Architectural Elements at Etui

Every year our group, under the wise tutelage of our leader, Jane Davila, puts on a show.  Previously the exhibits had been at the gallery in the Mahopac Library, a very good spot with a large reception room.  It seems that that space has become so popular that they will only allow a group to exhibit every other year.  We had to come up with a new venue.  Many ideas were thrown around and then Jane's friend, Julie Saviano, was about to open a new fiber shop in Larchmont, NY. called Etui Fiber Arts. It would carry some fabrics, yarns and other fiber related items and would have a small gallery in front.  It sounded perfect. And it was!  We decided on the theme of Architectural Elements and the size was restricted to 14" wide by no more than 20" high.  There would also be some pedestals and some members opted to make freestanding pieces that would fit into narrow wooden stands.

Julie will put up a new show every month so this one will come down at the end of this month, April. It is a lovely show and well worthy of a visit and you may even find something to purchase in this wonderful new shop.

Here are the quilts, in no particular order:

Venice Window by Barbara Sferra

Rapunzel by Sonia Rieber

Long Nook Beach by Carolyn Spiegel

Portal by Claire Oehler

Venice Threatened: Acqua Alta 2013 by Paula West

Sunrise, Sunset by Nancy Mirman

Green Door by Gail Ellspermann

Opportunity by Jane Davila

Windows on My World by Donna Chambers

Lloyd Wright or Mondrian by Judy Gignesi

Ancient Architecture by Martha Buhl

les fleurs de coin by Vivien Zepf

New York City Windows by Cecelia Leiseroff

City Breeze by Natalya Aikens

Stone Bench by Carole Hoffman

Chrysler Building: Tower Lights and Elevator Door by Joyce Sullivan

Gateway (Red Gate) by Christine Wilhelm

Tuscan Window by Cindy Green

Grandeur by Ann Louise Lyman

Outside the Box by Barbara Drillick

Favela by Norma Schlager

Access by Nike Cutsumpas

Just Knock, I Am Here For You by Renee Fleuranges-Valdes

Built by Kathi Jahnke

Featured Member - Donna Chambers

Welcome to a new feature on our blog - Featured Member! One or more times a month we will be featuring a member of FiberArt NorthEast, showing examples of her work, and answers to a list of interesting questions that were posed to our group.

Our first featured member is Donna Chambers. You can find more of Donna's work on her website.

What is your favorite technique to employ in your fiber art and why?

I love working in raw edge appliqué .  Raw edge appliqué quickly pushed me to experiment with fabric Mosaics.  I use small squares, strips, rectangles and triangle bits of fabrics placing them as if they were ceramic tiles. It's very intense and the effect is powerful.  Once the piece is free motion quilted it takes on a painterly and a dimensional look.

What inspires you?

I am inspired  by many things.  Fashion, Fabric, Metallics, Color, Texture and  a real good challenge.

What skill, tool, or technique do you plan to master next?

I am currently taking a crazy quilt workshop. Can't wait to learn and experiment with the many hand embroidery stitches.

What other art media do you work in (past or present)? How does this inform your fiber work?

As a teenager I was blessed to work in the Ossining textile art studio of famed textile artist Vera Neumann of Vera Scarves. I know I got my color sense from her, she loved brights, texture, she always worked in groups and she always had a theme.  What I learned from her is priceless.

I am a professional goldsmith/jewelry designer by trade since 1980, I manufacture and sell to stores  throughout the the US.  My jewelry is also influenced by texture and color as well as  my fiber work plus metallics.

What advice to you have for someone just starting in fiber art?

I encourage those starting in fiber arts to play a lot in materials of all sorts, take workshops and get yourself involved with an artistic group of people and let it rip.