me and uteri . . .

these past weeks I have been struggling ~ for one of the first times that i can remember i didn't have that delicious and overwhelming desire to make art, nor did i have direction?? or vision; i had more of a dread.  and i missed my inner idea machine whirling in my soul, and i worried that i had lost "it" ~ (not a feeling i would wish on anyone)

knitted wire uterus

but then,  thanks to the wonders of the universe/serendipity, i have rediscovered that happy whirling dervish was back. and why?? most likely because of a number of factors, but I believe the main reason was a 'fat quarter' of fabric that i received in the mail, a 'fat quarter printed with uteri, which is part of the Exquisite Uterus project,  started by artists and educators Alison Gates and Helen Klebesadel.

What is the Exquisite Uterus Project?  It is a fabulous collection of fiber based artworks that have been created to give voice to shared outrage at ongoing attacks on access to good and affordable reproductive healthcare for all women.  Started in early 2012 in reaction to the what is still being called the most current ‘War on Women,’ two artists, known notorious Feminists, and sometime curators Helen Klebesadel and Alison Gates decided to facilitate a collaborative art project to channel their shared outrage at the attacks on women's ready access to quality general and reproductive health care of their choice.

womb wrap, 2009 - 2011

A fellow artist, the lovely Jeanne Williamson,  sent me the link to the call for artist's and before i could even think i ordered my quarter.  this also got me on the spoonflower website which is quite exciting in itsself - and i even created gift wrap with my dresstags and other products, always inspiring!!

Yet it was the arrival of the faric that seems to have jumpstarted my muses.  suddenly my brain is flooded with different images, techniques and methods with which to create my contribution to this project.  I vacillated between an angry uterus and an over the top beautiful uterus, in fact I could do an entire show with all the ides I have for this project! And I am proud and happy to say that my sweetie, Harriet,  may  also be contributing a uterus!!!

frida, 2010

You can view many of the beautiful and creative uteri that other artists from all over have already contributed on pinterest, here is the link to the boards.  And I will post my finished uterus soon!!!

But as i sketched and pondered how to fashion and construct my uterus I was struck by the realization that uteri have been an consistent element in my body of work for many years, and they still are.  the uterus is a symbol of the wonders of creation, of mystery and pain, and the uterus is a serious political minefield. No wonder I am so inspired and attracted to it! This is our core, our strength and i am proud to celebrate this organ and be part of this tremendous project!

Thank you Alison Gates and Helen Klebesadel.

peace

wire dress, 2008

so much to do, so little time . . .

where to begin . . .

Dress of Poetry on display at Attleboro Public Library

today I am heading to Attleboro to start the install of the Birds of Poetry!! I have two wonderful assistants with me and we are going to primp the birds, get them already for flight then, if TIME allows,  launch them into the atrium.

birds in process

I also plan to stop by the Attleboro Arts Museum to see the exhibit On the Threshold – A National Juried Exhibition (July 14 – August 10, 2012).  I was hoping to make it to the opening last Wednesday but nasty thunderstorms and flash flooding put an end to that idea.  But will make there today to see the show.

'uterus' in "on the threshold'

 While at the museum I will be picking up announcement for their next show, 8 Visions – Work from 8 Juried Member Artists in which I am also exhibiting!! I am really excited about this opportunity!! and, when I can, I am frantically working in my studio to finish some NEW pieces. Here is the info about that show : 

Exhibition: August 21 – September 15, 2012

Opening Reception: Wednesday, Aug 22nd from 7 – 9pm. Free and open to the public.

Saturday, Sept 8th: Gallery Talk, 2-4pm.  Free and open to the public. Kindly reserve your space by Thursday, September 6th. 508-222-2644  

Also last week I meet with the folks at JP Knit and Stitch and discussed performing 'insatiable' at their adorable shop during this years JP Open Studios!! Again, so excited!!! to sit in this inspiring place and crochet on 'insatiable' for hours ~ truly my idea of bliss.  

