"Climbing" small beaded wall sculpture

"Climbing" is the small version of that which I would like to create of a much larger scale.  I started in on the beaded "tree" portion of this piece and was lucky enough to find the perfect frame at Lamb's Gate Antiques in Old Town.

 

The big focus with this piece was beading the small individual sculptures and then stitching them together.  I'm excited that they really worked well with each other.  Almost as though I had planned it out.  However, you have to understand that I prefer to work conceptually and fingers crossed - hope it looks as attractive as I was hoping in my head. 

Often I'll finish a piece and it has to grow on me, but I'm happy to say that I fell in love with "Climbing" immediately.  Now, back to beading more sculptures!!!

It is available to see in person right now at Grove Gallery in East Lansing, MI.  The exhibit will be up until April 30, 2013.

 

This activity is made possible in part by a grant from the

Arts Council of Greater Lansing

"She Can't See the Forest Through the Trees"

Photography by Luke Anthony Photography

 

I'm not sure what else I can say about "She Can't See the Forest Through the Trees."  After blogging so much about the process and the piece, I have these great photos and am still excited by the final product.

 

Photography by Luke Anthony Photography

 

My husband says that I only pay attention to the smallest details and never look at the big picture.  And he's correct.  I can get so obsessed about a tiny little thing or project without seeing how insignificant it is in the grand scheme of things.  I planned this piece with that idea in mind. 

Photography by Luke Anthony Photography

 

Photography by Luke Anthony Photography

Photography by Luke Anthony Photography

 

There is a ton of tiny detail in "She Can't See the Forest through the Trees" and as it hangs together, it is hard to process it all. You'll just have to come visit it at Grove Gallery (exhibit is up through the end of April!).  From there, I plan on entering it into other exhibits, so fingers crossed it will be traveling soon.

This activity is made possible in part by a grant from the

Arts Council of Greater Lansing

"In Progress" Double Weave

I've started a few blogs based on my exhibit pieces, but as requested from Rebecca, here's the "In Progress"details.

The idea behind this piece sprouted from working on "She Can't See the Forest Through the Trees."  I really love integrating text into double weave, and as I was working along on the three panels I kept telling people that I was "In progress" or "being productive but nothing was finished yet."  And this is truly how I work (luckily, as a friend pointed out to me once, I actually finish things).

Beaded edging detail on the right side of this photo.

I always have at least 4 project focuses going on at once. Usually a weaving, 1-3 beading pieces, a knitting project, and lately something sculptural. So I'm always in progress.  My poor husband deals with my collecting of "junk" for pieces that I dream up making.  He was not happy about all the dirty roots I've made him keep as he pulled them out of the yard until "Uprooted 1" was actually finished.  Now he's excited for me to make a whole army of them for a larger installation.

I'm very good at staying focused when I'm "in progress." I can sit and work on one beaded piece or weaving for 8 hours straight in the right mood. That's what the top portion of this weaving represents.  However, the words wandering off into vines and various floating shapes is me, wandering around the house, picking at a project here and there or starting something completely new.

I chose thesae colors because I believe red gives me the feeling of some sense of urgency. Particularly bright red.  I dyed the rayon to go from a fuschia color, which is a relaxed, plodding along on a piece side of me.  The urgency comes when I start mentally wandering.  I need to get my hands on something new, I've got this great idea that I have to start right now. 

I know I'm not the only artist that works this way, and we all work very differently.  Some people can relate to small portions of this weaving, others may not.  All in all, it was very well-recieved at the Opening Reception.  These pictures do not quite do the colors justice, it's quite brilliant in person.

"Creating a Nature" Opening Reception follow-up

This past Sunday was the opening reception for my exhibit "Creating a Nature: A Fiber Art Exhibit"  I thank everyone who came so very much, there was a ton of love and support during a packed afternoon.  I had family in from the Ann Arbor, Fenton, and the Kalamazoo area. A friend came down from her place up north just for the opening, an artist that has watched me develop in fibers since I was 12 years old was there, and many other local artists and friends came by. I met a number of new people who loved my work to boot!

Thank you to my family who made it out for this reception and my mom who took all the photos for this blog post (I'm horrible at taking photos of anything but my work).  Also to my parents for making dinner post-show and leaving us yummy leftovers.  (Mom just figured out there was a smudge on her camera lens, hence the smudge in the photos!)

Thank you to the Arts Council of Greater Lansing for awarding me the 2012 Individual Artist's Grant.  I have been talking about making pieces on this scale for 2 or more years.  This grant gave me the kick in the pants to actually work with these ideas and start to develop where they're going.

