We are doing an art lesson called “my favorite things”, which is a small drawing illustrating items using pictograms and some graffiti. I see a lot of pizza, video games, pets, and sports teams represented. Yes, there were clothes and shoes in my sample, but I tried not to be so one-dimensional. I also added…other stuff (I can’t really remember, off the cuff).
Many of these clothing items are among my favorite things/newest things – the Theory sweaters, the Coach leather skirts, the Rag & Bone boots…. Pretty much everything!
I had to change my wardrobe this year because it just feels so cold at school. I used to live in cardigans over short sleeve or sleeveless tops – layering to peel them off as the day progressed. I guess I used to get too hot, lol. Oh, and it was also because when I prepped the painting lessons and/or washed the paint brushes I didn’t want my sleeves to get wet or dirty. So there’s currently none of that.
We decided to give each student individual supplies. We are focusing on principles of art captured through sketch book assignments, as well as smaller colored pencil drawings on tagboard or Strathmore drawing paper. We just started second semester.
I was a V-neck girl before Zoom. Now I think crew necks look better for sitting in front of that screen all day. Saks Fifth Avenue to the rescue – they had a mega sale of cashmere sweaters for only $39.99! Craziness!!!
Here (above and below) are examples of the double sweater look. I know. I have a lot of sweaters. I will get them dry cleaned over mid-winter break, That starts in T-minus nineteen hours.
I will probably live in pjs and work-out gear during break. And possibly my art smock? I have several art projects that require my attention. I must take inventory of my Tashkovski jewelry collection – I recently acquired more vintage butterfly pins! I’d like to do more writing. And organize my closet. Maybe I should do that first.
#amicale #kesnyc #theory #coach #ragandboneKaren Tashkovski, Princess, 2017, encaustic on masonite, 8″ x 10″ (mounted on chalkboard), $111#kesnyc #tashkovski #allsaints #joesjeans #ragandbone
Although I was in all black yesterday (above), I’m making a conscious decision to add color to my wardrobe. Color looks better in #ootd pictures. Color is just fun. I color coordinate my walk-in closet – this makes it easier to notice items bought separately and even years apart that end up looking amazing together.
This Black Brown 1826 cashmere sweater (above) is something I often wear around the house over my pajamas. It is a thick 4-ply cashmere – very cozy and soft. The sleeves had frayed but I loved it so much, I didn’t want to get rid of it. I brought it to DeWitt Cleaners, recently, because I spilled yogurt on it and when I picked it up, it was not only pristine, but someone had magically mended it as well! The yarns of the sleeves were somehow stitched together (crochet hook?) and now it looks great with the most expensive skirt in my wardrobe!
This outfit (above) was inspired by one of my encaustic angel paintings, currently located on my bedroom dresser. I have had these silk velvet pants for a while. Paired with Marc Jacobs combat-style boots and the double sweater look, it felt super comfy on that cold day. We are in school on Wednesdays while the students are at home. #officehours
Confidante, 2017, encaustic on masonite, 8″ x 10″ (mounted on 11″ x 14″ chalkboard), $111#amicale #kesnyc #warnerbros #anntaylor #coach #ragandbone
I rarely wear red – then this Coach leather skirt came along and now I’m singing red’s praises! Absolutely in love with the length. I paired it with an old Ann Taylor cashmere sweater from when the Ann Taylor store was on the second floor of the mall. (Does that store still exist? – IDK)
Royal Gamer, 18″ x 15″, 2012, encaustic, $125#kesnyc #bcbgmaxazria #sorelKaren Tashkovski, “Geisha”, 2019, 8″ x 8″, encaustic & collage, $250#kesnyc #tashkovski #saksfifthavenue #rebeccataylor #frame #rebeccaminkoff
The monochromatic look was the rage at the 2021 Inauguration. It looked a bit like a circa 1980s rainbow wedding to me but fashion instagrammers didn’t agree. They loved that parade. I am not a purple head-to-toe fan either, lol. But blue? Yes!
One color works best when it is a blend of textures while allowing the hues to vary. Here (above) a new cashmere sweater with my tissue thin Rebecca Taylor summer denim dress, a navy silk mask and Frame cropped jeans. Boots, kind of, match my hair.
Sometimes I throw on my hat or earmuffs for the #ootd picture and sometimes I wear them most of the day when I am not in the classrooms. There is a lot less moving around these days due to all the Covid restrictions and such, and it just feels a lot colder at work. Hence the double sweater business too.
