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| Service Medal 80cm x 40cm (32"x16") 2010 |
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| International Refugee 30cm x 30cm (12x12") 2010 |
Thursday, May 31, 2012
Featured Artist: Anton Veenstra
From April 14th, to June 2nd, we present "Refuse/Re-seen" during which we'll focus on individual artists here on our blog. Today, we're pleased to introduce to you: Anton Veenstra.
My personal consciousness is about living sustainably. So, it is a pleasure to see an art gallery acknowledging that attitude. My work in fibre for the past 30 years was as a tapestry weaver. There, the observation that each unit of colour and texture contributes to the final work, autonomously, without losing any of its intrinsic value by compromise. When I began to work with button assembly, as I call it, influenced by seeing Jon Eric Riis' button/tapestry combine Eye Con, I found that buttons work in a similar way, each unit contributes to the whole, with colour, texture and luminosity. Each has a story to tell, from its previous use and the history of its recycling. As a discard buttons remind me of that comment from the great Abrahamic teacher Issa, who talked about the discarded stone becoming the cornerpiece of the new building. Thank you for allowing me to contribute.
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Featured Artist: Kaarina Talvila
From April 14th, to June 2nd, we present "Refuse/Re-seen" during which we'll focus on individual artists here on our blog. Today, we're pleased to introduce to you: Kaarina Talvila
I think my previous career in computer mapping can be seen in the precision and exactness of my work, but I also try to emulate the sense of harmony and balance that I value in Japanese craft. My ‘box’ purses are made almost exclusively from reclaimed materials – cardboard, paper shopping bags, bicycle inner tubes – all of which are clothed in fine Japanese and Nepalese handmade papers. In keeping with many traditional Japanese crafts, the end result transcends the humble materials.
My label ‘KOTI’ means ‘home’ in Finnish, which is both a tribute to my Finnish heritage and a reference to where I do my work.
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| Bamboo 5x6x2" 2010 |
I think my previous career in computer mapping can be seen in the precision and exactness of my work, but I also try to emulate the sense of harmony and balance that I value in Japanese craft. My ‘box’ purses are made almost exclusively from reclaimed materials – cardboard, paper shopping bags, bicycle inner tubes – all of which are clothed in fine Japanese and Nepalese handmade papers. In keeping with many traditional Japanese crafts, the end result transcends the humble materials.
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| Tiger Paper 5x6x2" 2010 |
My label ‘KOTI’ means ‘home’ in Finnish, which is both a tribute to my Finnish heritage and a reference to where I do my work.
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Featured Artist: Ruth Tabancay
From April 14th, to June 2nd, we present "Refuse/Re-seen" during which we'll focus on individual artists here on our blog. Today, we're pleased to introduce to you: Ruth Tabancay
My work with tea bags has two different roots. The first piece came about when my daughter and I drank cups of tea while snuggling under a comforter doing her geometry homework. The accumulated dried tea bags on the windowsill were the beginnings of the first tea bag quilt that captured the intimacy of those moments. The surface of the completed quilt was reminiscent of fields of human tissue or microorganisms as seen microscopically. As a bacteriology major, laboratory technologist, and medical student, I spent many hours absorbed in what I could see through a microscope only to have those images resurface years later and find expression in my art work. A decade later, I continue to use tea bags to explore these two concepts.
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| Multiply 19"w X 18"h X 2"d 2012 |
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| Security Blanket 29"w X 39"h x 1"d 2012 |
Monday, May 28, 2012
Featured Artist: Jo Stealey
From April 14th, to June 2nd, we present "Refuse/Re-seen" during which we'll focus on individual artists here on our blog. Today, we're pleased to introduce to you: Jo Stealey
Gathered leaves, processed to become archival paper have played an integral role in this body of work. This material has been used for its perceived transience and simultaneously its strength as a metaphor for the natural cycles of life and evidence of its history. The material itself references the duality of an object that is ethereal and ephemeral on its face yet possesses the ability to endure and exist through multiple seasons or multiple generations encompassing a wealth of history - a history that can be well known as well as forgotten.
The objects themselves are loosely based on an apron, used to explore the meaning and role this object has played historically. These “aprons” address roles of sexuality as noted in Elizabeth Wayland Barber’s text Women's Work: The First 20,000 Years - Women, Society and Cloth in Early Times. Hunting and gathering societies often used aprons for seduction: I am using them as an ironic play on the role sexuality has in the American media today. They are to be worn on the backside to seduce rather than the front side to protect.
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| Mantle 36 x 30" 2011 |
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| Heirloom 14" x 12" 2011 |
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| Seduction 9x12 2011 |
Friday, May 25, 2012
Featured Artist: Sheila M Shuman
From April 14th, to June 2nd, we present "Refuse/Re-seen" during which we'll focus on individual artists here on our blog. Today, we're pleased to introduce to you: Sheila M Shuman
Education
2000-2002 Reading Area Community College. A.A. Psychology. Magna Cum Laude.
Awards: Honors program certificate, Honors program Diploma, Phi Theta Kappa Honors Society,
Academic Honors Award, and Psychology/ Social Work Transfer award.
2002-2007 Kutztown University. B.S., B.F.A.
Double Major: General Studies, Industrial/ Organizational Psychology concentration, Magna
Cum Laude. Art/ Crafts, Fibers concentration, Magna Cum Laude.
