Virginia Davis: Exploring Surface and Substance

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TSGNY: How would you describe the relation of your work to fiber?

Virginia Davis: My work is in a niche between weaving and painting. The weaving technique is called ikat. I place the image on the threads before weaving the “canvas.” The technique of ikat consists of marking a group of threads, reserving areas by tying or other means, and then applying color to create a pattern on the warp — the vertical threads. The weft — the horizontal threads — can also have a pattern created in the same manner. In my work, most of the time, I execute the patterning in such a way that the color placed on the warp and weft thread combine to produce my desired image.

“Blue,” 2009, 34”x32”, ikat weaving with acrylic paint on the surface of the twill weave.

VD: After weaving I stretch the work, again commenting on a traditional presentation of painting. Now, on the woven ikat, I have the opportunity to paint, collage, embroider, etc. After weaving, the ikat image lies below the picture plane and another image can be placed on the surface. Unlike the planning that goes into the ikat, my creation of the images in this part of the work is very unconscious. In “Blue,” I used masking tape in the painting portion of the piece, and the combination of painting and weaving techniques produced the contrast in the blues.

“This is not a slide,” 1994, 35”x35”, ikat weaving, gesso, oil pigment, printed label collaged, nail polish for dot.

VD:  Through weaving, the texture of the canvas can be controlled, introducing a substance to the surface image, or the embedded image. Linen is my fiber of choice, commenting on the support stratum used by many painters since the Renaissance. “This is not a slide” is a signature work illustrating the historic use of linen as a support for painting with oils in European art. However, since the origin of ikat is likely Asian, the conjoining of the two signifies the international unity of art.

TSGNY: Were you a painter before you started working in this layered form?

VD: My previous work in art had been woodworking in New York, followed by traditional sculpture at the Sir John Cass School of Art in London and then at the Art Students League in New York. I wanted to learn additive sculpture and went to the Riverside Church School of Arts and Crafts in New York City to take a course in yarn, rope making, and dyeing. With so much yarn, I took a course in weaving with Sandra Harner at the Riverside Church School and quickly realized that, with so much to learn, this was my direction.

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The “Tartan Series,” 1989, 6 modules, each 36”x36”, dye and linen.

VD: This was in the early ‘70s. Sandra would present the various types of weaves students could opt to study. I was immediately attracted to ikat, fascinated by the control of color and the design one could achieve.

“Tartan 3,” 36”x36,” The third of the 6 modules.

VD: In the “Tartan Series,” for example, the tartan image is that of the Davidson clan, and is ikat-woven in the correct distribution of lines and stripes for a tartan. The weave structure, a 2/2 twill, is conventional for tartans. The image of the tartan is placed on a plain weave background.

“Tartan Complement 3,” 36”x36”. The fourth of the 6 modules.

VD: My passion for ikat has led me to study it with practitioners in Japan, India and Mexico and to seek out examples in museums all over the world. In addition I have learned and teach other reserve techniques. This range of techniques enables me to make unique statements about image, surface and substance.

“Blue Arches 1,” 2011, 40”x36” pigment in linen, ikat weaving.

TSGNY: Thank you, Virginia. You can see more of Virginia’s work on her website:  at TSGNY’s Crossing Lines show; and at the 8th Fiber International Biennial, Snyderman-Works, March 2–April 28, 2012, Philadelphia, PA.

Wen Redmond: Following the Vision

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TSGNY: Your use of fiber is unusual. How would you describe your process?

Wen Redmond: I hope to expand the understanding and perception of fiber as a medium. I enjoy the creative processes afforded by contemporary digital technology, and my work merges digital processes, photography, collage and surface design. I have developed several signature techniques: “Holographic Images”; “Digital Fiber”; and a new “Serendipity Collage” technique.

My work continues to grow as I explore my medium: over time one develops an eye. When I finish composing an image that I like, I decide on presentation, which might be whole cloth, a photo-art quilt, divided into multiple images, or collaged into mixed-media art. I will layer and finish work using different mediums – like glass-bead medium, for example — for a variety of purposes.  In my newest work, I use Photoshop to change the actual image, layering and digitally fusing it with photographs of my painted cloth.

“Whispers of the Positive,” 2010, 120” x 25”; Hand-pulled print, collaged, and sewn watercolor paper, cloth, painted with acrylics, layered with digital images, monoprinting. Inkjet prints, cyanotype, silk organza, cheesecloth, watercolor paper, ink drawings and mediums.

WR: Most of my attraction to the artistic process is being in that zone I call ‘flow.’ When I work, I encourage a collaborative process with spirit or my higher self, that mind-boggling principle of the universe. When you are in this state of mind, you tap the intuitive and the work can become more than the sum of its parts. Allowing time for inspirations to percolate up from my unconscious is a vital part of the process.

“Before I Knew You,” 2009, 28” x 22”; Holographic and Digital Fiber techniques. Silk organza; photograph, silkscreened and hand-painted silk and cotton.

TSGNY: Can you talk a bit about the specific techniques you’ve developed?

WR: My “Holographic Images” technique is a multi-layered design process of printing photographs on silk organza. I mount the work in such a way that a 3-D effect is created, resembling the movement of a holograph.  (This process was published in Quilting Arts Magazine, April/ May 2007. They also offer a DVD.) My silk organza collages add the dimension of light. Light flows through the picture and creates different patterns, depending on the angle of view. These are free-flowing and loose, with a kinetic quality.

“Ripples,” 2009, set of 3, 24” x 24” ea.; Holographic and Digital Fiber techniques. Manipulated digital image of water: original image printed on archival digital canvas, bordered in hand-painted and surface-designed fabrics. One section of the image printed on transparent silk organza, providing holographic effect. Additional stitching details. (Installation at the new Dana Farber Cancer Building, South Weymouth, MA.)

WR: “Mixed Media Serendipity Collage” is an assemblage of digital prints collaged with surface-designed textiles and paper. The use of transparent organza or papers allows me to layer physical elements, creating depth and design. This is a very ‘green’ method of working. Because all of my work travels parallel roads, I often have lots of leftover scraps, which are excellent for collage. Everything becomes suspect. I save teabag wrappers, candy wrappers, found metal, and the odd items that fall into my path.

“Brainwave,” 2007, 28” x 20”; transparent multi-layered silk collage. Dyed, painted, monoprint. Silk organza, burlap.

WR: “Brainwave” is a slightly more radical piece. All of the layers hang freely, unbound in any way. (The layers have a quote by Bob Dylan: “Who is not busy being born is busy dying.”)  It’s an interactive piece: one can lift the layers in exploration. I wanted to see how movement within the piece could create more patterns. Since it’s an almost completely transparent piece, the wall on which is hangs influences the final color.

TSGNY: How did you arrive at this fantastic range of processes?
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WR:  I am a process person. I’m passionate about coming up with ideas and working out the kinks. This leads to more discoveries, an evolution. This work always keeps me thinking- what if?

Part of that evolution is photography, which became readily available with digital technology. My process is also fed by my love of being outdoors. Now I can see the most exquisite scenes or combinations of patterns and share that beauty. These moments become my source, my well. I bring them back to share, to remind, to remember. I hope to bring that energy into my art-making, to communicate the positive, the source, the inspiration, and my mad desire to capture thoughts, dreams and the beauty of nature.

“Perception of Trees,” 2009, 35” x 36”; three digital interpretations of a manipulated photograph, printed on ink jet prepared cotton duck, stitched.

TSGNY: Does your process pose any particular challenges? How have you overcome them?

WR: Digital printing is not for the faint of heart. Creating substrates and feeding fabric into printers gives one much patience. I always say a little printer prayer during the printing phrase of my artwork.

TSGNY: Does your process enable you to do things you have not been able to do in any other medium?

