Julie Branch

"For Demeter: Life is Sweet" in Art Doll Quarterly Spring 2012 Issue

2012-01-30T07:02:00.000-05:00

I am pleased to share that Art Doll Quarterly has included my "For Demeter: Life is Sweet" http://juliebranch.blogspot.com/2010/09/for-demeter-life-is-sweet.html in the Feb/March 2012 issue. Thank you to Vincent Giordano of Trinacria Photography for taking the great photos of her!

Trout Dreams in "Reflection" exhibit at Valley Artisans Market

2012-01-11T18:12:00.000-05:00

This piece was inspired by my very active dream life. Around her neck hangs a felted pouch and in it is a small leather book which contains the dream interpretation for "three trout." The garment is rya weaving of dupioni silk, organza, yarn and batiked cotton. Her headpiece is felted wool. The trout are papercaly with spots of gilded gold.
"Trout Dreams" is currently on display in the juried exhibit "Reflection" at Valley Artisans Market in Cambridge, NY. The show runs through February 25th.

"First Snow" in Art Doll Quarterly 2012

2011-11-02T07:57:00.000-04:00

I am delighted that my piece "First Snow" http://juliebranch.blogspot.com/2010/10/first-snow.html is included in the Winter 2012 issue of Art Doll Quarterly. I think that Art Doll Quarterly is the only publication in the United States that focuses exclusively on art dolls which makes it a real treasure. It just so happens that it's release coincides with our first snowfall of the season which we had just a few days ago.

Orianna

2011-10-19T06:43:00.000-04:00

This is Orianna with her goldfinches. This time of year in Upstate New York the goldfinches are busy eating seeds. They especially like to land on the delicate cosmos in my garden. The long slender stem bends gracefully down as they sidle out to the flower head. It is fun to watch their bursts of yellow coming up out of the fields of purple asters and goldenrod.
Orianna's colors were inspired by the rich colors of our fall landscape.

Finn

2011-10-19T06:36:00.000-04:00

This is Finn on his swing. He hangs from the ceiling or anywhere else.

Sophie

2011-10-15T08:07:00.000-04:00

This is Sophie, inspired by Roald Dahl's wonderful character from his book The BFG (Big Friendly Giant). My children loved Roald Dahl's books so this is my tribute to Mr. Dahl and his incredible contribution to childrens' literature. Thank you to Quentin Blake for his amazing illustrations and Stuart Fiedler for the great photograph!

Shadowbox Vignettes for Time Illuminated Show

2011-10-03T17:54:00.000-04:00

The theme for this group show was time or light. I started thinking about "time" and all the sayings we have about it and these are the results. Each one has a working clock in it. The first and last are about 6" x 9" and the middle box is about 7" x 10".

Caption: "Cornelia was at that time in her life when she had finally decided to have the time of her life."

Caption: "Once Upon a Time"

Back view of "Once Upon a Time."

Caption: "Daisy often found, despite her best efforts, that she was running out of thyme"

Back view of "Thyme" (collage of pages from a 1930's recipe book).

Anna House Benefit Piece

2011-08-26T12:28:00.001-04:00

This is a shadowbox that I made to benefit the Belmont Child Care Association's Anna House. Anna House is a child care center for the children of the backstretch workers in Belmont Park. Every year they have a benefit gala in Saratoga Springs with a silent auction of donated items. I was honored to be asked to participate and had fun making this little stable scene full of Saratoga references. The outside of the box is covered in the names of horse, jockeys and trainers from the different races duing the 2011 meet. The box has a working clock and is captioned "It's not who you are that counts, it's how you treat your horse."

Wooly Bears

2011-07-31T14:43:00.000-04:00

What's better than one wooly bear?

A trio of wooly bears! These furry fellows fit nicely in the palm of your hand and can be curled to fit into that perfect little spot.

The Birthday Box

2011-07-22T09:47:00.000-04:00

What could be inside this little box? Open it and find out!

