Spring Show '25 on Off the Wall Friday

Erie Art Museum Spring Show

Taking a break from my gushing over my new love of rug hooking, I want to share how great this year's Spring show was.  Every spring, the Erie Art Muesum hosts an art show that is open to artists who live within a 250 mile radius of Erie.     With no entry fee, it's very popular to enter and a great honor to get accepted.  That said, depending on who the guest jurist is really reflects how strong the show is.  

I'm happy to say that this year's juror, Keliy Anderson-Staley, curated the best show, I've ever seen.  So many strong brilliant pieces.  It truly was breath taking and inspirational.  Also nice to see that there were several fiber art pieces chosen.  Normally, I feel that the fiber arts choices (opinion alert) aren't always the strongest.  But this year...well... you be the judge....

Contemplation, Helena Sarah Richardson
Woven, Chenille, cotton, Linen, rayon ribbon 

Flowing Facing Forward, Joyce Morrow Jones
Fiber with 3D composition

Changing Directions, Felicia Daulhausen 
Shabari discharge hand stitched in Perle cotton

42.1211 N, 80.1300W, Lorena Alcarez Toca
Mix Media, Painting 

42.1211 N, 80.1300W, Detail

                                                                                    

Mended Soul, Lynn Fizel 
Fiber Art 

Mended Soul, Detail

Amazing right?  The rest of the show was just as strong.  Finally, fiber art shown at the show that would hold up at other shows. 

I could go on - but ya know  -  I got a rug to hook...

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Subversive Fiber Art by Women on Off the Wall Friday

Wonderland, Miriam Schapiro, 1983

 Over the years, I've written posts ranting about how nobody gets what we really do.  I'm mean sure people might understand what a quilt is.  What they don't get is the blood, sweat and tears that goes into a quilt.  Okay, so that's a little dramatic...but really have you met me?  Realistically though, it's that extra "something" that makes quilt making much more than a simple craft.  It's definitely an art form no matter if you do

detail, The Bitter Nest, Part II

traditional or modern or art or a mixture of all three.  

And that's what was celebrated at the Renwick Museum's exhibit, Subversive, Skilled, Sublime: Fiber Art by Women.  This was the final stop in our recent visit to Washington DC art museums. Looking back at the experience, I spent my whole time investigating how each woman made her pieces, wondering what her creative process was like.  I looked at the mark of the hand that was on display and marveled at the artists' choice of textures.  

What I didn't do was really look into the backstory of each piece.  For me, it's normally one or the other.  I can look at a piece as a form of independent art or I can see what the piece is trying to express to me.  Normally, I can't do both in one sitting or at least not on the first visit.  I figured that there would be plenty of the story of each piece on-line, so on my visit, I focused on the art by itself.  

The Bitter Nest, Part II: The Harlem Renaissance Party,
Faith Ringgold, 1988

And I wasn't disappointed.  I only recognized a few of the names I saw.  Most pieces were more than 30 years old, only proving that fiber art has always been around. (Which by the way the world seem to discover when the Gee Band quilts made such a splash)   The one that left me in awe was I finally got to see a quilt by Faith Ringgold in person.  Her quilt, The Bitter Nest, Part II: The Harlem Renaissance Party tells the story of an imaginary family.  The story is depicted through the figures in the center, while written in words around the edge.  Another thing checked off my  life's bucket list....see a Faith Ringgold quilt in person.  

The exhibit wasn't just about the art pieces themselves, but the stories that went behind them  To that end they held an open house where the artists and visitors got to mingle.  Gosh, I would have loved to been at that. Please click here though to see the pictures, because it will show you how amazing the exhibit looked in person.  They also produced a 10 episode podcast, Backstitch to feature each artist talking about her pieces in her own words.  Plus they even have a lecture on YouTube, that I haven't gotten a chance to watch.    So I was proven right - there was plenty of information about each piece online for a deeper dive into the meanings of the art.  

