Chia Jen Studio / Jennifer Mackey

Eureka First Saturday Arts Alive this February 4th...Redwood Curtain Show

2012-02-02T13:14:00.000-08:00

I will be at Redwood Curtain Theatre in Eureka, @2nd St in Old Town (adjacent to Aalfs, Evans and Co., 104 D Street) tomorrow night. I am showing work from the Paris show a couple of years ago. Framed textile pieces for their gallery space just inside the lobby. Please drop in. I should be there till 7:30 pm when I have to race over to the Morris Graves and support Demetri Mitsanas at his show. We must support one another!!

Remember to also look at the new work hanging at Eureka Art and Frame. Gabe has let me use his gallery space this winter/spring.... I will be getting my newest work from last week's Arizona visit framed and up there soon. Most importantly, please encourage your friends to go and visit. Of course it is all for sale and all under $500. Framed pieces $500, matted and shrink wrapped @ $300 and lower without either frame or matt.... Call me in the studio at 707-764-3877 for more information

arizona paintings continued...

2012-02-02T13:03:00.000-08:00

A few more paintings from the 21 sketches done last week in Jerome Arizona.....

arizona series...

2012-02-02T12:59:00.000-08:00

Just got back from a road trip and another painting week. Loved the Arizona light. So different from the redwoods I live within. I did 21 painting 'sketches' of which about 10 will be matted/framed. All are for sale and most will hang in Eureka Art and Frame by month's end. Will have another champagne opening mid month probably. If you interested let me know and I will send you an invite.

join us at 4:30pm tonight at Eureka Art and Frame

2011-12-26T12:14:00.000-08:00

I am celebrating this new work at 4:30pm with a glass of champagne and a few friends. If you are about please drop in...

Holiday Hello from Jennifer and Patty

2011-12-19T16:52:00.000-08:00

We are going to miss having an Open Studio this year but Patty and I can be reached via our email addresses for personal direct purchases.
info.chiajen@gmail.com for Jennifer
demantus@gmail.com for Patty
If you should desire finding our things without meeting with us they are within reach.
For Patty's work check Etsy www.demantdesigns.etsy.com
or swing by the Northcoast Knittery on 2nd Street of Old Town Eureka, California
She is making some beautiful felt cases for iPads and laptops....

As for Jennifer She still has work at Bank of America in Arcata, California and at Mazotti's on the Arcata Plaza. But the newer pieces are beautiful watercolors executed during her month in Germany this last October at Eureka Art and Frame and also 5 new lovely 36" x 48" floor canvases at Sewell Gallery 423 F Street, Eureka, California.

I will post my floor canvases up on this blog as soon as I resize them. Better you just go on by...

Feel free to call for any studio visits as Jennifer has a lot of work that would love a home.

Happy Holidays
from Jennifer and Patty

reinhausen paintings continued

2011-11-25T09:59:00.000-08:00

I spent the month of October in the German countryside and produced almost 70 small watercolors. These paintings will be represented by Eureka Art and Frame in Eureka, California for the next few months. 10 of them are being framed pronto and another 20 will be matted. Larger pieces will be exhibited over the following months. I have yet to decide on an opening reception but am thinking of having just a small private party either in December or early March. Regardless, you can visit the gallery space within this lovely frame shop and see some other textiles pieces of mine that have been there for a couple of months now.

I can also be reached for a private visit in my studio outside of town. Please email me @ info.chiajen@gmail.com

reinhausen paintings

2011-11-25T09:51:00.000-08:00

What September brings to shows...

2011-09-09T12:22:00.000-07:00

During the next few months I will be showing some work in 3 various locations in Arcata and Eureka.
The first installation was at Bank of America on the Plaza in Arcata. Large walls and lovely northern light allow for the best viewing of these bold acrylics that I did over the last few years. There are a couple of framed oils and the collection of my mono prints from the ongoing silk textile series. The B of A will be open tonight during Arcata's Arts Alive and also during weekday office hours. All pieces are for sale and there is a price list on site.

The second installation in Arcata is for Joe Mazzotti at Mazzotti's on the Plaza and it is a diverse showing of mono prints, acrylics, shibori, contemporary oils, and silk mono prints. Mazzotti's will also be open tonight, September 9th, for the Arts Alive evening. I will be there to talk about my work should you be able to step in and join me at the bar.
Contact: Joe @ Mazzotti's 707-822-1900

The Eureka location for the new few months is the petite but lovely space in Eureka Art and Frame at 1636 F Street. Gabe has been doing ongoing framing for my silk prints and his soft lighting allows for the viewer to appreciate the textile design work that make my fabrics truly unique. This show is contemporary, abstract, and has a strong eastern influence. The prices for this work are available by calling me, Jennifer, at 707-764-3877. You can also call the gallery at 707-444-2888.

I would be pleased to meet anyone at any of these locations for conversation and sales information. I look forward to hearing from you.

As a side note I will be working in Germany for the month of October on a new poetry and images book and will not be receiving emails due to the dire need of quiet to get this project up and running.

Textiles and unique prints by Jennifer Mackey and Patty Demant

2011-06-01T16:50:00.000-07:00

Open Studio Starts Saturday the 4th of June and continues through Sunday the 5th. Join us for light refreshments, fine art and fiber works.

