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Once She Could… take a look and let the poem tell the story

February 15, 2018

This  textile collage was juried in and will be headed to Woodstock, Illinois to be part of the 31st Annual Women’s Works exhibition at Old Courthouse Center.  It’s a fine art exhibition of work in all mediums.

As I packed up the piece in its shipping box today, I spent some time looking at it more closely. There’s a lot going on in it, and I remembered both the memories and meanings I put into it and the technical process of making it.

I have created several works featuring a young girl depicted as a black silhouette. It evokes memories of a paper doll and, without specific features, has universal appeal. Here she’s writing at the blackboard. Writing, drawing… what? I feel her reaching on tiptoes to complete the image. (Having always been among the shortest in class, I relate to this.) Rather than place her in a physical, recognizable schoolroom I have suggested a blackboard, and created an otherwise dream-filled environment. There is soothing water with tree reflections. There are tangled roots. There are blossoms on branches, loosely connected to what she is drawing on the blackboard. There are blocks of non-representational color and texture. Whatever this environment is, it is complex. I want to draw the viewer in to taste some of the forces and feelings that are part of her world.

As I created the piece, words for a poem were in my mind. I did not write the whole poem till after the work was complete. I was an elementary aged student in years when girls were not taught or encouraged to think about their potential or their possibilities. This sense of entrapment is part of what I was feeling as I created her environment.

The collaged layers make this work almost rigid, although it is fabric bound and backed as an art quilt. I used gel medium photo transfers of original photos onto muslin for the water, the roots and parts of the branches with blossoms. Other areas use monotype printed textures, stencils, direct painting, and varied patterns of machine stitching. The backing is hand painted muslin in colors to match the work.

I love this little girl. I fin myself thinking about her and all she might be. Girls should not feel trapped, and – like imagined characters they draw – they should soar!

In Artmaking Thoughts Tags textile collage, art quilt, deland florida, girls journey, dreams, surface design, photo transfer, writing at blackboard, old courthouse arts center, womens works, woodstock illinois
← Work-in-Progress… Row House NeighborhoodOne thing leads to another... →

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I write to dig a little deeper into the process of artmaking.

