'Emily's coming out party

The Dress of Etiquette (aka Emily) had her coming out party last night at the Danforth Museum. It was an elegant evening with champagne and chocolates. On Wednesday there will be the opening reception for the shows ~ I've put the information below ~ hope you all can come.

For those who might have missed the earlier post about Emily ~ this sculpture is exclusively made out of an Emily Post book that i received as a wedding present. Emily Post's Book of Etiquette was also a book of reference that I grew up with. To me it represents the world of appearances and 'ought to's , 'should's & 'obligated to's ~ a world with which I don't agree. So I put the book to good use ~ ripping it apart and creating this dress. It was quite a fascinating experience to rip a book ~ I hold books to an almost sacred standing, and to rip this one was distressing and yet cathartic at the same time. I was hoping that creating this dress would be therapeutic, however it seems to have stirred up more emotions then it seemed to settle. oh well....

I was excited to see the dress again ~ I finished it the day I submitted it to be juried and hadn't seen it since. The museum lite the piece beautifully, she looks stunning. It was fun to watch people read the dress & I enjoyed talking to people about all the different subjects that Emily Post covers. All in all it was a fine coming out party! And Wednesday eve should be fun!! If you can, come by because the shows are lovely ~ there is a wonderful collection of art, lots of mixed media, photography, printmaking,.... it was a feast for the eyes!! peace


Annual Members’ Juried Exhibition ~ Opening Reception ~Wednesday, June 3, 2009, 6 - 8 pm.
Danforth Museum ~ 123 Union Avenue, Framingham, MA 01702 - 508.620.0050
(click here for directions)
Join artists, family and friends in celebrating art and the creation of art in one of New England’s most exciting and fastest growing cultural organizations. This reception is free and open to the public.

Fore...

While keeping my husband company on the golf course I walked past some branches that had been crushed and i saw a skirt... so as the golfers continued I stopped to quickly collect pieces to finish out the dress. So on the sixteenth hole I left my mark ... voila!!! peace

a provocative poem

Today I rediscovered a book and stumbled upon a poem that resonated so strongly with me that I had to share!! The book is at our care ~ women writing about power by sandra haldeman martz. I got it a few years ago when i was researching poems for my Poetry Dress. This morning while getting dressed i caught sight of the book on the shelf. Remembering how much i enjoyed the works in there i took the book down and opened right to this poem. I read it and thought WOW! It truly speaks to me as a woman, mother of girls and as an artist working with feminist thoughts and imagery. So as i said before, I had to share. Hope you find it as thought provoking as i did~ peace.

Poem for the Woman Who Doesn't Want a Daughter

I want you to look at yourself in the mirror & say
“& God created Woman & she is good”

I want you to look at yourself in the mirror
& say “God is a Woman”

I want you to look at yourself in the mirror
& say “I am God’s Daughter”

I want you to look at yourself
with a lover’s eye
& write a poem about yourself that way

I want you to taste yourself & feel yourself & smell yourself
& study how to please yourself
the way you study
the way you were trained to study
to please men

I want you to study women walkin’ down the street
the way you study men
How their hips swing & their breasts sway
& their hair goes freeing the wind
& I want you to exult & sing
“I am one of them”

I want you to bathe yourself like a baby
with scented oil till you gleam

I want you to watch the muscles of women ripple
& say to yourself
how beautiful it is when women are strong

I want you to go to your hairdresser
& say “I want it natural
I like the way I am”

I want you to go through a hundred women’s magazines
& tear out every page on cosmetics & beauty care
& how to reduce yourself to a shadow
& make a fire & let them burn

I want you to boycott perfumed toilet paper
& use an outhouse for a week
in the heat of the summer
& sit there with the door hangin’ open
& look out at the trees

I want you to study proud woman
& character lines
in the faces of old women
& think on every women in your life
who did you good

I want you to find a portrait
of a great woman
& paste it over your television screen

I want you to ask for help from other women
& help them in return

& every time you feel turned on
I want you to close your eyes & say
“This is me
This comes from within”

By Karen Ethelsdattar
from at our core women writing about power
by sandra haldeman martz

P.S. I would put a picture of Gertrude Stein on my television screen!!! who would you put there??

