Reflectiions and ruminations on exhibition, processs and theme

As someone who has no formal art training and plays in different mediums I still struggle with the definition of art and craft.   And whether what I create is art.   And whether what I create is worthy.

I am still coming to terms with what “process” is and wonder whether I have partially confused it with theme.  And the fact that I like to work in several mediums and hop from one to the other and then back again doesn’t help.

This year I have been exploring bees as a subject.   I really enjoyed my research and what I learnt.  I will continue to explore bees (and consequently gardens and the environment) as it has given me so much pleasure.   It also fits with my concern about global warming, climate change and species extinction.  My study of bees and my consequent exhibition gave me a chance to be a voice and raise concerns without preaching.

My exhibition also gave rise to some comments which gave me cause for thought.

By way of context I said tell you that my works were in a number of mediums which included:

·        Works based in textiles and fibre: some classic stumpwork embroidery and some more contemporary installation styled works;

·         Collage involving paint, pastels, paper and stitch;

·         3D works using contemporary mediums such as polymer clays, hardened fabric and various “products” that are available to crafters; and

·        Words which included information about bees, newspaper clippings, identification pamphlets  and snippets about bees over time.

My exhibition was always intended to include mixed works, be informative, be fun and raise awareness about the loss of bees due to habitat change and pesticides.

Neon cuckoo bee - Raised embroidery (stumpwork)

One comment that resonated was that works on display were good explorations of process but, in that person’s view, were unresolved works.   That same person did not like the inclusion of what they considered to be “craft”.  And offered some ideas about how to improve how the exhibition was hung.   Some of them were goods points.  But views as to what was “art”, “resolved works” and what an exhibition should look like caused me some grief.  I looked with fresh eyes and agreed that, yes, some works could be regarded as unresolved.  But I couldn’t agree that the fibre works did not belong in the exhibition.   And we will not meet anywhere in the middle regarding my exploration of bees in 3D.

Launching - contemporary mediums - sculpture

To complicate matters I then actively sought feedback from those who came to visit the exhibition; some of whom I respected as creatives.   Every one had their own views.  Things I thought unresolved they loved.  Fibre people loved the fibre works.   There was mixed reaction to my small bees.   In short, people liked what they liked.  Some works provoked a response. Some didn’t.

Gum Blossoms - detail - textile hanging

So what should I take away from this?   By exhibiting we expose a part of ourselves.   I had to put my big girl panties on and suck up what was said that hurt, accept that some people have set views and that most enjoyed what they saw and took something away with them.   

I hope that my exhibition will encourage people to take up artmaking in any of its many forms, have the pleasure that I have had in exploring and creating and perhaps share what they learnt in an exhibition as well.

I thank the Albury City Council for its grant which helped defray the costs of putting on the exhibition.

And for those that would like a bit more reading on the tangled subject of art, craft and creating – here is a link to an excellent “what is art” discussion

Grandmother's Garden and return to stitching

I have had a burst of soft sculpting and created some grannies and aunties for my exhibition Grandmother's Garden.  It was fun but exhausting.

 Grandmother’s Garden included an installation of hanging pieced hexagons.  The installation is a play on the quilting pattern of the same name.  It is a tessellating pattern which builds upon itself.   I have used old embroidered table cloths, tray cloths and napkins.

The earliest hexagon template that quilt researchers have found was made in England in 1770. Hexagon became one of the most popular patterns in England by 1830.    The pattern at that stage was know as honeycomb or hexagon.

Hexagon patterns bloomed in the United States in the 1930s under the name Grandmother's Flower Garden.  Many pieced quilts used fabric remnants or repurposed cloth to create a very distinct pattern.

I ran a couple of workshops during the exhibition and we paper pieced small bowls - we used old table linen and it came up a treat!

Its been a while since I put a needle into cloth with a decorative purpose in mind.  But glad to say I managed to lay out a fabric collage of sorts and started stitching.   Thinking they may become small bags.   Or just a piece of embellished fabric.   But trying to stitch sustainably and looking to my stash rather than buy new fabric and threads.   More later.

Playing with paverpol

Had a play day with my daughter and we made diva's.   Well that's what they looked to me :-).

