Seamless Skin

...And Still I Rise

Update

How good it feels to write a new blog post!!!!  How good it feels that Spring is here!!!!  

Louisville is #3 in the nation for the worse pollen count.  It wrecked a little bit of havoc on my lungs in spite of the emotional uplift the warmer temps gave me.  I just kept yo-yoing with chest crud until I had a brief 4 day stay in the hospital.  In between feeling good/feeling bad I kept plugging along on the boats...

Happy to report the hand embroidery is done and it is ready for quilting...but here is my plan...to continue on to the next quilt(s) and then sometime in mid summer go hog wild, (bat crazy, mad cow) with quilting all the tops.  This year's goal is all about production (don't get too excited...I work slow even when I'm fast).  My goal was to have the "boats" completed by the end of Feb. and it didn't happen until mid-March.  

You may recall me mentioning that my sewing construction studio is in storage due to my mother moving into senior housing.  For months I considered renting a 2nd Mellwood studio to set it up once the storage contract ends.  I turned over the idea of sharing a 2nd space, subleasing, etc.  It was my anxiety talking over not having my design board, fabrics, sewing desk that holds my main machine, etc. accessible.  I spent the first part of this week clearing the studio to make room for at least my sewing desk and to begin the next quilt with the attitude of "making do equals can do". Peter and Ade will haul through the storage unit and pull it out and deliver it this weekend.

Yesterday I actually sat down to begin the preliminary studies for the next piece.  Two of the three studies I finished...one is a thread sketch, this one using tsukineko inks.

The next one will be raw edge applique.  While doing them, the question in the back of my mind is "how can I make the imagery more abstract and still capture the event?".  It  will be a Kentucky Derby quilt.

Blog Love

I don't remember how I stumbled into Karen Walrond's blog and website, Chookooloonks.  I think maybe her book, The Beauty of Different, kept coming up on Amazon's recommendations.  She offers an on-line magazine workshop that offers gratitude prompts with photography prompts called Gratitude 2012.  Karen is an award winning, jet setting photography whose blog exudes kindness, humor, and beauty.  I enrolled in the workshop yesterday.  It is 5 dollars a month and 40% of the fee she donates to Kiva.  

Also, yesterday I discovered the website (thanks to Pinterest) and blog of fiber artist Diane Melms.  I've always wanted to improve my photo-documentation by showing the process involved in completing a piece from start to finish.  I think I'm too wordy to be as succinct as Diane or as succinct and poignant as blogger Judy Martin, another blogger I enjoy reading.  

Wrap-up

Time for a change.  I've been with Typepad now since I first began blogging back in '04.  This is a fee based blog and I'm at the lowest level.  In order for me to customize I would have to jump up to the next fee level and that ain't happening.  Blogspot offers customization and it is free.  My hold-up is anticipating the learning curve (the headache) of moving content.  This will be a goal for April.

Tonight is F.A.T. Trolley Hop.  I will not be having Open Studios but will be around with Carter, my 3 y.o. grandson and Anaya my 2 y.o. granddaughter for a few hours (at least this is the plan) visiting the other studios and galleries at Mellwood.  

 

Mildred Howard discussing Abode: Sanctuary for the Familia(r)

 

Deborah Stanley, Mellwood Artist Interview

Joyful Celebration (top) and A New World (bottom) Artist holds image copyright on all images in this post.

What I do:  I work primarily with polymer clay.  I’ve dabbled in other mediums such as photography and acrylics, but when I was introduced to polymer clay, I fell in love with it.  I’ve always been fascinated by marbled colors and how colors stimulate the senses and take you on a mental journey to anywhere you want to go.  I love working with my hands and manipulating color swirls and patterns.  It is a passion of mine to explore the limitless and innovative ways to express myself through this type of abstract art.  I currently create 2 and 3 dimensional pieces, as well as original designs for necklaces and earrings.  Since discovering polymer clay, I have used glass, ceramics and wood as my “canvas” and let the viewer’s mind wander wherever the swirls of color take them.  However, I have recently developed an interest in working more recognizable figures and objects into my designs with the purpose of expressing my personal views on issues such as freely expressing joy and hope for racial harmony through my newest works “Joyful Celebration” and “A New World”.

Artistic Expressions, Deborah's Mellwood Gallery

Why I do it:  Like most artists, I have a need to find ways to express myself.  I have found that making extra money with my art is great, but pales in comparison with the satisfaction and “therapy” that I receive from the creative process itself.  My art has been a great refuge for me when my mind seems overwhelmed with stresses that I have no control over.  You can’t put a value on a means of expression and healing that art provides to me.

 What upcoming changes do you anticipate for Artistic Expressions?

Artistic Expressions (A-173) is moving into The Kore Gallery (A-117), which is a more visible and accessible location, as part of a joint venture with three other artists. (both are located at Mellwood Arts & Entertainment Center)

Deborah w/ her work inside The Kore Gallery

a bud vase by the artist

How do you define success for yourself as an artist?

By continually growing and finding new and more innovative ways to express myself through art.  Basically, if I continue to grow and am happy with my art, then that is success to me.

What suggestions do you offer for making Mellwood an even more attractive place for artists to work?

Create better signs to direct patrons to the studios.  Many artists feel hidden, especially on Trolley Hops and during big events.  Promote the diversity and number of artists that are at Mellwood.

