Uh oh. Is it really 2016?

Have I just stepped out of a Brigadoon or Outlander timewarp (depending on your generation)? Click, whir. Let me roll the clock ahead, and revitalize this blog.

Felting & Art Quilts

"Root & Branch" 39"h x 35"w $1450

I have been busy in the last few years, delving deep into the use of felting in art quilts.  Root & Branch is an example of how felting can be used as an integral part of a composition, not simply as an embellishment or surface treatment.

Please, come take a closer look...

Root & Branch will be in the Studio Art Quilt Associates group show, "Concrete and Grasslands," Grant's Pass Museum of Art in Grant's Pass, Oregon: June 1 - July 29, 2016, followed by a 2 year tour in the United States.

A Focus on "Knit Felt"

From custom dyed wool roving, as well as what comes naturally from the sheep beast, I spin yarn which is then knit and popped into the washing machine. Voila! Knit felt. No, technically it is fulled not felted. Fulling is when a woven or knit fabric is washed and agitated to tighten the fibers. However, the result is what is important, a wonderful thick fiber with subtle shifts of color and great texture. Paired with smooth woven fabrics, knit felt gives a bas relief quality to art quilts. It also has body, lending itself to 3D work.

"Imago" 30" h x 20"w x 11"d $1250

Imago is freestanding, supported by a custom acrylic frame. Two sided, it has neither a front nor back. The top portion of the second side can be seen below, along with a detailed view. Knit felting is combined with piecing in the conventional quilt sandwich. Some parts of the knit felting hang free, without backing or batting.

"Imago" Second Side and Detail

Imago is in the  traveling SAQA Northern California/Northern Nevada Region group show, "Strata." Having completed a run at the Harrington Gallery in Pleasanton, CA, "Strata" will next be at the Pence Gallery in Davis, CA.

Characteristic to my current work are the organic shapes knit felting allows. Pollen began with a circular knit felt motif. The piecing and embellishment, including additional small felted items, then followed. The purple vertical lines are stuffed, balancing the strong 3D presence of the flower.

"Pollen" 33"h x 23"w $950

Pollen has won top awards at the San Mateo Country Fair 2015, and has been featured in Art Quilting Studio Summer 2015.

The organic shapes of knit felt lend themselves to abstract work. As seen below in River Between, the knit felt is an appliqued element on top of a "quilt sandwich" base layer, and all has been quilted. For some schools of thought, stitching on the knit felt alone does not qualify as an art quilt. However, using the Studio Art Quilt Associates definition, "a creative visual work that is layered and stitched or that references this form of stitched layered structure," knit felt elements that stand alone are indeed art quilts. 

River Between 30" h x 20"w $500

Please see the articles I have written for Art Quilting Studio magazine about my work, specifically the knit felting. "Knit It. Shrink It. Quilt It" is in the Winter 2014 issue, for which one of my pieces is also the cover art!

 And just as a side note, if your last name is Walker, your ancestors may have lived in Germany, working as specialists in the fulling of cloth. "Walker" is not just an English word, but a German term for fulling.

My website is www.ruedaok.com, and you can find me on Facebook listed as Jennifer Hammond Landau. I welcome inquiries and conversation about my work!

Many thanks for stopping by.

Jen

Fiber Art....and Beyond

Welcome to the world of Jennifer Landau and my fusion of fiber, painting, and sculptural arts. Called Atelier Rue d'Oak in honor of our San Francisco home and my dubious handling of French in an otherwise bilingual family, this blog is dedicated to sharing my artistic journey.

To make beauty out of the ordinary and for others to discover a story or a memory -- or even just a good laugh -- is at the heart of what I create. Fiber Art. Costuming. Watercolor. Polymer Clay. At some level, the disciplines blur as I am driven by both concept and materials.

Working in the Costume Shop of a small theater troupe lead to masks of felted wool and polymer clay milleflore patterns. And in my latest work, completed just this week, the sketch of a fence post has been transformed into a small art quilt.

As I deepen my portfolio, I invite you along for the ride. A series of "Sprites" are in the works, such as the Rose Trellis and Sun-Tipped Mountain Sprites seen below.

This series explores the notion of the spirit or presence in nature, sometimes guiding, sometimes mischievous. Heads and hands are of polymer clay attached to "fulled" knit wool. Fulling is the process of shrinking fiber with water and agitation, creating a felt-like result. Wonderfully organic, sometimes unpredictable, shapes come from this technique. Some of the Sprites, like the Rose Trellis, are mounted on wire or wood supports. Sun-Tipped is incorporated into an art quilt, where layers of fabric, machine felted wool and batting are stitched together. Beads and other embellishment are an integral part of each piece.

My work is shaped by the artisan skills of felting, knitting, sewing and embellishment, along with drawing and painting. Illustration and graphic facilitation have pushed me to get to the essence of composition and message. From watercolor I bring the discipline of layering and light, and cartooning is my sense of whimsy bubbling up. Through fiber and found objects I have found both canvas and palette for new forms of beauty and function.

Thank you for stopping by!

Jen

Additional works in watercolor and sketching can be seen at http://web.mac.com/ruedoak/iWeb/Site/Welcome.html

For more on graphic facilitation, see www.hnl-consulting.com, my placeholder site for my consulting practice or http://ifvpcommunity.ning.com/