Adopt a “packet” - $10.00
Proceeds to support outreach project for
Arts Street Textile Studio:
handmade with the homeless
When the exhibit is disassembled, you will receive a photo of your packet and a signed copy of the artist statement.
“Promoting visibility and dignity through the work of our hands.”
To check out The Art Street Textile Studio, click this link.
Don't miss this exciting chance to be a part of something wonderful.
After the holidays, while prepping for a New Year & decade, it is not uncommon to reflect on the past, and create for the future. This gallery installation is a somber glimpse into the con ceptual world of the ‘stuff’ we are made of, of the ‘piles’ of demands and expectations we place on ourselves as we navigate through the world of our own hopes and dreams; and, the illusions of importance and purpose.
These ’cairns’ are the souvenirs of collective memory and desire, the markers of resolve. The ceremonious act of shredding and wrapping and placing, at first like a cremation, a spreading of ashes, becomes as a preparation for a holiday Secret Santa ‘grab-bag’.K. Pannepacker
January, 2011
Since this was our first gallery installation piece, we weren't quite sure what to expect. Friends, family, and co-workers, dropped off copious amounts of wrapping paper at 'some things looming' over the weeks following the holidays. We had small bags, large bags, even lawn and leaf bags full of wrapping paper! We piled them up in the third room of the gallery, where they sat waiting, leaving us to wonder, "What on earth is Kathryn going to DO with all this stuff?"
ig through the bags and bags of paper, find large un-ripped, un-taped, sections, square it up, and smooth them out. Counting piles of ten for purposes of tally, occasionally, I would clear the floor, only to repeat the process, over and over again. Meanwhile, Kathryn 
continued to shred and wrap packets, each packet containing the tiny pieces of paper that had made up her life over the past years: greeting cards, old faded articles to read, rejection notices, old love letters, old bills, out-dated prospectus, etc._cropped.jpg)
me way as the first: shred, wrap, shred, wrap, shred and wrap some more. Saturday Sampler classes had resumed so we left Kathryn to create her piece, our very ca
pable intern, Caleigh lending her hands to the process. Piles of packets continued to grow as the day continued, the numbers, I believe, totaling over 200. I'm betting Caleigh's family will be receiving their future presents in gift bags for a long time to come. I might even be safe to presume she was wishing she had never seen wrapping paper before, and never wanted to see another scrap of it again.
e. Rebekah was in the office, processing intake, paying artists, and updating the database. Floyd could be found here and there, helping where needed, photographing progress, running up and down stairs, getting this, and finding that. And I moved between the Office and the Boutique tagging new 
items, arranging and re-arranging again and again. Lost in our own little worlds, Saturday slipped by before we knew it. Fatigue dragged at each and every one of us by the end, so we called it a day, knowing we had left bits and pieces to do first thing Sunday morning before opening.
opened to pick up the over-sized print out of the statement for the installation. He walked in, jangling the bells on the door, bringing a blast of chilled air behind him. We glued the statement to foam board, hung it in the gallery. Then we proceeded to set up places for the gallery book and "Adopt a Packet." Prepping the food for the reception, I s
pent the first hour or so in the kitchenette on the third floor, while Rebekah did some last minute printing, and Kathryn prepped her gallery book. Soon one o'clock arrived, and visitors began to stream through the front door, shaking snow and slush from their feet, brushing off the cold from their bodies. We mingled, meeting new people, greeting familiar faces. And all too suddenly, it was over.
~Melanie
Kathryn Pannepacker is a textile/visual artist living in Philadelphia, PA. She graduated from Penn State University with a major in English and a minor in art. Afterwards, back in the late 80's, for 4 years in Berkeley, CA., she apprenticed with 3rd generation French tapestry weaver, Jean Pierre Larochette and his partner, Yael Lurie, a painter and designer for tapestry. Kathryn then went to Aubusson, France to continue weaving as an artist-in-resident. She also had the opportunity to be an artist-in-resident in Hachioji, Japan, through the Japan Foundation.
All made of plastic railway tracks you get as a toy set!
