On My Art Garden Radar

'Propagating Eden: Techniques of Nature Printing in Botany and Art', at Wave Hill in the Bronx, on view April 3 – July 25, 2010

Cassandra C. Jones, Rara Avis Wallpaper #2, 2007, wallpapered panel, 53 x 53 inches, courtesy of Baer Ridgway Exhibitions, San Francisco (detail)

'Botanica' at The Hunterdon Art Museum in Clinton, NJ on view May 23 - September 12, 2010

Rex, 2006, 40” x 53” (via Tamar Cohen)

Tamar Cohen's 'Driving in Circles' opens at Kris Graves Projects on June 3, 2010 and remains on view through July 3

BJIOS by Audrey Lavallée & Chloé B. Fortin

So lovely to meet French Canadian artists, Audrey Lavallée & Chloé B. Fortin, of BJIOS collective at the (Re)Fashioning Fiber opening last week. The duo creates exquisite eco-crafting of the meditative and alluring kind. Their individual work of embroidery-like drawings and 'camouflage' recycled textile creations is definitely re-enforced by their desire to work in public spaces and cast subtle lures to passersby. I loved our stroll through The Ramble in Central Park last Saturday afternoon, and I cannot wait to see what sorts of collaborations we might weave together between Montreal, NYC, and Sofia this summer.

*All gorgeously green images courtesy of Audrey and Chloé ofBJIOS.

*"BJIOS est inspiré de l'élément du grec bios qui veut dire ''vie''; on prononce en aspirant le 'j' (comme dans Bjork). Le 'j' est inutile, mais tellement charmant...pourquoi s'en passer!"

(Re) Fashioning Fiber at Green Spaces NY

Xing-Zhen Chung-Hilyard and Melissa Kirgan of Eko-Lab's 'Trees In The Dark, Dresses In The Light' mixed media fiber drawings/sustainable fashion installation and Abigail Doan's 'Fiber Flotsam Colony' on table (photo by Abigail Doan)

Kaori Yamazaki's eco-fiber jewelry installation (photo by Emma Grady)

Sibyll Kalff's 'Little Books' along wall baseboard and Abigail Doan's recycled flotsam fiber forms on wall and floor (photo by Abigail Doan)

Gorgeously green and colorful Eko-Lab models Dina Liss (on left) and Danielle Bowen (on right) looking fresh in make up by Masae Satouchi (photo courtesy of Eko-Lab)

Eko-Lab designers Melissa Kirgan and Xing-Zhen Chung-Hilyard with models Dina and Danielle looking sustainably gorgeous

Fiber/textile installations by Atefeh Khas, Tara Goodarzy, Renata Mann, Michelle Vitale Loughlin (with soundscape by Matt Pass), Kaori Yamazaki, Meiling Chen, Brece Honeycutt and Abigail Doan in this view (photo by Abigail Doan)

Fiber/textile installations by Atefeh Khas, Tara Goodarzy, Renata Mann, Meiling Chen and Kaori Yamazaki in this view (photo by Abigail Doan)

Fiber/textile installations by Tara St. James, Atefeh Khas, Tara Goodarzy, Renata Mann, Michelle Vitale Loughlin (with soundscape by Matt Pass), and Meiling Chen in this view (photo by Abigail Doan)

Tara St. James' paired-ensemble, 'Skyline Skirt and Cobweb Bolero' (Study NY S/S 2010 Collection) created from (re)fashioned twill tape and design studio 'waste textiles'. Love her signature recycled zipper necklaces (photo by Emma Grady)

Michelle Vitale Loughlin's 'Towers 1-3' crafted out of recycled tomato stands, natural fiber knitted on the artist’s first knitting machine with an accompanying sound component entitled, ‘Tower Strings’ by Matt Pass in which three twelve-foot piano strings were strung and then played with wineglasses, mini fans piano hammers, and a French horn piece (photo by Abigail Doan)

Meiling Chen's Clothes Make the Man/’Coat of Many Colours’ embroidered garment crafted out of a vintage shirt donated by a friend, flea market threads, and recycled hanger from the laundromat - installed with Renata Mann Jewlery (photo by Meiling Chen)

Mixed media drawings/collages by Meiling Chen installed with Renata Mann Jewelry (photo by Meiling Chen)

Meiling Chen's Clothes Make the Man/‘Wear Your Heart on your Sleeve’ embroidered garment crafted out of a vintage shirt donated by a friend, flea market threads, and recycled hanger from the laundromat - installed with Renata Mann Jewlery (photo by Meiling Chen)

Mackenzie Frere's 'Study for Breathing 3' (detail). A gossamer-like net hand-crafted out of silk, safflower petals, and madder root

More photos viewable on Eko-Lab's flickr page. Detailed views and profiles of specific works to come. Coverage of (Re)Fashioning Fiber also appears on Treehugger and PLANET mag online.

This group exhibit will be on view at Green Spaces NY through August 13, 2010 with special gallery hours on Wednesdays between 4 -7pm throughout the summer.

