watered.

I took the time to water my very dry little plants today. So tonight come help me celebrate!!!

Joetta Maue: When All The Plants Need Water

On View: February 6 – March 2, 2014

TONIGHT Artist Reception: Thursday, February 6, 2014, 6-8pm

 

at Uforge Gallery 

767 Centre St, Jamaica Plain, MA 02130

deep breath

This week has been a week of recovery. Recovery form the preparation of my show which opens tonight! and the fact that my entire life was a little  bit overlooked due to a frantic finishing of the main piece, the starting of my spring class that I am teaching and never quite recovering from the holidays. (I am embarrassed to say my tree is still up!)

But it has felt great. I spent ALL Tuesday morning getting caught up on emails. Many of which were in regards to comments that many of you, my precious readers, left. It was so nice reading through comments from weeks ago and having and taking the time to respond in a thoughtful way.  Made me feel that even if my posts are less frequent maybe they are still just as fun.
Today I recoverd my house from at least a month of total neglect while listening to some good old fashioned rock and roll. (from the pic above you can see I am leaving my studio for next week.)

But in all seriousness, whatever that means. I am feeling a huge sense of relief from starting the process of getting caught up and letting myself take some pressure of the studio. For the next ENTIRE month I am not putting any focus on making (though I am sure that I still will) and allowing time to send out applications, research opportunities and get to all the dr's appts. that I have been putting off scheduled. I am looking froward to the break and look forward to what comes after that nice long deep breathe.

inspired.

 by Emma Nishimura

See and read more here.

when all the plants need watered

UFORGE Gallery welcomes the work of artist, Joetta Maue with the opening of her featured show "When All The Plants Need Water" on Thursday, February 6th through March 2nd, 2014

Reception on Thursday, February 6, 2014 from 6-8pm 

Artist talk on Thursday, February 20, 2014, 7-9pm

 Joetta Maue uses the traditional arts of embroidery and appliqué to reflect on contemporary domestic life. Her recent work has explored the bed as a place of rest and regeneration. In this exhibition, she explores a new theme – plants and their need for nourishment (perhaps a metaphor for any growing organism).

She says: “In this show, I explore how the small everyday moments and objects in our daily life are often the truth tellers of our state of being. This work is inspired by the realization that when all my plants need water it usually means that my life and relationships are out of balance and attention needs to be paid. The work on display is part of a larger and active body of work that explores how the seemingly insignificant moments and objects in our domestic space signal to others and ourselves where we are psychologically and emotionally, mostly represented via found still life, text from notebooks and scraps of writing. The centerpiece to the exhibit, plants hung, represents a new direction that is moving toward a more ambiguous image stripped of color. Other works in this series include images of household piles, the found collections of toys that exist within a childrearing home and the detritus of daily life.”

The gallery is open Thursday & Friday from 5-8 pm and on (winter hours) Saturdays & Sundays from 12pm to 6pm and located at 767 Centre Street in Jamaica Plain, MA.

"... of cloth itself"

 Loving the work of Jesse Harrod.

simple in aesthetic, colorful, full of concept and labor.

"I find answers within the layered history of cloth itself; how a single scrap
of fabric, when researched, produces evidence of deeply entrenched
colonial, gendered, and class-based oppression."

See more.  (including some awesome works on paper.) Read an interview with her here?

erk, ack, flounder,

brain overload. In the last 3 days I have gone into every emotion possible about my upcoming mini show.  From being totally committed and determined to being totally overwhelmed and shut down.

I did FINALLY get the larger work done. In about an hour I will have it ironed and be able to see how it really turned out.
But I am still floundering on deciding how to present the rest of the work. Formal, informal. some framed or none framed, just textiles or some drawings and older photos mixed in. etc. etc. etc.

In other words ack, f-ing ack. Today is really the only day I have a big chunk of time to look at this and make decisions and I am feeling the pressure. And as always you also feel the foreboding of what is next. Once a bigger work is done and hung there is always the "what s next?" And though I am starting to feel more clarity about my work I am still a bit lost---

and even more so I am still struggling with finding the time to do all the crappy parts of being an artist like apply, apply, fing apply. So you get the satisfaction of actually showing. It has also now been almost a year since I curated anything and I am really feeling the itch but oh so lacking the time.

hand off eyeballs out

I am sewing my hands off--- not really but seriously non stop stitching. I am going to be so down to the wire on this main piece for my show next month. Ack. I do now fully know that I can get it done but I am seriously stitching any moment that I am sitting still. I sat in my studio and worked ALL day and made wonderful progress. But dammit I better love this piece by the time I done.

