Meet Jill Hoddick of Portland, Oregon

Jill P. Hoddick of Portland, Oregon

1.  How would you describe the work that you make? Do you have an elevator speech? Have you found your "artistic voice"?

The fusion of color, line, and texture become one in my studio.  The fabrics are filled with dynamic motifs and flooded in bright colors.  Line is often curved and shapes are cut and pieced improvisationally.  The texture becomes uneven with the addition of extensive free motion stitching. My inspiration comes from varied places- an emotion, a word, a photograph. I want to capture a moment in time for the viewer.   

As an artist I hope that my artistic voice keeps evolving as I mature, the world around me changes, and I learn from myself and other artists.

2.  What brought you to making fiber art? What is your art, sewing, or fiber background? When did you make your first quilt that you considered "art"?

I took a semester of home ec sewing in 7^th grade and had a great teacher who challenged me with interesting projects. I went from gym bag to apron to shorts to a dress (it even fit!) in a semester.  I expanded that knowledge to sewing quite a few outfits for myself and designing and constructing costumes for school productions. I also was lucky enough to spend summers at a wonderful place called Idyllwild School of Music and the Arts in Southern California. In my middle school years I attended a program there called the Jr. Players.  This group produced 3 plays a summer often including a Shakespeare and a musical.  Students learned technical skills such as lighting, set construction, and costumes as well as acting.  I wandered into the costume shop one day and never looked back. Finally the director noticed I was missing from the rehearsal of A Midsummer Night’s Dream and suggested I quickly build a fairy costume and she would work me in so my family would see me on stage.  I spent 3 years in Jr. Players, returned to assist the Costume Designer and then took on that position for 3 years when I was in college. This experience began my 40 year career as a Costume Designer and established my love of all things fiber. I retired from 35 years as Professor of Theatrical Costume Design at University of Portland in 2012.

Although I made a couple of self designed bed quilts, I have no training in quilting. I consider my first art quilt to be Oregon Culture Connection  (2010) that was exhibited in SAQA Oregon’s first regional exhibition “Oregon: State of Diversity.”   

3.  Describe the steps involved in your art-making process.

I primarily work in an improvisational manner.  Occasionally I draw a sketch or use more specific approaches, depending upon the subject matter.  If I am experimenting with a new technique (raw edge strata) I sometimes do a smaller sample quilt as I did with South Rim, Grand Canyon shown at the end of this dialogue.

 4.  What is your one favorite or most common source of inspiration?

Photographs – of the coast, forests, flowers, sunsets, architecture

5.  Do you enter your work in shows? What would you say have been your top three exhibits?

“What’s Blue to You?,” Indigo Forest. I loved having our HFD work shown at the PDX Airport (2014)– it was great fun to receive calls and emails from friends who saw that show while they were traveling.

Indigo Forest at the Portland International Airport

What's Blue to You?, exhibit by High Fiber Diet 2015

Red Syncopation

Exhibited in Simply Red, HFD

This quilt SOLD! 

“ Rhythm and Hues II” - When I viewed this HFD exhibit at Mt. Hood Community College (2013) I had several wonderful interactions with students who were unfamiliar with art and or art quilts.

6.  Describe your studio space.

I have adequate space and storage in an upstairs bedroom. It houses my hat and purse collection as well as tons of other art/quilting supplies. It is a mess most of the time, but I seem to thrive in that environment.

7.  How much time do you spend on your art? How do you balance your life between art, family, friends, day job, etc.?

I try to spend 4-6 hours, five days a week in my studio or working at my craft.  Besides my daily morning workouts at Curves or Aqua Power Class most of my time is devoted to creating art.  I belong to CFG, HFD, SDA, and a small challenge group and all of these groups feed my soul and offer social as well as educational and intellectual opportunities. I am lucky to have a very supportive husband and daughter who attend exhibitions and receptions and assist me when necessary.

8.  Do you work in other mediums or use unusual materials in your work?

I enjoy using fabrics other than cotton in my work.  These come mostly from my costume scrap stash (I have many garbage bags full to utilize!).

