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.

[ You can see more work by Bryan here and here. ]

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.

Nicolas Cheng in his studio.

You can see more Nicolas Cheng’s work right here.

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.

Creating the Gray Wool Felted Rug – Small.

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!

Architecture of Nature woodcut prints by Deborah Weiss. Clockwise from top-left: Calligraphic, Palm, Vine and Cascade.

I am so excited to welcome artist Deborah Weiss to Ashes & Milk whom created the above collection of graphically eloquent woodcut prints called the Architecture of Nature. Through relief carving and a distinctive print technique, Deborah pieces together deconstructed silhouettes of botanical imagery onto Nepalese paper.

Deborah in her Connecticut Studio composing ‘Architecture of Nature – Vine.’

Nikko: Can you tell me a little about your process of creating a woodblock print and how you come up with your ideas?

Deborah: I have a degree in graphic design and art history. -That said the textile studio was my second home in college. Also, textiles to this day remain an unending source of inspiration. I found my way to printmaking about 6 years ago when I began spending time at the Center for Contemporary Printmaking in Norwalk, Connecticut.

The printmaking world is vast, traditional techniques and new digital media offers a limitless opportunity for artists.  However, I became enamored of the woodcut print. About 5 years ago I began to commit my time and energy to solely exploring the woodcut print. For me it is a technique which is boundless and fascinating. Although I have had the opportunity to work with a couple of established woodcut printmakers I consider myself for the most part self taught.  It is through endless experimentation that I arrive at a body of work.  I thoroughly enjoy the carving process and print all of my own work.  Unlike the traditional edition – I use and reuse my carved blocks – reinventing them and printing them in different ways.

The exquisite detail of Deborah’s hand-carved print block.

Deborah: I work in a very non traditional way – my initial concept is based on the carved block not the finished print.  When I begin to carve I am thinking about form or imagery that inspires me. When the block has been carved I begin to explore the possibilities as I print it in numerous different ways. -I can rotate the block, overprint several layers and in the case of the Architecture of Nature series I began to print only selected sections of the carved block.  When I had numerous selected areas of the block printed I began to reassemble them. I “rebuilt” the plant/flower form in a way that is recognizable yet fractured. The title “Architecture of Nature” seemed like the appropriate title to this body of work as I do feel like I am building a natural form block/piece by piece.

[ You can see the Architecture of Nature collection by Deborah Weiss here. ]

[ For those of you in the Connecticut area, you can personally experience the artwork of Deborah Weiss at ArtSpace located at 555 Asylum Avenue in Hartford. ]

The above stones were created by French artist Lionel Esteve called Again the Night.

Eight stones (huit pierres) in varying dimensions are delicately embroidered with yarn (pierres, fils à broder). They remind me very much of Ashes & Milk’s artist Yoran Morvant and his Pierres Graphiques.

Photography of Lionel Esteve’s artwork is courtesy of Galerie Emmanuel Perrotin.

Above is a remarkable example of the 2009 generation of Pierres Graphiques created by Yoran Morvant. At the monumental dimensions of 7 x 4 x 4 inches, this piece is breathtakingly gorgeous.

Ashes & Milk is so excited to introduce the 2009 collection of Pierres Graphiques. The new pattern is designed to fit a -{ considerably larger stone }- ranging from 4-7 inches in length.

Not surprisingly Yoran is an architectural draftsman by trade. One can easily see how his landscape drawings are a source of inspiration for the Pierres Graphiques.

[ You can see more of Yoran's landscape drawings here. ]

[ Be sure to view the new collection of Pierres Graphiques 2009 in Ashes & Milk's Gallery. ]

Here are a few peaks from two neat little books Souvenir and Lytte Til Laeken, a collaboration between Danish textile artist Anette Blaesbjerg Orom and poet Eske K. Mathiesen.

[ You can see more textiles by Anette Blaesbjerg Orom in Ashes & Milk's Gallery. ]

On the left is Oiseaux de la France – Petite Kaki, and on the right is Oiseaux de la France – Grande Sage.

Ashes & Milk’s current featured artist is French ceramicist Claire Redor, who created the above birds especially for Ashes & Milk as part of the Oiseaux de la France Collection. Each piece is sculpted from clay and finished in the soft earthy hues of bleu, crème, cocoa, kaki, sage and gris. Available in petite or grande.

Above is the exquisite Claire Redor.

[ You can see more of her work here. ]

Below are Nick Butcher and Nadine Nakanishi, the founders of the Chicago screen printing studio Sonnenzimmer. In the background is a mixed-media painting created by Nadine. I love the book cover in the left corner!

Nikko: First off I wanted to say thank you for doing this interview with me. I wanted to do it as a thank you for doing my business and gift cards. It’s good timing too because you guys are going to have your show February 11th, 2009 at Lula Café so you’re probably full of…

Nick: Anxiety.
Nadine: Yes, it’s true.

Nikko: I have spent a good amount of time examining your prints and paintings and love what you do and wanted to know more about the new body of work you’ve both created.

