Professional Fiber Artist Lori lawson

If you scroll back to November you'll see I posted about the Artistic License Art Show.  What I didn't have pictures of then were a couple of the art wearables I purchased from 2 of my favorite artists.

This gorgeous nuno felt scarf was made by my good friend Lori Lawson of Capistrano Fiber Arts. 

I love how Lori is all about surface design on her pieces and spends hours hand and machine stitching her embellishments.

Lori has a terrific selection of handspun yarns, hand dyed rovings and finished pieces for sale on her Etsy site.

She also is working a lot with the eco-dye process on silks and woolens. 

Check her out and treat yourself.

Artistic License Art Festival in Costa Mesa

On the last Friday and Saturday of every October for the past 35 years I have been attending this terrific crafts show, and it's usually the only day during the school year that I allow myself to be absent.   I always find so many new ideas, and I come away with many new art pieces to showcase in my home and studio and to share with my art students. 

My dear friend and mentor at Capistrano Fiber Arts, Lori Lawson, was there with her gorgeous fibers and eco-dyed works.  Her booth was especially wonderful this year with so many sensory pieces to inspire and touch.

One of Lori's best friends, textile artist Michelle Hoffee, was also there to show off her current work.  Her art business, Living and Dyeing, features so many creative eco-dyed works on vintage clothing, handmade purses, wall hanging art quilts, and so much more, it's always a delight for the eye, as is Michelle herself.  She wears her eco-dyed clothing with very cool accesories.  And she's so full of energy ans so willing to share her dyeing processes.

I might have spent a few dollars this year, right Julia Faith Chanco LOL.  Love you! 

Jim's Handmade Xmas Gifts to our Daughters

Since Jim was recently laid off from his Executive Human Resources position at Taco Bell, he decided that he wanted to make his Xmas gifts this year rather then spend his savings. He's very crafty and comfortable making things so I suggested for his daughter Julie and my daughter Dani that he make them scarfs. So off we went in early December to thrift stores in our area and found many beautiful, soft merino wool and cashmere sweaters for under $2.00 each. I threw them in the washing machine with hot soapy water, shrunk and felted them, and them cut them up into sections. Jim took those sections, cut them up to the sizes he needed and arranged them into scarf position. I sewed them together for him (he doesn't like the sewing machine LOL) see above.

Then he picked out 2 different hand spun yarns (one of the skeins was spun by my friend Lori Lawson of Cap Fiber Arts and he used it in both scarfs) and needlefelted them onto the sweater pieces along with some unspun roving (hand dyed by Lori) and some small sweater pieces that he cut into various shapes (above). The next step was to wet felt the whole thing so the fibers would meld together (I think Jim enjoyed that past best of all cuz he got to work with hot soapy water and make a big mess LOL). And then he sewed on a few buttons when it dried (below).

These are close-ups of the finished scarf's details.

Jim let Dan pick out her sweater colors, rovings and yarns, and the pix above is Danielle's finished scarf, but Jim forgot to sew the buttons on so the negative space feels a bit naked ( you know I will get it back so he can put those buttons on LOL). Both girls loved their scarfs, and I know Dani took and wore hers in Utah over the Xmas break. Julie, send me a pix of you in your scarf in Manhattan.

A close-up above. Jim also made Dan a cute little headband to go with her scarf (below). Such a clever man I have, with such a big heart :)

Busy Weekend

I was really looking forward to attending the annual Handweavers of Southern Ca. weaving and spinning show at the Civic Center in Torrence this last Sunday, but I was a little disappointed. No new artists or vendors with everyone still carrying their same products and craft work. But there was one bright spot when I saw my friend and mentor, Lori Lawson of Capistrano Fiber Arts, in her lovely booth with new samples, patterns, and beautiful fibers for sale. In fact, I dropped a bit of money off with her when I purchased two glorious bags full of luscious fibers that I want to spin up for a new sweater pattern I found. OH, BOY! In the courtyard many of the fiber artists were busy knitting and spinning. Don't look too closely though, I had no hair or makeup going on that day. LOL Lori, however, made the gorgeous sweater she is wearing. Hand-dyed, hand-spun, designed and knit all by her. She is something.

On Saturday, Jim and I spent the day garage saleing and thrift store shopping. We were looking for 100% wool and cashmere sweaters that I will felt in my washer and then we will cut them up and needle felt scarfs out of them for Xmas presents. Wish us luck! A few of our trees are actually changing colors right now, so I just had to get a pix of this beauty above. And Saturday evening we had the most beautiful sunset right outside our window.

We are finally starting to cool down and get a bit of chilly weather. I love it, I get to dig out my winter clothes and scarfs. Hopefully, the Santa Ana winds will stay away for a while so we can enjoy the cold for a change. To see and read more about our weekend see the 2 posts below this one.

Lori Lawson - Capistrano Fiber Arts

My dear friend, fiber artist Lori Lawson invited my 3-d students, Brittaney Lee and Hilary Chan, and I to visit her in her home studio in San Juan Capistrano yesterday. She is a knitter, spinner, weaver, dyer, feltmaker, clothing designer and so much more. The girls and I were blown away by all the work she has on display, and we especially loved her feltwork. You can see what she's designing and making right now in the photo, this amazing felt jacket in the most glorious colorways. Lori sells her work and her fibers in her home studio so the girls were able to pick out some beautiful wool roving that they are going to spin up. Can't wait to see what they will make out of their yarns. Thank you Lori for letting us visit, and for taking the time to show us around your studio.