interview at mr.x stitch

interview, originally uploaded by tanisalexis.

the fabulous folks over at mr. x stitch have a fantastic blog featuring amazing artists in the realm of contemporary embroidery and needlecraft. I’ve just had the immense pleasure and honour of being interviewed by their guest blogger, Moxie about my works, my process and so much more. Read it all here.

best wishes everyone! xo!

You’re invited!

You’re invited!, originally uploaded by tanisalexis.

I have the honour and pleasure of exhibiting my mixed media works from my ‘we shall live here’ series on the walls of the Plum Gallery in the Port Moody Arts Centre!

They’re hanging out there right now! I haven’t seen them yet, but I will be at the gallery this Saturday as part of the annual Artswalk. Come by and say hello! And if you can’t make it, the Opening Reception for the show is Thurs, April 21st from 6-8 pm.

My work will be alongside a good friend & colleague of mine, Amanda Maxwell, she makes really beautiful jewelry with surprising results. Our work is both based on the concept of home, and it should prove to be quite interesting to see our work come together .

Hope to see you there! xo

late night art

late night art, originally uploaded by tanisalexis.

just a short one to say that I’m busy with some serious art making these days, as I’ve been contacted to fill a last minute spot in the port moody art centre. it will be a busy month for me!
more soon, including, maybe, sorta, perhaps, an image heavy post of some of the pieces I’ve whipped up in the past few months.
& hurrah for spring!
ciao!xo!

week 2 – 8″ x 10″

week 2 – 8" x 10", originally uploaded by tanisalexis.

Another weekly wrap -up from the Get Your Paint On! painting class I’m part of. Last week the assignment was all about Subject Matter & Style. We had to pick an element from a piece of art or artist that you loved and use that somehow in your own painting.
here is what I wrote about my own submission this week when I added it to the class pool on flickr:

My inspirational artist this week was Deth P. Sun www.dethpsun.com/
His work speaks to me on many levels so I thought it would be fun to see what I could do with it all. His narratives in most of his works are very cool to me, and I’ve told myself to concentrate on that in my own work along with more portraiture in the future.
So, Deth’s works mostly consist of a really basic palette of colour. Lots of grey’s, blacks, greens, a pop here and there of bright colours…this appealed to me. His line work also really appeals.

So I took at as a challenge to myself…instead of leaning towards more gratuitous amounts of colour, I chose the basic colour palette as my starting point. Black, Blue, Grey and Green….This quickly turned out to be a big defeat on my part!!! hahaha! I love colour! and here I was half-way through the painting, thinking to myself: “I just broke the rules I laid down for myself!!! sheesh!” so instead of fighting what came naturally, I embraced it.

So let’s say I just used Deth P. Sun’s use of nighttime and outdoor scenery as my inspiration and leave it at that. Hahaha, oh and the line work didn’t really turn out as I expected, but I should know by now that nothing I ever sit down to create EVER turns out exactly as I had visualised …and to just embrace that chaos in my head and enjoy the ride.
This is acrylic paint with pen sketch.

Quick note about the subject matter (Tipi’s) This is the 1st time I’ve attempted a rendering of Tipi’s. this photo really jumped out at me…. commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Buffalo_tipi_on_left,_Sna…
so I went with it.

This was overall a daunting and interesting experience. I’ve spent time trying to figure out my own persosnal style and the subject matter that best suits my style and I feel like it’s always an ongoing process of evolution…I can’t stick to one thing for too long or I feel like it’s been overworked and then it gets boring to me.
the “cloud” imagery is definitely a personal symbol of mine, and creeps up whenever I doodle, paint or draw.

so there you go! this week is about Colour (right up my alley!) but we’ve also been asked to go outside of our comfort zones in regards to subject matter. I have been simultaneously dreading and hoping for this….I get to really explore some matter that I am not comfortable with and this is a good thing! until next week my friends, stay creative!!!
xo!

Get Your Paint On! Week 1 project.

Week 1 – final painting, originally uploaded by tanisalexis.

Acrylic on Canvas – 10″ X 12″

Subject based on the amazing Gee’s Bend Quilts of Alabama.

Last month, as I planned my new year resolutions, I knew that taking some classes was part of my future. Well, before I knew it, the announcement for ‘Get Your Paint On!’ online painting classes started flying online…I checked it out and discovered that one of my favourite current artists, Lisa Congdon along with Mati McDonough would be hosting these classes. I was hooked, sign me up please!!!!

well, we’re coming to the home stretch on our first week and I am happy to be part of it all. The first theme/subject matter for our 1st week is the amazing Gee’s Bend Quilts. These are new to me. and a wonderful place to get back into painting.

here are some notes on my process:
….so after staring at the quilts and feeling my heart beat a little faster after viewing some of them…I felt in awe of the history and hard work put into the Gee’s Bend Quilts. So I decided the process was best if I just tried to be as improvisational as possible with the whole creation of my painting. Similar to the ladies working on their quilts, they would add piece by piece a coveted fabric, a familiar piece of clothing or whatever they could get their hands on and go from there. I wanted to add my own patterns as I went along, with no real idea of how the final piece would look like. I knew there was no chance of me emulating EXACTLY one quilt or another, so I basically winged it! colours, patterns, texutres…all unplanned. And you know what? it was soooo fun!!