Current- Kutztown University. Master Education/Arts candidate, Post Baccalaureate Certification
Experience
2011-current Clay on Main, Artist co-op, Artist and Instructor.
2008-2011 GoggleWorks Center for the Arts. Studio Artist and Instructor. ASAP (After School
Art Program), Jewelry Design, Mixed-Media, Ceramics, Team Building.
Exhibitions
2011- Clay on Main, Members Show
2011-PA Guild of Craftsmen, Reading/Berks Chapter, Holiday Show
2010- Goggleworks Center for the Arts, Artist Exhibition
2009-Goggleworks Center for the Arts, Artist Exhibition
2008- Goggleworks Center for the Arts, Artist Exhibition
2007- Kutztown University, Senior Exhibition
2007- A Common Thread, Kutztown Universit
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| Confession 10 x 24 2012 |
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| Confession 10 x 24 2012 |
Education
2000-2002 Reading Area Community College. A.A. Psychology. Magna Cum Laude.
Awards: Honors program certificate, Honors program Diploma, Phi Theta Kappa Honors Society,
Academic Honors Award, and Psychology/ Social Work Transfer award.
2002-2007 Kutztown University. B.S., B.F.A.
Double Major: General Studies, Industrial/ Organizational Psychology concentration, Magna
Cum Laude. Art/ Crafts, Fibers concentration, Magna Cum Laude.
Current- Kutztown University. Master Education/Arts candidate, Post Baccalaureate Certification
Experience
2011-current Clay on Main, Artist co-op, Artist and Instructor.
2008-2011 GoggleWorks Center for the Arts. Studio Artist and Instructor. ASAP (After School
Art Program), Jewelry Design, Mixed-Media, Ceramics, Team Building.
Exhibitions
2011- Clay on Main, Members Show
2011-PA Guild of Craftsmen, Reading/Berks Chapter, Holiday Show
2010- Goggleworks Center for the Arts, Artist Exhibition
2009-Goggleworks Center for the Arts, Artist Exhibition
2008- Goggleworks Center for the Arts, Artist Exhibition
2007- Kutztown University, Senior Exhibition
2007- A Common Thread, Kutztown Universit
Thursday, May 24, 2012
Featured Artist: Susan Clarke Plumb
From April 14th, to June 2nd, we present "Refuse/Re-seen" during which we'll focus on individual artists here on our blog. Today, we're pleased to introduce to you: Susan Clarke Plumb
As an emerging artist, I am fulfilling a dream of becoming a full-time artist. I have held many positions related to the art field such as being an art center founder and administrator, an art therapist, a curator of museum education, and a teacher of students ages pre-K to seniors. I am now enjoying the freedom to pursue my two favorite passions, art making and art teaching.
My art work has taken me to Sub-Sahara Africa many times where I have seen to power of art to heal and promise hope and reconciliation. Therefore most of my art is devoted to social justice themes as well as a personal exploration of the materials and the expressive possibilities. I feel very grateful to be a part of the creative process for my students as well as myself.
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| Handle With Care Sculpture, Clay, Shells, Pins, Buttons 6.5" x 2" 2011 |
As an emerging artist, I am fulfilling a dream of becoming a full-time artist. I have held many positions related to the art field such as being an art center founder and administrator, an art therapist, a curator of museum education, and a teacher of students ages pre-K to seniors. I am now enjoying the freedom to pursue my two favorite passions, art making and art teaching.
My art work has taken me to Sub-Sahara Africa many times where I have seen to power of art to heal and promise hope and reconciliation. Therefore most of my art is devoted to social justice themes as well as a personal exploration of the materials and the expressive possibilities. I feel very grateful to be a part of the creative process for my students as well as myself.
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Featured Artist: Kara Muise
From April 14th, to June 2nd, we present "Refuse/Re-seen" during which we'll focus on individual artists here on our blog. Today, we're pleased to introduce to you: Kara Muise
I started collecting cancelled postage stamps about 10 years ago. I like collecting little treasures that are cast off and considered trash. I had amassed a good collection of stamps before I even knew what I wanted to do with them. As my interest in quilting and fiber arts grew it seemed a natural transition to sew the tiny squares into larger squares and then into quilts. The stamps, like little discarded scraps, band together for a new life as a quilt.
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| FirstClass 36 x 27 2012 |
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| FirstClass 36 x 27 2012 |
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Featured Artist: Elizabeth Lundberg Morisette
From April 14th, to June 2nd, we present "Refuse/Re-seen" during which we'll focus on individual artists here on our blog. Today, we're pleased to introduce to you: Elizabeth Lundberg Morisette
I create artwork that responds to the society in which we live. My work is created with recycled or repurposed materials. These materials appeal to me because they each have a history. This history often draws viewers in to experience these often common objects in a new manner. Artist and craftspeople have always been drawn to the materials ‘at hand’. My work explores what kind of materials we find ‘at hand’ in the twenty-first century and how they reflect our society.
My pieces are formed by using techniques such as weaving and basketmaking. Using these techniques emphasizes the importance of the artists hand in the work. The dichotomy of applying a process that is handmade onto objects that are machine made is essential. Bunching hundreds of similar elements together creates a form or landscape that evokes an organic images out of harsh, garish colors and shapes.
Through this work, I invite the viewer to remember a time, place, or person that they once knew. In a way, I view these works a portrait of every individual who views them. Though the objects are common, often the memories invoked by the work is as varied as the individuals who view them.
www.elmorisette.com
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| Maze 10"x7"x4" - 2011 |
I create artwork that responds to the society in which we live. My work is created with recycled or repurposed materials. These materials appeal to me because they each have a history. This history often draws viewers in to experience these often common objects in a new manner. Artist and craftspeople have always been drawn to the materials ‘at hand’. My work explores what kind of materials we find ‘at hand’ in the twenty-first century and how they reflect our society.
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| Maze (detail) 10"x7"x4" - 2011 |
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| Milky Way 19"x11"x2" - 2010 |
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| Milky Way (detail) 19"x11"x2" - 2010 |
Monday, May 21, 2012
Featured Artist: Meei-Ling Ng
From April 14th, to June 2nd, we present "Refuse/Re-seen" during which we'll focus on individual artists here on our blog. Today, we're pleased to introduce to you: Meei-Ling Ng
Meei-Ling Ng is known for her bird and nature paintings as well as her three-dimensional art installations. Her artwork takes inspiration from bird watching, exploring national parks and wildlife refuges, and gardening. Using ink and acrylic paint on paper and large canvases, she brings her subjects to life through bold black lines and color. She, primarily, uses recycled, re-purposed, and raw materials to create her three-dimensional art installations. Meei-Ling’s nature-inspired art installations are designed to be interactive and invite audiences to experience their content through participation.
www.meeiling.com
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| Free Range Chicken 19x16x4" 2011 |
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| Free Range Chicken 25x17x9" 2011 |
www.meeiling.com
Friday, May 18, 2012
Featured Artist: Kachina Martin
From April 14th, to June 2nd, we present "Refuse/Re-seen" during which we'll focus on individual artists here on our blog. Today, we're pleased to introduce to you: Kachina Martin
My most cherished childhood memories center on fabric - the comfort of a blanket edged in silk, the feel of a well-worn cotton tee, the nubby texture of a hand-knit sweater. As the daughter of a mother who teaches in the field of fashion and design, I was acutely aware at a young age of the transformational properties of clothing. My artistic interests were equally shaped by my grandmother. Guided by her firm hands, unwieldy lengths of fabric were coaxed to behave, ultimately shaped into a variety of forms marked by perfect, crisp seams. The drama that surrounded the cutting of the fabric felt epic – she possessed such confidence as she sliced thorough layers of cloth, following the edges of the whisper-thin tissue paper that outlined its eventual shape. My grandmother taught me to decode the language of patterns, to sew, and later, to knit, crochet, and embroider.
When I discovered shibori, I was awed by the limitless possibilities inherent in this ancient Japanese dyeing process. Areas of pure color are seamlessly blended in an endless variety of tints and shades, revealing where color meets resist, creating a rich visual texture that transcends the notion of pattern. My experimentation with dyes introduced me to felting, and I am fascinated by the sculptural properties of wool. Nuno felting enables me to combine my own fabrics with wool to add depth and dimension to my wearable pieces. I feel that my pieces’ wearability enhances, rather than detracts from, their depth. That the work will be worn is significant, indeed essential, to its artistic value. It is when the work is worn—when the wearer imbues it with her own sense of style and integrates it into her daily life—that the work truly comes to life.
While all of my work fiber-based, not all of my pieces are intended to be worn. I am drawn to old garments that show evidence of the hand that created the piece as well as the person who wore it. These indelible marks—stitches, stains, mended holes, and spots rubbed almost bare by continual contact with the body—speak to the hours invested in the making of the garment as well as the years that have passed as it was worn, again and again. I am interested in ways in which to transcend both the utilitarian nature and the inevitable entropy that continually affect these garments and reimagine them as enduring, sculptural artifacts. In so doing, I aim to defy the viewer’s expectation of what fiber is, can, or should be. In my most recent work, I have been working with both narrative and context, exploring how garments can be altered to reflect as well as defy societal norms and expectations, particularly of women.
My most cherished childhood memories center on fabric - the comfort of a blanket edged in silk, the feel of a well-worn cotton tee, the nubby texture of a hand-knit sweater. As the daughter of a mother who teaches in the field of fashion and design, I was acutely aware at a young age of the transformational properties of clothing. My artistic interests were equally shaped by my grandmother. Guided by her firm hands, unwieldy lengths of fabric were coaxed to behave, ultimately shaped into a variety of forms marked by perfect, crisp seams. The drama that surrounded the cutting of the fabric felt epic – she possessed such confidence as she sliced thorough layers of cloth, following the edges of the whisper-thin tissue paper that outlined its eventual shape. My grandmother taught me to decode the language of patterns, to sew, and later, to knit, crochet, and embroider.
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| Orthogenes 34x21x1" 2012 |
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| Orthogenes 34x21x1" 2012 |
While all of my work fiber-based, not all of my pieces are intended to be worn. I am drawn to old garments that show evidence of the hand that created the piece as well as the person who wore it. These indelible marks—stitches, stains, mended holes, and spots rubbed almost bare by continual contact with the body—speak to the hours invested in the making of the garment as well as the years that have passed as it was worn, again and again. I am interested in ways in which to transcend both the utilitarian nature and the inevitable entropy that continually affect these garments and reimagine them as enduring, sculptural artifacts. In so doing, I aim to defy the viewer’s expectation of what fiber is, can, or should be. In my most recent work, I have been working with both narrative and context, exploring how garments can be altered to reflect as well as defy societal norms and expectations, particularly of women.
Thursday, May 17, 2012
Featured Artist: Claire Marcus
From April 14th, to June 2nd, we present "Refuse/Re-seen" during which we'll focus on individual artists here on our blog. Today, we're pleased to introduce to you: Claire Marcus
My work is created in series with processes including painting, drawing, and photography printed on silk, stitched with found objects. It reflects my background as a fifth generation fiber artist, synthesizing family heritage with training in painting, architecture, and design, often based on landscape studies. I have special interests in the structure of land- and cityscape, and its power to evoke memory and narrative, as well as the interaction of built and natural environment.
My Conquest Series addresses narratives between the lines of the 1086 Domesday Book, a record of England’s population and resources twenty years after the Norman Conquest. The ephemeral nature of cultures, possessions, and history is the major theme I find in Domesday. I re-purposed pages from a damaged Domesday Book translation listing the 1086 landowners and stitched them to photographed pages from a discarded atlas that I edited and printed on sheer silk.
New landowners are cited in the Domesday text alongside the names of those they defeated and displaced. We learn much about the buildings, crops, and livestock of the properties, but the previous inhabitants disappear from the record. While we are left to imagine their fates, maps show little Norman impact on English place names. In considering the blending, ebb, and flow of cultures, we remember that churches mentioned here lost their property to Henry VIII’ s Reformation. Later still, British servicemen like my grandfather fought on behalf of French interests in WWI and returned to Normandy as liberators on D-Day in 1944.
My work is created in series with processes including painting, drawing, and photography printed on silk, stitched with found objects. It reflects my background as a fifth generation fiber artist, synthesizing family heritage with training in painting, architecture, and design, often based on landscape studies. I have special interests in the structure of land- and cityscape, and its power to evoke memory and narrative, as well as the interaction of built and natural environment.
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| Conquest Series: Norfolk 20" x 16" 2012 |
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| Conquest Series: Essex 20" x 16" 2012 |
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Featured Artist: Patricia Malarcher
From April 14th, to June 2nd, we present "Refuse/Re-seen" during which we'll focus on individual artists here on our blog. Today, we're pleased to introduce to you: Patricia Malarcher
I am interested in finding potential voices in different materials, especially contemporary materials for which there are no limitations set by precedents or tradition. I work primarily with fabrics and various plastics with sewing as the means of construction. Often the work incorporates fragments of cultural data—e.g., shredded documents, scraps of art reproductions, urban detritus. My work is built incrementally from small units to larger constructions. I aim for ambiguous surfaces, hoping the viewer will sense that more is there than comes across at first glance.
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| Cathedral 7" x 10.5" x 7" 2009 |
I am interested in finding potential voices in different materials, especially contemporary materials for which there are no limitations set by precedents or tradition. I work primarily with fabrics and various plastics with sewing as the means of construction. Often the work incorporates fragments of cultural data—e.g., shredded documents, scraps of art reproductions, urban detritus. My work is built incrementally from small units to larger constructions. I aim for ambiguous surfaces, hoping the viewer will sense that more is there than comes across at first glance.
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| Fugue 7" X 16" X 5" 2012 |
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Featured Artist: Jennifer Lingford
From April 14th, to June 2nd, we present "Refuse/Re-seen" during which we'll focus on individual artists here on our blog. Today, we're pleased to introduce to you: Jenny Lingford
I am facilitating loving connected relationships between my work and the viewer because I believe people need loving relationships.
Feminine craft is my medium: knitting, crocheting, sewing, embroidery, and baking. I witnessed these processes growing up in a small town where it was common to be labor workers and homemakers. Remembering family heritage and community are central themes in my art, as well as exposing the blemishes that make us human. Keeping this element of truth in my work is directly relatable to the integrity of the material and hand quality of my art. Every action is accounted for, both the intended and mishap. Whether the pieces are hand-held size or large installations, the attention to detail and human familiarity is the same. These life lessons of honesty, hard work, and nurturing loving relationships have carried into my work.
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| Wound Study, Bleeding Shin 20" x 6" x 6" 2012 |
I am facilitating loving connected relationships between my work and the viewer because I believe people need loving relationships.
Feminine craft is my medium: knitting, crocheting, sewing, embroidery, and baking. I witnessed these processes growing up in a small town where it was common to be labor workers and homemakers. Remembering family heritage and community are central themes in my art, as well as exposing the blemishes that make us human. Keeping this element of truth in my work is directly relatable to the integrity of the material and hand quality of my art. Every action is accounted for, both the intended and mishap. Whether the pieces are hand-held size or large installations, the attention to detail and human familiarity is the same. These life lessons of honesty, hard work, and nurturing loving relationships have carried into my work.
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| Wound Study, Bruised knee 12" x 10" x 6" 2010 |
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| Wound Study, Sunburned (Back) 17" x 24" x 7" 2011 |
Monday, May 14, 2012
Featured Artist: Janice Lessman-Moss
From April 14th, to June 2nd, we present "Refuse/Re-seen" during which we'll focus on individual artists here on our blog. Today, we're pleased to introduce to you: Janice Lessman-Moss
Paper yarn has been used historically for both symbolic and practical reasons. So too I have chosen to engage this ubiquitous material in this series of weavings. The process itself is the ultimate connector, transforming this non-precious linear element into an object of beauty and meaning. Carefully chosen, manipulated and selectively inserted the twisted, coated paper weft provides a random movement of color, complementary to the repetitive striations marking its physical presence. Selecting paper from a high gloss fashion magazine enhances the beauty and reinforces symbolically the temporal life of the material and its subject. Both designed to be consumed and discarded in fast paced cycles.
