love, oh love.

I hate to re-post things that I have seen on other blogs, especially when I never remember the blog to give credit where credit is due but... some wonderful blog that I read posted about the Love Ever After series by photographer Lauren Fleishman.


As many of you know my background and first passion is in photography, and this still informs my daily practice as an artist. Therefore, I am still constantly inspired by contemporary photography and if I ever have the money a huge part of my art collection would be a reflection of this. And of course any one that reads my blog knows that I am a big fan of love and intimacy. So this project is one after my heart.

The series is a series of "portraits" accompanied by text that documents the experience of couples towards the end of their life that have been together for MANY years. Not only do I love to see the obvious love in the images but also the wisdom that they share.


They all seem quite at peace with the place they are with each other and their life. Something to aspire to.

I particularly like this project more then some of Lauren's other projects because of its simplicity, directness. The images seem to be more "real" and a little less slick then her other work. She has an incredible eye and is obviously a trained see-er. But this series seems to have more truth to it both in concept and in the artists vision.



With that said there are some total gems in her other projects so take the time to peruse her website.

quiet...

As I walked to teach my 7am yoga class today I was moved by how quiet the city was. The hour being one of quiet, the snow muffling the little sounds that were around, and the cold keeping people in a little longer. And this is why winter is really worth it.

The above work is about another form of "quiet stillness" but perfectly appropriate with its words and white stitches. It also is in line with some new thoughts I am having about the direction of my work.

I am working diligently on the "Sleepers" series but conceptually the project is worked out. It will take at least a year maybe longer to finish the number of pieces that I want in the final series, for a solo show, but now it is about the making, the experimentation with technique, and capturing the right images to work from. But the thought has been worked out, the statement practically written. Which is strange for me as I generally do not go into a project with so much clarity.
But as a result I am already thinking about what is next, conceptually, with my work. And due to an unexpected opportunity I will be forced to explore this a little sooner then I thought but it has gotten my wheels turning and it connects to this "quiet stillness." Soon I will start to share my thoughts but for now they are still in my head.

details, details.

Here are some images I took, mostly details, from this show. You can see a list of artists and work here.

&
I am so sorry about the poor color of these images. They are from my phone and were not cooperating in opening up in Photoshop.

studio.

Rushed off to the studio today after teaching. Trying to make up for the lost day yesterday.
Literally had to drag T's stroller up some snow mountains. But we are here one of us sleeping, the other stitching.

I will try to post later today.

ergh, that beautiful snow.

view of my fire escape.

Well, it is so lovely and beautiful with ALL of this snow. But it is stopping me from going to the studio which I am not so happy about. I really am trying to stay strict about my studio days but there is just no way that I can dig my way out of here with a baby stroller.

So, frown face, I am stuck at home but think I can re-arrange my plans for the week and go tomorrow. Fingers crossed.


Therefore I will work a little on this piece, but am almost out of the thread I need, finish up a major application, and stay warm and dry.

cutting away to find nostalgia.

Due to an opportunity that has come up for me and my work, waiting to announce until it is confirmed, I discovered the work of Molly Bosley...



Initially my interest was peeked by her embroidery but as I perused her website they quickly become secondary as her cut paper works are AMAZING.


Her technique of layering the silhouettes adds so much depth to the work...


and her more sculptural dioramas breathe a wonderful life into them. Kind of how when Kara Walker's work is lit.

Molly says this about her work:

There is a tangible presence of hands in my artwork... It contains the imprint of the instrument that crafted it. There is an awareness of the connection to humans and the mementos they possess. I want to create an art that is arresting, yet familiar, like a memento you find tucked away in between the pages of an old book. In an effort to harmonize my media with my message, I construct work out of the detritus of American culture, the little things that slip away into junk stores, attics, or trash bins...The process is instinctive in choosing the images but structured, layered and designed so the different elements harmonize to produce an artwork that is wholey nostalgic.

I love the moment in her statement when she sayes how a memento found in an old book is both arresting, yet familiar. As someone who loves those little discoveries and is quite inspired by them myself I found those words quite poignant and poetic. And her work very much manages to strike that balance.

