Art of the State: Pennsylvania 2011 Acceptance - Watt & Shand #9

 I am pleased and excited to announce that Watt & Shand #9 has been selected for Art of the State:  Pennsylvania 2011, held June 19 - September 11, 2011, at the Pennsylvania State Museum in Harrisburg, PA.   This is a very competitive exhibit, with 135 works in all media chosen out of 1,942 entries.  The juror for Sculpture and Crafts is Beth Ann Gerstein, Executive Director, the Society of Arts and Crafts, Boston, Mass.

 Watt & Shand # 9 is part of a series of ten works I made about the transformation of the former Watt & Shand department store into a hotel and convention center; the original facade was preserved, and I became fascinated with architecture and imagery of the construction work in progress.  You can read more about #9 here and here, and see the entire series on my website here.

#9 has digital prints and thermofax prints, and I've always been particularly happy about the way I was able to work out the colors for this one.  They seemed unlikely at the onset but I soldiered on and it all worked out.

Saved by the silks - "Ginger" in progress

There's nothing like a stack of luscious silks to propel the right side of the brain into gear.  As I prep logistically and philosophically for my upcoming trip to India, I was searching for artistic expression but feeling a bit blocked, and frustrated by several false starts.  I don't usually dither, but was falling victim to overthinking and undue pressure to perform.  I do my best work when I am having fun and letting things flow, so I turned to my old standby, simply sewing things together and seeing what happens.

I brought out my cherished stash of silks from Mysore, India, including a few lengths from my student days and an assortment my husband brought back from a business trip years ago.  These are old friends, used in many pieces and now down to their last cherished bits, but since they have been supplemented by a new batch, and especially since I am travelling to do my own replenishing, I cut and sewed fearlessly.  As an exercise in abstract optics it was getting interesting, but I like imagery in my work.

Six years ago I participated in a textile art book round robin.  Part of the great pleasure of a collaborative project, aside from the artwork, is the people you get to know.  One of the book artists, Sandra B., expressed an interest in my cyanotype process, and out of the goodness of her heart sent me a box full of foliage from her Florida garden.  I was able to make prints (in late November--don't try this as home, kids!) from some of the delights she sent me, including this ginger leaf, above.  I was immersed in other projects at the time, and the tropical foliage prints got set aside until just the right moment, which was now. 

A perfect pairing for the silk blocks, and just like that I have an exciting new project underway.  Further sewing of blocks led to this placement audition, emphasizing value:

Already it's exploding!  Stay tuned as things progress.

Administrative note:  I've turned off the "Captcha" feature on the the comments, in the hopes that it will make commenting easier, especially from a mobile device.  I will continue to monitor comments to prevent spam, so there might be a slight delay before yours shows up.  And as always, thanks so much for reading - and commenting!

Watt & Shand #4 Acceptance in Images 2011

 I'm very excited to announce that Watt & Shand #4 has been accepted into Images 2011, the juried  fine art/fine craft exhibit of the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts, held at the Robeson Gallery at Penn State University.  The dates are June 8 - July 17.  This years's juror is Ron Rumford.

This is one of my very favorite exhibit venues, in part because I have had the incredible good fortune of a run of acceptances there, including last year's Best in Show award and a Viewer's Choice award,  but primarily because of the high quality of the exhibited work and the excellence of the exhibit space.  The staff takes great care to properly hang and light and showcase the works in all mediums, and it shows.

 Watt & Shand #4 is a unique work in the series in that it features images from inside the preserved facade of the former department store building that was repurposed into a hotel/convention center. (If you are new here, you can track back the series in progress by clicking on Watt & Shand under "Labels" in the right sidebar, or see the entire series on my website.)  I went to the top of a nearby parking garage to get the photos I used.  Above you can see the foundation piers being poured, the giant crane that was a fixture of the skyline for many months, and the previous "skyscraper" pride of Lancaster, the Greist Building, in the background (designed by C. Emlen Urban, its height was eclipsed by the new construction).  I love how you can still see some of the interior paint colors along with a lot of architectural and construction detail here. It was such an interesting and transitory scene.

 The building to the left is the historic Montgomery House, which was incorporated into the new construction as well--if you have been to the convention center for the AQS quilt show or another venue, you've seen it in the lobby.

 I used a combination of digital prints and cyanotype images for this work, and included cyanotypes in the pieced work as well, along with handpainted fabrics, lustrous silks, and wools.  I think the work as a whole walks a fine line between chaos and control, which is sort of where the construction project was at the time.

New Work - Columbine

  Early spring seems like a propitious time to unveil images of my latest work,Columbine, part of my ongoing series The Garden.  I was able to capture the delicacy of the flowers and seedpods using the cyanotype process on silk, and I used many silk solids and plaid fabrics in the pieced sections.

 The lustre of the silk came through well in the photos, as did the texture from the intensive stitching. 
I'm very happy with the color combinations and transitions in this piece.

 The columbines in my garden are blue flowered volunteers that drifted over from a neighbor's yard.  They pop up in unexpected places and they are always welcome.  The foliage is currently emerging, and I am impatiently awaiting the return of the blossoms.