Besides the pieces themselves, the highlight of the exhibit was a small room that featured a peak into the work product of the artists.  When I'm doing an art quilt, I tend to have all sorts of "research" before I create.  Apparently, I'm not alone.  Not often is the viewer treated with peak behind the curtain.  Lia Cook was kind enough to show us her thought process. 

The piece I liked the most was Carolyn Mazloomi, Family Embraces (1997).  When I saw it, I said, "OMGosh!  It's hand quilted."  A voice behind me, countered "Oh it can't be.  Nothing that modern would be."  Luckily my back was to the woman because I literally rolled my eyes.  Seriously, the stereotypes of our art will never cease.  Anyways, I digress.  I thought Mazloomi's use of line in such a strong graphic statement really masterful.  And yes, the hand quilting was amazing too.  

The Family Embraces, Carolyn Mazloomi, 1997

Needless to say, it was a fitting end to our visit to DC.  The Renwick never ceases to disappoint.  I just wish it was bigger.  

And that leads me to say...

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Paris 1874 on Off the Wall Friday

One of the First Rooms of the Paris:1874 exhibit

 Okay, show of hands...who here when you think of art history, think immediately of impressionist paintings?  I wouldn't doubt that out of all art movements, impressionism is by far the most known and beloved.  I know, that's where I started my art history journey. It's still one of my favorites.  I think it's partly due to the fact that it's representational (which also makes it approachable) without being too stuffy.  Plus, the colors and the subjects just capture moments in everyday life that let you  live them over and over.  

The Railway, Edouard Monet, 1873

So when the National Gallery in Washington, DC put together an exhibit, Paris, 1874: The Impressionist Moment, we put it on our "must do list".  It exhibits 130 paintings from what is now considered to be first impressionist art show. To my art quilt friends, see if this scenario sounds familiar. Apparently, in 1874, the most successful artists were creating large dramatic paintings of historical and biblical scenes.  The Paris Salon was the annual art show of the time, where half a million people visited.  Of course, it favored this more conventional art style where wealthy patrons would buy art and sponsor artists.  

In comes who we now know as the impressionists.  Artists, most famously Claude Monet, had been experimenting with a looser style of painting where the subject is stylized in a more relaxed way.  Also, the canvases were smaller.  These paintings were all rejected by the Salon's jurors to be in the annual show.  Because of this, 31 artists came together to organize their own show.  In April of 1874, 200 artists (not all impressionists) showed their work.  

The Ballet Rehearsal, Edgar Degas, 1874

Although, it was not a huge commercial success with only 3500 visitors, it really was the birthplace of the impressionist movement.  It's amazing how many world-famous paintings were in the exhibit that year.  Even Monet's Impressionism Sunrise 1872 was featured, and that painting gave the name to the whole movement.   You can read the full story here.  

To say the exhibit was stunning would be an understatement.  To me, it was a bit surreal. So many paintings, I've been admiring for years, were just a finger reach away.  The colors are all so much more vibrant in person. You could see the individual paint strokes and then you would stand back to see the whole composition.  Just stunning.  And overwhelming.  

Impressionism, Sunrise 1872, Claude Monet

The exhibit has been super popular as you can imagine.  Never before had these paintings been brought all together from all over the world.  We got there at 10 am on a Monday morning and there was line a block long at least waiting to get into the gallery.  The docent said it is much, much worse on the weekends. 

The highlight for me was seeing the work of the women artists of the impressionist movement.  Just seeing The Cradle by Berthe Morisot in person was a thrill. Several of her paintings were featured.  Everywhere you look you would see real women of the time painted with - get this - their clothes on. 

The Cradle, Berthe Morisot, 1872

We finished our time at the Gallery, by visiting the Impressionist rooms and a bit of the American section from the early 1900's.  My husband is fan boying over Sargent right now so we hunted all of those down as well.  I've learned from past visits, its better to take the National Gallery in 4 or 5 hour bites.  