Visiting Artist from Paris

2011-06-01T16:36:00.000-07:00

JF Méchain is a 63 year old french artist. He is a partner in one of the top 10 urban architectural firms in Paris and teaches in the “Paris La Seine” school of architecture.

In 1978, while Argentina was ruled by a military dictator, he spent a year in Buenos Aires and published several comics in a well known satirical magazine known as “Humor Registrado”.

In 2004 during a one year medical leave he created a prolific series of pastels. The majority of them sold in his first exhibition at “La Loge” gallery in Paris. Since 2004 he has continued painting and sketching alongside his architecture practice.

His work has ben presented in several bistros in Paris and also in the well known architectural firm, HOK, in San Francisco.

The sketches presented this weekend are representations of his latest style dedicated to the human figure and female nudes.

He can be reached at jf.mechain@gmail.com

Open Studio This Weekend at CHIA JEN STUDIO

2011-06-01T16:32:00.000-07:00

Well, at count down we are finishing the wee bits and spending our afternoons in Chia Jen Studio. The rains continue to fall but the view is delightful and we are cozy. We will be receiving visitors this weekend from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 1961 Monument Road. (turn left at the 1906/1961 mailboxes on the left just 1.8 miles up from Rio Dell). Call us if you get lost at 707-764-3877.

Jennifer has beautiful new shrugs/cocoon jackets that are 16 mm silk crêpe de chine that have been transformed by mono-printing and shibori dye techniques. She will also be selling new framed silk mono-prints and a variety of design pieces from cards to pillows.

Paintings up at the Bank of America in Arcata, California

2011-05-16T14:30:00.000-07:00

Arcata's Bank of America: The light and walls are perfect for these pieces that have been a bit squished at home and studio. Of this series I have already sold and placed 4 over the last few years to clients living in the greater Bay Area. One of the pieces hanging is sold of those shown here. Not in this blog are 2 new smaller oils and nicely framed giclee mono prints at entry from the parking lot on northern wall. Prices range from $350 to $1500.

Please stop by and let me know what you think of these early acrylics paintings I began in 2002. The oils were painted in the 2007.

Mark your calendars... we can hardly wait to see you!!

2011-04-27T15:37:00.000-07:00

In conjunction with NCOS

CHIa Jen Studio

jennifer mackey . patty demant

June 4th and 5th, 2011

10 a.m. till 5 p.m.

1961 Monument Rd, Rio Dell, Ca

707-764-3877

textiles, paintings, accessories

A Word From Patty Demant's Friend Ragamuffin

2011-04-13T15:10:00.000-07:00

Hi there. My name is Ragamuffin. Patty brought me into this marvelous world. She is one clever gal. And there are quite a few in my family. Some have found homes but the ones that haven't will be at Northcoast Open Studios on June 4th and 5th at Jennifer's CHIA JEN Studio sale. It will be like a family reunion. You should come on by because there are some other little friends she made for me. I call them The Mice. Sure they are all individuals and very interesting each and every one but I cannot remember all their names so I just call them The Mice. I think there is a photo of them somewhere... I'll ask Patty to send it on later.
Do you know about Patty's process with felting? She does a process called needle felting. This approach bonds fibers together and aided with the wet felting process ends up creating a unique felting fabric. Her colors are earth colors with wonderful accents in fuschia, turquoise, and hot pink. She really loves to 'weave in' all sorts of fibers to give it an extra zing!
Oops, there go The Mice getting into the new Tarot Bags... gotta tell you about them next time! Time to chase them Micies...

readying the inventory for June 4th and you

2011-04-12T14:37:00.000-07:00

Before I started to go through my inventory for the Open Studio on June 4th, I had been baking bread this morning and thinking again how my abstract mono prints are so very realistic in reflecting the textures we find in nature. I sometimes feel like a conduit for nature. I adore taking the time to let surfaces speak to me. And as I was getting my heirloom tomatoes transplanted I noticed that a Cascara branch I was using to create a green house support had the loveliest spots on the bark. Seen close up one would hardly find this bark a literal or realistic view of the landscape. Every little thing makes up the whole. It cannot be separated out if it is to be fully realized or understood. A lot of the joy I find on the property comes from looking at my surroundings, breathing deep and letting it all in visually. Often this means listening carefully too. There is a symphony of spring that we can attend to for free.

What does this have to do with art? I guess I would ask what does it not have to do with art? It certainly informs mine from the first to the last thought and stroke. So if you get by for the Open Studio I encourage you to walk the 'wild' grounds here and see what it is that has informed my work. Most of you will already be blessed with living in this gorgeous Pacific Northwest and see a lot of familiarity. For those of you new to the area, even 5 acres has a lot to show.