You can track back this piece as a work in progress by clicking on "Columbine" under Labels in the right sidebar.

As always, thanks for reading, and I hope your spring, or fall, is filled with natural wonders.

Vintage India - Taj Mahal and Agra

 In the summer of 1974 I embarked on a grand journey of six months of University study and travel in India.  I was coming from a very rural and sheltered upbringing, and was eager to broaden my horizons.  I took with me some clothes and essentials, a Kodak Pocket Instamatic camera and 20 packs of 110 cartridge film, $200 in traveler's checks, and a keen longing for adventure.

I knew very little about how the world at large or India worked, but I was eager to find out. 

 There are probably dozens of things that could go awry in a scenario like that, but nothing bad happened.  On the contrary, most of my experiences were quite wonderful.

 In retrospect, I think it was because my heart was pure.

 I fell in love with the country, and especially with the people.  There is always a risk in generalizing, but I would still assert that Indians are some of the friendliest and most gracious people on the planet. 

 My first port of call after landing in Delhi was the red fort at Agra and the Taj Mahal.  I had a big dose of culture shock and cultural awe right at the start, and I embraced it and ran with it.

 I've scanned all my prints and ephemera from the trip and am working my way through editing them.  Some of them have faded and the colors have shifted, and there's only so much that can be done to correct them digitally, but I'm okay with that--the vintage look adds to their considerable charm.

 I had zero experience or schooling as a photographer, and had to carefully limit my shots because of my finite film resources, but still I am impressed with some of the images I captured.  My younger self had a very untrained eye, but an eye none the less.

 I am delving into the past as preparation for the future--I am going to return to India this summer and am terrifically excited about it.  I just received my visa, and concrete travel plans are being laid.  Stay tuned for more tourist photos, Indian textiles, and art work in progress!

Fiber Show at "Weavings, Ink." Gallery

 I am delighted to have four works in a group fiber show at the Weavings, Ink. Gallery in Wrightsville, PA that opens this Friday, April 1.  Above is Deer and Mayapple, and below is The Old Bridge, which is just back from being exhibited at the National Quilt Museum in Paducah, KY.

 Here's the details:
“200 Years in the Making”, a group fiber art exhibit  will be shown at the “Weavings, Ink.” art gallery at 208 Hellam Street (a.k.a. Rt.462), Wrightsville, York County, PA from April 1 – April 30, 2011.
This exhibit will include the work of these 3 York and 3 Lancaster County artists:
Ann Booth, tapestry weaver, York
Phyllis Koster, weaver; wall hangings, Hellam Township
Sylvia Lehman, contemporary basket maker, Elizabethtown
Vivian Narehood, contemporary weaver; wall hangings, Mt. Gretna
Deb Roberson, knotted miniature basket maker, Hallam
Sue Reno, contemporary quilt maker, Columbia

An opening reception is scheduled for Friday, April 1 from 5-8 p.m.
A closing reception is on Saturday, April 30 from 1-5 pm. The reception is free and open to the public and many of the artists will be on hand to talk about their work. Refreshments will be served.

This group of artists represents over 200 years of experience in the medium of fiber. All of them are masters of their chosen craft and this is a great opportunity to see some of the amazing fiber work being done in Pennsylvania.

Also included are Watt & Shand #3, above, and Watt & Shand #10, below:

Here are the bios of the other artists.  I feel privileged to be in the company of such talent!

Ann Booth, Tapestries http://www.annboothtapestries.com/
Ever since I can remember I have worked with yarn. As an art student in the early 70’s I would come home from painting all day to knit. When I discovered tapestry in 1977, It was such a joy to realize I could combine my 2 loves painting and fiber. Although I stopped weaving for about 15 years to work in glass. Tapestry was always in the back of my mind. In 2004 I just stopped doing my sandblasted glasswork and returned to tapestry. Since than I have been enjoying the creative, and meditative process of tapestry. I love color and value change. I dye most of my own yarn in order to get just the colors I want, and to achieve value change you. Recently I have been using images of nature, to illustrate my own spiritual journey.

Sylvia Eisenbise Lehman, Contemporary baskets http://www.sylvialehman.com/
I love textures, forms, possibilities and hardware stores. A complexity of contrasts and unexpected connections please me. I look for appearance rather than referencing function. With this attitude, the whole world becomes an art supply store. My favorite hiking paths in the woods and fields around my studio provide a wealth of potential. Some of my gleanings become handmade paper, allowing me to explore the correlation between pressed fiber and woven fiber. A traditional weave structure with unexpected and nontraditional resolution invites us to look at and consider everyday objects in a new way and perhaps helps us be present and alive to what’s around us.A friend who knows me well stepped into my studio one day and said,“You’re weaving your life.” I feel fortunate to “tell” myself in this way, but the main event is visual; a complexity of textural forms, contrasts and unexpected connections. I am a juried member of the Pennsylvania Guild of Craftsmen and a participating artist in the PA Arts Experience. View the craft fairs and events I will be exhibiting and selling my baskets and paperwork by clicking my show schedule.