“SECRET”, 2008, mixed-media, 18″ x 24″#aquacashmere #talithacollection #tashkovski #joesjeans #rebeccaminkoff
The fist time I wore this silk Talitha Collection top (above), I was at the Doobie Brothers/Steely Dan concert at the Ampitheater. It was something like ninety degrees in the shade that July day! For a January school day, I threw it on over a thick cashmere turtleneck.
And, P.S., every color in the rainbow looks great paired with these lambskin leather jeans (Joe’s Jeans!)
Finally and full circle, dresses over pants is a fun look – the dresses become tunics/jackets and I get to wear them through the winter and still manage to stay warm. Thank you, Joie and AllSaints, for the leathaaaaaaaa! <3
Debbie Grifka, Ann Arbor, MI, Notre Dame, 2019, Textile, $8,500
Victoria Findlay Wolfe, New York, NY, A Year of Moments, 2018, Fiber, quilt, $15,000
Jeanne Hewell-Chambers, Cashiers, NC, Playground of Her Soul, 2018, Fabric, batting, embroidery floss, and discarded dress, $3,800
Kerri Green, Dallas, TX, Eyes On You, 2020, Cotton fabric hand-dyed by the artist, and cotton batting, $2,500
Susan Lapham, Vienna, VA, Playland #2, 2020, Pieced, hand-dyed cotton, and machine quilted, $8,000
Kerri Green, Dallas, TX, Eyes On You, 2020, Cotton fabric hand-dyed by the artist, and cotton batting, $2,500Diana Fox, Ellen Blalock, Judy Kirpich
The Quilts = Art = Quilts exhibition at the Schweinfurth Memorial Art Center is up until January 10, 2021, so you have plenty of time to see it. It is only the second installation since the mandatory Covid-19 shutdowns. The Made in New York show was their toe-in-water – they have upped their safety and security measures to include weekend visits.
Margaret Abramshe, Shinhee ChinVictoria Findlay Wolfe, New York, NY, A Year of Moments, 2018, Fiber, quilt, $15,000
Not sure if a lot of people know the museum is open. It is – and it is BEAUTIFUL. A wonderful experience, especially when you practically have the place to yourself and you can enjoy that intimate discovery of art elements – line, shape, color, texture and size, while appearing incognito.
#coach #marcjacobs #kesnyc #theory #joesjeans #calvinkleinDebbie Grifka, Ann Arbor, MI, Notre Dame, 2019, Textile, $8,500Jeanne Hewell-Chambers, Cashiers, NC, Playground of Her Soul, 2018, Fabric, batting, embroidery floss, and discarded dress, $3,800
Only some of these quilts are standard sizes – the rest are meant as wall decoration. Iconography runs the gamut from portraits and landscapes to the abstract. Traditional quilting techniques offer a stepping stone to what is and what can be.
This is a juried exhibition cultivated from a nationwide call for entries. Seventy-one quilts were selected.
Susan Lapham, Vienna, VA, Playland #2, 2020, Pieced, hand-dyed cotton, and machine quilted, $8,000
Valerie S. Goodwin is a mixed media fiber artist and architect whose works of fine art are included in museum and private collections. Most of her work is inspired by a love of aerial views of landscapes and cities. Many of her quilts are based on maps.
Goodwin’s art has moved through various stages from traditional quilting to an interest in abstract expressionism and, currently it is inspired by real and imaginary landscapes and cities. In some cases, her work shows an architectural sense of space with an archaeological perspective. In others, the network of the city and its built form is more prominent. These compositions work on several levels, from close up and far away as if one was looking at it from above.
She received degrees in architecture from Washington University and Yale University. Her award-winning work has been widely published and exhibited. She also lectures and gives workshops nationally and internationally. Currently she teaches architectural design at Florida A&M University.
Fiber artist Mary Lou Alexander’s two great passions are art and nature. She grew up in Northeast Ohio playing along the streams and paths of a nearby forest, drawing, and stitching together fabric scraps in her Godmother’s sewing room. She studied art and art history in college, but spent much of her adult life as a biologist, examining the ecology and reproductive behavior of small South American monkeys. She earned a PhD from Kent State University in Biological Anthropology, and holds an international Diploma from the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew in London. She taught at Northeastern Ohio College of Medicine and in the Department of Biological Sciences at Kent State University.
