“Juried Status” with the PA Guild of Craftsmen

Watt & Shand #4

 I am very pleased to share that I have been awarded “Juried Status” with the Pennsylvania Guild of Craftsmen.

Groundhog and Green Bean

 From the website:  "Juried Status is recognition for a body of work that is exceptional and meets or exceeds these three benchmarks:

• excellence in craftsmanship
• resolved design
• unique voice or style"

Deer and Mayapple

“Excellence in craftsmanship is reserved for work that shows the highest standards of quality. The work demonstrates a mastery of the medium, far beyond basic and intermediate proficiency skills. Attention to details and a thorough knowledge of the medium is demonstrated.”

Big Root Geranium

“In work awarded juried status, the design is resolved and individual to the craftsman. Good composition is expected. The use of tension and space enhance overall design. Choice of materials and methods show innovation and mastery with all elements working together.”

Watt & Shand #9

 “Style represents the true creative nature of the Designer Craftsman. A unique voice is an innate part of all juried craftsmen’s expression. The conceptual richness evidenced in the work shows the nature, complexity and execution that marks each individual’s work as distinctive and unique. It sets it apart from the work of others, not only qualitatively, but in achieving an individual identity, readily recognizable as belonging to that maker.”

It's meeting this guideline that I am proudest of, I think.  I have been sewing and stitching and creating literally almost my entire life, so a lot of the technical skills are second nature to me at this point.  But I have worked hard at developing my personal, recognizable style, and am honored at having my "voice" recognized.

Fireball

I consider this an excellent set of criteria, and am very happy that my work met the guidelines.  Jurying is a two part process, where images, bio and resume are submitted digitally, and then the craftsperson brings in the work for a hands-on examination and review by a panel of experts.  The works shown above are the ones I submitted.  I am a good fit with this organization and plan on becoming more involved.

Publications, Exhibits, and Gratitude

By any measure I’ve had a great year, and I am both humbled and immensely grateful for all the opportunities that have come my way, and for all the people in my life who make it possible for me to be living the dream.    Here’s a partial survey of where  to see my work right now, starting with the newly published book The Studio Quilt, No. 6: State of the Art  by Sandra Sider. 

The cover image is by Melisse Laing, Seeing the Light (2009, photo by Bill Bachhuber).I’m waiting for my copy to arrive and will post more about it once I’ve had a chance to enjoy it; based on the artists involved, I know it will be just excellent.  It’s available on Amazon.
My Groundhog and Green Bean was selected for inclusion.

Also recently released is Portfolio 18,  the latest edition from SAQA (Studio Art Quilt Associates)  documenting the art quilt movement.

Portfolio 18 contains 241 full-color plates of SAQA Professional Artist Members' works, with geographical and genre indexes.  I’ve had work in the last several volumes and am pleased to be a part of this one as well.   It’s available in the SAQA Bookstore.

This next publication came as a happy surprise.  International Quilt Festival: Quilt Scene 2011 is an annual special edition magazine, a collaboration between Quilting Arts Magazine and Quilts, Inc.,  with  feature articles, projects, and beautiful photography celebrating the best in contemporary quilting. I was thrilled to discover that this year’s edition features my Watt & Shand #6, representing the special exhibit Tactile Architecture. 

That’s a peek of Cynthia St. Charles’ beautiful Springtime in the City on the facing page.

In exhibit news, The Art of Fiber opened at the Workhouse Arts Center in Lorton, VA last week, and I’m hearing a lot of good buzz online about it.  It includes two of my Watt & Shand works, #4 and #9.

Also just opened is Art Quilts XVI: Something to Say at the Chandler Center for the Arts in AZ.  This is a  highly regarded show, and I’m thrilled that Watt & Shand #3 is a part of it: 

And last but definitely not least in my embarrassment of exhibit riches is Craft Forms at the Wayne Art Center in Wayne, PA:

Watt & Shand #8 is a part of this international exhibit featuring fine crafts in all media.  The opening reception is tomorrow night (12/2) and I will be attending--I am really looking forward to it as it sounds fabulous! 

