Creating a Gallery by Barbara Schneider

Over the past 18 months I have been gradually developing a gallery display and exhibits for a space at the First Congregational Church in Crystal Lake, IL.  This project started, as many seem to, do with an entirely different goal.  I got involved with the renovation of what had been Fellowship Hall at the church – which needed everything from new flooring to paint, tables and chairs to light fixtures.  Like a lot of projects it grew a bit as time went on and ended up including the 40 foot hallway that runs along the outside of the large room. The walls in that hallway were constantly scuffed or scraped and just non-descript in every way.

I suggested, half-jokingly, that it would make a great gallery space.  There was discussion about how would it work, why bother, who would handle, who would PAY, etc.  In the end I have become a gallery director by default.

It has turned out to be a great project – for the church and for people coming through and for me.

We scraped together funds to buy a hanging system and to have 10 – 16 x 20 white frames made. That allows us to show either 11 x 14 pieces matted and framed, or 16 x 20 pieces unmatted and framed. We can also show other artwork that comes framed or that I figure out how to hang in some other way.

I created an artist call and also contacted artists directly. The exhibit changes every two months.  We have a framed artist statement and photo. I have enlisted two helpers for hanging and take down. I have artists scheduled through the end of 2026. Our outreach is expanding to include work from local organizations and elsewhere.

The members and visitors who come through often comment on how much they enjoy the exhibits and how they see things in new ways.

I have shown pieces from my Beautiful Faces series, we have had a nature photographer with his winter landscapes, the Sunday school kids created their own art for an exhibit, we featured collages of music and performances that were significant to the church in some way. Upcoming exhibits include:

·       Veterans portraits from the local area by Jeannine Soldner, a well known painter

·       Make a Way – An exhibit by Ileana Soto and other artists based on the writings of Lewis

·       An exhibit by the Pioneer Center (developmentally challenged clients)

·       An exhibit of pinhole photography

I am finding it to be an interesting and exciting opportunity to build community and awareness in a new way. Below are some photos of the gallery (long and narrow so hard to shoot).

 

The first two photos show the artist statment and some of my series Observations. 

 

The photo below is from the exhibit of kids art last summer.

 

 

 

The photos below are from our latest exhibit of Veterans portraits. The artist, Jeannine Soldner has created a series of 24 portraits and then stories that has been shown n many places. We have 8 of her portraits of local veterans.

I hope this inspires members to look for, or make, or through serendipity, fall into gallery possibilities. If this is a mile to far, try curating an online gallery through SAQA, Studio Art Quilt Associates, You get a lot of support and it is a really engaging experience.

An Unexpected Discovery - by Regina Marzlin

 Two weeks ago, I spent a few days in Fredericton, New Brunswick. It is the capital of our neighbouring province and I was there for the first time. Fredericton is not a large city, the population is about 63000, but being the capital of the province, there was a lot to see and do. One of the stops on my list was the Beaverbrook Art Gallery, the provincial art gallery that houses important Canadian and British collections in a modern building that was expanded in 2017.

To my delight, I discovered an exhibition by Canadian sculptor and textile artist Sarah Maloney (b. 1965) called "Sarah Maloney's Pleasure Ground: A Feminist Take on the Natural World". I had seen some of her pieces before at the Confederation Centre of the Arts in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada. This exhibition was a deep-dive into several bodies of work developed between 1993 and 2021.

 Her representations of the human body and of botanicals reference gender, pleasure, desire and power. From the wall plaque: "Meticulous, witty and historically researched, Maloney interprets mythology and symbolism in labour-intensive techniques, from welding to stitching. Her work challenges how people think about icons of Western colonialism, such as museum collections, domestic gardens, and landscape art."

The "Collect-Arrange" (No. 1,2,3) pieces depict vases from the British Museum filled with cut flowers modelled after historical botanical illustrations. It prompts questions about collecting - what is collected by public museums and by whom? It was hard to believe that those vases are embroidered!

Three life-sized stitched panels titled "Skeletal System, Circulatory System, Major Organs" depict just that. The sheer size is impressive, as is the detailed stitching.