Materials -  Timber, wire and alfoil armature, interlock body, lace and braids all stiffened with tinted Paverpol.

Canberra Contemporary Craft Retreat - Laughing and Learning - Dolls

Well it’s been a whirl wind few weeks.  I am exhausted from learning and laughter.  Not to mention travel.

I went to the Contemporary Craft Retreat held in Canberra, ACT in late October and did  workshops with artists Susie McMahan and Janice Laurent. 

Susie is a doll maker from Tasmania.  I only had to travel 3 ½ hours to get to Canberra.   Susie had 3 times the distance to cover.   I am so glad she did.  As well as coming home with 2 completed projects I came home armed with heaps of new skills.

Susie showed us how to make and paint two dolls she has designed:  her Sukeshi Doll and Sorry Doll.  I really wanted to learn how to draw and paint on fabric to create faces.  And I did J .  Not to mention learning some practicalities of soft doll making which I hadn’t done before.     

my Sukeshi Doll

The Sukeshi doll was fun and I learnt how to confidently apply paint to cloth.  The little doll had a simple form so I didn’t get lost – just face and hands outlined then filled in and then other decoration added as desired.  It was fun and Susie is a generous teacher.  It wasn’t until I was on my way home I remembered I had done an online class several years ago with American mixed media artist Suzi Blu on drawing faces.   I had forgotten.   Back to my notes now to combine what I learnt with Susie and Suzi J.

Embroidered but faceless cloth babushka

Some Paint applied

The back - added a kerchief

 Anyway, I got home and painted up a couple of little babushka type dolls which I had embroidered.  I was interested to see what I could apply from Susie McMahon’s lessons.   This is the result.  They need some refinement – and also the ‘canvas’ was not large.  Interestingly, the one I was least happy with and kept overpainting ended up being the one I like the most.  I think the under layers of paint give more depth. 







And that was something Susie talked about and showed us in the Sorry Doll.

My Sorry Doll

The Sorry Doll took 2 days of full on work and concentration.  Susie supplied us with a head and pattern.  The body was sewn and cut out at home.  The fun began at the Retreat.   With the encouragement of new friends Monica and Kay I made hands with separated fingers.  I had opted for a simpler hand but Kay had cut and sewn a spare pair.  Monica and Kay chivied me along when I made mistakes, burst through seams and decided to revert to the original.  Thanks girls – so glad you did!  

On the last day I did a class with Janice Laurent making a relief face in Makins Clay.  I love working with this clay and it has been a while so it was a good fun refresher.   The face is still a work in progress and I hope to finish it before Christmas.  If life events permit (which are also taking lots of time at the mo)  I will finish the face before Christmas and post a photo J.

The weekend following I went to Wagga Wagga to see “Tryp(s)tych” - an embroidery exhibition.  It was put on by a group I belong to and the work the members of the group does is amazing.  I didn’t take any photos and am hoping I can get hold of some to show you.

This last weekend I went to Swan Hill and did a gold work techniques class at the CWA Craft retreat there.   Again I didn’t take any photos. I will write a separate post on this too.      But I did sleep over with these two vintage girls at Carols house :-)

More Fey Folk = Art Dolls

Feathers from a vintage duster and an old silk scarf

Gum leaves for wings

Paper bark wings and recycled fabric

I have found that I have been working in a series by default.    I have been making these little art dolls for a while and finding that by repeating I am learning and exploring.  All that I have read and heard has said this but when I have set out to do this on purpose in the past I have failed.  I was encouraged to make more (thank you Penny) and ended up with a number of little art dolls. :-)

I have been using odds and ends, buttons collected over time, vegetation collected from walks with the dog and from the garden.  I have recycled/repurposed/upcycled clothes and fabrics given to me.
Friends know I have an interest in repurposing and I get given great things,   I love the vintage feather duster I was given.   You can see I have used some feathers in one of my fey folk above.

I have made little faces from either polymer or air dried clay and then made molds with which to easily create more faces.  They distort a little when I pull them out of the mould do they have familial sort of resemblance but are not exactly the same.  There are some that have no relatives -  the fellow with the bottle brush twigs wings in the photo above is one.

