Here at sticks-a-gogo Art Cloth studio, the new year brought on a flurry of activity. Many new ideas, opportunities and abundance of possibilities expand the focus of our creative space.
Sunflower on a Telephone Line, is the first Art Cloth design of 2021 entered into a competition with Spoonflower. The competition is for licensing the design for Spoonflower packaging.
I am fascinated with the art of Vincent Van Gogh and his Sunflowers.
“The sunflower is mine, in a way.” – Vincent Van Gogh
Mobile Photography is the future of the art form. Discrete intimate and always accessible to capture a moment. – David S. McNamara
Photographs are said to preserve a moment in time, chronicle a piece of history, and refer to the ephemeral. Does the act of photo manipulation rewrite the history documented in the original photograph? I don’t use photos as a memory aid, but as a way to manipulate color, patterns and shape. I decided to co-mingle technology with textiles producing sticks-a-gogo Art Cloth.
For the last two years, I’ve produced images for surface design on fabric. Below are two examples, showing the original image and the resulting surface element.
©2020 Mary Lou Fall
©2020 Mary Lou Fall – Topography
©2020 Mary Lou Fall
©2020 Mary Lou Fall – Rose On A Fence
What a way to start the New Year…New Designs featuring sticks-a-gogo Art Cloth.
Over and over, I keep asking myself the same question, “What am I good at?” Of course, this question does not refer to me as a person, but as an artist. I’m an accomplished knitter publishing free patterns on Ravelry. Out of necessity, I learned how to sew my first garment when I was eight years old, and currently I’m enrolled in the Fashion Program at Canada College located in Redwood City, California. Later in life, I studied Art History at the University of California, Berkeley. Fulfilling a life-long dream, and being the first in my family to graduate from college was bittersweet. But, “What am I good at?”
As a young girl, I enjoyed taking pictures with my father’s Kodak Instamatic Camera with plastic flash cubes. When my father started using the Polaroid Camera with the peel-apart color prints, I was hooked. I carried a Polaroid Pocket Camera everywhere I went. A few years back, I began experimenting with Holga plastic cameras. The journey which began with “red eyes,” instant color prints along with the double-exposure capability using 120 film, prepared me for the boundless creative options of the cellphone camera.
How could I take advantage of the beautiful art images I captured with my cellphone camera? In a world with digital prints on fabric, why not put my images on fabric? Better yet, why not sew with fabric which created a digital narrative of what I “see” as interesting.
These photos were sent to me by Virginia. Along with sticks-a-gogo Art Cloth, Virginia used the Yuya Dress pattern by Damar Studio. It is so gratifying to see my digital narrative take on a new meaning.
I began this post with a question, and I’ve found the answer. For a view of my digital textile images, visit http://spoonflower.com/profiles/sticks-a-gogo_art_cloth
I was so excited to receive Sandra Betzina’s current Newsletter. What a wonderful surprise to read about sticks-a-gogo Art Cloth. I look so forward to seeing the fabric stitched up in one of Sandra’s designs.
What’s next for sticks-a-gogo Art Cloth? I’m ready to find out!
Well, last weekend was Artistry in Fashion at Canada College in Redwood City, CA. My first installation of sticks-a-gogo Art Cloth was well-received. One person said, “Your booth is really fresh and original.” Another mentioned, “Your work is original, and believe me, I’ve seen a lot.” I wasn’t sure “people would get me” and what I was trying to express until Sandra Betzina, said, ” You’re on to something, keep it up.” I don’t usually like to name drop, but in this case…Why not!
Here are the first of my new collection:
Sticks-a-gogo Art Cloth is exploring other avenues for fabric substrates. Leather may be added to the collection. How exciting! I’ll keep you posted, or follow sticks-a-gogo on Instagram.
What started as a casual meeting during a presentation Christine was giving at Canada College Fashion Department, has become a friendship. A friendship which recently blossomed into a professional collaboration. Christine Groom of ZigZag Designs and me, Mary Lou Fall of sticks-a-gogo Art Cloth are collaborating at Artistry in Fashion on September 28, 2019 from 10-4 pm at Canada College located in Redwood City, California.
I am so excited to share one of our collaborations.
The Loretta Jacket is a pre-order and can be found at @zigzagdesignsbychristine and http://www.etsy.com/shop/ZigZagPatterns and the art cloth can be purchased at Artistry in Fashion or ordered through https://spoonflower.com/profiles/sticks-a-gogo_art_cloth
Creating digital textile images via contemporary digital printing technology empowers me to make my own art cloth designs. Looking through the lens of my cellphone along with a gentle click of the finger, I am able to create a narrative of places, people and things I find interesting.
The ability to bring my vision to “life” from start to finish elevates my importance as a designer and a consumer. Utilizing new skills, which by the way, I’ve been taking classes using Photoshop Elements, supports my desire to create something special, a timeless unique piece of artwork. A symbiotic relationship develops between me and the image, I am emotionally attached to the cloth because it describes who I am.
To view more of my work visit https://www.spoonflower.com/profiles/sticks-a-gogo_art_cloth
All of my designs are found at https://www.spoonflower.com/profiles/sticks-a-gogo_art_cloth
For a long time, I’ve wanted to combine two of my passions…photography and fabric. I’ve been fascinated with Photoshop for some time, and recently discovered a vehicle for designing fabric digitally, Spoonflower.
I started out with a picture I captured with my digital camera.
Used Photoshop for fun, and uploaded my design to Spoonflower.
I proofed the design to make sure the visual imagery was what I wanted.
I’m excited about all the creative possibilities for this fabric design with more to come. Stay tuned!
Sticks-a-GoGo 
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