Friday, April 30, 2010

my new sewn pieces




i made these pieces last summer at the society for contemporary craft while i was teaching a workshop called alternative embellishment. the students taking this workshop were particularly enthusiastic, so the facility gave us an extra hour or so each day to work in the studio after class. during this down time, i sewed these pieces using materials on my table and around the studio as well as started and finished them during that extra hour. it was fun and freeing to work with limited materials and to make something within a limited amount of time. those limitations curbed my inclination to think too much and just enabled me to do and make. these may not be masterpieces by any stretch, but they've informed my encaustic work immensely as well as sparked a renewed interest for me to begin making quilt or quilt-like pieces again. i'm also proud to announce that the second piece shown here was accepted into the juried show 'collective thread' to be held at the university of central missouri gallery of art & design in may and june. the acceptance into this show has encouraged me to move on with this work, so i've created three more of these pieces within the past week. stay tuned for some images coming soon....

6 comments:

  1. I love these pieces, especially the top four. At first glance they are so "body" like. Hair, skin. and the materiality. Congratulations on having that piece in 'collective thread' exhibition. Your idea of working with limited materials on hand and restricted amount of time is intriguing. I used to do little drawings and collages in those spaces of time between putting gesso on canvas and waiting for it to dry. Limited spaces, limited time, and materials. Really kept me focused.

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  2. i agree. i also use the limited materials/limited time exercise in workshops and the work produced during this time is some of the most exciting. i haven't sewn in a while, so i'm really excited about getting back into it again! thanks for your comment!

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  3. These pieces are very intriguing and I love the idea of limited time. This limitation may push an artist to make a decision that is fresh and raw and not what they might 'usually' do. Thanks for sharing.

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  4. Would love to see them in person Lori! I think that time and material restriction forces us to use our intuition more.

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