(Re)Fashioning Fiber Friends

Kaori Yamazaki, her partner, and Renata Mann installing their suspended fiber and mixed media work (photo by Abigail Doan)

Renata Mann working on her knit rope floor piece prior to the opening. Works by Michelle Vitale Loughlin, Meiling Chen, Kaori Yamazaki, Brece Honeycutt, Abigail Doan, and Sibyll Kalff also in this view (photo by Michelle Vitale Loughlin)

I am resting a bit today after several months of passionate work surrounding the curation of (Re)Fashioning Fiber. Lovely feedback and exquisite photos are fluttering into my inbox. Thank you everyone for these thoughtful gifts. Prior to sharing images from the final installation and opening night celebration, I wanted to post a few photos from the behind-the scenes magic that was so much a part of this collaborative effort.

I loved working with the artists, designers, and Green Spaces NY staff on this exhibit. For me, it was the best of a barn-raising experience surrounding what is possible with natural (eco) materials in an urban setting. Somehow, I think that this is just the beginning of something even more beautiful and sustainable.

Artist, writer, and curator Kathy Bruce visits the exhibit prior to the opening (photo by Michelle Vitale Loughlin)

Sibyll Kalff's 'Little Books' being unpacked from a storyteller's suitcase

Final details for fiber vignette 1. Works by Brece Honeycutt, Ceca Georgieva, Meiling Chen, and Renata Mann (photo by Abigail Doan)

Final details for fiber vignette 2. Works by Atefeh Khas, Tara Goodarzy, Abigail McEnroe, Renata Mann and Abigail Doan (photo by Abigail Doan)

Stay tuned for more images of work by Eko-Lab, Mackenzie Frere, Meiling Chen, and Tara St. James as well as all of the other artists and designers above.

Lítill Installation at Trina Turk NY

Gorgeous installation images created by Lauren Coleman for Lítill. Wondrous. Love the knitted suspension cord.

Michelle Vitale Loughlin: Wool Punk Extraordinaire

'410 Bergen Lafayette' (detail) by Michelle Vitale Loughlin

'Cast' by Michelle Vitale Loughlin (Casa Terra Residency, Puglia, Italy)

I am thrilled to have artist Michelle Vitale Loughlin exhibiting one of her woolpunk installations in the upcoming exhibit, (Re)Fashioning Fiber at Green Spaces NY.

'Towers' by Michelle Vitale Loughlin

Michelle's subversive use of fiber craft interventions really typifies the spirit of wool punk attitudes and the layered urban environment. As the artist highlights on her website: "Let threads be articulate, and find a form for themselves to no other end than their own orchestration, not to be sat on, walked on, only to be looked at." (Anni Albers)

Word on the street: Michelle's Towers (pictured above) may just take on a sound dimension for (Re)Fashioning Fiber via a collaboration with sound artist, Matt Pass. The two recently collaborated on 'Water Falls' and 'Hydrolace' at Greylock Arts in Adams, Massachusetts.

'Water Falls' by Michelle Vitale Loughlin (Hunterdon Art Museum, NJ)

*Wool Punk Studios

Desert Terrariums by Lítill

New York Design Week is coming, and with all the good fodder on the horizon, it seems vital to also look for quieter moments in design ingenuity.


I love the purity and simplicity of these desert terrariums by Lítill.




If you love these little fellas as much as I do, do not miss the following event during design week:

Trina Turk presents Litill
May 13th - June 15th, Monday to Saturday, 11am - 7pm
Champagne reception: Sunday, May 16th, 12pm-6pm
Locale: 67 Gansevoort Street

Lítill, a line of desert-inspired, handblown glass terrariums create sustainable and ephemeral mini-worlds that incorporate rare cacti and air plants. The vessels are produced in the Pacific Northwest, come in a variety of organic shapes, and their beauty and inspiring colors bring nature ever closer.

Marshallese Navigational Chart

Navigational Chart (Rebbilib), 19th to early 20th century, Marshallese people, Marshall Islands; materials: coconut midrib, fiber; H. 43 1/4 in. (109.9 cm); The Michael C. Rockefeller Memorial Collection

I made a pilgrimage to the Metropolitan Museum of Art yesterday to see this Marshallese navigational chart with my visiting cousin Doan, a conservationist who was born and raised in the Marshall Islands. (My uncle traveled to this part of the world in the Peace Corps, and then decided to settle and make his life there.) I have always loved this amazingly sophisticated tool and natural fiber form. It certainly took on new meaning to see it with Doan, my husband, and the (crying) twins.


"Made from the sticklike midribs of coconut palm fronds, these objects were memory aids, created for personal use or to instruct novices, and the significance of each was known only to its maker. The charts were exclusively used on land, prior to a voyage. To carry one at sea would put a navigator's skill in question." - Met Museum site


"The charts indicate the positions of islands, but they primarily record features of the sea. Marshallese navigation was based largely on the detection and interpretation of the patterns of ocean swells." - Met Museum site

You can read and learn more here and here. BP take note.