The gradient circles of the weave structure also reference this concept of time, continuity and change. Circles and cycles, the fleeting/timely can become, like memories, more permanent/timeless and valued through a change in perspective and selective reuse.
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| Circles and (re)Cycles 8 x 8 2012 |
Paper yarn has been used historically for both symbolic and practical reasons. So too I have chosen to engage this ubiquitous material in this series of weavings. The process itself is the ultimate connector, transforming this non-precious linear element into an object of beauty and meaning. Carefully chosen, manipulated and selectively inserted the twisted, coated paper weft provides a random movement of color, complementary to the repetitive striations marking its physical presence. Selecting paper from a high gloss fashion magazine enhances the beauty and reinforces symbolically the temporal life of the material and its subject. Both designed to be consumed and discarded in fast paced cycles.
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| Circles and (re)Cycles (detail) 8 x 8 2012 |
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| Circles and (re)Cycles (detail) 8 x 8 2012 |
Friday, May 11, 2012
Featured Artist: Won Kyoung Lee
From April 14th, to June 2nd, we present "Refuse/Re-seen" during which we'll focus on individual artists here on our blog. Today, we're pleased to introduce to you: Won Kyoung Lee
My works especially in Fiber are unique in its approach to materials. My place is full of every industrial substance such as plastic, wire, buttons, sewing pins, staples and other fasteners. With these often transparent and reflective materials, I produce simple textiles employing techniques derived from embroidery, weaving, quilting and embellishment to build large pliable “Universe.” My material choices-hard, soft, piercing, fleeting, transparent—chosen and re-directed functional non-precious items-come to stand for our own personal tactile qualities of skin and emotions. My scale of work is magnified to allow the viewer to find oneself surrounded. My work requires discipline and strong work ethic coupled with skill and perseverance of methodical handwork.
www.wonkyounglee.com
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| Life 26x26" 2012 |
My works especially in Fiber are unique in its approach to materials. My place is full of every industrial substance such as plastic, wire, buttons, sewing pins, staples and other fasteners. With these often transparent and reflective materials, I produce simple textiles employing techniques derived from embroidery, weaving, quilting and embellishment to build large pliable “Universe.” My material choices-hard, soft, piercing, fleeting, transparent—chosen and re-directed functional non-precious items-come to stand for our own personal tactile qualities of skin and emotions. My scale of work is magnified to allow the viewer to find oneself surrounded. My work requires discipline and strong work ethic coupled with skill and perseverance of methodical handwork.
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| Life (detail) 26x26" 2012 |
www.wonkyounglee.com
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Featured Artist: John Krynick
From April 14th, to June 2nd, we present "Refuse/Re-seen" during which we'll focus on individual artists here on our blog. Today, we're pleased to introduce to you: John Krynick
I have a lifelong interest in textiles and cloth making. In the 1990’s I became interested in knitting, conceptually and as a textile structure. I began a series of knitted pieces that explore the idea of cloth as language. I literally knitted letters, friendly chatty letters to people I knew. This led me to consider ideas about the ephemeral and ubiquitous nature of textiles and I started knitting found 19th century texts and lines from film. I was also looking for language used by a previous generation that today could be considered to have some gay reference, “Pansy”, “Queen” or “Fruit”.
These pieces represent some recent explorations in newspaper and found vintage fabrics.
My current work draws on a wide range of interests for inspiration, - ancient textiles, domestic textile history, art history, 19th century science and philosophy as well as my direct interaction as an antiques dealer with folk art and Americana. I want to make textiles that talk about textiles and how they are everywhere and a part of everyone’s experience.
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| Paper and Rope 17.5 x 15 x 3 2011 |
I have a lifelong interest in textiles and cloth making. In the 1990’s I became interested in knitting, conceptually and as a textile structure. I began a series of knitted pieces that explore the idea of cloth as language. I literally knitted letters, friendly chatty letters to people I knew. This led me to consider ideas about the ephemeral and ubiquitous nature of textiles and I started knitting found 19th century texts and lines from film. I was also looking for language used by a previous generation that today could be considered to have some gay reference, “Pansy”, “Queen” or “Fruit”.
These pieces represent some recent explorations in newspaper and found vintage fabrics.
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| Paper and Rope (detail) 17.5 x 15 x 3 2011 |
My current work draws on a wide range of interests for inspiration, - ancient textiles, domestic textile history, art history, 19th century science and philosophy as well as my direct interaction as an antiques dealer with folk art and Americana. I want to make textiles that talk about textiles and how they are everywhere and a part of everyone’s experience.
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Featured Artist: Julie Kornblum
From April 14th, to June 2nd, we present "Refuse/Re-seen" during which we'll focus on individual artists here on our blog. Today, we're pleased to introduce to you: Julie Kornblum
Artist Statement
My work combines the immediate and the ancient. I apply post-modern materials to the centuries-old processes of basketry and weaving. As a weaver and basket maker, I follow the path of a thousand generations of artists from around the world. As a contemporary artist, I'm concerned with how our plastic trash impacts the environment.
