THE FABRIC OF INSPIRATION
A review in blocks and scraps by Liz James
THE FABRIC OF INSPIRATION: TEXTILES INFLUENCING TEXTILES, a superb show of fabric art by Deborah Melton Anderson, will be on exhibit at the Columbus Cultural Arts Center thru January 8, 2006. Anderson's exhibit includes not only her own extraordinary needlework, but fabric art, traditional and contemporary, which has inspired, influenced, her own new and original work.--Thus, "textiles influencing textiles."
BLESSED BE THE TIES
For much of her art work Anderson cuts out myriads of tiny fabric necktie shapes...Ties. Hundreds of these small pointed cloth "scraps," -- which are not really "scraps"--must be cut, folded, turned inside out, reversed and stitched on!
Such work is labor intensive. When sufficient ties have been completed, Anderson strings them on large safety pins and arranges the pins so as to form patterns, shapes and colors that form a painting. The necessary visible quilting stitches serve both an aesthetic and a pragmatic purpose.--Quilting creates a kind of texture and also holds the fabric layers together.--Quilting, affixing, and now, heat transfers, have become time honored traditions, and so have the little ties!
BANNER
Anderson's large (51 inch square) BANNER greets guests to the Center. On the Banner, large ties represent the ceremonial feathers once used in Pre Columbian America. The Ancient Ones used actual feathers in their ritual art. Anderson's banner resembles a shield, yet it's a banner linked together with blue tabs. These tabs not only support the heavy banner; they enhance the design in which cones and feathers (large ties) dance harmoniously. The Banner is a wonderful high sign for the show, and is more complex in hue and pattern than my description suggests.
Anderson is a patient raconteur and teacher; indeed, she holds a Masters of Arts in Education from the Harvard School of Education, and she has studied with Nancy Crow, Michael James and other fabric masters. In one year, 2005, her work was exhibited
in five prestigious juried and invitational venues! Although I barely know Deborah Melton Anderson she was more than patient in explaining her use of the ties, and in showing me such traditional patterns as "Log Cabin" and "Hour Glass."
Anderson's art makea a strong first impact; it is also imbued with examples of the techniques and history of needlework, and deserves a long look. The show's concise print matter is first rate.
TIME TRAVEL AND CONTRASTS:
CELERY STALKS AT MIDNIGHT is marvelously "Now." In this medium sized fabric "painting, which certainly IS painterly, the light from the kitchen and the frig is apparent! Thin light green stalks slash this bold, meticulous painting which should prove a platinum gift for someone. --The daring, beautiful, BOUQUET, on the other hand, is a scrumptious, romantic, pastelly piece fit for a prom queen's boudoir! Both pieces show Anderson to be a master of shape-cutting, forming designs, and affixing!
TIME-LOOMS
Anderson can weave back and forth in time: New UPS codings, markings, have been included in the show, both in their original format and in Anderson's striking, slick, black-white-gray "painting" which includes a bulls-eye, a target! At 45 inches square, it's a black and white formal dance! The tracking system, Anderson commented, "goes beyond words."
An authentic Anatolian prayer rug from the nineteen hundreds, is echoed by Anderson's own dazzling fabrications. And a huge "tie quilt" made by two anonymous women in the 1930s, resembles a large striking abstract, and that back/forth concept reverberates to other paintings in the show.
TONE POEMS
Anderson uses rich dusky colors. "Large, tech brite, flashy" are neither her cup of tea, nor her skein of floss! As to prints, she tends to choose prints which are smallish and paisley-like. Her palette is not loud or brash.--Yet, the exactitutde of many rich colors flows like a river from piece to piece. Oddly, while I walked thru the exhibit--I kept thinking of French surrealist poets --those guys liked autumn, winter, and rain,--and they wrote poetry in which astounding images have been strung on a rhymed, cadenced, structural whole.
FALL RAIN/RAIN FALL is a tone poem in fabric, 42.5 x 43 inches. If I have a favorite Anderson, this is it. Here, ties seem to have become autumn leaves. Or rain drops. Never matter. Their points are down, like rain, and we see a meld of deep browns, purples, rusts. Color tones elide. The more you look the more color variations you see! Winey shapes fall thru Anderson's forest, or park. --Did I imagine tiny gold and coral stitches? The "painting" is divided into branch-like, or wing-like, sections Everything is abstracted --wing shapes, the dusky sky. Yes, it's an autumn symphony.
IN CONCLUSION
Although the judgement of art is subjective, I feel confident in saying that, by virtue of technique and creative imagination, Deborah Anderson's work remains unsurpassed. The historic Cultural Arts Center is at 139 West Main Street in downtown Columbus, Ohio, and is open every day of the week. Exhibits are free;
classes are reasonably priced. Call 645-7047.