Thank you so much to Deb and Gretel.  They were key parts in helping me hang this show on Friday.  I could not have done it without them.  I was dog tired and my wits hanging by a thread.  I'm glad they both were there because so often I want to do things on my own.  It would not look so well if I had insisted on doing it alone!

Jenny Schu and the last finished piece "In Progress" double weave

I finished "In Progress" the week of the show going up, but it got crazy at our place in the final stretch.  More to come on the individual pieces from this show.  I plan on taking the next week or two to relax some and also bulk up my jewelry stock since I have not been making jewelry lately.

Family Photo Left to right: Zack, me, Ron, Julie, Brittin, Nova, Adam, Kim, Carl

If you missed the opening reception, you still have plenty of time to come by Grove Gallery in the next two months to see the show.  Hours are 12-6 Tuesday-Friday and 12-4 Sat/Sun (closed Mondays).  I'm there most Tuesdays if you have any questions about the show.  Also, the First Sunday Gallery Walk for April we will have some snacks and refreshments and I will be demoing my beadweaving.

And no, I'm not tired of making leaves yet...

This activity is made possible in part by a grant from the

Arts Council of Greater Lansing

"Creating a Nature: A Fiber Art Exhibit"

Here's what you've all been waiting for!  I know lots of people are probably tired of hearing me say that I'm busy working on my grant project.  It's my first one, so I'm still really excited.  This grant has allowed me to explore so many of my other passions beyond jewelry making throughout this past year.  I have discovered that it is possible to juggle some jewelry making (it's almost a mental break!) while experimenting and problem solving my concepts in beaded sculpture and integrating my weaving in with my beadwork.

"Creating a Nature: A Fiber Art Exhibit"  will be installed and open to the public on March 3rd, 2012.  This is also the opening reception which I will be at!  Please mark your calenders and come see my progress!

Grove Gallery
March 3-April 30, 2013
Opening Reception, meet the artist: Sunday, March 3, 12pm-5pm
Refreshments and snack will be served.
City parking is across the street from the gallery and free every Sunday.

Would you like to RSVP via Facebook?  It's right here on the Jenny Schu Artist Page!

This activity was made possible in part by a grant from the

Arts Council of Greater Lansing

She Can't See the Forest Through the Trees: Finishing Up

 

As you can see from the above photo, "She Can't See the Forest Through the Trees" is coming along nicely.  The "Forest" (woven) panel and the "Leaf" (mixed woven, stitched, beading) panel has been handed over to my photographer Luke Pline.  I'll have the "Trees" panel done this week.

 

It baffles me how long it took for this to come together, but I tend to forget how long it takes me to develop a concept to my own satisfaction, then actually produce it.  Plus the procrastinate on the finishing of a piece for much too long.  This is coming together great and I'm excited to see it up in the gallery rather than in my basement. 

 

 

This activity is made possible in part by a grant from the Arts Council of Greater Lansing

Uprooted 1: Finishing Touches

Now that the tendrils have been set, the wood has been oiled and waxed, I get to address the final embellishments for "Uprooted 1"  It's exciting because I can see the light at the end of the tunnel and have the wonderful scent of the walnut oil and wax finish in the air and clutching on to my hands as I work.

I had asked local woodworker/artist, Tom Cannon how he finishes his bowls without stain and varnish, just to keep the piece looking natural and he suggested a walnut oil and wax rub.  I looked up ways to make it, but decided that after collecting to ingrdients and taking the time to mix it up, it was faster and easier for me to order it.  I found BowlMakerInc.com and ordered the oil/wax combo.  I'm exremely happy with the outcome. You can find his finishes here.

As I was addressing where to put individual bead accents into parts of the root, it seemed like it was missing something.  There are two areas that needed tendrils "growing" out of them also.  They are much smaller than the original tendrils, and I've gotten a bit quicker at beading these shapes so here I go into 2 more.  They should take 30 hours or less to get done.

 

 

Let the countdown begin.  I swear I will get this piece done soon to have photographed and put on my postcard/exhibit promotion!
 

 



Forest through the Leaves: part 8, Leaf Panel

 

As it turns out, stitching leaves together always takes about five times longer than I think it will in my head.  I've spent over 25 hours sewing this panel together, I cannot even begin to fathom how long all of the leaves took me to make! (ok, 30-45 minutes per leaf x just over 120 leaves is approximately 90+ hours....and I've been hard on myself for slacking.)  It's a good thing that I love to do detailed work. I'm not even close to being sick of making leaves. Rather, I have even more leaf panel designs floating around in mind and my sketchbook.

