It's been nearly two decades since I made my very first "In Box" piece. It was just a hair-brained idea inspired by the artwork of Austrian artist Friedensreich Hundertwasser and the knowledge that "synthetics melt but natural materials don't melt ... they burn instead" (something that takes a few more seconds!). At the time, I wondered whether a little machine stitched, 100% cotton "bridge" that linked little blocks of layered polyester stretch velvet would hold up when exposed to the intense heat of an industrial heat gun. Guess what! They did and I've been making these works ever since.
So ... each one of these pieces is constructed on a piece of recycled, synthetic packaging felt. The colorful shapes are pieces of polyester stretch velvet. The shape's interior holes were made using three sizes of soldering irons ... just melting through the synthetics. The black thread is the only thing that isn't a synthetic. When the work is exposed to the heat gun, the space between the shapes melts away ... but they remain attached because the thread is cotton ... a natural that doesn't melt. (Click here for one of the several videos showing this process. This one is only 14 seconds in length!)
Over the years, the technique expanded into my fiber Stained Glass series and got me representation at the Grovewood Gallery in Asheville, North Carolina. The series has been to the Smithsonian Craft Show and multiple times to the Philadelphia Museum of Art Craft Show. This is the technique I've taught in workshops all over the country ... including one at the Hudson River Valley Art Workshops in Greenville, NY. I'll be returning there this coming December 10 - 16 and am really looking forward to it because this venue is FABULOUS and access to the studio is 24/7!
Despite making these In Box pieces for nearly two decades, I still absolutely LOVE creating more of them. They are a constant reminder of Friedensreich Hundertwasser's passion about individualism and the environmental concerns for our planet. Like Hundertwasser's artistic palette, I use "all the colors all the time". My work is meant to be seen as an aerial view to an imaginary Hundertwasser city, a place where straight lines are abhorred, where each house/box reflects the unique individuals living there, and where citizens live connected/in-harmony with one another in order to also live in harmony with nature. What's there not to like about this? I adore making my In Box Series because of these concepts.
One of the other reasons I enjoy making these pieces is the fact that they have an opportunity to be at the Grovewood Gallery! More people will see my work there than in my studio. Having gallery representation also means that more people can actually purchase my work. The place is open seven days a week. It is on the grounds of the historic Grove Park Inn ... which means there are people coming to the gallery from all over the country! The work featured in this blog post was made because the Grovewood Gallery requested MORE ARTWORK ... from this series! They'd sold almost all the ones they previously had!
Believe it or not, I recently completed twelve pieces! Four medium sized and eighty small sized. The photo at the top of this blog post shows the ones I took to the Grovewood Gallery, half the selection. The individual images in this blog post are of the six that I kept here in my home/studio/business. There is always a good chance that the ones I held back (in no particular order!) will eventually go to the Grovewood Gallery too. But ... as long as I was going to make six, why not make it an even dozen?!!!
The framing is the same for the first six as for these featured six. The price is the same too. After all, an artist shouldn't under cut her representation! That would be counter productive! My sincere hope is that the Grovewood Gallery needs more artwork sooner rather than later. I'll be ready, of course!
1 comment:
I always imagine you making these artworks.... Lost in the fascination of melting the materials and watching the finished article 'appear'.
I know there's more to it than that but.....
Hope Grove Wood falls in love with them as well
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