South Rim, Grand Canyon

Exhibited in Exploring Layers,  SAQA Oregon 2014

All photos by Hoddick Photography

Central Oregon Pod Experiments!

The Central Oregon pod in January met at Helen Brisson's Bend studio for two workshops on using decolorant.  Helen gave a short tutorial and then everyone was free to create with her many supplies.

Central Oregon SAQA Meeting January 21, 2016

Central Oregon SAQA will be meeting at member Helen Brisson’s studio on Thursday, Jan. 21st. There will be two workshops, one in the morning and one in the afternoon, working with
decolorant.

The morning workshop is from 10 - 11:30 AM, followed by a bring-your-own-lunch, shared time with the afternoon group. Lunch is from 11:30 - 1.

The afternoon workshop is from 1 - 2:30 PM. Come early, with a bring-your-own-lunch, to share time with the morning participants.

What to Bring:
An apron or something to cover your clothes
$2 donation
Batiks...fat quarters are fine. Light batiks work if you want to add color, dark batiks if
you want to take away color
Brushes
*If you want to paint a specific design, bring a sketch. Helen has a light table you
can use to transfer the design to fabric

For more information email Jan Tetzlaff at jmtathome@hotmail.com

Meet Rose Rushbrooke

Rose Rushbrooke of SW Portland

Website: http://www.roserushbrooke.com
Blog: http://www.roserushbrooke.com/blog

At present I live in the South West of Portland, OR between Hillsdale and Multnomah Village. I've been a SAQA professional, excuse me, juried artist member for almost 20 years.

1.  How would you describe the work that you make? Do you have an elevator speech? Have you found your "artistic voice"?

Looking back over my portfolio of painting, quilting, and beadwork it's pretty obvious I put little coloured  pieces together to make a whole. Colour plays a huge part, non-Euclidean geometry (fractal imagery) defines many of my quilts, and dabbling with anamorphic perspective is a humorous relief.

2.  What brought you to making fiber art? What is your art, sewing, or fiber background? When did you make your first quilt that you considered "art"?

My American husband imported me from the Caribbean where I had a professional studio and painted pictures with gouache. On arrival in Virginia I knew not a soul except my husband and some of his workmates. Having an idea quilters were friendly people I joined the local guild and entered the world of fabric. Much like my gouache paintings I began assembling bits of colour - a mental jigsaw puzzle made reality. I have absolutely no recollection of why I got interested in fractal geometry but it was pretty soon after changing to the fabric medium.

The gallery I worked with quickly sold my first fractal quilt to a Washington, DC lawyer's office and I realised I was onto a good thing.

3.  Describe the steps involved in your art-making process.

Fortunately I speedily pick up skills and with a background of sewing my own clothes in the West Indies (a decent wardrobe is very expensive in Antigua), stitching fabric came easily. Members of  the quilting guild taught me piecing, appliqué, and hand quilting. I spent a couple of years experimenting with various techniques. Finally I settled on mainly hand stitching which makes my artwork very slow and contemplative to produce.

The images for the fractal quilts are created by manipulating mathematical formulae with computer software. Each image is printed onto a paper template, traced to a master, and then retraced onto freezer paper. Depending on the challenge of the design various methods of hand stitching are used to put the piece together.

Summer Haze aka Volcanic Pizza

Anamorphic quilts follow the same principles - software is used to create either optical or catoptric images, the image is printed to paper and a freezer paper template is traced. Often a conical or spherical mirror is used to reflect the morphed artwork.

All the quilts are made with the traditional 3 layers of top, batting, and backing.

Anamorphic Roses with Mirror

4.  What is your one favorite or most common source of inspiration?

Fractal geometry.

5.  Do you enter your work in shows? What would you say have been your top three exhibits?

My work is made primarily for exhibition and publication. I like to work with local galleries, museums, and art spaces. Often I'm invited to create a piece for specific venues, books, or magazines.

My favorite invitational exhibition was to show several quilts at the American Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore, MD for a year's exhibition on the Marriage of Art, Science and Philosophy. A solo show at the Science Museum of Virginia in Richmond, VA was an outstanding venue, and the Museum of Science and Industry in Tampa, FL was kind enough to offer a solo exhibition.

