Beetle in the Leaves--work of Sarah Crowner

Although I am not one to make lists or resolutions for the New Year, I do find it a time to pause just a moment and think of the larger questions. Where is my work going? Where can I take it? And most importantly, where do I want to take it? How do I unify my work so that it pushes beyond craft to make a larger statement? Always great questions that I can only nibble at in the broader scope of life.

Still it is what keeps me going and what interests me about the slow process of making quilts.

So for the New Year, I just had to see the new exhibit of Sarah Crowner at Mass MoCA called "Beetle in the Leaves"  where she combines the techniques of sewing and piecing to create abstract paintings that reflect contemporary life. These are paired with assembled pieces of tile that are either floors that can be walked on or wall art to contemplate. Or at least that was what the blurbs said about her work.

I was sold on the concept. When I first walked into the space the scale was impressive. Three large rooms with large paintings and a large tile floor. Such interesting shapes in the paintings--for that is what they are called and I think that word matters.  Don't you love the simple but complex spaces in this work.

sarah crowner--mass moca--2017

The tile floor also reflects the geometry and is meant to be walked on with just a few splashes yellow paint to add a hint of design to that space. For me, the floor was part of the whole but less effective by itself although reading the literature the shape does represent a geometric leaf that allows the tiling with a minimum number of joints. Although maybe this was part of the inspiration for the title of the show--just saying.

sarah crowner--mass moca--2017

The colors of blue in this design are painted for even more surface texture. Each one a slightly different shade to make it more complex and rich.

sarah crowner--mass moca--2017

What about the color and shape in this simple design. Such a universal but modern feeling with the thin lines stretching out like birds in flight or leaves on the trees.

sarah crowner--mass moca--2017

Upon closer examination I discovered that even the simple all white designs were composed of different canvas fabrics that had been manipulated and stitched together. But why was it framed in this orange that reminded me of orange from the sixties?

sarah crowner--mass moca---2017

Looking carefully you can see the shapes that evolve. Interestingly she used a dark blue thread for the stitching itself that barely peeks through the seams. Can you see it?

sarah crowner--mass moca--2017

 In another room was a large tile hanging designed specifically for this space. The hanging was about 10 feet high by 20 feet wide with a bench one could sit on to contemplate it.

sarah crowner--mass moca--2017

This picture does not do it justice since each tile was rich in color and design. Looking at it my eye kept choosing first one and then another tile that became my favorite.

sarah crowner--mass moca--2017

Noticing the industrial walls of Mass MoCA it was clear that it had been designed to complement this space and the soft teal that was barely visible on the paint.

sarah crowner--mass moca--2017

The windows added an additional layer of geometry reflected in this tile. It should be noted that the colors seemed brighter than my camera allowed as you will see if you make it to this exhibit.

sarah crowner--mass moca--2017

But then there was the mystery. For on the other wall was one small square painting in orange. What was it doing there? The scale seemed wrong to the point of being absurd and contradictory. However, it had to be intentional for this was a very well-planned exhibit so what was I missing? What a puzzlement?

sarah crowner--mass moca 2017

Until I took one final glance back as I left the space and started to walk down the stairs. First I saw how the hints of orange in the two paintings tied in with the orange frames in the next room.

sarah crowner--mass moca--2017

And then--just as a family walked into the third space I saw how that one little orange square beckoned me into the third room. Maybe you can just glimpse it by the man's head.

sarah crowner--mass moca--2017

And though it was time to head home, the exhibition seemed complete and challenging giving me much to think about. What a great day at the museum. The show at Mass MoCA runs through February 12. There is lots more to see at the Museum which is open most days. For more info check out their web site www.massmoca.org

What shows have you seen recently? What has inspired you?

It's a new day and a new year

It's a new day and a new year. I think there is a song that goes something like that. One of those ear worms that I can barely hear but I think is there. Finally though it is 2017.  Nuf said about 2016.

This is a blog about quilts after all. Now those who know me realize I am not great for setting goals or making lists. I don't do resolutions very well. Indeed I find that it just frustrates me since I can never live up to all my goals or resolutions. Instead I try to set out tasks. One task at a time. I get it done--or as done as it will be for now--and then move on.