"For Pele: Playing With Fire" Wins People's Choice Award

2011-06-01T13:22:00.000-04:00

I am so pleased to share that Pele won the People's Choice Award at the show in Minnesota:

"For Pele: Playing With Fire" by Julie Branch of Rottedam, NY won the People's Choice Award for the "Figuratively Fiber" exhibition of art dolls. There were lots of votes and our guests had many favorites. Thanks to all the artists who shared their work and to Richard and Jodi Creager, the jurors, who selected such a great diversity of art dolls for the Textile Center to Exhibit. "For Pele: Playing with Fire" was purchased and is now a part of a couple's fiber art collection."
from
Textiles on the Town
Textile Center of Minnesota
Minneapolis, MN
http://juliebranch.blogspot.com/2010_07_01_archive.html

Piece for Hubbard Hall Benefit

2011-04-02T20:31:00.002-04:00

Hubbard Hall is a rural opera house in the lovely town of Cambridge, NY. It was built in 1878 and is the home to Valley Artisans Market, the Village Store and a variety of art, music, drama and dance groups, classes and events. It is supported in large part by the generosity of patrons. Every April they have a benefit and art sale. Artists are given a 6" x 8" board to do with as they please. All work is priced at $133 in honor of Hubbard Hall's 133rd anniversary.

Here is my donation for the April 30th event. It is captioned :

"After the show Mr. H. Hubbard Hall enjoyed relaxing at home with Gilbert and Sullivan"

I added sides to my board and covered it with old Gilbert and Sullivan sheet music. The walls are adorned with posters from the Mikado, Pirates of Penzance, and HMS Pinafore. There is a picture of the actual Hubbard Hall on the fireplace mantle. The playbill from that night's show, the HMS Pinafore, rests in the silver tray along with his opera glasses. There is a real working clock over the fireplace. Mr. H. Hubbard Hall's smoking jacket is made from a vintage silk bow tie. And yes, those are lobsters.

A Story For a Mouse

2011-03-02T15:15:00.002-05:00

As a lover of great stories, mice and those wonderful times when you can sink into a good book and enter another world, I offer this piece up to authors everywhere. Thank you for doing the painstaking work of crafting a good story that we can savor alone or share with a good friend.
This little girl wears a hand felted beret and knit sweater and is sculpted of paperclay that is finished with acrylic and oil paints.

No More Empty Nest: Nestling II

2011-03-01T15:15:00.000-05:00

Continuing with the theme of the empty nest, this nestling joins Nestling I. The nest is woven of a variety of fibers including hand dyed wool, raffia, fabric strips and yarn.

"Figuratively Fiber" Exhibit at the Textile Center of Minnesota

2011-02-26T10:36:00.000-05:00

I am excited that "For Pele: Playing With Fire" has been selected to be in this exhibit in the Joan Mondale Gallery at the Textile Center of Minnesota!

www.textilecentermn.org/

Nestling

2011-02-25T11:01:00.001-05:00

Long winter snowshoe treks in the woods, empty nests piled high with snow and my own empty nest inspired this piece. This nest is woven on a birch branch using a variety of yarns, Icelandic sheep wool, and raffia.

Inside is nestled a little girl. I think of a nest as a haven and refuge, just as art is a haven and refuge.

The Season of Peace, Joy and Gratitude

2010-12-18T12:06:00.000-05:00

This figure is another in the Meditations series. He is wall mounted and wears a knit robe of Italian yarn and an amulet of amber and silver. He is about 11" tall. He joins me in wishing everyone a season of peace, joy and love.

Tomtens and Birds!

2010-11-21T07:41:00.001-05:00

For the Artisan's Showcase at the Sow's Ear Studio and Gallery and the Holiday Show at Valley Artisan's Market these tomtens and felted birds make their seasonal appearance. The tomtens are little Swedish gnomes who are quite mischievous. My Swedish grandmother sent a tomten to us when I was a child and they have been part of my life ever since. They like to have a nice bowl of rice pudding on Xmas Eve as an expression of appreciation for their hard work all year. These little birds and tomtens are available in Cambridge, NY at the Valley Artisan's Market during the month of December.

More Work for JCC

2010-11-01T17:38:00.000-04:00

"Even Mermaids Do Yoga" is another mermaid who came out of nowhere. In this always surprising process of creating these figures every now and then a mermaid pops up. So here she is, doing yoga, with a sand dollar around her neck.

"A Little Bird Told Her" wears a felted beret and her yellow boots and is a bird lover and listener. She wears a necklace of glass beads and a knitted sweater. She is my bird watcher and is my thank you to all of those beautiful songs I hear every morning when I walk in the woods.