 

polymer clay necklace

 

Artistic Expressions on Etsy

Artistic Expressions at Shutterfly

 

Fred Miller, Visions in Metal

Fred is another Mellwoodian artist.  He is located in Bldg. B #302.

Karen Davis:  Tell us what you do and why?

Fred Miller:  What? My art is metal sculptures.  I primarily use aluminum.  I buy the aluminum in sheets, cut the needed pieces, bend and fit them, weld them together using a TIG process, and then finish them with a wire wheel to give a rough texture or with a sanding disc to give a smoother texture with movement.

Why? Numerous types of relationships between both natural and manmade objects may encourage introspection.  By their very nature, these relationships have some impermanence about them.  While a sense of impermanence is minimal in very stable relationships such as that between a house and its foundation, others show a very pronounced uncertainty, kindle a meditative spirit, or induce an emotional reaction.  Contemplating the many possibilities of emotion or change, especially present in tenuous or precarious relationships, gives me a strong sense and appreciation of the present.  It is this feeling that I instill in my sculptures.  It makes life interesting, gives life value and induces in me a kind of meditative appreciation for the intrinsic worth of relationships, now, at this moment in time.

On the flip side, I also enjoy happy pieces that simply make me smile or feel joyous when I see them. Doesn't everyone like to feel happy?

KD:  What other mediums have you worked in besides the aluminum?  And if so, was the answer to "why" the same for those mediums?  What I'm curious about is whether there is something inherent about aluminum and your processes that induce the meditative/emotional reactions around impermanence and feelings of joy that you mentioned.

FM:  I have worked in other mediums.  I very much enjoy balancing rocks on top of each other so that they look like they will fall (have attached a picture of a few of them).  However it is not something that I want to do as a continuing art focus.  I have also worked in wood but for some reason I enjoy metal the most.  Welding is a very meditative process requiring constant and extreme focus.  When welding a long "bead" I can easily get lost in time.  It is only precarious in that it is easy to make a mistake and aluminum is regarded as far more difficult to weld than mild steel or stainless steel.  I think I enjoy aluminum because it has a natural bright shine to it that finishes well without painting, it is light weight so large pieces can still be easily moved around, it is strong, and it is challenging to weld.  It in itself doesn't necessarily lend itself to happiness, precariousness or impermanence; the pieces have to speak to that.  It is just something I enjoy doing.  

KD:  Tell us about the "well" you draw from for inspiration and design ideas; and along those same lines, share how ideas go from inside your mind to a finished piece.

FM:  You are making this "little interview" very deep but I will give it a try.   Inspirations come from my life, past and present. I think about things that give or gave me joy and why that was.  Often it was a precarious circumstance or it might have been reflective. For instance, as a child I loved to run down hills and I think that love reflected the feeling of tremendous speed I felt while at the same time tetering on a disastrous fall. I have a few pieces that follow that theme (on the stage at Mellwood).   I have always loved to cross a stream by running across rocks that would make for a dry crossing, jumping from one to the next without a planned route.  That is also a precarious feeling that when successful, makes you happy to be alive. I have a piece that portrays this;  it is a child in the act of landing on a rock after jumping.  I tend to notice balances in nature (stable mountains vs rock slides; still ponds vs roaring streams, yoga poses that seem to defy nature or body flexibility, interactions among people that may be conflicts or very harmonious) and I try to put these thoughts into an art piece.  I love to laugh and to make people happy and a few of my "happy man face" pieces as well as my whimsical pieces reflect that feeling.  Sometimes the idea spontaneously lends itself to an art work, sometimes I have to think about how to portray that idea.  I don't know what else to say; life just happens.

 

Basketball, Art, and Breakthroughs

My weekends are anchored by little league basketball. Both of my grandsons, ages 3 and 5, are playing. Before it turned cold (although today it was 61 and sunny, reasons for it be damn, ya know I wasn't complaining!), I was taking the 5 year old to his bus stop in the mornings and after his bus arrived, I would keep on going (most days) to the studio.

I took much of December off and January's days were filled with more Nana duties in the day and evenings with the other 2 grand-delights.  As much as I love them, there is a very good reason for menopause...50something year old women should NOT have day in and night in care of small children.  But we now have daycare!!!!!!!! (and the crowd goes wild!!!!!!!!!!).  So now Nana and Papa just have the evenings with them. Ahhhh, much better.  

Last Friday was an art reception for Hope and Healing. Twenty-one artists donated work to a non-profit that serves women, men, and children who are victims of domestic violence and sexual assault.  I sent Urban Exodus (formerly Urban Egression) on "permanent loan".   (excuse the bad photography, it's the camera's fault ;D )

Carter and Anaya and my Mother went with me.  I could not have had two toddlers in tow without my Mama's help!!!  Here is Anaya saying "look look".  This is the only quilt she responded to...It is a Penny Sisto quilt.

Carter was going through the exhibit saying "wow, wow, wow".  It was mostly abstract work that he liked...the few he said he didn't like were realism in landscapes.  Here are snapshots of the two that "wowed" Carter the most.  

The work on top was created by Keith Kleespies and my apologies to not remembering or being able to find the artist who created the work on the bottom.  

Negotiating Territory is now hanging in the newest gallery at Mellwood, The Kore Gallery.  It will be there until the end of March or April.  

