Before heading to Penland, I'd like to introduce some of the work I've done this past year while making the transition from an office-bound project manager and researcher to an artist working out of my home. In 2009 and 2010, I exhibited with a great group of women belonging to the Women's Caucus for Art and the Sophia Institute--a great way to "get my feet wet."
The painted lady (left) is intended to be practical--you can hang a coat on her. The cut-paper collage (right) is of women getting a lift to work in Lesotho, Africa. My husband Carl works there several times a year on an environmental restoration project, and he has gotten to know the weavers at the Maseru Tapestry Coop in Lesotho. The Palmetto Fiber Arts Guild has helped raise money to train 4 young women to work in this coop, and next Fall will host a photo exhibit about them at the Center for Women. I have also designed rugs for them to weave (below).
In recent months, I've enjoyed creating more painted ladies and an occasional painted dude (below). I plan to continue making these in smaller versions for hanging jewelry as well as coats.
Next August, I'll have my first one-person exhibit at the main branch of the Charleston County Public Library, "Grappling with Flannery O'Connor's South," in August. This exhibit is in honor of the Tapestry Book Group, another outstanding group of women, who have often provoked me to think outside the box.
At Penland, I hope to finish the cut-paper collages for this exhibit, as well as related artists' books and a few sculptural pieces constructed of handmade paper. Recently, I've spent a lot of time in a little room cutting tiny pieces of paper, which would drive some people crazy. But this is all about to change, because I will be getting dirty outside, wearing water proof work boots and a water proof apron.
More on that to follow....
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| Family Feud from "A View of the Woods" in Everything That Rises Must Converge by Flannery O'Connor |
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