One of the tasks that had been lurking over me for years has been a new web site. I loved my old web site--I could do it myself. It was simple to update and while it was not the most elegant web site out there, it had come to have a presence after so many years. Alas though Apple had quit supporting myself, it was not Google friendly and certainly did not work on Mobile devices. (Yes, I had had it for a l-o--n--g time.)

It takes time and energy though to update a web site. Sure I could have paid someone but let's face it--quilt makers don't earn a lot of money. Even if they have been in business for 35 years. At least I don't. I wanted to be able to update it when I needed to--not when I had the money and could hire someone to do it. And I had no clue what I wanted it to look like--even that takes time and energy.

So it sat on the back burner through the studio floating. The new studio. My new quilts. Until finally I could no longer do even the most simple updates. UGH!!!!

OK--time to take matters into my own hands and find a decent template system. One I could manage. That would be SEO friendly. And one where I could understand how to operate it. I tried first one template system. And tore my hair out. Then another that a friend had recommended--no dice. Finally I realized that I was thinking in the same language as WIX and opted for that. Now this is not an ad. Or even an endorsement. But for me it worked. It lets me add my Etsy shop which has been my saving grace throughout this whole experience. It even lets me add my blog post from blogger. I can do this.

So now--I can actually think about what I want to say in my blogs. And I do have a lot to say about inspiration and art. I haven't given my loyal readers input on the OOAK Show in December or my recent trip to Mass MoCA. (Now that was inspirational). I do have a lot of catching up with old friends and making new ones. New quilts to add to the web site. Work on it in my spare time.  And best of all I was able to bring over my old domain so it is still www.annbrauer.com.

Theoretically I can do this while preparing for the Baltimore Craft Show in February, the Paradise Marlboro Show in March, a wonderful gallery show of quilts I am honored to participate in this spring and of course the many events of the Shelburne Falls Business Association.

Which comes full circle to the concept that it is indeed a new day. Get the pun in the quilt.

Happy New Year. Together we will survive.

road trip--encampment

A hot hazy day in western Massachusetts. Thunderstorms in the forecast. Summer in the Berkshires. Tuesday. My free day.

The previous days I had had several great conversations. What inspires you? How do you get ideas? What do you look at from the corner of your being--not to copy but to observe and learn. These conversations with other artists at the Berkshire Craft Show are part of what makes doing shows so inspiring for me. The conversations had continued at the studio--a young artist who is trying to create her own style of art quilts. A phone interview I had for a feature article (more on that at a later date.) The writer had studied my quilts and asked probing questions.

Time for a road trip to MASS MoCA in North Adams. Now MASS MoCA is a true national treasure. So much art in a reused industrial complex. There is always something new and exciting to see. I go there as often as I can--frequently in winter. But there were new exhibits. Buildings that are not open then. Enough to see that we could wander and gaze until we had had enough.

I loved the photographs of Clifford Ross and especially digital video where he deconstructed the images into colors that danced through space in ways that a quilt maker could only dream about. The blue color washes of Liz Deschenes intrigued me in their simple complexity. Jim Shaw's cartoonish renditions of contemporary American politics were interesting but did not grab me.

So I was not sure what to expect when I entered Francesco Clemente's Encampment exhibit. At first you just see six colorful tents camped out in the large room that you can walk through. I started quickly just scanning the paintings done in collaboration with craftspeople of Rajastan, Do you see all the sketches on the surface. This could be studied for a long time.

Then I started looking more closely at the designs--such wonderful graphics, so many great colors--and I got caught up in seeing more and more possibilities and wonder within the tents.

Wouldn't those be great designs for my new circle quilts. Well not just like that but as a sketch--a starting point?

Don't you just love the colors?

And consider the possibilities here. Yes, this is all painted on canvas with the depth only from the perspective used.

And another wonderful design. What fun that would be to sketch out. Maybe it could be used for another project I am working on. Hmmm.

And even more of a challenge. Great concept though isn't it?

And of course there is this amazing beehive design. All I can say is wow.

And of course the wonderful use of greys and dark browns here. So archetypal. Not a "design" that I would use but so powerful in its own right.

Well I could go one. So many more wonderful paintings up stairs. Such great colors. And I still haven't shown you all of MASS MoCA. Maybe I need to go back myself and study these more. I want to.

