stitched and layered poetry.

I really enjoy the layers and textures of the work of Alison Mercer. Her work varies from fiber books, sewn drawings, and quilts all the way to installations. She uses what seems to be traditional techniques to make personal work about complex issues.



Her fiber "bra book" with its bra pad poem is clever, gorgeous, & poignant.


Her work about a growing child pierces my heart at the moment while my lil't grows like a weed right in front of my own eyes.


In general her work and technique is lovely and seems quite poetic in its hand and nature.


Her statement is as poetic as her work:

The stitched garments and objects I create penetrate the real and the imaginary exploring the issues of stitching and unstitching the self through everyday activity.

When I am making I am absorbed in the activity, working intuitively and guided by the thoughts and revelations that crafting uncovers. I want to discover who I am and why stitch is so important to me. Each object becomes a revelation and a token of memory.

As a mother I make many skins, skins to wash and skins to wear, stitched skins, ancestor skins. Skins become garments that protect the new generation and eventually shroud. Each stitch repeats the bonding process, seams are lineages, pieced together so nothing is wasted.

Every object I make I affirm continuity for future generations and add an esoteric mystery to a world that has paved over some of its ancient magic. I hope an audience will view the archive with curiosity recognising the need to revisit the past and make connection for themselves.

I love her installations and the collection of objects, almost like effigies that they utilize.


See more of her work at her website.

out the wazoo...

So you may have noticed my next call for "cutting edge" work and it is a doozie. The amazing and new Textile Arts Center in Brooklyn has invited me to curate their very first gallery exhibition it is going to be huge. They are promoting it out the wazoo to get as many folks as possible to attend and know about there uber gorgeous space and they are having a live brass band.
We are hoping to get some installation work, performance, and maybe even some video inspired by fiber. So artists get thinking this is going to be the best one yet.

Oh, and please pass the word.
and that might be why I have been too crazy busy to post much here, hope to catch up soon. Sorry for my neglect it is crazy having a babe, curating a show, and having a solo show all at the same time. Crazy. Did I say crazy?

Call for Cutting Edge work that celebrates fiber.

Call for Cutting Edge Contemporary fiber work and work that references or utilizes fiber or fiber techniques in innovative ways.

To be part of the opening party at the new Textile Arts Center in Brooklyn.
The brand new Textile Arts Center is a gorgeous street level space located in Brooklyn, NYC. The center provides an environment for the professional, the artist, and the student. With an invested interest in the conservation of hand weaving and other fiber arts, the Center offers a fully equipped studio and gallery space for those with enthusiasm and curiosity, with and without experience. It is a place in which craftsmen are, once again, nurtured in their making from beginning to end.

Exhibition dates:
September 16- October 11, 2010
Opening Gala- September 17, 8-11pm.
Artist Talk will be scheduled in early October.


As part of their opening party and premier exhibition artist & curator, Joetta Maue, is curating an exhibition of cutting edge fiber work. We are looking for fiber work that pushes the envelope and is a bit of the unexpected. Any fiber technique and materials can be submitted. We hope to see large scale pieces, installation work, suspended and sculptural work, as well as performance, site -specific works, and video.


The space has high ceilings, large rounded street level windows, and 4 cement columns in the center of the space. Please feel free to submit ideas specifically for these architectural elements. The Textile Arts Center would also like to celebrate the fact that they have a full silk screen studio and we hope to see silk screen work submitted as well. Feel free to stop by the space to see it before writing site specific proposals.

The Textile Arts Center is located at 505 Carroll Street in Brooklyn between 2nd and 3rd Avenue.

Eligibility

• All artists over 18 are eligible.
  
• Work can utilize any medium but must primarily use fiber or fiber techniques.
  
• Large scale, installation, site specific, video, silk screen, and performance work is welcome.
  