Both physically and conceptually, my materials are creations of the modern age. Physically, they are by-products of industrialization. Conceptually, the notions of disposability and one-time-use are purely modern inventions. I hope to help raise the awareness that leads to reducing our production of trash.
Biography
Julie Kornblum earned her BA in Art, with a concentration in fiber and fabric art, at California State University Northridge. But being a fiber artist was hereditary. She learned sewing, knitting, and crochet from her mother and grandmother. She attended fashion design school at Los Angeles Trade Technical College, worked as a patternmaker in the garment industry and taught at Otis College of Art and Design. Julie exhibits nationally and has won numerous awards for her woven wall pieces and sculptural basketry.
www.juliekornblum.com
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| I Spy Something Red 18 x 10 x 10 2011 |
My work combines the immediate and the ancient. I apply post-modern materials to the centuries-old processes of basketry and weaving. As a weaver and basket maker, I follow the path of a thousand generations of artists from around the world. As a contemporary artist, I'm concerned with how our plastic trash impacts the environment.
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| Gyre 34 x 35 |
Both physically and conceptually, my materials are creations of the modern age. Physically, they are by-products of industrialization. Conceptually, the notions of disposability and one-time-use are purely modern inventions. I hope to help raise the awareness that leads to reducing our production of trash.
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| Post Consumer Content Size 8 dress 2010 |
Julie Kornblum earned her BA in Art, with a concentration in fiber and fabric art, at California State University Northridge. But being a fiber artist was hereditary. She learned sewing, knitting, and crochet from her mother and grandmother. She attended fashion design school at Los Angeles Trade Technical College, worked as a patternmaker in the garment industry and taught at Otis College of Art and Design. Julie exhibits nationally and has won numerous awards for her woven wall pieces and sculptural basketry.
www.juliekornblum.com
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Featured Artist: Donna Kjonaas and Vicki Kessler
From April 14th, to June 2nd, we present "Refuse/Re-seen" during which we'll focus on individual artists here on our blog. Today, we're pleased to introduce to you: Donna Kjonaas and Vicki Kessler
What sustains us? What nurtures us? What holds us in connection? What is satisfying? What is enough? What challenges turn us toward awareness? Collaborative, contemporary fiber artists Donna Kjonaas and Vicki Kessler explore these fundamental questions in their artwork. They reclaim historic, vintage and practical fiber through a variety of processes including discharge, painting, monoprinting and overdyeing. Rich embellishment with stitch, beads, buttons or felting completes each piece. What was once old or useless emerges as an energetic and unexpected creation. Tactile and interactive, the art invites viewers to move to the inside of each piece. Their abstract compositions focus on color, connection and imaginative use of commonplace materials.
Donna Kjonaas and Vicki Kessler began their work as collaborative artists in the mid-1980’s with liturgical installation art. In the last three years, their combined efforts have produced a body of work that varies broadly in scale while honing specific techniques. Each one’s hands engage each piece of art, and the exchange of individual pieces provides reincarnation at multiple layers. Vicki and Donna have a long, rich history in fiber handwork, from sewing to needlepoint to quilting to contemporary fiber art compositions.
Biographical Statements
Vicki Kessler
My first stitches, uneven and unsteady, were fashioned with bits of yarn on left-over scraps of fabric. Sneaking into my mother’s sewing basket for small treasures, I sought to repeat the image of beauty everywhere around me in my homeland of southwest Wisconsin. The wide and turbulent Mississippi River taught me about the subtleties of color shading. Muddy, brown shore waters gradually shifted toward blue until they reached the islands, where greenish hues took center stage. Tall, verdant hills with rocky outcrops demonstrated the power of texture and contrast. Wild, dappled valleys revealed their secrets in undulating rhythms and surprising bursts of color. These true delights of earth became my first teachers.
Color, rhythm and shape are key components in my art. As in nature, the whole is more than the sum of parts. The hideous stands beside the beautiful, the predictable companions the surprise, the exotic and the mundane are born in the same ground. The ancient, seasoned and well-worn offers perspective. Newly emerging patterns bring a leap of inspiration.
Working with old fabric, linens, quilts, yarn, sweaters and clothing provides a balance to consumptive patterns and habits that threaten us. It offers an opportunity to reflect on values of connection and relationship, and helps me feel that with each stitch, I am mending a little portion of the world.
Vicki Kessler, an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ, was born and raised in southwest Wisconsin. She currently resides in Fargo, North Dakota. She is a self-taught fiber artist who has been experimenting with cloth and stitch since childhood. Vicki is a founding member of The Women’s Fiber Art Collective in Madison, Wisconsin. Her work is permanently installed in the Wisconsin Conference of the United Church of Christ in DeForest, Wisconsin; Pilgrim Heights Retreat Center in Green Lake, Wisconsin; First Congregational United Church of Christ and Community of Hope United Church of Christ, both in Madison, Wisconsin.
Donna Kjonaas
The abundant, wide-open plains of North Dakota stretched into endless horizon under the dome of blue sky; this became first home to my imagination. Grain fields waving in the wind marked time through seasons of planting, growth, harvest and rest. In life on the land, invention is the mother of necessity. Leftover utensils and farm tools made toys. Hand-made clothing became a treasure, passed-down, taken-in, let out and refashioned for the next child in line. Food from large gardens, preserved for the coming season, created an exhibit of form, color and texture. Nothing ever wasted; potential found and cultivated beyond the present purpose.
