This amazing show turns 50 years old this season.
A cornerstone of Tempe civic pride since 1968, the Tempe Festival of the Arts has had all the usual ups, downs, and sideways distractions of big regional art fairs. If you’re in the Tempe AZ area this upcoming weekend (Nov 30-Dec 2, 2018), stop by Mill Avenue and the surrounding streets. It’s worth the traffic!
Twice a year since 2010, I’ve worked closely with representatives of the Tempe Downtown Foundation to design the fiber art award ribbons for the Festival. I make the Best of Show, Best Booth Display, Young Artist, Chalk Artist, category listings, and Honorable Mention awards all at the same time, of the same materials. They just vary in size and complexity from 9×3″and 16×4″ to 20×5″.
This year I also made a portfolio piece for the Tempe Downtown Foundation to display in their offices. (They purchase Featured Artists’ work often, so make a date to stop by their offices and see a charming and inspirational glimpse of the Festival’s best-of-the-best.)
Usually, we riff on the chosen show poster or that show’s Featured Artist’s work. This fall show’s poster is lovely, but didn’t translate easily into the available fiber materials, processes, and design-build timeframe. (Translated from artspeak: ‘Marian doesn’t have an embroidery machine yet, just her old Elna.’)
But wait…I always have a fallback plan. Or three.
Inspired by our stunning Arizona sunsets, we adapted the Arizona State Flag and referenced some of the Bohemian colors and textures of 1968. The sunburst sky of the flag became angled blocks radiating from either side.
The resulting ribbons contain two-tone color changing taffeta in shades of burnt orange, purple, blue, copper, bronze, gold, coral, and scarlet.
Vintage silk constructed fabric adds blocks of deeper red and sewn metallic accents.
An Arizona Star in coppery-orange cotton sateen applique unifies the pieces.
Glass beads in harmonious colors are sewn over the center areas of each ribbon.
Approximately 80% of the fabric for this show’s ribbons was recycled/re-used material: IKEA sheeting, white linen scraps from a local art framer, white felt for quilt batting from a garage sale, a vintage Chico’s silk jacket, bags of crushed satin and two-tone taffeta from Goodwill, and lots of thrift-store glass beads (plus bits of my 33-year-old bead stash). Even some of the thread came from a thrift store find.
This wasn’t intentional, just an outgrowth of my scavenging ways and eye for potentially useful materials. Some of the fabric and beads were acquired a decade or more ago!
Each ribbon has linen gel-transfer printed show labels, category listings, and the show year sewn into place. (The tricks I learned from this round of gel transfers on linen will be applied to an Egyptology-themed piece in the near future.)
Each ribbon is finished with a cotton backing in a muted purple-brown cotton muslin, polyester grosgrain ribbon ties, and sewn-on metal pinbacks for easy display or wear.
Yes, wear. Apparently some of the winning artists use theirs for ties and neckpieces during the show!
I’m very happy with the way these turned out.
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