Hollis Chatelain - Textile Artist

Many people ask me what I am working on, where my work is being exhibited and how I am spending my time. This is a new addition to the website that will be updated monthly with the latest things that are happening in my life.

November has been a time at home. Lots of excitement in October and it felt good to go back into the studio and create.

The holidays are coming. This is always a time of the year that I love. A time to reflect on our blessings and be thankful for family and the love that we share.

Enclosed you will find the December newsletter. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to contact me.

I have started painting my next piece. I’m holding off on showing the drawing because it won’t make sense until it is further along. I had thought it would be a bit smaller… but it grew. It now measures approximately 50”H x 72”W. It is from a dream I had about 18 months ago about refugees and Darfur.

“Antiques to Abstracts” opened October 5^th at the Turchin Center for the Visual Arts at Appalachian State University in Boone, NC. The show will be exhibited at this amazing facility until January 19th, 2008. There are 12 abstract pieces inspired by photographs of antiques that my son took. The show is beautifully hung and the photographs are also displayed. All of the work is for sale. Click here for more information, and click here to see the pieces.

We now have the final dates for the exhibit at Duke University next year. “Hope For Our World” will take place from March 30 - April 14, 2008 in Duke’s beautiful chapel. Ten pieces promoting social awareness will be shown in the exhibit. Each piece is monochromatic and most are from my dreams. This exhibit will eventually travel throughout the country. If you or your organization are interested in hosting this exhibit, please contact us at hollis@hollisart.com . Duke will also be hosting a “day of activism” where they will invite organizations that deal with the subject matters in my artwork to come to the exhibit. These organizations will be there to educate the public and give them a means to help, whether it be financially or hands on. We are VERY excited about this exhibit because it is a dream that I have had for a long time. Stay tuned for more information.

I am now home until January 2008 when I go to Hilton Head to teach at Jinny Beyer’s seminar. Click here for more information.

The Drawing I classes in Raleigh are almost full. There are two time slots available. The dates are April 7^th-9^th and April 14^th-16^th, 2008. Click here for the contact person.

We will also be visiting my studio and taking a field trip to the exhibit “Hope For Our World” at Duke University during the time of the workshops.

If you would like to know more about these courses, here is a little bit of information:

Drawing is my passion and I have been teaching how to draw for 17 years. It started when I lived in Africa. My students have been from all nationalities and from ages 7 to 86. If you can write your name and have a desire to learn to draw, I guarantee that you will learn to draw in my classes. We started these classes eight years ago here in the states, and it has been growing ever since.

Once a year I go to an area and teach a workshop that lasts from 3-5 days (we now have groups ongoing in Berkeley, New Hampshire, & San Antonio, but I have also taught groups in Los Angeles, Montana, Wyoming, Indiana, Illinois, Atlanta, & Oregon). The first year is three days of drawing, second year is again three days of drawing, third year is three days of drawing-portraiture, fourth year is five days of color, and fifth/sixth years are four day design classes where everyone works independently creating quilts (based on a challenge from me). We don’t even touch fabric until year #5.

These classes are organized by individuals (not guilds or conferences) and have a maximum of fifteen students. They are intense and you really learn. They are my favorite classes to teach because they give students the confidence and skills to move forward and do what is in their hearts.

If you are interested in joining one of these courses, please check my website. We are going into our second year in San Antonio (it is possible to join on year #2), click here for the contact person. Also click here for the contact person for the Raleigh course.

Don’t hesitate to write quickly to the contact people because the classes fill fast!

There are also prints available of “The Grandfather”, “Sahel”, "Ecuadorian Girls", "Precious Water", "Fatima’s Son", "School: It’s Never Too Late to Learn"," Nature’s Gift", "Blue Men", "Burkinabe Mother" and "Untold Secrets", and they are all beautiful. Click here to check out all the prints and to learn more about giclee prints.

All of the threads that I designed for Superior Threads are for sale on the website. They are sold in packs of 25 because I have found that quilters use threads in a more unique and exciting way when they have the opportunity to “audition” a number of different colors (just like we do with fabrics) before making their final choices. Click here

We have a secure system where you can order thread, fabric, prints and my artwork directly on line and pay by credit card or Pay Pal.