"Olivia's Hen" came out of nowhere also. When I sculpt I start with the head and the rest is dictated by the personality that is revealed on the figure's face. In this instance I started with the pose but I had pictured the figure holding something completely different. The next thing I know there is a little girl with a chicken on her head. She reminds me of the little bantam hen I had growing up in Montana.

Sweet Music & Stories for Penguins*

2010-11-01T17:11:00.000-04:00

This little fiddler is another piece that will be on display at the JCC for the next three months. I love violin music, or fiddle music if you are a bluegrass lover like me, and in particular, Norman and Nancy Blake's "Cairo Waltz". That sweet song was running through my head as I created this little fellow.

*There is a disclaimer that goes along with this piece and that is that Emperor penguins live in Antarctica and not where people would normally be found. So I am taking my artistic license firmly in hand and putting these two together in this scene.

New Work for JCC Display: Flight of Fancy

2010-11-01T16:49:00.001-04:00

This is one of several pieces that will be on display at the Jewish Community Center in Niskayuna, NY from November through January. The inspiration for these pieces were the children that go there for daycare and preschool. Reading about the declining creativity in our children (if we can believe everything we read) I thought about all the neat things kids can do that a) don't cost anything and b) get kids into that "state of bliss" and help them cope with whatever is going on in their world.

This piece hangs suspended in flight, her hands clutching two feathers, her eyes closed in the wonderful feeling of flying like a bird.

Shaman Dance II

2010-10-26T13:34:00.000-04:00

This figure was inspired by a big barred owl that swooped in last winter and paid me a visit. This figure wears a woven and fulled garment made of wool roving and yarn. Around his neck he wears an amulet of amber, black quartz and a pheasant feather. He measures 12" x 15" x 6".

Caballo del Fuego

2010-10-19T07:35:00.000-04:00

My lifelong love of horses inspired this piece and several others. It is 18" tall on a 4" x 4" wood base. The head is sculpted from paperclay and painted with acrylics and oils. The mane is raw Shetland sheep wool from a sheep named Pogo! The body is wet felted over a fiberfill core on a steel rod.

Thank you to my daughter, my Spanish language consultant, for translating "Horse of Fire" into the beautiful "Caballo del Fuego" and to Vincent Giordano of Trinacria Photography for the great photos.

First Snow

2010-10-17T12:30:00.000-04:00

"First Snow" was inspired by my daughter's habit of breaking into a spontaneous dance when the first snow fell each year. She started doing it when she was a very little girl and continued it for many years. It didn't matter if we were out in the yard or in a parking lot, when those first flakes fell she would start dancing. It was a great reminder that despite the coming of winter and all it entailed snow is, and always will be, beautiful and something to celebrate.
"First Snow" is 24" x 16" x 6". She wears a knitted sweater, scarf and hat and stands on an oak cabinet that holds a trio of chickadees perched on birch twigs.

For Demeter: Life is Sweet

2010-09-29T11:15:00.000-04:00

This piece was inspired by the story of the Earth Mother Demeter and her daughter Persephone. Persephone's return to earth from the Underworld every spring brings joy to her mother and causes Demeter to shed her garments of winter and mourning and return the earth to growth and abundance.
Demeter wears a coat knit of mohair and hand stitched pants of dupioni silk. She cradles a bouquet of hand felted flowers in her arms. She is approximately 20" tall and hangs on the wall.

Shaman Dance I

2010-09-25T16:11:00.000-04:00

This figure wears a garment of rya woven Lincoln/Romney locks and handspun wool that was fulled after it was woven. He wears a bead and feather amulet and holds birch branches.He is 19" tall and stands on a 6" x 6" oak base.

Frytha and the Snow Goose

2010-09-24T18:21:00.000-04:00

This piece was inspired by Paul Gallico's wonderful story The Snow Goose. The figure is 18" tall and she wears a felted beret, a knit sweater and boots. She cradles the felted Snow Goose in her arms.

New Work for Next Month's Show

2010-09-11T18:15:00.000-04:00

This is a new piece for the show next month at The Sow's Ear Studio and Gallery. It was inspired by my lifelong love of horses and the sky. It is 19" tall and has a clay head with a felted body. The hair is angora goat hair from the Big Sky country, Montana. I am calling it "Caballo de Cielo" which translates to either Horse of Sky or Horse of Heaven as Cielo can mean either sky of heaven.