I'll be returning to some semblance of what passes for normal at the Studio.  I was there today for 6 hours...5 of which I hand embroidered 8 of the boats for a total of 13 completed...only 164 more to go.  I have to mentioned a breakthrough I had while stitching (Obama is going to beat the pants off of ANY republican candidate! okay, politics aside).  My breakthrough was this...I had been isolating embroidery thread colour within colour segments on the boats...and then I thought, why not use the thread across colour segments...use the thread to bridge the segments...here is my breakthrough in a picture: 

A day with angels...Lauren and Penny

Last Saturday I met up with Lauren for breakfast at Toast and after some great catching up conversation we drove over the bridge to New Albany, Indiana to see the Form Not Function Exhibit.  Just as we were arriving (and unbeknownst to us)  the end of the juror's gallery talk was going on and we were able to hear the last comments being made. Tomorrow is a family workshop on freezer paper screen printing from 10-12.

These are just my general observations from a first time viewing, but it appeared that fewer quilts were selected compared to previous years and that the lowest percentage was representation art compared to previous years.  I'll make more trips to the exhibit before it comes down in March.

After we left FNF, we went to The Gallery on Pearl where Penny Sisto has her latest solo exhibit, ANGELS.  I would have missed this if not for the mention by the Director at the Carnegie.  Penny has a diverse community inside of her and she expresses them so beautifully and hauntingly in her art.  She is giving a gallery talk tonight that I had planned to attend but the temps have dropped down into the 20s with a below zero wind-chill factor and Mama (meaning me) just can't cut it.

Penny honored me by using one of the fabrics I made at the Crow Barn as a background fabric for one of her Angels.  I didn't have a clue and would not have known if I hadn't seen the show.  Here is a photo:

Penny is among the angels in my own personal journey.

A day with angels...Lauren and Penny

Last Saturday I met up with Lauren for breakfast at Toast and after some great catching up conversation we drove over the bridge to New Albany, Indiana to see the Form Not Function Exhibit.  Just as we were arriving (and unbeknownst to us)  the end of the juror's gallery talk was going on and we were able to hear the last comments being made. Tomorrow is a family workshop on freezer paper screen printing from 10-12.

These are just my general observations from a first time viewing, but it appeared that fewer quilts were selected compared to previous years and that the lowest percentage was representation art compared to previous years.  I'll make more trips to the exhibit before it comes down in March.

After we left FNF, we went to The Gallery on Pearl where Penny Sisto has her latest solo exhibit, ANGELS.  I would have missed this if not for the mention by the Director at the Carnegie.  Penny has a diverse community inside of her and she expresses them so beautifully and hauntingly in her art.  She is giving a gallery talk tonight that I had planned to attend but the temps have dropped down into the 20s with a below zero wind-chill factor and Mama (meaning me) just can't cut it.

Penny honored me by using one of the fabrics I made at the Crow Barn as a background fabric for one of her Angels.  I didn't have a clue and would not have known if I hadn't seen the show.  Here is a photo:

Penny is among the angels in my own personal journey.

Tracy Pennington, Madcap Mosaics

 

photo by Deborah Stanley 2011

 

1. Share what you do and WHY?

Tracy Pennington:  I make mosaics. During a difficult time in my life, a counselor suggested I do something artistic as therapy. I wandered around Hobby Lobby looking for something to do. I walked out with a beginner's mosaic kit and some stained glass. I thoroughly enjoyed the making of that first mosaic, and felt a new awakening in my soul. I realized that not only did I like making art, but I MUST make art. I love the mosaic medium because it is a slow, reflective process. I can think and feel my way through the work.

2. Where was your studio located prior to coming to Mellwood? and how do you describe your studio at Mellwood? and what do you enjoy the most about it? (I know this is kinda 3 questions in 1)

Tracy:  I worked in the guest room at our house. The room was crammed with stuff I picked up off the curb that "I was going to do something with", and little shards of glass were flying everywhere while I worked. I also felt guilty when working at home, like I should have been doing housework or spending time with kids instead. My husband suggested I find someplace else to work, and we were thrilled to find Mellwood! My studio is MINE! (said by the mother of 6 children : )) It is my place to come and create, reflect, and listen to my soul.

3. So I take it that upcycling and refashioning are a big part of what you do. Do you look at a curb find and then create a design for it, or do you create a design first and then look for a curb find? How do you go about pulling it all together? (and you look wonderful and peaceful to be the mother of 6!)

Tracy:  It bothers me to see reusable materials going to the landfill, so if I see something I think I can use I pick it up. Sometimes I start with the material and design with it in mind, but more often the stuff just sits around waiting for inspiration to strike.

I have a sketchbook where I get everything off my chest. Some designs never become anything, while others nag me until I follow through. I find a base for the design, prime it, and sketch on it. Then I glue on tiles, glass or wherever else I'm working with. Sometimes I pry them off and rework it. Sometimes I let a half done piece sit around until I can figure out what is wrong with it. When I am happy with the piece, it gets grouted, cleaned up and hung up.

4. What do you want from your art? What would bring you the greatest joy?

Tracy:  My art helps me process hopes and disappointments, trials and triumphs. I want my art to mean something. It is my soul reaching out, asking for understanding..."Do you feel this way?"..."Am I alone in the world?". I feel the greatest joy when I see others connecting with my work...that is the greatest validation to me.

5. What question would you like me to ask the next artist?

Tracy:  I'd like you to ask the next artist....How do you define 'success' as an artist?  

Thanks Karen! Some difficult questions....

To view more of Tracy's artwork and workshop offerings, go here.

