I absolutely love simplicity especially in the form of organic minimalism, and am ecstatic to announce a new artist to Ashes & Milk who really captures the essence of this aesthetic.
Eunice Kim creates exquisitely saturated black and white collagraph prints onto chine collé paper. She delicately places each mark by hand to form an intimate map of cellular structures.
Above is Porous, a collection of collagraphy prints with chine collé by Eunice Kim.
Eunice was kind enough to share the details involved in her printmaking progress as well as some really great images of her working in the studio.
She works exclusively in the non-toxic printmaking medium of collagraphy, a process in which materials and textures are adhered to a plate surface, inked, and run through an intaglio press with paper for transfer of image.
Unlike traditional printmaking techniques, each plate has temporary life span. -Therefore each print edition is unique.
Eunice constructs the collagraph plate by putting down the modeling paste marks.
Taking a beautifully restrained approach by choosing to work only with very small dot marks, Eunice meticulously positions modeling paste on the plate surface a single mark at a time. She then carefully shapes each individual dot to height and contour optimal for printing. The dimensional differences of the tiny dots are almost impossible to discern by sight alone; therefore she relies heavily on her sense of touch during this stage.
Each dot is shaped to height and contour optimal for the printing process.
A completed collagraph plate inked, wiped. and ready to print.
Sunday morning I was so happy to be notified that Ashes & Milk was nominated as your “Favorite Handmade Artist’s Blog” for Poppytalk’s Handmade Awards event, The Poppies. I am totally flattered to be part of this fun event and hope that you will vote for Ashes & Milk. You can vote right here and there is no registration required.
{ Update }
Thanks everyone who voted for Ashes & Milk last week! Though I did not win under as the People’s Choice “Favorite Handmade Artist’s Blog,” I was delighted to participate and be amongst so many talented artists + designers.
Also, the First Annual “Jury’s Choice” Poppies results were released today. And guess what?! Ashes & Milk came in as 3rd place under the category “Favorite Housewares!” Congratulations to Bookhou and BrooklynREHAB, who came in 1st and second. You can check out the rest of the results right here.
It was great to visit with Kia Neill over the holidays and preview her latest project Terrain, an installation where viewers walk through an intimately lighted, textured environment. It is being exhibited at the Women and Their Work Gallery from January 16 – February 27, 2010 and is a must see geological discovery for those of you in the Austin area!
Each of the crystal formations are made out of Compact Dics (CDs). What an ingenious and brilliant way to recycle materials!
I am also excited to show you an example of Kia’s new collection of work that will be offered at Ashes & Milk within the next few months.
Kia created the sculpture Frost, shown above and detail below.
Exquisitely tactile and visually stimulating, Kia’s sculptures contain an unexpected use of materials such as paper-mache, plaster, steel, polyurethane, glitter and flocking fiber.
Below is another one of Kia’s pieces Geode, a small cavity of rock that is embellished with a splendor of rhinestone crystals and plastic flora.
I have two wonderful announcements. The first is the arrival of the 2010 Collection of Pierres Graphiques by Yoran Morvant. Secondly, Ashes & Milk is happily featured in the December issue of Sunset Magazine.
A few months ago Miranda Jones, stye editor of Sunset Magazine contacted me about including Ashes & Milk in the publication’s Holiday issue. This was my first experience of sending work to a magazine to be professionally photographed and I think they did a gorgeous job showcasing Yoran Morvant’s Pierres Graphiques. Also, it’s pretty exciting to be featured right on the editor’s page.
I am pleased to announce that Ashes & Milk is offering a new print by Bryan Nash Gill called Locust. So many of you have expressed a love of the print Hemlock 82, Bryan and I thought it would be nice to create a piece smaller in scale and in price. The result is a gorgeous 25″ x 20″ print showing a locust tree with a sub growth inside of it. The image of two coming from one speaks to me especially right now because I am halfway through my first pregnancy!
Byran created the above piece through relief printing and a laborious rubbing technique. Above, he rolls ink out onto the surface of a Locust tree cross section (the actual print block) and a piece of handcrafted washi paper is placed over the print block.
