Timothy J Arand-McIlrath's "A Fiber Artist's Journey, 50 Years of Making Fiber Art" at Arts on Grand!

All Artwork illustrated ©Timothy J Arand-McIlrath

"A Fiber Artist's Journey, 50 Years of Making Fiber Art" . 2016 Artisans Road Trip Artist Timothy J Arand-McIlrath's exhibition featuring artwork from his longtime love affair with fiber, will be at Arts on Grand in Spencer IA, Dec 28, 2016 through Jan 28, 2017. Everyone is invited to an opening reception on January 5^th  from 5:30pm to 7:00pm.  Tim will give an artist talk about the different phases and approaches he has explored.

Tim is planning to relocate to Tucson, Arizona, so it is a bittersweet time for the art community.  He has been a longtime member of the Artisans Road Trip and has been involved in activities Pearson Lakes Art Center, and he has exhibited at Arts on Grand in the past.  The show affords a great opportunity for people to purchase a piece of Tim's work, a tangible memory of his time in NW Iowa.

"Throughout my 50 years as a professional artist I have produced and exhibited my artwork in national/international juried, regional, state and local exhibitions. I have had an incredible "love affair" with fiber and fabric and see myself keeping on creating new artwork as long as possible."

Tim Arand-McIlrath - "A Fiberartist Journey- 50+Years of Making Fiberart"

Tim Arand-McIlrath has an exhibit of his work currently on view at the Clear Lake Arts Center, Clear Lake IA. The exhibit "A Fiberartist Journey- 50+Years of Making Fiberart" will be on view through Oct.3, 2017. 

Fiberart has been my artistic expression for most of my life. Color, texture and the "feel" of fabric have always been important to me. In an undergraduate printmaking course, I was first exposed to the idea for printing on fabric. My graduate study led to exposure to many possibilities for making fiberart. My skills as a print and dye artist developed, as well as being exposed to the creative uses of crochet. 

My journey as a fiberartist has had four sections.  I began my creative exploration using photographic images and repeat pattern to screen print textiles. My artistic output included primarily yardages, hangings and quilts. 

The need for more dimensional work led me to feltmaking. My use of feltmaking included felting wool fiber unto wool fabric, producing highly textured surfaces because of the shrinkage. The concept of layering and exposing under layers was a major part of my journey with felt. 

Initially, my interest in building three dimensional forms came from the need to learn basketmaking for my teaching. I began building forms, then began inhabiting the forms with crocheted webs and eventually incorporating found objects. 

Upon retirement I took a break from art making but eventually my artistic nature led me to begin again, starting with painting but quickly led to using crochet to embellish the painted surface. Eventually I began revisiting my screen printed fabric and adding crocheted surfaces to create new artistic exressions. I found myself being really attracted to the many different approaches that are used to create fabric for clothing. This led me to recycling fabric from garments as backgrounds and creating new environments using crocheted yarn over the fabric backgrounds. 

I have had an incredible "love affair" with fiber and fabric and see myself keeping on creating new artwork as long as possible.

2016 A.R.T. Artist Timothy J. Arand-McIlrath's Mixed Media Fiber Art Featured in Sioux Center, IA

 "Unsquared" - pieced fabric, chrocheted yarn -  copyright Timothy J Arand-McIlrath

 

Timothy J Arand-McIlrath's Mixed Media fiber art will be featured in the Garden Cafe at Sioux Center Health, Sioux Center Iowa for the months of April, May, and June.

 

"Entwined I & II" - acrylic paint, crocheted yarn - copyright Timothy J Arand-McIlrath

 

In the two dimensional pieces, the backgrounds are painted with acrylic paint, surface designed fabrics, and recently recycled fabrics from garments, sometimes embellished with found objects. The foregrounds have crocheted webs introduced onto the compositions.  Color, texture, repetition, and pattern have always been strong elements in the work. The compositions are based on my observations of the world around us.

(Gallery installation) - copyright Timothy J Arand-McIlrath

Folk art has long been an area of interest for me, as a source of inspiration. I have researched and collected folk art in all my travels.I have spent extended visits to Mexico and in particular to the Oaxaca area. The color, texture and freedom of expression have  always fascinated me.

I have been "accused" of having too much fun creating my art. Not possible in my world. Having fun is one of the prime motivators in my work. I love having viewers smile. I smile a lot while I am working on my art.

See You at the Side Street Gallery in Arnolds Park!

Artists to meet and greet at the Side Street Gallery's

Open House Saturday - June 20, 2015!

"©" the artists work shown - upper left - clock-wise: Linda Fries, 

Timothy J. Arand-McIlrath, Barb McGee, Deb Manly, Holly Zinn, 

Karen Ruddy, Marisa Sidles, Irene McCoy, Bruce Morrison, (center) Hank Hall.

Meet and greet artists of the 2015 Artisans Road Trip this Saturday (June 20) afternoon (Noon-5PM) at the Side Street Gallery in Arnolds Park, Iowa!  Stop by and see the works of the artists, ask questions or just join in celebrating the 35th anniversary of the Side Street Gallery and the retirement of the gallery founder Mari Stewart!  The Side Street Galley will close for the season in July and open again next spring under new ownership.

 

Plan a day at the Lakes - there is plenty to do and enjoy!  And be sure to stop by the Side Street Gallery and enjoy the best artwork the region has to offer!

 

Hope to see you there!

