Hollis Chatelain
I work in textiles, creating textile paintings that are quilted with hundreds of colored threads.
Flow and Fluctuations by Trudy Thomson
When I create my works with fiber I am inspired by the rhythms and patterns found in nature... waves of water, the ebb and flow of surf on sand, the flutter of leaves on trees, the swish of clouds, multifaceted buds and flowers, the feathered wings of birds. No matter what materials I use, there is repetition as well as…
Art In Quarantine
During this time of quarantine, we are most lucky as artists to be able to continue the work of making. It may be that if we are forced to stay with our work, and are less distracted by things beckoning us from the outside world, we might find that we can go deeper than we expected.This may take a variety…
Simple to Scintillating by Trudy Thomson
Marbled Silk Shawls and Scarves by Trudy Thomson Marbled patterns on silk can be simple: ripples, swirls and shapes, or scintillating: cross currents of different patterns and colors sweeping across the landscape of fabric. I remain fascinated by the many different forms I can create and continue to be informed by the patterns found in nature, as seen in water, in the…
Plop! Swish! Whirl! by Trudy Thomson
This spring I attended a class in marbling silk at Penland School of Crafts. It's something I had tried many years ago and wanted to swim back into again. I say swim because you start by mixing up a very specific gooey bath. You carefully dissolve methyl cellulose into the bath so that a viscous substance floats on the surface. After…
Slow Art in Stockholm by Anita Wolfenden
Selected Pieces from Slow Art at The National Museum in Stockholm I saw a great exhibit in Sweden recently called Slow Art. It was shown at the National Museum in Stockholm and contained not very many pieces, only about 30. But each one was exquisite. The emphasis was on how long it takes, how painstaking the process of creation is if…
A Loom is Like a Piano by Trudy Thomson
Have you ever thought about the idea that a loom is a lot like a piano? Both create patterns and percussive sounds. If you play the piano well, you read a musical score -- the notation of notes on the treble or bass cleft -- to produce a sound that presents itself as melody and chords. With a woven presentation,…