In mid-career she resigned her tenured professorship to return to art and stitching full time. Over the year she had mounted 5 solo exhibitions in museums and galleries, and she has been represented in many juried exhibitions in the US and Europe including Artist as Quiltmaker, Quilt National, Quilts=Art=Quilts, Best of Ohio, Form Not Function, Focus Fiber, and others. Her work was invited to be included in Color Improvisations, which toured Europe in 2010 through 2013 in the Inaugural Exhibition at Edison Price Gallery in New York City and Material Pulses, which is touring the Us through 2023. Her quilts are part of many private and public collections including Marbaum Collection at the San Joe Museum of Quilts and Textiles. She has curated several exhibitions for the Butler Institute of American Art and written reviews for Fiber Arts Magazine. Natural phenomena remain a major inspiration for her work.
Carolyn Skei, Karen Schulz
The exhibiting artists are as follows:
Margaret Abramshe, Geneviève Attinger, Bobbi Baugh, Deb Berkebile, Margaret Black, Ellen Blalock, Holly Brackmann, Peggy Brown, Betty Busby, Libby Cerullo, Shinhee Chin, Gregory Climer, Tyrus Clutter, Holly Cole, Shannon Conley, Petra Fallaux, Victoria Findlay Wolfe, Diana Fox, Kerri Green, Debbie Grifka, Carol Grotrian, Betty Hahn, Barbara Oliver Hartman, Jeanne Hewell-Chambers, Virginia Holloway, Judy Hooworth, Beth Porter Johnson, Noel Keith, Natalya Khorover, Judy Kirpich, Elke Klein, Karen Krieger, Denise Labadie, Judy Langille, Susan Lapham, Niraja Lorenz, Valerie Maser-Flanagan, Alicia Merrett, Kestrel Michaud, Susie Monday, Kathy Nida, Frauke Palmer, Julia Pfaff, Heather Pregger, Wen Redmond, Denise Roberts, Irene Roderick, Barbara Schulman, Karen Schulz, Candace Hackett Shively, Carolyn Skei, Brenda Gael Smith, Gerri Spilka, Lee Sproul, Victoria van der Laan, Cynthia Vogt
Candace Hackett Shively, Libby Cerullo
The Schweinfurth Memorial Art Center is located at 205 Genesee Street, Auburn, New York 13021. They are open Tuesdays-Saturdays from 10AM – 5PM and Sundays from 1PM – 5PM. Call (315) 255-1553 for more information or email at mail@schweinfurthartcenter.org.
I am loving this project. Here is another amazing art activity that brings a community together. We are Chittenango! We are Bears. #BearCountryStrong
I would love to see these saturating social media. Show me your paw. Make it using this template with markers, crayons, colored pencil or make it sculptural, with rocks, sea shells, buttons, or create a multi-media collage using magazine images, ink stamps or even thread.
We may be social distancing, isolating, but we can stand together artistically. How totally cool!!!!! <3
Today, after work and a five-mile Green Lakes hike, I headed over to the Sue & Leon Genet Galley at The Nancy Cantor Warehouse (350 W. Fayette Street, Syracuse, New York 13202) for the Sue Ann Genet Costume Collection exhibit, Let It Snow! Keeping Warm at Syracuse University, 1870-2020.
I love the irony of this whole premise that it is cold in Syracuse in winter and I’m all hiking my head off for two hours a day thinking it’s totally warm – what’s wrong with you people? Naturally, I am also all about cashmere, fur, leather and down parkas, so this little exhibit was right up my alley. Keeping warm is my schtick. Really, it’s fashion. Fashion’s my schtick.
I frequented this gallery when it was housed in Slocum Hall back in the ’80s, so actually visiting it again, it’s kinda/sorta my old stomping grounds. I am a graduate of the Fashion Design program at Syracuse University and a really cold (minus 4 degrees) day in 1982 is referenced in the literature, which was probably a day I was walking around campus with my gigantic portfolio and paint case or a huge bag of fabric and a sewing kit (dual degree Fashion and Studio Arts) blowing around all over the place. Could this be anymore about me? LOL, sorry….
This is obviously an exhibition of outerwear spanning a century and a half. Everything on the mannequins looks stunning – well preserved and for the most part, timeless.
The show was curated by Professor Jeffrey Mayer. Kirsten Schoonmaker gave a slide presentation during the event tonight sharing her expertise on textiles, specifically a history of the fashion/costume use of wool and fur through the ages. Students in attendance were clearly enthralled by her dynamic presence. She is an Associate Professor of Fashion Design at Syracuse University, as well as the exhibit designer and collection manager.