See more of Molly's lovely work here.

Million Dollar Market

Wow, I spent WAY too much time writing this post. But see the first of 2 articles about my feelings towards the million dollar art market.

I need to figure our how to get paid for all this writing time!

Read here.

Lovesick

Delighted to be suddenly invited to include a few works in this show which opens next Friday. Mark your Calenders.

LOVESICK
Love.
It is the month of February after all
and love has inspired great works of art in a great many mediums.
Love runs the gamut from exaltation to devastation.
In this show a group of contemporary fiber artist will explore the many facets of love.

Curated by Pamela Davis

Opening reception:
Feb 4th, 2011
6-9:30 pm

Participating artists:

Amanda Fiebing, Bo Betsy, Cathy Pitters, Carla Madrigal, Emily Baier, Emily Katz, Jessica Friday, Joetta Maue, Johnny Murder, Julie Jackson, Kristen Rupp, Lucy & Ryan Berkley, Lyndsey Baldwin, Mark Bieraugel, Cindy Steiler, Mike Wurn, Moxie, Pamela Davis
Penny Nickels, Rachel Lieberman, Tracy Jager

getting started.

So glad that I got into the studio yesterday as it is snowing like CRAZY today here in NYC. I mean a lot! Therefore, I am glad I trekked out in the light snow of yesterday. And though, due to just tough day stuff going on, I did not get as much work done as I had hoped or planned I did get started on the Kimono piece and am getting excited. It is always a little fun to do a piece outside of your normal subject matter and direction as it encourages you to be more experimental.

Not that this piece is that unusual for me but I would never have done it without the request for it and sometimes that makes you think a little differently about your work.

Today I do have to go out in this crazy weather to ship a few pieces out but otherwise have plans to do more applications and hang with T. Warm and cozy. And maybe if I am lucky pick up some stitching too.

missing/missed

Celia Pym

Last night I went to the Artist Talk at the Textile Arts Center, the current exhibit is Missing/Missed, curated by a non fiber artist, Scott Henstrand. When I first saw the call for work I was intrigued by the premise of the show as I am always drawn to work that has a missing element, my tastes tend to love negative space used in this way.

Sara Jones

In looking at the show Scott put a lot of time and thought into the exhibit and made a lovely little catalogue with a very nice essay in it.

Micaela Hardy-Moffat

On the TAC website Scott states this:

We all have things we yearn for in the future and from the past. These things (lovers and pets and cars and mother and idea and …) drive us. They swirl around under the surface. We desire to capture and recapture the thing in memory or actuality. Most of the time we don't know exactly what any one thing is. We can't quite put our finger on the exact demand.

Patty Hickman

So needless to say I was excited to be able to see the show and hear a handful of the artists talk.
All in all the show was worth seeing. Though I will admit a big chunk of the pieces were not to my taste as I tend to not like work that has a clunkiness to it. I love work that has lightness in some way or that is overtly heavy in nature. I really have been searching for the right word to describe these works that I am thinking of and I cannot...what is it the right adjective? All I can think of is perhaps dated, no longer seeming relevant?
But at the artist talk it was nice to see that some people were very engaged with the work that I was not excited by. It just goes to remind us all that art and taste and preference is so very subjective.

and in the overall exhibit there were some very lovely gems of work that simply screamed off the wall to me. Well actually they did not - as all of these works had a subtly to them that made them the gems that they were but they whispered to my heart and my eyes in a very powerful way.


By far the highlight of the show was the beyond gorgeous piece by Alison Watkins. Her choices of color, what to embroider fully, what to reference, and what to leave out left for an incredibly evocative and oh so lovely work. If I could I would immediately buy this and hang it on my wall. The textures and patterns of the clothing drawn are just perfect. I very much hope to see more of her work. (and can I say that this image does not even get close to beginning to show the beauty of this piece.)


another work that I liked was a work by Julia Elsas, an artist that I just, coincidentally, met the previous week. The image does not show it but the piece has a wonderful quality of buckling, fraying, and seaming that is lovely. She utilizes a sewing machine that embroiders from her images and photos. I feel like in hearing her speak that she is just at the beginning of this work and look forward to seeing where it takes her.