More art dealing with body imagery (unfortunately I didn't get all the individual titles):

I really appreciated her combination of embroidery, knitting and painting with 3D objects and her sculptural approach. A very well done exhibition that I stumbled on unexpectedly. It is always satisfying to see textile art on par with all the other media in a museum setting.

In Praise of On-line Gallery Exhibits, by Ileana Soto

I hadn’t understood the variety of advantages of an on-line exhibit … and how creative the organizers could be. Let me share with you! This August, I was juried into 2 online gallery exhibits and another member-only online exhibit. The Verum Ultimum Gallery, Portland, OR, sponsored a juried exhibit called “Strata III: Manifesting through the Layers”. This gallery has a very strenuous jurying process. As an example, they sent me an email after the 6th of 10 rounds of jurying that I was still in the mix! After the last round, I received a welcome email that I had made the cut, and my piece “Between Waking and Dreaming” had been accepted. This piece is part of another juried show “Art Movements in Fiber” and will be shown this November one last venue in Pacific Grove, CA.

Not only did the Verum Ultimum Gallery (https://www.verumultimumartgallery.com/strata-iii) have an on-line exhibit through exhibbit.com (https://publish.exhibbit.com/gallery/315691463435595736/two-rooms-134926/), they send the link to a list of collectors interested in collecting art. Next, we artists were asked to provide a formal narrative about our piece plus a resume. The gallerist, Jennifer Gillia Cuthall, then put together a fascinating blogpost (Layer upon Layer, from studio to surface, STRATA III artists fit it all in...) that is on their website. And, an on-line catalog is on their site where the pages are virtually turned to reveal each piece of art in ‘duets’, to best show off each artist’s piece. This exhibit will be up for two additional weeks after August 31st. I was pleased to know about and be a part of this complex online exhibit.

The O’Hanlon Center for the Arts, Mill Valley, CA, sponsored “Women Artists Making Their Mark: https://www.ohanloncenter.org/2025/06/women-artists-25/. It is another online exhibit (August 25-October 24) in which you’ll be able to see one of my pieces, “Pentimento”. On opening day, the O’Hanlon offered a zoom meeting for the participating artists to each take one minute to talk about their piece. This was recorded and will be available online. They will also put together a catalog that can be uploaded through their website. Here's what I had to say about “Pentimento, a piece that is also in the Art Cloth Network’s 2024 ‘Revision’ exhibit. “The word pentimento is defined as: visible traces of an earlier painting beneath a layer or layers of paint on canvas. My piece is made of vintage cloth, printed with thickened dyes and paint. Other elements are fused onto it, and it is completed with hand and machine stitch. I originally made this piece for an exhibit called “Women’s Work” at the Recology Center Gallery in San Francisco, shown in 2018. The original theme of this piece was and remains the unacknowledged work of women in agriculture. The serpentine shapes wind throughout like furrowed fields. Revised in 2024, the earlier images and forms have been re-layered and re-colored, sections were cut and replaced. Earlier images recede to the background to create a layered history of women.”

Last, The Textile Study Group of New York (TSGNY), “Gallery 38, Summer Gallery”, offers an online summer and winter exhibit to its members: https://www.tsgny.org/gallery-37-winter-2025-copy-1. You will see my piece “Executive Orders”, August-November 2025. This is an opportunity to view the beautiful work of members in this outstanding organization. They also offer monthly talks by artists from around the world on the third Wednesdays of the month, preceded by two talks by member artists. I was honored to give one of the member talks in January of this year. That experience inspired me to record my talk for a YouTube posting.

These are three reasons to enjoy the benefits of entering thoughtful online exhibits. Don’t hesitate!