The Gallery's Rotunda at Christmas

I know, I know for a quilting blog I've been doing a bunch of art posts lately..but what can I say?  At Winter Solstice on Lake Erie, it's grey days and long nights.  It's a good time for some colorful art.

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On My Mind, Nancy Crow on Off the Wall Friday

You wouldn't think that living outside of Erie, Pennsylvania would be a center of culture. And it kinda isn't.  But it kinda is.  Really, we're within an hour or two of Cleveland, Pittsburgh and Buffalo.  Plus 3 hrs out of Toronto. As well as 2.5 hrs out of central Ohio.  Yes, you read that right ....central Ohio.   Central Ohio, for you not in the know, is a hot bed of quilting.  Not only is there a plethora of quilt stores, quilt groups, retreat spots but also there is The Dairy Barn Art Center (home to Quilt National) and the Crow Timber Frame Barn.  The latter is the brain child of Nancy Crow.  

Nancy Crow
(photo credit Schweinwurth Art Center)

If there was a mother of the art quilt movement, I would nominate Nancy Crow.  Born in 1943, she pioneered her way through Ohio State achieving an MFA in Weaving and Ceramics.  Moving into fiber and quilting, she developed what we now know as improvisational piecing to take quilting from folk
craft right into accepted art.  (Well mostly accepted.  There are still some die hard haters who insist it's still craft, but if anybody is an accepted artist, it's Nancy).  She's won multiple awards including the Living Treasure Award from the University of North Carolina.  Her work is part of the permanent collection of many museums including The Renwick Gallery/Smithsonian Institute.  (As an aside, if you haven't put the Renwick on your bucket list, stop reading this and do it.  It doesn't get as much press as the National Gallery but it houses the work of most talented artisans in our country)

I say all of this in a way of an introduction, because I took a drive to Kent University in Kent, Ohio.  (Yes THAT Kent University).  Besides its tragic past, it also houses the Kent State University Muesum with it's renowned collection of fashion, costume, and accessories.  At the core, is the collection of Shannon Rogers and Jerry Silverman who donated over 4000 pieces.  

On exhibit this weekend was a timeline history of fashion, a stunning collection of Katherine Hepburn Clothes, and Nancy Crow's On My Mind showcase.  To say it was a textile junkies dream is an understatement.  

There are four series of works that are included: CONSTRUCTIONS, RIFFS, DRAWINGS, and MONOPRINTS.  Although I've seen Nancy's work many times, it was a treat to see all 40 pieces displayed to perfection. Nancy hasn't been just an artist for the last 50 years, she's also been teaching.  Her classes have spring boarded many quilters into the world of art.  I myself have watched her classes and roomed with her students.  I also lucky enough to sit and listen to a lecture that finally explained to me the idea of composition and depth.  

This exhibit runs through December 15, 2024, and I encourage you to take the drive to Kent to see. it.  The campus is lovely, and they even have a nice museum store (we also went into the bookstore which was cool too). 

(my favorite piece)

Under Things that I Like....

Did anybody hear about the Monet water lilies painting that sold for 65 million dollars at Sotherby's this week?  If you want to watch the 17 min auction you can see it here (although spoiler alert...it's a quiet affair).  How often do you get to see a Monet come up for auction?

It does make one wonder who bought it.....

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Summoning the Wind on Off the Wall Friday

 I really think it's important to feed your inner creative soul.  I know that sounds "artsy", but it's true.  I think after preaching this so much at home, my husband has finally gotten it.  That's why I wasn't shocked when he dragged me out to the Erie Museum to see the latest exhibit, Summoning the Wind, by Qian Li.  

