Workshop at Mitchell Library

In just four days, I'm hosting the second in my series of Creative Reuse Workshops at Mitchell Library in New Haven!  You can read about it here (click on the link and scroll down until you find it):

NHFPL Happenings June 2019

I'm excited to be raising awareness of the problem of textile waste by offering fun, easy-to-do projects for people of all ages.  If you are local, please consider attending this free workshop!

Guilford Art League Member Show 2019

I've been a member of Guilford Art League for about a year.  Recently, I decided to show some of my work with the group for the very first time.  Each year, the group organizes member shows at local venues and also sponsors a juried exhibition at the art center.  You can read more about Guilford Art League here: Guilford Art League

For the recent show at Guilford Free Library, artists were welcomed to enter work in all mediums, but especially encouraged to submit pieces that featured the color blue or the "idea" of blue.  I immediately thought of the modern tapestry I made with blue New York Times plastic bags.  It fit the theme and the size requirements for the show, so I decided to go for it.

I was able to attend the opening reception it was SO cool to see so many blue-themed things together. 

 My piece was a bit unusual - it wasn't in one of the more typical art mediums you'd expect to find at an art show - but I took a chance when I submitted, and I was more than pleasantly surprised that my tapestry made a strong showing.

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News!

I'm excited to share that I have recently joined the faculty at Guilford Art Center!  Guilford Art Center (GAC) is a School, Shop and Gallery founded in 1967 as the Guilford Handcraft Center.  The School annually serves over 2,000 students in four semesters of approximately 400 classes annually, including ceramics, jewelry, metalsmithing, weaving, glass, drawing and painting, blacksmithing, and stone carving.  I'm very proud and honored to be joining the teaching staff there - great place, great people, awesome programs.  I'll be teaching a class on textile upcycling in the fall.  I can't wait!

 

Craftivisim and The Girl Scouts of America

For me, one of the best things about crafting with plastic bags has been finding opportunities to share about it with others!  I was especially excited and grateful to be asked to talk with a local Girl Scout group about plastic waste, upcycling, and my creative process. 

I get really excited when I talk about my plastic bag art.  Also, I apparently talk with my hands quite a bit :). 

I demonstrated how to cut the tops and bottoms off of plastic bags, and how to cut strips for joining into plastic yarn.  The girls loved hearing about all of the different things I've made with reused plastic bags, and even volunteered many of their own unique ideas for crafting with plastic.  Well done, girls!

ECOCA Ear to the Ground Show

I'm trying to play catch-up with some of my new work and shows! 

Late last year, I responded to an open call for works at a local gallery, Ely Center of Contemporary Art (ECOCA).  I was thrilled to be selected for inclusion in a special show curated by Julie Torres.  She owns an artist-run gallery in upstate New York.  You can read more about her here:

Julie Torres, Guest Curator ECOCA Show

The show, Ear to the Ground, was a very eclectic mix of works, spanning many topics and artistic media.  Seventy four artists were selected for this special showing of work.

You can see a small thumbnail photo of each artist's work here:

Artists for ECOCA Ear to the Ground show

My work, titled Plastic:  The 21st Century Lichen, was created with single-use plastic bags and a found stone.

In researching for this work, I was struck by the similarities between the ordinary lichen we see growing outside and the common plastic bag.  According to Wikipedia, lichens are found in sea level and high alpine elevations, in many environmental conditions, and can grow on almost any surface.  Lichen are capable of surviving in harsh conditions and can be extremely long-lived. 

All of the above lichen characteristics are also true for the single-use plastic bag.  This is not a good thing.  The plastic we live with now will be around long after we are.

Thanks for stopping by!