Join us Saturday, May 18th for an all-day, Gardenology event at our Geneva location. We are thrilled to have Ashley Lieber make a personal appearance to discuss her Moss for Meditation Art Series, and also to teach a tutorial on making small terrariums! We can’t wait!

Ashley’s Artist Statement

“If facts are the seeds that later produce knowledge and wisdom, then the emotions and the impressions of the senses are the fertile soil in which the seeds must grow.”
–Rachel Carson

My current body of work began while I studied at the University of Michigan, where I recently earned an MFA. The Sustainability Series started with inquiry. What is sustainability? What does it look like? How can it be experienced? Questions I asked then, are questions I continue to probe today.

What if, I thought, sustainability can be experienced through art? I began by merging ideas and methodologies from the fields of ecology, eco-psychology and urban agriculture. I engaged in hydroponic technologies, sustainable, organic, and community gardening and farming methodologies, ecological restoration projects, and environmental psychology, while looking closely for emerging and created didactic and symbiotic plant-human relationships.

My installations provide visual, tactile and edible experiences that question what it is to sustain a mood, a living organism, and notions of self in the urban environment.

Works in the Moss for Meditation series can be utilized as actual sites for mental and physical restoration. Caring for, living and interacting with these works has shown to provide results a kin to meditation, an increased sense of calm and physical and mental relaxation. Garden Table I (Tableau) will be utilized by River Gallery staff to provide supplementary meals (salads). As the staff cares for, eats from and interacts with the work, intimate plant-human relationships are formed.

My work is a result of continuous research and play within these themes. A writer from Columbia University recently coined me a ‘horticultural artist’, which makes sense. I envision myself as a hybrid artist-educator-facilitator, ecological consciousness and art are what tie my profession together.

It is my hope that the work in this series lends the viewer the opportunity to reflect on the vital connection between personal and ecological health. If the green life that surrounds us is healthy, in most cases, we will be too.

Ashley’s Background

Ashley Lieber’s work is an interdisciplinary calling on topics of sustainability.  Lieber graduated from the University of Michigan (MFA ’10), where she studied in The School of Natural Resources and Environment, ecological restoration, environmental psychology, and alternative urban agricultural methodologies.

Lieber is a Rackham Institute of the Humanities Fellow in Public Scholarship and recipient of several creative research grants, one of which took her to Central America, where she lived and worked on an all women’s owned agro-eco farm, learning various practices of sustainable living, farming, and reforestation.

She taught and lectured in several Public Schools and State Universities including the Leslie Science Center, Coit Creative Arts Academy, Grand Valley State University, and the University of Michigan.  She enjoyed merging topics of art, ecology, technology, and the environment.

Her creative work as an artist spans beyond the Moss for Meditation Series, often offering various visual, tactile, and edible experiences: ongoing aquatic ecosystems, hydroponic wall gardens and installations, harvest events and highly conceptualized site-specific garden projects-all of which play with percepts of urbanity, personal and ecological health.  Inclusively, her work provokes ideas about the intersection of art, ecology, and urban agriculture.

She currently resides in Fennville, Michigan, a quiet agricultural community, where she lives and works as an artist.

What do you get when you mix burlap, leather, and woven vinyl together?

…an artful blend of mixed materials combined to create a handbag collection offering style, strength, and functionality: Jo Handbags

Created by three friends: Dee, Delia and Wendi – - Jo Handbags reflect a classic, albeit off-beat style.

Purposely unpolished, Jo handbags are “Utilitarian-Chic,” or so says Harper’s Bazaar.  With a rustic, homespun feel each bag is handcrafted and American-made.

Shop artemisia for quality artisan work you won’t find anywhere else.

“LES” is more…

…when it comes to SquashT by Les!

A collection of locally designed and professionally hand-crafted clothing by Lesley Timpe.

Her signature style comes from the time she spent in Spain, studying at the Maestro Mateo Design School.  Artemisia has the pleasure of featuring her boldly colorful dresses and 1940’s petal headbands.

With SquashT you’ll get more for your money, because the dresses can also be worn as a top, and the headbands are reversible!

The seeds of Synergy were planted in 1993, by Kate Fisher, when she set off for Nepal and India with adventure in her eyes. In the midst of her extensive travels in Asia she started buying textiles and clothing that she sold upon her return home. A business was born. Synergy was created in the spirit of adventure and with the vision of being a synergy of both Eastern and Western design influences.

In time, after the birth of their first child in 2006, she partnered up with her husband Henry Schwab. Together they have integrated her interest in clothing and textile design, with his experience of having worked for GreenPeace and co-founding Phish’s touring division of The Waterwheel Foundation. With a shared vision of a sustainable business model, and with the help of many, they are creating a business that reflects their organic roots and adventurous spirits.

Synergy makes clothing that combines sustainability, with modern yet timeless design. They strive to make clothing that looks good, and is also gentle on the Earth. They predominantly work with organic cotton from India, that is dyed with low impact dyes. Their clothing is hand made in Nepal, according to fair trade practices, verified by long-term relationships with manufacturers and frequent trips to Nepal.  Each season they seek new ways to minimize their footprint as a business, in the way their clothing is made and in their daily operations.