Have you seen this show? Are you planning a road trip? What inspires you? How do you look at things differently? The website for the Museum is www.massmoca.org And don't forget--my studio in Shelburne Falls is about 20 miles away--just saying.

it's a small small world

I was about to post that only in New England could one hike to the top of Bromley Mountain and discuss Afro-futerism and Sanford Biggers installation work The Cartographer's Conundrum at Mass MOCA--but then I realized that my DH and I were speaking with a young man who had started the through hike of the Appalachian Trail in Georgia and was headed for Mt. Katahdin in Maine.

Of course I loved the original piece by Sanford Biggers cousin--John Biggers. How could I not? It is about quilts and their significance to the African American community. It turns out John Biggers was one of the first African American to receive a UNESCO grant  to travel to Africa and study the many patterns and designs there. His cousin Sanford decided to learn more about John by following the travels that John did and trying to understand them. The term Afro-futurism was coined to describe this incorporation of African patterns into contemporary American art.  There is also a link to technology and music. So much there and so much I don't know, my mind spins with the possibilities.  But of course you don't even have to know this background to love this mural by John. So rich in color and emotion it haunts me even though it also humbles me with my ignorance.

I also loved how the younger Biggers took this image and the feelings of being uplifted and translated them into an installation piece that filled the entire HUGE room at Mass MOCA.  To my mind the very act of its visualization and actual creation was fascinating. One could walk through the installation getting closer and closer to the music and the joy that you could almost feel as the pews rose into the heavens. There were patterns of tiles on the floor. Broken stars of glass leading the way. Worn musical instruments providing a path to the end of the hall with the pews rising and the focus on a large melange of worn fragments of musical instruments and memories.

Then the video upstairs put lots of these feelings and the diaspora from Africa together in a manner that I had not entirely realized until I was on top of Bromley. Funny how things work sometimes isn't it? Now I want to see the show again. It runs through the end of October.  For more information  check out: http://www.massmoca.org/event_details.php?id=666http://www.massmoca.org/event_details.php?id=666

Have you seen this show? What do you think? Don't you love it when a chance conversation can help enlighten you?

Oh Canada

What is Canada? Is it the queen? Or hockey? Long nights? The great northern lights? Or the open prairies? The benign neighbor to the north? Above the 49th parallel. Or more?

I admit I love Mass MOCA--the very large contemporary art museum so near by in North Adams, MA.  Their new show--Oh Canada--attempts just such a definition. Apparently there were about 400 visits to different artists studios and galleries in Canada looking for the best most provocative work. And what a show it is.

I loved loved loved this large latex sculpture by Kim Morgan called Range Light. Like a giant sail it stretches up to the second floor. So complex and shimmering it dominates the space.

But look at all the detail in latex. So carefully manipulated.

From the second story you can even see a door painted onto the latex and more great texture.

Listen with ear phones to the video production off the side of the large room in the first floor. It is tucked away under this scultpture. Asking in such a jaunty manner--what is Canada? Made me ponder and set the tone for the whole show.

Another piece I loved in the same room is Lookup by Wanda Koop. Again this stretches way way up with the colors and the rhythms just dominating the space. I love how it dwarfs the viewer but made me also want to stare and examine each color.

There were some wonderful ceremonial spaces and ritual objects. I took images but I couldn't capture in my camera but love the image that lingered in my mind. Some provocative drawings by the native residents on their contemporary life that I found almost heart wrenching in their poignancy. References to the dark starry nights and videos of the wind on the prairie. Another video of a ceremonial dance that kept me absorbed in the motions and colors.

I loved this large drawing of the textural slap of clay by Hans Wendt. Yes, this is a flat watercolor but the art just pops out of the frame in its perspective. This is just a detail but isn't it amazing?

I also liked the two contrasting scenes in these paintings--one of the pristine arctic and one of the ruined arctic although I failed to get the name of the artist.

Some great photographs. Some just lovely in the scenes. Others manipulated to convey a message. Lots more videos and installations. One a very dark room that you have to acclimate your eyes to see the wonders. Some pieces that I still do not understand. Shouldn't there always be work over my head? Do find the windmills of water bottles. Stunning.  And of course look for the coins carefully hidden in the corners.

So much to see--such a rich and varied exhibit. Have you seen it yet? What were your favorites? Have you seen any other great shows this summer? Here is the link to the show--it runs through April 1, 2113. http://www.massmoca.org/event_details.php?id=663