winter slowly hands itself over to spring

2011-04-08T10:33:00.000-07:00

There will be so much to do in the garden and in the studio to ready ourselves for this summer with vacationers to retreat to the studio and the Northcoast Open Studio we have planned for the first weekend in June. I will be sharing this weekend with my dear friend Patty Demant who continues to inspire and support my own artistic and bumpy path.
After a long year of grief and personal exploration I find myself being healed by the surrounding landscape of this Chia Jen Studio. My work has spread into more writings with emphasis on poetry. The textile work is being pushed towards an end result for a jacquard woven course that I will be attending in August. It has been a decade since I first researched translation of my surface design into complex tapestry and jacquard wovens. Finally I will be able to see the 'translation' on at least a small scale.
As the theme of my work has been accessing a more dimensional result in textile design I will continue to use a variety of applications to execute interesting patterns that can be even further developed with the jacquard system.
All this is to say that I continue to work, albeit reclusively, in my redwood retreat. I am finding that not for the first time in my life, nature embraces my creative efforts and delivers a path out of sorrow into new life and ideas. I can only hope that I will be able to focus these images, words, and designs into art work that you will find interesting when you come to visit. Perhaps you will even be driven to purchase, thus supporting this walk back into 'life' and creation that I am traveling on.
I want to take this moment to thank everyone for all your support this last year as you helped me carry the greatest burden a mother can know... the loss of her child.
On a brighter note, I want to mention that Patty and I are hoping to really celebrate creativity and the arts on that first weekend so if you stop by there should be some music and food and drink.
Life is short eh? So we best get on with indulging in it and give ourselves over to the life force!

Holiday Sale / December 11th and 12th @ Chia Jen Studio / Rio Dell, California

2010-12-01T17:05:00.000-08:00

samples shots from my blackberry

2010-11-15T09:10:00.000-08:00

The famous cocoon jacket that everyone loves... and a shibori hanging detail

Return to Redwood Studio / East Bay Moving Sale

2010-11-15T08:48:00.000-08:00

I am consolidating studio and office this weekend and will be based full time in the beautiful Rio Dell studio that overlooks apple trees and redwoods.

During this week of transition I am selling all my prints, paintings, books and textile pieces that are in the Richmond house for 25% - 50% less.

Please let me know if you want to stop by and view/purchase any of the work.

There are quite a few pieces not on the website.

Shibori hangings are the newest additions.

I do hope to see you...

Cheers

P.S. if you miss this in the East Bay I am having an Open Studio weekend in Rio Dell on the 11th an 12th of December. I am sharing this weekend with Patty Demant. It is our second annual because our first year was fun and successful...

Crossing into Spirit

2010-07-26T07:03:00.000-07:00

Studio work was set aside for months. My Ian had left. Transformation. Banners for the memorial brought me back into my lovely Rio Dell studio. There I found a course for communication with spirit. My own and his. There, through tears I cut into precious shirts and stitched his beloved ties. There I knew I might eventually find salve for a broken heart.

Shown are the banners. More to be explored when I get settled back into Humboldt for the winter.

The heart is a lonely hunter.

2010-03-29T21:42:00.000-07:00

Ah, life and death. Just a breath away from each other.

I had begun the project full of life. Death was in the distance.

When my son called the day after these photos were taken I knew the winds had shifted.

I now must continue this project without my warrior at my side. Rich has also departed. Yet for them I will continue as I can, when I can, with their spirit surrounding me and guiding me on.

2010-03-29T21:32:00.000-07:00

The morning after Patty and I worked and played in that sanctuary I was back with another dear friend Shiela. We had a nice long walked. The weather had shifted. A storm was brewing. We were still in the balance between winter and her time of death. It was still cold. There had just been that brief break in the storm but now it was back to winter's business. New life and spring were far off again.

I was still keen about more work with my textiles outside and finding the right barns for installation. I was getting great encouragement from Ian, Rich and Patty. Meeka also wanted to participate. I finally had an idea that I believed to help show the beauty in the broken down barns, the beauty of the aged, the beauty of the end of the years, the beauty of a certain type of death and ending that comes to histories. There was a poetry there I hoped to find and exhibit.

A marriage of fiber and natures wood whether natural or turned. And the relationship between abstract and realism. And most importantly the dance between new and old / life and death.

A balance of so many thoughts that run through my mind.

2010-03-29T21:27:00.000-07:00

Patty and I were paying with the fiber. I was trying to get a sense of fiber against fiber. How was the tone and texture outside? Had I chosen the right material. Should I try to procure some more next time I went south to the city?

During this exploration I remembered the beautiful photographs of the Native American bodies that were laid to rest, wrapped in cloth and placed up in the branches of beautiful oak like trees. It was a communion of death and nature that had made a big impression on me.

I did not know then how soon death would bring me her own stories. I did not know then that soon I would be offering up my own warrior to the next life.

2010-03-29T21:20:00.000-07:00

The project would eventually have a great deal of yardage. Perhaps stretches of 20 yards that would interweave and flow in the midst of the decaying and beautifully aging barns of Humboldt County and rural California. This would be a kinetic sculpture. An installation that moved and worked with the environment to show off the beauty of fiber and form. Perhaps to be documented as ruin continued.

2010-03-29T21:15:00.000-07:00

I was beginning the process of taking simple and natural flax fibers woven into a chinese practical textile, scouring it, pleating through heat processes, and using a shibori technique to add color over a spring green dye bath.

2010-03-29T21:10:00.000-07:00

It was a crisp and clear day of possibilities and beauty. The geese and other migrating birds were making themselves known. Patty and I were enjoying the winter songs. I was excited to continue on a project that had failed to get funding from a grant I had proposed earlier in the year. I was going to do it anyway... bit by bit.