Five Guys & The Medicine Tree: Felix, Francisco, Fletcher, Fernando & Jake

2010-08-24T07:38:00.000-04:00

These five figures are each about 12" tall and wear hand felted hats and knitted jackets. The medicine tree was inspired by the real Medicine Tree in Montana that was a stop for Native American travellers and people like myself who would stop there and leave offerings and

prayers for safe travel on their journey.

Mooning the Sun

2010-08-10T10:07:00.000-04:00

This piece was made in the spring of this year and as I made him I was thinking of the joy of basking in the sun and the wonderful feeling of the sun on your face. Since then I have learned that in Sweden this is called "mooning the sun" and I can only think that somehow this is my Scandinavian ancestry asserting itself. He sits on a birch log and wears a felted hat and is about 16" high seated. So this one is for my Norwegian, Swedish and Danish ancestors!

Phoebe, Little Bird and Haven

2010-07-29T10:58:00.000-04:00

These three figures were inspired by the wonderful experience of climbing a tree and sitting high above the world in a treetop aerie. The wood is hickory and pine collected from the woods I live in.

For Pele: Playing With Fire

2010-07-18T10:52:00.001-04:00

This is my homage to the Hawaiian Goddess Pele who lives in the volcano Kilauea on the Big Island of Hawaii. I lived in Hawaii when I was a little girl and seeing Kilauea and hearing about Pele made a lasting impression on me. This figure is approximately 30" tall and she wears bracelets and anklets made from lava and a necklace made from lava and coral beads. Coral is one of the first things to grow on new lava reefs so the lava and coral represent the hand in hand relationship of destruction and creation.

The Solace of Trees I & II

2010-07-15T19:39:00.000-04:00

These are two pieces from my current show at the Valley Artisans Market in Cambridge, New York. They are inspired by my love of trees and are a celebration of the comfort they can provide.

Sneak Preview of New Work for Show

2010-06-21T18:10:00.001-04:00

Here's a sneak peek at one of the pieces for my show that opens this Friday. She's wearing a felted hat, knit jacket, silk pants, and a rose quartz amulet. She is 12" high from the top of her hat to the back of her torso. I will be posting more photos of the new work after the show opens.

New Work for This Month's Show

2010-06-03T17:04:00.000-04:00

The studio is a full of new characters waiting to make their big debut at the show at the Valley Artisans Market in Cambridge, NY. The show opens on June 25 with a reception on Saturday, June 26th.

This fellow is wearing a felted robe made from merino roving and silk. He is wearing a turquoise amulet and holds his hands in a prayerful attitude. He is made to hang on the wall and inspires an atmosphere of serenity and gratitude.

Studio in Cloth, Paper, Scissors Studios Magazine

2010-05-18T13:39:00.001-04:00

Thank you to Cloth Paper Scissors Studios magazine for including my studio in their Summer 2010 issue. It goes on the newsstands today. My dear friend and fellow artist, Risa Tritabaugh, is also featured. Here are some additional photos from the photo shoot including Tess (the Wonder Dog, who makes sure I am always working whether it's sculpting or throwing a tennis ball), some of my inspirational and friendly figures and artwork, and a few of my many visual notebooks.

Willow Dance

2010-05-12T14:31:00.001-04:00

This figure measures 20" x 29" and was inspired by the trees surrounding our home in the woods, in particular the graceful branches of the willow trees. Her jacket is woven using the rya technique and incorporates strips of silk, tulle, organza and yarn. She will be exhibited at my show at the Small Gallery at Valley Artisans Market in Cambridge, New York next month. Thanks to Vin and Fran Giordano of Trinacria Photography for the great photos.

Moon Dance

2010-05-06T08:23:00.000-04:00

This figure of a dancing moon in a field of stars and night sky was partly inspired by the idea of "hands like stars" which was something a dear friend of my mother's used to say about babies' hands (you have to imagine it being said with a lovely British accent.) The garment is made of felted wool on hand dyed silk. Thank you to Deborah Pope, a wonderful artist and instructor, who taught me how to felt last summer. You can read more about her and her classes at deborahcpope.typepad.com.

