Wednesday, March 4, 2015

Who Inspires You? My Collection of Creative Makers and Bloggers

Hello All,
I am so very grateful to everyone who takes time to visit my blog. I so enjoy your comments and as I watch my views grow I am always amazed to see that this world we live on is very small when we all come together for a common purpose. Sharing our love of fiber, color, design is a true celebration of the beauty of life and our uniqueness. I am often so busy and find myself nose down in a bit of needlework. So I thought I'd take a bit of time to introduce you to each other and to the makers and creators who have been inspirational to me. There are too many to list, but I so want you to meet these amazing artists and bloggers. I think you will be inspired too.

When I take the time to get to know the people who come to see my work it is like sitting down to a cup of hot tea with friends. I simply need to do it much more often.
If you are like me and forget to stop and smell the Internet roses once in a while, let me offer you a cup of warm inspiration. You will have to pour your own tea. Lets get to know eachother lots better!

Amanda left a comment on my stitch tutorial page. So I clicked on her blog Amanda's Crochet Blanket Adventures and I nearly started to drool! She is a master of color and design in the world of crochet. Oh my! Here are a few of her works. Oh if I only had more time!


I recently discovered Jackie, an amazing pinterest pinner.I was so surprised to see my works among so many lovely works of fiber art. If you would like to see some very amazing pincushions, give her boards a look. I warn you...you'll be there for quite a while! https://www.pinterest.com/jcfelix/primarily-pincushions/

I recently met a amazing fiber artist and blogger, Kim from Sarah Lizzies, who also lives a world of beauty. She introduced herself to me and when I went to her site I was floored! She found me through Cynthia Crane, one of my favorite blogging friends.
Kim and Cynthia have both mastered an artful way of life, from their lovely gardens to their prolific studios, their blogs are like living postcards of what most of us imagine for ourselves. I would be afraid to show you the mess my studio has become. These artists open their beautiful worlds wide open for us to come and dream. Take a look at both sites and you won't want to leave!
Here is a bit of Cynthia's ceramic works. I have a sweet little house of hers that sat at my mom's bedside table. It gave her much comfort and joy while she was with us. Thanks Cynthia! I am showing you one of her beautiful yarn bowls as a lead in to one of Kim's knitting masterpieces. Enjoy!!!
Cynthia's Yarn Bowl

Kim's Knitting Project


Let me not forget Vicki from 2 Bags Full who kind of put us all together. She is another creative living artists. Move over Martha Stewart! If you need a little pick me up just check out her latest post on her Winter Nests. She offers some beautiful poetry on winter and snow along with amazing photos of her Snow Birds Nest. Living in icy Wisconsin, I certainly needed a reminder of how beautiful it can be.

I have only been doing serious embroidery for about 7 years. I loved working with fabric but I needed something to add to it. I wanted use fibers the same way I used paint.
When I discovered Sue Spargo, I was so inspired. I love her use of wool, beads and embroidery. I loved how she added layer upon layer of wool, printed and dyed fabrics and then embroider and beading.
But her primitive, folk art approach to fiber art is what truly appealed to me. I loved that she added detail without fuss. She has a modern look while using traditional techniques.
Here area few of her pieces that I love.



Old to New
You will find that the artists who bring a new look to traditional technique is a reoccurring theme in my list of influential and inspiring artists.
The second most important element found in my collection of favorite artists is their willingness to explore their unique vision. You can see a bits of who they are and how different they are from the artists around them. I think that is something we all need to strive to add to own own works. While imitation is a great exercise while you are learning, you need to celebrate what makes you YOU and let that shine in all you do.

Mandy Pattullo is one of my all time favorite fiber artists. I love her modern-primitive esthetic! It speaks to my love of antiques and my desire to stay young and relevant as I move forward in my fiber art education. Yes, we never stop learning. Take some time on her blog and enjoy her unique and rich vision of the art of fiber. Find her Etsy Shop,
MandyPattullo here. Find her blog at Thread and Thrift and her many works are on her website here- Mandy Pattullo.Com.
Here are some of my favorite series from her talented hands-

These are just a few of my favorites. Mandy is from Northumberland in the UK. I find inspiration from around the world, but I think I will have to visit the UK, as so many of my favorite artists are from across the pond, way across! If nothing else I am going to plan the shopping trip of a lifetime. When you see the work of Viv, aka Hensteeth, (Etsy shop here) you see what I mean. I wish I could find treasures like they find here in Wisconsin.


These artists are very technical in their approach to fiber art, yet, their work is modern.
They are experts at their craft without being stuffy or stiff. I wish I knew how they did it.
First, the amazing Salley Mavor. She is a fiber artist who creates amazing illustrations using embroidery and stumpwork to the max! I love, love love her birds. I have struggled to create the affect she is so adept at. It feels like she is magical with a needle and embroidery thread.