Technically speaking...

winter hasn't started, but I don't give a crap about technicalities once temperatures dip into the low 40s and today starting this afternoon, the temp will fall into the 30s.  For any new readers, I hate winter!

The mixed media artist's panel at the library went off very well.  After a 50 hour week of watching 2 of my grandchildren, I made it on Saturday to the panel with my oldest and dearest friend Mary J.   Organizing artist Makalani was right, for the short 2 hours, it did take the ache out of my body and I enjoyed the poets and the one musician.  It was a great accompaniment to my exhibit.  After everyone had presented we formed a panel for about 30 minutes of discussion where I got to talk about my process of creating and how it relates to poetry.  We wrapped up by taking photos in front of African Delight, the very first quilt I made before I started this visual art journey.  

Karen Peace (isn't that a great name?) hung the show and did a great job (we do have a pretty cool library system here)!  By the time I returned home I had a pretty high temp and called my doc...I avoided a hospital stay but did an er run yesterday morning...turned out to be pleurisy.  I'm home and loopy from pain med...and hungry from the steroid.  Adorable grandchildren are being watched by their Great Aunt and a cousin this week.  

My current goal is to get at least one day in the studio before next Thursday and be there on Friday for the all day F.A.T. Friday Trolley Hop.  We've formed another pop-up exhibit for that day, November 25th.

Here are some photos I snapped of last Saturday..I was trying to wait until others posted some of me included with the other artists.  When those are posted, I'll share as well.  

Makalani prepping to read from his first full length book of poetry, Hellfightin', dedicated to the Harlem Hellfighters.

Poet Jerriod Avant reading to the audience

Poets, Chris Mattingly and Jeremy Clark

When we walked in, Norbert Blocker, guitarist, was playing.  While listening to the poets I was reminded how economical and portability the art form is compared to the other forms.  

 

Mail by Snail

I just popped into a blog and saw that the U.S. Post Office released Romare Bearden stamps!!!!   I predict they will sell out!  

Hear me and remind me what I said...

about 9 months from now...I'm going to take a leap of faith and get a booth next year for Mellwood's September Art Fair.  There. I said it aloud and wrote it in the blog, so it has to happen!  Last year, being a newbie to Mellwood, it didn't make sense to me to pay for a both and I ended up being thrilled with the visitors and sales.  But the bulk of the crowd is outside and in the event room specifically set-up for the fair.

This weekend was slower than last year's, but overall I still enjoyed it quite a lot.  Any time I get to talk to visitors about what I do in my studio I count it as a great day!  Selling one of my favorite pieces made it superbulous!  Aubergine Apple has found a new home.  The lady came in and knew exactly what she wanted without hesitation.  I was dye painting a piece and had paint all over my hands so I was being cautious not to get it on her or  the piece, but on the inside I was like "wow, she gets me, she really really gets me".

This was Aimee's, (studio mate), first fair.  She was there on Saturday and received a commission from Abraham Lincoln! I kid you not!  He and his wife (Mary Todd Lincoln) go into the schools as impersonators to teach...and he was looking for an artist to illustrate their presentations. Aimee is a history major and her father does similiar historical enactments!  She was the only artist he actually stopped to talk to!  Is that not fate, sychronicity, destiny, or what!!!?!!!!  I love it when life reveals to us that we are suppose to show up exactly when we show up and immediately know why! 

Shake dem Bones!

Maybe this is preparing me to go through a Georgia O'Keefe phase.  These are the beautifully unique to me gifts that I was given by Penny Sisto, artist-sistah-friend that she is.  For this city girl, these are like WOW!  

Penny lives in a rural area and picks these up on her walks and people bring them to her as well so she has a growing collection.  Okay, if I was going to pick up items where I live I guess it would be soda and beer cans because that is what people do who live in cities, right?  So not as interesting to me as these beautifully shapped old decaying cow and deer bones.

Adrian, my oldest grandson, said "cool" when he first saw them and Carter, my youngest grandson, said "ewwww, thats nasty"  A studio neighbor asked me what I planned to do with them...honestly, do I have to have a plan?  I don't think so, but I'm thinking about drawing them for awhile...I think Penny said she used a small bone in one of her recent pieces now showing at the Carnegie Center for Art and History in New Albany, Ind in a solo exhibit...Carnegie is the place that hosts annually Form Not Function.

I did make it into the studio yesterday and although I was productive it wasn't with intent...i finished the discharge.  It was killing me to stamp so orderly so I loosened up...but looking at the outcome, I wish I had forced myself to continue on with the more controlled pattern...ummm, process (right hand) vs outcome (left hand)...which will have priority next time????

That orangish glow is from a back light bouncing off a painting by Aimee, studio mate.

and this is me attempting to sketch directly on fabric...off and on for about a year or so I've been sketching faces...the seed hasn't developed wildly enough yet that any but I'm getting there...

this is the start...sketching from the photo in the collage below.

A Day at the Fair....

Its not the rides, cotton candy, or deep fried butter...its not the horses, music concerts, or 84,000 ton tomato...for me, its all about the exhibits.  I love seeing what people make, create, and collect throughout the state.

