Are You Ready for Some Football (and ART)?

"Mixed Salad" (c) 2007 Ayn Hanna, 11.5"x11.5" Textile painting (cotton fabric, cotton batting, cotton threads)

September.  Fall.  One of my favorite times of the year.

The smell of hatch’s green chilis roasting at the farmers’ markets, crisp morning air, Baseball playoffs just around the corner, FOOTBALL season starting, and lots of ART going on!

Thread Tails and Vapor Trails: An Art Quilt Show

2011 Marks the 100th Anniversary of Naval Aviation and there will be many Naval celebratory events around the country throughout the year.  Thread Tails and Vapor Trails is a Navy art quilt challenge which has been put together to help commemorate this event.  Award winning and traveling art quilts included in this challenge will travel and be displayed at many of the Navel events throughout 2010-2011, starting with the Blue Angels homecoming in Pensacola, FL in Nov 2010.

After learning of this challenge, and having a good friend who’s Dad was a top Navy pilot, I decided that I’m going to make a piece honoring him for the show.  It’s a bit different than my usual approach to making a work of art, as I am starting by doing some “interviewing”, web research, and gathering background data.  Boy have I learned a lot in a very short time about things like aircraft carriers, fresnel lenses, tail hooks, LSOs (landing signal officers), numerous airplanes, and navy pilot lingo.

I’m just in the beginning stages of sketching out a design, so check back here on the blog during the month of Sept to see how it all comes together (entry due date is Oct. 1).  I’ll post some photos of the piece as it progresses.

simply irRESISTible

24 Artists from 10 States Exhibiting Nearly 40 Contemporary Works Showcasing Old and New Methods and Techniques

Two of my Tangled Web Pieces are included in this show which opens Sept 12 and is on display until Nov 14 at the Some Things Looming Gallery in Reading, PA.  There are several events associated with this show.  Click the “simply irRESISTible” link above for full details.  Summary Press release is below:

Reading, Pa—Two-dozen artists from Pennsylvania and nine other states will exhibit 37 contemporary fiber artworks at “Simply irRESISTible,” a major, national salon-style exhibition at the some things looming Fiber Arts Gallery and Studio, 526 Washington St., Reading, that opens Sunday, Sept. 12, 2010 and runs through Sunday, Nov. 14, 2010. It also will include a public workshop, seminar and other special programs.

“Simply irRESISTible” covering “all things textile” incorporates resist-related art—wax, paste, mechanical and/or chemical.  Individual artworks will encompass numerous methods and techniques—new and old—used by today’s fiber and textile artists. Other states represented include California, Colorado, Florida, Massachusetts, Maryland, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Texas and Vermont.

According to gallery Co-Director Melanie Mitchell, artists use many methods to “resist” or prevent dye from reaching specific areas of their cloth—creating patterns and ground color. “They can use a wax or paste resist, a mechanical resist such as tying or stitching, or a resist technique incorporating chemical agents that repel.”

Rebekah Ritter, gallery founder and co-director, said, “We wanted a significant show that was inviting, appealing, wonderful, fabulous, enticing, alluring, beguiling, tempting, tantalizing and ‘Simply IrRESISTible,’ and we believe that we have created that excitement.”

"Reaching In" (c) Ayn Hanna, 7"x10", Etching

Proof No. 1:  The Art Lab Printmaking Experience Big Show

Sept 17/18 and 24/25 at Art Lab Fort Collins.  Several of my etchings and woodcut prints will be on display in this group show of contemporary prints made by local printmakers.  The show will include prints made by hand on big old clunky equipment (etchings, woodcuts, letterpress, etc.)

Leslie Gabrielse Workshop

I’m very excited that I get to attend Leslie’s workshop in Estes in mid Sept.  I’ve admired his work and his process of making art quilts completely by hand (no machines involved) ever since I was first introduced to his art, so it is going to be great to get to learn from him directly.  I’m busy gathering my supplies and selecting my fabrics and subject matter possibilities, so I’ll be able to hit the ground running at the workshop.  I’ll post images from the workshop here on the blog.

September is a full plate of artful activities (and there’s lots more coming in Oct too), so stay tuned for updates on all of these events and more over the coming month.

Happy Football (and chili roasting) Season to All!