Introducing my Creatures

The piece that i was going to send to Mandy Greer but decided not to is now officially finished. It sort of finished itself. My plan was to add layer upon layer of webbing but at a certain stage the piece reached a critical mass and told me that it was time to stop. I had so enjoyed working on the piece that i was sorry that the piece was completed.

I hung it on the wall to get a sense of what it really looked like & i suddenly saw this piece as a creature ~ it has an organic, visceral feeling. As I thought this I envisioned a series of these ‘creatures’ ~ in different shapes, colors & sizes. And I plan to keep the same approach toward these creatures as I did with the first piece – no expectations, no right or wrong way, I want to let the piece direct me. Today I realized that I am taking this attitude with many of the projects that I am currently working on. I am trying to listen to the different pieces, let them lead me ~ don’t think, just do, get out of my own way. We will see how this goes ~ but this is my journey at the present. So keep your eyes open for more creatures, I have already started a very curly, pinkish/orange creature…..

~ peace

spring cleaning....

http://www.virginiafitzgerald.com/

I don't know what has come over me lately but i have been cleaning - not my usual tendency. It must be this glorious Spring and a need to freshen everything...so I turned this new found energy onto my website giving it a new look. I went with a brighter, bolder look - any thoughts???

I have been wanting to do this for awhile but everything always takes time. There are more images & loads of information to add - but for now this should suffice. peace

p.s. if you are interested~lately I am addicted to a song from the Jerry Maguire soundtrack ~ We meet again by Nancy Wilson I can't get enough of it - just have my ipod on single repeat,repeat,repeat,...

an evening of Magic

Tomorrow, May 14th

an Evening of Magic
the annual fund raiser for

Michael Dowling's Medicine Wheel Productions.
This is an amazing institution ~

'The mission of Medicine Wheel Productions is to enable individuals to access the hidden world through art. The organization invites people to gain awareness of themselves in their communities by participating in the creation of enduring, site specific public art projects in which they explore and share issues unique to their individual and collective experiences. '

(from their web site)
I have had many wonderful learning experiences with Michael and next month I will be installing a large eggshell wedding dress in the gallery with the help of the Medicine Wheel students, a project that i am very excited about!!

As well as the festivities there is going to be an auction of artwork. I donated a piece from my Strata series ~ Strata lll (let me rage). This is a series inside the Dress Project. I create these dresses using rubber stamps on wood then surrounding the dress with a variety of materials. With this piece the background was created with cheese cloth, dried rose petals and beeswax over a layer of tissue paper. The dress is made up of layers of words - each layer i use a different style of lettering and ink color. I like to think of these pieces as representing the depths of a woman/a person - the many layers that all people have in them. I have watched as each piece has changed ~ the density of the layers, the shape of the dress and the choice of words. With Strata lll I got into almost a stream of consciousness ~ as i was printing one word the next word would pop into my head. With the first two Strata I stuck to using adjectives but with number lll i tried not to limit myself. With the next one all bets are off. I hope to do many of these pieces - experimenting with different surfaces, colors and background materials. peace

A 'Rose Colored' Helicopter dress

Once again, while walking the dog, I was struck by the color and unique shape of some of our local Spring foliage. Many of these helicopters have this lovely rose-colored blush on their tips and a unique curly shape. So, voila ..... a dress.

Happy Spring!!

&

peace!!!

how a day of 'rejection' was AMAZING

Well the Red Alert Cocktail Dress did NOT make the final cut for the Art of the Northeast USA at the Silvermine Guild Arts Center ~ meaning another 300 mile road trip to retrieve my piece.
Fortunately I was in good company because 'they' didn't accepted David Lang's wonderful piece either (their loss). So last Friday David and I once again drove down the Merrick Parkway, and honestly we were not the happiest of campers. But we figured we'd make the best of the day and on the way home we stopped at the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art in Hartford, CT and we were BLOWN AWAY!!!!

The museum is full of many wonders!!! but here are a few highlights ~ first is the museum's newest acquisition : Georgia O'Keeffe's Slightly Open Clam Shell. This piece took my breathe away!!! it is exquisite. It is exhibited in a room all by itself and I could have camped out there all day and let myself fall into the depths of this amazing pastel. But there were more treats to be found...