WR: Printing directly onto various substrates to create stitched textural constructions is a unique way of presenting photographs. I love the textural quality and mark-making stitching lends to a finished work.

“Trees Seen, Forest Remembered,” 2008, 24” x 33”; Digital Fiber Collage. Images printed with archival inks on various substrates, mounted onto canvas and collage-fused with painted, silk-screened cotton and stabilizer; stitched.

WR: I love what I do! I love the processes, the places I go when I see color or get inspirations, and the connections with artists. Artists tend to be a little left of center. They see more, feel deeply; they are kindred spirits on so many levels. As Thomas Merton said, “Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time.”

TSGNY: Speaking of kindred spirits, are there any artists who inspire you who you feel we should know about but may not have heard of?

WR: There are a great many artists whose work I love. I love the abstract expressionists, Jane Frank, Paul Klee, Franz Kline, Robert Motherwell, Jules Olitski — the classics. Georgia O’Keefe- I have always admired strong independent women. I like the serenity of Andrew Wyeth’s work. The trees of Wolf Kahn. The photography of Alfred Stieglitz, Ansel Adams, and the innovative work of Mike and Doug Starn. The fiber revolutionary work of Fran Skiles, Joan Schultz, Nancy Crow, and Jane Dunnawold. The digital gurus Karine Schminke, Dorothy Simpson Krause,  Bonny Pierce Lhotka, Mary Taylor, and Gloria Hansen.

TSGNY: Thank you, Wen. You can see more of Wen Redmond’s work on her website, her blog, her YouTube channel and in the TSGNY exhibit Crossing Lines: The Many Faces of Fiber.

Jackie Abrams: Simplifying the Form

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TSGNY: How has your work as a basketmaker evolved over time?

Jackie Abrams: In 1975 I apprenticed to an 81-year-old traditional white-ash basket maker. For 13 years I made traditional and functional baskets, primarily of natural materials. Since 1990, I have been working with painted cotton paper as a weaving material, using both traditional and sculptural basket techniques.

I’m currently working on two different series. One is called “Women Forms,” which I started around 2004. These pieces are woven using painted archival cotton paper and wire. (I paint the paper, but don’t make it.) I was exploring the technique of using paper and wire together, to see what was possible. As the semi-completed pieces sat together on my worktable, they seemed to represent a group of women, gathering strength from each other.

"Sisters of Color," 5", 6", and 7" high; woven with cotton paper and wire, covered with sand from Eastern Long Island.

JA: I weave these forms to be sculptural, rather than symmetrical, shaped by our life experiences. The forms are covered with encaustic wax, textured acrylic mediums and paints, or sands and earth. The visible woven inside is always a contrast to the outside surfaces. The series continues to interest me, both emotionally and technically. The inside and outside surfaces present interesting challenges and possibilities.

"Talking Sisters," 14" and 15" high; woven with cotton paper and wire, covered with layers of encaustic wax.

JA: A more recent series, started in 2006, are my “Spirit Women.” They are coiled and stitched, using fabrics, often recycled, or plastic bags. It is an adapted and simplified ancient technique that is found almost universally. My core materials are visible, an important part of the piece.

"Wisdom," 9" high, 7" wide, 7" deep; stitched and coiled using recycled dry-cleaner bags and VCR tapes, silver ribbon, thread.

TSGNY: What prompted this venture into coiling and recycled materials?

JA: Since 2005, I have been working in Africa, primarily in Ghana. To date, there have been eight journeys. I have helped to develop sustainable micro-craft industries using recycled materials. I’ve also been hired as a basket consultant and have worked with basket makers in both Ghana and Uganda. I observed that the technique of coiling was used over and over again, by many women, in many African countries.

My most recent project was in Pokuase, Ghana. I taught the women to crochet with discarded plastic bags that litter the environment. In the evenings, during my ‘down’ time, I picked up the bags and started to coil. I wanted to capture the spirit and energy of the women with whom I worked. My first pieces were made in Pokuase, using the materials on hand – much the way the African women make do with what they have.

"Small Spirit Women," 4" to 6" high; stitched and coiled using fabrics, plastic bags, threads, sand.

TSGNY: What first took you to Ghana?

JA: I have always had an interest in Africa. In elementary school I remember creating an African village. When I started making baskets in 1975, African baskets were the ones I loved and slowly collected. I always knew that was where I wanted to go.

TSGNY: Did you decide ahead of time to work with women, or did that happen once you got there?

JA: I have found that working with women, rather than men, has more of a direct influence on a community. On my first few trips, I started working with children and a few men artists. Although it was rewarding in many ways, I knew that if any changes were to be made, there were most likely to be made through the women. Most of them were not going to spend their income at the local bar. The women cared more about their children – using the money to pay their school fees, or buy them food. I knew that any changes I helped to make would be small, baby steps, and I also knew that working with women would have the most impact.

"Grounded," 12" high, 10" wide, 10" deep; coiled and stitched using fabrics, waxed linen thread.

TSGNY: What do you think you’ve learned from the basketmakers in Ghana and Uganda?

JA: Working with these women has changed my life forever. One very obvious thing is how much ‘stuff’ I have. It’s good stuff: art, books, crafts, textiles. There’s just too much of it. Since I returned from my first trip in 2005, I get rid of at least one thing a day. (I take Sundays off.)
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The other things I have learned are not quite so obvious. I’ve learned that a simple life is just as rewarding as a more complicated life. I’ve learned that joy, good spirit, and appreciation can be found anywhere, even in a one-room home. I’ve learned that I am comfortable hanging out with these women, being dusty, letting them laugh at my social gaffes. When it is not totally frustrating, it is very, very good.

"A Woman of Consequence," 16" high, 11" wide, 11" deep; woven of cotton paper and wire, covered with acrylic paint and medium.

TSGNY: Has your intent changed as a result of working with the recycled materials and the coiling process?

JA: I have deliberately simplified my techniques. I want to work directly and intuitively with the materials and techniques in different ways, and let the piece talk about its own spirit and energy.

My process is simple. My materials are simple. I am trying to focus on the energy, and the interactions between the materials and stitches, how one supports the other. It does not need to be complex; it just needs to “be.”

TSGNY: In spite of their simplicity, do your process or your materials pose any particular challenges?

JA: I love technical challenges. When I get a little bored, I just try something new. Sometimes it is really ugly, and never gets repeated. Even these failures are worthwhile, an important part of the learning process.

This year (2011) I did seven collaborative pieces with a glassblower, Josh Bernbaum, for a museum show called “Dialogue.” Josh initiated the project. He owns one of my baskets, and was interested in creating it in blown glass. The museum curator was interested, and our collaboration was born. We had seven pieces/groupings, each one a challenge in a different way. Some were unexpected. I loved trying to solve the problems, adapting techniques and materials as we went along.

"Captured Reflections," 8" high, 8" wide, 9" deep; copper wire and blown glass.

JA: For “Captured Reflections,” I wove (twined) the basket using heavy copper wire; Josh blew into the vessel. For “Material Conversation,” Josh blew an asymmetrical glass form. I recreated it using recycled plastic bags, primarily newspaper bags, and waxed linen thread.

"Material Conversation," both vessels 10" high; blown glass and coiling.

JA: This piece was my greatest technical challenge.  I wanted to work with plastic bags because I like the idea of working with recycled materials, and felt that plastic might capture the same reflective qualities as glass. I have never seen the type of work that I visualized, and so had no clues about where to start. At first I thought I would coil each section individually and attach them but that created more problems than it solved.  I spent two days trying new ideas, and then discarding them. I was determined. Each failure took me one step closer to what I was trying to achieve. Finally, at the end of the second day, I found a process that allowed me to create what I wanted to create.

TSGNY: So in the end, working in this technique doesn’t impose limitations?

JA: I’m happy to say feel pretty unlimited in what I’m able to do.

TSGNY: Finally, are there any living artists who inspire you who you feel we should know about?