This panel is made up two different leaf-techniques.  The first is the Russian Beaded Leaf that you see in so many of my jewelry designs.  The second leaf is a new exploration for me, with my handwoven remnants cut and stitched on my sewing machine for the leaf detail.  

The white background doesn't give this panel justice.  I stained the dowel that I'm going to attach it to this morning, so it will soon be hanging free and open.  You'll have to come to my exhibit in March/April to get a good look at it. 

This activity is made possible in part by a
grant from the Arts Council of Greater Lansing

2012 Wrap Up

Wow. Just wow.
2012 has been an amazing year that I can't believe it's already over.  I still have so much to do! 

I have had a number of things happen in my art career:

Arts Council of Greater Lansing 2012 Individual Artist's Grant

"Bamboozled" Accepted into International Juried Show "Small Expressions 2012"
Long Beach Museum of Art, CA (and my trip to my very first Convergence)

Three pieces exhibited at the Michigan League of Handweavers Biennial Exhibit and awarded two honorable mentions

I gave my first Program with the Needlework and Textile Guild of Michigan followed by a day and a half workshop.  Although I was a little nervous, it went smoothly, and I not only enjoyed myself, but I received so much positive feedback.

Michigan League of Handweavers Workshop Grant and the Chris Clark Fellowship Grant for the Tapestry Workshop I took with Rebecca Mezoff

Artist's Billboard (opportunity via the Arts Council Individual Artist's Grant)

I am officially represented by 2 galleries and 2013 I am adding a third:
Grove Gallery (jewelry and fiber art)
Lansing Art Gallery (jewelry)
coming for summer 2013: Synchronicity (jewelry)

And I have had a successful year of new projects and Commissions:

I made my first runway piece (garment instead of jewelry) for Fiber Feast with the Ann Arbor Fiber Arts Guild

I feel that I had my first successful #eTextiles project design with the Pac Man Bangle (and am hoping to make a new #eTextiles bangle in 2013)

My first beaded sculpture piece is well on it's way: "Uprooted I" (and I just put a coat of walnut oil on the root-base last night)

"She can't see the Forest through the Trees" is probably more than 2/3rds finished (a leaf update will be coming soon, I have been sewing them together and it's turning out wonderfully)

And, as usual, I took the time to make an inspired Halloween Costume, including teaching myself some millinery, getting back to dying full-force, and reminding myself that conductive thread and LED's can be simple.


Looking through my blog this year, I have 21 more posts than 2011.  And I'm finally feeling that this year has been wildly successful after listing it out.  I have no real New Years resolutions beyond trying to be more organized and going bigger and better with my work. 

2011 was a lot about productivity (I recorded approximately how many pieces of jewelry I could make, per week and the total of those items per week), 2012 was all about moving my work from jewelry to experimenting with larger pieces to exhibit, 2013 will probably continue on the lines of my desire to exhibit more.  I will be working on the pieces floating around in my head and on sketchbooks that are beyond what people already expect from me.

I am excited.  Now, for this evening, we are racing lobsters and eating them with a small group of awesome friends.  I hope your New Years Eve is as eventful as ours is!

"Uprooted 1" nearing done!

I finally finished the third and last tendril for this sculpture just before Halloween, and then Halloween and Holiday shows kicked in.  So I have been distracted by pieces for customers and keeping my jewelry stock up some for Grove Gallery and the 3 more shows I have coming up through November/December. Check out www.jennyschu.com for the dates/times of these.

The above photo is just a little sample, the tendrils will actually be positioned a little different than this, but you get the idea.   

(I love my drill and dremel tool!)

I drilled my last hole for the third tendril and am on to the finish work of sanding.  The sanding is taking longer than I had anticipated because there's always another crevice or corner that I didn't get to.  I've decided not to stain or varnish the wood, so the next step will be to oil the root and add the finishing touches of beading and accent beads to bring the tendrils and the wood root together in harmony.

 

 

This activity is made possible in part by a
grant from the Arts Council of Greater Lansing

 

Forest through the Trees: part 6, woven "trees" panel

I know it may appear that I have been slacking in July, it's really been slacking on blogging.  July has been a busy month and I cannot believe we are at the end of it!

