“Peace,” acrylic on canvas, 16 x 20, by Mary GowEver since I took Fashion Illustration class at City College in San Francisco this past summer I’ve been painting and drawing almost every day.
Don’t you like the compactness of classes in the summer? Six weeks of three times a week equals the 17 weeks in fall or winter semester. It’s so efficient.
There were two course instructors. Lorraine Wilner and Paul Gallo. Wilner taught the first three weeks and Gallo taught the last three.
It was from inspiration from Gallo that I decided to keep up the painting and drawing. Thank you Paul Gallo!
My daily paintings have become a meditation practice. I don’t have preconceived ideas of what’s going to appear on the canvas. I’m just going with the flow.
Above is recent painting I titled “Peace.” Holding thoughts of Peace now, more than ever.
Joy-Lily, San Francisco-based Fiber/Surface Design Artist. Photo by Mary GowIt’s as long as a professional NBA basketball player is tall. That’s the size of a silk painting of two gargantuan brilliant red and orange sunflowers painted on silk fabric that bring to life the stairwell of her home in Bernal Heights. It’s called “Georgia’s Poppies,” made originally as a sarong that now functions as a wall hanging.
Joy Lily’s been around fabric and making clothes most of her life. Originally from Detroit, she’s the daughter of a dressmaker. “I was grounded a young child by a mild case of polio, so I made a lot of art early on.” At age 20 she began her career as a graphic artist and illustrator and for the next 16 years she designed ads, book covers, brochures and logos in New York City.
On a visit to her brother in southern California, she discovered batik (wax resist dyeing). She was captivated by this magical technique and even convinced a client to use it for a series of recipe illustrations.
She’s called Bernal Heights home since 1986, and here she’s pursued her passion as a fiber artist / surface designer. “I don’t weave or knit, but plain fabric is just not safe around me. I will dye it, paint or print on it and lately I’ve been chopping it up and sewing it back together. I’m making quilts from this ‘art cloth,’” says Lily. “Tree,” painting on silk by Joy-Lily. Photo by Mary Gow
The patterns and colors in nature inspire her, as well as her travels, and the accidental effects of the dyeing techniques batik and shibori (Japanese resist dyeing without wax also known as the grandmother of tie-dyeing and involves tying, stitching, clamping, or wrapping fabric).
“Shibori makes an artist out of everybody,” she said.
Lily’s written a book for quilters of all levels (including complete beginners), called Carefree Quilts. It features perfection-free quilting techniques and what Lily calls her “quirky quilt blocks.” Autographed copies are available directly from her.
Wednesday afternoons Lily instructs a quilting class in Bernal.
By special request she will teach a four-hour workshop on how to hand paint and dye your own silk scarf. The host gets complimentary tuition if she brings 8 people together to take the course.
You can see more of Lily’s work and enroll in classes at http://www.Joy-Lily.com or visit her studio by appointment.
“New Season, New Song,” acrylic on canvas, by Mary GowIt feels like a new season since we recently experienced some much needed rain. To celebrate, I’m working on a lively new series of abstract paintings and here’s one of them.
It’s that time of year again when you can drop into artist’s studios and alternative spaces to see a huge swatch of the art made in the San Francisco area. The event covers 4 weekends in a row and begins this weekend and continues through November 9th.
Back in 2008 when I told my good friend, Regina Held (owner of Matrix Fine Art Gallery and New Grounds Print Workshop & Studio in Albuquerque, NM), that I was in Open Studios she said, “Well don’t be too hard on yourself. It takes three years to get it right. The first year you don’t know what you’re doing. The second year you make some changes. By the third year you know what you’ve got the hang of it.”
2014 San Francisco Open Studios will be my chance to show I’ve got the hang of it. My first two official appearances were at the Graphic Arts Workshop at 2565 Third Avenue in 2008 and 2009 in Suite 305 of the American Industrial Building. If you haven’t been by there I’d recommend you go. There’s a irresistible bakery across the hallway from the Graphic Arts Workshop that cooks up the pastries for many of the bakeries in town. There’s nothing like the lilt of cinnamon rolls in the air while mixing inks and rolling the press.
You’re cordially invited to drop by and see my work at the Grotto Gallery at 1590 Bryant Street, SF 94103, on Weekend #3 – November 1st and 2nd. There’s a party on the evening of November 1st so hours of viewing are 11am to 7:30pm. Sunday I’ll be there 11am to 6pm. Light refreshments will be provided. And it’s rumored the Fat Chance Belly Dancers are performing Saturday evening.
On view will be the best display of the range of my work – perhaps ever to appear in one space. I’ll be showing what my best favorite works in the main media I work in: photography, painting, monotypes, and cameraless art (also known as “photograms”).
Mention this blog entry and you get ten percent off any purchases of my work at the Grotto Gallery at Sports Basement at 1590 Bryant Street.
Click here for a PDF of a map of the areas you can visit each weekend.
