It is a small festival, but growing, I am sure.
Check out their web site to get more information.



The Washington County Fairgrounds are only 30 miles from Troy, NY - where Herb grew up.

Greg Stones, author

I can see no reason to include Greg Stones on my blog - no genealogy and no fiber art - but his paintings were so fabulous that I had to share him with my readers... I saw his work at the Central Pennsylvania Arts Festival in July 2015. Mr. Stones has a wonderful, warped sense of humor. He is also an author. His work and sense of humor reminds me a lot of Edward Gorey.

Edward Gorey drawing taken from this web site

And here are some of Greg Stones' work:

Penguins love balloons

Sock Monkey Meets Mummy

Zombies hate Sock Monkeys

His latest book is called Sock Monkeys Have Issues which can be purchased here.

Bahama Hand print

I have been incredibly remiss. I visited the workshop of Bahama Hand print back in January. I met the nicest people there and they gave me a full tour, let me ask all sorts of obvious questions and let me take all sorts of photographs - and even my first movie for the blog (which, of course is not the first I posted, because I have been remiss in writing this entry!)

Everything is designed and made in the Bahamas. The workshop is owned by two women. And you can always order custom creations, as indicated below:

At Bahama Hand Prints we offer a variety of ground fabrics that can be custom printed to your requirements. We carry fabrics appropriate for a multitude of applications including upholstery, drapery, bedding, indoor/outdoor furnishings, clothing and more… Choose from our repertoire and we can print any colour you desire!

Here you can see Rico creating the fabric:



The motivation for writing today is that I have finally started a project with the fabric I bought that day in January. I intend to post photos of the sewing project later...

In the meantime, I have many more photographs of my day in Nassau visiting Bahama Hand Print.

The frame and the screen before the paint is applied

Rico adding more paint - so as not to smear, he alternates panels

The trough with all the paint

moving the frame so Rico can fill in the pattern

Washing up

Removing the unused paint

Cleaning the screen

Clothing templates

You can barely see a seamstress on the right making a garment
Lots of pieces already made hanging

Industrial sewing machines

Removing the newly printed fabric for drying

Drying the fabric

Coming out the back end

the full length of the workshop

Adorable tunic top