Exhibition Packed for Surface Design Conference in San Antonio TX

Yesterday I got my installation pieces all crated up and shipped to Parchman-Stremmel Galleries in San Antonio TX.

The crate of the figures feels like a packed slave ship....

24 individuals made of cast paper are when shown collectively are called Conscription. The installation creates a conversation between and among the individuals - and of course the viewer to embody a powerful repetition of forms. 

The exhibition will be a the Parchman-Parchman-Stremmel Galleries 110 West Olmos Drive, San Antonio TX.    I will be at the exhibition on June 6th, in conjunction with the Gallery Day tours at the International Surface Design Conference. If you are in town, please come visit.

Some photos of an earlier installation of the exhibition:

 These are cast using a positive mold with abaca paper pulp and stitched using sinew.

Here is a brief artist statement:

I work to create a level of interest and emotion paying close attention to the development of pattern and repetition within the pieces so that there is the need to slow down and focus attention to see subtly and textures of message and materials.  My intention is to present an image, an emotion, or a place for the viewer to step into a moment in time where they can fill in their own interpretation, memories, and story.

The title of the installation; Conscription, carries layered meaning.  Beginning with the obvious definition of the "ideal" form that women are urged to emulate and the diminution of women, 
 their perceived desired place in our culture, and the power and strength that come to the individual when in a group of aligned women.

I hope to see you in San Antonio.  -janet

A quick view of my exhibition Unintentional Development

Hi everyone.

Since my website is under construction I thought I would up load some images of my MFA exhibition.

Here is a brief artist statement that goes with the exhibition:

The depiction of children in the process of developing their ego and self-esteem are recorded in the mundane tasks of Doll’s competency scale developed in the early 1950s. The child is unknowingly in a power struggle with the caretakers and peers for the definition of their self-image. The children also learn to be watched, and risk becoming objects that fit into the watcher’s desires. As the child develops and incorporates the desires of the watcher, the child will continue to be influenced by the watcher – even if the watcher is no longer present.

In the corresponding exhibition of hand-embroidered narrative on tropes of domestic safety and tranquility, it is my intention to encourage the viewer to reflect on the act of being the objectifying watcher, but also to examine our own development and self-objectification. The final exhibition is a series of twenty images in which the viewer, through empathetic memories, is caught inside the image and at the same time is uncomfortably watching – even the watchers.

Here are some photos: