UVQG Show, part II, "Flabergast" Challenge

The Fyber Cafe just for fun challenge, in 2015, was "Free Floating Flabergast" a made up word, weird and fun, anything goes type of challenge. Maureen recommended it from a cartoon she saved, by Pat Brady.

Amy's "Flabergast & Flotsam" is her photo printed on fabric embellished with beads and sea shells. The second layer is a piece of dried kelp, twisted and embellished with plastic, wire, bottle caps, and a feather.

Cheryl has needle felted a wild and crazy explosion of fiber, her colorful center has a fiber lady shooting out of it. The "Discombobulation" describes it exactly.

Clare's non-traditional tassel is made from rayon threads, tulle & chiffon, it is beaded in multiple colors, that flare out from the tassel like a fuchsia.

Lorraine collected natural materials on her walks and put them together in this amazing wreath. She has a birds nest, dried leaves, moss, and oak galls. She used a spray sealer on it to keep it protected.

Free form crochet is the basis for Meredith's creation, she has added it to the fabric background on her wall hanging. The flowing contours of the crochet contrast to the sharp angles of the fabric design.

"Friar Freddy Frog" plays in a pond created by Peggy, it is a mixed media and fabric collage, with wonderful details.

The undersea scene created by Vi has sparkly beaded jellyfish, and other creatures. Silver printed fabric adds shimmer and a Shibori dyed fabric background adds a soft ocean look.

All these wonderful creations are the results of a Fyber Cafe challenge that stretched our imaginations, took us in new directions and helped us grow as artists. We hoped you enjoyed seeing them, please leave a comment, so we have some feedback.

UVQG Show, "Fins, Feathers, Scales & Tails" Challenge

Fyber Cafe displayed three of their challenges at the Umpqua Valley Quilters' Guild Show. The guild is so wonderful to allow us display space, they say people look forward to seeing our stuff every year. The first challenge was 2015's "Fins, Feathers, Scales & Tails." We had thirteen entries in this challenge, and they were all extremely creative.

Dorie's's proud rooster, struts with raw edge applique and thread painting. His name is "Fancy Pants."

Jana has fallen in love with thread painting, the texture on this crow is awesome. The background is one of her hand dyed fabrics, and the poem is printed with rubber stamps.

Taking this saying to heart, has made Jana very independent.

Kay's needle felted masterpiece is layer upon layer of leaves and flowers. She has hidden various animals in among the foliage. It deserves a close look to see all the details.

"Yumm!" is the title of Lorraine's delicious looking lobster. All the various reds work together to add texture and details.

What fun this must have been to make. Meredith's jaunty fish has a devilish grin.

Floating on a hand dyed background, Peggy's first mermaid, is embellished with yarns and fibers.

This red head is joined by some lace fish, as Peggy embellished her mermaid with yarns and fibers.

Sherry's flock of feathers hang from driftwood. Each individual feather invites you to notice the differences between them.

Sue's Hedgehog is so cute! His body is a paper pieced spiral with embroidered details, and the strip pieced sky and grass offer contrast to the round hedgehog. The leaves are thread painted and 3-D. This was a fun challenge and resulted in a variety of different techniques and images. The second challenge this year is "Free Floating Flabergast" so check back to see the next post.

I am linking this to "Nina-Marie's "Off the Wall Friday" click on the badge in the right hand column to see what other wonderful textile artists are doing.

Fyber Cafe @ UVQG Show

Fyber Cafe has a special display at the 2014 Umpqua Valley Quilters Show, in Roseburg, Oregon at the County Fairgrounds. They generously gave us a prime spot, just in the front door! We have 2 sections on either side of the aisle, we decorated with our ice dyed silk scarves, swagged across the top of our area. It made everything bright and colorful, and sets us off, from the rest of the show.

A panoramic view of the "Weather Report" challenge pieces. The fish in the center is NOT part of the weather report pieces.

"Snow" by Sue, "Slightly Breezy, with a Chance of Dragonflies" by Amy, "Tempest in a Teapot" by Peggy, and "Sayonara Rain" by Cheryl.

"Raining Candy" by Amy, "Raining Cats and Dogs" by Lorraine, "Sunshine, Lolipops and Rainbows" by Meredith, and "Glowing Sunset" by Tricia. The "Clown Tang" garment bag by Meredith, not part of the weather report, but a dramatic addition to our display!

"Frost on the Pumpkin" by Meredith, "Unseasonably Warm" by Jana, "Spring has Sprung" by Pat G. and "Fall is Here" by Tricia, finish off the Weather Report side of the display. A wonderful group of creative, artistic, and fun interpretations of the theme.

On the other side of the aisle, members were invited to submit an individual piece of art to represent their work.

"Color Play I & II" by Sue, are graphic exercises in bold colors. "English Meadow" by Peggy, is free form stitchery with a big variety of yarns, ribbons and fibers, it is mounted on a stretcher frame covered in gray fabric. "A Chaos of Moons" by Amy, is made with monoprinted "Gelli Plate" fabrics, cut into circles and applied to batik fabric background. The free motion quilting brings out lots of texture in the painted moons.

"Mended Vows" by Vera, is a bold and colorful abstract, with many couched yarns, stitches and texture. "Beware My Dear, of the Snakes in the Grass" by Lorraine, is a class project in free form piecing an original design. "Dharma Pot Holder" by Jana, is an inspiring reminder to "Show Up" and live life to the fullest.

Kay's untitled piece has delicate detail and embellishments with Native American artwork and symbols.

"Prospera's Forest Cloak" by Sherry, was made for an adaptation of Shakespeare for an Alaskan play. Draped in dyed cheesecloth, yarns and fibers, it is embellished with bark, shells, moss, and small bottles of magic potions. A fiber draped walking stick is part of the ensemble. It is an impressive sight on the right side of the aisle, drawing the people in closer to see the details.

"Moonlit Moths" by Amy, is a black fabric, discharged with hand cut stencils, and free motion stitched. The reflective Sulky thread used for the spiderwebs, glisten in the night.

We began to have a collection of 3 dimensional work, so we put together a table display to highlight the 3-D art.

"Thunder and Lightning" by Kay, is a 3-D response to our "Weather Report" challenge. Several Mobias Strips, and an additional shape, were used to create a dramatic, lightning splashed piece.

The Gypsy fortune teller doll by Cheryl, "I See Fiber in Your Future" has a wonderful hand painted face, lots of bangles and jewelry, and layers of skirts. She points to her hands full of cards, and has a basket of yarns at her feet. "Vessels" by Sue are two 3-D triangular vases, holding twigs, with beaded tassels on each turned down corner . The 3-D bowl and box by Amy, are made with a stiff interfacing, and free motion quilted onto a hand dyed fabric.

"The Wild Man" a needle felted doll by Cheryl, is standing on a branching piece of wood, with his wild hair flying. He looks ferocious and cuddly at the same time. "Horse Chestnut at Bear Creek" is a 3-D sculpture by Amy, the highly textured and thread painted leaf is laying on a bed of rocks.

Thank you to the group of hard working artists, who came down to the fairgrounds, to help set up our display. Left to right, Tricia, Sue, Peggy, Nancy, Lorraine, Pat G. and Amy.I think we will be the highlight of the show. Thank you to the Umpqua Valley Quilters Guild for allowing us this opportunity to display our art!

I am linking this to Nina-Marie's "Off the Wall Friday" click on the badge in the right hand column to see what other creative textile artists are doing.