Last Friday, I spent the day browsing and even though I was there for 4 hours I can tell you it wasn't enough time.  When I got to the quilts the first quilt I ran into was from someone I use to be in a guild with.  Willie Pride, she had 2 quilts entered.  She buys all of her material from thrift shops and they are mostly men's shirts...she loves plaids!

another Pride quilt below

Below are some snap shots of things I saw and liked...

aquariums exhibit...just loved the blueness of these fish.

walking/hiking sticks (2 have been stolen)

cake decor

and check out this cake meets political commentary

antique fine china (it was the yellow cake set that wowed me)

miniature kitchen in cross-stitch!

for Deb, my sister, you does heirloom sewing

art from recyclables (you might enlarge this photo to see the music conductor in coat hanger wire)

and art by LAFTA members

I was completely exhausted when I left there on Friday, so much so, that I was unable to make it to open studio for Trolley Hop.  I slept most of the evening and stayed in most of the weekend and Monday to recuperate...but it was worth it...where else could I see so much diverse creations in a public event under one roof???!!!!

And I made it into the studio yesterday and finally snapped pictures of my special gifts...so this will be a 2 post blog day! ;)

 

Memory vs. Imagination

My mother is giving up her home of 46 years.  I've been thinking about my attachment to the houses I've know in my 50 years.  There have been four with deep roots and the art of Kristin La Flamme kept creeping in my head today...specifically her Homes and Roots series.  I'm not certain how I will address the sense of rootlessness.  Its hard for me to know when I should push back against the weight of memory or when to relax into imaginings for tomorrows.  I've not been processing too heavily though, just trying to stay focused on what needs to be done.

Much of her household things will be going into the garage sale this weekend and next weekend, plus I've listed items on CL.  My mother's home was her pride and joy.  She appears to be okay and looking forward to her move into a contemporary 2 bedroom apartment for seniors.  

The heat and humidity have slowed my roll but I'm still making it into my studio.  Mo has been dropping me off and Peter picking me up.  Today, I was there about 2.5 hours and washed out my two lastest fabric crushes and painting soy wax on this fabric.  My inspiration is African Kuba cloth.  There are no meanings I've assigned to these symbols but I do keep wondering about how language and meanings transform and are fluid and not set cultural icons over time...again it is that weight of memory/history vs the imaginations into the future thing happening.

Last weekend Peter and I went to shoot pictures at the waterfront.  I just used my Nikon S630 point and shoot.   These are looking over the Ohio River.

 

 

 

Textile Mecca?!

Mellwood is a very large facility with lots of nooks and crannies so I like to stroll through ever so often to see who has moved out, who is still there, and who is new.  My hallway is nearly full and I love the energy that creates, but I swooned when I saw these 3 new studios all clustered together and around the corner from me...

Is it possible a textile mecca is on the horizon?! 

Yesterday's first Demo Saturday was held at Mellwood.  Myself and 4 other artists sat out in the court yard and, well, demo'ed.  I found my silk roving and supplies at the 25th hour so I was able to demo that.  The strollers were on the lite side but it was fun to socialize and get to know more about the artist that participated.  And Robbie Moriarty, who has been there 6 years, is closing her doors due to having too much work and not enough manpower.  Her shop is 50% off retail and open on Saturdays until closing.

Dennis Shaffner, Artist Interview

BUTTONbowl , woven rattan embellished with buttons, knotted Irish waxed linen  14" wide, Dennis Shaffner.

Karen:  Describe your childhood as it relates to your art making and creativity?  What were your influences and how do you think growing up in Pennsylvania influenced you as an artist?

Dennis:  Although my earliest mentor was my photographer uncle, while I was still a child, who made the chemistry of the old school dark room lab magical as he developed his prints from negatives, I had supportive grandparents who allowed me free reign to play creatively.  I remember most summers painting with a brush all concrete porch surfaces with clear water. The color change beneath the wet brush was as beautiful as paint.  A major flood in 1957 impressed my drawing subject matter by endlessly drawing the washed out bridge on graph paper supplied by my father, who worked as a turbine engineer in a very math based world of numbers. 

Karen:  Share more of your memories growing up with art?  When did the interest become a engaging one?

Dennis:  In elementary school, taught by nuns, we had 'picture study' every Friday.  The best day of the week, it was, because we had a small art reproduction school book illustrating classic European oil paintings from Vermeer to Van Gogh and DaVinci to Rembrandt.  The Madonna and Child paintings always seemed dynamic and different in composition, some square, some round...triptychs.

The paintings gave me an urge to want to paint.  By age 12 my father gave me an oil paint set he couldn't do anything with when he realized I could make a still life of fruit look 3-D while his were flat color shapes.

Karen:  What led you to your choice of medium(s)?  And what/who were your influences in those mediums?  And how do they relate one to another, if so?  What other mediums have you attempted?

Dennis:  Painting in watercolor came naturally to me (decades later dye on fabrics blossomed) but in Pennsylvania every child "artist" was compared to Andrew Wyeth and my instinct was to flee (like Mary Cassatt from Pittsburgh to Europe!).   I ended up in Kentucky!  In 1967 eastern Kentucky seemed like a foreign country to me landing in college at Morehead State Univ.  in the Daniel Boone National Forest (which was heaven to me).  Watercolors flowed easily in college for me but I wanted to weave.  Imagine, there was NO textile department in Appalachia where I had landed in Morehead (back in the late 60s).

Karen:   Describe your daily art making practices.  Include your approach to design and ideas.

Dennis:  Bird's nests always inspire me and with three active nests hatched at my back door (3 different birds breeding) I love this reminder from nature where WEAVING really evolved into a human industry.  Most of my ideas, especially in my basket forms and fabric constructions come from the realizations that always occur during the making of the LAST object.

