Almost a year ago (June 2019), Steve and I went for a wild and wonderful weekend in NYC. We went all sorts of places ... from ABT's ballet at the Met to Spandex world in the garment district, from the Fulton Docks to the 9/11 Memorial, from the Whitney Biennial to overlooking outside art studios near the High Line ... the entire length of which we walked. (Click HERE for a blog post with lots of photos.)
Although I took more images of architecture than anything else, I couldn't help but to aim my camera's lens directly down into an obvious outsider art studio. The large, damaged metal tray's metallic sheen just looked amazing on the paint-splattered concrete. Texture, color, sunlight, angle, and a wild assortment of creative gestures boggled my mind.
No artist was there at the time. Perhaps the place wasn't/isn't technically legal. Perhaps it was abandoned. I don't know any of the detail about this place or the person/people who worked there but during the COVID-19 crisis I can't help but to think of artists everywhere, especially those who took up the challenge of "trying to make it in New York City", the epicenter of the art world now overtaken as the epicenter of a virus.
For this mini art quilt, I decided to stitch contrasting and complimentary threads on the areas outlined by free-motion stitch. Thin, metallic machine sewing thread was used for the tray. I stitched on this piece every night for about a week. There are thousands of seed stitches and colonial knots, almost an accounting of artists trying, even in the face of a pandemic, to be creative. Artists often go against the main stream. Artists are often those who continue to work in spite of the obstacles and the long odds of ever "making it". Artists work ... no matter what!
Here in South Carolina, artists like me continue to work. There are few, if any, opportunities. Beyond social media and this blog, there is little chance to share the new creations. Everything finished goes immediately into storage. Still, I work. My custom picture framing business is considered "non-essential". The governor has announced that we can open. The mayor doesn't agree. We are not sure what to do, what is right, what will happen. Clients are generally too afraid to come. Yet, I continue to make art. It's what I do ... like whoever was working in that outsider space on the edge of Hudson Yards in NYC. I hope whoever it was, he/she/they are still doing it too!
I found a heavily pleated section of a former petticoat to use on the reverse. A strip of lace became the sleeve.
1 comment:
a snippet in time - and yes if an artist was there, but away for the day - are they safe now.
I too, have started to "make again" and I too, when I think it's done, store. If I feel it will need more into a container which is WIP. One or two of which just need to be framed.
And once I started making again, some of the cleared spaces I made for mid April (a one day reason) have got all messed up again...
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