I will also be at the Meet the Artists event the next afternoon, and welcome the opportunity to share my work and the story and inspiration behind it.

Lest you think I’ve been resting on my laurels, assuming I had laurels and the time to rest on them, be assured that I am currently hard at work in the studio; a lot of what I’m working on needs to stay under wraps for the time being……..but stay tuned for further adventures and updates.  And as always, a huge thank you for reading and commenting!

Groundhog and Green Bean selected for "State of the Art"

 I've received word that Groundhog and Green Bean has been selected for The Studio Quilt, No. 6: State of the Art by  noted artist, critic, curator and author Sandra Sider, to be published later this year.

 The list of included artists (see below) reads like a who's-who of fiber artists and art quilters that I admire, and I'm thrilled to be included in such esteemed company.

 Groundhog and Green Bean is from my newest series, Flora and Fauna, where I am working with the skulls and bones of local wildlife.  For this piece, I started with extreme close-up photographs of the groundhog skull, taken from several angles.   Below is the view looking down into the interior of the skull:

 From that photo I prepared a transparency, which functions as a large negative for making the cyanotype print:

And here is the resultant print, which I flipped when designing the quilt.

You can track it back as a work in progress by clicking on "Groundhog and Green Bean" under labels in the right sidebar.

Here's the list of artists, with congratulations to all.

The Studio Quilt, no. 6: State of the Art

List of Artists and Quilts:

