New Beaded work at Red Sky Gallery

Great News!

The Red Sky Gallery in Charlotte is showing a collection of my beadwork! Click over and search for Janet Lasher on their search tab!

This collection of beaded brooches using large cabochons, Austrian crystals, semi-precious stones, and pearls.

Each piece is unique designed to accentuate the cabochon stone. These vary in size from about 2.5" to 4" across. I start with the special stone and a small collection of beads, crystals, pearls, and stones - beading a bezel around the stone to hold it firmly in place, and then begin to embellish the piece until it feels done. Then I finish up with a beaded picot edge and back with coordinating deer leather.

I love to work in this small scale playing with repetition and color. One bead at a time.

Natural Turquoise, coin & baroque pearls, Swarovski Crystals

Chinese Chalk Turquoise, coin, baroque and rice pearls, glass mirror, Swarovski crystals

Chystaphase, glass mirror, baroque & fancy pearls.

I am happy to expand the collection of brooches that started using small divine feminine faces- like this one I worked on this past fall.



I usually work on this type of embellished beadwork a few hours a day, so the series will continue. What fun to play with such small pieces of beauty.

Texture & Fiber Art for the Visually Impaired

Late last month, I was asked to teach an art workshop for the Charlotte Art League that was in conjunction with the group's October exhibition: Beyond Sight.

I had exhibited a few pieces of my fiber work including: a hand stitched and bound book. I have been working using the book form for awhile and find that it allows me to present to the viewer an intimate experience with the work - similar to the one that I have when making the pieces.

The book is meant to be read by the touch of the hand - and all the pages are either stitched with textures and patterns or mediums are used to make texture. All the pages were then encased in encaustic medium. The encaustic is a combination of beeswax and resin and makes the paper translucent and sturdy while allowing all the relief to remain clear to the touch.


While the intent of this book was to create a piece that is pleasing to the touch it is also quite interesting to look at.

In the class, I taught fiber knotting techniques used in ancient Peru and stitch on paper. We all made stitch patterns similar to the ones in my book.

We all had great fun and made amazing pieces. I had a great time and really enjoyed the opportunity to "see" fiber art from a whole new perspective.

I have been working using the book form for awhile and find that it allows me to present to the viewer an intimate experience with the work - similar to the one that I have when making the pieces.

Artists' Forum at the Mint Museum tomorrow night

Please come hear my good friend Susan Brubaker-Knapp and I at the

Mint Museum 2730 Randolph Road, Charlotte
tomorrow evening December 1st, 7-8:30pm for a discussion of our fiber art.

This program is presented through the Mint Museum's First Tuesdays forum and is free to all. We will be talking about our artistic approach, techniques and slides of our work. Q&A will follow the slide presentations.

More about Susan at www.bluemoonriver.com and more about Janet at www.janetalasher.com

This program is being offered in conjunction with the exhibition American Quilt Classics 1800-1980: The Bressler Collection which will hang through February 6th, 2010.

Illuminated Banners Installed at the UUCC

What is new in my studio?? Lots! I will start with my installation in August.

Last month, I finished and installed a set of banners for the Unitarian Universalist Church of Charlotte. This installation marked the beginning of the UUCC's "Cycle of Worship" for the 2009-2010 year. In this cycle the second Sunday of month the UUCC service is dedicated to a significant theme to focus and increase our awareness and understanding of the lives of the members. Particularly how to nurture ourselves, our families, our community, our earth, and our universe.

I created this set of five banners each 7.5 feet tall and 62 inches wide to hang in the vestibule of the church.

After some discussion with the minister, Jay Leach, I chose to use a combination of the dictionary definitions of each theme and overlaid a set of illuminated words. My thought was to depict the many ways we learn to understand these topics and to understand the depth of each lexicon, the usage, and the mystery of each theme.

My process began with five lengths of white pima cotton, each was dyed twice in a soft mottling pattern to create the look of old, stained parchment. Then using thickened dye, I screen printed the definitions of each theme word using similar margins, typeface, and spacing that are found in dictionaries. Each of these dye processes take 24 hours to complete to create dye-fast color on the fabric.


In the past few months of traveling I stumbled upon 4 different exhibitions of illuminated manuscripts all over the country. This gave me a chance to see the different types of illuminations and get an idea of the feel for the documents. My versions are no were near the detail or perfection of hand the historic documents I saw - they were so intimate and fragile. But I did get a chance to see many styles and then did quite a bit of research on illuminated manuscripts. Taking my lead from a style using trailing vines and leaves I designed the letters that I needed for this project. I enlarged the sketches and transferred them to the yardage. I then hand illuminated the large initials and the text lettering.



I choose to install each banner wrinkled intentionally to further create the look of old parchment manuscripts.

The banners will hang in the UUCC through August 2010.

My work featured in Charlotte Observer

The first exhibition hung by the 5 artist members of the Charlotte Artery included about 50 pieces of art. The exhibition was a great success we had our "soft" opening on Thursday night the 24th also showed on the 25th and last weekend helped round out the First Friday Gallery crawl in Charlotte with that show.

I am one of 5 artist members of this group which consists of painters, printmakers, mixed media and fiber artists. Our diverse art makes these exhibitions varied and interesting. We have been awarded a grant from the Arts and Science Council to present 6 exhibitions to the public making use of alternative spaces as galleries. This has been a great learning experience for all of us, maybe by the end of May we will have our hands around all of the tasks needed to present a cohesive exhibition starting from bare wall spaces.

The audience for the show was quite diverse and included Barbara Schreiber from ChARTnews and Creative Loafing and Linda Luise Brown. Brown interviewed us while at the exhibition for the Charlotte Observer and her article http://www.charlotteobserver.com/165/story/978297.html which appeared in the October 1st Style section, was a great boost for our small Charlotte artist movement.

What was additionally exciting for me was that the paper selected the picture of my beaded reliquary "Ix Chel" to print along with the text from the images we sent to the paper.

It is great that fiber and mixed media art is being shown in the local press. I got this piece back from the 2009 Bead International Show a few months ago. I am glad to have it back at least for a little while.

We were also asked to participate with WFAE in the Trolley Museum event with another exhibition - for one night on the 2nd of October. So we re-scoured our portfolio of work and pulled together ANOTHER show of about the same size to hang last Thursday.

Our next show is tentatively scheduled for mid-November - right before Thanksgiving. I am headed out to the studio to make more art.

More news from the studio soon. -janet

You are invited to an Art Opening

I just got back from hanging the first exhibition of the Charlotte Artery!

All the work looks really great.

I have a nice collection of art cloth,, embroidered pieces and a beaded reliquary that is just back from the Bead International 2009 show.

If you are in Charlotte - please stop by and see the exhibit.–janet

Opening September 24-25th & October 2nd

6-9pm

at the North Carolina Music F

actory

hosted by the Lesbian and Gay Community Center

820 Hamilton Street

Charlotte NC

With the help from a grant from the North Carolina Arts Council and the Arts and Science Council, a small group of artists have come together with a mission to integrate the Arts community within Charlotte. The Charlotte Artery will conduct a series of six exhibitions at different locations over the next year. Their plan is to transform alternative spaces into temporary art galleries for shows that highlight some of the talent that resides here in the Queen City.

Please join us for our first exhibitions on September 24th from 6-9pm at the North Carolina Music Factory in the Lesbian & Gay Center community room. This exhibition will include hand-pulled prints, paintings and fiber art. The exhibit will also be open to the public September 25th and October 2nd for the Gallery Crawl.