cathy of california

conceptual weaving by christine oatman, del mar, california, august 1970

i studied surface design at san diego state in the 1980s. at the time i did not share the sensibilites of my instructors - which is something i now regret because i think i could have gotten much more out of my education had i done so. but since it was the eighties i fancied myself as being too cool to appreciate fiber art from the 60s and 70s (which is the era that my instructors studied).

i remember one of my instructors showing us slides of a local artist's installation. the artist took doilies and laid them out on rocks at a creek in mission valley (before it was as heavily developed as it is today). the effect was of a recent snowfall and i seem to recall that it was part of a performance. i was trying really hard to be "cool" and think it was stupid but it was really rather beautiful and i secretly allowed myself to give in and appreciate it. i wonder if the artist might have been the same woman who created this weaving installation in la jolla.

i would really like to see some yarn bombers head out to the beach this summer and try out some conceptual weaving.

(images from beyond weaving by marcia chamberlin and candace crockett, published by watson-guptill, 1974)

laurel burch, san francisco, early 70s

when i was in high school laurel burch was a big deal. her artwork was featured on stuff like tote bags and cloisonne jewelry. i was not really a fan of hers (just was not my thing) but i did recieve some of her products as gifts. i remember some of the ladies i worked with (at my part time job at bullock's) speak of buying things from her when she was just getting her start by selling her things at flea markets. the ladies were pleased that were able to purchase directly from her before she went "mass market". at the time i had never been to a flea market and was quite intrigued.

from the late 70s on laurel burch was well know for her vivid colors, depictions of cats and her big splashy signature. when i think about it now her work was my probably first exposure to someone who created a brand and licensed her designs - even though that was not what widely discussed at the time like it is now. and i think without realizing it i was fascinated that someone could start out at a flea market and end up being very successful.

i had not thought much about laurel lately but became fixated by this photo of her in native funk and flash. this must be from around the time that the ladies i worked with would see her at the flea markets. the story goes that laurel left a bad home situation with nothing more than a few possessions in a paper bag and settled in san francisco in the late 60s. she started making jewelry (like those amazing necklaces in the second photo - that's laurel on the left) and people would stop her on the street and ask to buy what she was wearing.

(images from native funk and flash - an emerging folk art by alexandra jacopetti with photographs by jerry wainwright, published by scrimshaw, 1974)

macrame park, bolinas, california, early 70s

we are adding on to our house so it's currently a big disorganized mess with the majority of my stuff packed away in boxes. this in part should explain my sporadic blogging as of late. i can't get to most of my vintage books and magazines. i do have a few piles of books towering over my desk so when i feel like it's time to post i just randomly grab a book and thumb through in hopes of finding something that might inspire a post. this morning i pulled out my beloved copy of native funk and flash and these images of macrame park seemed to jump out at me.

it's been all about macrame around here lately - the workshops i taught a couple of weeks ago at the crafting community as well as a couple of retail prop projects i've been developing. and you know me i'm a sucker for large scale fiber art so when i saw these shots of macrame park i wanted to learn more.

i was not surprised to learn that marcrame park no longer exists  - the rope could not have held up being that close to the ocean. the author of native funk and flash - who also created macrame park - made a documentary in 1974 called "the saga of macrame park".  saga? i want to know more.

(images from native funk and flash - an emerging folk art by alexandra jacopetti with photographs by jerry wainwright, published by scrimshaw, 1974)

crafting modernism endpapers

i love the use of covers from exhibition catalogs (that were produced over the years by the museum of contemporary crafts and/or the american craftsman's council) for the endpapers of the catalog for crafting modernism the show that was recently at the museum of art and design in new york. am so bummed i was not able to see ths show in person and i was even more bummed to see what i missed once i saw the catalog.

think i really need to track down that dorothy liebes catalog (in the middle of that second row from the right) not to mention some of the other fiber related ones. please promise you won't be bidding against me.

(from crafting modernism - midcentury american art and design, museum of art and design, 2012)

vintage inspiration: else regensteiner's warp sequences, 1970

my weaving teacher always has a great big pile of amazing books and magazines for all of us student to look through. she recently re-acquired the art of weaving by else regensteiner. she said that it was the book that she referred to the most while she was studying weaving in the early 70s. so of course i had to track a copy down. i hope that you are as in love with these color combinations as i am.

and speaking of weaving you have to watch this video. you will be blown away.

(images from the art of weaving by else regensteiner, published by van nostrand reinholt, 1970)

business inspiration: natalie chanin (+ interview)

these close ups of some pretty amazing stitching details are from from natalie chanin's new book alabama studio sewing + design. natalie goes into great detail into the techniques and materials that she uses to help you create your own handstitched garments.

i just love that natalie has the guts to share the tricks of her trade. the reason i say guts is that you would think that sharing how your garments are made might hurt your business - but in natalie's case it's proved to be actually quite the opposite. she was in fact very nervous when her first book came out several years ago. but it turned out that the interest in her couture line grew once she started to write books.

i find natalie to be very inspiring from a business standpoint. at a time when i am at a crossroads with my own business (i.e. plotting my next step) i am amazed by how natalie has been able to find talented people to work with her and how she collaborates with others.

natalie was kind enough to take some time to answer a couple of questions. i hope you too are as inspired as i am by natalie. if you haven't already please check out her books and if you live in a city that has a store that carries her line make sure you pay a visit to see the clothes in person. and for a once in a lifetime experience you might want to treat yourself to one of her workshops.

have a nice weekend and i hop you enjoy the interview!