It involves the marriage of fiber. The meeting of weaving and color. The mixing of historical architecture found and created through the necessity of form as product and tool.

early stages of a new idea / the process begins

2010-03-29T21:07:00.000-07:00

There was a beautiful day in early January before the big series of storms hit the east bay of California. I was still in Humboldt County and musing over an idea I had been thinking about since early autumn. Ian was excited about it and my friend Rich was going to help me execute it. Patty was spending the morning at the Wildlife Bird Sanctuary in Loleta helping install the first studies.This project was to help explain to my audience how my work is not so abstract, how it reflects very closely the realism on a tangible level of my textiles within nature.

2010-03-29T19:40:00.000-07:00

little wee book arrived

2010-01-13T10:41:00.000-08:00

and it is really wee. i cannot believe the weeness of it... but it is cute and could fit in your pocket. after shipping and tax it comes to $10...

if you want a bit of jennifer's imagery in your pocket just call me and i will order up some more!

707-764-3877 cheers... off to the studio where i am working on my spring / summer barn series

a few shots/sequoia

2010-01-03T08:59:00.000-08:00

i attempted to get a grant this last year. two in fact. seems i am not a preferred candidate. it has put off a dream of mine that was to super impose my fabrics into older deteriorating humboldt county dwellings. barns and the like. i thought the modern textures moving within the older historical textures could both enhance the histories that are disappearing in humboldt and create a format for new innovative art installations.

i will do it in 2010 now, somehow. it continues the idea of my abstract work being more real than realism at times.

i leave realism to the gods/goddesses... or fabulous realists of which i am not in the traditional sense.

let me know if you have connections with owners of barns that are falling apart and gets lots of wind and light!

eco sequoia fabric shoot

2010-01-03T08:44:00.000-08:00

as you might remember i just self published my first book called earth series. the response has been good and i was happy with it. it is a good first edition. i am still searching other papers and lower prices as it is quite expensive for me to produce and perhaps a bit pricey for my friends and family.

so, i was checking out the little book idea on iphoto. i am now awaiting 3 little books of just snapshots for this show i want to organize this year.

there has always been a question around my 'abstract' art. i call myself a landscape artist. few understand it. so my idea is to show people how my work blends directly with nature and in fact how strong the connection if between my work and what i see in the outdoors.

i decided it is merely a question of the proximity. that would mean in my case, seeing things through a macro lens instead of a telephoto lens. you know, up close and personal.

here are a few shots for the study. and the wee book is only $5 if you want one. i will get them soon...

cheers, and enjoy your local redwood! and your local textile artist jennifer...

a few small items..

2009-12-08T14:20:00.001-08:00

there are little gifts for sharing your love like handmade soaps and eye pillows....

25% off Holiday Sale for Jennifer Mackey's prints and paintings

2009-12-08T11:16:00.001-08:00

In an effort to clear out inventory and make more art available at lower prices I am discounting acrylics, oils, and giclee's by 25%...

There will be loads of little items @ $25 and less also.

To include but not limited to pillows, eye pillows, bath salts, small indian handmade books I brought back from Jalsimar, India, shibori textiles, limited edition cards and so on.

SEE YOU THIS WEEKEND?

2009-12-08T11:10:00.000-08:00

Jennifer and Patty are really having a good time with creating colorful and abstract gifts for this weekend open studio. We do hope you come by and visit and make it a wonderful weekend by sharing in our holiday cheer... Eggnog, Hot Apple Cider, Cookies and a bit of piano music to keep you cozy after a probably drive in winter rains. Call for directions : 707-764-3877

Just Around the Corner Now

2009-11-29T13:02:00.000-08:00

Well, still in the Bay Area after a beautiful adventure to Paris. Visited friends, artists, museums, cafes and well you know, all the things one likes to do in Paris. Truly the city of lights when you hang with Ian as he has that evening hour schedule down.

Friends loved the new book. I did not get into showing it to galleries. One week was not enough to work too hard.

Now I am gearing up for the weekend Open Studio with Patty. I know she has been really stitching and felting away too.

As for myself, I am offering original art work and giclee prints at a major discount. I am also organizing nice little gifts to make everyone cozy during the holidays.

Remember that art and music are the best gifts for the heart and soul of everyone. Come on by and visit us with friends and family...

Questions? Call 764-3877 or email info.chiajen@gmail.com

date: 12 and 13 December

time: 11 - 4 pm

place: Chia Jen Studio / 1961 Monument Road / Rio Dell / Ca

your job: email this link to all your artistically sensitive friends so we have a great turn out!

What December Will Bring

2009-10-29T16:39:00.000-07:00

bath salts by jennifer mackey

Patty Demant, knitter, stitcher, quilter, teacher, felter... and I, textile studio artist, thought it would be good fun to celebrate the holidays with an open studio and craft sale. This will be a relaxed weekend of meeting with friends, drinking eggnogs, eating holiday cookies and listening to some piano tunes... and well enjoying the holiday season in Humboldt County.

We are organizing small gift items to sale, housewares in felt, linens for table and home, baths salts for really getting in the winter groove, and a variety of Chia Jen Studio products.

Price range will be mostly low with a few high priced items if you feel inclined to bring home a painting or silk scarf.