• Work must be original.- small editions are acceptable
  
• Work must be created after 2006

Guidelines/Requirements

DEADLINE August 20, 2010

Submit
Either by mail or email (email preferred)
Send:

• Entries can be submitted via Internet or mail, and must be postmarked or emailed by August 20, 2010
• $30 entry fee- 5 works per entry- a maximum of 1 detail per entry
  
• Images must be correctly sized-300 dpi, largest dimension 400 pixels, jpeg only. Either email as jpeg attachments or mail on cd.
• Artist statement- 300 words or less. (optional)
  
• All work details including title, dimensions, technique, materials, & date.
• Name:
  Email address:
  Phone number:
  Address:
  Website or blog url:
• Pay submission fee by personal check or money order (made to curator Joetta Maue) or via the paypal button below.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  EMAIL ALL SUBMISSIONS AND QUESTIONS DIRECTLY TO CURATOR:
  joettamaue (at) gmail {dot} com
  Mail submissions to
  Attention: Joetta Maue
  485 Hicks Street #4
  Brooklyn, NY 11231
  
  
  About the curator
  Joetta Maue is a full-time fiber artist living and working in Brooklyn, NY.
  Her work has been included in numerous exhibitions across the country, internationally and in New York. Most recently her work was seen in a solo show, Home Sweet Home, Corridor Gallery, Brooklyn, NY and The Process of Forever, Basement Gallery, Oakland, CA. You can also see a feature on her in the winter issue of Needle Magazine.
  
  Joetta's work is featured in the current exhibit Fiber Art International Exhibition in Pittsburgh, Pa., and recently was a part of Designing Thread at The Gallery at Mt. Ida College., Break ups-R-Tough, U- Turn Gallery, Cincinnati, Ohio, and Lost at Sea, Gallery Hanahou, NY, NY.
  She will also be a featured artist in the forthcoming book Indie Craft edited by Jo Waterhouse.
  
  Joetta authors the popular fiber arts blog Little YellowBird as well as regularly contributes to the online journal Hello Craft and Mr. X Stitch.
  
  This is the 6th exhibition curated by Joetta. You can see images and features from her most recent curatorial exhibitions here.
  To see Joetta's work her website www.joettamaue.com.
  
  Each selected artist will be featured in Little Yellow Bird.
  
  Further Details:
  -Exhibition cards will be made.
  -Press Release and promotion will be extensive as this is the premier exhibit in opening event for the space.
  -The opening will have live music.
  -Work will be professionally installed and exhibited.
  -The artist is responsible for all shipping costs.
  -Any works sold will have a 30% commission taken.
  
  
  
  

from the tongue...

I finally got around to the formal announcement for the exhibit from the tongue.... There are so many amazing artists in the exhibit and it was very difficult to finalize the curation due to the fact that at least twice as many artists deserved to be in the show. The work varies from performance, sculptural, to very large and very small. I am planning on hanging all the awesome small works together as a salon style "family wall" installation, I think it will look awesome. And of course I will document it all with you. Check out my curatorial blog to find links to all the included artists.

from the tongue...
an exhibition of works on paper and/or fiber exploring the use of text and language.
Curated by Joetta Maue
June 24-August 6 2010
Opening Reception Thursday, June 24, 8-10pm.

34 North Moore St/Lotus Gallery Space, Tribeca, NY, NY

Artists include:
Allison Manch, Audrey Manning, Bren Ahearn, Bridget Franckowiak, Brooke Holloway, Drucilla Pettibone, Elana Adler, Ellen Schinderman, Eloise de Hauteclocque, Eric Johanni, FiberGraf a.k.a Iviva Olenick and Jon Baker, Grant Olsen, Jamie Chalmers, Jee Hwang, Jennifer Hunold, Jung Eun Park, Katrina Eaton, Kirsten Rae Simonsen, Kristen Wulff, Lathorial Badenhausen, Leila Daw, Leslie Nichols, Marcy Chevali, Marilyn Henrion, Mary Coss, Nathalie Cortada, Orly Cogan, Richard Saja, Rubi McGrory, Sarah Bahr, Susan Moss, Susan Sharman, Tricia L. Johnson

Porterhouse $6.99

Loving the work of artist Jennifer Boe- She makes clever, humorous, but in truth quite profound statements about contemporary culture, consumerism, and religion through her embroideries that combine unexpected elements.

