This weekend was wonderful. I'd been looking forward to it for months. Why? Well, Sunday afternoon was the first opportunity to start installing work for the upcoming Art from the Ashes exhibition at the Tapps Art Center. I'd made arrangements in advance.
(Above: Daniel on the 12' ladder.)
Some of the artwork will be hung by the Tapps Art Center staff. Some installations, like Alejandro Garcia-Lemos', was hung by the artist and his own assistant. My cotton bolls, however, needed a little of both! I couldn't have done this without the 6'3" Daniel who works at Tapps. I handed up each strand of cotton. He went to the very tippy-top of the ladder to hook them in place ... seventy-two times!
In order to create this work, I'd consulted with Caitlin Bright, the Executive Director at Tapps. We thought 16 - 18 feet would be the correct length because the ceiling is somewhere in the neighborhood of 20' in height. Caitlin's floorplan says that the dimension of the recessed circular dome is 47' 9". I googled for the equation for finding the circumference. The results indicated that we'd need to hang the strands of cotton every 24 1/2". Well, something wasn't correct. Perhaps I measured incorrectly in my living room and made each strand about a foot longer than needed. Also, we had them closer together than 24". Yet, both these things didn't matter at all. Far better to be a bit long than too short. Far better to have them closer together rather than looking too spartan in arrangement.
I'm now working with the strands ... shortening them by stitching some of the bolls together. This actually looks even better ... a more creative sense of texture ... a more random appearance. I'm halfway finished with this task. I'll be returning to the Tapps Center soon. Once these cotton bolls are perfect, I've got two other installations ready to hang! Another blog post or two will be written before next Sunday's official opening from 5 - 7! Can't wait!
On Saturday, Steve and I drove to Duluth, GA for the artist's reception of Intertwined. I often can't attend shows in which my work appears due to distance and my unwillingness to give up precious studio hours. Yet the stellar list of artists accepted into this show was too impressive to ignore. Plus, Steve and I drove by the Cobb Galleria convention center, the site of the American Craft Council's Atlanta show in March. It was nice to get a look at the loading dock, parking, and the basic "lay of the land" before pulling up in the rental cargo van!
(Above: Me with Jim Arendt in front of his "Best of Show" sculptural fiber art work.)
The exhibit lived up to and beyond my expectations. The Hudgens Art Center is a fabulous facility. The staff and board of the Southeastern Fiber Arts Alliance are wonderful. I met Leisa Rich, a talented artist who bought one of my pieces last year, and Dot Moye, of Davis-Moye art consultants. Plus ... there were awards! I'd totally forgotten about them until it was announced that there were prizes for three honorable mentions and a "Best of Show". Unexpectedly, my piece won an honorable mention and another South Carolinian fiber artist, Jim Arendt, won the top award! What a fantastic night!
Now, please don't think I been flitting around the country and playing with cotton installations without also being busy making new work! I'm still stitching ... trying to get ready for the upcoming ACC shows. I'm in Baltimore next month and returning to Atlanta in March! I've got to have work finished, framed, and ready to go. Here are the two latest works!
(Above: Detail of In Box CLXXII.)
I can appreciate those cotton bolls! Wish I could see them in person. They put me in mind of the time I picked cotton in Nicaragua protesting our embargo and mistreatment of the Sandinistas. It's a nasty chore and your fingers bleed. Cannot imagine having to do such backbreaking work all day every day under the hot sun!
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