The Public Eye

I believe that art isn’t done until someone besides the artist has seen it. I am also at a point in my career that I want the pieces I make to leave my studio. I want them to travel. I want them to go away, clear the decks, and move on. So I spend some time each week seeking ways to get my work into the public eye. I like to start a conversation with my work. I’m interested in how we communicate with each other.

With that goal in mind, the art group I am part of (Six Points) made a proposal to a local university gallery called 2 sides/6 points. Here’s the original proposal we made to the gallery.

2sides/6 points

In 2 sides/6 points we ask ourselves these questions: Can art have a do over? How does an immersive conversation with an artist inspire new art? Can one artist reinvent the work of another? Can imitation or intention carry an artist to a new place?

We six artists have met regularly for over seven years. As a group, our aim is to support, nourish and react to each other’s work with critical eyes born from long discussions. We know and celebrate each other. We listen and consider. It’s a deep dialog based on the belief that our aim is to assist and our process is to be honored.

And now our task is to dive deeper. With this show, we bring the time-honored practice of one artist being inspired by another to create new work. Each of the six will choose a work by one of the others and reflect, re-imagine and create a work inspired by that piece. After a one-on-one artist-to-artist conversation the original piece will act as a muse to something new from a different point of view, medium, or palette. This show will include the original artwork, the inspired creation, and a sampling of each artist’s body of work.

The tall piece in the middle of this picture features the work I created after engaging in this challenge.

I was paired with Mary Jo Karimnia in this challenge. She has a multi-media practice that includes using beads, flocking, paint and paper. One of her series is devoted to eyes. When we met we talked about evil eyes, inner eyes, protective eyes, seeing eyes, third eyes and the many ways that eyes are referred to in art. Her eyes are painted on plates, cut out of wood, mounted on baskets and gathered in installations.

Mary Jo Karimnia does a series of works focused on eyes.

Choosing a strong palette with lots of pattern was a new challenge for me. I usually work with less color.

Recently I watched a documentary about refugees and asylum seekers traversing the jungles of Panama to get to safety. Their journey is horrendous, murderous and rife with corruption. Many die. It occurred to me that the whole world should witness this disaster. The whole world needs to figure out how this ends. And then I realized that the whole world is watching this disaster, all across the globe people are hungry, hopeless and in danger. So I decided to use that idea in my piece called The Whole World’s Watching using eyes as a focal point.

The Whole World’s Watching, detail, Paula Kovarik

Every so often we get a news flash of more people dying in their attempts to get to safety.

The Whole World’s Watching, Paula Kovarik, 50.5” x 16”

The 2 sides/6 points show will debut in September at the UT-Martin campus of the University of Tennessee. If you are in the area please stop by and let us know what you think about the show. Let’s continue this conversation.

Herd

Two years of work, all in one place. The Herd has invaded the Austin Peay State University New Gallery.

Headless Herd members march into the exhibit on a platform. They are built of quilts made over the past ten years. Photo: Amir Aghareb

My art has an undercurrent of peculiarities and humor. I look for things that are uncanny—those elements in life that don’t quite make sense. They’re on the edge. Darkness seeps in with the cares of the day and moods of the moment. Scratchy, murky textures appear. Grids dissolve. Patterns stop repeating. There is often a dissolution in the narrative.

Moving from two-dimensional surfaces to three-dimensional forms, I built a herd this year. The members have no heads. They are diverse and a little disturbing. Where are they going? What has the herd heard to draw them here? Let loose upon my studio floor and tables, they wandered aimlessly. They could be me and you. They could be them. They stay together, they move as one, letting someone else or something else dictate their actions.

The Herd marches on its platform to watch the I watch too much tv news show.

At the gallery the Herd is flanked by Yesmen. They nod yes when you pull their strings. Area Environments provided some of the designs I created in the form of wallpaper. The piece hanging in front of the wall on the left (Many Moons) is the original that created the wallpaper behind it. Amazing to see my stitching in giant form.

Herd of stuffed headless beasts

photo: Amir Aghareb

One of the Yesmen floats in space with a chuckle on its face. photo: Amir Aghareb

The Dark Matter wallpaper, provided by Area Environments, frames these three pieces: Silos, The Usual Suspects and Thugs. I like how they merge with the patterned paper.

photo: Amir Aghareb

I love watching people get close to my work, zooming in on the detail of the work. Dark Heart, detail. photo: Amir Aghareb

Silos, detail

Michael Dickins at the sewing machine.

As part of the exhibit I had the opportunity to talk with community members about my work during an artist talk. There were a number of people with excellent questions, some of which I really had to think about before speaking. It’s great talking with people who are engaged and curious. The next day I entertained a large group of students during a gallery talk. What could be better? That evening the gallery was open to the public again. I set up a sewing machine so people could try drawing with stitch.

The folks at Austin Peay have been welcoming and supportive. Michael Dickins, the gallery director, created an environment for the work that enhanced the message and invited people to spend time thinking about the work. Dr. Dixie Webb wrote an essay about my work and the show that places me in the slipstream of other artists and art movements. Tobias Layman built benches and the platform to accommodate the works. The addition of the wallpaper from Area Environments topped it all off. As an artist I feel honored to have been invited to have this show. The bonus of meeting and working with these folks has been better than I could have imagined.

The show is up until September 16 in Clarksville, TN—a short hop from Nashville. A little bit of a drive from elsewhere. There is a virtual version of the show on their website.

