Luna Fiber Artist Blog

October 23rd, 2016

10/23/2016

Working artist...Canvas building

I'm busy in the wood shop building new cradled wood panels for art work planned for this winter. My medium is fiber art, specifically, torn paper collage paintings.
I layer lots of paper and glue and more paper and glue on my artwork, so the canvas needs to be a solid, durable substrate. The wood canvases hold great for the weight of the material--traditional fabric canvases tend to sag.

There's a lot of "working artist" work that I don't like--namely, paper work and accounting. But wood shop work is totally different--I love the step by step process of building my art canvases! I usually build six to ten panel canvases at a time, so it takes a lot of forethought to consider what sizes to build for the subjects I have in mind.

My canvases: I use quarter inch birch high grade plywood for the canvas surface and create the cradle--the support structure--from quality one-by (1"x2" sticks, usually 8' long). The sheets come in 4'x8' panels which I have cut down to rough canvas sizes at the building store. I re-cut the sheet edges at home--making cleaner cuts and squaring up pieces.
When attaching the top sheet to the cradle support, I glue and air staple. Once the glue dries, the finished canvas is super strong and durable.

The staples in the canvas are covered with plastic bond material and sanded after drying. Then the panel is ready to seal with primer paint--important given the wood panel must hold up to lots of wet glue and paper.

Once sanded and sealed, the final canvas is ready for art work--my favorite part!

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October 17th, 2016

10/17/2016

1 Comment

art apparel. affordable. many sizes.

Artisan-styled clothing for women of all sizes at affordable places?
YES!
Introducing DAMES…

I'm proud to introduce the DAMES Dolman Sweater and Dolman Tee Blouse featuring original art by ME--Kris Grover of Luna Fiber Artist Company! The Dolman (meaning bat-wing shape) is a wider top which tapers down to the waist with a front hem well below the belly button and back hem covering the bottom. Both the Dolman Sweater and Dolman Tee Blouse are styled in a beautiful cut and are comfortable, stylish and flattering on women of ALL sizes. ORDER PAGE

The Dolman Sweater is a SUPER soft, light knit fabric which is looser in the overall cut than the blouse and hangs lower over the bottom for a fashionable look with leggings, jeans or dressed up. It’s perfect over a light tee or long sleeve.

Kris shows the Dolman Sweater featuring her original art design, Baltimore Oriole.

If you’ve shopped artist apparel before, you know that the largest “artisan clothing” sizes aren’t really large at all and the costs start at hefty prices! Us “dames” are here to change that! We’re working to create beautiful artisan-styled clothing…at affordable prices!

The Dolman Tee Blouse, a poly/cotton blend, is loose and light, tapering to a light fit around the waist. It’s perfect over a light tee or cami for dressing up or casual wear.
Take me to the order page.

Kris shows the Dolman Tee Blouse featuring her original art design, Baltimore Oriole.

The Dolman Sweater and Dolman Tee Blouses come in eight of my most popular original torn paper collage paintings:
Baltimore Oriole, Bee, Hummingbird, Two Orioles, Boxer Dog, Monarch, Purple Martin, and Owl.
Click on image to go to the shopping page for that item.

Baltimore Oriole

Bee One

Monarch on Coneflower

Big Boxer

Purple Martin

Owl

Two Orioles

Hummingbird

Here’s more good news: The Dolman Sweater and the Dolman Tee Blouse are both a 70%poly/30% cotton blend which make them perfectly suitable to wash in cold water and tumble dry on permanent press.

At the DAMES label by Luna Fiber Artist Company, we're working to make artisan-style clothing affordable. The custom Dolman Tee Blouse comes in sizes up to women’s size 16 and is $39 (excl tax) plus shipping/handling. Please check size charts carefully as each top is a custom order and cannot be returned.

The Dolman Tee Blouse

The super soft Dolman Sweater comes in sizes up to women’s size 18/20 and is $49 (excl tax) plus shipping and handling. Please check size charts carefully as each top is a custom order and cannot be returned. Click HERE to order.

The Dolman Sweater

Where do I order? Right here....
www.rr1artndesign.com/luna-fiber--kris-grover.html

So how do we do it? My friend and fellow artist, Shanna, helps me create these beautiful artisan-styled Dolman Sweaters and Dolman Tee Blouses. She print dyes each individual top on a silk-screen press using a permanent dye at her art company, Rural Route 1: Art & Design. Shanna takes great care to position the artwork on each top so the design and flow of the art match up creatively with the hemline and overall shape of the top. The results are beautiful!

So you know, we source the Dolman Sweater and Dolman Tee Blouse from a point-of-manufacturer in China. This is the only location that we're able to find this particular style and the blend we like. We're still researching for American-made options and will let you know of changes.

We're proud of the fact that we're a couple of women-owned companies from Iowa-USA working to make artisan-styled clothing for women--of all sizes--affordable.

Are there other designs to choose from? Yes, just about any Luna Fiber artwork can be created on a Dolman Sweater or Dolman Tee Blouse. There is a small fee for selecting a design other than the eight styles offered. To learn more, leave a message with us at rr1artndesign@gmail.com.

At DAMES, we're dames working to help dames. Thank you for stopping by! We hope you shop the Dolman Sweater and Dolman Tee Blouse and let us know what you think! ORDER PAGE.

Artfully yours, Kris Grover, A DAME
from Luna Fiber Artist Co.

DAME (def): The title given to a woman equivalent to the rank of a knight.

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Loose and lively at Luna

9/12/2016

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The start of a new cow piece

I'm getting ready to go on a wonderful camping vacation, which means I need to concentrate right now in the Luna Fiber studios, under-painting some new cradled wood canvases to feature compositions completed in torn paper collage. The under-paintings ride along in the camper, waiting for me to apply the finish paper work in the outdoors of beautiful wooded locations. Each piece is a little different--here I'm doing a piece which is loose and fast and just suggests the final painting.

This new cow piece shows as a bit dark and murky--the final composition will be colorful and vibrant. I lay in shadow and highlight in these early steps to help guide my painting process.

Cow highlights and shadows

I decided that the Sunflowers series needed some friends. On the easel is "Lilac Bouquet" and a larger piece called "Wildflowers". There's always a magical zen time to the working of an under-painting: the loose and fast format allows a relaxed yet frenzied creativity. Perfection isn't the goal--getting the general feel for the piece is the overall goal.

Lilac Bouquet under-painting

Lilacs are one of my favorite flowers. I love collecting big bouquets of these fragrant flowers in each summer. I'm painting the bouquet here as if someone has handed it to me.

Bold brushing for Wildflowers

Before I work in the subject matter, I use big bold strokes of the brush to create the outdoor background: Sky with clouds, branches with wispy leaves, birds with feathery bodies. This joyful time is accomplished with a wide flat brush--no need for detail marks yet.

Prepping the sky background for "Wildflowers"

"Wildflowers" -under-painting. Sometimes I like the painting so well I consider not papering over. I'm always glad when I do, though. Stay tuned for how "Wildflowers", "Lilacs" and the newest bovine come along!

"Wildflowers" under-painting. Big brush strokes, loose paint, quick lines.

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October 23rd, 2016

Working artist...Canvas building

October 17th, 2016

art apparel. affordable. many sizes.

Loose and lively at Luna

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kris grover

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