Style Imitating Art, Shelbee on the Edge, pattern mixing, print mixing, layering

Style Imitating Art: ShelBee Scrappy Square by Anne M. Bray

May 2, 2022 / 26 Comments
Style Imitating Art, Shelbee on the Edge, pattern mixing, print mixing, layering
Style Imitating Art, Shelbee on the Edge, pattern mixing, print mixing, layering
Style Imitating Art, Shelbee on the Edge, pattern mixing, print mixing, layering
Style Imitating Art, Shelbee on the Edge, pattern mixing, print mixing, layering

About Style Imitating Art

Style Imitating Art is hosted by Salazar of 14 Shades of Grey, Terri of MeadowTree Style, and Shelbee of Shelbee on the Edge. Style Imitating Art challenges us to draw style inspiration from pieces of art. Every other Monday, one of the hosts, acting as curator, selects an inspiration image that they will each post on their blogs. The following Monday, each host shares her art inspired outfit. Participants are invited to submit their art inspired outfits to the curator by 10:00 p.m. EST on the Tuesday following the hosts’ art inspired outfit posts. The following day, Wednesday, the curator will share all of the submissions on her blog.

You don’t have to be a blogger to join! You are invited to share your images on Instagram or other social media platforms. Just be sure to tag Salazar, Terri, and Shelbee or use #TeamLOTSStyle and #StyleImitatingArt so the hosts know you have joined. Go have some fun in your closets and join the SIA challenge next week!

The Inspiration Artwork

The inspiration artwork was curated by me. You can read why I chose this specific piece as my inspiration artwork here.

ShelBee Scrappy Square by Anne M. Bray (Fiber Art, 2021)
ShelBee Scrappy Square by Anne M. Bray
Style Imitating Art, Shelbee on the Edge, pattern mixing, print mixing, layering
Style Imitating Art, Shelbee on the Edge, pattern mixing, print mixing, layering
About the Artist: Anne M. Bray

Anne M. Bray is an American artist (and a dear friend of mine) who specializes in many different artistic mediums from fiber arts and fabric design to oil on canvas, pastels, digital paintings, and waterlogues. She was born on June 3, 1900-and-something, a fellow Gemini, which is one reason our personalities click so well! Anne is originally from Barneveld, New York, which is just a short 66 miles from where I live in Watertown, New York, another common ground that keeps us connected. Anne currently lives in Los Angeles with her longtime partner Severo who is equally awesome. And when they travel to New York to visit Anne’s mother (who is a super cool human being as well, by the way), we sometimes manage to schedule a meet up. In fact, Anne and Severo are currently on the East Coast until tomorrow but we couldn’t schedule a meet up this time.

Anne first studied painting at the College of Creative Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and later received her BFA in Fashion Design from Otis College of Art and Design, Los Angeles. She has designed prints for mass market apparel and currently teaches Digital Design at Otis College of Art and Design.

During her high school years, Anne was introduced to printmaking and silk screening which formed the foundation of her sequential methodology. She continued with her abstract work while attending UCSB, but also began painting landscapes en plein air under the guidance of Hank Pitcher at this time.

Anne is currently working on an ongoing series of digital art representing landscapes from the road called The Roadscapes which was inspired by her Great Great Uncle Howard Russel Butler. And most recently, Anne has returned to her fabric and fiber crafts that she began in the 1970s, answering her urge to work with tactile elements now that most of her art has transitioned to digital formats. It was her return to fiber arts that gave birth to the ShelBee Scrappy Square!

Style Imitating Art, Shelbee on the Edge, pattern mixing, print mixing, layering
Style Imitating Art, Shelbee on the Edge, pattern mixing, print mixing, layering
Style Imitating Art, Shelbee on the Edge, pattern mixing, print mixing, layering
Style Imitating Art, Shelbee on the Edge, pattern mixing, print mixing, layering
Style Imitating Art, Shelbee on the Edge, pattern mixing, print mixing, layering
Style Imitating Art, Shelbee on the Edge, pattern mixing, print mixing, layering
About the Art: ShelBee Scrappy Square

Anne’s fiber arts focus on all things fiber related from embroidery and weaving to creating the cutest little scrappy squares from colorful pieces of scrap fabrics. The ShelBee Scrappy Square was brought to life on July 24, 2021, from a yellow paisley print poncho thingie that I had given to Anne when I first set up my now defunct traveling boutique, Shelbee’s Shoppe, back in 2016/2017. I didn’t realize Anne’s disdain for polyester fabrics when I gave her this piece but I have quickly grown to despise these fabrics myself in recent years so now I get it! And I love that she recycled it into art instead of just tossing in a landfill. But I am pretty certain that Anne would never toss perfectly usable anything into a landfill. If she can turn it into art instead, she will!