The Erie Art Museum was never this powerhouse in the art world.  Lately, though, I can see that it's upping its game bringing in some really nice exhibits as well as developing its own.  Qian Li, who was born in China, educated there and in Massachusetts, and teaches at Cleveland State University.  Her work which includes mixed media, print making, painting and video has been shown all over the world.  She also does installation art, which was very evident in the exhibit in Erie.  The exhibit wasn't large nor was it earth shattering, but it was very impactful.  I love mindful art because it proves that pieces don't need to be showy or provocative to be good.  

The medallion is gorgeous but look how the reflection becomes part of the exhibit

Although the exhibit included an interesting, animated video as well as an interactive piece, what I liked most was the mixed media and surface design installation.  The gallery was set up in a rectangular formation with paper compositions running along one side, silk screens running along the other and a lovely medallion showcased at the base. I found the artist's statements to be thoughtful and genuine which was a refreshing change to the pompous rubbish I usually read.  But really the pieces spoke for themselves.  

I loved the play of light in the pieces.  She played with transparency though out and it was so interesting.  My husband and I were talking about how we both like the silk screen side best.  He thought the little compositions were interesting and as a whole they look amazing.  I liked how light played even more into these pieces since you could see through them and light surrounded them instead of just landing on the surface.  

And then there was the idea of moving from warm to cool .... like the day does. Just gorgeous.

Like I said - not loud - not shocking - mindful and thought provoking.  

Again, I would encourage you to seek out local art or take a ride to a near by museum.  We put off our trip to see Buffalo's Albright-Knox Art Muesum till November because they are bringing in a new fiber art's exhibit then - I can't wait!!

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It's Been A Week on Off the Wall Friday

Dorothea Lange, Seeing People Exhibit

 Okay so here is this week's tip....don't think you can take a quick 2-day trip to Washington DC and not come home exhausted and your mind a big creative blur.  We only saw 2 museums, The National Gallery and the National Museum of American History and it still was stimuli overload. It wasn't just the museums which were amazing in themselves, but also the whole National Mall area.  We took the metro in from Arlington, VA, and popped up in the Federal Triangle station which is the middle of 10 neoclassial HUGE buildings.  I truly could have gone and toured the architecture of the buildings you hear every day - IRS, EPA, etc.  

The Dorothea Lange exhibit was just as amazing as advertised.  The thing about the National Gallery is that they own so much art, that you never quite know what they are going to have up on view.  Not to mention, I keep getting lost in their galleries!  One of these trips, I'm going to take the map and just mark galleries off as I go through them.  

The American History Museum added the Entertainment Nation exhibit on the 3rd floor.  It's a mass of pop media culture with lights and music to match.  It truly was crazy!

So I came home with my creative soul full and my Fitbit happy.  And it got me thinking....the National Gallery is a free-use museum with all of Lange's work stored at the Library Congress....and it so happens they have a very useable website.....andddddd

Down the rabbit hole, I went!

I am suggesting you take time to look at all the amazing stuff the Library of Congress has put online BUT don't blame me if you end up looking for three days straight.    

I do have a very cool idea for my next series...but I promised my husband I would not start another until I finished my Calendar Cows.  To that end, August Vacation Cow is officially sewn!

Seven down ....Five to go....On to finishing up June Bride Cow!

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6 Facts You Didn't Know about Dorothea Lange on Off the Wall Friday

 

Dorothy's Lange

This week finds me traveling to Washington DC to visit the National Gallery.  We love the National

Dorothea Lange, Formerly enslaved
woman, Alabama, 1938

Mall since we are kinda museum junkies.  But we haven't been back since 2019 due to the dreaded plague.  I keep an eye on the National Gallery's webpage and discovered that they are running a Dorothea Lange exhibit through March.  So Paul is indulging me with a quick trip down to see it as well as the Mark Rothko exhibit and Masters of American Furniture, the Kaufman Collection (see a little something for me....a little something for him).

Am I the only one who is totally in love with Dorothea Lange's work?  Lange was a photojournalist who is best known for her work of depression-era migrant farm laborers in California and the documentation of the Japanese Internment during World War II.  What I love about her work is that she had a way of capturing her subject's true selves and it's like you are there talking to them.  