Let It Snow! will be up through February 28, 2020. You will love it. <3
On Dec. 2, 2019, Syracuse University canceled a full day of classes for the fourth time in its 150-year history. This means that generations of students have trudged through snow, sleet, ice, and wind in order to get to class. How did they keep themselves from shivering as the daytime temperatures plunged as low as -4°F in January of 1982? Students on campus have proved that staying warm doesn’t have to mean sacrificing style. Thick fulled wool in fashionable hues has been cut and shaped to follow the silhouettes of the moment, whether it be the 1880s, the 1980s, or today. Collars and cuffs have been trimmed with insulating materials from soft fur to plushy polyester, trapping warm air around exposed skin as icy winds blow. Belts and buttons not only keep coats from flapping, but also add a touch of shape, sparkle, or contrast. Selections from the Sue Ann Genet Costume Collection reveal that while faces may change, outerwear has always been a style statement on campus.
About the Sue and Leon Genet Gallery:
Based in the School of Design at the Nancy Cantor Warehouse, the Sue & Leon Genet Gallery is a student-managed space hosting exhibitions from the school’s students, faculty, and alumni. Programing seeks to engage the University and downtown Syracuse community with exhibitions inspired by and related to the field of design. Public gallery hours are Monday through Saturday, noon to 5:00 pm., or by appointment. Call (315) 443-2455.
The Tashkovski Collection is officially launching on Tuesday, December 10, 2019 from 5 – 8 pm at The Chop House on Waring (200 Waring Road, Syracuse, New York 13224 – (315) 445-1976). The event is called Sip & Sparkle and will include twelve local vendors. They will also have a Wild Turkey bourbon tasting and some appetizers. It is going to be a lot of fun!
I had a poster made and some postcards. The bracelets are photographed, catalogued and tagged. I have a Square reader to process debit/charges. I am ready to be ready (which means ready, I think).
$55 – NORMA BUTTERFLY #2
NORMA BUTTERFLY #2 (BACK)
$55 – NORMA BUTTERFLY #7
NORMA BUTTERFLY #7 (BACK)
$55 – NORMA BUTTERFLY #6
NORMA BUTTERFLY #6 (BACK)
Here are the latest pieces. These leather bracelets feature vintage pins manufactured in Estonia circa the 1970s by a tin toy company called NORMA. I scoured the world looking for them. I’m in love with them! The are handmade, one-of-a-kinders. I know you will fall in love with them too. <3
This year there are fifteen 8th graders in my Studio in Art accelerated high school course at Chittenango Middle School. They finished the Lions Club Peace Poster project just in time for the end of the first marking period and for the judging last Wednesday. This is an international competition where the big winner gets $5,000. At the local level, the Chittenango Lions awarded monetary prizes for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place.
This year’s theme is Journey of Peace.
Posters will be on display in the guidance office where we have recently created a little gallery space. They will be moved to the Sullivan Library’s Community Room for the month of December 2019.
Today our winning poster competes for the regional title. If it wins, it continues its journey at the state level then internationally.
The Lions Club is providing us with a luncheon on Wednesday, November 20, 2019 in our classroom. I am so incredibly blessed to have these wonderful people in my life. They are so supportive of my program and each year for the past thirteen years they have turned three of my students into professional artists. That’s a lot of pros! Win-win! <3
These Tashkovski collection bracelets are part of the War & Peace series. They are made with vintage US Army patches and pins. There is a Girl Scout patch in the mix (it is from the ’50s!) and a peace pin that was originally designed to protest war. The idea with these pieces is to respect everyone’s position. I truly admire those who serve our country.
$35 – CROSS
CROSS – (BACK)
Ultimately, peace is the goal. Find peace within yourself first and your world will change. I promise you that. <3
Here is the first look at how I spent my summer vacation. I became a jewelry designer. There are over five hundred pieces in the collection to date. This is the Music series. I scoured the flea market world to find vintage pins and attached them to genuine leather, sherpa and rabbit fur.
These bracelets are available for sale with price points of $55, $65 and $75. I am in the process of photographing everything and adding tags to them so that they can be sold locally and on-line. Kind of playing that by ear. I am artist first and designer, of course, and (I guess) businesswoman now, too (using intuition as my guide).
I am in love with these bracelets. Not sure how easy it will be to part with them since they are all one-of-a-kinds. Handmade and infused with (lots of) love. <3