JA: Lissa Hunter is my idol — both her words and her works are heartwarming.

TSGNY: Thank you, Jackie. You can see more of Jackie’s work on her website. She recently won Best of Show at the 2011 Philadelphia Museum of Art Craft Show.

 

Kathy Weaver: Navigating the Uncanny Valley

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TSGNY: Would you describe your work as fiber art?

Kathy Weaver:  I use both traditional fiber techniques and ones not normally associated with fabric. I delight in the quilt and appliqué techniques used by my grandmother and mother.  But essentially, technique is a means to convey ideas and I want the viewer to look beyond the technique to the content.

"Robo Sapien Agent 5,"2006, 44” x 44”, Airbrushed, machine quilted, embellished.

KW: Since my subject matter is often robots and ideas generated from the field of artificial intelligence, I deliberately chose airbrushing in order to render in a mechanistic way, without evidence of the artist’s hand.

Preparations for airbrushing.

TGSNY:  What kind of work did you do before you started airbrushing?

KW:  I was a painter, and still am. I use gouache and egg tempera. I sometimes paint vignettes on canvas and attach them to my textile work. Sometimes I draw and paint directly onto the fiber. Airbrushing seemed like a natural evolution. As an art teacher in the public schools I loved exploring materials and trying new media with my students, so taking up another instrument, the airbrush, as a means to paint, was not intimidating to me. It seemed perfect for the robots’ “skin.”  So I enrolled in an airbrush class at a local college where I learned how to airbrush on motorcycle helmets, gas tanks, fish and bird decoys, and taxidermy forms.

Airbrushing

KW: I’ve always loved the advertising designs and coloring of the era I grew up in.  Many of these ads were airbrushed rather than photographed. I also like the look of medical illustrations as well as cutaways and schemas for products and product parts. When I was young we had the run of an electronics factory with which my dad was associated and I loved seeing the engineer’s drawings and how-tos, as well as the renderings of the final products, usually transformers or TV components.

“Cyborg Female 5: Stripped of Instinct,” 2004, 90” x 54”, Satins, silks, velvets, airbrushed, hand embroidered, hand quilted.

TSGNY: When you’re in your airbrushing gear, you certainly look as much scientist as artist. Can you walk us through the steps of your process?

KW:  I compose the work in one of two ways.  I may create a small color drawing which I enlarge by means of a projector onto a large piece of paper. Or I work intuitively directly on the bridal satin, the substrate for the textile paints. I use white bridal satin for my work…and sometimes black. In the first method, I use the full-scale drawing as a cartoon, tracing each section or division of color onto freezer paper. Then I tape all these pieces together like a giant puzzle and iron it onto the fabric.  I methodically remove the hundreds of taped pieces and proceed to airbrush each section one at a time, lifting off to airbrush and re-ironing, lifting off, re-ironing, until the piece is finished. With this method the work is always covered by paper so that I must imagine the colors as I airbrush. After the last tiny piece is airbrushed, I peel the paper away to reveal the finished work.

Airbrushing with stencils

KW: With the second method I use masks and stencils and can see the work as it progresses; the image develops as I paint.  Although airbrushing looks very spontaneous, it is a laborious process requiring great patience. There is little leeway for mistakes; the process is akin to the layering, additive process of watercolor painting.

“Mimetic Concerns,” 2010, 44” x 57”, satin, airbrushed, hand quilted.

TSGNY: Are there other challenges to the airbrushing process?

KW: Yes, mainly involving proper ventilation. When I built my studio I installed a ventilating system and I stand under the hood of the vent to paint. My environment is this: I wear a respirator, protective clothing, gloves, and shoe coverings, while standing under a noisy ventilating hood. The airbrush’s hose is plugged into a compressor, which, although called “Silent-aire,” hardly is. With all my gear on, I look pretty robotic myself.  All this tends to separate me from my surroundings, which in turn places me in a different mental space. In order to communicate with anyone I must remove all my gear and step away from the area. In this bubble I feel very free to create. It’s just me, my decisions, and my “canvas”; time passes in a different way.

“Strategic Alliance,” 2008, 48” x 55.5”, Satin, airbrushed, hand quilted.

TSGNY: How does the range of materials you incorporate enhance the body of your work?

KW:  I love working with a variety of materials. Some of my favorite Chicago Imagist artists, H. C. Westermann and Karl Wirsum, showed their stuff and told their stories using a wide variety of materials. What my fabric pieces, drawings, paintings and sculptures have in common is the theme of robotics, nano robots or artificial intelligence.

“Habeas Corpus: The Great Writ,” 2008, 35” x 68”, Cottons, nylon line, airbrushed, hand-stitched.


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KW: The various materials overlap and enhance one another. For example, the charcoal drawings I am doing at the Rehabilitation Institute are translatable to thread line via embroidery, yet the finished drawings stand alone and have been exhibited in that form. The toys that I deconstruct and transform into robots are kinetic sculptures, yet use fabric and texture to express themselves. The larger papier-mâché sculptures have sensory devices, recordings, embroidery, and airbrushing.

“LMR VII (Mother),” 2009, 59” h x 24” w x 16”d, Fiber, papier mâché, found objects, horsehair, metal, sound and light, airbrushed, embroidered.

KW: The sculpture LMR VII (Mother) is airbrushed on fabric, with embroidery. The appendages and head are papier-mâchéd and airbrushed. The head has sensors so that when a viewer approaches a recording is activated. Also, a door in the back of the head opens and a light is activated, revealing a scene in the inside of the head.

“LMR XII (Captain Le Rocher),” 2011, 12” h x 12” w x 3”d, Bronze, airbrushed, embroidered, painted.

KW: Recently I have been making some bronze sculptures in a stage-like setting. In the sculpture LMR XII (Captain Le Rocher) I cast the bronze figure using the lost-wax process. The background of the box is airbrushed satin, which is also embroidered and quilted. The outside of the box is airbrushed and also painted with egg tempera.  The sculptures reiterate the 2D robot quilts but have the added feature of the solidity of the bronze contrasted with the fragility of embroidery, the machine-made futuristic look of my bronze robots contrasting with the labor-intensive stitchery that reminds us of another era.

TSGNY: Would you say there’s an ongoing tension between the presence of the “hand” in the textile processes you employ and the deliberate absence of the hand you’re going for with the airbrush?

KW: In all the work there is an incongruity in the use of soft material for hard objects and sharp thoughts. The embroideries show a duality between the softness and familiarity of satins and threads and the complexity of forms from organic chemistry, cellular biology and engineered robots. The labor-intensive hand embroidery has a feeling of slow Penelopian rhythms, reminding us of a distant pre-technoid era.

“Fire Slinger,” 2010, 48” x 46”, Satin, airbrushed, hand embroidered, hand stitched.

KW: There is also an eerie incongruency in the fact that humans often relate very personally to technological devices, particularly those in which they have a relationship born out of necessity. I am currently drawing patients and devices at The Robotic Lab at The Rehabilitation Institute in Chicago, a hospital and research facility for traumatic injury victims.

Much of my work has been about the military-industrial complex and the amount of money, not to mention human waste, that goes into the management of war. I was appalled at the number and kinds of injuries being sustained by civilians and vets during the Iraqi and Afghan wars, so I decided to do some research, which led me to The Rehabilitation Institute in Chicago. This research facility and hospital is doing amazing work in advanced prosthetic devices. The majority of their patients are not war victims, as those patients would most likely be treated at VA hospitals. The people I am observing and drawing at this facility are victims of traumatic injury. (If they are victims of war I don’t have access to this information.) I am currently drawing in the hand lab, which is receiving funding for research from the government for the advanced development of prosthetics.

TSGNY: How do you view this particular form of human-robot interaction, compared to your earlier depiction of robotics?

