In mid November 2014, I was invited by Virginia Spiegel to be one of the chosen artists to participate in the "100 Fiberart for a Cause" 2015 fundraiser for the American Cancer Society. It is always a pleasure to work with Virginia and due to the high calibre of fiber artists selected it is also a fun challenge for me to create something special for the campaign.
I have recently been working on a series based on an industrial theme and consequently I am inundated with grey fabrics and lots of off cuts. With the Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy in the fore and a subsequent movie forthcoming, I thought I might have a bit of a lark creating a textile piece hinting at the theme. Now this was more challenging than it initially appeared , the main reason being that the recipient patron was a mystery person. In past FFAC campaigns, artists have designed pieces of work, the public get previews and can choose a piece they wish to bid on at auction. This time was VERY different! One hundred artists creating one hundred art works for 100 patrons who would pay $100 each BUT there would be no auction involved. The patrons' names and matched artists are to be selected via a generated number system which means the patrons could risk getting any one of the 100 pieces offered with no choices involved. Now that alone should indicate the high quality of the work on offer ! My concern was WHO would end up with Fifty Shades so of course, I had to create something fairly tasteful and if people wished to read more into it, well, the clues would be there.
First and foremost I had not read the book and after seeing the reviews had no real desire to do so. However, my muse was leading me along the path of creating paper beads out of words from the book, so I collared a cheap second hand copy. Cheap was more than just the price as the thin paper was crappy and more than a bitch to work with. I guess you could say I sped read the book in order to find some interesting words/phrases that would fit on a bead without making people blush. A friend said she had grand visions of me thumbing the book for appropriate words but I hate to shatter her illusions by having to admit it was more a chore than a thrill! I was seeking the more " vanilla" variety!
Of course there HAD to be a stylish grey tie involved and the search was on. None to be found in the male closets in the household (at least none they would relinquish) so I had to hunt further afield. Was every Fifty Shades fan putting them to good use? What an arduous journey to find the right grey tie! Eventually in a completely unexpected moment, an appropriate Perry Ellis designer silk tie presented itself and I snapped it up toute suite!
The colour grey is of course, complemented by the colour red and also refers to " The Red Room" in the book, so it was a natural and symbolic choice to balance the myriad of greys I had before me. By the way, do you realize just how many shades of grey there actually are? I will cover that in a separate blog post another time!
One of the underlying messages in my piece is " manipulation " and it is evident in the pleating, folding, crushing, tucking, ruffling, applique, darting - well you get the idea - the hints are in there.
The tie is tastefully " knotted" with a gorgeous Czech button and of course.........
... every good tie requires a tie tac, notably here, the beautiful silver nude lady ( formerly brass) and now drilled.
I have an amazing Canadian charm supplier with an astounding selection at her fingertips but even I drew some raised eyebrows when I requested handcuffs, kinky shoes and masks for a "special project".
YES she did have some in stock for policemen, fashionistas and Venice carnival lovers but NO she was not going to ask for further details and went a bit quiet on me. Canadian EH?? I think I am rather suspect from hereon :-) but I have big shoulders and a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do. The quality charms perfectly enhance four interesting ads from the personal classifieds, which I thought were fun additions to the piece.
Here's some detailed photos on that front:
The red silk shibori ribbon that cascades down the right side of the piece was a lesson in patience and the art of manipulation. It was my first attempt at using this type of ribbon and it was definitely enough to turn a purist's hair shades of grey! Threaded through the ribbon and securely tacked are four silver word circles: Respect, Discipline, Imagine and Passion. The grey pearls were from a family necklace I have had stashed away in my personal jewellery box for many years and never worn. No matter how big a bead wall I have in the studio, it seems there is never the right bead for the job when working to a deadline. White pearls, cream pearls, tinted pearls but no greys and this demanded GREY pearls. It may sound silly to some, but it was rather a spiritual moment as I held the necklace in my hand for about five minutes, laying the beads on the ribbon and thinking these are the ones, while debating the deed. I know my Aunty, the former owner, who was also a textile artist was looking down on me with her equally talented sister, my Gran, and both nodding " YES" - do it!! It came to a point when my courage rose and I just grabbed the scissors and cut the string. The remainder of the beads I will use in a tryptich I am creating for my family. The " tassel" at the lower end of the ribbon was created from a drinking straw, a button with a wonderful ridge in it that cradled the straw, dyed hemp, silk threads and beads and was a fiddily little two-fold addition but one I was eventually pleased with.
The black and grey roses were tinted, appliqued and beaded to give them dimension.
At the bottom left corner are three vintage Mother of Pearl buttons - larger editions perhaps but a little like Christian Grey might have on his shirts or his silk boxers.
Of course there had to be a wee key for those hand cuffs.
The locked heart in the gloved fist in the upper left hand corner I will leave to your vivid little imaginations.
Having fussed with all the details and innuendos, Fifty Shades was then overlaid, wrapped, lashed, knotted and interlaced over a foam board. Rather a fitting ending methinks.
Fifty Shades: A Fantasy in Fabric
Post Script:
On February 4th, Fiberart for a Cause came to a sweet conclusion after approximately five years of campaigns, love and labour from Virginia Spiegel and her associates. Our goal of TEN THOUSAND DOLLARS was reached, not just in a day, BUT in just under 2 and 1/2 hours! We were all stunned and delighted at the speed it was reached and the final tally for the overall years and labour of love for the cancer society came to a QUARTER OF A MILLION DOLLARS. Never underestimate the power of a group of people with a goal! Thank you to all the amazing patrons who put their faith and their dollars in 100 fiber artists.
Congratulations to everyone involved and a special shout out to Virginia, whose brainchild this was and who has my deepest admiration and respect.
I salute you my friend.