There were some wonderful paintings in the show, Director's Choice: Abstract Expressionism to Color Field Painting. In the second room of the show there were two particularly striking paintings - a Robert Motherwell which consisted of 5 paintings of the most beautiful blues and De Kooning's Montauk I 1969. These paintings just slayed me, the De Kooning physically moved me. It reminded me about how Elizabeth Murray talks about learning about painting by studying De Kooning's painting, "Excavation" when she was studying at the school of the Art institute of Chicago. I love to learn about how artists work....

"I would go up everyday and I would look at this particular DeKooning painting called "Excavation" And I would do a dance with it. Like, oh, he went this way and oh he went that way, and oh he smudged this. Feeling the depth of that painting. When you look at it from a distance it looks like this roiling boiling pot of paint. Except the order is within it, is in that paint. And when you go up to it you begin to see the layers of it, how the yellow goes over this white and blue. And I realized he scraped that on, and then he did this over it. And I deconstructed the painting and I would go back down to my painting and I would try to do it. And eventually—I never got that good—but it made me start to feel my body and my mind. My mind letting my arm make the decision, like intentionally, like control. "

Another exciting find at the Wadsworth was a wall drawing by Sol LeWitt - there, in this 'classic architectural' hallway you see the brightly colored, swirling magic of Sol LeWitt. It was dazzling, especially to move around and view the work through the railings of the banister. These were just some of my personal favorites - but there were many exhibits to enjoy - the Ballet Russe, Folkert de Jong's installation, and so much more!!! And it was an extra joy to share this experience with a fellow creative mind. It was a terrific day - rejection and all! peace

more from Portland...

Before my Portland trip is disappears into the too far distant past, I want to tell of some more wonderful going-ons that i found there. First Portland had so many crafty events ~ here is a video segment which highlights many of these. I was lucky enough to be there when Crafty Wonderland was happening. This is a craft market which is held once a month at the Doug Fir Lounge. Here is a coffee cup holder I got there from Flapper Girl. It has been quite a hit around the Boston area. Artist Kate Bingaman-Burt was exhibiting her Obsessive Consumption: What Did You Buy Today?collection of zines. She draws one of her purchases of the day and then compiles each month in a zine. Her work reminded me of New York artist, Danica Phelps . When i spoke with Kate she said she was familiar with Danica's work & that there is a network of artists who deal with consumption. Another vendor that i loved was PearlyGrey - beautiful baby blankets and bibs. Their sock monkey bib was a perfect baby gift. And that is just a sampling of the cool vendors I found at Crafty Wonderland.

Another exciting event during the weekend was the Portland Premiere of Handmade Nation - a movie that documents the exploding DIY (do-it-yourself) movement across the country. I sadly didn't get to see the movie - all the showing were sold out. But the movie brought such a wildly creative atmosphere to the city which sent my creative brain whirling and I made a few dresses..

first the foliage in Portland was so different from here that I wanted to make dresses ALL THE TIME, but i couldn't. However I did make 2 'nature' dresses.

The first one, 'Backyard Foliage', was made on my friends back deck.



The other is 'My mother was a Seamstress'.

I saw this tree - and sadly I don't know name of this tree - on a walk. This tree had the most beautiful, vibrant flowers that i HAD to make a dress - the blossoms screamed to be breasts. The next day I returned and started to make the dress under the tree on these people's property. As i worked I thought no one was home but then the garage door (which was right next to where i was working - see photo) opened and out came the home owner... I held my breath. He was very receptive to me working on his well groomed yard. When he saw it was a dress he said 'my mother was a seamstress' hence the name. He even commented that he hoped the dress would stay up for the company that he was having that night. It was wonderful affirmation as I had been a bit nervous climbing all around under this man's tree looking for the perfect pedals.

It was the making of this dress that reminded me of how much I love being in the process of creating. How it is especially exhilarating to be outside - searching for the right petal, discovering how to use the brown decaying petals, the excitement of solving 'engineering' problems - such as this very steep hill (I used twigs to secure the petals) & just working out in public ~ responding to the comments of passer-bys. It was outside, in the public that the Dress Project began and it was wonderful to rediscover that pleasure.

I made one more dress was made in Portland but that is for another post - this one has gotten way too long!! thanks for reading & peace!!!

Mandy, Mandy, Mandy....