Adele's New Dress

2010-04-30T17:26:00.000-04:00

This is a special figure as the skirt she wears is made from my mother's wedding dress. The beautiful original dress was worn by my mother, a dear friend of hers, and both of my sisters- in- law. Unfortunately, the last person to wear it altered it in such a way that destroyed the original integrity of the dress and so it came to me from my mother with the hopes that I could salvage something of its original beauty. The dress originally had many tiny satin and lace covered buttons running down the back of the bodice. Those were used on the front of the sweater jacket. The original heavy satin, tulle and lace overlays that make up the skirt mimic the design of the original dress. As my mother is named Adele it seemed only fitting to name this piece after her.

Listening for Mermaids

2010-04-14T08:55:00.000-04:00

Anyone who loves the ocean will understand this figure holding a seashell to her ear and listening closely for the sound of mermaids singing.

Blessing Figures

2010-03-31T10:34:00.001-04:00

These little figures are about 8 inches tall and hang on the wall. Each one is unique with individually sculpted heads, hands and feet. They wear knitted robes and handmade amulets. The figure to the left was inspired by the beautiful red rocks of Sedona, Arizona and has freshwater pearl buttons on his robe. The figure to the right was inspired by those wonderful guinea fowl and their beautiful spotted feathers. He wears a bone and bead amulet.

Waiting for Sunrise

2010-03-30T10:37:00.002-04:00

"Waiting for Sunrise" stands waiting for the first light of the morning. She is wrapped in a knitted robe and has her eyes close in anticipation of feeling the warmth of the sun on her face. She was inspired by the beautiful sunrises I see from my home in the woods.

Calling the Crows Home

2010-03-22T17:30:00.001-04:00

"Calling the Crows Home" was inspired by the crows that make their homes in the pines in the woods I live in. The nest inside the base is a scale replica of a crow's nest and contains three replica crow's eggs. She is over three feet tall. This piece is in a private collection.

These photos were taken by Robert Batey of Robert Batey Photography.

The Girl With the Ginger Hair

2010-03-10T04:42:00.000-05:00

Thank you to Robert Batey of Robert Batey Photography for these top two photos. This girl was inspired by a little blue doll dress of my mother's and a photo of my paternal grandmother. She stands on a pedestal made from old porch posts and barnwood.

Dancing With Blue Heron

2010-03-05T15:13:00.003-05:00

This piece was inspired by the blue heron that visits our pond. The heron's graceful takeoff reminded me of Tai Chi movements.
I wove a selection of fabric and yarn using a rya technique for the body of the garment and knitted the sleeves. The pants are silk and there is a necklace of moonstones around the figure's neck.
This piece was exhibited in the "At Play" exhibit at the Small Gallery of the Valley Artisans Market in Cambridge, NY. It is now in a private collection.

Listening to Red Bird

2010-03-03T17:56:00.002-05:00

This piece was exhibited in "A Common Thread",an exhibit at the Textile Center of Minnesota in 2009, and is now in a private collection. Its garment is woven using the rya technique, a weaving technique developed by the Vikings who were inspired by the rugs they brought back from their expeditions to the Middle East. This figure has a linen "skin" over a batting wrapped wire armature and wears pants of dupioni silk.

Mukti: Freedom

2010-03-01T11:02:00.008-05:00

In an interview on NPR with Melissa Block, photographer Helen Levitt echoed my feelings about trying to talk about my work. Ms. Levitt said "If it were easy to talk about, I'd be a writer." "Since I'm inarticulate, I express myself with images."

So I will start with an image of a piece I did in 2008 for the Textile Center of Minnesota's exhibit "Freedom: The Fiber of Our Nation" which ran from August-October that year. The piece is titled "Mukti" which is Sanskrit for the freedom that is experienced when we finally shed all of our attachments to the earthly life and are released from the cycle of suffering, birth and rebirth. I was partly inspired by time I spent in Sri Lanka and India, and by Hindu and Buddhist beliefs .

I sculpted the head, hands and feet of paperclay on a wire armature and covered the armature with batting and a hand stitched burlap "skin." I covered the paperclay with several layers of gesso, acrylic and oil paints and sealed it. A hand sewn fabric robe made from recycled blue jeans and wrappings on his legs of cotton scrim are adorned with a necklace made from white feathers and antique cut glass beads that were given to me when I was in Sri Lanka.