As requested, here is the technicolor version of the "Anything Goes" art exhibit (see this post). Each artist was allowed two new pieces. In the picture above, mine are on the left: "Voices" and "Autumn Confetti." The art quilt on the right is "Serengeti" by Geri Harvill. The two art quilts pictured below are by Sue Graves. You can see I am doing very different work from these two women which was quite affirming. I have struggled so much in the past with my creative journey, feeling I had developed no distinctive style and that my work was all over the place, not to mention perhaps too much like what everyone else was doing. I've definitely developed a confidence in my work and direction this year that should carry me forward nicely in the coming months.
"Cubic Illusion" and "Off the Grid" by Sue Graves
As always, it was quite interesting to observe and hear viewer reactions to these pieces, especially since this was their first public showing. Not even any of my friends had seen them except in pictures. You may remember my struggle with Autumn Confetti, and the many suggestions people had for improving it. As in most pieces, once it was done, I could see things that could have been improved, and have been a bit lukewarm about it. So it was a pleasant surprise to hear how much the public liked it, and to have many of them point out how I brought the birch trunks alive with all the stitching (and yes, they called them birches without any prompting from me). I was a little surprised, though, when so many people thought the lichen had been crocheted. Even the one art quilter I spoke with had not heard of the threadlace technique. Idaho is isolated, but I didn't think it was THAT isolated!
But enough about me - on to the other artwork. These photos (taken in Glacier National Park and Montana respectively) are by Roopam Kakoti of Spokane, WA. He's fairly new to exhibiting and selling his work, and has become a member of Pend Orielle Arts Council on recommendation of others in the arts scene. His work was close to mine so we spent quite a bit of time talking and asking each other about technique and process. I was particularly interested to know why he chose to mat his pictures as he did and soon realized he went through the same process of choosing from what was on hand and auditioning different colors as I do with bordering and binding my quilts.
On down the second floor balcony were these spectacular photos printed on canvas by Gordon Ormesher, and this wonderful papier mache piece, "Elvira" by Leata Judd. This was perhaps my favorite piece in the exhibit. Have you not had a hair day like this?
The brick wall held a variety of paintings...
And these two humorous photos by Drew Meredith.
Down a narrow hallway, I found these two acrylic paintings by Lori Bopp. No mystery that I was drawn to them both for their rich colors and their relationship to the hand-dyed and batiked fabrics I like to use in my own work.
You might recognize the top painting from the postcard advertising the event. These two are by Sandy Pilch.
Snakes are not my thing, but please click on this picture to see the fine hand-drawn details making up the background. The artist, Brent Flint, explained that many people thought he merely generated the textured design on the computer and layered the snake over the top before printing it out. No, part of his talent is adding hand drawn details to his photos and/or the mats framing them.
Also on this level, there were two handwoven scarves by Sue Kohut. No mention of what kind of fiber she used but there was probably some alpaca in it. They were soft and inviting with lovely patterned texture.
Here is a wall of art on the main floor full of diverse mediums. This is the same space that my pieces hung in during the art quilt exhibit earlier this year.
Across from it were these wood sculptures by Will Venard.
And finally, I found myself strangely drawn to these watercolors by Rich Beber. But not so strange, I decided. Like the acrylics of Lori Bopp, these paintings reminded me of Bali batiks in my collection. On the 4th time I studied them, I spotted faces lurking in the swirls of color. I don't think it shows in the picture I took, but it gave quite a spooky feeling once I saw them.
"Cubic Illusion" and "Off the Grid" by Sue GravesAs always, it was quite interesting to observe and hear viewer reactions to these pieces, especially since this was their first public showing. Not even any of my friends had seen them except in pictures. You may remember my struggle with Autumn Confetti, and the many suggestions people had for improving it. As in most pieces, once it was done, I could see things that could have been improved, and have been a bit lukewarm about it. So it was a pleasant surprise to hear how much the public liked it, and to have many of them point out how I brought the birch trunks alive with all the stitching (and yes, they called them birches without any prompting from me). I was a little surprised, though, when so many people thought the lichen had been crocheted. Even the one art quilter I spoke with had not heard of the threadlace technique. Idaho is isolated, but I didn't think it was THAT isolated!
But enough about me - on to the other artwork. These photos (taken in Glacier National Park and Montana respectively) are by Roopam Kakoti of Spokane, WA. He's fairly new to exhibiting and selling his work, and has become a member of Pend Orielle Arts Council on recommendation of others in the arts scene. His work was close to mine so we spent quite a bit of time talking and asking each other about technique and process. I was particularly interested to know why he chose to mat his pictures as he did and soon realized he went through the same process of choosing from what was on hand and auditioning different colors as I do with bordering and binding my quilts.
On down the second floor balcony were these spectacular photos printed on canvas by Gordon Ormesher, and this wonderful papier mache piece, "Elvira" by Leata Judd. This was perhaps my favorite piece in the exhibit. Have you not had a hair day like this?
The brick wall held a variety of paintings...
And these two humorous photos by Drew Meredith.
Down a narrow hallway, I found these two acrylic paintings by Lori Bopp. No mystery that I was drawn to them both for their rich colors and their relationship to the hand-dyed and batiked fabrics I like to use in my own work.
You might recognize the top painting from the postcard advertising the event. These two are by Sandy Pilch.
Snakes are not my thing, but please click on this picture to see the fine hand-drawn details making up the background. The artist, Brent Flint, explained that many people thought he merely generated the textured design on the computer and layered the snake over the top before printing it out. No, part of his talent is adding hand drawn details to his photos and/or the mats framing them.
Also on this level, there were two handwoven scarves by Sue Kohut. No mention of what kind of fiber she used but there was probably some alpaca in it. They were soft and inviting with lovely patterned texture.
Here is a wall of art on the main floor full of diverse mediums. This is the same space that my pieces hung in during the art quilt exhibit earlier this year.
Across from it were these wood sculptures by Will Venard.
And finally, I found myself strangely drawn to these watercolors by Rich Beber. But not so strange, I decided. Like the acrylics of Lori Bopp, these paintings reminded me of Bali batiks in my collection. On the 4th time I studied them, I spotted faces lurking in the swirls of color. I don't think it shows in the picture I took, but it gave quite a spooky feeling once I saw them.
2 comments:
Ah, the snake with the obsessively rich and resonant background - definitely worth having a close look!
I think that finding one's own voice can be very difficult, especially if one is the kind of person who is used to listening to others. I suspect that it takes lots of trying and seeing where developments can be made. But in the meantime it is certainly encouraging to have positive responses to the journey.
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