needle art – Fiber Talk

Posted on March 9, 2024March 15, 2024 by Gary Parr — Leave a comment

Fiber Talk with Mercedes Bowyer

Porch of the Grand Hotel on Michigan’s Mackinac Island by Mercedes Bowyer.

Our guest this week is Mercedes Bowyer of Rogue Needlepoint and the show is sponsored by the Embroiderers’ Guild of America and Sassy Jacks Stitchery. Mercedes learned needlepoint from her grandmother but it “didn’t stick.” When the pandemic hit, she had time on her hands and wanted to quit smoking. Needlepoint kept her hands busy, she kicked the nicotine habit, and a needle-art career emerged. She likes to stitch scenes and painted canvases didn’t excite her so she decided to use rough pencil outlines of photographs and teach herself to interpret the elements with threads and stitches. The result has been a series of successes that have found their way into several juried exhibitions. While creating her needleart, she also tackled the American Needlepoint Guild Master Needle Artist program. Shortly after we recorded this show, she received notice that she had successfully completed the rigorous program. Congratulations, Mercedes! After you enjoy listening to the show, take a few minutes to visit her website and her Instagram account to enjoy her needle art.–Gary

Listen to the podcast:

This show is also available on FlossTube. Click here to view it.

This week’s sponsor is Sassy Jacks Stitchery at sassyjacksstitchery.com.

Visit the EGA website at egausa.org and consider joining.

You can listen by using the player above or you can subscribe to Fiber Talk through iTunes, Stitcher, Amazon Music, Spotify, Audible, Google Podcasts, TuneIn, Podbay, Podbean, and many other podcast sources. To receive e-mail notification of new podcasts, provide your name and e-mail address below. We do not sell/share e-mail addresses.

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We hope you enjoy this week’s conversation with Mercedes Bowyer. We’re always looking for guests, so let us know if there is someone you’d like us to have on the show.

Posted on January 27, 2024 by Gary Parr — Leave a comment

Fiber Talk with Nicola Jarvis II

Fairhurst Fox, one of the projects in Life in Seasons.

Nicola Jarvis returns this week to talk about her new book, “Life in Seasons: The Embroidered World of Nicola Jarvis.” The show is sponsored by Avlea Folk Embroidery and CyberPointers. Nicola’s book is published by the folks at “Inspirations” magazine. While it’s filled with beautiful projects, presented in the familiar “Inspirations” format, it’s much more than a project book. “Life in Seasons” is the story of what Nicola experienced during her daily walks down the lane and in the woods with her dog Quince. Through words, photos, needle art, poetry, and artisans who helped her along the way, Nicola takes us with her on those walks so we can see what inspired the projects in the book. This book is the first of two. It covers the Winter and Spring seasons. The second book will be published in Sept. 2025 and will share her Summer and Autumn experiences. The book is available now at Sassy Jacks Stitchery or wherever you purchase needlework books. Projects kits can be purchased from the “Inspirations” website to ship from Australia or from Nicola’s website to ship from the UK. Enjoy the conversation and stitching the art Nicola has created.–Beth and Gary

Listen to the podcast:

This show is also available on FlossTube. Click here to view it.

Please support our sponsor, Avlea Folk Embroidery at avleaembroidery.com.

Join CyberPointers at cyberpointers.org.

Here are some links:

We hope you enjoy this week’s conversation with Nicola Jarvis. We’re always looking for guests, so let us know if there is someone you’d like us to have on the show.

Posted on September 30, 2023 by Gary Parr — Leave a comment

Fiber Talk with Ruth Singer

Pieces created for the Blossom and Thorn hedge exhibit.

Artist-maker Ruth Singer is this week’s guest. Ruth is a true textile artist and a master at dealing with the What if? question. To quote Ruth, “I work mainly with old cloth, often damaged, torn and worn, which I combine with hand stitch, natural dye, quilting, appliqué and mixed media to create subtle and emotive pieces.” In our conversation, we’re only able to explore a portion of what she does/offers to the needlework community. Her current “Cultures of Care” basket of projects and art explorations is multi-faceted and will provide many inspirational avenues for textile artists to explore. Ruth is the author of six books and produces the “Making Meaning” podcast and journal. This week’s podcast is only the tip of the iceberg. Be sure to visit Ruth’s site to learn and experience much more.–Beth and Gary

Listen to the podcast:

This show is also available on FlossTube. Click here to view it.

You can listen by using the player above or you can subscribe to Fiber Talk through iTunes, Amazon Music, Spotify, Audible, Google Podcasts, TuneIn, Podbay, and Podbean. To receive e-mail notification of new podcasts, provide your name and e-mail address below. We do not sell/share e-mail addresses.

Here are some links:

We hope you enjoy this week’s conversation with Ruth Singer. We’re always looking for guests, so let me know if there is someone you’d like me to have on the show.–Gary

To add yourself to our mailing list and be notified whenever we post a new podcast, provide your name and email address below. You won’t get spam and we won’t share your address.

Posted on September 9, 2023September 9, 2023 by Gary Parr — Leave a comment

Fiber Talk with Lucy Newman

Lucy’s interpretation of what a flower might look like after nuclear mutation.

This week’s Fiber Talk podcast is sponsored by the Embroiderers’ Guild of America at egausa.org. Our guest, Lucy Newman of LJN Studio, is the 2022 Hand and Lock Prize winner, a 2023 Fine Art Textile Awards finalist, and an extremely talented and creative needlework artist. In our conversation, we learn about her formal schooling, how her years working with sculpture artist Robert Montgomery shaped her art, and how she approaches her designs. She loves to do bullion and French knots and has created a fascinating series of embroidery art pieces that reflect her vision of how botanicals would mutate after an apocalypse. She’s also optimistic about the future of embroidery: “I think that embroidery is having a revival due to people’s frustration with constantly being plugged into technology and throw-away culture.” We hope you enjoy the conversation and encourage you to visit Lucy’s website and Instagram account to see more of her work.–Beth and Gary

Listen to the podcast:

This show is also available on FlossTube. Click here to view it.

Here are some links:

We hope you enjoy this week’s conversation with Lucy Newman. We’re always looking for guests, so let us know if there is someone you’d like us to have on the show.

Posted on August 27, 2023 by Gary Parr — Leave a comment

Fiber Talk with Clara Warschauer

Immaculate heart brooch by Clara Warschauer.

Clara Warschauer combines embroidery, goldwork, and stump work to create striking needle art. Our conversation with Clara is sponsored by Sassy Jacks Stitchery. Clara is a talented, creative artist who loves to teach and can’t resist having at least a little gold in every design. Her designs are small, approachable at all talent levels, and lend themselves well to being finished as jewelry. She has a number of classes coming up and you’re encouraged to visit her website and subscribe to her newsletter to stay informed about her teaching schedule.–Beth and Gary

Listen to the podcast:

This show is also available on FlossTube. Click here to view it.

Here are some Clara Warschauer links:

We hope you enjoy this week’s conversation with Clara Warschauer. We’re always looking for guests, so let me know if there is someone you’d like me to have on the show.–Gary

To add yourself to our mailing list and be notified whenever we post a new podcast, provide your name and email address below. You won’t get spam and we won’t share your address.