 

Cathy:

Most makers that I know (including myself) tend to work on their own. When the time comes and you have to make a lot of stuff it can be a really hard step to go to the next level and find the right people that you can trust to help you out. I am amazed at how you have been able to find so many talented people to work for you. Can you talk a little bit about how you went about finding the right people and if possible please give those us of that work alone a few tips as to how we too might be able to make the move and bring in people to help us make things.  

 Natalie:

This is such a great question and the issue of scale is such an important one that is often overlooked.  I have been very, VERY lucky to have such a great team filled with people that I trust. And, honestly, it has never been better than it is right now.  However, it has taken a decade of making mistakes, having great folks, losing great folks, growing, shrinking, and experimenting to put together a team that works so well together. I think that making that first leap from working alone to working in a team -  you just have to commit to giving the team the tools they need to do their job.  I know that it was hard for me to learn to TEACH rather than DO.

 

It also took me a long time to realize that the most important part of having a great team is putting the health of the company and the product first. This sounds backwards, but it is amazing how this pays forward into the employees.  If something isn’t working, we have learned to fix it quickly which gives us room to place the right person in the right job.  Keep in mind that we are a very small company!!!

 

We have also recently started a weekly lunch that includes all of our employees from The Factory. This has been a great way to facilitate communication among all of the teams. It gives us a point to organize and divide the weekly tasks as they arise.

 

Cathy:

I am a freelance merchandiser for Heath Ceramics here in LA and have had the pleasure of doing a few table settings using the pieces from your collaboration with Heath (for more on that please go here). I especially love that you have been able to translate the stitching and details that you have in your clothing line into the plates, placemats and napkins in the Heath collection. Can you tell us a little bit about the collaborative process with Heath and how it all came to be?

 

Natalie:  

This was such a great experience for me… Cathy Bailey and Robin Petravic— who own HEATH—are  great designers and modern thinkers.  The collaboration took about two years to grow to fruition but I am so proud of the result. I credit Cathy Bailey and her team for taking the time to UNDERSTAND our methods and the way that we work at Alabama Chanin. They then took those scraps of stitched fabrics and translated that work to clay. I am so happy that the collection has found such resonance with their customers and that they plan to make it a permanent part of the Heath Ceramics line.

 

vintage inspiration: anni albers necklaces, 1940

anni albers is probably best know for her weaving and often experimented using materials not commonly associated with weaving. her jewelry is no exception. during WWII supplies were very hard to find so anni used items that were easily found at hardware and variety stores - washers, sink strainers, ball chain, bobby pins, paper clips, corks, etc. - to create some pretty amazing necklaces. these necklaces have really stood the test of time and continue to influence jewelry designers today. MOMA even sells kits.

i'm preparing for a few upcoming shows and have been looking at ways be influenced by anni's work while trying to bring in some of the techniques that i have been experimenting with lately - mainly hand dyeing of fabrics and wooden beads. my goal is to salute, honor and acknowledge anni's work but give it my own spin. i'm pretty sure i'm up for the task and will share the results with you as soon as i'm ready.

(images via albers foundation)

so exicited to be teaching workshops @ crafting community

i love this event and am so exited to be a part of it!

my house in anthology magazine sneak peek

as i have mentioned time and time again i love magazines - especially ones where i can get a glimpse of what the inside of someone's home looks like. the past few years have been just so devastating for us magazine lovers. but the good news is that there is a new crop of exciting new magazines that are being independently published. 2 of my favorites are uppercase and anthology. they are beautifully produced, designed and photographed and while you are going to spend a little more on them you are supporting independent publishing and you're getting something that you want to keep. it's really easy to toss last month's martha stewart living in the recyling bin but issues of anthology, uppercase, mollie makes, selvedge and lucky peach are all given a permanent home on my bookshelf.

over past few years i have had the pleasure of getting to know meg mateo ilasco. i have contributed to a couple of her books and was thrilled when she created an amazing project for my book. i was so happy for her when she (along with anh-minh le) launched anthology. you could only imagine how i felt when she asked if they could photograph my home. all of my fellow magazine fanatics could finally get a glimpse of my home. of course that meant i had to actually had to tidy my house up a little bit (AKA clean like a mad woman).

they of course did a beautiful job. the issue is out now should you want to take a peek.

(pictured is a spread from the feature on my home from anthology winter 2012. photographed by meiko takechi arquillos)

claire zeisler's coils, 1977 + 71

i think part of the reason i am attracted to fiber art from the 1970s (especially the work of sheila hicks and claire zeisler) is it's grand scale. here you see a couple of detail shots of pieces from claire zeisler's "coil series". the first image is of coil series l which is free hanging and measures 108" (h) x 64" (w) x 40" (d). then we have red forest ll  which is 9' x 38' - yes you read correctly that's feet not inches. i'm sure that you share in my frustration of really wanting to see what the whole thing looks like (could not find a long shot but will continue to hunt).

the notion of of someone creating something that monumental fascinates me to no end. but along with that there also comes the longing i have to be able to have the time, a studio space (with tall ceilings) and the materials budget to create something that detailed on a large scale.

(top image from claire zeisler - a retrospective, art institute of chicago, 1979, bottom image from beyond weaving by marcia chamberlain and candace crockett, watson-gutptill publications, 1974)