So on Sept. 22 & 23 you will find me 461 Centre St., Jamaica Plain, MA, crocheting away!  I will also be selling my dresscards ( need to make that money thing :)  Here are some samples I made for JP Knit - with the paper for the dresses based on fiber arts and knitting.  I also borrowed some of their awesome fabric for some dresses!! So mark your calendars and stop by.  

 ALSO they want me to teach an organic crocheting workshop in the Fall ~

SO FUN!!! 

Now off to Attleboro!! 

peace

I 'heart' Attleboro!!

I have been heading down to Attleboro a lot lately, so much so that I have been considering renting an apartment there :).  

All the trips have been for exciting activities - jurying the High Art exhibit at the Attleboro Arts Museum and leading workshops for my Birds of Poetry installation for the Attleboro Public Library.  And recently I learned there are more wonderful reasons for me to visit Attleboro.  

 

First, this summer I will be installing my Birds of Poetry in the atrium of the Attleboro library.  With all my workshops we have over 100+ birds, all awaiting to take flight.

I recently lead a workshop with the VERY well behaved fifth graders from Robert J. Coelho Middle School.  We all had a lot of fun!! and made MANY birds, and these birds have some special gold accents!!! & there are still more workshops to come :)

Then this weekend I learned that "womb wrap" (Uterus) got into the Attleboro Arts Museum's National Juried Exhibition, On the Threshold!!! This show was juried by Michele L'Heureux, whose work I have always admired ~ check out her work on her website.

This exhibit runs from July 14th - August 10th, with the opening reception on July 18th.

Then following On the Threshold is the Attleboro Arts Museum's  8 Visions 2012, and I am very honored to say that I am one of the 8 visions!!! 

This is an extremely exciting opportunity!! It is a very competitive exhibit with three different jurying processes.  I am happy to announce that I will be exhibiting with these 7 other very talented artists : 

Patricia Berube – Cohasset, MA

Brenda Cirioni – Stow, MA

Susan Denniston – Scituate, MA

Sand T Kalloch – Malden, MA

Niva Shrestha – Franklin, MA

Mary L. Taylor – Marshfield Hills, MA

Felicia Touhey – Portsmouth, RI

(this is the first year that all women artist were chosen:)

We have already had our first meeting to meet each other and to learn about each other's work.  Also during this meeting the director of the museum, Mim Fawcett, encouraged us to look to this show as an opportunity to experiment and really stretch ourselves!! I can't wait!!! I am already thinking about how I can 'play' with my scale of the dress form?!?!? 

Just wish I didn't need to sleep :)

And on that note I must hit the sheets because tomorrow bring another day!

More to come about all these events, but for now good night 

& 

peace!!!

'tis the season . . . & thank U!!!

To add to all the craziness of the season, I have pieces in four wonderful shows this month!! 

 I am truly honored and pleased to be included in them all.  Listed below are the show venues, dates and opening information. If you click on the gallery's name you will be sent to the gallery's own website for further information.   I am planning to make it to most of the openings - always a good time!

November 22nd - January 11th 2012

Cambridge Art Association's, Cambridge, MA

RED 

It's more than a color;

metaphor, feeling, idea or hue...

**RED Receptions at both galleries: 

Friday December 2nd, 5:30-7:30pm

Awards at 6:30pm at University Place 

124 Mount Auburn Street

December 2, 2011 - January 14, 2012.

​Sprinkler Factory's, Worcester, MA

2011 Winter Exhibition, No Theme - No Limits  

**Opening and Reception, December 3, 2011; 5:00-8:00 PM.

The reception is open to the public

December 10, 2011 – February 2, 2012

Attleboro Arts Museum, Attleboro, MA

2011 Members’ Exhibition

**Opening Awards Reception: 

Saturday, December 10, 2011; 2pm-4pm. 

Reception is free and open to all.

Live music at the reception by JAZZ SET with Tony Anzivino on piano, & Rich Balest on bass – alumni of Boston Conservatory & Berklee College of Music.