Synergy looks to the world around it in its approach to design, taking inspiration from both the natural and urban landscapes, in addition to modern and ancient cultural influences. They specialize in making clothing with touches of graphic details such as hand-stitched applique work and water-based screen prints. It is their goal to make women look and feel good about their clothing.

Over the years their brand has grown, and Synergy is now sold in over 600 stores across the US, as well as internationally. They continue to hang onto their original roots, and take pride in remaining a family operated business, that provides one-on-one service.

Stop by and try Synergy on for size at artemisia!

]]> http://blog.artemisiastyle.com/?feed=rss2&p=9611 0 http://blog.artemisiastyle.com/?p=9815 http://blog.artemisiastyle.com/?p=9815#comments Tue, 07 May 2013 02:46:59 +0000 mira http://blog.artemisiastyle.com/?p=9815 Your summer staple is back!  Known for their exceptional quality, Tula Hats are favored among outdoor enthusiasts, travelers, and adventurers everywhere. Hand woven of Palm in the traditional manner of families in the small villages of central Mexico, Palm is a sustainable fiber – - environmentally friendly and harvested twice a year.  “My promise is to continue keeping alive the traditions and quality of the hat making techniques from so long ago,” says owner, Alice Eichelmann.

Outrageously affordable, these gorgeous handcrafted goodies can outfit your home when not accessorizing your outfit.  Look on for a little design inspiration:

They worked with large and world-renowned factories, as well as small, family-run companies.  As their business began to grow, they expanded their range of products through their travels to other cities in Europe.  Twice per year, they introduce new products to ensure that there is always something fresh and exciting for Casafina’s small, independent retailers – - like Artemisia!

Today, Casafina is best known for their Casa Stone collection, an exclusive line of Fine Portuguese Stoneware that’s newly available at Artemisia!  Identified by their hand-formed, “irregular” shapes embellished with a medieval coin in relief, Casafina offers distinctive, high-quality products for the finest retail stores and their customers in North America.

Artist Statement

Fate as we know it sometimes lies beyond our means of understanding and surfaces at just the right moment in our lives. Greg’s fate currently lies in the blue and green hands of a Black Hmong Villager from the northern highlands of Vietnam.

After ten successful years in the technology business, he resigned from his position in 2004 and traveled the world for one year. Upon his return to America, the images he captured soon became his life. One image in particular stands out in its ability to touch people. That image is the “Blanket Weaver”. Over the past few years this simple but striking image has surfaced as his signature piece and clearly embraces a story that he is intended to tell.

He aims to return to Vietnam in a few years time and find this woman who has changed his life. He will then write a book about his journey. The book will be one of “Hope”, hope that we all find our gift. Of “Quest”, the quest to find a woman solely based on a photograph of her hands, and the “human” story of the “Blanket Weaver” and who this woman really is.

Although he now shoots with a Canon 5D Mark II DSLR, Greg captured his early images from the initial one-year trip with a $400 OLYMPUS point and shoot camera with no formal training in photography or art. He has been given a gift and intends to return the favor by sharing a wonderful story with you.

Greg has exhibited his work at the Open Shutter Gallery in Durango (group exhbiition juried by Steve McCurry), the Visions at the Paseo in Oklahoma City, Exposure Gallery of Fine Art in Santa Fe, New Mexico, Austin Museum of Art’s ‘Night in the Galleries’, The International Art Expo in New York City, the Austin Fine Arts Festival, Houston’s Bayou City Arts Festival, Kansas City’s Plaza Arts Festival, Chicago’s Wells Street Arts Festival, Madison’s Art on the Square, Park City’s Kimball Art Festival, the International Cultural Center at Texas Tech, Houston’s Fotofest, Cherry Creek Arts Festival in Denver, the Armadillo Christmas Bazaar, the Audi Forum in New York City and many other spaces around the nation.  He has also been published internationally in England, the United States, Papua New Guinea and Mexico.

Greg’s work has been published by National Geographic.com, MSNBC.com, Itchy Feet Magazine, Today’s Machining World, Insite Magazine, Professional Photographer Magazine, PDN Magazine, the Houston Chronicle, and the Austin American Statesman, among others.

Greg is a National Geographic Image Collection Photographer, a Founding Member of the Austin Center for Photography, and a member of the Texas Photographic Society.