I will keep you posted as items get selected. For now just mark your calendars for December 12th and 13th at the Chia Jen Studio from 11 am to 4 pm.

publishing earth series book

2009-10-01T16:44:00.000-07:00

i am excited about this project. baby steps that have taken a long time coming.

i began some of the monoprints just after 9/11 and later with our great concern for the future of this lovely planet, wove some of the ideas and images together.

but underneath all of our 'stories', whether political or environmental, is the personal history that effects how we interpret everything that goes on around us.

this is one interpretation. with any luck there will be more in the future.

i look forward to your feedback.

earth series

By jennifer mackey

Book Preview

how could i forget the trees?

2009-07-21T13:38:00.001-07:00

not everyone sees the forest for my trees but i see landscapes in everything i do. i am a realist in the long run.

so here are the ocean pieces in process:

2009-07-20T13:45:00.000-07:00

these are hanging and drying before i lay it back out on the printing table for the next run...

ocean thoughts in process 7-20-09

2009-07-20T13:29:00.001-07:00

i have a moment or two left today in the studio and will continue to work on the series i began last week, these ocean pieces are lovely just as is i think but i am going to keep some layers going and see how it all builds up.

this has been the finest week i have spent this year. getting reacquainted with my thoughts and painterly vision. in the process of the work i found myself picking up the loose thread of subconscious creativity that has colored my adult life.

it has been a wonderful wave to ride and i hope to stay in the ocean of creativity more often than not now.

i guess i am just remembering who i am and how to find my voice. so if you cannot find me via telephone or fax... just know i am having a hell of a lot of fun and will share it with you when the wave reaches the shore!

even a few pieces finished!

2009-07-20T12:51:00.000-07:00

studio week 7-13-08

2009-07-20T12:42:00.000-07:00

i had fallen into quite a funk about the studio time and the suffering of artist block. what gets us into the studio and what can keep us from being distracted by outside responsibilities?
speaking to my son on the phone, day after his birthday, i told him i was hanging it up. he balked and dared me. if you know me well you will know that dares are dangerous. i just do not do them anymore as i got married not only once but twice because of a dare. love had something to do with it too. well, i love my son more than any man and so this dare i took, shook off the artists block and hide... in the studio. i ate, slept, bathed, organized, ironed, cleaned and printed for a good portion of the next 5 days.

winter rains

2009-02-17T13:46:00.000-08:00

While I work on getting a studio space cleaned and organized for the bay area I wonder about when I will get the painting begun and the sewing machine fixed for the Humboldt County studio and textile work. I am anxious to get going. I managed to paint out a wall in my bay area bedroom in blackboard black paint. I have scribbled on it. It seemed to help with artist's block.
I go back to Paris in a few weeks and will meet with a few artists and perhaps a gallery owner. I'll bring some samples of textiles for interiors to explain how versatile my thinking and art work is.
Best works are getting stretched and framed... canvases are being left unframed from now on. I am thinking of skies and the long view.
This is the black board wall empty... it is already filling up with prose and sketches.
Even in this rain filled darkness there is a daffodil lightness pushing up.
There will be spring's creation and new works to share.

back to the wee farm and studio

2009-01-14T12:04:00.000-08:00

I come back to beauty and the work of an artist that resides on 5 beautiful acres in the Pacific Northwest. There are textures and surfaces that visually explode around me. Each day and each moment is different and new. I am refreshed by it. When tired, I take a few minutes and walk into the wild winter's waste.
The decay has such color and already pushing through is the spring's first words. Nature pokes through into this sunny winter day with young tulip leaves. The rhubarb is tattered but promising a dinner or two. The delphinium delights me as it gives and gives and each new young plant is last year's offspring. This ramshackle garden is a continual joy. Now back to work!

Last Photos of Paris

2008-11-14T07:30:00.000-08:00

So now I am back in the states...visiting with my favorite fellow...Ian. Off to see my mother who I have missed a great deal during my sejour in Paris. I will pick up that favorite beast Nikits in a couple of days and then venture home to another paradise ... Humboldt County. I will wake up next week up in my Rio Dell nest and look out over a beautiful landscape and I will see lovely vistas that I can walk into. I will be thankful for another safe trip and return and I will carefully record all memories of my month in Paris quietly in my artistic mind.

Until the next trip...I will work on that Jaques Brel song 'La Chanson des Vieux Amants' and finish work on the Prevert 'Les Fueilles Mortes' piece. Perhaps David D will indulge me weekly letting me sing it at Sequoia Springs and for a brief minute I will be back in Paris walking through the autumn leaves.

Dining in montmartre district

2008-11-14T06:37:00.000-08:00

On the last beautiful day of meanderings, of which I had too few, Nadia and I decided to go to Place Pigale. We met up at the Metro stop Anvers and proceeded to walk up to Montmarte's art gallery (I am remembering this to be called St.Pierre...Nadia where are you to help edit this post?) and then continuing up one of the many sets of stairs found ourselves a perfect little café nestled into the neighboring quasi wild landscape adjacent to the Sacré Couer Cathedral. We had a perfect meal. Surrounded by glass windows we dined on quiches that were so light I found them to be more like soufflées. Mine was a blue cheese and hazelnut served with the typical salade mixe and light french dressing. Nadia joined me in a glass of wine to celebrate. This is not her normal approach...but then we were celebrating the ending of a perfect visit to Paris.

The weather had begun blue and warm in the morning. When I had left my apartment I had optimistically not brought my coat. I knew I was silly but I wanted to be as unfettered as possible for my last walk through the streets of Paris.