Reclaimed and repuposed materials such as linens, clothing, sweaters and quilts are transfomed into compositions that hone principles of color, scale and texture, rich as the land of my birth. Seasonal palettes of prairie landscape dance through my work, varying from the intense green of spring to the golden-yellow hues of fall. Dakota’s characteristic expansive swaths of land find reflection in techniques of collage, piecing and stitching. Buttons, beads, thread and yarns are found objects that become embellishments building layers of texture. Raw materials, old and worn with accumulated history, evolve expressively into art that honors the continuity of life made fresh for a new day and time.
Donna Kjonaas, a retired United Methodist minister, was born and raised in North Dakota. She currently divides her time between residences in Sioux Falls, South Dakota and Sanibel, Florida. Interested in fiber and beauty from childhood, she has a background in clothing construction and quilting. Her creative impulse along with her affinity for innovation soon led to exploration of non-conventional methods and materials in her artistic compositions. She has taken several classes in paper-making, painting and book arts.
What sustains us? What nurtures us? What holds us in connection? What is satisfying? What is enough? What challenges turn us toward awareness? Collaborative, contemporary fiber artists Donna Kjonaas and Vicki Kessler explore these fundamental questions in their artwork. They reclaim historic, vintage and practical fiber through a variety of processes including discharge, painting, monoprinting and overdyeing. Rich embellishment with stitch, beads, buttons or felting completes each piece. What was once old or useless emerges as an energetic and unexpected creation. Tactile and interactive, the art invites viewers to move to the inside of each piece. Their abstract compositions focus on color, connection and imaginative use of commonplace materials.
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| Dinner Party 17” x 26”. 2010 |
Donna Kjonaas and Vicki Kessler began their work as collaborative artists in the mid-1980’s with liturgical installation art. In the last three years, their combined efforts have produced a body of work that varies broadly in scale while honing specific techniques. Each one’s hands engage each piece of art, and the exchange of individual pieces provides reincarnation at multiple layers. Vicki and Donna have a long, rich history in fiber handwork, from sewing to needlepoint to quilting to contemporary fiber art compositions.
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| Dinner Party (detail) 17” x 26”. 2010 |
Biographical Statements
Vicki Kessler
My first stitches, uneven and unsteady, were fashioned with bits of yarn on left-over scraps of fabric. Sneaking into my mother’s sewing basket for small treasures, I sought to repeat the image of beauty everywhere around me in my homeland of southwest Wisconsin. The wide and turbulent Mississippi River taught me about the subtleties of color shading. Muddy, brown shore waters gradually shifted toward blue until they reached the islands, where greenish hues took center stage. Tall, verdant hills with rocky outcrops demonstrated the power of texture and contrast. Wild, dappled valleys revealed their secrets in undulating rhythms and surprising bursts of color. These true delights of earth became my first teachers.
Color, rhythm and shape are key components in my art. As in nature, the whole is more than the sum of parts. The hideous stands beside the beautiful, the predictable companions the surprise, the exotic and the mundane are born in the same ground. The ancient, seasoned and well-worn offers perspective. Newly emerging patterns bring a leap of inspiration.
Working with old fabric, linens, quilts, yarn, sweaters and clothing provides a balance to consumptive patterns and habits that threaten us. It offers an opportunity to reflect on values of connection and relationship, and helps me feel that with each stitch, I am mending a little portion of the world.
Vicki Kessler, an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ, was born and raised in southwest Wisconsin. She currently resides in Fargo, North Dakota. She is a self-taught fiber artist who has been experimenting with cloth and stitch since childhood. Vicki is a founding member of The Women’s Fiber Art Collective in Madison, Wisconsin. Her work is permanently installed in the Wisconsin Conference of the United Church of Christ in DeForest, Wisconsin; Pilgrim Heights Retreat Center in Green Lake, Wisconsin; First Congregational United Church of Christ and Community of Hope United Church of Christ, both in Madison, Wisconsin.
Donna Kjonaas
The abundant, wide-open plains of North Dakota stretched into endless horizon under the dome of blue sky; this became first home to my imagination. Grain fields waving in the wind marked time through seasons of planting, growth, harvest and rest. In life on the land, invention is the mother of necessity. Leftover utensils and farm tools made toys. Hand-made clothing became a treasure, passed-down, taken-in, let out and refashioned for the next child in line. Food from large gardens, preserved for the coming season, created an exhibit of form, color and texture. Nothing ever wasted; potential found and cultivated beyond the present purpose.
Reclaimed and repuposed materials such as linens, clothing, sweaters and quilts are transfomed into compositions that hone principles of color, scale and texture, rich as the land of my birth. Seasonal palettes of prairie landscape dance through my work, varying from the intense green of spring to the golden-yellow hues of fall. Dakota’s characteristic expansive swaths of land find reflection in techniques of collage, piecing and stitching. Buttons, beads, thread and yarns are found objects that become embellishments building layers of texture. Raw materials, old and worn with accumulated history, evolve expressively into art that honors the continuity of life made fresh for a new day and time.
Donna Kjonaas, a retired United Methodist minister, was born and raised in North Dakota. She currently divides her time between residences in Sioux Falls, South Dakota and Sanibel, Florida. Interested in fiber and beauty from childhood, she has a background in clothing construction and quilting. Her creative impulse along with her affinity for innovation soon led to exploration of non-conventional methods and materials in her artistic compositions. She has taken several classes in paper-making, painting and book arts.
