"High Fiber & Raw Materials" exhibition

My "Funky Monk" felted coat was accepted into the exhibition "High Fiber & Raw Materials". The exhibition runs from August 26-October 7, 2010 at The Arts Alliance Center at Clear Lake, Houston,TX,USA.
I'm really happy with the way my coat is displayed. They really did a great job. Someone said it reminded them of Mary Poppins. I could see my coat from outside and my first words were: "my coat is flying".

The Climate Is Changing! - Wuppertal, Germany

The exhibition is taking place now in Historisches Zentrum, Wuppertal Germany. On view July 17 - August 15, 2010.

Sheep with Backup Singers

Found this lovely photo on Etsy today and wanted to share.

Fine art photography print by Allison Trentelman from NatureMandalas.

Etsy Treasuries

Some fantastic treasuries that feature my items created by lovely Etsy sellers.

Created by modernistcat , that features my earrings. View treasury here.

Created by SilverSmack , that features my scarf. View treasury here.

Created by KandiceInWonderland , that features my scarf. View treasury here.

Also click on the photo of the treasury to zoom in.

Call for Entries - SHAVINGS & THRUMS Exhibition of Fibre or Wood

DEADLINE: FRIDAY, JULY 30, 2010

This competitive exhibition is open to all artists eighteen years and older working in the field of fiber or wood art. All artwork must be no older than two years. The exhibition will be October 28–November 24 at The Arts Center in Cleveland County. For application and information, Shavings and Thrums Juried Exhibition, The Cleveland County Arts Council, 111 S. Washington St., Shelby, NC, 28150. More info here. Via

The Climate Is Changing - Prato,Italy

This is another video from the international travelling exhibition of felt work that I'm a part of. This is the first opening of the exhibition which was in Prato,Italy. The exhibition will later travel to Germany and UK. In this video you can see some artists being interviewed about their art works in their original language.

Aqua - Nuno Felted Scarf from Light and Airy Collection

One of my recently made scarves.

The Climate Is Changing - Prato,Italy

I just found this video on a friends blog and wanted to share it with you so you have a chance to see the preparation for our exhibition in Prato, Italy and to see what it's all about. Enjoy !

The Climate Is Changing - Italy

"The Climate is Changing" all felt exhibition on view May 7-July 7, 2010 in the Textile Museum in Prato,Italy. It's a travelling juried exhibition which will also come to the UK, Germany and possibly other countries during 2010-2011. The felt artists from around the world are taking part in this wonderful exhibition and I'm very happy to be a part of it as well.

HAFA Fashion Show

Here're my 2 outfits that I presented at our annual Houston Area Fiber Artists (HAFA) fashion show at the end of April.

This is a nuno felted dress, fully reversible. It's a completely different look on both sides.

This is also a nuno felted dress which came with a giant nuno felted wrap that I wanted to look very chunky. This dress has an open back, too bad I don't have a photo of it. I'll try to make some more photos of those 2 dresses and post it soon.

Etsy Treasury

Etsy treasury that features my "Magic Noir" nuno felted scarf. Created by Audrey from DOUDOUbyfilomene. Visit it here.

Dunes - Nuno Felted Scarf

My new work. Nuno felted scarf. Made of silk and wool. Natural dyed.

HAFA's Fiber Event of The Year

Houston Area Fiber Artists (HAFA) is holding our annual fashion show and boutique sale on April 17th, so if you live in Houston,TX,USA or may be visiting we would love for you to come. The fashion show is going to have a lot of fantastic garments made by our own members in various techniques. I'm going to present 2 of my nuno felted dresses and I will post the photos after I get them back. There's going to be luncheon served during the fashion show and you can shop all day with our own vendors (I'm going to be one of them). If you know someone who would be interested please feel free to forward this info. For more info visit HAFA's website.

Seaweed - Nuno Felted Wool/Silk/Bamboo Scarf from Light and Airy Collection

I had a completely different idea for this scarf in the beginning, but then in the middle of the process it took a different turn and I was not getting the look I was going for any more, so I had to do something else. I was mixing different colours, making a few dye baths and finally it worked. It took me longer than usual to achieve the final look and I'm really happy with the result. When it was dry it reminded me of seaweed...the texture , the forms, colours. The time was really worth spent.

Tribute: Lee Alexander McQueen

I just found this video and just had to share it. He was one of my favorite designers and this is an amazing showcase of his work.
Made By Alexander McQueen/Gucci Group.

Valenki

I recently came across this photo, which I really love and which brings a lot of memories from my childhood. First things first, the white valenok is commercially made, but the little ones are hand-made by Russian feltmaker Natalia Simkina . When I saw this photo I immediately remembered my days back in Latvia when I was a kid. As you might know winters there are rough, it snows a lot and temperatures go way down below zero Celsius. So valenki is a perfect footwear for those kind of conditions. Me and my brother used to stay out for hours, lucky us we lived near the forest so we went skiing and sledging all the time. Some good memories there. Nowadays they decorate valenki with embroidery and different other techniques to give it more modern look, but that's another story.

Funky Monk - Felted Coat

This coat I made a few years ago. It was wet felted from wool, silk and hand-spun yarn. Done in one piece, there're no seams. It took part in the annual HAFA's( Houston Area Fiber Artists) fashion show and in CHT (Contemporary Handweavers's of Texas) biennial conference fashion show. It got a few awards from CHT and one from HGA (Handweavers Guild of America).

Spice - Nuno Felted Scarf

Here's my recently made scarf "Spice" from Light and Airy Collection. Made of silk, wool, bamboo.

In the Memory of Alexander McQueen

Lee Alexander McQueen, one of my favorite fashion designers and a great inspiration...a genius gone too soon. So sad.
Really loved this video. It's always fascinating to see a designer at work, especially this extraordinary man.

Something Special

I made this scarf as a present for my brother, who lives in Russia. It was quit a challenge for me. I really didn't find it easy to make something for a family member. My concern was that he might not like it and if he doesn't then he won't wear it and it will end up in the back of his wardrobe. I kept going back and forth with ideas in my head and then one day it just came together. I wanted to consider his style and at the same time staying true to my ideas. That's what I learned from Project Runway, TV show. Tim Gun always says: "Listen to your customer, but at the end of the day it's your design, so don't loose your identity"...something like that. My brother finally received his scarf after 2 months in the mail (never send anything abroad in November/December! lesson learned again). Looks like he really loves it. He said he can fold it in half and wear it short or wear it long like Vladimir Mayakovsky (Russian poet and playwright). My brother is such a funny guy.

Etsy Finds : You Art What You Wear

My scarf "Saule" is featured in Etsy blog Storque. To see the whole post with wonderful picks go here.

Call for Entries - GREEN:A COLOUR AND A CAUSE

Deadline January 29, 2010
Juried. Exhibit to be held April-September 2011, at The Textile Museum in Washington,DC. Entries should be represented by digital photos in JPEG format, with images of all entries copied onto one CD. Limit 6 pieces per entry.
For more info, contact eh@textilemuseum.org .

Call for Entries - FIBER:TWENTYTEN

Deadline Jan. 26, 2010.
Awards. Entry fee. Juried. An exhibit of celebrating contemporary fiber art, Fiber:Twentyten is cosponsored by Missouri Fiber Artists and the Foundry Art Centre. The exhibit will be open to the public April 2-May 14, 2010, at the Foundry Art Centre in St. Charles, MO. For prospectus go here.