2014 A.R.T. Artist is September Exhibition Cove Artist at a Piece Of Work, INC.

"Breezy" - printed fabric, crocheted yarn, 24x 36"

© Tim Arand-McIlrath

Timothy J. Arand-McIlrath will be showing this summer's collection of new 2 D artwork and a small collection of recent 3D works. All of the 2D work uses recycled fabric from garments as backgrounds. The artist will be giving an artists talk at A Piece of Work about 6:10-6:15. Art on 16th (around the corner from A Piece of Work ) will also be featuring his work as well and  will be open until at least 7:30p.m.

Artwork © Tim Arand-McIlrath

Tim's artwork will be on display throughout the calendar month of September at A Piece of Work, Inc. in Spirit Lake, Iowa.  You can see more about Timothy J. Arand-McIlrath's work at the 2014 A.R.T. website at - http://www.artisansroadtrip.com/Timothy%20McIlrath.htm

 Remember the 2014 Artisans Road Trip is fast approaching - coming up this October 11 and 12 - enjoy the beautiful autumn in NW Iowa and the wonderful artwork of the 2014 A.R.T.!!!

Two 2014 Artisans Road Trip Artists at the "Paint the Iowa Great Lakes" Plein Air Painting Exhibition!

Top two works (Acrylic paint, crocheted yarn) - ©Timothy J Arand-McIlrath

Bottom work (Acrylic painting) -  ©Marisa Sidles

The Pearson Lakes Art Center in Okoboji Iowa features two A.R.T. Artists, Marisa Sidles (Terril) and Timothy J Arand-McIlrath (Okoboji) as two of the participants in the "Paint the Iowa Great Lakes" Plein Air Painting Exhibition. The exhibition of painting done in the open air style will be on view through Oct 11th in the Pearson Lakes Art Center's Weaver Lobby Gallery.

 "Looking Down- Heuchera/Moneywort"

Acrylic paint, crocheted yarn, 12”W x 12”H - ©Timothy J Arand-McIlrath

Arand-McIlrath has four works in the exhibit and has chosen the concept of "looking down" as a theme for his plein air works for this exhibition. His works are acrylic paint combined with crocheted yarn. Juror Dennis Dykema selected "Looking Down- Heuchera/Moneywort" as second place winner in the exhibition.

 Look for Arand-McIlrath's artwork during  Artisan Roadtrip 2014 at the Pearson Lakes Art Center.  You can see more about Timothy J Arand-McIlrath's work at the 2014 A.R.T. website at - http://www.artisansroadtrip.com/Timothy%20McIlrath.htm

 

 "The Trail At Lakeside Lab"

Acrylic painting - ©Marisa Sidles

Marisa Sidles has 2 works in the exhibit and has gone "outside" her comfort zone to create her plein air works for this exhibition. Her acrylic paintings include bright and bold colors creating a landscape of trees. Juror Dennis Dykema selected "The Trail At Lakeside Lab" as an honorable mention in the exhibition. Dykema referenced her bold use of color and painting style as having an innocent familiar quality of the "le fauves" (wild beasts) of the early 1900s.

Look for Marisa's artwork during  Artisan Roadtrip 2014 at her Studio in Terril, IA. And you can see more about the work of Marisa Sidles at the 2014 A.R.T. website at - http://www.artisansroadtrip.com/MarisaSidles.htm

 Stop by the The Pearson Lakes Art Center in Okoboji and catch the exhibition through October 11th - which is also the first day of the 2014 Artisans Road Trip this year!!!

Remember the 2014 Artisans Road Trip this October 11 and 12 - enjoy the beautiful crisp fall air and the wonderful artwork of the 2014 A.R.T.!!!

2014 A.R.T. Artist - Timothy J. Arand-McIlrath in "Past and Future" Exhibition - Ruth Davis Design Gallery, University of Wisconsin - Madison,WI

2014 Artisans Road Trip artist Timothy J. Arand-McIlrath writes - " I am very pleased that twelve pieces of my current artwork are included in an exhibition at the Ruth Davis Design Gallery at the University off Wisconsin Madison. The exhibition will be on view from June 19- August 8. The exhibit features the work of three alumni who pursued professional careers in the arts  and  student work. There will be a closing reception on Aug 8 from 1:30-3:30pm during which I will be giving a gallery talk.

The gallery link is  http://sohe.wisc.edu/what-we-do/design-gallery/  The gallery Facebook page is:  https://www.facebook.com/UWMadisonDesignGallery

If you are in the area, please check out the exhibit. I would love to see you at the closing reception Aug. 8."

Thank you for stopping by to learn more about the artists of the 2014 Artisans Road Trip - check back again soon!

2014 A.R.T. Artists Juried Into "Weather Permitting"!

A sampling of artwork from "Weather Permitting"!

(Copyrighted work of the following artists - upper left/clockwise:

Anita (Katie) Baedke-Plucker, Judy Hemphill, and 'bottom' Bruce Morrison)

-click on image for a larger view-

"Weather Permitting" - an exhibit with several A.R.T. artists participating, began this week at Arts on Grand in Spencer, Iowa! This is a great exhibit - who needs to dwell on "just" winter now?!  This exhibit has it all - fair weather, stormy weather, after the storm, cold weather, warm weather, you name it and it is fun!

2014 Artisans Road Trip artists participating in "Weather Permitting" are - Joanne Alberda, Robert Ansorge, Judy Hemphill, Barb McGee, Timothy J. Arand-McIlrath, Bruce Morrison, and Anita (Katie) Baedke-Plucker.

"Weather Permitting" has an public opening reception on Thursday, March 13th from 5-7 p.m. and the exhibition runs through April 5th.  

Contact Arts on Grand for more information!