Artist Deborah Naremore will be in this year’s Beyond The Fringe.

What is your artistic background?
I have always loved to create. My first “art show” was when I was six and won a blue ribbon at our school art show. Later on in life I received my degree in Fashion and Interior Design. Over my adult life I dabbled in many mediums but I would usually find a way to incorporate fiber into my work. When I discovered felting – we were the perfect fit for one another.

Why did you choose the medium of fiber to express yourself?
I love the alchemy of felting. The beauty of taking a “raw” product and creating a new fabric. For me it is the same as taking a base metal and turning it to gold.

What is your process from original idea to finished piece?
I generally work off of my “first” idea. I find for me going with my first initial instinct is best. I usually just allow myself to be guided by the fibers. Occasionally I will sketch something out and work from there, but even then it seems to transform into what the fibers want to be.

What do you love about fiber art? What do you find frustrating?
I love working with color, texture and the manipulation that fiber art allows me. The frustrating part – time to create all the projects that fill my creative mind.

What is your artistic vision?
To create with joy and happiness for I find solace and peace when I allow myself to be in a creative space. I am in close communication with my true self and remember who my authentic self is. I create with abandon, make art from the heart and want to share my passion with others.

How did you find that vision?
Living life in the moment, being present and moving to Taos to immerse myself in the natural beauty found here.

What challenges you as an artist?
Not enough hours in the day

How do you handle personal road blocks in your artwork?
If I am having a block, I find it helpful to spend a day with another medium, such as weaving or knitting, or taking time for a long walk.

Where do you find inspiration?
Life experiences, nature – from the mountains, skies and ocean

Let’s say you have a huge grant to build an art piece of your dreams. What would you make?
It would depend on the moment.

Do you have any upcoming projects or art shows this year?
Upcoming projects – some ocean inspired wall pieces. No upcoming art shows scheduled at this time, but would love to participate in more area shows.

How can people contact you?
Deborah Naremore
dnaremore @ yahoo.com
(575)779-6806
(832)643-7072

The Beyond the Fringe 2011 postcards are in! Here’s what they look like:

I’ll be passing them out around town this week. If you’ll be in Taos late March why not come to the reception?

The show’s almost here! I’m knitting like a madwoman.

Abbey sent me some sneak peek pictures of her latest work.

This piece is called Mind Dancers.

Merce sent me some pictures of past artwork.

Carix
7 x 41 x 20
wool fleece, natural dyes, copper, allium(plant); handfelted, crocheted. 2010

Briza
6 x 15 x 6
wool fleece, natural dyes, copper wire; handfelted, handstitched, crocheted. 2010

These pieces were in the Seed art show in Taos last year.

Artist Mary Lyon will be in this year’s Beyond The Fringe.

What is your artistic background?
I have a degree in art history but have only been doing art myself in the last ten years, all pretty much self-taught.

Why did you choose the medium of fiber to express yourself?
I was making traditional quilts but wanted to do something less structured, so I began combining painting with piecing and quilting. Recently, I have been working on three-dimensional pieces.

What is your process from original idea to finished piece?
Generally, I start with an idea and lots of drawings. That way, I have a fairly good idea of where I am going before I even start the actual work. However, there are always modifications and changes before I finish.

What do you love about fiber art? What do you find frustrating?
I love the flexibility-2D or 3D, painted, dyed, embellished, quilted, pieced, sewn-whatever you want to do. Probably the most frustrating is that the finished work is never quite what you had in mind.

What is your artistic vision?
still looking

How did you find that vision?

What challenges you as an artist?
Finding the time to do everything.

How do you handle personal road blocks in your artwork?
Sometimes I know what I want to do, but not the nuts and bolts of how to do it. Then it’s off to the library to look for methods books.

Where do you find inspiration?
everywhere

Let’s say you have a huge grant to build an art piece of your dreams. What would you make?
something large enough that you could walk through it

Do you have any upcoming projects or art shows this year?
constant work for the Las Comadres gallery I am in, but no special projects planned at the moment

How can people contact you?
(575)776-3858 or marylyon @ kitcarson.net

Abbey is make a large art piece for this year’s Beyond The Fringe.

This piece is called The Other Side.

I think her street sign turned out well.

Artist Merce Mitchell is the curator of this year’s Beyond The Fringe and a participating artist.

What is your artistic background?
I had a natural interest in all things artistic as a kid. I got into photography in a serious way, up through college. My major in environmental studies affected my outlook in a deeper way and I decided to explore paper making, which I did for several years. Living in Taos, surrounded by the fiber traditions, eventually led me to feltmaking, and I’ve continued with it for over 18 years now.

Why did you choose the medium of fiber to express yourself?
Finding a natural, non-polluting art form was and is important to me. Connecting to process work and also medium that is based in land, place, environment, tradition all came together in feltmaking for me. Plus, I now realize that my women ancestors infused in me an addiction to all things fiber.

What is your process from original idea to finished piece?
Living with ideas that come to me in various places and times. Just being with the ideas, then starting a piece, the process of creating felt adding to the evolution of an artwork.

What do you love about fiber art? What do you find frustrating?
I love texture, process, threads, connections to womens’ work and feminism as this artform has become contemporary. What I find frustrating is the continual debate or placement of fiber work in the world of art. Although there are more shows, magazines and support, fiber art is still on the fringe of acceptance as far as a medium.

What is your artistic vision?
to push the boundaries of fiberart and the use of felt in my own way.

How did you find that vision?
I have been inspired by other fiber artists whose passionate use of fiber speaks deeply to me. There’s something about fiberart that blows me away when it’s good.

What challenges you as an artist?
Trying new techniques, ways that feltwork can develop or be worked with..also, making something from a vision, but not knowing exactly how it will translate.

How do you handle personal road blocks in your artwork?
I have to give it space; let it swing around and trust answers will come.

Where do you find inspiration?
the patterns in all things, like close up of seeds, the arrangement of molecules and DNA. Chaos theory, vortex energy, how water moves, other artists, music, and translating this human experience.

Let’s say you have a huge grant to build an art piece of your dreams. What would you make?
Probably an environmental piece, outside, made of very large felt pieces stretching across an immense space, interacting with the land, naturally dyed and interactive.

Do you have any upcoming projects or art shows this year?
I will be at the Wool Festival at Taos the first weekend of October, and some shows in the Fall.

How can people contact you?
mercemitchell at hotmail dot com

Terrie Mangat will be in this year’s Beyond The Fringe. She sent me some photos of a commissioned quilt she made last year.

The quilt is titled Water and is 6′ by 8′.

You can see more of her artwork at her website Terrie Studio.