KW:  I have the utmost respect for the roboticists and bio-engineers and doctors there who are working so hard trying to make life a bit more palatable for traumatic-injury victims. Mostly, in my drawing sessions of patients who are testing devices, I am humbled by the incredible energy and mindset it takes for them to adapt to their disabilities. The patients are awesome in their perserverance to get some mobility back.  As for the traumatic brain injuries, I do not have access to these patients. It would be too disorienting and interruptive of their concentration for me to be in the room drawing while they are working on devices. Words cannot express how sad it is to see young adults being totally cared for by their parents.

“Biomechatronics Development Lab 2,” 2010, 27.5” x 33.5”, charcoal pencil on paper.

KW: As for how I view this form of human-robot interaction — I would have to say with mixed feelings. I am inspired by the technological advances and the people making that happen, and appalled that we need this effort. Both come out in my work, by trying to do beautiful drawings (which will become embroideries/mixed media on fiber) of the patients and devices I am observing, and, concurrently, by doing a series of airbrushed quilts of “disaster” robots about the ravages of war on people and the environment inspired by Brecht’s “Mother Courage and Her Children.”

It’s the juxtaposition, the contrast of where we’ve been and where we are going, that I highlight by using both a needle and thread and the airbrush. As in science, in my art and in life, things are never what they first appear to be. Upon closer inspection, more is always revealed.

TSGNY: Finally, are there artists who inspire you whose work you’d like us to know about?

KW: Most of my inspirations come from the ideas of other artists rather than their medium or techniques. I love the work of William Kentridge and Sue Coe. After seeing a recent show of Lia Cook’s work at Duane Reed  in St. Louis and talking with her about the differentiation between her dolls and humans, I felt an affinity or parallel to the border crossings between my robots and the human condition I am expressing. This is the “uncanny valley” that I am continuously exploring — so oftentimes, what scientists write interests me much as what I see.

TSGNY: Thank you, Kathy. You can find more of Kathy’s work at her gallery and on her website, where you will also find her extensive current exhibition schedule.

“Simian Interface,”2003, 42” x 59”, Satins, cottons, egg tempera.

 

Leisa Rich: Please Touch

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TSGNY: How do you describe your artistic process?

Leisa Rich:  My main artistic method is free-motion embroidery, which is done by dropping the feed dogs on a sewing machine (the teeth underneath the sewing foot that pull the fabric along while you sew) and using a special foot adapted for this purpose, effectively “drawing” with thread. I use various types of stitching methods: embroidery floss in the bobbin, heavy threads, tension play and more.  I’m able to push the stitch in unique ways.

"Happy Toadstool," 2011, 36” X 48” X 32”; repositionable fabric, felt, dyes, vinyl, thread, acrylic paint; free-motion stitching, hand-dyed and painted.

LR: My materials include dissolvable paper, sheets of glue, acrylic paint and vinyl. Many of these materials have just come on the market in the last few years, so possibilities are constantly opening up. In the future, I’m hoping to collaborate directly with the manufacturers.  The variety of manipulative methods and the wealth of new materials make free-motion embroidery endlessly exciting.

TSGNY: Did discovering these new materials alter your intent?

LR: No, I chose these materials because they were perfect for the concept I have been working with recently: human interaction. Viewers can play and reconfigure my components to form their own compositions and stories.

"Architects in Flux," 2010, 88" X 108"; repositionable fabric, vinyl, thread; free-motion stitching.

LR: The interactive pieces are clear vinyl stitched to white vinyl; sometimes I include acrylic paint and other colored vinyl or fabrics in the design. These pieces can be pulled off and repositioned by the viewer on special fabric backgrounds. The works are 2D as well as sculptural. Installation — creating my own interactive world — is my favorite way of presenting my work.

"Architects in Flux," 2010, 88" X 108" (interactive view).

TSGNY:  Was there an “aha!” moment when you knew this kind of interaction was something you wanted to explore, or was it a gradual evolution?

LR: I would say I have been intentionally moving toward more human interaction in my art for several years now. Fiber art is so tactile that it is a shame humans — who innately love using their very sensitive fingertips to touch and explore — are not allowed to experience art physically.

"No Sense Crying Over Spilled Milk: Altering the Course," 2010, 87" X 52"; vinyl, thread; free-motion stitching.

LR: When I was a small child I was deaf and spent considerable time in the hospital. My mother brought me beautiful Barbie clothes she made from her work suits. I loved the feeling of the satins, laces and nubby silks as I dressed my dolls. Living in that silence for so long made me crave human interaction; those early experiences, combined with the thrill of finger-painting in the hospital art room, led to a lifelong passion for all things textural and a need to touch.

"No Sense Crying over Spilled Milk: Altering the Course," 2010 (interactive view).

LR: In 2009 I had a solo installation exhibition, “Beauty From the Beast,” which featured a 25 foot by 20 foot “garden” made of the detritus of mankind, fabrics, free-motion stitching that also included lots of other mixed media and incorporated an assortment of fiber techniques such as quilting.
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"Beauty From the Beast," 2009, 25' x 20' (dimensions variable). Mixed media: obtainium, fabrics, plastic drinking straws, vinyl; free-motion stitching, hand-dyed and painted, rolled, constructed, quilted, applique.

LR: There were pathways people could walk on in the garden; they could touch the bubble-wrap flowers and rearrange the “grass” rocks. However, that level of interaction was still not enough for me; once they were done, everything went back the way it was, so it was still “my” piece as opposed to “our” piece. The new work is much more interactive and the viewer has more of a stake in it.

"Beauty From the Beast," 2009, bubble-wrap flower bouquet.

TSGNY: Given your love of the textural and tactile, what other fiber processes have you explored?

LR: I have been an absolutely obsessed fiber artist since 1975. It’s hard to think of a fiber technique I haven’t explored since. I was a serious weaver for a number of years, which included dyeing with plants, spinning, basketry and more. I graduated from the University of Michigan in 1982 with a degree in Fibers.  I went on to become a designer of knitwear on both loom and knitting machine and a hat/ jewelry and wearable artist with a successful company designing for tv shows and stores, until I moved to the island of Kauai in 1998. I had incorporated free-motion stitching in many of these works but it was really then, due to the confines of living in a tiny island house with room only for a sewing machine, that I returned to stitching and started expanding my free-motion repertoire. At that time much of my work utilized mixed media and themes of women and children’s issues. When I went back for my Master of Fine Arts in Fibers at the University of North Texas in 2007, the questions I had to ask myself as an artist led to my present way of interacting with my viewer.

“(in)CONSEQUENTIAL,” 2007, dimensions of installation variable; plastic drinking straws rolled in dyed wool and sliced, stuffed, stitched, dyed wool amoeba forms; free-motion stitching, constructed, stuffed, rolled and sliced.

TSGNY:  Does your process pose any particular challenges?

LR: Well, the “do not touch” rule is still a pretty hard one to overcome. Most galleries and exhibitions are not comfortable with allowing viewers to “play” with a work. This limits the exposure of the audience; they are relegated to a passive role, which is not satisfying to me. I just completed a permanent installation piece for the Dallas Museum of Art’s new education center that will be completely interactive. Everyone will be allowed to enjoy it all of the time! I’m striving to get more of these kinds of commissions. I really love to take people to a happy place, in light of the often depressing and difficult world we live in.

TSGNY:  Are there any living artists who inspire you who you feel we should know about?

LR: Andy Goldsworthy’s installations are fleeting and lovely. I enjoy the way that he can interact with nature and then allow it to reclaim the works after he is done. His art makes it possible for humans to think of doing it themselves, creating their own sculptures as a method of self-expression without being intimidated by fancy materials or intimidating art classes.

TSGNY: Thank you, Leisa.

You can see more of Leisa’s work on her website, her blog, her teaching blog, and on Facebook.