Annie Helmericks-Louder, Outlaw Jackrabbit

Aryana Londir, Compartments #1

Barbara Wills, Land Marks #36

Benedicte Caneill, Units #9: Cityscape

Bonnie Smith, View from Above

Camilla Pearce, Rustbelt Shade Garden

Carolyn Carson, Deborah’s Decision

Catherine Smith, Grey Hay

Charlotte Ziebarth, Urban Reflections #2: Lake Merritt Series

Clairan Ferrono, Darkness Surrounds Us

Deborah Bein, Roots

Deborah Fell, Witness Trees

Deborah Weir, Daylily

Denise Linet, Garden in Blue

Diane Savona, Looted Artifacts

Eileen Lauterborn, Breaking News

Erika Carter, Cradle 6

Ezther Bornemisza, Pending Matters

Gay Lasher, Abstraction I

Gloria Hansen, Lost in Illusion

Grace Errea, Le Chapeau Extraordinaire

Holly Altman, Tidal Pool After the Storm

Jamie Fingal, Apron as Personal Armor

Jean Judd, Contaminated Water #1

Jennifer Day, Old Hands

Jette Clover, White Wall 2

Jill Rumoshosky Werner, Dispensed

Jo-Ann Golenia, Push

Joan Sowada, Fall Line Up

Judith Plotner, Soul of an Iris II

Judy Langille, Splintered Forms

Julia E. Pfaff, Contours V

K. Velis Turan, Major Deegan 2

Katherine Allen, Peace Like a River

Kathleen McCabe, Protea

Kathy Nida, Primal Scream

Kim Lakin, Rio

Leisa Rich, Architects in Flux

Linda Robertus, Magnificence

Louise Schiele, Gecko

Marcia Decamp, Jet Trails #10

Margaret Brown, Alike But Not the Same

Marianne R. Williamson, Babbling Brook

Marlene Parillo, Faces

Mary Pal, Homeless Love

Mary Vaneecke, Circlesss III

Melisse Laing, Seeing the Light

Micaela Fitzsimmons, The Road Home

Nancy Cook, Kousa: A New Dogwood’s in Town

Olga Norris, Snagged

Pat Owoc, Return

Patricia Gould, Coastal Symphony

Sarah Smith, Joshua

Sheree Rasmussen, Night Wind

Sue Reno, Groundhog and Green Bean

Susan Schrott, Fiddler on the Couch

Tiziana Raveri, Unstable Balance

Virginia Speigel, Boundary Waters 51

Wen Redmond, Perception of Trees

Yael Cohen, Mystery

Groundhog and Green Bean Acceptance for National Fiber Directions

 I'm very pleased to announce that Groundhog and Green Bean has been accepted into National Fiber Directions, at the Wichita Center for the Arts, Wichita KS.  The juror for the exhibit is Jill Rumoshosky Werner, an artist whose innovative conceptual work I have long admired, so I'm doubly pleased that she included my piece in what promises to be a very interesting show. From the prospectus: "The exhibition is open, but not limited to, the following: uniquely designed functional pieces such as coverlets, pillows, tablecloths, garments, rugs, etc., and nonfunctional tapestries, wall hangings, 2-dimensional and 3-dimensional works which have been printed, painted, embellished, felted, woven, knitted, twined, cast paper, quilted, stitched, or other forms of manipulating fiber for art."  Doesn't that sound grand?  The exhibit will run from March 25 - May 8.
                                     
 Groundhog and Green Bean is part of my latest series, Flora and Fauna, where I'm using animal skull images from local wildlife paired with botanical prints and vintage textile elements.  I have a long standing love/hate relationship with groundhogs, as do most gardeners.  I lost a lot of greenbeans before I finally threw in the towel and fenced in the vegetable beds, so there might be a hint of schadenfreude in my use of the skull in this instance.

The skull prints are cyanotypes, made from macro photographs I took, and the green bean print is made directly from the leaves of last year's crop.

Flora and Fauna Opening Reception

 It was a very good opening night for my Flora and Fauna exhibit earlier this month at the PA Arts Experience Gallery in Lancaster.  There I am just before the reception started, with Deer and Mayapple and Prickly Sow Thistle on the left, and Fox and Hackberry on the right.  Below is a shot from later in the evening, when the First Friday crowds were in full swing.  Groundhog and Green Bean is on the left.

 Here's a slightly arty shot, with Wood Poppy underneath the staircase, and Skunk Cabbage and Possum in the back.  It's a lovely gallery, and I'm so delighted to have my work displayed there.  The exhibit is up until the end of the month, so stop by if you are in town.

 And now perhaps my favorite shot of the evening....just before closing time a Power Ranger showed up with an entourage.  I'm not sure what their purpose was, assuming they had one, but at one point the Red Ranger seemed mesmerized by my work!

New Work--Groundhog and Green Bean

I've just finished "Groundhog and Green Bean", one of the works in my new Flora and Fauna series.  You're getting a first look at it here, as it's not on my website yet.  The cyanotype prints on cotton are from photographs I took of a groundhog skull that was found in the woods locally.  The lace along the left and bottom is vintage hand crocheted lace that I painted, from a pillowcase found at the flea market.  All of the fabrics in this one, with the exception of the wonderful gray hand-dye at the bottom, are ones I painted or printed.  The finished dimensions are 46"high x 50"wide. 

Above is the view  looking up into the top portion of the skull, with the molars, the eye sockets, and the two large incisors. I think it looks a bit like an alien life form.   Below is the side view of the two parts of the skull.  It doesn't seem like there's a lot of room for the brain, but groundhogs are very clever in their fashion.  I've  been telling people about my work, and shown the work in progress to a few, and I am delighted that it seems to spark in everyone a desire to tell me about their groundhog encounters and experiences.  I think this is going to be a really fun series to exhibit.

And here is the green bean portion of the piece.  I am pleased to report that the adolescent groundhog I spotted in the yard previously seems to have moved on to greener pastures, or at least pastures further from my neighbor's dogs, and my vegetable garden, knock wood, has been spared for the present.

I've actually taken a bit of time to relax and enjoy the summer this year--imagine that!-- but I'm gearing back up again and will be stitching away rather intensely in the coming weeks to ready more work for the debut of the Flora and Fauna series in October. 

