Flatlanders and Sandhill Cranes

I'll get to something arty soon, but here are two things that captivated me. As a sequel to my last Chilean post, check out my son Colin's thoughtful blog post, Flatland Reflections on a Chilean Quake. In it, you'll find some interesting bits that we don't hear about here in our own media.

And SPECTACULAR is the only word I can use to describe the experience I had today.

digital camera set on zoom, one tiny bit...

I went outside about 1:45pm and saw thousands and thousands of sandhill cranes flying WAY up high. Two eagles flying below them looked puny and were flying only half as high. Undulating patterns as if liquid, all over the sky, flying west, for about 20 minutes. Lots of squawking, even at that distance. I've never seen this before in my 32 years here. It was unforgettable.

I poked around online and found that the Rowe Sanctuary in Gibbon, Nebraska has a "crane cam" that's focused on the birds during arrival and nesting, from March 6 - April 10, 2010. It's dark now as I write, though you can hear the birds. I look forward to checking it out during daylight hours.

my love affair with Chile...

Preoccupied with the earthquake in recent days,
more than happy that my son and daughter-in-law in Santiago (and her wonderful family scattered throughout) are all OK.

It's clear the visceral experience will not subside quickly.
I send a valentine to our friends and neighbors below...


Colin and Carolina operate two stores called Boutique de Campo-
fresh fruits, juices, organic ingredients, adding more things


The kids and I: our visit to Valparaiso in 2008, the very old port city that dates to the 1500's


More Valparaiso: fascinating, murals, colors


Bella Vista, part of Santiago where Pablo Neruda lived,
now home to a lively music scene and lapis luzuli vendors


Having fun in the Museo de las Bellas Artes, damaged by the quake


on the way to Pucon, a stunning landscape. Those are mountains, not just clouds.

Diem Chau: Sojourn

Two days ago, I received an email from the Friends of Fiber Art pointing out the exhibit of Diem Chau's embroidered objects in the Packer Schopf Gallery in Chicago. I am completely taken by this work- the surprise of it, the well-drawn embroideries, the considered placement, the mix of ordinary objects and narrative moments. It made me stop and take note. You really need to see the range of work shown on the Gallery's website to have the full effect.

Diem Chau and her family came to the United States as refugees from Viet Nam in 1986. She received her BFA from Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle and has exhibited her work in New York, Chicago, Miami, Seattle and Los Angeles. Her website and blog show that she lives in Seattle, does the things that many emerging artists do: make "plushies" for her Etsy shop, do commission and exhibition pieces and run a new gelato shop. Take a peek and see for yourself.

If you'd like to attend the show, it's on view through March 27. Packer Schopf Gallery is located at 942 W. Lake St in Chicago. Telephone: 312-226-8984. Gallery hours are 11am-5:30pm.

mark-making

In the new year, I've come to think a lot about mark-making. I define that as the kind of gesture left behind after a stroke of painting or drawing. Marvin Lowe, my printmaking professor at Indiana University, drilled it into me. No, you are not allowed to make "chicken scratches" on your metal etching plate. Mine etching plates were zinc or copper. Every mark must be considered, should have presence, weight, character.

We've now had over 60 days of consecutive snow on the ground here in Iowa. Winter in general, and snow in particular, tends to isolate the visual effect of a tree's bare branch, or whithered vegetation against the snow. I'm seeing "marks" all over the place, and were it not for the sometimes dangerous cold, I'd show many more images. Here are a few.

A screenprint, or a monoprint is a type of mark. Usually I overlay them.


snow shadows

A Profile in Quilting Arts Magazine

Quilting Arts Magazine's February-March issue has arrived, and I am honored to be the featured artist in a really nice 6-page spread with glorious photos. Also included is a piece on what to do with leftover dye (make pillows!) which was based on a blog post I did earlier. Thanks to everyone who's made this possible. OK, Astrid, before complacency sets in, time to get back to work... I'm enjoying the journey, though.

A New Year: scraps & art cloth

Time to return to painting and printing, but first, taking advantage of opportunities the new year provides: completing partially finished pieces. Shown above: works on cotton broadcloth (left) and a cotton-hemp mix (right). Hemp dyes beautifully; the effect is a bit like linen, which screenprints nicely.

Then, art cloth. I am screenprinting using dyes instead of fabric paints. Procion fiber reactive dyes bond at the molecular level with the natural fibers they are applied to. This results in a soft "hand" to the fabric and good wash-fastness. Dyes are transparent and create wonderful effects when layered. Even the best fabric paints (I use Pro-Chem's Pro Fab fabric paints) leave a stiffened fabric, and it's difficult to achieve the transparency I like. My last real burst of screenprinting involved fabric paints to make functional items like tea cozies, table cloths, napkins, and yes, wall hangings. Predating my art quilts, this was 15 years ago. Now I'm eager to try some of my three dozen screens with thickened dye. What follows is a sequence of printing over two days, 2.5 yards.

This is really an interesting combination of colors, but the white will look untended when finished, so I move on with more monoprinting over the screenprinting

the finished fabric, heat set, washed and dried

SAQA featured artist time...

SAQA, the Studio Art Quilts Associates, features two "professional artist members" on their website monthly, and this time the focus is on Alison Muir and myself. Here's the blurb from SAQA:

"Studio Art Quilt Associates, Inc., the non-profit organization that promotes the art quilt world-wide, announced the SAQA.com Featured Artists for the month of January 2010. Selected from among SAQA’s 450+ Professional Artist Members, Astrid Hilger Bennett of Iowa City, Iowa, and Alison Muir of Neutral Bay, New South Wales, Australia are the latest artists to be profiled.

Alison Muir writes 'In 2000 water became the driving force in my world, and I needed to be near it to smell and see the sea, to be happy.' The SAQA Web site is featuring three additional works by Muir that beautifully showcase the depth of her connection to water. Astrid Hilger Bennett finds a rich source of inspiration in the events of daily life. She balances complex and quiet forms on a visually abstract canvas to create art quilts that interpret her perception of the world.

The Featured Artists Program, updated monthly on SAQA’s Web site, offers SAQA an opportunity to shine the spotlight on a few of their Professional Artist Members. Visitors to the site will see selections of the artist’s work not previously shown on SAQA.com, and find a bit more information on each artist. The SAQA Web site also features a Gallery where visitors can review many other works by Professional Artist Members.

Studio Art Quilt Associates, Inc., is an international non-profit organization dedicated to informing the public about the continuing achievements of the art quilt movement. SAQA’s 2,500 members span 31 countries and include artists, collectors, curators, art dealers and corporate sponsors. Since its founding 20 years ago, SAQA has mounted juried exhibitions featuring the works of artist members at museums and galleries throughout the world."