"Beauty From the Beast," (2009); recycled plastic tablecloths, felt, vinyl; free-motion stitching, constructed mixed media.

 

Mary Zicafoose: Weaving in Code

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Mary Zicafoose with a fraction of the wrapped ikat sections required for a single tapestry.

TSGNY: Which textile techniques do you incorporate in your work?

Mary Zicafoose: I am a rug-weaver-turned-tapestry-weaver who developed a fascination with ikat about 25 years ago. What began pretty innocently with a few scraps of a Hefty garbage bag knotted around a hank of yarn has evolved into complex tapestry imagery created by very intricate and layered ikat wrapping and tying techniques.  The process now demands months of wrapping, tying small pieces of japanese ikat tape — a brittle cellophane tape — around individual strands of mountains of silk and wool.

Wrapping ikat before dyeing. The weft section shown here will become approximately 3 inches of the finished piece.

MZ: For the last 10 years I have produced ikat tapestries almost exclusively.  I’m currently working on a commission for a home that will require about 80,000 ikat ties.  When done tying I will dye the yarn and then untie all 80,000 design sections.  The weaving is almost a secondary process: literally just what holds all the ikat-dyed yarn together.  That said, the weaving is a monumental and time-consuming activity unto itself, since the pieces are large in scale. This particular tapestry will be a panel about 10’ x 10’, woven in silk, dyed the colors of the prairie sky before a thunderstorm.

At the Loom: "Blueprint" in Process. All three sections of the triptych are woven simultaneously, row by row.

TSGNY: Was that first experiment with a shredded Hefty bag the result of an aha moment when you knew ikat was something you just had to explore?

MZ: Yes, of course.  I was working on a pretty involved classical tapestry piece, struggling to make it appear painterly and more spontaneous.  Just for the record, the words “spontaneous” and “weaving” are rarely used in the same sentence — they occupy two different universes, coming from completely different hemispheres of process.

I was very frustrated, feeling gridlocked and constrained by technique and the limitations of my equipment.  Then I flashed on a scrap of ikat cloth my aunt had given me as a child –a memento from some exotic junket she had been on — that I had held onto as precious.  I thought that’s where this needs to go: I need to embrace a textile process that allows some element of surprise or chance to occur.   This was in the 80s when there wasn’t much ikat going on anywhere. And so began the study.  I went to the Fairfield, Iowa, public library to get a book on ikat applications for tapestries and rugs, only to discover that no books on ikat process existed.  To date, almost 30 years later, there might possibly have been three books written on the subject.  I think I may have drawn the card to write the fourth.

"Ancient Text - Chain of Command" (diptych), 76" x 45", Weft-faced ikat tapestry.

TSGNY: What are the particular challenges of the ikat process?  How do you overcome them?

The Ikat cartoon: the design "exploded" in preparation for dyeing.

MZ: Ikat is a synonym for challenge.   A bolt of hand-dyed silk ikat fabric,  whether a beautiful 18th-century adras ikat robe or one of my ikat tapestries, is the composite visual solution to thousands of tiny complex problems. Ikat is based on math, geometry, dye chemistry, and the ability to think and design abstractly — expanding shapes and images at the ikat board to then severely compress them at the loom.  It also requires an abnormal otherworldly amount of patience with process–an actual fascination or addiction to process, I would say.

Unwrapping Ikat

MZ: I used to teach a lot of ikat until my process became so complex and layered that I could no longer explain it within a workshop context.  Also, very few weavers were interested enough in the visual product to invest and go where this takes you.   Weavers already have a time-consuming and totally demanding and economically unforgiving process–why take it to the 10th power?

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Silk Ikat sorted and collated. Each ball of yarn is numbered with its place in the weaving sequence.

MZ: My undergraduate degree was in photography and my graduate work was in clay.  The sculptor in me is waiting for the day I’ve tied that last ikat wrap.

TSGNY: Clearly ikat has its rewards, because you haven’t tied your last tie yet. What does ikat enable you to do that you had not been able to do in other techniques?

MZ: I always describe ikat yarns as being “coded.” Understanding the mechanics of this code has enabled me to create work that was never within my grasp, pieces that I would not have dared dream of creating. Recently I’ve been working almost exclusively in black and white, offset by sections of saturated color.

"Ancient Text - Indigo and Ochre" (diptych), 2007, 58" x 62", Weft-face Ikat Tapestry.

MZ: What is the visual difference?  Well, for one, complex ikat carries an energy, a frequency that makes it resonate differently than other textiles.  Perhaps it is the layers of overdyeing that produce more complicated and compelling saturations of color, perhaps the massive amount of human handling and touch that imbues it with so many layers of the “handmade,” but the element of magic is the serendipitous alchemy that happens when miles of wrapped ikat are submerged into vats of dye.  What sections resist the dye and where dye wicks up under the tape is random and uncharted and defies all plans and promises to clients.  The dye ebbs and flows and seeps and creates new and unexpected colors. The moment that the wrapped yarn slips into the colored waters of the dyepot is the precise moment the muse is invited to enter into the process. It’s as though another hand, another breath, has entered.

"Blueprint #7" (triptych), 2009, 84" x 88", Weft-face ikat, hand-dyed silk/bamboo on linen warp.

MZ: I am endlessly intrigued by this process and its applications.  I have had the great pleasure and opportunity to crisscross the globe traveling to ikat-producing countries and cultures.  I have wrapped ikat on remote islands, in Andean mountain villages, in factories, mud huts, and on horseback.

Matching colors. Zicafoose dyes all the yarns, referring to her library of more than 1,000 dye recipes.

TSGNY: Are there artists – in this medium or in others – you’ve come across in your travels who inspire you and who you’d like us to know about?

MZ: Besides my ethnic contemporaries a few artists in the UK are doing contemporary ikat.   I purposefully don’t follow their work.  Is that foolish?  It’s too easy to be influenced by your peers within your medium and field, actually to be deeply influenced by what they are doing. For me visual influences are as powerful as auditory–like when you hear a song you can’t get it out of your head.  It’s best if I just do my work and tell my story and not read too many other stories while I’m at it.  Yes, that may be foolish.  Ptolemy Mann is a UK ikat weaver of talent and note. American ikat weavers include Virginia Davis  and Polly Barton.

Early on in my rug-weaving days Mark Rothko was my big inspiration.  We all are familiar with how he treated large fields of color–how the edges collided and bled into each other–so very ikat.   When my husband Kirby and I traveled extensively in Peru and worked in Bolivia I fell under the spell of all things ethnic and ancient.  It took years behind the loom to weave South America out of my system.  When I finally emerged from that I fortunately had a strong sense of who I was as an artist and as a weaver and was very freed to be inspired by and to build my work on non-textile influences such as the visually powerful works and writings of Meinrad Craighead, the visionary Catholic nun;  Mary Oliver, the beloved Northeastern poet: the sculptor Martin Puryear, and the architect Phillip Johnson.  Sources of inspiration are an endless craving.

TSGNY: Thank you, Mary.

You can see more of Mary Zicafoose’s work here.

"Blueprint - Wine & Willow," (diptych), 2008, 48" x 76", Weft-face ikat.

Katherine Knauer: Tampering with Tradition

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TSGNY: How do you describe your art process?

Katherine Knauer: I’ve been a craftsperson my entire life and a quiltmaker since 1976.  In 1984 I discovered that I could print my own fabric designs with stencils and achieve a much more specific, personal result than with commercial fabrics.  I could design and print a group of fabrics depicting various aspects of one theme and piece those together for a quilt with a specific viewpoint.  I’ve been handprinting fabric since then. In 2009 I taught myself to use Photoshop in order to use an online fabric printing service called Spoonflower. Each quilt I make reflects a specific topic, usually taken from news headlines.  I’m currently working on a series of pieces about environmental concerns.