Dorothea Lange, Migrant agricultural worker's family, Nipomo, California, February 1936

Dorothea Lange, Nettie Featherston, wife of a migratory laborer with three children, near Childress, Texas, June 1938

It's been a while so I thought it was time for another installment of "Facts You Didn't Know".

6 Facts You Didn't Know about Dorothea Lange

1.  She had polio as a child.  Due to her polio, it left her right leg with a limp.  She felt it, "formed me, guided me, instructed me, helped me, and humiliated me."  She credits this life experience with shaping the rest of her life and how she saw other people. 

2.  She was married twice.  She married young to the famous artist Maynard Dixon who had his own prolific career as a painter.  The couple had two children.  After 15 years of marriage, Lange was recruited by  Paul Taylor to work on his research paper on the migrant farm workers of the Dust Bowl. He felt that her photographs would be a good pairing with the written word.  During this work, both divorced their spouses and married forming a long working partnership till her death in 1965.

3. She started her career as a celebrity photographer first in New York City and later in San Francisco.  Here she learned about lighting, atmosphere, and composition.  She also realized that to get the best photos, you needed to be in touch with your subjects.  With the onset of the Depression, her business was affected leading her to start photographing street people.

Dorothea Lange, Human Erosion in
California (Migrant Mother), 1936

4. She could not be hired as a photographer for the government, but rather her title was stenographer.  Paul Taylor was given a grant through Roosevelt's New Deal initiatives.  With these monies, he was able to recruit Lange but the government wouldn't accept her as  "photographer" so instead she had to accept the title of "stenographer".

5. Her iconic photograph of Migrant Mother, Rose Thompson almost didn't happen.  Lange on the last day of the project, she was heading home when she passed the migrant encampment.  She traveled on for 20 more miles, before deciding to go back and photograph them.  She took 5 exposures.  Not only did the photograph become one of the most reproduced in the world, but once it was published in San Francisco, it raised $250,000 for the migrant workers crisis.

6.  Her work was censored.  In 1941, she deferred a prestigious fellowship, so she could document the Japanese internment camps.  Her work was so powerful, that the government seized the photos in hopes that they wouldn't persuade public opinion concerning the unconstitutional camps.  The photos were not publically shown till after the war in 1946.

Dorothea Lange, Grandfather and grandson of Japanese ancestry at a War
Relocation Authority center, Manzanar, California, July 1942

If you want more information concerning the life of Dorothea Lange, I can strongly recommend the YouTube documentary, Dorothea Lange - An American Odyssey. 

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A Return to Off the Wall Friday

Women Ironing, 1884–86. Edgar Degas

First I want to say a big thank you for all the kind words I received over the last couple of months.  This has been the first significant break I took from blogging and it was really needed.  I've learned that my creative journey has had its ups and downs over the years, and it's okay.  To quote my friend, Rhonda, just "Don't give up",  So I'm not.  

I'm officially back in my studio!  It's funny to get back into your studio and think, "Okay, where was I?"

  I left off at hand appliqueing Month 9 of the Quilt Show's BOM 2023.  The task-oriented side of me is kinda bummed I didn't finish it in 2023, but then I reminded myself that not many people were actually doing it by hand.  Besides, the idea is not to beat yourself up....the idea is "Don't give up!"  So I am going to endeavor to applique in the evenings when I'm relaxing to my favorite audiobooks.

Also, on my 2024 To-Do list is to finish up the Sunflower Girl I started in Timna Tarr's Mosaic stitch class last July.  She's been sitting right where I left her when I unpacked and like Paul said - she looks lonely.  I want to finish her up before I leave for John C. Campbell in March (more on that in a later post!)