Now I smell the honeysuckle blossoms which means vines are waiting to be cut, boiled and woven. During the manual harvest I will always get new ideas for possible shapes and forms of the new work.  I won't even mention the possibilities in using my overgrown BAMBOO!  I am blessed by my environment which once was the private world of Alma Lesch.

Sallie, 24"x36" vintage clothing collage with button embellishments, 1996, Alma Lesch.

Karen:  Artistically speaking, what challenges do you face and how do you (if you plan to) overcome them?

Dennis:  Avoiding the (local) attitude toward fine art (art as interior decorating) is ongoing.  How people in this world economy will spend over a thousand dollars for a worthless Thomas Kincade factory machine printed and churned out "painting" from Asia; then ignore a hand made one-of-a-kind work of art at half the price?  Education hasn't helped since art is the first program dropped from 'schools'.  Art is treated as an accessory in US society.  Educating the eye is the greatest challenge in our culture.

I try to ignore the usual challenge when asked to "explain" what it is I make. "What do you do with these?" one person asked about my BIRDnest sculptures recently at a public display and I almost am always speechless.  I lack salesmanship and marketing skills, selling little but making more artwork.  Art marketing locally often ignores our home-based creative people by bringing in a "SPECIAL TALENT" from half a world away (as in the Derby Festival artists for instance) the commissioned sculpture, a wire horse, at the airport is from Tennessee, and the French artist for Derby could easily come from a Kentucky based person...seems astonishing no one is using HORSES as their subject matter in the Bluegrass State!

BIRDnest, woven rattan with recycled plastic strips, 13" wide, Dennis Shaffner

Karen:   Do you work in series?  Or does each piece stand alone?  Share your reasons for either approach.

Dennis:  Both,  I think each piece I make stands alone yet they may be grouped in what I have labeled BASKETbowl, birdNEST and intentionally love to call (my spheres) BASKETball forms (an intentional poke in the ribs at Kentucky's state religion....$ports).  What coaches are paid compared to what any college ART teacher ISN'T....always disturbs me when college sports seldom recognizes the GRAPHIC DESIGN used to sell their industry.  Imagine a billboard depicting the exemplary Art Student who updated the LOGO for the TEAM?  That never happens. 

Karen:  Share the milestones that mean the most to you as an artist.

Dennis:  Getting work in a permanent collection is a moment of affirmation.  Evansville Museum in INDIANA has been good for me both through Surface Design Association awards; a painting selected by a juror from England (London Sunday Times critic) was one of those 'objective' out of the network moments for me in Evansville.  

Studying with Japanese master basketmaker Hisako Sekijima in Connecticut one summer changed the direction of my fiber art.  She and I shared an appreciation for our natural environment for materials, wherever we may live on earth.

Karen:  Whether it is the intent of an artist to become an entrepreneur, artists are thrown into the role the first time someone wants to purchase something they’ve created. What advice can you share that speaks to the business side of art?

Dennis:  Try to gain gallery representation that speaks for the art and the artist it promotes. Never mix fine art with commercial imports and consider barter when approached by an admiring soul.  I saved a salesman's commission once when the contractor admired a basket in my studio which he wanted for his wife offering to delete his $200 commission on the work I needed.

BASKETbowl, woven, rattan, three layers, 16" wide, Dennis Shaffner

Karen:  What advice do you have to share with emerging artists, whether they are 10 or 80?

Dennis:  Ignore rejection slips for juried shows but enter national competition to show your work. Digital photos of your work are a must for starting the conversations but trust the actual detail and quality in your work to sell the art, always.  Produce work for YOU rather than trends. 

Karen:  What are your future goals and what should we be on the look out for you in 2011/12?

Dennis:  My most recent basket sculptures are available at Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft Gallery on West Main Street. 

If Bernheim accepts, I plan to return to teach a BIRDnest sculpture workshop at Bernheim Forest in 2012 during a scheduled visit of a guest artist's commissioned installation on site at Clermont's Bernheim Arboretum and Reseach Forest!  This will place Bullitt County on the national map when Patrick Dougherty finishes his natural sculpture.

More info on Alma Lesch: here and here.  Dennis Shaffner's website here and photo gallery here.

WOW! will have to be sufficient.

This is the part where I'm suppose to write something coherent about my week with Claire and Leslie at The Crow Barn.  A very rare occasion that words seem insufficient.  

I have to acknowledge that all my fears and anxieties proved unnecessary!  I stayed well and am still well!  My stamina held until about Thursday when I began to slow down but still it was a full and amazing week for me! And every personal snafu that presented itself worked out smoothly for me which added to the joy and productivity.

I really don't even have adequate photos to convey the week I had because stopping to take photos was an inconvenience and using the camera rarely entered my mine but here are a few:

This is the beginning of a new cloth and a picture of my print table. The bottom photo on the right is me presenting my review to the rest of the group on closing day.  My 2 goals where to create a palette inspired by a painting of Barbara Earl Thomas and end the week with paper lamination.  I came very close to the palette and will continue to work with it here at home.  One of the paper laminations didn't turn out. I used too much medium and I think my print table was too soft...at least it was softer then my own.  The other is destined for greatness!  

I have to give a shout out to my girl Bev, who came to my rescue.  Over an hour from home and close to Cincy, Mo calls to tell me I left my silk screens.  Bev lives just east of Cincy so I called her to ask where I could pick up some screens...and Bev, being Bev, had a friend, etc.  She met me off the highway with 3 screens that she cleaned up for me!  Thank you for the blessing Bev!