"Second Wind," from the Elements/Environment Series, 2010, 88” x 88”

KK: In “Second Wind,” all the surface fabrics that I digitally designed were printed using Spoonflower.  The theme of wind energy is illustrated in each print by images of wind turbines or dandelion seeds blowing in the wind or electrical devices such as lightbulbs, electric fans or power cords.  Wind is further represented by the color blue, and electricity by the color yellow.   And then extensive surface embroidery enlivens the rather flat surface.

Before the Elements/Environment series, I made quite a few quilts on the subject of war. I believe the unexpected juxtaposition of a traditional craft associated with comfort and warmth and disquieting imagery brings an extra layer of energy to my work.

"Conventional Forces," 1986, 84” x 84”

KK: In Conventional Forces, a “conventional”  (traditional) quilt pattern – a Log Cabin variation – has been adapted to accommodate textiles I designed and printed with images of “conventional” (non-nuclear) war.  I handprinted all the fabrics with stencils. I selected the piecing pattern to accommodate relatively large sections of printed fabrics.

"Conventional Forces" (detail), 1986, 84" x 84"

KK: The centerpiece of this quilt is a large image of a tank type used in Vietnam.  Other printed images used as repeat-pattern textile design include paratroopers, a concentration camp, soldiers in formation, falling bombs, rows of M-16 guns arranged in a herringbone pattern, jungle fighters, hand grenades, tanks, aircraft and wounded soldiers.  In two of the patterns, commercially printed fabrics are overprinted – a pattern of barbed wire over camouflage fabric, and burning buildings on another print.  The reverse side of this quilt is a stenciled hand-grenade design that took three days to print.

"Conventional Forces" (detail of reverse), 1986, 84” x 84”

TSGNY: With Photoshop in your design toolkit, and subjects like war and the environment, do traditional quilt patterns still have a role to play in your work?

KK: I love textiles and find traditional geometric quilt patterns irresistible.  The history of the patterns is fascinating – the titles reflect not only their appearance but what was on the maker’s mind or events of that era:  Whig’s Defeat, Drunkard’s Path,  LeMoyne Star,  Jacob’s Ladder, New York Beauty, etc.   When I use a traditional pattern in my work I am referring both to the historic pattern title and the possible meanings behind it. For example, “Streak O’ Lightning,” a zig-zag pattern, to me means something that happens in an instant and changes your life forever.  I’ve used it to represent sudden death, the destruction of war, and recently to represent electricity in a quilt about wind energy for the environmental series.

TSGNY: In spite of your serious subject matter, your patterns and images could be characterized as cartoony.  Is that intentional?

KK: It’s the way my style emerged from the get-go. I may have been influenced by the coloring books of my childhood.  I like areas of color to have distinct, crisp edges; I like heavy outlines.  I also love the look of woodblock prints and the silkscreened travel and propaganda posters from the 1920s and 1930s.  And stencil printing is particularly good for limited detail and large areas of a single color.
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Stencil Printing

TSGNY: Do you get a different result from the hand-stencil process and from Spoonflower?

KK: Yes.  With hand stenciling I’m able to overprint commercial fabric and print over seams.  The color is deeper and more permanent.  I can have the resulting fabric the same day. And by using an airbrush or spray gun I can get an ombre effect or translucent effect and cover large areas. (My first air compressor sounded like a jet plane taking off and was very distracting.  I sold it and bought a “Super Silent” compressor when I was awarded a cash grant from the Empire State Crafts Alliance in 1988.)  In “Trouble in the Tropics,” for example, I achieved the translucent paint effects by lightly overspraying stencil prints in sections of a quilt that was made following our vacation to South America.  Each “postcard” monoprint depicts an unfortunate event that might befall a vacationer in the tropics.

"Trouble in the Tropics" (detail), 1990

KK: The benefits of using Spoonflower are unlimited yardage and the ease with which I can change size, proportion, color and other design elements.  I can preview my fabric in various repeat formats.  It’s easy to correct mistakes and to reorder.  I can have lots of little details and an unlimited color palette.  It’s also just fun to play around on the computer using Photoshop.

TSGNY: If you’ve tried other media, and are clearly not averse to modern technology, why do you stick with quilts?

KK: Quiltmaking allows me to create large, colorful pieces while working in a limited space. (I have a great studio now, but for years, the exigencies of family life in an apartment squeezed my quiltmaking into whatever compact space was available.)  I love being part of a craft tradition, and feel a great kinship with the lacemakers, seamstresses, weavers, knitters and quiltmakers of previous generations.  I also have a terrific support group among my quilting pals.

TSGNY: After the design excitement of the processes that go into the surface layer, how do you think about the part of the work that ties you most closely to that craft tradition: the quilting itself, the stitching that joins the three layers of the quilt together?

KK: Semper Tedium!  (An invented pseudo-Latin phrase meaning:  Long live the labor-intensive artistic process!)  The quilting is the payoff after making the top of the quilt.  The process is hypnotic, meditative and trance-inducing, especially when combined with a good audiobook.

TSGNY: A motto to live by! Finally, are there artists who influence you whose work you’d like us to know about?

KK: I love Mark Bradford‘s huge exuberant collages with permanent wave endpapers and paint. Philip Taaffe’s multi-layered, over-printed paintings are mysterious, hallucinatory and beautiful.  Nick Cave’s “soundsuits” are simultaneously playful and imbued with deep personal meaning.  Ditto for the stitched constructions of Charles LeDray, whose ethic of “work, work, work, work, work” strikes a chord with me. I visit museums several times a week and find living in NYC an endless banquet of visual inspiration.

TSGNY: Thank you, Katherine.

You can see more of Katherine’s work here; at the TSGNY exhibit “Crossing Lines”; and in  “Material Witnesses,” at The Art Quilt Gallery, 133 West 25th Street, NYC, November 15, 2011 – January 7, 2012.

Carole P. Kunstadt: Transforming Text

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TSGNY: How would you describe your current work?

Carole P. Kunstadt: The Sacred Poems series, which I’ve been working on since 2006, has been an ongoing exploration generated solely by the materials: two editions of an antique book, dated 1844 and 1849. As an art student and in my first years as a freelance artist I was a calligrapher, and have always been fascinated by illuminations in manuscripts and books.  I purchased the first book in Vermont in 2000 from a used-book seller without any specific idea in mind. In 2006  it occurred to me to use the paper as the ground for a collage.  But to my surprise I was enticed and captivated by the  responsiveness of the paper: the inherently facile, tactile, tender yet strong pages. Soon I was transforming them in unexpected ways. The series has grown to 75 unique works celebrating life and the beauty that’s contained within the Psalmody.

TSGNY: What’s the range of the transformations you’ve subjected the paper to in this series?

CPK: I’ve layered pages and machine-stitched through the lines of text, leaving a fringe of the threads; I wove strips cut from the pages, fascinated by the random patterns created by the letters. It had been over 25 years since I had been involved in tapestry weaving. The process was truly satisfying: to find previous skills resurfacing unexpectedly and from a different orientation.

"Sacred Poem LV," 2009, 5.5” x 5.625”, 24K gold leaf, paper: pages from Parish Psalmody dated 1844. Photo: Kevin Kunstadt

CPK: My lifelong fascination with texture came into play when I found that releasing the pages from the binding and cutting towards the crease created a ‘ruffle.’

"Sacred Poem XVI" (detail), 2006, 6” x 8” x 1.5”, thread, paper: pages from Parish Psalmody dated 1844. Photo: Kevin Kunstadt

CPK: I am in a constant state of discovery in this series as new ways of working with the paper evolve. I just completed a piece in which I gilded strips of pages with 24K gold leaf. The gilded strips were then woven, and hand-sewn/knotted with thread.

