Art Cloth Mastery Program 2012: Judi MacLeod

Ghost Pods, 2013, 32” x 47”

dyed cotton, discharged silk screened images, painted images with fabric paint, machine stitching

Poppy Pods, 2013, 36" x 40"

dyed cotton, discharged silk screened images, printed silk images, machine stitching

Poppy, Papaver,What’s in a Name, 2014, 45” x 37"

dyed cotton, words silkscreened with fabric paint, printed images on silk, machine stitching

Blue Poppy, 2013, 40” x 25.5”

image printed on Cotton at 50% intensity, Silk organza overlay painted with fabric paints, machine stitching

Papaver, 2013, 47.5” x 31”

dyed cotton, words and background images silk screened with fabric paint, silk screened fabric paint images on disperse dyed fabric, machine stitching

White Lady, 2014, 50" x 42"

manipulated & fused cotton, embroidered stitches , trapunto onto linen damask

Artist Statement

My tremendous curiosity about the world around me has led me to explore and develop ways of expressing my ideas in fibre. I am energized by vibrant colours and textures which are evident in my many hangings, wearable art clothes and accessories. Each piece is unique and original, mostly influenced by nature and my travels. These fibre art works may be made from constructed fabric, hand dyed and painted fabric, handmade paper, silkpaper, leather and metal.

The design principles from previous studies in fine art and graphic design have influenced my compositions. The artistic process propels me into action leaving little time for analysis or reflection in the moment. The blank “canvas” doesn’t intimidate me as it allows me permission to experiment. There is always an opportunity to take the design into another direction if it doesn’t turn out as planned thus allowing the creative process to flourish. Maintaining a philosophy of “my cup is always half full” has allowed me to experience wonderful opportunities.

I am inspired in the classroom by learning new and unique techniques in a group setting. This energy sustains me in the more individual pursuit of my creative designs within my studio. Client and studio visitor response to my creations feeds my soul.

"Rest not! Life is sweeping by; go dare before you die. / Something mighty and sublime, leave behind to conquer time." (Johann Wolfgang von Goethe)

Biography

Judi MacLeod is a full time fibre artist from Western Canada who has spent most of her life working with fibre. She was first exposed to experimental fibre work by Jan Beaney and Jean Littlejohn from England which changed the entire focus of her work. MacLeod has been juried into many Fine Art Shows locally and nationally. She is a member of Fibre Arts Network (FAN), a Western Canada fibre group and participates in their shows nationally and internationally. She is also a member of the Studio Art Quilt Assoc., and the Surface Design Assoc., both international fibre groups. MacLeod has just completed the Art Cloth Mastery Program with Jane Dunnewold in San Antonio, Texas.

The Mastery Program

This exhibition represents three years of intense and dedicated study on the part of the participants. The Art Cloth Mastery Program 2012, in which they were enrolled, required five week long sessions in the San Antonio studio, in addition to demanding assignments which were addressed during the interim periods.

Artists interested in surface design processes are at a disadvantage in this country. Most opportunities for study require either enrollment on site at a university or college, or are offered as week-long workshops through adult education summer programming. The inability to relocate to a program venue inhibits artistic mastery, as does the limited experience of a week’s class without a systematic follow-up.

The Mastery Program was developed to address this reality. The selected participants study surface design techniques on cloth, and also color, design and the articulation of a personal visual language. Each artist is required to develop a research project related to the dyes, chemicals or paints used as part of the patterning palette. Assembled together, these projects will eventually become a catalogue of research to contribute to the surface design field at large.

Professional behavior is also a topic of discourse. Artists prepared a resume, visual documentation, an artist’s statement and a biography as part of the requirement for completion of the program.

This exhibition is a sampling of the finest work being presented by serious students of surface design today. I expect each of these artists will continue to generate studio work for exhibition after the program is completed. Initially, the work of these artists will be a featured exhibition at the international Houston Quilt festival in the Fall of 2014. Later, these artists may choose to extend their circle of influence by teaching. Others may decide to write a book or produce some other lasting contribution to the field. The future is rich with possibility. It has been my great pleasure to accompany them on this exciting path. I congratulate each on the efforts of the past two and a half years.

Art Cloth Mastery Program 2012

Click for details on each artist.

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Judi MacLeod

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