Scratching his fingernails over every surface of the tree while pressing little by little with his fingertips, Bryan imprints the texture of the wood on the surface of the paper. I love that Bryan had to touch each tree-growth-ring in order to deposit its mark.
The actual texture, pattern and diameter of this tree section is literally translated onto paper.
Bryan Nash Gill created Locust exclusively for Ashes & Milk.
I am are excited to welcome Nicolas Cheng to Ashes & Milk. As an artist, Nicolas investigates how poetic concepts can be emotionally merged with the latest technology and materials. Nicolas aims to provide new experiences through design, encouraging people to think and question.
Nicolas Cheng created the 150ml Collection above for Ashes & Milk.
Each design is unique and holds a capacity of 150ml. Playing with how volume is perceived, each piece is disguised by shape and size making dissimilar pieces’ true value exactly the same.
Above, prototypes of the 150ml Collection were created in wood and are ready to be molded.
Left, a collection of tree branches sits in Nicolas’s Studio. On the right, molds are being prepared to cast porcelain.
I am honored to offer the work of artist Angela Simione who embroiders thread onto paper. Angela is inspired by traditional crafts in which her work embodies illustrations of everyday objects as metaphors of self-identity, boundaries and protection.
Above is the piece Territories 10 created by Angela Simione.
The Territories Series began an exploration of how the image of the picket fence could perform different metaphors. I was thinking a lot about notions of safety and boundaries and how fear can be a driving force behind achieving the latter.
The fence, as an image, is just such a wonderfully versatile metaphor that I began making pictures about my own inner “geography.” In a sense I am building a home for myself with my own two hands, guarding myself, or making the artwork a keeper of secrets. The ability to bounce back and forth across this fence is exactly what I’m after as an artist.
The Territories Series is completely made up of works on paper. This choice comes from recognizing that we all have daily interactions with paper whether it be making copies at the office or throwing away the junk mail, we all touch paper everyday. Paper is common, familiar, banal. -It is this familiarity that is perfectly suited to the personal nature of this work, paired with the delicacy and traditional look of hand-embroidery.
The hanging threads resemble hair, which I think begins to shift the work in the direction of something more psychological and supports my initial desire to make pictures of my inner landscape. The use of common materials alludes to personal associations, is a way to establish intimacy and makes these pieces feel more safe to explore.
-Angela Simione
You can see more Angela Simione’s work right here.
I am exhilarated to welcome to Ashes & Milk fiber artist Ashley Helvey, creator of organically textured Wool Felted Rugs. Ashley is inspired by traditional felting techniques and uses a sustainable approach to procuring raw wool.
Above are the Wool Felted Rugs that Ashley Helvey created especially for Ashes & Milk.
Nikko: I am familiar with the process of felting wool but a lot of people have no idea what is involved from start to finish. Can you tell me about how you obtain the wool material and about the process of creating your rugs?
Ashley: I source all my wool from either local or organic farms. Living in San Francisco, I happen to be close to a lot of farms that are not USDA certified, but practice organic ways of raising sheep. Visiting farms and meeting the people and animals involved is a nice way to begin my process. When I worked with plant-dyer Sasha Duerr to create the Sheep and Weeds installation in Oakland, I used a mixture of pure California sheep wool that I sourced from one of the only wool mills in California, Yolo Wool Mill. In addition to farms being organic, some even call themselves “predator-friendly” which ensures that no lethal controls are used on the sheep’s natural predators. It’s very important to me to support this way of farming because it brings integrity and quality to the fiber and to my work.
Above is a sheering of raw wool taken from one sheep. The highlights of light-brown on dark-brown are natural fluctuations of color that are caused by sunlight.
Ashley: As the oldest textile in human history I was immediately drawn to the organic nature of the felting process, which begins with a sheep fleece that has been skirted and washed, put through a picker, and then through a carder to create large, brushed batts. With the batting I create layers upon layers of wool, intentionally crossing the fiber enabling it to entangle easier. The wool is then wet with hot, soapy water, which causes the scales on the fiber to open up and slip into one another when agitated. To agitate it, I roll it up onto a large PVC pipe and pull it either manually or, in the case of the larger pieces, pull it with a tractor back and forth. After the piece has somewhat entangled I then begin the fulling process, which is basically rubbing it back and forth against a washing board to further felt it.