John Paul Morabito had another uber gorgeous piece in this show. I am generally not into more minimalist work but John's work fools you by seeming minimalist but actually being so high in meaning and texture. In short it is truly gorgeous. And he is great too.


I was excited to see the work of one of my ex students in the show, Jill Magi, and even more excited to know that she is one of the TAC new artist residents. I cannot wait to see how she grows with her work. As an already accomplished writer and poet her work will be heavy with text and meaning. AKA right up my alley. Plus one of her "tiles" had a little shout out to me. Gotta love that.


Another highlight for me was the work of Celia Pym. She takes worn out clothes with rips and such and then "re-constructs" them back to completeness with embroidery and weaving. The result is quite lovely, the metaphor powerful, and for some reason the fact that her work ended up being the piece that hung in front of a brick wall instead of the cleaner gallery wall really worked for me.

Plenty of other great works. See all the work in the show here.

I took lots of gorgeous photos to share with all of you. But cannot figure out how to get them off my phone so hopefully I can do that soon?

the f word.

All I have to say is that sometimes Family can be a big F-in burr in your butt. ERGH. So in other words my brain is off to a frustrated not focused start due to this burr.

I am off to the studio shortly, a walk in the snow will get me there and hopefully I can get my mind centered again and let go of how other people affect me. I have a lot of work I need to get done this month so I need to focus on that.

written up...

Check out a nice write up on me and my work here.

work, work, work.

The applique that is happening in my studio above. I am happy with how once I have appliqued the "sheets" down it pretty successfully looks like the hand is laying on top instead of sinking in.

I had a meeting Friday for exhibiting my work in a one night art event that seems like it will be interesting. It is a woman that has every other month shows in her home in the parlors of her beautiful old brownstone. Artists are asked to install their work in a way that really honors the architecture and reality of the space being a home. So I am planning on installing the new piece that I am working on, which is on an amazing old curtain, in the window. I am very excited to see how it looks with the light moving through it once it is done and the fact that by being lit from both sides you will be able to see the back while seeing the front.

I am also installing this work on a couch so the figure will appear to be laying on the couch. I look forward to getting photographs of the install and in general the evening. It is a private opening with each of the 5 artists inviting 10 people for more of like a dinner party gala sort of thing. I think it will be an interesting way to meet new people, new collectors, and share my art with a new audience.

Now I just have to get the curtain piece finished, or even started.

annoyance turns good.

a peek at the new piece, it is always so hear to photo it when it is just the drawing.

One good thing about being really annoyed with your husband in the morning is you feel like staying at the studio late and get a lot of work done. So the day in the studio was good.

I made good progress on one of my pieces and got a few applications out. Thankfully.
But still have the 2 big ones to send. I am hoping to get 8 months, the image of me pregnant sleeping done on Monday or Tuesday so I can include it in the packets. We will see if it can happen. Fingers crossed.

Today I have a meeting about being part of a one night show, it is a very unique type of venue but has a lot of potential for fun. So I am looking forward to checking out the space and picking my spot.

pixels and nostalgia.

I am looking forward to the artist talk at the Textile Arts Center this Monday which features the artists of their current exhibit and when I saw the name of Ehren Reed, I remembered how much I liked the work she submitted to the show that I curated there. Unfortunately it did not end up fitting into the direction that my show took so I am very glad to see her work in this show and very glad to see her website so that I can pour over her lovely work.


She states this about her work:

My recent work relies upon books, maps and other found materials as I blend together traditional craft, contemporary media and remnants of consumer culture to investigate interpersonal relationships and contemporary culture. My process employs digital media reinterpreted through stitching and embroidery, creating works that develop a conversation between the ethereal world of technology and the hand-hewn physicality of craft.

To me her work has a more nostalgic edge then an obvious connection to technology. Even though once I read her statement I understand that her images are technologically based I do not see this in the finished work as much I would expect based on her statement. This is especially because of the choice of images that she chooses to work with.


But who cares in the end the work is really lovely.


and her artist book and works with paper are just as sweet.


See more here.