Mary Vaneecke

The 2013 SDA conference was a terrific and inspiring program with artists on the cutting edge in their respective fields.  These are just three of my favorites.

Otto von Busch discussed his fashion hacktivism (check it out here).   He offered intriguing ways to subvert the ‘fashion industrial complex.’

Kim Bruning spoke about how she puts electronics into textiles.  One project she completed was a leather jacket for a blind woman that would sense objects within 30 inches and vibrated the collar so the wearer could discretely avoid a ‘collision.’  For info on how she works and DIY, click here.  

Another speaker was Janet Echelman, who has collaborated with computer graphic designers and textile manufacturers to create her gorgeous permanent outdoor textile sculptures.  She has a piece in Phoenix, and I plan to see it the next time I am in town.  A link to her TED talk is here.  

In addition to a phenomenal speakers program, several galleries around San Antonio featured some outstanding member work.  These are just a few of the pieces that caught my eye.  Which one is your favorite?

Already planning for the next conference in Tulsa in 2015.  

Well, I must report that my papermaking adventure with artist Catherine Nash was not a complete success.  The class was wonderful and informative (I have a new found respect for the art and tradition of papermaking.)  I dutifully made a sheaf of lovely papers embedded with golden colored maple seeds, dyed silk fibers and thread, and dyed papers in the class.

Brought them home to dry.  Stuck them on my doorwall (this is called ‘restraint drying’ in paper-making lingo).  They looked great. Went to bed dreaming of lovely translucent handmade papers embedded with maple seeds.

Woke up to find that the papers made with thicker abaca fibers had molded.  Horrors!  The uncooked seeds had some residual spores on them which ‘bloomed’ overnight (duh!).  Arrrrgh.  Treated them with hydrogen peroxide, which helped to bleach the mold.  They look okay now, but I can’t put moldy papers (or seeds, for that matter) in this piece.

The kozo (translucent papers) embedded with the seeds look great…can’t use ’em, but they look great nonetheless.

The papers I made without the seeds are archival.  They don’t have anything to do with samaras or samarium, but they sure look purty.

Now to explore silk ‘paper’-making.  Thanks to my friend Mary Lee Erdman, I have just the reference book I need.  I will leave the maple seeds out of it….

Catch me at the Quilt Fiesta this weekend. I will have lots of ‘little gems’ (small art quilts) matted and/or framed for sale, along with my Shibori Chic clothing….I am sharing a booth with Trish Hastings-Sargent, who does wonderful landscape quilts.   Be there or be square…

See you at the show!

As many of you know, I recently applied to be a part of the Studio Art Quilt Associates‘ Radical Elements exhibition.  The exhibition will be seen only in galleries and museums (not quilt shows) and is designed to highlight SAQA’s new definition of a quilt:  The art quilt is a creative visual work that is layered and stitched or that references this form of stitched layered structure.  

It was an honor to be accepted with such prestigious company as Wen Redmond, Pam RuBert, Elin Noble, and 36 other artists (see full list of participating artists here).    I had researched the Periodic Table and found out there was an element called Samarium.  I thought I would submit the next planned work from my Samaras series and leave it at that.  My application was accepted.  

Then I read the fine print.

It turns out I have to incorporate materials OTHER THAN fabric and thread.  Hence the RADICAL ELEMENTS theme.  Is that curator Jill Rumoshosky Werner clever or what????

First, some background information for those of us who are are not chemical engineers.  Samarium is a white, shiny rare earth metal.  It is used in nuclear reactor rods to absorb radiation, cancer treatments, and is magnetic.   It is not particularly toxic, nor is it required to support life.  Our bodies contain small amounts of Samarium.

I am in the process of collecting all suggestions for the requisite alternate materials.  This is the brainstorming phase, so nothing is too crazy.  Please leave your comments/suggestions below.  My next post will include the full list of suggestions and future posts will show my experiments as I develop the work for this exhibition.  The final work is due in September, and you will have to see it in person.  The curator has asked that no pictures of finished work appear online.

Just down the street from Snyderman-Works Gallery in Philadelphia is the Wexler Gallery.  They hosted a group exhibition called ‘Narrative Threads‘ during the 2012 Fiber Philadelphia.  Wexler represents several artists who work in the fiber medium, and it is well worth your time to stop by if you are interested in fiber arts.  The gallery spacious and the staff helpful.  These are some of the more memorable works from ‘Narrative Thread.’  This first one is called ‘Eyes [Red].’

In some of here smaller works, the artist obliterates whole figures from snapshots and calls them ‘ghosts.’  Click here for a link to Gardner’s work.

Click here to see more of Chau’s work.

See more of Endicott’s work here.

Click here for a link to Rosenthal’s work.

There was another work in painted glass that kinda fascinated me….it was made of 6-10 painted glass panes, separated by a half-inch or so.  They were inserted in slots of what looked to be a shoe box.  The subject matter was a pair of yellow high-heeled shoes.  The 3-D effect was striking and made for a memorable piece.  Sure wish I had written down the artist’s name!

These small works were made of hand-painted silk and screen printed before being layered and stitched.  They are 12” square (matted and framed). Click here for information on the exhibition ‘Red’ and how to see Square Peg V in person at the Temple of Music and Art.  Square Peg V has sold.  Only three more left.

I have been mulling this question over the last few weeks.  Some collectors buy on impulse:  they see a work that speaks to them and they have to have it.  If the price is right they buy it on the spot knowing that someone else can come by and snap it up.  Others, like a couple who came into Flux Gallery a few weeks ago, have their eyes on a piece for TWO YEARS before they buy it.  Some seek a particular color.  One of my collectors purchased my Egyptian-inspired piece Fragment because the ibis was one of the marsh birds depicted on it (he has an ibis collection).

I recently sold a very dark work I call The Fabric of Our Community After January 8.  It is a piece I created believing no one would ever purchase, but one I needed to make all the same.  I tried to evoke the despair I felt for the victims and my hometown that day and in the aftermath of the Tucson shootings.  I completed the work within 3 weeks of the tragedy.  Because  made the piece so soon after the event, there are no rainbows or happy transformational symbolism in the work, just the delicate golden husks of a few Indonesian silk cocoons. The work was spotted on my website by a collector and now hangs in his corporate offices.

Over the holidays, I purchased two works I have had my eye on for some time.  Aspen and Copse are both by my friend C.J. Shane, who is known for her abstracted ‘big sky’ landscapes.  They would perfectly fill some corner wall space that had long been empty in my home.  The sizes and colors are terrific for the space.  The pieces themselves were soothing–the yellows appear to glow softly against the blues.  I will see them every day and wanted something calm and tranquil.  They remind me of Hart Prairie in northern Arizona, which has a large aspen clone in a meadow below Mt. Humphreys.  I love the way they looked when installed (see below).  The fact that I know Shane, like her work, and want to support it is ‘icing on the cake.’

I suspect the answer to my question has as many variables as there are art purchases, but I’ll ask anyway:  why did you buy a particular piece of art?  Was it the theme? Color? Size? Subject matter? Medium?  Did you buy it as part of a charity fundraiser?  If you are an artist, tell me why you think people buy your work.