Here at sticks-a-gogo Art Cloth, we begin the New Year with two new fabric designs. Beginning with Absinthe, an advertisement on the side of a building in Prague advertising Bohemian-style or Czech-style absinthe.
Here at sticks-a-gog0 Art Cloth, I am pleased to introduce the collaboration between our current collection with the Bokeh Collection. These two collections work together creating an aesthetically pleasing art form. An art form viewed on fabric for the discerning sewist/designer.
What began as printing cellphone images on fabric, has developed into my own clothing line. I am thrilled to use fabric from the sticks-a-gogo Art Cloth collection in conjunction with garment design.
The first in the collection is a T-shaped coat featuring sticks-a-gogo Art ClothFrosty Morning, Vintage Landscape and Ornaments On A Tree.
A few years ago, I discovered the positive effects of hiking. On those many outings, I would carry my cellphone and chronicle the flora and fauna in my own backyard, so to speak. I wanted to share the images with others, so I started posting to Instagram.
After positive comments regarding my images, what was my next step? How could I reach a broader audience? Just by coincidence, I overheard a conversation about print-on-demand for fabric. This could be a perfect vehicle for sharing the natural landscape of my local park trail with others. Did I mention, I also consider sewing one of my passions?
In previous blog posts, I’ve mentioned using the lens of my cellphone camera to record my narrative in images absent of words. My visual diary is not hidden in a book locked with a key, its present for all to see.
My story is told to a wider audience through surface design on fabric. For me, it’s gratifying to share my talent to the world looking for an informed collective that appreciates my talent .
After researching various resources for print on demand, I selected Spoonflower for this endeavor. I’ve participated in design competitions with Spoonflower, but have not won, yet! My designs do not look like everyone else’s, and it’s a good thing because my visual diary stands apart from the rest. I like being unique…
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.
sticks-a-gogo Art Cloth Trees 1
sticks-a-gogo Art Cloth Trees 1
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.
Captured from Sandra Betzina’s Newsletter October 2019
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!
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.
I’ve just added Instagram to my blog, which chronicles my day-to-day adventures creating a narrative absent of words. I hope you enjoy viewing another side of my personality, as I chronicle my life through the lens of my cell phone.
Sticks-a-GoGo 
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