Upcoming Solo Shows

I'm pleased to announce that I will be exhibiting my work in two solo shows this fall.  First up will be "Fantastic Foliage" at the Jonal Gallery in Columbia, PA, showcasing my botanical work and including "Sycamore", above.  The exhibit statement:

"Fiber artist Sue Reno takes a closer look at the incredible variety of foliage shapes and forms that surround us in the lush environs of Lancaster County. From plants cultivated in her organic garden to the wild vegetation of the woods, she uses a variety of textile surface design techniques to record and interpret the leafy wonders of our world."

It's worth stopping by the gallery just to see the care and attention to detail that the owners  used throughout in renovating the building.  The hardwood floor in the Labyrinth Gallery has been painstaking embossed and stained in a complex pattern--hence the name--and I'm excited to be able to hang my work in such an aesthetically pleasing space.

Next up in October is my "Flora and Fauna" exhibit at the Arts Orientation center of the PA Arts Experience  on 114 N. Prince St., Lancaster, PA, including "Groundhog and Green Bean" (detail above).  The exhibit statement:

 "Fiber artist Sue Reno debuts work from her new series, Flora and Fauna, where she examines in detail animals and plants commonly encountered in Lancaster County. Using digital images of animal skulls combined with cyanotypes, monoprints and vintage textiles, her work explores our relationships with the life forms that share our environment. "

I'll be posting more details about the works included in both shows as they draw closer, including dates and times for the receptions.  And now it's back to work in the studio to prepare.

Groundhog and Green Bean in Progress

 

I am so enjoying working on the Flora and Fauna series.  I've now printed all the images I need, both of the animal bones and the associated plants.  I've got ten of them in the works, all very different aside from the common premise, but I also envision this as an ongoing series.  I find the details of the skulls so interesting; the way the teeth differ according to the diet, and how large the eye sockets are, and way the sinus cavities are arranged.  I like the way the cyanotypes abstract the images just enough to keep them from (hopefully) being off putting to those who imagine themselves squeamish about such things, without losing the essential character of the animal.

I've just finished designing and stitching together the top for "Groundhog and Green Bean".  The photo above is looking down on the inside of the top part of the skull.  There are the two large incisors at the front, then a gap, then a set of molars.  Looks a bit like an alien life form in this view, doesn't it?

Anyone with a garden will appreciate my choice of green bean for the associated flora.  My green beans are now fenced in with chicken wire, so they are safe.  The key is to keep the fencing a bit loose, not taut; they could climb over it if they really wanted to, but the instability is off putting.  The only veggies that are not fenced off are the tomatoes, and after several years of crop failure they are looking good this season; tonight I saw a young adult whistle pig checking them out....we haven't had one in residence, as it were, for a few years, but apparently the battle for supremacy, and tomatoes, is about to begin anew.

Here's a side view of the upper and lower skull and jaw.  Those teeth are one of the reasons--the claws are another--that you don't want to mess around with a cornered and defensive groundhog.  We once had a dog, a German Shepard mix, who had the knack of digging them out of their hole and dispatching them with a single shake, but an inexperienced or dim-witted dog (not to suggest that YOUR dog could possibly be dimwitted) can get seriously injured.  I have a farming neighbor who kept track of the groundhogs his dog killed, and over a ten year span she was at something like 87.  She was a sweet Shepard, good with children, but took her job of protecting the corn fields and her family's livelihood very seriously.

Personally I prefer to co-exist whenever possible with the wildlife that fits into this niche where the suburbs and woods and fields converge; I have that luxury.  I won't trap or shoot or set the dogs on my the latest groundhog, should he/she take up permanent residence. I will curse it roundly, distract it with corn cobs and melon rinds on the compost pile, and hopefully get to work and fence off the tomatoes. 

All of the fabrics in this top are ones I've printed or painted myself, with the exception of that gorgeous gray speckled one in the last photo.  That's a "sugar dye" from the studio of the talented Deb Lacativa, who dyes them for her own use but parts with a few on occasion. 

A quick reminder to anyone attending the Arts Fest at Penn State this week--my "White Mulberry" and "Plume Poppy" are on display at the Robeson Gallery in Images 2010 until the 11th.