"SACRED POEM LXXV"(detail), 2011, 9.625” x 9.75” x .5”, 24K gold leaf, thread, paper: pages from Parish Psalmody dated 1849. Photo: Kevin Kunstadt

TSGNY: What was your work like before you embarked on the Sacred Poems?

CPK:  I had been working with handmade papers, layering with other ephemera and natural found objects, for over twenty years.  I was intrigued and inspired by found papers, and used old receipts, labels, currency and tickets that I collected in my travels, but also purchased antique postcards, ledgers, etc. for use in my collages. The series I was working on prior to this one, Markings, consisted of  6” x 6”  paintings in gouache that incorporated lines of script itemizing New Hampshire farm/estate sales, which I cut from a ledger from the 1860s.  I added lines of stitching by machine-sewing right through the paper. They were fluid and spontaneous – an immediate record of the day’s energy, incorporating the collage fragments from the past in an intimate and delicate manner. Towards the end of the series I worked graphite into them as well to accentuate the marks of script. Each one has its own presence but they also work well hung as groupings.

"Markings No.27 "(detail), 2004, 6” x 6”, gouache, collage and thread on paper. Photo: Kevin Kunstadt

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CPK: The pages from the book dated 1844 were amazingly flexible. The discoloration from aging is a honey color that provides warmth and depth. The paper wasn’t brittle – to the contrary, it was very forgiving. After a few years of focused work on the first book, I found myself running out of pages and tried to locate another book in similar condition. This has proven to be elusive . . . like the holy grail! I finally did buy an 1849 volume online and was surprised to find it so different in color and texture despite the few years’ difference. This book has led me to work a little differently. The pages are slightly larger, lighter in color, and less flexible. Inspired by working in the 9” x 9” x 3” format for the upcoming TSGNY exhibit, I ventured further into the realm of three-dimensional boxes. It has been a very liberating experience to work on an object as sculpture rather than a single surface.

"SACRED POEM LXIV," 2011, 4.75” x 4.75” x 2.25”, wire, 24K gold leaf on wooden egg & paper: pages from Parish Psalmody dated 1849. Photo: Kevin Kunstadt

TSGNY: Does the content of the manuscript pages affect your work? Is it different working on a secular text like the ledger and a sacred text like the Psalmody?

CPK: The handwritten script from the ledger I used in Markings provided curvilinear marks that captivated me with their fluid human strokes and implied personal history. The  fragmented words and letters suggested intriguing insights and anecdotes of another time. Combining a selected strip of paper from this recorded experience with a sewn and painted surface develops a new presence that builds on the remnants of previous generations. The persistence of time merges with the tenuous quality of life.

"Sacred Poem XLV" (detail)

CPK: The Sacred Poems’ use of a sacred text has been central to the methods of alteration of the papers’ nature. The repetitive actions of sewing, cutting, weaving, and knotting mirror the actions of reciting, singing, and reading: implying that the repetition of a task or ritual offers the possibility of transcending the mundane. Transformation and the possibility for revelation are primary elements of the work. This exploration led to a greater depth and connection to my creative core. The books have revealed themselves as vessels containing a rich source of history, and personal experiences which I am responding to intuitively.

The intended use, as well as the nature of a psalm as spiritual repository, both imply a tradition of careful devotion and pious reverence. The physical text evocatively and powerfully serves as a gateway to an experience of the sacred and the realization of the latent power of the written word. This process of interaction plays out visually in the piece, mimicking the internal experience. Through the individual evolution of each page, culminating in a transformation of the whole volume, the material and the conceptual interact delicately and suggestively with one another.

The casual purchase of a book ultimately changed my creative path.

TSGNY: I’m sure a lot of artists would recognize a similar moment of serendipity in their own lives. Finally, are there any artists whose work inspires you that would like us to know about?

CPK:  Zarina Hashmi‘s work has inspired me to explore the idea/intent as well as the materials in my work. Her ability to extract simplicity from complexity and present a vision of the world from her personal experience is fortifying and compelling. Her use of gold leaf – and Wolfgang Laib‘s — are thought-provoking and profound. He masterfully reorders and redefines materials and gets to their very essence. His work is unadorned, yet powerful in its simplicity.  Viewing his work is a sensory experience.

TSGNY: Thank you, Carole. You can see more of Carole’s work here, and in a solo exhibit at the Corridor Gallery at the Interchurch Center in New York City, Sept. 19 – Oct. 21, 2011.

Jeanne Raffer Beck: Finding Ikigai in the Studio

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TSGNY: You call yourself a “mixed-media textile artist.” What does that encompass?

Jeanne Raffer Beck:  I currently use a variety of materials and processes in my work. Earlier in my artistic life I was passionate about crossing disciplines to gather and learn techniques; I imagined that eventually one would stand out and I would build a body of work around it. Fiber, more than any other medium I explored, captured my imagination with its tactile sensibilities and its versatility. Eventually I realized that I wanted the techniques and processes to emerge from my ideas.  I now select particular techniques for various series because they seem to best serve the concept behind the work.

Before 2007 my works were layered, textural whole-cloth wall-hangings that I called “interior landscapes” — think dense machine and hand embroidery meets surface-design-on-silk and layered sheers.  In 2007, I started to envision a series of threadwork constructions incorporating printed cut silks to suggest pages of books.  In my vision for this series, each piece would increasingly deconstruct linear blocks of text until the letterforms themselves would dance in space, free from the confines of words or meanings.

"Pages 4," 2009, 33” x 96” Habotai silk, acrylic paint, dyes, cotton thread. Silkscreened, cut, mounted, stitched and hung on handcrafted stainless steel hanger.

TSGNY: So you needed to develop a new textile process to support the theme of deconstructed text?

JRB: Yes. A few years earlier at Penland, Hollie Heller had introduced me to the use of gel mediums on paper and silks, which allow paper to be used like cloth and cloth to be more paper-like. That workshop planted important seeds that emerged when I decided to move my work away from the wall with the Pages series.  I screen-printed silks with a variety of texts, both mechanical and handwritten, and then cut the screen-printed fabrics apart into tiny rectangles. I composed and sandwiched the rectangles on water-soluble fabrics and then stitched grids over the surface. Once I removed the water-soluble material, the pieces appeared to float and cast beautiful shadows on the walls. The interplay of positive and negative space in these works are continuing to inspire new directions and ideas, but as my ideas for these works evolve, so do the materials I use to execute them.

A long-time appreciation for Olga De Amaral‘s gold-leafed weavings and El Anatsui‘s recycled constructions led me to begin working with gold leaf. Currently I am working on a series of dimensional constructions titled “Writing in Air” and “Fluttering Pages,” inspired by books, handwriting and fragments of printed texts. These incorporate acrylic painted tissues, and gold leaf applied to spun polyester fabric, which I manipulate and combine to make into dimensional pieces mounted on fiberglass screening or gold-leafed, painted canvas.

"Writing in Air," 2011, 24” x 48” Spun polyester, tissue, gold leaf, stretched canvas frame. Painted, collaged, cut, manipulated and mounted on gold-leafed canvas.

JRB: These written language-inspired works consider the effects of time and the gradual disappearance of details of personal memories, both in aging and after an individual’s death. Fragments of documents, inscriptions or histories of individual lives are often all that survive over time.

Explorers have discovered exquisite, ancient cave paintings but know little to nothing about the individuals or cultures that created them. An ancient burial shroud covered with remnants of handwritten text was discovered in Egypt, but linguists can only partially translate the forgotten language in which it was written. Old letters, documents and journals reveal fragments of the lives of those who lived long ago; we are left to imagine the rest.
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The bits and pieces that survive from individual and cultural histories have also led me to notice and appreciate the effects of contemporary aging and deterioration. I gather images of urban graffiti, decaying walls, rust and peeling paint. In addition, my interest in handwritten texts has grown. In an increasingly computer-driven age of text messaging, e-mail and social media, handwritten documents are virtually disappearing. Yet each person’s handwriting is as distinct and individualized as a fingerprint.

