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
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
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
It’s been awhile since my last post, and I want to start the New Year with an update as to what I’ve been doing for the last few months…
I completed another fashion design course at Canada College located in Redwood City, CA., taught by Professor Ronda Chaney, and assisted by Peggy Perruccio and Kathleen Lorist. The advanced tailoring class was combined with the beginning tailoring class, a cross-section of students with an array of ability and interests, which created an environment of camaraderie. We learned from each other.
My jacket is a Vogue Pattern, which required minimal fitting adjustments by Ronda. Matching the plaid with princess seams was the main challenge. I decided to cut the sleeves and patch pockets on the bias. The fabric is vintage Linton tweed. Linton is located in the United Kingdom, and was or perhaps still is, one of the major suppliers for Chanel. I lined the jacket with a designer cut silk charmeuse purchased at Stonemountain and Daughter in Berkeley, CA. I like using piping as an accent.
The tweed is loosely woven which created a challenge when it came to the patch pockets. Trying to get both the same size was not easy. I solved the problem by blocking both of them on the blocking board I use for knitting.
I learned many new skills in this class. Starting with shoulder pads and sleeve heads, interfacings, bound buttonhole pocket, single welt pocket, outside welt pocket, jacket notch collar, and hand stitches. I particularly like the blind catch stitch for hemming the jacket. I used a slip stitch for the patch pockets. I found using the tailor’s ham was beneficial when stitching the hem because it supported and at the same time, elevated the jacket while stitching.
I look forward to blogging with you in 2019!
Sticks-a-GoGo 
You must be logged in to post a comment.