So she turned the poncho thingie into scraps along with some glittery bee print on cotton percale, a grey mini striped cotton spandex jersey, and a mod map print percale and created a rug knot weaving on MDF board that measures 9” x 9” x 2.5”. You can see the details of her work on the ShelBee Scrappy Square here and you can also view Anne’s full portfolio of fiber arts here.

If you would like to see some of Anne’s other works, she has a few exhibitions coming soon.

  • Shoebox Projects: May 7-June 3, 2022. There will be a virtual Opening Reception/Artist Talk from 3:00-5:00 p.m. PST on May 7, 2022. This is an online group show that will include 3 new Scrappy Creatures and 9 LA Traffic weavings.
  • Superfine Seattle Art Fair: May 12, 15, 2022. Location is Block 41, Booth #33, 115 Bell Street, Seattle, Washington. You can preview Anne’s exhibit here.

You can also follow Anne on her various blogs and other websites including her fashion blog SpyGirl as well as on Instagram. You can also see more examples of her artwork at Anne M. Bray Art on Instagram.

References/Resources
Style Imitating Art, Shelbee on the Edge, pattern mixing, print mixing, layering
Style Imitating Art, Shelbee on the Edge, pattern mixing, print mixing, layering
Style Imitating Art, Shelbee on the Edge, pattern mixing, print mixing, layering
Style Imitating Art, Shelbee on the Edge, pattern mixing, print mixing, layering
Style Imitating Art, Shelbee on the Edge, pattern mixing, print mixing, layering
Style Imitating Art, Shelbee on the Edge, pattern mixing, print mixing, layering
Style Imitating Art, Shelbee on the Edge, pattern mixing, print mixing, layering
About My Outfit Inspired by ShelBee Scrappy Square

In my post announcing this week’s artwork, I mentioned that you could choose any one of Anne’s Scrappy Squares to inspire your outfit. Of course, I had to focus on the ShelBee Scrappy Square because it is my namesake after all. But I do not wear much yellow so I do not own much in yellow. I do, however, own the same paisley chiffon scarf thingie that Anne used for this scrappy square. Except mine is burgundy. I knew that I was going to incorporate it somehow into this outfit while also bringing in black and white patterns and some touches of yellow.

I went digging around for black and white striped things when I stumbled upon this never been worn sweater skirt in black with a grayish striped pattern. The hem reminded me of Anne’s little fabrics scraps that went into creating this art but the skirt is monstrously big on me in a way that I could not make it fit properly or flatteringly. So I took a tip from Anne’s big book of styling tricks and decided to wear the skirt as a dress. But then the slits from the scrappy hem were too high cut that I needed something underneath. So I added a black and white striped body con dress underneath the skirt as a tunic. I fussed around a bit with the burgundy scarf thingie until I settled with it around my waist (that was Jeff’s suggestion, actually).

I popped on my yellow tights, the same tights I wore when I created an outfit inspired by Anne way back in 2019 and added my favorite tall black boots. Then I added another scarf to my outfit…the patchwork beauty that I won from a recent giveaway that Anne hosted. The colors were perfect to tie in the yellow tights and the patchwork style is right in line with Anne’s fiber arts. Plus it was given to my by Anne so why not include it in this Anne-art-inspired outfit?

Style Imitating Art, Shelbee on the Edge, pattern mixing, print mixing, layering
Style Imitating Art, Shelbee on the Edge, pattern mixing, print mixing, layering
Style Imitating Art, Shelbee on the Edge, pattern mixing, print mixing, layering
Style Imitating Art, Shelbee on the Edge, pattern mixing, print mixing, layering
Style Imitating Art, Shelbee on the Edge, pattern mixing, print mixing, layering
Style Imitating Art, Shelbee on the Edge, pattern mixing, print mixing, layering
Style Imitating Art, Shelbee on the Edge, pattern mixing, print mixing, layering
Scarf from Anne

I am so pleased with how this all came together. But I will be honest, it took a lot of playing around with different layering ideas and toying with scarf tying tricks. Some outfits come together easily and quickly. This one did not. But it was totally worth the work because I love the quirkiness of the whole thing! What do you think? How did I do with this particular challenge?

Be sure to check out Salazar’s interpretation of the painting as well as Terri’s take on it. If you want to join us to be featured in my gallery post on Wednesday, please send me your photos by Tuesday night at 10:00 p.m. EST.

Keeping it on the edge,

Shelbee

Linking up with these Fabulous Link Parties.

Outfit Details: Dress-Charlotte Russe / Skirt-The BonTon / Boots-Steve Madden / Hat-Apt. 9 / Earrings-Gift Shop in Sylva, NC / Scarf Around Waist-Shelbee’s Shoppe / Scarf Around Neck-Gift from Anne M. Bray / Tights-Old

I am a midlife woman, wife, and stay-at-home mother of 2 boys and 2 cats. I have a passion for helping other women feel fabulous in the midst of this crazy, beautiful life.

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