My personal desire is to translate the rhythms and energies of writing, dance, music and poetry to visual surfaces. I am passionate about immersing myself in studio work and enjoy the immensely fertile and creative waves of inspiration that it brings. Engaging in creative process is my way of making meaning in life. The Japanese have a word, ikigai, that does not have an exact English translation but roughly means, “a reason to wake up in the morning.”

"Crumpled Page," 2011, 48” x 48” Spun polyester, silk, gold leaf and stretched canvas frame. Cut silk letterforms applied to stitched polyester and mounted to gold-leafed, painted canvas.

TSGNY: That’s a wonderful concept. While we’re on the subject of motivation and inspiration, are there any living artists who inspire you whose work you’d like us to know about?

JRB: Two contemporary artists, Yves Leterme and Monica Dengo, who incorporate gestural calligraphy in their work. This loose, expressive form of writing is something I want to pursue further in my own practice. The energy in their mark-making is palpable and while Yves’ work is slightly more reminiscent of traditional calligraphy, both artists focus on the gestural energy of handwriting and the beauty of marks made by the human hand.

TSGNY: Thank you, Jeanne.

You can see more of Jeanne Raffer Beck’s work here and read her blog here.

"The Fluttering Pages of My Life 2; Remembered Address Numbers" (detail of a work in progress), 36” x 36” Fiberglass screen, polyester, gold leaf. Painted, screen-printed, cut and stitched.

 

Bonnie C. Epstein: Embroidering the Story

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"Safety Net Fragment" (detail) 8 3/4" x 8 3/4" Newspaper, joss paper, cotton interfacing, thread. Hand and machine stitching. Photo: D. James Dee

TSGNY: How do you describe your work?

Bonnie Epstein: I am a hand-embroiderer.

TSGNY: You embroider, but not on fabric . . . .

BE: No. I construct lace-like structures made of paper intercepted on its way to the recycling bin – – maps of all kinds, ledger sheets, catalogues, fliers, newspapers, magazines, ads, envelopes, almost anything except scented papers. I harvest clippings, coat them with matte medium, machine stitch them to cotton interfacing, then use basic hand-embroidery stitches to connect and embellish the paper elements.

TSGNY: What kind of artwork were you doing before you developed this method of combining found paper with embroidery?

BE: I would say I first became “an artist” in the technicolor paradise of my grandmother’s yarn store.  During sweltering pre-Salk vaccine summers in the Catskill Mountains resort village where I grew up, I begged to be allowed to work in the store rather than stay at home to play in the backyard. I fell in love with threads, yarns, and texture; and discovered the transformative powers of color and pattern.

BE: I was also taught that every woman had to be able to earn a living, that an artist could not earn a living, and that a teacher would always be able to support herself.  So after college I was a teacher. I lived abroad, moved to Manhattan, changed professions, married, lived abroad again, and returned to Manhattan in 1978.  Walking along Broadway with my children, I discovered the Thread Company and Lisbeth Perrone’s needlepainting classes. I have been an embroiderer ever since.

For years I designed and embroidered functional items – – one-of-a-kind ceremonial cloths sold at museum shops, a succession of accessories sold at boutiques, and numerous embroidery samples and prototypes for the garment industry.  Although I read  Fiberarts  and visited fiber exhibitions, my work had to conform to color and trend forecasts.  Membership in TSGNY offered options and encouragement.  In 1998 I covered my 9X9X3 box with photographs embellished with embroidery.  It was my first experiment with embroidery on paper.

"Window Box" (detail) 9" x 9" x 3 Wooden box, photos, fabric, thread. Photography, hand stitching. Photo: D. James Dee

TSGNY: When did the found paper become central to your work?

BE: After the 9x9x3 show, TSGNY members Ann Kronenberg, Colette Wolff and Joan Pao goaded me to continue exploring the possibilities of stitching on paper.  Their incredible friendships, insightful critiques and patient mentoring are invaluable gifts. In 2003, frustrated by the growing piles of paper awaiting recycling, and provoked by increasingly angry red, orange, and yellow terror warnings printed on many of those papers, I challenged myself to make good use of the mess.  I wanted to maintain the integrity of the papers rather than printing or copying their texts and images on fabric, but I had to find a way to strengthen and preserve them. Months of experimentation led to the techniques that I continue to use.

TSGNY: So your paper isn’t fragile?

BE: Paper coated with matte medium then machine stitched to cotton interfacing is parchment-like: tough, yet wonderfully pliable. It is a perfect base for embroidery.
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TSGNY: How do you decide which of the incoming paper to incorporate in your work?

BE: I work at home; some days the papers that arrive are so compelling that they call me to deal with them at once. Often their potential is obvious, but it takes me a while to make use of them.  Five years’ worth of charts and graphs from the financial pages are currently being stitched into a series of “safety nets.” I am also exploring the possibilities of envelopes.

"Mail Box" (detail) 6 1/2" x 6 1/2" Paper envelopes, cotton interfacing, thread. Hand and machine stitching. Photo: D. James Dee

TSGNY: How has this choice of recycled material affected your artwork?

BE: Needless to say, much of my work is infused with text. I use it as pattern, and as visual texture. Frequently the text determines the path of my work. A fully text-based work in progress is “No End in Sight,” a documentary series composed of “Names of the Dead”  lists clipped from our newspaper almost daily since the autumn of 2005.  These lists include names, ages, hometowns, and military units of American service members killed at war in Afghanistan and Iraq.  “No End In Sight” is a series of annual documents of deaths.  So far I’ve completed two years of the series:  “Autumn 2005 – 8/ 8/ 2006,” and “8/ 9/ 2007 – 8/10/ 2008.”   I’m just beginning “8/11/ 2008 –  8/9/2009.” There were 30 names on the list I clipped yesterday and sadly, there is no end in sight. 

"No End in Sight 8/2006- 8/2007" (detail) Approx. 68" X 45" Newspaper, cotton interfacing, thread. Hand and machine stitching. Photo: D. James Dee

BE: Selectively harvested materials enable me to explore issues and events, capture a mood, comment quietly, and hopefully stimulate discussion.

The treated paper also enables me to construct deceptively fragile-looking structures. When suspended, their flickering shadows playfully deflect evil and fear. I  think of my first pieces as talismanic and call them Security Blankets. To increase the potential for shadows, I stitched bits of metal hardware cloth mesh (aka Rat Wire) among the paper squares.  I continue to construct unique lace-like paper structures, happily mining the seemingly endless potential of the daily paper crop.  Each harvest sparks fresh ideas for new work.

"Security Blanket" (detail) 31" x 26 1/2" Paper, cotton interfacing, hardware cloth, thread. Hand and machine stitching. Photo: D. James Dee

TSGNY: Finally, is there any living artist whose work inspires you who you’d like us to know about?

BE: Since I began exploring the possibilities of recycled paper, I have become increasingly interested in the work of artists whose innovative use of recycled materials enables them to explore a broad range of issues.  Several years ago I discovered the fascinating installations of Guerra de la Paz, a collaborative of two Cuban-born artists working in Miami.  The pair builds lush, seductive, politically resonant environments of recycled textiles. Used as construction materials, these textiles remain secondary to the message of the work.  The team’s skillful twisting and knotting so totally transforms their materials that it is shocking to suddenly realize that the foliage above your head is composed of masses of green patterned, solid, and printed sweaters, shirts, dresses and pants.

TSGNY: Thank you, Bonnie. You can see more of Bonnie’s work here.

"No End in Sight" (Autumn 2005 - 8/ 8/ 2006 and 8/ 9/ 2007 - 8/10/ 2008) Each approx. 68" X 45" Newspaper, cotton interfacing, thread. Hand and machine stitching. Photo: D. James Dee