Friday, July 9, 2021

Our DNA at Kehler Liddell Gallery in New Haven!

I'm over the moon to be included in Kehler Liddell's 5th Annual Juried Show in New Haven, Connecticut!  Titled Our DNA, the exhibit runs through July 25th, 2021.

Here's a little blurb from the gallery:

    For this year’s juried show, the artists at KLG asked their colleagues to consider the following:

    We humans are biological siblings, belonging to the genus Homo, and as Sapiens, the last surviving species of our genus. The last year spoke loudly of divisions and differences, but for this exhibit, we ask you as artists to focus on our 99.9% shared genome. Using any tools or languages, explore the belief systems and vocabularies of our family tree that touch on our common physical or metaphorical DNA, our essential humanity, the soul of the Sapien.

Having reviewed submissions from as far away as Cyprus, and as close as our own Elm City, the jury curated an exhibition showcasing the responses of over 50 artists working in a wide range of media.

You can check out images from all the artists in the show HERE.  

Here is my work, in an image captured by the gallery:

WE (Cut from the Same Cloth) I and II, Marsha Borden

And here is what The Daily Nutmeg had to say about it -

"A few works emphasize the “Our” in the exhibition’s title—the characteristics we share. Marsha Borden’s companion pieces WE (Cut From the Same Cloth) I and II are literally so—patchwork pieces labeled “Us” and “Them” stitched together into a doll and a ball. The titles emphasize our similarities, while the pieces ironically point to an impulse to differentiate and divide that is sewn into us."

A HUGE thank you to Kathy Leonard Czepiel, Associate Editor at Daily Nutmeg (New Haven's Weekly Magazine), for an insightful review of the show.  You can read the full article HERE.

You can read a second review of the show HERE, this one by the awesome Brian Slattery at New Haven Independent.  

Thanks for reading!  

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Thank you for visiting my blog!  I hope you enjoyed reading about what's been going on for me artistically.  
 
I look forward to hearing from you on my website at 
 
or right here on my blog 
(you're reading it!) at www.marshamakes.blogspot.com.
 

Friday, June 11, 2021

More Yarn Bombing Installation Photos

 I added a few more pieces the other day, and I took my daughter along to take some photos:

On your mark, get set......


Go!

Sewing my way around the tree


Ta da!

Looks Amazing!

Here's another link to the gallery:  gallery

**********

Thank you for visiting my blog!  I hope you enjoyed reading about what's been going on for me artistically.  
 
I look forward to hearing from you on my website at 
 
or right here on my blog 
(you're reading it!) at www.marshamakes.blogspot.com.
 

 

Friday, June 4, 2021

Crochet Graffiti!

Whatever you want to call it - yarn bombing, crochet graffiti, street art, yarn storming or guerrilla crocheting - it's the best thing in the world!!!!  Creating knitted or crocheted yarn installations is such a great way to move art out of galleries and studios and into the real world.  Arts exists in the most unexpected places, and it is pure joy to stumble upon something like a bench or a fire hydrant draped in knitted or crocheted yarn.  

Of course, yarn bombing has a long history as a type of graffiti or street art.  Many times, public yarn displays carry some sort of message to the viewer;  they are installed secretly and can turn up in the most unusual places.  In my version, I rescue discarded knit and crochet pieces and give them a second life by modifying them and moving them back out into the world to be seen and enjoyed.    

Last week, with permission of the gallery owner at Spectrum Gallery in Essex, Connecticut, I yarn bombed a tree a few feet away from the gallery's front door.  I used granny square pieces that I deconstructed and subsequently reconstructed so they would fit snugly around the tree.  I crocheted strips and squares together, matched them to the tree, and then sewed them all the way around the trunk, going up as far as I could.  

 



As people re-emerge from their COVID cocoons, it's a great time to be installing outdoor art.  As I worked on the tree, it was so gratifying to get spontaneous feedback from motorists and pedestrians passing by - waves, thumbs-up, smiles, comments - "Looks great!"  "That's awesome!" and "I love your yarn bombing!"  And, an entire class of children, teachers and chaperones walked by and sung the praises of this funky wrapped tree.  So it was a win all the way around!

You can see a photo of the installation on Spectrum Gallery's website here:  Abstracting Nature Exhibit at Spectrum Gallery.

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Thank you for visiting my blog!  I hope you enjoyed reading about what's been going on for me artistically.  
 
I look forward to hearing from you on my website at 
 
or right here on my blog 
(you're reading it!) at www.marshamakes.blogspot.com.