Later in the week Bev, and Kel who lives 15 minutes from the Barn, came up Thursday after dinner and I gave them a quick tour of the Barn and then on Saturday Bev (an artist but not textiles (YET)) went to Athens to view Quilt National!  The treats within the treat was seeing Olga Norris' and Judy Martin's work in person.  I think Olga captures bodily gestures like nobody's business and Judy meshes hand work and philosophy so gracefully. I identify with it somewhat but moreso, am mesmerized by it.  However the one quilt that I would have taken home with me if I could was Vera Loves Her Gun by B. Michele Maynard.  The sole factor was it's ability to make me laugh out loud and the strong narrative it held.  I stood there in front of this quilt trying to concoct a story and laughing in between.

I've almost got everything put back in place in the studio but I'm also not waiting.  I've made up 8 quarts  of print paste,different recipes and varying thicknesses.  Soda soaked fabric was left on the line to dry yesterday and I'm going in later today to over-paint with thickened dyes.  My aha moment was being able to see where already dyed and over-dyed cloth still has room to take more dye.  It was most apparent to me while ironing the cloth.

In addition to painting, I'm hand stitching Primordial. The base is silk paper to felt.

 

Valerie C. White, Artist Interview

Valerie White in her studio (2009 Courier-Journal Photo Image)

Karen Davis:  Describe how your childhood as it relates to your art making and creativity? What were your influence and how do you think growing up in Somerset, NJ influenced you as an artist? 

Valerie White:  I grew up in Somerset New Jersey, then a very rural town in the northern part of New Jersey.  We had chickens and ducks, Mom and Dad always had a big garden.  It was their love and appreciation for the earth that will always be with me.  They valued the opportunity to grow food and we always enjoyed fresh vegetables the entire year.  The last series that I did, “Earthworks”, was all about my relationship with soil. The beauty of the root system held a particular fascination for me.  

My early memories of trying to make art include attempting to create ceramic bowls from a natural clay deposit that was in the front of our house.  I even tried to use our home oven as a kiln.

Sometimes I would gather weeds to fashion a kind of primitive weaving.  Recently, I asked my Mother why I didn’t have dolls growing up. Her reply was that I was always drawing or making something and never asked for a doll.

KD:  What are some of your memories growing up with art?  When did the interest become an engaging one? 

VW:  My mother sewed Couture garments and practiced exceptional craftsmanship.  That made a lasting impression. My early interest in Art was nurtured by some really good teachers. I took all of the courses that were offered in my small town.  I received a scholastic gold key award in the 11th grade, that affirmation is all I needed to decide to study Art.  I taught Art for 15 years in DC public schools.  It was a rewarding experience.

Sun Goddess and Green Leaves, 2008 (c), Valerie C. White

KD: What led you to your choice of medium(s)?  What/who were your influences in those mediums?  How do they relate one to another, if so?  What other mediums have you attempted? 

VW:  I studied many mediums before arriving at fabric. While at Howard University my second major was ceramics.  In my sophomore year I changed that to Graphic Art and Printmaking.  My work has some of the sensibilities of strong graphic art imagery.  As far as influences in ceramics it was Winnie Owens and Martha Jackson.  In Graphic Arts, Winston Kennedy.

I was blessed to study with some of the most important voices of the 20^th century.  My professors were on the cutting edge of developing and defining the new Black aesthetic to include: Lois Jones, Starmanda Bullock, Ed Love, Wadsworth Jarrel, and Jeff Donaldson.

KD: Describe your daily art making practices.  Include how your approach to design.

VW:  I try to work everyday.  Recently, I hit a dry spot...seemed I could not focus or decide what I wanted to do next.  However, I continued to work through it.  I’m better now and on to some new work that I’m excited about.  I like to begin by doing some research on my theme or subject followed by a small watercolor of the intended piece. That seems to work for me in that way I can work out any problems early in the planning, which doesn’t mean I don’t have any problems in the piece later but the extensive planning does cut down some design issues.

Sun Goddess and The Blowing Leaves, 2008 (c), Valerie C. White

KD: Artistically speaking, what challenges did (do) you face and how did you (plan to) overcome them?   

VW:  While in my “dry spot” I spent time looking at work of artist that inspire me …Lois Jones, John Biggers and Wadsworth Jarrell.  Sketching some really lose ideas and concepts for potential piece.  Often I will just turn on the sewing machine and quilt...it frees me and once I get in the zone I might get motivated to see something else.

 KD: Do you work in series? Or does each piece stand alone?  Share your reasons for either approach. 

VW:  I really like to work in a series.  It sort of directs my thinking and gives me a course of action to follow.  I find that a series is an opportunity to explore a topic.  Using a variety of techniques can offer new ways to present age old subjects.

Sarah and Bird,  (c) by Valerie C. White

KD: Share the milestones that mean the most to you as an artist. 

VW:  When my work, The Guardian, was selected to be on the cover of “Quilting African American Women’s History: Our Challenges, Creativity, and Champions” written by Dr. Carolyn Mazloomi I was thrilled! The book is filled with many wonderful works.  I felt proud to be in the book much less to be on the cover.

The exhibit that has meant the most to me was the Quilts for Obama show at the Historical Society in the District of Columbia. The exhibit was created to welcome President Obama and his family to Washington DC.  The opening was the weekend prior to the inauguration and the city was alive with hope and pride….it was an electrifying experience and I will never forget it.

