Portland Winter Light Festival: Glimmers under the Sea
What’s new??
Did you know that I can longarm your quilt for you? Last week I quilted one of my past student’s quilts! I’m quilting 4 more quilts in March too!
Speaking of, my Looperette quilt class at Modern Domestic in Portland is in full swing - everyone has some fun combos! Can’t wait to see them done~
I taught part one of a small Pojagi patchwork class - a fun Korean tradition that gives you a finished seam on both sides. Hopefully more of this in the future!
I just came back from the Sewing and Stitchery Expo at the Washington State Fairgrounds - 3 days of teaching a variety of classes. It was a blast, as usual! This was my third year and I always have a great time. Some highlights pictured above. Dyeing, crochet, sun prints, and quilted vests!
Portland Winter Light Fest Installation
I had the absolute delight of making an installation for the Portland Winter Light Festival with my dear friend Iris (of Reflective Society) this year! Our title was “Glimmers under the Sea” and our goal was reflective! We created the installation at Fiber Rhythm, a yarn and crafts shop on Division.
About the Installation
Glimmers under the Sea is a reflective, textile-based seascape ecosystem created by Reflective Society duo Iris Vondell and Vivien Wise.
As fiber artists we draw parallels between the many stitches that form a garment and the many drops of water that fill the seas. Reflective Society uses retro-reflective materials that consist of many small glass spheres which reflect the light back to the viewer when light is shined on it.
We are often reminded that we rely on unseen communal processes throughout textile and garment creation– together we create something bigger than each of us. In this spirit, we invited our fiber community to contribute to the installation with crochet, knit, or sewn fish.
In the Fiber Rhythm storefront we explore the depths of the dark, deep sea in one window and make brighter, shallower waters in the other. Both contain glimmers of reflection throughout. ✨
We had a lot of fun making this installation - I was especially tickled by handing Iris pieces of tape while on the ladder, as evidenced by this video
We had 2 main highlights of the installation - one being Angie the Angler fish (with giant reflective teeth). We made her out of chicken wire and paper mache, and then covered her in fabrics and reflective bits.
The second big part was our big-fish-made-of-small-fish, that was a true community effort. We hosted 4 (?) community fish-making events and had folks come and make crochet, knit, or sewn fish! We made sure every fish had a reflective element, and strung them on reflective on yarn.
Coming Up:
Thursday 4/2: Visible Mending @ Modern Domestic
Saturday 4/11: Visible Mending @ Canby Public Library`
Thursdays 4/30 - 5/4: Star Adventure Quilt @ Modern Domestic (not yet listed)
August 18th - Camp Craftaway outside Seattle