The last time I did this...sew until the very last minute was a huge breakthrough in my work and my studio practice so here is to hoping this piece is just as beautiful and turns out just as well.

 I am getting worried about getting all the other pieces for the show in place, tick tock tick tock I lost almost the entire last weekend to a nasty virus. So here is to hoping the next week goes smoothly and success if found.

And then I am going to let myself sit down and do a puzzle and read a book since I have been sewing until my eyeballs fall out.

woven

I have inspired a "call for work" that is like RIGHT now and has a VERY short turn around but to any of you local fiber artists take advantage. Uforge is a lovely space right on the main strip....

In February, UForge Gallery will host the solo exhibition, featuring Joetta Maue. In her show, when all the plants need water, she'll use embroidery to reflect on times when our domestic environment sends us signals about our lives. Joetta's work is a delightful blend of traditional needlework and contemporary comment.

In conjunction with this show, UForge has issued an invitation for artists and artisans to submit work to a show entitled "Woven." UForge charges a small fee for each piece to be included, and takes a small commission on all sales. They provide publicity, signage and a reception that is part of First Thursdays in Jamaica Plain.

Like the interwoven threads of a piece of fabric, there are tightly-bound connections surrounding us and supporting us in our day-to-day lives. Communities, relationships, technologies, environments, transportation: we are connected to one another in a variety of ways. This open call to artists seeks artwork that is inspired by the idea of connection- whether literal, as in textiles and mesh materials, or figurative, as in love, friendship or creative bonds. Show us how your interactions with the world around you can be revealed in your work, through any media.
Work will be accepted on a first come, first serve basis during the posted registration/drop-off period noted above. Work must be no larger than 24 in. x 36 in. framed/matted and ready to hang.

On view: February 6–March 2, 2014
Reception: February 6, 6-8pm
Drop-off: 1/18, 1/19, 1/25, 1/26, 12-6pm
Registration fee: $35 per submission; this reserves your space in the show.
Gallery commission: 25%
UForge Gallery, 767 Centre St., Jamaica Plain

More details about the call can be found at: http://www.uforgegallery.com/shop/february-2014/

draw for a day....

Super fun upcoming workshop:

Draw For a Day

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Sunday, Feb 16, 2014 — 10am–3pm –

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Draw with Unexpected MaterialsSunday, Mar 9, 2014 — 10am–3pm –
Instructor: Joetta Maue
Draw with unexpected materials. Use ribbon, thread, wire or pins to create drawings as detailed as you like. Instead of letting the art of drawing be an intimidating effort with rigid rules, we will be playful and adventurous. I like to let drawing be about play and going one mark at a time. We will start class with some drawing exercises and technique demonstrations, then focus on one drawing for the rest of class. Take inspiration from the room and objects around you or photographs and source materials that you bring to class. Leave your pencils behind. 





















 Get all the details here.

I also have an applique class on March 2nd here for details.

Come make with me!

our body and our art

 

So another work of art that is questionably shocking. Artist Eliza Bennett embroidered into her hand. The resulting work is equally repulsive and beautifully evocative.  I have always had very mixed emotions about work that actually harms the artist from the violent acts of 70's performance art to the plastic surgery works of the 90's. I understand as artists we are commenting on our culture and sometimes go to great pains to do so- but when the metaphor and message leads to actual physical harm I am unsure. Conceptually I almost always appreciate the work but morally do not.

Eliza's work "a women's work is never done" really walks the line of this question-- if her hands are  calloused and her work is very careful she can almost do this work without harm. It really is less pain and "aggression" then a tattoo and what she says about the work is grounded in thoughtfulness:

I stitched into the top layer of skin using thread to create the appearance of an incredibly work worn hand. By using the technique of embroidery, traditionally employed to represent femininity and applying it to the expression of it’s opposite, I hope to challenge the pre-conceived notion that ‘women’s work’ is light and easy.

Eliza's other works show an incredibly skill and meticulousness as a sculptor and her work is intelligent and thought provoking. Definitely an artist to watch and see what she does next.

See more here. 

Found via here.