By the time we ate lunch I had purchased a beautiful metre of aubergine colored wool that was discounted to a mere 7.60 Euro...You might just see me in a skirt of it later this season. We found it in a fabulous fabric store at the base of the cathedral where all smart fabric shoppers go. I had bought it on the third floor of a five floor fabric store and wore it around my shoulders as a make shift shawl to accompany my Vivian Westwood jacket.and Wolford 'body' turtleneck. As footwear... , my new high heeled boots that I had purchased in Arcata (Japanese designer, American produced) as a fashionable good bye to the city of such glamour and elegance. Yes, this was the last day of 'dress up' and it felt great.

We finished our lunch in time to meet Isabelle, wife of Bernard V who had located the fabulous apartment I had at 1 rue de Sainte Hyacinthe. We enjoyed her little antique store and a good long chat. She invited us to dine chez eux but sadly I had to inform her of my departure.

This was the beginning of sobering thoughts.

My return to America and beautiful family, friends and home always denotes the leaving of my beautiful loving friends and favored city. It is the severing of meditative thoughts and creative discourse that can only occur in the culture that adores to meticulously review conversation, design, culture, politics, life and art. I had come to realize in my moments of guiding and translating for American friends that my time in Paris has always been where I refuel artistically and spiritually. The inner conversations that occur while walking through the jardins/city parks of Paris cannot and do not come to life anywhere else in the world for me. It is a deep well of personal and private artistic gain that I come away with. It is for this reason that departure from France for me is difficult.

To lighten my mood Jean Francois joined me for a quick meal at a Korean restaurant not far from the Hyacinthe apartment. While walking back to my Parisian 'nest', the streets were quiet and a bit damp. It had been a national holiday just as it was in the U S...veterans day. Many of the french had taken a four day holiday so there was little traffic and many shops and restaurants had been closed. In the quiet of the evening I popped into a hotel next door to my place. After writing my last emails in their cyber café I returned for a last nights sleep in that lovely district of the Louvre, Jardins du Tuileries, rue de Rivoli, La Loge de la Concierge.... elegant and often over priced cafés, beautiful shops, stylishly dressed women, children and men.

Closing Show at La Loge de la Concierge

2008-11-01T01:16:00.000-07:00

We are hoping you will join us at the reception on the 6th of November at La Loge de la Concierge

14, rue de Pont Neuf

1ere etage (first floor),

75001 Paris

RER- Metro: Les Halles, Chatelet, Louvre, ou Pont-Neuf

Starting at 8 pm.

light refreshments will be served

questions: call Jennifer at (011 33) (0) 6 45 54 57 31

Remember to Visit us on November 6th at 6 pm / Closing Reception for monoprints/shibori pieces at La Loge...

2008-11-01T01:07:00.001-07:00

Listen to Yves Montand sing Les Feuilles Morts

2008-10-31T03:36:00.000-07:00

the weather has turned. paris beautiful in gray tones.

2008-10-31T02:56:00.000-07:00

Jacques Prevert's beautiful song
'Les Feuilles Mortes' known to most as 'Autumn Leaves', takes on a different sentiment when you walk where he may have walked on a fall day in Paris composing. There is a longing here and an unknown depth that the mood searches for. Difficult to describe. Perhaps it is the poem unwritten or the painting waiting to be painted. Simply put I feel very alive in Paris and deeply in love....it is a romantic city, full of inquiry and sage (often false) advise about art, love, music, life's concepts, politics, society...the whole gamut. I am in love with the possibilities of heart and mind. How can I not feel alive when I am accosted at every corner by art and architecture.
Fighting the wee fatigue and unable to read this small print so I am off to the museum for further grander exploration. Morning at Les Arts Decortifs, then lunch in a surprise cafe, then to meet Flor at the Beaubourg to see another show, follwed by work at the gallery at 17h / 5 p.m.
A la prochaine...

19eme arrondissement /near le Centquatre

2008-10-27T07:28:00.000-07:00

le Centquatre / le Salon Slick

2008-10-27T07:23:00.000-07:00

leaving the north of Paris

2008-10-27T03:30:00.000-07:00

monday, monday ....

2008-10-27T01:27:00.000-07:00

dimanche / sunday was a perfect Parisian day of Museum visits: starting at Fondation Cartier where we saw the César exhibit (sculpture friend of the renowned architect Jean Nouvel), lunch at a crêperie in Montparnasse, followed by the visit to Espace Pierre-Cardin / `show off...' where we listened to a 2 hour discussion on fashion and art and visited many little galleries set up within the beautiful Espace Pierre -Cardin (which is located next to the American Embassy and the incredible 4 star Hotel Crillon (equal to our 5 star, if the French were to use a 5 star billing)... lovely day with Nadia finished with a nice meal in the 13eme arrondissement chez Resto JF Méchain.

I forgot to bring my camera but encourage you to check out the following websites to see some information photos.
FYI I particularly loved César's collection called Compression. I am sure you can find information on his exceedingly well known contemporary sculpture.

Fondation Cartier
Show Off - Paris
Pierre Cardin

As for our visit last Friday to Fiac etc.see the following sites

Fiac

And today's visit will be at Slick. This is in new space for events called le Centquatre....5,rue Curial or 104, rue d'Aubervilliers int the 19th arrondissement.