Phyllis Koster, Woven hangings http://www.weavingsink.blogspot.com/
The craft of weavings has intrigued Phyllis Koster since the age of 12, when she was allowed to sit on the loom bench and weave at the Landis Valley Farm Museum in Lancaster, PA. While studying at Millersville University, she attended Penland School of crafts, near Asheville, NC, where she received most of her formal weaving training. In 1976, after graduating from Millersville University with a BA in Art, Phyllis started her own hand weaving business, The Flying Shuttle, now located in a renovated garage on their farm property. She has received awards from the Philadelphia Hand Weavers Guild, the Pennsylvania Guild of Craftsmen and the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts. Recent shows include an invitational show at YorkArts in 2007 and “Fiber Celebrated 2007” at the Durango (CO) Arts Center where she won the Juror’s Choice Award. She and her husband, artist, Robert Oughton recently opened a gallery in Wrightsville, PA called “Weavings, Ink.”.

Deb Roberson, Miniature baskets
Deb Roberson has been a baskets maker for over 30 years. Her focus of interest recently has been miniature knotted baskets in the Native American tradition. These exquisite baskets are measured in inches and are intricately woven.

Vivian Narehood,  Contemporary weaver
Vivian came to her love of weaving in the early 1970's when she won a raffle for a public radio station to take a weaving class at Fiberworks, a wonderful weaving studio in Oakland, California. She fell in love with the way fibers absorb and reflect light and color depending upon how they meet, encounter and interlace. She has been weaving ever since, despite numerous life changes. Increasingly, she dyes and spins her own fibers to accomplish the result she is looking for which is, in part, planned and, in part, incorporates some of the random unpredictability of nature. Her themes are always nature based, some-times pure inspiration from nature rhythms, sometimes an effort to evoke a particular scene of water, clouds, rocks, etc. She uses fibers of different textures and widths to create the effect she hopes to achieve.

Watt & Shand #7 Accepted for "New Legacies: Contemporary Art Quilts.”

 I'm very pleased to announce that Watt & Shand #7 has been accepted for the 29th annual New Legacies: Contemporary Art Quilts  Exhibit at the Lincoln Center in Ft. Collins, Colorado (formerly known as"Fabric of Legacies").  The exhibit will run from October 7th to November 13th.  The Lincoln Center is undergoing an $8 million dollar renovation, including a brand new art gallery, so it promises to be an outstanding venue.

Watt & Shand #7 features one of my favorite pictures from the entire renovation project--the Leaning Man.  I love all the lines, angles, and contrasting textures in this image:

 It was a fortuitous walk-by shooting, as they were hoisting construction supplies up to a temporary scaffolding , and this worker equipped with a safety harness was poised to receive them.  Here's the original snapshot, where I hit the shutter button at just the right moment:

 Here's the same photo after a bit of digital manipulation. I've cropped it to the area of interest, lightened it, increased the contrast, and upped the saturation.  It looks a bit garish here, but that's necessary when printing on fabric--some of the ink is absorbed by the fiber, so you need to start with an excess:

 Here's another lucky shot, although at first I thought it was too dark and unworkable: 

 But through the  magic of photo manipulation, I was able to come with a image that gave me this delicate cyanotype print:

If you are new here, you can read more about the Watt & Shand series either on my website, or by clicking on "Watt & Shand" under Labels in the right sidebar and scrolling back through my blog posts about the works in progress.

New Work - Squirrel and Locust

I am very happy to unveil my latest work, "Squirrel and Locust", part of my newest series, "Flora and Fauna".  I began by photographing a squirrel skull found in the woods and using those images to make cyanotype prints.  These were combined with heliographic prints of the leaves of my locust tree that the squirrels take refuge in while raiding the bird feeder, along with a print from the fern beneath the tree.  I added a vintage embroidery panel and handpainted fabrics.  It's very extensively stitched and hand beaded, and I added some painted highlights at the end of the process.

The cyanotypes came out particularly crisp and detailed.  Above is the view looking down on the inside of the top portion of the skull.  You can see the sockets for the grinding teeth in the middle of the picture, inbetween the eye sockets, and the huge incisors, pointing inward, at the bottom of the image.  Below is a side view of the top and bottom halves of the skull--look at the size of those incisors proportional to the rest of the head!

Below is the vintage embroidery panel, half of a former table runner.  It's one of my all time favorites--such a beautiful pastoral scene, with squirrels inexplicably floating on lily pads, rafting out to a tete-a-tete with the twinkle of romance in their coy little squirrely eyes.  Anthropomorphism at its finest!

Here is a detail of the locust leaf print, made on white cotton, heavily stitched and then beaded.  The leaves on the left side of the work were drawn with freehand stitching, then painted and beaded.

I am having more fun than the law probably allows with this series, and this was a particularly joyous piece to work on.  I read somewhere that the key to squirrel's survival as a species is that they have a very rapid and effective response to danger--run away!!-- but then their brains forget about it almost instantly, giving them the chutzpah to make another foray.  It's the squirrel version of the zen of be-here-now, and the essence of what I was working towards with this piece.  What do you think--how does it "read" to you?