» Fiber http://fernfern.com Sat, 07 Aug 2010 13:28:47 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.6 en hourly 1 168 http://fernfern.com/2007/03/08/168-%e4%b8%80%e5%85%ad%e5%85%ab/ http://fernfern.com/2007/03/08/168-%e4%b8%80%e5%85%ad%e5%85%ab/#comments Fri, 09 Mar 2007 01:21:41 +0000 Sheau http://fernfern.an-ether-mill.com/2007/03/08/168-%e4%b8%80%e5%85%ad%e5%85%ab/ 168168 - Artist Statement

168168

168168

168168

168168

Artist Statement:

The concept of 168 is a visual metaphor of the concepts of time, cycle of nature and Yin and Yang. It is also a record of my tea drinking over a period of one hundred and sixty-eight days. The installation consists of a tea book scroll, woven monofilament and scattered loose tea. In this context, the tea scroll represents time/cycle; the woven monofilament represents sky; the loose tea represents earth; and the dark gallery space represents the universe that contains all three elements in one. The tea book scroll was constructed using one hundred and sixty-eight used tea bags that were consumed by me. The tea bags were arranged from light to dark to portray a constant cycle of time from sunrise to sunset or changes of seasons. 168 was chosen based on the total number of years of my age and my parents’ age to further exemplify the concept of time passing from one generation or one cycle to the next. The progression from lightness to darkness also symbolizes the harmony of the Yin and Yang. In Taoist philosophy, Yin and Yang are the two primal forces or modes of creation in the natural world. When each force reaches its extreme it produces a seed of the opposite and thus creates a never ending cycle of growth and change. Yin connotes Darkness, Moon, Night, Female, Autumn, & Winter. Yang connotes Light, Sun, Day, Male, Spring, & Summer. In a nutshell, 168 is a journal of my tea drinking as well as a complex visual contemplation of how time functions in relationship to the physical and metaphysical world. Time can be interpreted in fragments of seconds, minutes, hours, days, months, years or something completely beyond our interpretation of a concept of time.

Location: San Jose State University, Black Gallery, Art Building
Exhibition Dates: March 12th – March 16, 2007
Reception: Tuesday, March 13th, 2007, 6:00 – 8:00 PM
Gallery Hours: Tuesday & Thursday 12:30 – 6:30 PM


]]> http://fernfern.com/2007/03/08/168-%e4%b8%80%e5%85%ad%e5%85%ab/feed/ 1 Documenation – Some of my artwork http://fernfern.com/2006/11/19/documenation-some-of-my-artwork/ http://fernfern.com/2006/11/19/documenation-some-of-my-artwork/#comments Sun, 19 Nov 2006 22:58:16 +0000 Sheau http://fernfern.an-ether-mill.com/2006/11/19/documenation-some-of-my-artwork/ silkcreen

Silkcreen & stitching.

Cotton & teabags

Cotton & teabags, from my stitching journal.

Natural Dye Documentation

Documentation of my experiment with natural dyes on tea bags, from my stitching journal.

Natural Dyes
This semester, I am experimenting with natural dyes in my weaving class. So far, I have tried tea, onion skins, jamaica and eucalyptus. For my silkscreen class, I explore making silkscreen designs on canvas with threads and then handstitched more threads on the surface to make the designs more complex and dynamic.

]]> http://fernfern.com/2006/11/19/documenation-some-of-my-artwork/feed/ 0 Stitching Journal http://fernfern.com/2006/08/25/stitching-journal/ http://fernfern.com/2006/08/25/stitching-journal/#comments Sat, 26 Aug 2006 00:13:18 +0000 Sheau http://fernfern.an-ether-mill.com/2006/08/25/stitching-journal/ This week, I started going to a weaving class and my professor would like us to keep a journal for the class. Just so happened that I found this beautiful handmade paper journal in a local thrift store recently; and, I am happy that now I can make good use of it. The papers have very nice quality that is more like fabric or leather. It inspires me to keep a stitching journal….a journal without my handwriting. The first assignment in the class is to think of a word to share with the class. I have been thinking about “roots”. Root as in origins as well as source of energy. This is a collage with photocopy of an old photo of my brothers and me with hand stitching and stamping of the word “roots”.
Roots - Photo Side

]]> http://fernfern.com/2006/08/25/stitching-journal/feed/ 1 Art show – Cafe Barrone http://fernfern.com/2006/08/05/art-show-cafe-barrone/ http://fernfern.com/2006/08/05/art-show-cafe-barrone/#comments Sat, 05 Aug 2006 17:01:51 +0000 Sheau http://fernfern.an-ether-mill.com/2006/08/05/art-show-cafe-barrone/ My coworker Lissa was invited to show her work at Cafe Barrone in Menlo Park. And, she generously invited Jo, my other coworker, and me to show some of our work too! The artwork will be there from July 23 to September 9, 2006.

Cafe Barrone - Artshow

Untitled: July 2006

The piece I put in the show is an extension from my previous work Lucid Thread. For this piece, I explored and experimented different textures on the surface with threads by hand stitching & couching. The figure was painted with incense powder and tea diluted with brown fabric paint. The original concept for Lucid Thread revolves around the ambiguity of presence and absence, duality and coexistence. The concept derived from a childhood portrait of me in Malaysia. It serves as a reflection of my life up until this point. Also, I am interested in the idea of living in two worlds. As a Malaysian born Chinese currently residing in the United States, I often find myself reflecting on my own roots and the feeling of being in two places at once. Space suddenly becomes borderless and the two worlds start to merge into one.

Lucid Thread

Lucid Thread: May 2006

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