Ashley agitates the wool by rolling it up in a PVC pipe and pulls it back and forth with a tractor.
To ‘full the wool’ Ashley gets to work on her hands and knees.
Nikko: Also, I couldn’t help notice that you often work outside in really beautiful places. Do natural settings affect how you work with wool or influence the style of your work?
Ashley: I am very fortunate to have a boyfriend whose grandparents operate an olive oil ranch (Regina Olive Oil) in Napa County, which allows me to work in such a beautiful environment. I would definitely agree that this influences the way I work. I have become very dependent on the weather and have developed a sort of relationship with the environment. The process itself becomes reliant on these different components, causes and effects, and the work in a sense is a result of the interconnectedness of the entire process.
Nikko: When I look at your textile pieces within a space they remind me of sculptures or installations. How do you describe your work as a medium and what is your favorite way to present it within an interior space?
Ashley: Yes, I like to think of my work as installation-based because I am not really producing a product, I’m engaging in a process. Within interiors, I think the medium brings a very raw, primal, and exposed beauty to a space that makes you kind of want to curl up in a ball, it’s very womb-like. This is actually how I feel when I am felting. I use the repetitive motions of fulling the wool as a meditation to practice consciousness and bring my mind home.
Ashley created a large wall-hanging as an installation at Iko Iko in LA.
Ashley: I also really enjoy creating site-specific work, which again is challenging because it is dependent on so many different elements. In my most recent installation at Iko Iko in Los Angeles, DEPENDENT-ARISING, I created a large wall-hanging that was introduced to the space by my friend Cameron Mesirow of Glasser with a song [shown above] she wrote that was based on ancient Scottish waulking-fulling songs. In Mongolia and Tibet people sing prayers to bless their gers or loovuz and the people and spaces it will live with. There is definitely a spiritual element to my work and I try to convey that in the way it is presented, whether it’s singing a song or preparing a feast of lamb ragu and sheep cheese raviolis to honor the sheep.
Nikko: What are you plans for the future?
Ashley: I am very passionate about collaborating with other artists because it adds a different perspective to my work and keeps things fresh. I am currently working with Creatures of the Wind to create textiles for their Fall 2010 collection, as well as working on more costumes for Cameron Mesirow’s band Glasser. Other projects include collecting bison moltings with artist Alison Pebsworth for a research project documenting lost America and building a sleeping tent for a music gathering in Ukiah, California.
A long term dream of mine would be to raise sheep and process my own wool like my wonderful mentor, Dutch felter Claudy Jongstra. I would love to see the process all the way through from the sheep to the finished piece!
I am super excited (and a bit nervous) for my first Artist at Work Forum hosted by the Chicago Artist Resource. The workshop will open up with introductions from three Chicago artists and myself where we will be talking about how we sustain a living beyond the traditional brick and mortar gallery system. During the second part of the event there will be an audience discussion including myself and the following artists:
If you are in the Chicago area next week, feel free to drop by to say hello! The event is being held Downtown at the Chicago Cultural Center on Thursday, August 20th between 6-7:30PM and is located at 78 E. Washington, Chicago , IL 60602.
[ UPDATE ]
I promised a follow up to the panel presentation and am delighted to be able to share this information as part the of Design*Sponge’s Biz Ladies series.
It goes without saying that blogs are an amazing method to network, promote ourselves and spread the word about fellow businesses we identify with.
On a macroeconomic plane, blogs reach out to a global market allowing small businesses to sustain a viable living through the internet as demonstrated in the DIY movement, etsy.com and the rise in e-commerce only boutiques.
At the same time, on a micro-cosmic level, the way things are bought and sold has become more personal. Through blogs an enormous amount of content and substance suddenly arises out of a simple transaction. From buying a handmade porcelain cup to a one of kind lithograph print, the information posted in blogs about the artists who design and create the things we buy bring a new level of connection between us.
On this note, I’d like to give a very big thank you to all the wonderful people who have mentioned Ashes & Milk in their blogs. I tried to credit everyone, but may have missed a few of you. -Don’t hesitate to let me know. Also, for those of you interested in blogging about Ashes & Milk, shoot me an email at info[at]ashesandmilk.com.