I hope to post my weekly projects as we go!

Happy Chinese New Year friends, it’s a lucky year being the year of the rabbit!

xo

Got Craft?

gc-holiday-2010-front, originally uploaded by tanisalexis.

Hi, I’m back!
been meaning to share this news with you!
I’ve been accepted into this years Winter Got Craft? Show and I am excited, anxious, a bit scared and really really happy to be part of it.

I want to list each vendor here in the next while to share the awesomeness of these creative folks, for those not in the Vancouver area.
But if you are in Van, do yourself a BIG favour and check this very cool show out. You wont regret it.

and hey locals, if you are REALLY into it, be sure to line up at the crack of dawn with a bunch of other hardcore fans to get a very very yummy free bag full of swag from the vendors. (to the first 45 people through the door) tres good!!!

in the meantime the fine folks at Got Craft have all the info and a page of the vendors (with links) to see.
(so if I DONT get my shit together and post links, then at least you can see the awesome over there. ) hah!

winter show info: http://gotcraft.com/events
winter show vendors: http://gotcraft.com/vendors

mucho love. xoxo

favourite flickr finds

My creation, originally uploaded by tanisalexis.

Hello!!
It’s been awhile since I shared any posts of inspiring images so here you go..please click on the image above to get more information (and more links!) to these incredible creative people.

I have run behind on everything and my intention is to share some thoughts for the coming holidays/new year with you. let’s make a prayer to the blog gods that it works out in our favour, hey? 

also, a hello and welcome! to my new subscribers from the rikrak studio blog! http://rikrakstudio.blogspot.com/

I hope you enjoy your visit! not always too chatty around here, but I do try my best to share, share, and share some more.

 

oh, and have I mentioned to everybody that I am dreaming of creating more tutorials and fun projects for all of us to do together, in the new year? yeah. I am.

lots of love and big hugs. have a really nice day, okay?
xo t

Love!!!

a little good news for you all, dear readers. I am doing an occasional guest blog spot over at the fab rikrak studio blog

it is a fun little spot that features about 10 or so of my current favourite things. swing on by and check out the first (click the fun icon above) and enter for your chance to win a $75.00 giveaway from my shop!
Thanks for the love friends. XO!

prototype

dress, originally uploaded by tanisalexis.

in the spring I got a wee bit obsessed with the idea of nuno felting some dresses for my wee one. I have been felting for about 5 years, and there is always always something new to learn about it, something to experiment with, something different to do with it. I think that’s one of the biggest things that attracted me to felting as a medium. the versatility, the creative stretch my brain has to make. not only is it an art form, it requires a little bit of forethought before jumping into the suds.

nuno felting is another beautiful, functional technique of felting. wool layered upon a lightweight fabric such a cheesecloth, linen, or silk chiffon, it is a textured, drapable material.

there are next to no online resources on how to nuno felt a dress in one piece (which is how some felt artists create these beautiful dresses and tops) so I am on my own. I quickly etched out a basic resist out of an old blue tarp, and started on what I had planned in my head and this is the result!
This is certainly a prototype in it’s highest form. I think I will finish it off with a bit of thin satin ribbon to tie as a lace up the back. And as for sizing, well it’s a shot in the dark for now, that can come later.
I still have so many images of what I’d like to see in a nuno felted dress and this first try at it starts a list of things I must keep in mind for the next time I attempt such a large project. I believe I may be at it for the next many months trying to perfect my mental image until I get the dress “just right”.
what ongoing project do you have in your hands? is there something out there that has inspired you so much that you feel the urge to perfect the technique? share your thoughts in the comments!

lotsa love, xo!

work in progress

cells, originally uploaded by tanisalexis.

the title to this post could be a song for the soundtrack of my life. it’s where I’m at most days, but particularily in the field of creativity.
I’ve said it all too many times so I won’t continue with it, but time eludes me. I am gaining quite a bit more balance with life now that my wee one is 9 months old. there is finally a chance to understand that crazy word: ‘routine’ that all those baby advisors tell you about from day 1. and trust me, it wasn’t easy. both the wee one and myself had to figure lots of things out before we fell into the lap of ‘routine’. I can understand now why people talk about it so much when parenthood arrives..it’s so much easier to maintain a little bit of sanity when ‘routine’ is kicking around!!

so I’ve had some wonderful people approach me about some custom orders in the last few months. these are understanding, loving and appreciative people who know what I do, love what I do, and respect these moments of crazy that a new mom occasionally has. it’s a beautiful thing.
above is a photo of a current ongoing project on my hands. I call them cells. more like, big, fuzzy, wooly stitched circles on circles. a perfect pile of creative projects that I can pick up when time allows.. stitching an edge, adding a little flair, or tacking on more cirles…the person who has requested them had left colours up to me which is a nice bonus. They would like about a dozen, so I’ve cut out more than I need and maybe if I have some leftover from the order, I can post them into my shop later on. (which is a whole other story about time management! hey, this is progress, friends!! hahaha!)

more soon! xo