Well thanks to Mandy Greer I am totally 'hooked'! I love crocheting or at least what i am doing with a hook and yarn. I say that because I learned the basic stitch at Mandy Greer's crochet-a-tron 3 weeks ago in Portland ~ the chain stitch and the single and double crochet stitch. The crocheting 'lesson' was loose and casual ... encouraging exploration and creativity. I figured after learning the basics I'd get a crocheting book and learn to crochet properly. But when i returned & got a basic crocheting book from the library it became quite apparent to me that I did NOT want to learn the proper stitches. I was enjoying my free form experimenting ~ I am creating these web-like pieces that i just adore. In fact I can't stop working on the piece that i am making to donate to Mandy's 'Mater Matrix Mother and Medium' ... I just keeping crocheting the chain stitch with different yarns, fabrics and beads and attaching it to its self - I see it as a whirlpool, many waves overlapping each other. It has been the most satisfying and relaxing piece that i have worked on. For one reason - I can do no wrong!!! there are no expectations of this piece - it is going to be one of many. Also this piece is very portable and i can work on it anywhere - in a car, in a dark movie theater (and i have learned that i am a more contented person if i am working). And lastly it is cozy and warm and tactilely satisfying - in fact i would LOVE to have a skirt like this!!! But with all that said I believe it is time for me to send it west. Because as much as i love working on it I also have my own crocheted creation that i can work on, and I am DYING to sink my teeth into my slip project!!!!

One last Mandy Greer nugget ~ check out the article in this month's Fiber Arts magazine. The cover story is about Mandy Greer and there are many other interesting articles worth reading.

peace

A Visual Potpourri

Today I am off to New Canaan, CT to drop off the Red Alert Cocktail Dress at the Silvermine Guild Arts Center for the final judging for the 60th Annual Art of the Northeast show. David Lang also made the semifinal so we are making the road trip – wish us luck.

Also here is the documentation of the decay of the Don’t Slip dress. I left it outside for a good many days. I was hoping for it to go completely black/brown but I think being outside and moist might have affected it. It was also interesting how at sometimes some of the peels curled up.

day 1

day 1 ~later

day 2

day 3

day 4

day 5

day 6 ~ off to the compost!!

Lastly – here is a dress that I made over vacation. I was on an early walk with my dog when I came across a field of these ‘pods’ which I don’t know what they are called, however I have always loved them. In the fall they are ripe with seeds and have a very particular smell when you open them up. And when they dry these pods become wonderful rattles. The ones I discovered this week had spent the winter under piles of snow and now were dark, moist and flat – very reminiscent to the look of a rotting banana peel. So since this shape has been speaking to me I had to stop and make a dress. This shape begs to be part of a skirt, and just screamed to represents ribs. Near by there was a driveway which was covered with these red fallings and these became the trim of the dress.

As always when I am out on nature and moved to make a dress I am reminded on how authentic the dress shape is to me. When I am searching for the right ‘pod’ or shell or petal all other noises/voices vanish from my head and I am blessed with being in the moment of creating. Also I believe that since these dresses are temporary my critic is quiet. When I was in Portland I made a nature dress (to be discussed in another post) and during that time I had an Aha moment. I was working away in my own little world when my friend called to check in on me…She asked me if I was ok and I answered that I was exactly where I needed to be and that rang so true to me. I needed to be creating and present in that process. It has been an enlightening lesson and one I am trying to incorporate into a full life of family, children and friends.

Lastly … since it still National Poetry Month – a nod to Robert Frost. As I disappeared into my dress making zone my dog had to wait. At first he was ok sitting for a bit – we were in a park. But then as the time went on he started to get confused and it reminded me of the line from Robert Frost’s

Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening ~

… My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake …

peace ~

A poem for the day....

With April being National Poetry month I want to share one of my favorite poems ~ Wild Geese by Mary Oliver. This poem was sent to me by a friend a few years past and it changed my life. It was this ‘gift’ that lead me to create my ‘Poetry dress’, on which Wild Geese sits prominently. Besides loving the spirit of this poem, it also reintroduced to the world of poetry. It is now a common sight for me to be lugging around a poetry book. In fact for the past few weeks I have been reading Wild Geese everyday ~ letting Mary Oliver’s words roll over me. My favorite line is
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves.
I also have been deep into Nikki Giovanni’s work, especially her latest book Bicycle.

