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

    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

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

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

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!