INVITATIONAL AWARD – 2011 Madison Art in the Square

BEST IN PHOTOGRAPHY – 2011 Tulsa International Mayfest

BEST IN SHOW - 2010 Castle Rock Arts Festival

SIGNED – MAY 2010 National Geographic Image Collection

FEATURE ARTIST – 2010 Umlauf Garden Party

PUBLISHED – SEPT 2010 www.nationalgeographic.com

1ST IN SHOW – 2009 Museum of the Southwest Septemberfest

BEST IN PHOTOGRAPHY – 2009 Stone Arch Arts Festival

BEST ENVIRONMENTAL MESSAGE IN PHOTOGRAPHY – 2009 Art Expo New York

BEST IN ART – 2008 Austin’s Junior League Christmas Affair

BEST IN SHOW – 2008 Museum of the Southwest Septemberfest

BEST IN MEDIUM – 2008 Rockport Arts Festival

FEATURE ARTIST – 2007 La Dolce Vita at La Guna Gloria

BEST IN SHOW – 2007 Museum of the Southwest Septemberfest

OUTSTANDING ART – 2007 Dallas City Arts Festival

2ND IN SHOW – 2006 Museum of the Southwest Septemberfest

Amy grew up in St. Charles and now resides in Glen Ellyn with her partner Michael, son Declan and dog Seamus.

The Encaustic Process

Encaustic is a Greek word meaning “to heat or burn in”(enkaustikos). It’s a medium that has been in use for more than 2,000 years. The famous funeral portraits from Fayum, Egypt and wall paintings from Pompeii are some of the more famous examples of encaustic art in the ancient world.

Heat is used throughout the process, from melting the beeswax and resin to fusing the layers of wax. Encaustic consists of natural bees wax and damar resin (crystallized tree sap). The medium can be used alone for its transparency and adhesive qualities or used pigmented. The medium is melted and applied with a brush. Each layer is then reheated to fuse it to the previous layer.

Artist Statement

Ever since I was a kid, I have had a fascination with wax. (much to my parents dismay) I enjoyed dripping it, mixing colors and seeing what shapes evolved. I was mesmerized by how quickly it went from a molten to solid state. I loved the smooth quality and pliability, not to mention that wonderful smell.

Now, many years later, I have fused my passion for creating art with my love of wax. Wax is immediate. It begins to cool the moment it touches your brush and leaves the hot palette. It allows no time for pondering. But, in the same respect, wax is a forgiving medium. It can be reheated and worked over and over again. Moving between a liquid and solid state, the wax constantly reshapes and renews itself. It can be rough or smooth, transparent or opaque. The wax begs the creator to incise, scrape and rework and it entices the viewer to dissect the layers, touch and smell.

Shop artemisia Saturday, February 9th from 10-6PM for a little Valentine’s magic!

Scroll to see what’s in store for all you romantics:

• a special e-mail coupon sent by Cupid – are you signed up?

• favorite beauty items for the season care of Odalisque

• chocolate treats (from Graham’s of course)!

• a trunk show from Madonna & Child a trunk show featuring
  new work – very romantic!

• a trunk show from Ann Chikahisa and her Chikahisa
  Studio jewelry

  

• new work by our favorite artists and several new artists
  featured in the Second Floor Gallery

• and a preview of some fabulous new spring collections

  Be sure to stop by our Geneva location, Saturday, February 9th from 10-6PM – - TO FALL IN LOVE ALL OVER AGAIN!

Becky’s Artist Statement

Process:  My process in making these sculptures begins by collecting materials. I spend time in the forest collecting pieces of tree bark from fallen trees and old stumps, and gathering pieces that have fallen on the ground at logging sites.  Most of my tree bark is collected from Black Hills National Forest and nearby shelterbelts, although I sometimes have tree bark from certain types of trees shipped to me from other parts of the country.  I collect many of the other natural materials I use in the head pieces from my garden.

I create the sculptures by piecing and gluing together hundreds of pieces of tree bark. I start at the bottom, making a base with some larger pieces, and work my way up. The sculptures are made entirely with tree bark and materials found in nature.  I often use a thin gauged wire in the arms and across the shoulders, to add strength, especially in the figures where the arms are thinner and the hands/arms are away from the body. My process is additive and subtractive. I often carve the pieces before and/or after adding them and scrape lichens and growths from pieces of tree bark and re-apply them to specific places on the sculpture.  After a sculpture is complete, I dip it into acrylic polyurethane to preserve its natural materials and to solidify its structure. I do this several times with each sculpture. Each work is original and is signed with my initials and the year it was made on the inside of its base.

Inspiration:  My creative process begins by simply paying attention to what stands out to me in my everyday life. I see beauty both in the human figure and in the natural characteristics of the materials I use, and I try to integrate these forms of beauty in my art. If I am drawn to a certain shape or object, I know I am meant to further examine that object or shape by sketching it and considering my relationship to it as a human being. My art reflects what stands out to me in the world, which reflects my own personal, unique journey through life as a person and artist.

Concept:  Conceptually, the tree bark figures I create are meant to represent the characteristics shared by trees and humans. The skin of the figure is created with the “skin” of a tree. Being classified into groups, naturally exfoliating our skin/bark, having roots and uprooting ourselves/being uprooted, hosting other living organisms, weeping, having limbs and being susceptible to diseases, are some of the common characteristics I address in this series of work.  While gathering the materials, I am placed in an environment where I am forced to consider my relationship with the trees, which leads to the ideas in my pieces. I often use materials from specific types of trees with specific characteristics to communicate the various concepts.