November 18th - December 18th 2011

Fountain Street Fine Art's, Framingham, MA

Present Company

member show and holiday sale

see website for extended hours

Lastly - this all could not happen without my many amazing friends who help me by ~ delivering work or taking care of girls or bringing a desperately needed cup of coffee or safely driving a sleepy me and so much more!! 

So a BIG thanks goes out to 'team fitzgerald'!!! U know who U r!!

( I am thinking of making a team t.shirt :)

So . . .

Thank you!!

Hope to see you at one of the Openings!!

& 

Peace!!! 

happy to announce . . .

I am happy to announce that 'womb wrap' was accepted into

Cambridge Art Association's

RED

Its more than a color;

metaphor, feeling, idea or hue...

womb wrap - organic knitting

November 22 2011 - January 11 2012 Reception: Friday December 2, 5:30-7:30pm

Juried by Howard Yezerski Howard Yezerski Gallery

Art Organic

Finally I was able to get to the Harbor Art Gallery at UMass Boston and see their show Art Organic ~ it is a beautiful show!!
Some of Jodie Colella's pieces ....

I loved seeing how the curator decided to exhibit the creatures!! & I LOVE how my womb wrap is displayed - how it hangs and I especially love the shadow that it cases. this piece is from Janet Kawada, part of her Time series - marking the physicality of time

..and then we have the wonders of David Lang!

peace!!

a day of thanks...

This Thanksgiving has been an intense day for me because last year I was 'recovering' from sticking my hands in the middle of a dog fight. My hands were stitched & bandaged and I was not sure how it was going to affect my work ~ needless to say I was a bit blue. But what a difference a year makes :). This year I was able to go for a run, cook up a storm and enjoy the day with wonderful friends and family. However, there was still a cloud of introspection that followed me . An anniversary gives you a time to reflect, and today I thought about my journey since the 'incident' and I found more positives than negatives. One positive outcome was being introduced to acupuncture and meditation ~ two practices that have entered my life to help balance my ‘crazy’ tendencies. (she says as she blogs at 2:30am) And the second positive was my passion for crocheting. Yes I was crocheting before, but after the ‘incident’ crocheting became essential to
keeping me sane. It was a creative activity that I could do with stitches and soon after my surgery. And with this crocheting obsession came my creatures, and most recently, my ‘healing wraps’. This idea also sprung from my surgery ~ a fiber piece that brings the owner positive healing energy, warmth and TLC. I guess it is along the lines of my womb wrap – a ‘garment’ that gives you comfort. And this week I finished my first healing wrap and it was delivered on the eve of Thanksgiving, which seemed appropriate. It went to a friend who is the midst of a tough battle with cancer. I made this wrap with blues and purples, colors that I connect with healing. Crocheted into the piece are many beads and charms, saying things like ‘laugh often, love much’. When I worked on the piece I tried to be present with my crocheting and concentrated on filling the stitches with positive thoughts and prayers.

In the past months I have been aware of how garments can bring the wearer strength or confidence or healing. When in New York I went to a show that highlighted this idea in many of the exhibited pieces. This remarkable show, “A Stitch in Jewish Time,” is at the Hebrew Union Collage - Jewish Institute of Religion Museum until June 30th, 2011. It is a beautiful show with some truly amazing pieces ~ some personal favorites are Ten Plagues (2009) and Exodus(2008) by Carol Hamoy, The In-Between Yeshiva (2008) by Jacqueline Nicholls, Coat of the Agunah (2010) by Andi Arnovitz and Lisa Rosowsky’s We are Not Safe(2005), to highlight a few. This show is definitely worth a visit.


And I am thankful that I was able to see that show, along with the many wonderful art shows that I see in NY and anywhere I can. And I am thankful to have my work included in many wonderful shows. I am thankful that I am back to my old creative, high energy, insomniac self. I am thankful for the many wonderful people in my life that support me, encourage me and love me. So thank you & peace!!! & good night :)

My 'Creatures' are out on the town ....

Today I delivered 6 creatures and my 'womb wrap' to the Harbor Art Gallery at UMass Boston for their show, Art Organic. This is very exciting because they wanted as many creatures as I could give them ~ so my babies are out in the world, some for the first time.