She states:

Over all, I consider my body of work to be an attempt to organize a pantry of random but, interconnected thoughts, all concerning some combination of art, faith, consumerism or domesticity. It is a cataloging and categorizing of objects, things, and items; be they a selection of six forms of birth control, various brands of bar soap or, twelve different cuts of beef and their price per pound.

My medium plays a major role in my work. While painting is obviously art, because I have chosen embroidery, I must constantly perform a tight rope walk, whether I want to or not. There is a distinction between and a hierarchical ordering of fine art over craft; "Art" being strong, masculine and educated; "craft" weak, feminine, domestic and amateur. It seems to me that it should be more a question of intent than materials or gender.

See more here.

studio afternoon...

So we had our first successful studio afternoon yesterday. Me and lil't went to the studio for over 4 hours so that I could get it cleaned up and organized so his playpen fits in a workable way--
and so that I could get my work ready and packed to send off for my solo exhibit in California.

It was sticky & hot in there but all is finally ready, the studio looks good and my work is ironed and packed to ship this afternoon. The show I am shipping to is:

Joetta Maue - The Process of Forever - A Solo Exhibition of fiber work relating to the complex emotional journey of marriage and partnering

Curated by Erica Sheets

Opening June 18th 2010 from 7 - 10:00 pm

at the Basement Gallery Oakland, CA.

So for all you west coast readers it is a great chance to see my work up close and personal.
Now back to doing some promotion of from the tongue...

an great loss to us.

This week the art world has experienced the enormous loss of Louise Bourgeois. Louise died at the age of 98 this Monday. She has been a huge inspiration and icon of mine, her honest tongue and hand, her incredible longevity of being relevant to the art world, and her cranky persona have had great influence upon me.
This is a great loss of an incredibly unique woman and artist.

You can see how much I love her by seeing many posts and many quotes over the years at the blog.
Check them out:

here and here and here and here
a quote,
and another,
and another.

Read to write ups about her here and here.

simple materials become amazing...

So while indulging in my greatest vice, reality TV, I was watching Design by 9 a show that follows these freakishly talented Manhattan designers and there freakishly gorgeous children and ...
They mentioned the artist Ann Carrington- and I am glad they did she is just fabulous!

On the show she referenced one of here pieces that is a portrait of Micheal Jordan made out of basketballs and said "why use paint or other materials when you can actually use the basketball."
Genius.


She utilizes the most everyday of materials to create some very cool and elaborate works of art.
Her button works are so impressive- yes those above works are all buttons. And quite large too.


or safety pins...


forks... Can you imagine how amazing her studio must be, just filled with massive collections of all the lovely ordinary things in our lives.


Her shells ladies remind me of the dolls I had as a child from Florida or would covet in the junky kitsch shell stores. Anne moved them about and had them exist in multiple "beachy" places.


and her fiber work is just gorgeous, the decisions she makes are so simple and perfect...

Check out her website to get detail shots of all her work- that way your jaw can continuously drop like mine and if you want she has links to the full articles of all her press. So you can read away on her and her work.

freehand humor.

jawbreakers.

HER MOTHER TOLD HER TO EAT A BALANCED MEAL III

Cindy Hincock's work is impressive with her use of a freehand sewing machine to comment on art history and often comment on our contemporary society with a touch of tongue and cheek.

morning has broken.

Check out the titles to get the full humour and cleverness of the work.

the art collection.

I especially like her large "group portraits" of figures and famous images. Her technique is incredibly impressive. See more of her work here and here.

celebrate...

Friday I got the layout for my new text work, Celebrate, all set. After some much needed critique by C, losing all my work to my freaking out cat that ran right through my work area, and a few hours I got it perfect.
I am super excited about the piece and will be cutting it out today so that I can iron it to its backing this week.

Otherwise, I lazed about with pleasure all weekend with C and lil't and wish it was still the weekend. But we are all back to work. t is just working hard at being cute and crying lots.