In the interest of poetry, a blog worth checking out is Martha Calderaro
Writer, poet, roving pen. She has many poetry related posting, such as Poetry Friday as well as page called POEMS BY FRIENDS where you can add your own creation.

So don’t let National Poetry month pass you by without seeking out some poetic magic. Grab a poem, find a nook, curl up and escape. Peace

Wild Geese

You do not have to be good.

You do not have to walk on your knees

for a hundred miles through the desert, repenting.

You only have to let the soft animal of your body

love what it loves.

Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.

Meanwhile the world goes on.

Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain

are moving across the landscapes,

over the prairies and the deep trees,

the mountains and the rivers.

Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,

are heading home again.

Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,

the world offers itself to your imagination,

calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting--

over and over announcing

your place in the family of things.

© Mary Oliver
from Dream Work by Mary Oliver

published by Atlantic Monthly Press

From the world of dreams....

I am in the process of reading The Witch of Portobello by Paulo Coelho and I am so captivated by this book. There is much talk about discovering your true self, and last night the characters were discussing how certain people come into your life and throw you off balance, turn your life up-side-down ~ forcing you to face uncomfortable feelings & helping you grow. Most likely I am so taken by this book because this is happening to me, through the journey on which my art is leading me. I am experiencing a shift my paradigm which is exciting and scary. What was very interesting was last night I dreamt about being completely off balance and in fact woke up feeling all out of sorts – one of those really realistic dreams. And besides falling all over the place I also made a dress out of banana peels in my dreams (this happens quite often that I work out a dress in my dream). In my dream I carefully constructed this banana peel dress with these very tactile, succulent peels. However, when I woke I figured that would take too many peels and so that dress would stay in my dreams. Yet at breakfast, without me even asking, my family decided to consume many bananas leaving me with the materials that I needed. So here is ‘Don’t Slip’ pulling the wondrous and mysterious dream world into today. Happy Saturday & Peace.

Give me your Slips! ( a request) & a poetry reading

"Give me your tired, your poor,

Your worn and tattled SLIPS!! yearning to breathe free,

The wretched refuse of your teeming drawers.

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me.

I lift my lamp beside the golden door."

I am putting out a call for all your old slips - the more worn, tattered, stained and ripped the better. I am embarking on new artistic adventure and I am in need of raw materials – old slips!!!

Please send them to me ~
Virginia Fitzgerald
25 Washington Ave.
Natick, MA 01760
If you need postage email me and we can arrange something.

Also, in honor of National Poetry month...

come join me at a

Poetry Reading

tomorrow night, April 16th, 7:30pm at Gallery 55, Natick

Haiku with

Raffael de Gruttola

Gallery 55 . 55 Main st. Natick

508-740-0260

Thank you & peace!!!!

I "heart" Portland, OR

last week I escaped to Portland, OR to visit an amazing friend (and her amazing boyfriend) and I fell in love with the city. I don’t know what all the bad weather spin is about - during my entire 4 day stay i didnot see one rain drop! (It was sunny and in the 70s!)

Besides the weather, I was WOWed by the spirit of the city and the abundance of arty and crafty people and events. A major highlight was seeing Mandy Greer’s remarkable installation, Dare alla Luce, at the Museum of Contemporary Craft. It enchanted me (I bought the catalogue)!! I then joined Mandy Greer herself and about 40 others in a crochet-a-tron. There we learned to crochet and made crocheted pieces to add to her next installation, mater matrix mother and medium - 'an interactive, process-based art installation in Seattle’s urban forest with performance by Zoe Scofield'.
It is a huge project and she has been hosting these crochet-a-thons to help generate the crocheted materials that she needs. I am hoping to host a crochet party here on the east coast and send our wares along (email if you would be interested in coming!!)

At the event I made my piece and donated it. I then went home to practice more with some unique yarn I got at a very unique yarn store, Yarnia. There you create ‘your very own custom blend of yarn -- you choose the fiber, color, thickness, and amount, and can have your custom cone of yarn wound for you right on the spot.' I got some blues with Mandy’s installation in mind, fully prepared to donate this piece too. But as I have been practicing my crochet stitches and experimenting I have grown quite attached to this piece. I love the organic-ness of it. I hope to have the ‘webbing’ continue on and on. So I think this piece is staying with me and I will just make another blue piece to donate.

Portland truly got my creative juices running - more later.

'til then peace!