6.  Describe your studio space.

Depends entirely on where I live. For the first 12 years of my time in America I had a full basement available to do with what I wished. So I wished a lot and had everything. Shelves of fabric, huge design walls, sewing machine tables, working tables, great lighting etc. Then we started our travels and I made do with the dining room, or a spare bedroom. Wherever I could squeeze in. Supposedly an artist will make art under any circumstances and this is certainly true for me.

At present I have an entire room to myself and my art. Small but very workable and I can close the door..........

Studio

7.  How much time do you spend on your art? How do you balance your life between art, family, friends, day job, etc.?

I work in my studio/office from around 8.30 in the morning straight through to about 6 in the evening. Every day during the week. The weekends are up in the air as my husband also works from home and we try and take time off together (as if we weren't together enough already). I belong to several groups and make sure I go to meetings. And we enjoy time with friends - usually dinner, or watching a movie at home. My mother lives in England and I visit her and the rest of my family twice a year.

We run a small online business (threads and notions),  which occupies a fair amount of time during the day - receiving, filling, mailing orders, keeping up with inventory, and admin. The rest of the time is spent on designing, constructing, or day-dreaming about art.

8.  Do you work in other mediums or use unusual materials in your work?

Several years ago I discovered beadwork. Small coloured pieces stitched together - remember? Just even tinier pieces...... I create one off pieces of jewelry, design patterns and am working on a book of beadwork patterns.

Stone superduo tile bracelet

Meet Annette McFarlane, Portland Pod Leader

Annette McFarlane of SW Portland

Portland Pod leader

SAQA member since 2012

1.  How would you describe the work that you make? Do you have an elevator speech? Have you found your "artistic voice”?

I’m trying to make art that reflects the beauty that surrounds me.  My "artistic voice” keeps evolving, becoming more abstract.

2.  What brought you to making fiber art? What is your art, sewing, or fiber background? When did you make your first quilt that you considered "art”?

I have been sewing since I was a young girl, inspired by my mother and grandmother.  One of my first jobs was making clothing for fabric store mannequins, which gave me a chance to use a vast assortment of different fabrics.  I started with traditional quilting in the late 80’s and eventually moved into art quilts about 4 years ago.

3.  Describe the steps involved in your art-making process.

I usually begin with a photograph, then start doing some sketching. Auditioning fabrics is when my vision begins more clear.

4.  What is your one favorite or most common source of inspiration?

The beautiful world of nature.  Living here in Oregon, allows me to have many exposures to a variety gorgeous landscapes.

5.  Do you enter your work in shows? What would you say have been your top three exhibits?

High Fiber Diet-  What’s Blue to You, Icy Blue Passages,  MIX - A Sense of Place , SAQA - Blending Poetry and Cloth,  Ebb Tide

insert Icy Blue Passages,  A sense of Place, Ebb Tide

Icy Blue Passages

A Sense of Place

Ebb Tide

6.  Describe your studio space.

I have a large room downstairs, that functions as both my studio and exercise room.  

7.  How much time do you spend on your art?  How do you balance your life between art, family, friends, day job, etc?

Retiring this year gives me a lot more time to devote to my art.  When I’m inspired, I work several hours a day into the night, especially if there’s a deadline. But there’s also time when I’m brain dead and just sit down there staring at the TV!

8.  Do you work in other mediums or use unusual materials in your work?

I’ve been working with Tyvek paper, which when heated with an iron, it wrinkles and distorts, producing great texture.  I then apply several layers of paint to give it some depth.  I find it just something fun to explore

Portland Pod Meets January 20, 2016

Our next Pod meeting will be on Wed, Jan 20th,, at 10:00 AM, at the Beaverton Community Center, 12350 SW 5Th St, Beaverton, across the street from the Beaverton Library.  We'll be discussing goals for our Pod and your personal goals for the New Year. Please contact Annette Mcfarlane with any questions or agenda suggestions, mcfaror@gmail.com.