This show will also be the debut for my 'womb wrap'. I did exhibit it during my open studios a few weeks ago, in fact as a participatory piece. I set it up so that anyone who wanted to could put on the wrap and sit in my big, orange studio chair and just 'be'. I created this piece with the idea of being able 'go back to the womb', as a sort of sanctuary. I spent a few years knitting this piece in my organic approach ~ adding different yarns, and increasing and decreasing the stitches when it seems appropriate. It is two~sided which gives the piece a significant weight and comforting quality. For Art Organic 'womb wrap' will not be able to be worn but it will be hanging, in fact the plan is to suspend it in the middle of the gallery so that it will be able to be viewed on both sides and (hopefully) spin.

There is another interesting 'wrinkle' to this show ... when talking to the curator of the show, Steven Pirrello, about the numerous ways that my creatures can be exhibited I realized that i wasn't married to any particular way of exhibit them. And Steven showed real excitement about the creatures and understood their characteristics and their versatility. So I am letting Steven decide how each creature will be exhibited. Giving him that freedom seemed so right because these are 'creatures' ~ morphing, oozing and perching. In fact as they sat
on the floor waiting to be dealt with they were very reminiscent of sea urchin just washed up on the shore.

Art Organic will run from Nov. 15th - Dec. 15th, with the opening reception on November 18th, 5:00- 8:00pm. There are six artists exhibiting works that have an organic feel or work with organic materials. It is a great group of artists to be included with ~ Jodi Colella, Susan Kapuscinski Gaylord, David Lang :), Janet Kawada and Derrick Te Paske. The Harbor Art Gallery is on the UMAss Campus, 100 Morrissey Blvd., Boston, MA, on the first floor of McCormack Hall, phone number# 617-287-7988. Stop by for a treat. Peace ~

update on the womb wrap

During the holidays and the school vacation i didn't get to my studio that much; however i did knit, and knit, and knit, on my uterus. I had to get another set of 36" long circular needles to be able to get a sense of how it looked. I also struggled with whether to make it only single sided or double sided - like a pocket of sorts. I knew I wanted it to have a significant weight so after I got the ‘fallopian tubes' as long as I wanted I started to cast off stitches. So instead of being done I am really only halfway done.

In the below picture you can get a sense of the size. When I had it spread out to photograph my 10 year old crawled on top of it and curled up ~ this is the response I am striving for.

I hope to be able to exhibit it on a wall - hanging from a set of open hands that are offering it to the veiwer. And i want the viewer to wrap themselves up in it. we will see... peace

work in progress - kntting a uterus

I started this blog as a place for artist’s interaction - a way to create a community for support and critique; however i don't feel like that i have been using it as so. Something about only putting on 'a good face' - only finished projects. So here is a work in progress ~ a piece that i am truly excited about and wanted to share.

For the past month I have been knitting a uterus – a womb wrap. I started with a few stitches and I have been adding on stitches and different yarns to create this uterus-like shape. I have been searching out all kinds of yarn ~ different reds and varied textures – trying to capture a sense of the inner lining. I have made a few different uteri out of wire – but this time I wanted to create something soft. I want to curl up and be protected – to go back to the womb.

I happen to have my womb wrap when i was visiting a friend who was feeling quite frazzled and sad so I wrapped her up - knitting needles and all. She said it felt very soft and comforting but i realized that i wanted it to be bigger - more encompassing - so i am knitting more. I plan to make it two sided as well as extend the ends like the fallopian tubes. At the ends there will be something to represent the ovaries – pompoms or tassels??
This is a project that I am thoroughly enjoying and one that can merge my worlds a bit – artist and mother. With all the holiday festivities and school vacations this is a piece that I can bring with me where ever I go, although it is getting a little unruly.

Lastly my uterus getting too long for my 36’ circular needles – does anyone have a suggestion of how to accommodate some many stitches because with the fallopian tubes I am not sure how to continue. Thanks & peace