My heartfelt thanks go to Austin Peay State University department of Art+Design, Center of Excellence for the Creative Arts (CECA), The Association of Academic Museums & Galleries (AAMG) and Area Environments for this opportunity.

Invisible art quilt takes center stage

My art quilt, Invisible, is featured in a new video posted by the folks at the Dairy Barn. The directors at the Dairy Barn graciously asked the artists in the show to create short videos that would feature their quilt. There are many other artists who also created a video so pour yourself a cup of tea, sit back and be entertained. The links that follow will lead you there.

The Quilt National show is considered one of the premier art quilt shows worldwide. People from all over submit their work to the judges to be included. This year Nancy Bavor, the Director at San Jose Museum of Quilts & Textiles, and professional textile artists Brigitte Kopp and Karen Schulz, were tasked with sorting through 747 submitted artworks from 388 artists from six continents. 84 pieces were chosen. The show is in Athens, OH until September 6 then some of the pieces will travel for three years at venues across the continent. If this show comes near you, or if you are within shouting distance of Athens, OH, take the time to see it. If not, the digital exhibition is here. The works are seriously ground-breaking textile works of art.

Here is the video I made to familiarize people with my point of view and the way the piece was conceived. Spoiler alert: It’s on wheels. Check out other artists works in the show here. Enjoy!

On saying yes

I say yes to a lot of opportunities and to myself and to my family and to my friends. Trouble with that is I end up with too much on my plate. When I should be snacking I am gorging. When I should be contemplative I am mumbling deadlines and bifurcating my brain. And yet, as the scorpion said to the frog, it’s just my nature. If I had an empty plate I would scrounge around for something, anything, everything to do.

IMG_0684.JPG

Last week started off with this little project. I was both channeling Leo Ray and Jackson Pollock. It started with a piece of canvas on which I dribbled, sprayed and splotched some fabric paint. The idea was I would discover things within the painting that would inspire me to stitch. I would end up with a continuous series of pieces that would fit together like Leo Ray’s continuous paintings.

roadtrip.jpg

I cut the canvas into five square pieces and started to add stitching where they needed stitching. I have been drawing like this for awhile so some of the arbitrary forms that are showing up in my drawings are now showing up in the stitching. I like this technique. It brings mystery into process. It is very loose and intuitive. Jackson Pollock once said “Because a painting has a life of its own, I try to let it live.”

IMG_0740.jpg

Here’s a close-up of one of the panels. Each panel measures about 19” square. I like adding texture to pieces using thread that matches the fabric. The other drawing lines are inspired by what I see in the base painting. I added a face, some active lines, some textural backgrounds and some mysterious figurative drawings that came out of a day dream in this one.

Now I am experimenting with the square panels to create 3D shapes. Some look like scrolls, some like the Venus of Willendorf and others like disturbing faces. Not sure where they will end up. For now they are keeping me entertained.

Raw and Reassembled

The wonderful folks at the Visions Art Museum in San Diego have invited me to exhibit July 17 – October 3, 2021. I have been planning, assembling, writing statements, labeling and packing for that show for the past month. There is a lot to do before then. If you are in the San Diego area during that time please take moment or two to see the show. I would love to hear what you think about it.

At Play in the Garden of Stitch –  thoughts that come while eyeing the needle

At Play in the Garden of Stitch –
thoughts that come while eyeing the needle

A book:
At Play in the Garden of Stitch: thoughts that come while eyeing the needle

I’m on the final proofreading stage of a book about my techniques. As soon as it is ready I will post a link here for purchase. It has been a long and arduous journey to get this far with it. And I am proud of the result. I hope you have the opportunity to see it someday soon. Some of you may recognize your own stitching on the cover. They are samples from my workshops.

Spring

The weather is perfect right now and it is sometimes hard to stay in the studio because it is so beautiful outside. I am jealous of every hour away from the studio but, then again, the garden brings me joy and time to think. I’ll say yes to it too.

Up and ready

Stitched Intent is currently on display in the Mitchell Gallery at Southern Illinois University-Carbondale campus. The show will run until November 6, just in time for voting. Masks are required and social distancing will be enforced. Museum hours: Tuesday-Friday: 10am-4pm, Saturday: 1pm-4pm. Carbondale is about 6 hours south of Chicago, 1.5 hours east of St. Louis and only 4 hours north of Memphis. Looking for a road trip? Stop by and leave me a note.

I love a dark passionate red, don’t you?

SIC-C is my alma mater. I studied design there and started my life with my husband in the surrounding countryside. We farmed tomatoes and peppers and squash on our 10 acre plot. We designed and built a passive solar home, studied organic farming, and tried to live off the land. We were very poor. But the optimism we had for a better future was never stronger. In those days the topics of solar energy, organic food, conservation and environmental protection were getting some traction. The EPA passed laws protecting our land and air and water. The White House had solar panels on its roof. Education was still affordable. And people started thinking that spraying pesticides and herbicides was not really the best idea for our health.

The space in this gallery is wonderful. Each piece has its own environment.

The space in this gallery is wonderful. Each piece has its own environment.

Things have changed. My show reflects some of the angst I feel about how things are going.

I Watch Too Much TV News will play on a loop while the show is up. 14.5 feet of media madness in one little box. Take a seat and rest awhile.

Galleries are better when there are people in them. I’m hoping that at least some take the time to see the show. The museum staff has been very helpful by posting a comprehensive online version on their Facebook page. But nothing beats being up close and personal to works created with fabric and stitch. These works have intentional meanings. These works left pin marks on my fingers. These works call for action.

IwillvoteStickers.jpg