Keeping on running, Workshops and an apple a day

I have been adding to my cloth with more running stitch.  It has been a slow task as I have been busy with other things - run off my feet one could say :-)

I have been preparing for another  garden art workshop at Azures Den on the 16th May and we will be making a moon maiden.    Above is a photo of Io (named after a moon of Jupiter) .  I have also made a faceless version for those a little intimidated by the thought of putting a face into their work.

I have had a happy time introducing a new student to fabric sculptures over the the last 3 weeks. Wei was a lovely student with a visual arts background looking for something different to do.    We made a siting lady, a tall elegant stuaue and a bird with some chicks.   I felt a bit in awe as I went to her house and was surrounded by her wonderful art on the walls.  We had fun and Wei made me think outside the square a little with how she went about creating her statues and ideas she had on the way.   I am sure I learnt as from form her as she did from me,   Thanks Wei.  

I also met with my stitching mates at the Embroiderers Guild last Saturday  - I got heaps of stitching done on my cloth then and chatted and shared.  I have it linked it here so you can see some of our show and tell from March.

Cheers all

Salamander Bay

I was looking through photos and reminiscing about  a week spent holidaying at Salamander Bay (north of Newcastle).  It was a very quiet but enjoyable time spent taking in the view from our beachfront window.

Each morning was a delightful passing parade of low flying gulls, rosellas, corellas, pelicans and kookaburras, kayaks and  swimmers.  One morning a pod of dolphins swam past and did a return journey.  They were so close to the shore and it was so unexpected.  Locals told me I was very fortunate to see them.

I took a few photos from the front yard which featured a rather sad palm tree.  I didn’t really see its potential as a design element  until later in the week .  There was also some sort of  fruiting palm and a Norfolk pine which had been trimmed at the lower level and new branches had shot - both of which had lovely textural elements to them. 

I also had time to create an armature for a Paverpol statue and started a male figure.  I found a lovely piece of driftwood for it to stand on and it developed a  tilt.   I still haven't got much further with this statute other than to change it a bit with a view of turning it into a faun type character.  I will get to it again but perhaps not till Christmas holidays.

I the meantime I have been working on two statutes for an exhibition sponsored by the Inner West Womens' Shed in Marrackville.   The entries are due 15/10/14 and the exhibition is on 24/10/14.   Once I know whether they have been excepted and/or when the exhibition opens I will put up a couple of photos.

Cheers

Donna

sculpture at Noosa Botanic Gardens

This intriguing piece of marble is at the Noose Botanic Gardens.   Part of an acquisitive prize offered -  the artist is Hew Chee Fong and it is called "The Journey".

It is lovely.  You don't see the detail till you get close.  One side of the marble is polished and the balance rough and, until you get close to it you can 't really spot the stairway to heaven.

If you are interested in other prize winners have a look here.  Thae gardens have a marvelous ampitheatre which sits on the waters edge.  A great spot for a bit of contemplative thinking

Playing with Clay

I have been learning to play with clay and practising making faces at Sydney Community College.  I am keen to learn to make my own faces to incorporate into my own fibre art. The course has a focus on mould making.   As is the norm, one term is not enough for me to grasp even the basics so I will be back for another term.

To date I have learnt some basic concepts about working with clay to make a bust.  The first lesson I was taught was to build using tiny pieces of clay to build the form/shape I want and not to smooth the clay but just keep adding.  It is SO hard not to smooth the clay.  I now understand that when I smooth the clay I push the clay around and change my form somewhere else but still it is hard to be disciplined and remember this part of my lesson.

The class has students who have returned after doing one or more terms and it is wonderful to see what they are doing.  I had to keep reminding myself why I was there and not get distracted by other exciting ideas

It is funny how things come together.  I have been experimenting with a number of different media but find I keep coming back to fibre and want to incorporate other media into it.  Lately I have been concentrating on crazy patchwork and fabric collages with a view to incorporating faces into them.   To date I have been using commercial moulds or using the last of some faces made at a workshop with Pearl Moon a few years ago.

In the class I am working on a half face which I can hang on the wall.   If all goes to plan I will create a headdress to go with it.   Still thinking that idea through though.    J