Inna Bird is a ribbon embroiderer who I recently discovered via her Etsy Shop, Silk Ribbon Creative. Oh, her work is so lush and lovely it makes me dream! The next edition of the Summer Garden I make will include some ribbon embroidery. Inna dyes her own ribbon! No wonder it is so amazing.
While she rebuilds her website, you can find her Facebook Page here. I'm going to include some of amazing soaps she creates. Don't they just make your mouth water?


I can't leave out Carla Madrigal from MadrigalEmbroidery on Etsy. Her work taught me to draw on "me" when working. She has a unique vision. She works on lovely materials, which are often recycled. Her stitches are humbly amazing. I hope you find her work as inspiring as I did.


Sara Lechner from The Fabric of Meditation, (Etsy Shop here), led me to wool. I am grateful for her inspiration. I love wool. I love to embroider it, felt it, sew it and now spin it. I urge you to click on the provided links. Her works remind me of Marc Chagall. She comes from Argentina but her years in Austria are evident in her extraordinary esthetic.


I could go on forever. There are painters and illustrators who have inspired my work. There are fine artists from the past, such as VanGogh, and contemporary artists on Etsy, such as BalletArt that also give me so many things to think about as I design new works. Here is a link to one of his butterfly prints. It reminds me of fiber art in pen and ink.


There are quilters such as Jeni Baker from In Color Order She got me hooked on Vintage Sheets. Wish she still had her color classes online. They were amazing. Click on the link to find some of her tutorials. She designs fabrics now with that same fun color sense. Try her Mini New York Beauty Tutorial here.

Well Blogspot is giving me fits. I don't know if I can load any more images on this post.
Ohhh there are so many more to show you!!!
I hope to feature more of your art and your blog here in the future. When you leave a comment, please don't hesitate to invite me to take a look at your art. We need to share. I think its an essential part of the creative process.

I hope you enjoyed this post, as much as I enjoyed putting it together!




15 comments:

Bev said...

Wow! Such talented people! Makes me sort of embarrassed about my stuff! What beautiful things! Thanks for sharing! Your work is really inspiring to me! XO

Magpie's Mumblings said...

What fun!! A few of these I was familiar with and visit regularly, but it was fun to discover some fantastic new blogs. Thank you!

Fiberluscious said...

By the way, Bev, (1st comment) was someone I would have included if Blogspot would have allowed me!
Here link can be found at 44th Street Fabrics, just look to the right hand side of my blog and you can find her link a few times.

CYNTHIA CRANE said...

What a surprise post, you "sneaky Pete" ! You dinna tell me you were gunna do this! Thank you for sharing this bit about me. I guess I best get off my duff, stop playing house and get back to blogging and potterying. Wonderful post Jillie, LOVE reading about all these other fabulous inspirational souls!

Karen H said...

What an inspirational post. The colours and designs make my fingers itch to create something lovely!

Missy Shay said...

Two things that I am not any good at, although I would to do, is crocheting and embroidery!

Kim said...

Oh my goodness, I am humbled that you should think my attempts of creativity worthy enough to make an appearance on your lovely blog in the presence of the other glorious works fashioned by the other ladies....thank you. I can't wait to explore these other lovely blogs. The land of blog is such a wonderful land of glorious inspiration! I am off to make a lovely cup of tea with the intention to sit here awhile and be inspired by what awaits me.

Vicki Boster said...

Oh my goodness!!!! I am so honored to be included among these amazing and talented artists. You have written a beautiful post -- so filled with inspiration and creative spirit. It's wonderful to meet new artists and so to see some of my favorites like my friend Cynthia Crane listed here.

You are someone who has always inspired me-- you know I've admired your incredible stitches for a long time. God gives us our talents to share with others. I feel so truly blessed to be able to create with beautiful yarns. Our passions are such a blessing -- thank you for including me here.
Love
Vicki

Magpie's Mumblings said...

Popping back here to add another comment thanking you for your sweet comment on my blog. It appears you are set to 'no reply' (at least it seems that way on my computer anyway) so thought I'd respond here. Thanks!

Anonymous said...

Thanks so much for sharing all of that beautiful work! Just stunning. Emma x

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Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...

Oh my goodness!!!! I am so honored to be included among these amazing and talented artists. You have written a beautiful post -- so filled with inspiration and creative spirit. It's wonderful to meet new artists and so to see some of my favorites like my friend Cynthia Crane listed here. Thanks for sharing.....

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Deena Beverley said...

Fab selection. Fab blog. Lots of my fave raves here. Do you have a Facebook presence too? I find it nigh on impossible to keep up with all the blogs out there, so tend to stick to Facebook.

Deena Beverley said...

Fab selection. Fab blog. Lots of my fave raves here. Do you have a Facebook presence too? I find it nigh on impossible to keep up with all the blogs out there, so tend to stick to Facebook.