Since I've finished the first panel of "She Can't See the Forest Through the Trees" I've been trying to focus on the next two panels.  The middle panel is strips of St. Petersburg Chain stitch which represents the "trees" in this piece.  I am playing with various sized seed beads and beginning to mix colors for a more blended look on some of the "tree" strips.

This has led me to playing with various sizes and types of seed beads.  The above diagram is largest beads on the left (Size 6/0 are the biggest) and smallest on the right (Size 15/0, which is what I usually use for my lariat necklaces).  I prefer to work with Miyuki and Matsuno brand beads as they are a high quality and for the most part consistent in shape.  I did, however, purchase a cheaper brand called Ming Tree which is what is labeled "Irregular Seed Beads."  I wouldn't normally use these beads in my jewelry due to the fact that they are not at all consistent in shape and therefor is hard to make fit together properly.  I do like the different texture they are providing for the "tree" strips in this piece, so I will continue using them for that.

I am just starting to hang my strips to see what other sizes I will want on hand to work with.  I really love the feel of the larger seed beads so they are top on my list to order more.  The above image is the weaving behind the strips that I'm starting to weave together.  When I actually hang it, they will be spaced apart much more (this photo they are right up against each other).  As you can see, I have a lot more strips to make.  Hence my lack of keeping my blog up-to date.

This activity is made possible in part by a

grant from the Arts Council of Greater Lansing



Forest Through the Trees, part 4, Weaving is off-loom!

There is nothing like weaving off the final portion of a piece and cutting it off the loom.  It's such a feeling of excitement as I have been wondering what the piece really looks like, as a whole, the entire time I'm weaving it.  The top photo is the side that I could not see while I was weaving, the bottom photo was what I was seeing portions of as I wove along. 

I am hoping I will have this all hemmed up to bring to the Trunk Show at the Lansing Art Gallery this Friday (7pm-9pm)

The above detail is the beaded edging that I will be sewing to the weaving.  Details as to why I'm doing the beaded edge are in THIS blog post.

http://www.lansingarts.org/
This activity is made possible in part by a grant from the Arts Council of Greater Lansing

Forest Through the Trees, part 3, Beading the Selvedge

I really enjoy weaving and am so excited to be back on the loom for this first grant project.  I have a confession though.  I am not a very technical weaver, I prefer to work with an idea and let the piece create itself through the weaving process.  In event, my selvedges (sides of the fabric) are starting to look a little rough.

With this probelm I have a few options.  I could back up and try again, but that would be hours upon hours of un-weaving and re-weaving (there's no good way, that I know of, to go backwards in double weave pick up).  I could keep weaving and try to make it better, then do some re-stitching when it comes off of the loom. Or I could hide the edges of the final piece with another fiberart technique. 

After mulling it over I decided that it would actually help the woven panel of this piece to put a beaded edging on it.  This way the edging would be similar or match some of the beading in the other panels and therefore the woven portion would speak more directly to the beadworking in the piece.  The three panels would then speak to each other more clearly when hung together. 

I have been beading gobs and gobs of the St. Petersburg chain for this piece....I'm about ready to start in on another projects to take a break from it.  As of right now, jewelry making is helping get breaks in from this piece.  I am loving this dark brown seed bead that will be the main color for the edging.  It speaks well to both the black and the brown in the piece. I have finished the first edge for the weaving and am on the the second one.  I figure it's taken me about 30 hours to make one edge.  Luckily, I carry these around for whenever I have down time, so it doesn't feel like it's been 30 hours!

So, in short, I think that even though I'm creating more work for myself, covering up the problem  is going to actually help the piece as a whole.

This activity is made possible in part by a
grant from the Arts Council of Greater Lansing

Forest Through the Trees, part 2, Weaving

I am finally sitting at the front of my loom and into my weaving.  I think I forgot how long it took to warp a loom with this large of a project.  I've started in on the actual weaving potion of this panel.  I spent a good portion of last week and the weekend getting about 10 inches done.

The weaving technique I am using is called Double Weave Pick Up.  I am weaving two fabrics at the same time (see close-up of of the two fabrics open on the loom).  I started with weaving them individually and when I had a good start, I started in on the pattern.  The "Pick Up" part of this technique is that every time you weave, you must pick up the pattern with sticks.

Double fabric, open to show black-based fabric and brown-based fabric before starting in on the pattern.

Double fabric, closed

9 inches of the pattern woven. 

Note the pick-up sticks at the top of the photo holding up one warp.

This activity is made possible in part by a grant from the Arts Council of Greater Lansing.