  • April 2018
    • Apr 25, 2018 Abandoned… Rediscovered… Remembered… Apr 25, 2018
    • Apr 10, 2018 Gotta Keep Creative… Here’s What I’m Trying Apr 10, 2018
    • Apr 7, 2018 Half awake… and what was revealed. Apr 7, 2018
  • March 2018
    • Mar 31, 2018 ... but then I was wrong! Mar 31, 2018
    • Mar 22, 2018 The need to "Un-Hermit" Mar 22, 2018
    • Mar 18, 2018 Seeing Again… and Remembering! Mar 18, 2018
    • Mar 11, 2018 MIXING REALITIES – PHOTOS AND OTHER WAYS OF BEING REAL Mar 11, 2018
    • Mar 4, 2018 REFLECTIONS - OUTSIDE LOOKING IN Mar 4, 2018
  • February 2018
    • Feb 27, 2018 Talk it through… “Someone who has found a process” Feb 27, 2018
    • Feb 20, 2018 Work-in-Progress… Row House Neighborhood Feb 20, 2018
    • Feb 15, 2018 Once She Could… take a look and let the poem tell the story Feb 15, 2018
    • Feb 11, 2018 One thing leads to another... Feb 11, 2018
    • Feb 4, 2018 The magic that occurs during a studio visit Feb 4, 2018
    • Feb 1, 2018 Life Lesson: Artists know there’s more to work than what you learn in school Feb 1, 2018
  • January 2018
    • Jan 28, 2018 BOREDOM? REALLY? YOU GOTTA-BE-KIDDING-ME Jan 28, 2018
    • Jan 23, 2018 Through the door of a question… Jan 23, 2018
    • Jan 19, 2018 What’s the same… What’s Changing? Seeing Ideas Evolve Jan 19, 2018
    • Jan 16, 2018 Four Lessons from collaboration: an art-for-the-bees weekend at Stetson University Jan 16, 2018
    • Jan 12, 2018 Being a Citizen… From Inside my Art Bubble Jan 12, 2018
    • Jan 8, 2018 Just one more reason (of-oh-so-many-good-ones) to take the road less traveled Jan 8, 2018
    • Jan 6, 2018 SEEING… by hand Jan 6, 2018
    • Jan 4, 2018 Look Deeply and Don't Be Afraid... Jan 4, 2018
    • Jan 3, 2018 Is Juggling a Good Idea? Jan 3, 2018
    • Jan 1, 2018 Last chance – last dance - new creating – no mugwumps Jan 1, 2018
  • December 2017
    • Dec 9, 2017 Right by my Studio WIndow... inspiration for a poem Dec 9, 2017
  • October 2017
    • Oct 22, 2017 Side-By-Side Oct 22, 2017
    • Oct 5, 2017 Expectations; Small and Otherwise Oct 5, 2017
  • September 2017
    • Sep 27, 2017 This little bird has had quite a journey! Sep 27, 2017
    • Sep 24, 2017 Switch-hand sketching… getting out of my rut Sep 24, 2017
    • Sep 17, 2017 Remembering the curiosness of the storm Sep 17, 2017
    • Sep 4, 2017 Note to Self... about work and risks Sep 4, 2017
  • August 2017
    • Aug 31, 2017 WATER - POWER - CHANGE - IN THE VERY SAME BREATH Aug 31, 2017
    • Aug 27, 2017 The Pleasure of Objects Aug 27, 2017
    • Aug 20, 2017 Note to Self... Focus On the Why Aug 20, 2017
    • Aug 16, 2017 Some Unexpected Magic Aug 16, 2017
    • Aug 13, 2017 The weight of the work of one's hands Aug 13, 2017
    • Aug 11, 2017 Haiku Friday - the depths of knowing Aug 11, 2017
    • Aug 7, 2017 Sketching... where it begins Aug 7, 2017
    • Aug 6, 2017 Note to Self - Not shallow... Aug 6, 2017
    • Aug 4, 2017 HAIKU FRIDAY... Aug 4, 2017
    • Aug 3, 2017 Imagining... Without A Net Aug 3, 2017
  • July 2017
    • Jul 31, 2017 FLYING INTO THE UNKNOWN Jul 31, 2017
    • Jul 30, 2017 NOTE TO SELF... RISK-TAKING Jul 30, 2017
    • Jul 28, 2017 Haiku Friday... Dreams Rearranged Jul 28, 2017
    • Jul 26, 2017 Waking from a dream, remembering... Jul 26, 2017
    • Jul 25, 2017 The weight of rocks Jul 25, 2017
    • Jul 24, 2017 Landscapes of Dreams Jul 24, 2017
    • Jul 21, 2017 Haiku Friday... Bird Wisdom Jul 21, 2017
    • Jul 20, 2017 TBT – Fledgling: It’s Time to… Jul 20, 2017
    • Jul 18, 2017 : A Look Inside the Studio… “Neither Here Nor There” Jul 18, 2017
    • Jul 17, 2017 Imagining the In-Between Stages Jul 17, 2017
    • Jul 16, 2017 Sunday Morning Jul 16, 2017
    • Jul 13, 2017 The Gift of Rain Jul 13, 2017
    • Jul 12, 2017 Journeying in Dreams Jul 12, 2017
    • Jul 10, 2017 LONGING FOR WATER Jul 10, 2017
  • June 2017
    • Jun 26, 2017 Paying Attention - Simple Pleasures Jun 26, 2017
    • Jun 6, 2017 ROOTED DISCOVERIES Jun 6, 2017
    • Jun 4, 2017 Five Good things: Resistance through Art to Global Warming Jun 4, 2017
  • May 2017
    • May 22, 2017 Change is Never Easy May 22, 2017

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