Slick-Paris

Somewhere in this day I will move out of the north of Paris and into a chic little apartment in the 1er district (central Paris)...Metro Pyramides. Finishing with dining tonight with the Jacquets in the 13eme.

Maybe today I shall bring my camera....I will certainly continue to make notes for my own studio work. All of our gallery visits have nurtured the beginning designs for my future studio projects, both interior and exterior. Fabulous..., it takes a visit to Paris to get me this excited about my own personal work.

Music I have been listening to: Jacques Brel, Manu Chao, Abd Al Malik, Nougaro, Sanseverino, Juliette Greco, Lloyd, Ahmad Jamal

Voilà ..de l`art

2008-10-25T02:08:00.000-07:00

samedi à Paris

2008-10-25T01:42:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Nadia and I visited more of the Fiac (Foire International d'Art Contemporain). It was our second day running. A bit demoralising (sp? i can no longer spell in either language correctly) for the more traditional artist. Mais, (but) the discussion here is really about concept. It is so complex as a discussion. What is art? Well, we have been discussing this for hundreds of years ... no?
It appears that the très riches are making serious investments (500,000 € to start)at a time where their other stock options begin to fail. In walking through the exhibit halls I was confounded by the work being shown. 20% I liked and really admired. Another 10% I could get my head around. The rest was a mix of highschool level dabbling, whacked out anger, conceptualized ideas of plastics and installations with very little to say about any deep concerns whether social, cultural, political, or emotional. How do we manage to invest so much in so little?
So I return this morning to a side street in the 20th arrondissement to a more fundamental and reassuring bit of art work...the regular street markets glorious in the eye of this beholder. The artistic ``concepts' of farmer and rancher...of earth, sky and water. There I will find once again a poetic demonstration of what keeps me going. Ah, the sweet beautiful basics...
Thank you to those of you who have addressed an interest in the blog, you travel these avenues and cafés with me. Any query is appreciated and I look forward to posting more photos when time allows. Grosses bisous!

ensuite...

2008-10-24T03:34:00.000-07:00

a few photo du premier vernissage

2008-10-24T03:31:00.000-07:00

shibori / mackey

2008-10-22T04:21:00.000-07:00

monotype / nadia tighremt

2008-10-22T04:12:00.000-07:00

Definitions / Définitions

2008-10-22T03:53:00.000-07:00

Qu’est-ce-que le Monotype ?

Le Monotype,
en gravure est un procédé d'impression qui ne permet pas de faire plusieurs épreuves. Il s'agit de peindre à l'encre de gravure ou à la peinture à l'huile sur un support qui ne "boit" pas : type métal, plexiglas ou rhodoide. La peinture est ensuite passée sous presse avec un papier qui reçoit l'épreuve. Le support n'étant pas gravé, il peut resservir pour d'autres monotypes après nettoyage.
Le monotype ne peut être numéroté, car son tirage est unique.
Catégorie : Gravure

Qu’est-ce-que le Shibori ?

Le Shibori,
There is an infinite number of ways one can bind, stitch, fold, twist, or compress cloth for shibori, and each way results in very different patterns. Each method is used to achieve a certain result, but each method is also used to work in harmony with the type of cloth used. Therefore, the technique used in shibori depends not only only the desired pattern, but the characteristics of the cloth being dyed. Also, different techniques can be used in conjunction with one another to achieve even more elaborate results.

à Paris with old friends and new images

2008-10-22T01:30:00.000-07:00

Here in Paris, a fall day, light rain yesterday, cooling a bit. Great visit to Normandy and a friend's home on Saturday with perfect sunny warm weather.
Now we are busy with last minute errands as our show opens tonight from 6 pm on. Please join us! See announcement below:

As for how I am fairing personally...
It is great to be back in France. Always feels a bit like coming home. So much to take in and endless surprises.
The annual Fiac is taking place this week so there will be loads of artwork, great masters and my favorite contemporary artists from gallery collections all over the world. (See your local A NOUS Paris / city magazine Paris #411 du 20 au 26 Octobre 2008)LES Affaires Culturelles événement.... fabulous.

Saturday night will be a visit to Theatre Champs d'Elyséés to see Europa Danse performance using Picasso costumes. Of course first there is salsa dance outing tomorrow evening with a girlfriend of Nadia's who is said to be a fabulous dancer...time is flying by and I am getting work done! Certainly my french is improving.
Alors... à toute à l'heure I must go buy a croissant for breakfast! So I will just pop across the street to the local boulangerie for one. cheers...jen

Musée du quai Branly NOVEMBER 8,9,10 2008

2008-10-10T14:29:00.001-07:00

CHIA JEN STUDIO / JENNIFER MACKEY IN PARIS

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2008

Exposition in Paris October/November 2008
Vernissage / Opening Receptions
22 Octobre et 6 Novembre a partir de 18H
-----------------------
Exposition 21 Octobre au 9 Novembre
Mardi au Vendredi
17H a 21H
-----------------------
Rdv en presence de l'artiste
06 61 66 84 76
-----------------------
Location:
La Loge de la Concierge
1er etage
14 rue du Pont-Neuf
75001 Paris
------------------------
visit on the web ,http://shukaba.org/Tighremt-Mackey.html

NOVEMBER 8,9,10 2008

Musée du quai Branly - Lecture room
visit : http://iss08fr.googlepages.com/trunk
questions? Contact: iss08trunkshow@gmail.com

thinking about my sensory response to this shibori

2008-10-10T13:54:00.000-07:00

The autumn leaves, les feuilles mortes...drift by my window

...and I stitch a few last pieces to pack for the upcoming show at La Loge and the trunk show at Musée du Quai Branly.