THE FABRIC OF INSPIRATION: TEXTILES INFLUENCING TEXTILES, a superb show of fabric art by Deborah Melton Anderson, will be on exhibit at the Columbus Cultural Arts Center thru January 8, 2006. Anderson's exhibit includes not only her own extraordinary needlework, but fabric art, traditional and contemporary, which has inspired, influenced, her own new and original work.--Thus, "textiles influencing textiles."
BLESSED BE THE TIES
For much of her art work Anderson cuts out myriads of tiny fabric necktie shapes...Ties. Hundreds of these small pointed cloth "scraps," -- which are not really "scraps"--must be cut, folded, turned inside out, reversed and stitched on!
Such work is labor intensive. When sufficient ties have been completed, Anderson strings them on large safety pins and arranges the pins so as to form patterns, shapes and colors that form a painting. The necessary visible quilting stitches serve both an aesthetic and a pragmatic purpose.--Quilting creates a kind of texture and also holds the fabric layers together.--Quilting, affixing, and now, heat transfers, have become time honored traditions, and so have the little ties!
BANNER
Anderson's large (51 inch square) BANNER greets guests to the Center. On the Banner, large ties represent the ceremonial feathers once used in Pre Columbian America. The Ancient Ones used actual feathers in their ritual art. Anderson's banner resembles a shield, yet it's a banner linked together with blue tabs. These tabs not only support the heavy banner; they enhance the design in which cones and feathers (large ties) dance harmoniously. The Banner is a wonderful high sign for the show, and is more complex in hue and pattern than my description suggests.
Anderson is a patient raconteur and teacher; indeed, she holds a Masters of Arts in Education from the Harvard School of Education, and she has studied with Nancy Crow, Michael James and other fabric masters. In one year, 2005, her work was exhibited
in five prestigious juried and invitational venues! Although I barely know Deborah Melton Anderson she was more than patient in explaining her use of the ties, and in showing me such traditional patterns as "Log Cabin" and "Hour Glass."
Anderson's art makea a strong first impact; it is also imbued with examples of the techniques and history of needlework, and deserves a long look. The show's concise print matter is first rate.
TIME TRAVEL AND CONTRASTS:
CELERY STALKS AT MIDNIGHT is marvelously "Now." In this medium sized fabric "painting, which certainly IS painterly, the light from the kitchen and the frig is apparent! Thin light green stalks slash this bold, meticulous painting which should prove a platinum gift for someone. --The daring, beautiful, BOUQUET, on the other hand, is a scrumptious, romantic, pastelly piece fit for a prom queen's boudoir! Both pieces show Anderson to be a master of shape-cutting, forming designs, and affixing!
TIME-LOOMS
Anderson can weave back and forth in time: New UPS codings, markings, have been included in the show, both in their original format and in Anderson's striking, slick, black-white-gray "painting" which includes a bulls-eye, a target! At 45 inches square, it's a black and white formal dance! The tracking system, Anderson commented, "goes beyond words."
An authentic Anatolian prayer rug from the nineteen hundreds, is echoed by Anderson's own dazzling fabrications. And a huge "tie quilt" made by two anonymous women in the 1930s, resembles a large striking abstract, and that back/forth concept reverberates to other paintings in the show.
TONE POEMS
Anderson uses rich dusky colors. "Large, tech brite, flashy" are neither her cup of tea, nor her skein of floss! As to prints, she tends to choose prints which are smallish and paisley-like. Her palette is not loud or brash.--Yet, the exactitutde of many rich colors flows like a river from piece to piece. Oddly, while I walked thru the exhibit--I kept thinking of French surrealist poets --those guys liked autumn, winter, and rain,--and they wrote poetry in which astounding images have been strung on a rhymed, cadenced, structural whole.
FALL RAIN/RAIN FALL is a tone poem in fabric, 42.5 x 43 inches. If I have a favorite Anderson, this is it. Here, ties seem to have become autumn leaves. Or rain drops. Never matter. Their points are down, like rain, and we see a meld of deep browns, purples, rusts. Color tones elide. The more you look the more color variations you see! Winey shapes fall thru Anderson's forest, or park. --Did I imagine tiny gold and coral stitches? The "painting" is divided into branch-like, or wing-like, sections Everything is abstracted --wing shapes, the dusky sky. Yes, it's an autumn symphony.
IN CONCLUSION
Although the judgement of art is subjective, I feel confident in saying that, by virtue of technique and creative imagination, Deborah Anderson's work remains unsurpassed. The historic Cultural Arts Center is at 139 West Main Street in downtown Columbus, Ohio, and is open every day of the week. Exhibits are free;
classes are reasonably priced. Call 645-7047.
posted by Liz James at 11:20 AM