KD: Whether it is the intent of an artist to become an entrepreneur, artists are thrown into the role the first time someone wants to purchase something they’ve created.  What advice can you share that speaks to the business side of art?

VW:  I’m  just now understand how that part of making art works, I had to pay taxes last year on the work I sold.  Finding a good accountant that understands how I need to operate has been most helpful,...my advice would be to find a professional.

KD: Which Artists and/or Art Movements hold the widest influence on your art? 

VW:  My favorites are John Biggers, Lois Jones, Wadsworth Jarrell, and Elizabeth Catlett. I seem to like what was done post Harlem Renaissance and find my self emerged in the African- American experience during that period that would also include the works of writers as well.

KD: You are a member of a critique group. Is this something you would recommend for other artists? Why? Or why not? 

VW:  I am a part of a very successful group of Quilt Artists that inspire me to challenge my self.  We support each other in creating the best work that we have the potential to create .The emphasis is doing your personal best.  I think a critique group is good provided the group allows you to create in your authentic voice. The critique group should not be a cookie cutter for making art and should exist to promote the very best work from each of the members. The group I belong to has only 5 members and we find that it works well for us, we meet once a month and on occasion will schedule a play day to explore new techniques.

Blest It Be the Tie That Binds, (c) by Valerie C. White

KD:   What are your future goals and what should we be on the look out for you in 2011?

VW:  I am working on series that I am most excited about. I will be ready for show and tell soon. I will keep you posted.

Please take the time to view Valerie White's Art at her Gallery of Quilts.

Gallery of Quilts

Leo Weekly Profile

Subversive Stitchers: Women Armed with Needles

Boogie Adventures

The soundtrack for this post is Boogie On Reggae Woman by Stevie Wonder.  

The weather began to turn over the weekend and I made use of Saturday and boogied over to the studio...spent a couple of hours with the help of Ade putting some semblance of order to the place and today I was there for 4 hours!  I ironed cloth, I stamped cloth, and I stitched cloth!  Yes I did!  In between, I spent time writing about the Crowbonics  Series and the beginnings of a poem fell out of my mouth too.  I read a few pages on the categories of design which helped me clarify what I'm trying to do with Crowbonics; and I also did a couple of exercises on texture from Finding Your Own Visual Language.  I am renewed!

Looking at this now, I'm thinking I'll restamp the light circles for more colour.  My first response was the uneven depth of colour kinda vibrated more.  This cloth is soooo unfinished so know this image is about process.

This piece was started over a year ago, maybe closer to 2 years.  It even has a binding on it.  But I knew it wasn't finished in spite of me.  The red thread marks were added last year and today I started the black thread mark.   

Today's boogie adventure was also spurred by seeing Etudes: A Daily Practice at the Hite Gallery yesterday with Mary J.  Jane Dunnewold created 48 wondrous Art Cloths for this exhibit.  It was my first time seeing her work in person and I could have stayed there all day and went back for more.  I only had 2 hours to go through the exhibit so I was rushed.  If it had not been for Lisa Austin telling me that yesterday was the last day for the exhibit to be up, I would not have had the 2 hours.

Can't hardly wait until the sun rises tomorrow!

time...travelling

Yesterday we (Ade and I) finally got my supplies back into the studio.  The weather improved over the weekend but its predicted to turn nasty on Tuesday.  The studio is a 240 sq. feet of MESS! but it felt soooo good just to be in the space even though I wasn't there even long enough to take my coat off.  On our way out I ran into a new tenant, Don, and chatted his head off.  I'm a fairly reserved laid back person but there is something that happens to me when I'm inside Mellwood...I have these spells where I become a chatty cathy...when it happens I'm totally comfortable, but it always makes me notice myself because it is out of the ordinary for me.  Anyway, Don is a painter, who has a corner studio with wonderful natural light.  Mellwood has started a blog.

I also made it to hear Jane Dunnewold give a juror talk (she juried the LAFTA exhibit there) at the Patio Gallery in the Jewish Community Center with Mo and Petra in tow.  It was a great crowd but not so much so that it prevented me from introducing myself.  I identified with her perspectives on art-making and I have my fingers crossed that this will not be Jane's last visit to Louisville.  She is teaching her second workshop today and tomorrow on lamination.  I didn't feel the need to take that since that is what I did last year at the Crow barn and that is what I've been doing since my return.  The exhibit itself is one of the most well selected exhibits I've ever seen and had me questioning my relation with colour...no answers...but it is a "bright" exhibit and I see my own work as "subdued".  But I'm always reaching for intensity in colour which I don't think I've achieved yet.

As for making a prediction to returning to doing what I do at either the basement or the studio, I'm refraining.  I'm going to try to be loose enough to go when the weather is less threatening to me health-wise and be satisfied with that 'til the season breaks.  I'm still collaging and sketching and working through some of the exercises from The Learning Curve Curriculum here at home.  Now that I'm home alone during the day I've been spending a lot of time travelling the 'net on all subjects that interest me, genealogy, furniture painting, junking, cooking, photography...whatever strikes my fancy for the day.   Here is a recommendation from my travels: The 1st Annual of Iranian Contemporary Art.   My personal favorites from this collection are the works by Hamed Behrozkar and Raheleh Filsoofi.

Peace,

"Art thrives in constraint but dies of liberty." - André Gide.