Fiber Arts Fridays - bits & pieces

It's Fiber Arts Friday! First I want to give a big thank you to my cousin Janet who made a donation to the American Cancer Society this week and acquired my art quilt Spring to Summer through the Fiberart for a Cause Collage Mania 2009 fundraiser, which ended yesterday after raising over $18,000 in three days! I had donated the piece in honor of Janet's mother, my aunt Flo, my mother's sister.

Next I have to answer my friend Michele's question posted in the comments on yesterday's Ten Two Studios Mother's Day Countdown (running through May 10!) She asked what I had used to stamp the pattern on my envelopes. It's a carved Indian printing block designed to do a repeat floral border on fabric (visible in the lower left hand corner of this photo).

In theory, it's an "antique" (or sold that way - it's at least 20 years old since my mom bought it in India in the 1980s!) so I didn't want to apply any ink or paint directly to the wood. Instead I used a "Magic Stamp" moldable foam stamp (the blue block in the photo), which can be zapped with a heat gun and then pressed against the patterned surface to make a reusable stamp! If you heat it again the texture goes away and you can repeat the process with something else. I've made stamps with delicate items like crocheted doilies, vintage buttons, and antique lace, as well as flowers and leaves from the yard. I first read about Magic Stamps in Transforming Fabric: Thirty Creative Ways to Paint, Dye and Pattern Clothby Carolyn A. Dahl, but I have yet to use them on fabric!

Tips on navigating Collage Mania 2009

Collage Mania 2009, the Fiberart for a Cause fundraiser for the American Cancer Society, starts today! Since I've had some friends say they had a hard time finding information and art/artists on that website, here's some advice.

1) Be sure to scroll down each page to see the page-specific content. Many of the pages have some general graphics and links at the top that hide the content below.

2) Use Google's Advanced Search to find a specific artist or keyword. Enter "virginiaspiegel.com" in the box titled "Search within this domain or site" and "Collage Mania 2009 Collages" in the "phrase" box. Or just type it out in the Google search box with appropriate quotes and search syntax. For example,a search for submissions with "cat" in the title would be worded
cat "Collage Mania 2009 Collages" site:virginiaspiegel.com
The list of participating artists is here.

3) Read all the directions carefully because the process is somewhat convoluted. Behind the e-mailing and on-line donation, this is a non-automated system carried out by volunteers. You e-mail Virginia Spiegel telling her what you want to buy, and she e-mails you back to confirm that you were the first person to request that piece (or not). Then you make an on-line donation as directed. When the donation has been confirmed, your e-mail address is given to the artist whose piece you purchased so he or she can ship directly to you. This contact may not occur immediately. I was told I would be informed who (if anyone) purchased my piece after the fundraiser had ended (and presumably the dust had settled).

To quote Virginia Spiegel:

I choose the personal touch for both artists and patrons over computer efficiency. Collage Mania is not automated in any way and all transactions are handled by me personally. While this may not be the height of efficiency, it does ensure that 100% of the proceeds are donated to the American Cancer Society.

And all that artwork will remain on-line for future reference!

Fiberart For A Cause Collage Mania preview

You can now preview the 383 art pieces donated for Collage Mania 2009, the Fiberarts for a Cause fundraiser for the American Cancer Society. These collages will be sold on-line May 5-7, 2009, with all proceeds going to ACS. This year the artists will be shipping directly to the people who bought their art.

Many fiber and mixed media artists are participating in the event including Patricia "Pokey" Bolton, editor of Quilting Arts and Cloth Paper Scissors magazines and Lesley Riley, author of Quilted Memories and Fabric Memory Books. Pictured here is my donated art quilt, "Spring to Summer" (blogged here), which is on page 4 of the Collage Mania entries. This is my first year to participate, and I'm glad I got the chance because this is apparently going to be the last year for the event.

Participating in Fiber Arts Friday!

Fiber Art for a Cause

April 1 is the deadline for sending in jpg submissions for "Collage Mania 2009" a fundraiser for the American Cancer Society. This is my first time participating in Fiberarts For A Cause, but I understand that the donated collages will go into an on-line exhibit and then be available for purchase at specified times at the beginning of May. (Here are the details.) You can see last year's gallery here.

My donation "Spring to Summer" is an 8x10" fantasy floral art quilt. The background is hand-painted cotton layered with parts of faux silk flowers held in place by a layer of tulle and free-motion quilting. I have a photo walkthrough for this technique on Flickr. I used kunin felt as the support/backing. This was donated in memory of my mom's older sister Flo whom we lost to cancer in 1997.

Participating in Fiber Arts Fridays