Woman Ironing, c. 1869. Edgar Degas

We did find time to get over to the Cleveland Museum of Art to see the exhibit, "Degas and the Laundress: Women, Work, and Impressionism."  So we all know Degas' fascination with dancers, but he also had a great interest in the working-class women of Paris.  Over his lifetime, the laundress series spanned 30 paintings.  I was a little surprised that he found the "lowly laundress" so fascinating.  I mean, a male painter depicting women actually going through their normal day's work with their clothes on!  Who would thunk?!  Not to mention, he had people commission pieces from the series, so he wasn't the only one who found the laundress interesting.  The exhibit while not huge was sooooooo good!  Along with Degas, it also included works of his contemporaries, Gustave Caillebotte, Berthe Morisot, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec to name a few.

Under Things I Like....

Do you have your favorite YouTubers?  Lately, we've been watching a lot of YouTube.  One of our favorite vloggers is Baumgartner Restoration.  Julian Baumgartner takes you along on his journey conserving paintings.  I'm not sure what is more fascinating the care and attention he brings to his work or the difference between the "Before" and "After".  One warning, this channel is addicting!  Julian has the nicest voice and way about him.  

What are your favorite YouTube channels?

soooooooooooo

It's very - very - good to say - once again....

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Gallery Night on Off the Wall Friday

One thing that came out of the Pandemic of 2020, is the fact that I will NEVER take "Date Night" for granted ever again.  This week's installment was one for the books!  One night a month, the art scene in Erie comes alive to host a Gallery Night.  Galleries and small business open their doors to show off what's new. 

First stop, was the Grounded Print and Paper Shop.  Ever since I've heard about this place, I've been dying to visit.  It's a former machine shop warehouse located in a neighborhood where people have been fighting to revitalize.  I love their goal which "is to provide creative space to explore new ideas and perspectives."  It truly is a space of endless possibilities.  We walked in and I see Eric Berdis stitching on his textile art piece.  Ohh this is unexpected. The next thing you know, we're talking thread, sewing, quilting, and art.  He was kind enough to share the Insect series he's been working on.  To tell you the truth, I was a bit annoyed that I couldn't grab a needle and chat all night.  But we had other stops!

Hide and Seek, Eric Anthony Berdis

Next, onto the Erie Art Museum, where the Spring Show was up.  This local annual event is THE art show for local artists. With different jurors, every year you never quite know what is going to show up and getting juried in is kinda a big deal. This year's juror, Gaëtane Verna put together a show that was strong on folk art.   I walked in and immediately saw the work of Eric who had gotten two pieces in.  Seeing the vision he had just described to me installed in a gallery setting was moving.  There were several other fiber art pieces juried in as well.  One thing, I was happy to see is that digital art hadn't taken over the show like in prior years.  This show is all about mark of the hand!

Peppermint, Ghost Swan, Eric Anthony Berdis

Essence, 2023, Lynn Marie Finel

The museum is connected to another Erie fixture, Glass Growers Gallery.  I love this store.  It's not only that I've shown work here myself, but it has such good memories.  So many times, I would gather up my pennies to buy some kind of treasure from there.  They had an exhibit of local artist, Malcolm Christhilf.   He managed to bring ordinary objects alive in his still lifes of bold color.   There were so many good paintings on the walls of the shop that I'm not quite sure how we managed to get out of there without buying one!

Finally, we headed to the west side of Kada Gallery which was featuring Ron Bayuzik’s Quiet Parts Out Loud with 2D and 3D sculptures and paintings.  The exhibit was interesting but the work of Tessa's high school art teacher, Jaime Borowicz caught my eye.  For the last few years, he's been working on these mosiac-like paintings which had me itching to design one myself and do it fabric rather than paint! 

Jaime Borowicz

 I mean really, wouldn't this look great in fabric?

All in all it was a fabulous night.  We did miss a couple of galleries that we wanted to visit, but to tell you the truth it was all a bit of sensory overload.  It took me a whole quiet weekend to recover!  

So a reminder... go out and enjoy your own local art scene.  You never know when you'll make a new friend and get some new inspiration.

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