Nick: With time and by working on thirty different things at once, I start formulating ideas. Nadine and I are also doing some record covers and some of those ideas get translated back into this work. I like the texture of simple shapes with screen print dots over them. It’s sort of an experiment of printing techniques. To me it’s like still all these different pieces, but with a week left I have to make decisions and finish. I am not good at finishing stuff unless I have a deadline. I can just go forever…

Nikko: Like everything is a work in progress.

Nick: Yes, it’s never finished. Previously my pieces were getting really quiet, stripped down. There was a lot of work put into it, but visually not a lot of impact. The new direction is a larger introduction whereas my old stuff you can just walk by and not see it. The new work has more of a focal point. Before I wouldn’t use a hard black or make things so colorful. Now I am finding out that I want to make things a little bit louder.

On the left is Nick with a silk screen created by Nadine. Right is a view of the studio with paintings Nick is finishing up for the Lula Café exhibit.

Nikko: What are you submitting for Lula and how did you come up with ideas for these pieces?

Nadine: I wanted to do something more painting installation-y. I’ve been into using textural spatial stuff as elements for composition. -Like found drawing boards, canvas stretchers and green bars which are old type spacers.

Nikko: I think those are the textures that are on my business and gift cards!

Nadine + Nick: Yes they are!

Nadine: I like it when paintings are out and about in a studio and are treated nonchalant. I can put something on it and it becomes it’s own composition. It has stillness to it that I feel it’s different when it’s hung in a gallery which is like “now it is done and there is nothing more to it.” -But for me it’s like I hang it up and the composition is not yet done. The contextual part is always evolving and the one part that I am interested in. Imagery is all about what you read in context. I feel like painting can be a little bit dead. It’s this thing where you wear your gloves and you hang it on a wall and its done. A painting in someone’s house is going to feel a lot different than a painting the Guggenheim. The way I like art to be is this organic thing in people’s lives.

Nikko: I think that the best part of going to artists’ homes or studios. Art is treated like a daily object like a coffee cup, something to interact with.

Nadine: One of the reasons I like abstract things is it seems like there’s room where anything is possible. It’s funny because when I work in abstract I associate figurative things to it and if I do something figuratively I see the abstract in it. I think it’s a possibility to see boring or ugly things in a new way.

Nikko: When you were creating my business cards, we had a conversation about your style, how it is textural, subtle and abstract. -While some people do figurative, illustrative work. I guess it’s a certain type of mind who likes to play around with stuff like yours.

Nick: I like both. I do both. They each sort of magnify the other. When I get bored doing one thing it’s nice to have another place to go. It’s like what Nadine was saying, when you see the abstract you want to make sense of it.

Nadine: The reason why I do the things I do is that I am not good enough to do photo-realism painting. Maybe I don’t have the patience for it. I think people gravitate to a solution that is within their skill set.

Nick: I think it’s something you can work towards, Nadine. You are making things that you are happy with and you can use it as a testing ground. From there you can slowly make your way to realism.

Nikko: I agree with that you do what you’re capable of. I like the abstract and organic style too. When I draw I am slow, my style is blocky and textured where some people are very line based and they can just zip it out. -So I never really thought of it that way. I was just like,“This is my preference, this is what I like.” Haha!

Nadine: Haha! –Which is fine. I think that its good to critique yourself, to school your skills and remain open to the fact that there’s more to be learned. -To venture into other parts. The best thing for me is when I discover the art masters did something that I did before, but I didn’t know it. Like when I was into book covers, Nick was like Rauschenberg did that. I didn’t know what he was doing! The fun part is to discover an epiphany in my own rightful way, not trying to be big or anything. It’s really empowering to see these stages that I can attain myself, and it’s the same activity fields that big names have done. That feels reassuring in a universal way. -That a lot of people can get that experience from making art and can be out of the spotlight.

Nick: For me I need to have my work totally finished and done before anyone sees it, whereas Nadine can show her work at any stage. She always wants to show something new.

Nadine: We’re totally opposite. I work and when the deadline comes, I stop. For me putting a deadline to a painting is cutting a painting’s life off.

Nick: I wish I could work like that. I am inspired to try but it’s so hard to let it go where Nadine is much more free. Our personalities are opposite. In life I am laid back but when it comes to art it has to be finished. No questions.

Nadine: That’s the one part of art that doesn’t have to do that for me.

Nick: Maybe that’s why I reserve that for the rest of my life.

Nikko: In regards to your paintings when they sell, it’s like the person who is choosing to buy it is deciding that it is complete. -Cause if they don’t buy it, the painting would come back to you and you’d work on it more.

Nadine: Well, unlike me Nick sells all of his paintings.

Nick: That’s not true…

Nadine: I don’t have that experience so I am going into it with no expectations and am totally cool showing stuff raw. It’s a very honest way of working.

Nikko: It is a very pure approach! Thank you Nick and Nadine for speaking with me today and for taking the time to do an interview with Ashes & Milk! I can’t wait to see your show at Lula.

Nick + Nadine: Thanks it was fun!

All images photographed by Nikko Moy and hosted on flickr here + here.

[ You can see more work by Nick Butcher and Nadine Nakanishi right here. ]

[ For those of you in the Chicago area, you can personally experience Nick and Nadine's new body of work at the Lula Café from February 11th - April 15th. ]