Monday, May 7, 2012
Featured Artist: Lisa Jenni
From April 14th, to June 2nd, we present "Refuse/Re-seen" during which we'll focus on individual artists here on our blog. Today, we're pleased to introduce to you: Lisa Jenni
Techniques Used:
121 machine pieced Danon Activia® yogurt lids, surface painted, hand-dyed (5-times moved-) lace scraps, machine quilted layered with batting scraps smaller than 2”, backing fabric: used duvet cover leftover.
Bifidus wanted to be fancy, so he invited the sisters Raspberry, Strawberry, Blueberry, and Cherry and Peach to a party. Together, they surprised Wheat and dunked him into heavenly dairy. Ever since, Bifidus has never been alone in my fridge! Go figure what my tummy says…
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| Bifidus' Tutti Frutti 24" x 24" 2010 |
Techniques Used:
121 machine pieced Danon Activia® yogurt lids, surface painted, hand-dyed (5-times moved-) lace scraps, machine quilted layered with batting scraps smaller than 2”, backing fabric: used duvet cover leftover.
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| Bifidus' Tutti Frutti (detail) 24" x 24" 2010 |
Bifidus wanted to be fancy, so he invited the sisters Raspberry, Strawberry, Blueberry, and Cherry and Peach to a party. Together, they surprised Wheat and dunked him into heavenly dairy. Ever since, Bifidus has never been alone in my fridge! Go figure what my tummy says…
Friday, May 4, 2012
Featured Artist: Ruby Horansky
From April 14th, to June 2nd, we present "Refuse/Re-seen" during which we'll focus on individual artists here on our blog. Today, we're pleased to introduce to you: Ruby Horansky
A child of immigrant parents, I grew up in a home where things were saved and reused. These quilts have been put together with materials often discarded in today’s “disposable” society -- dryer sheets, plastic vegetable bags, selvages, clothing labels, fabric swatches, and buttons. As I worked with them they became less related to trash and more to the art I was trying to produce.
www.rubyhoransky.com
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| Medley 20x20 2012 |
A child of immigrant parents, I grew up in a home where things were saved and reused. These quilts have been put together with materials often discarded in today’s “disposable” society -- dryer sheets, plastic vegetable bags, selvages, clothing labels, fabric swatches, and buttons. As I worked with them they became less related to trash and more to the art I was trying to produce.
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| Medley (detail) 20x20 2012 |
www.rubyhoransky.com
Thursday, May 3, 2012
Featured Artist: Carolyn Halliday
From April 14th, to June 2nd, we present "Refuse/Re-seen" during which we'll focus on individual artists here on our blog. Today, we're pleased to introduce to you: Carolyn Halliday
I use the vocabulary of textiles to create sculptural forms that often reference body or nature. Hand knitting wire and other nontraditional materials, usually re-cycled, is my primary technique although I incorporate other needlework and fiber skills into my work. Simple elements of my daily existence: a found stick, a scrap of metal, or coffee beans may become the seeds of a piece. I intend to magnify nature, reference concepts of the feminine through body and domesticity, and examine life’s daily debris.
On July 28th, 2009, I tripped on a raised sidewalk while running, and broke both of my wrists. I ended up having to have surgery on both wrists; three surgeries on my dominant hand. During this experience I had no use of either hand for weeks and had to rely on others for my every need. What was the most profound discovery for me, was the necessity to be able to define my identity as an artist. I have always had a certain insecurity around getting to claim myself as an artist, to identify as a a legitimate artist. But during that experience, the surprising words that tumbled out of my mouth as I moved between medical professionals, were “I am an artist; I have to have my hands. I am an artist; when can I use my hands?” The piece holds paraphernalia from my medical care which includes photo transfer of ekg on ace bandages and embroidered, temporary cast, gauze, medical bracelet, and bandages.
I use the vocabulary of textiles to create sculptural forms that often reference body or nature. Hand knitting wire and other nontraditional materials, usually re-cycled, is my primary technique although I incorporate other needlework and fiber skills into my work. Simple elements of my daily existence: a found stick, a scrap of metal, or coffee beans may become the seeds of a piece. I intend to magnify nature, reference concepts of the feminine through body and domesticity, and examine life’s daily debris.
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| Bilateral Distal Radius Multiple Fractures 18 x 12 2011 |
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Featured Artist: Marlene Gruetter
From April 14th, to June 2nd, we present "Refuse/Re-seen" during which we'll focus on individual artists here on our blog. Today, we're pleased to introduce to you: Marlene Gruetter
In creating my Shambolic fiber art, I use a combination of contemporary and traditional felt making techniques in a unique way to form pieces with exceptional movement through texture and color. Composition of color is fashioned using pieces of silk ripped from recycled silk garments.
Fine merino wool is used to fiber seam the composed silk pieces together. During the fiber seaming and final felting process, the wool and silks move according to their own natural flow miraculously providing exceptional texture and movement. This captivating combination allows creation of various forms of wearable art that evoke deep feelings and strong emotions.
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| Wilds 2'x3' 2011 |
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| Oceana (detail) 4' x 3' - size 2011 |
Fine merino wool is used to fiber seam the composed silk pieces together. During the fiber seaming and final felting process, the wool and silks move according to their own natural flow miraculously providing exceptional texture and movement. This captivating combination allows creation of various forms of wearable art that evoke deep feelings and strong emotions.
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| Oceana 4' x 3' - size 2011 |
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