I am just getting into a 'groove' in the studio. This always happens before an exhibition. It is the focusing that finally takes hold for me when I have a deadline. A stream of consciousness with the tapestry of textile design develops.

I often commence my lift off dye technique with a black dyed solid silk . The tonal contrast seems 'earthy' to me when the camel tone areas are reveealed .
This reiteration of dark and light imagery in an abstract stripe seems to call to mind an animal's coat, or a ripple in a shadowed creek bed. The sense of opposites are ignited such as a night and day or a shiver against the autumn sun. It is the symbolic gesture of beginning and end, life and death , movement and arrest.
The organic sense in these particular pieces call out to me to touch the fabric . This is a desired reponse I have always sought. I believe it is the shibori addition that brings that necessary dimension and visual enticement. It is almost like there is a quiet breathe within it.

the influence of nature

2008-10-04T11:15:00.000-07:00

Nature has always directed my decision making in the studio.

The first kimono style jacket I produced in 1981 used raw silk as the 'canvas' and the imagery was reeds and mountain landscape.

I used environmentally sensitive water based inks and dyes.

In 1987 I built a studio in the redwoods of Humboldt County where nature imposes herself beautifully minute by minute. Not always quiet, not always peaceful yet always vibrant and creative.

There is a focus on nature at the upcoming international shibori conference in Paris this fall. So I decided to explore new groupings of plants and fibers. Unforseen was the 25 yards of unbleached and undyed woven flax from China I received as a gift. I divided it into several different pieces and went to work 'playing' with plants from morning walks with the dog, a few dyes purchased online, black tea, beets and other garden delights. I then made different size squares for a resist dye technique called itajime. I did some over dying and lift off dying. Just exploring and sometimes loving the results. The great joy was being lost within the process...not too 'lost' but just enough to remember the joy of surprise and unplanned success when working with new techniques or tools.

So after some blocking, dying, screening, lifting off... (all my personal nomenclature), I have several studies done.

Shown above in the upper left is one study in process.

On the upper right is the studio from which I have worked since 1987, save for a few sojourns elsewhere.

shibori mixed media

2008-10-02T14:46:00.000-07:00

For several years now I have been experimenting with mixing my textile design styles and methods in an effort to give the fabric a sense of transparency and depth.

My training in screen printing and lithography required a high number of runs to get depth and satisfying three dimensionality. Those printmaking processes did not lend themselves easily to surface design work on a textural surface such as linen, wool, silks and other woven fabrics.

Over the years I have experimented with different ordering in the steps of the process

e.g. first dying the base color, then printing or free hand mono screening/open screening , then perhaps another a dye bath, using a shibori technique, often a lift off dye bath and then perhaps a reapplication of screen or surface design.

If you mix this up it is bound to be a different depth visually and sometimes you gain when you don't lose.

The excitement for me is really being in the moment of the spontaneity that each process can offer. Then with good fortune I just manipulate and cross a few fingers that the next stage will give me more nuance and beguiling surprises.

These methods are all time consuming and as I work often with a 5 meter stretch of fabric, it can be quite costly if I lose images or even the very fiber structure of the cloth in the process. For years I had a crisper yet more one dimensional style. It often gave my work an Asiatic appearance. I depended strongly on the use of negative space to enhance the simple yet strong forms that came from my screening and painting styles. I am still encouraged to not loose sight of the importance in maintaining strong negative space and balance in bold abstract imagery. It is taking some time and patience but the process is inspiring and joyful.

I hope I can meet with some of you and discuss these techniques at either the trunk show in Paris or during my 3 week exhibit at La Loge de la Concierge...

Inventory for the Paris exhibit and trunk show

2008-10-02T12:42:00.000-07:00

I have been thoroughly enjoying the prepping for this upcoming season in Paris.

It always feels like going back home. I am also really pleased to be working with friends from the international shibori group.

My dear friend Nadia Tighremt that lived and worked at my Pacific Northwest studio last summer will be sharing the gallery with me at La Loge de la Concierge. Fabulous thought !

Our show will be in the most beautiful area of Paris (if there is a singular most beautiful area)...the first arrondissement. Please stop by if you can. Looks like we will be there every evening during the show... or at least 5 to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Friday... the 21 October to the 9 November. I will be getting a little work done while in town and should be using it as studio space for smaller textile projects.

Trunk Show in Paris

2008-10-02T05:56:00.001-07:00

Saturday, November 8, Midday

Musee Quai Branly, Lecture room

Paris

During the International Shibori Symposium

Our closing reception requests your presence!

2008-10-02T05:41:00.000-07:00

Vernissage / Closing Reception

6 Novembre a partir de 18H

-----------------------

Exposition 21 Octobre au 9 Novembre

Mardi au Vendredi

17H a 21H

-----------------------

by appointment

06 61 66 84 76

-----------------------

Location:

La Loge de la Concierge

1er etage

14 rue du Pont-Neuf

75001 Paris

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website