25 Years And Counting

Part 3  2019-2025

Happy 25th!!  This section (the 3rd and and last so far) takes us right up to the present.   While surface design (dyeing, printing, stamping, foiling, etc.) on lengths of fabric  comprised the early artwork and exhibitions, over time, the group’s artwork has expanded to include piecing, collage, quilting/embroidery, 3D, garments, up-cycling, texture, weaving, sculpture and the inclusion of a wide array of materials (bubble wrap, paper, leather, etc.).  And even the sources of color have expanded: botanicals, inks and dyes, minerals, heat, rusting and so on are now widely utilized.  Art Cloth Network prides itself on its situation at the leading edge of the textile explosion the fiber field is presently experiencing.  Included here are some images of works that have been juried intoACN shows. They demonstrate ACN’s contribution to the changes which have occurred in the field of "art cloth." 

 Some artist members like to make thematically inspired artwork and others prefer the freedom to follow their own muse.  As a result,  ACN tends to have titles for the annual juried challenge which can be used as individual artists choose - more a general suggestion than a specific theme.  Every October there’s a call with a skilled juror/artist hired to make the selections for that year’s exhibition.  The jurors include world renowned textile artists, museum curators, journalists and educators from the fiber field.  Each artist can submit up to 3 new pieces.  Selected artwork is available to tour for three years to museums and galleries across North America, appears in a professional catalog and is posted on the ACN website.

ACN members teach, mentor, write, maintain active social media accounts and show internationally in juried exhibitions.   And it is quite common for members to have invitational and solo exhibitions showcasing their work. As the organization celebrates its first quarter century, we look back with pride and forward with enthusiasm.

if you haven’t see Parts 1 and 2 of the 25th Anniversary year postings, check back to June 27 and August 13 for the early years!  The work below was all made by current member artists who were juried into ACN in the last 7 years.

And, by the way, ACN is accepting applications for membership the whole month of September!  Check our website for details.

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Website            ArtClothNetwork.com

Blog https://artclothnetwork.blogspot.com/

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Creating for an ACN Exhibition

Here is a blog that I wrote about creating a mixed media piece “A Backwards Glance of Traveled Roads” for the ACN exhibition “reVision”. 

Was very happy that it was juried into this exhibition which is currently traveling in the US. Please check our main website for more information and how to book this exhibition.

Have a look and feel inspired: 

https://www.mariabillings.com/single-post/a-backwards-glance-over-traveled-roads

And thanks for looking and reading,

Maria Billings

Layers, Light and Load-bearing Walls: My challenge of a 19-piece installation by Sharon Grosh.

 

By Sharon Grosh

This past spring, I installed 19 mixed media works as part of my show named, “Layers and Light” at The Phipps Center for the Arts in Hudson, Wisconsin. The show marked a culmination of two years of creative development — and an intense, three-week sprint to complete, frame, mount, and install nearly every piece.

About the Show

After a two-year wait, I was invited to present my work in the premier gallery space at The Phipps. The venue’s scale required me to finalize a significant body of work, including five pieces created during a 2025 annual residency in Costa Rica (which were reframed after returning home), and a tryptich from a 2023 residency. The latter, built on mulberry paper, had to be permanently mounted to canvas for stability.

My intention for 2025

One of my intentions for 2025 was to complete unfinished pieces — the ones that linger just shy of completion. This installation became the catalyst to finish a lot of work. The tryptich Oceanna from the ‘23 residency, was heavily layered onto layered mulberry paper and silk organza, the thin paper was supported it with sheet-rock mud and polymer medium. I trimmed the paper edges and mounted it to linen canvas. 

 

 

 

  Oceanna 1,2 & 3.

 

The Concept Behind, Layers and Light.

                    

Layers and Light represents work that evolved over the last few years, starting with flattened mixed medium collages to three dimensional structures and sheer fabric that layers over paper, creating more light and lift to the pieces. This concept helped me arrange the order and the story behind Layers and Light. Many times these pieces reflect the garden and its chaotic representation of color, texture and depth. 

 

                              

                  The Unknown (L), Curtains (M), Window Thru (R), & A Pauly Cudd Glass Platter

Unexpected Harmony

To my surprise, I shared the space with well-known glass artist Pauly Cudd. The curator had a wonderful eye, placing his luminous vases and platters beside my layered textile work. The combination created a natural atmosphere of contrast and complement — light playing through color and form.

 

The Challenge of the Birch Trees

Of the 19 pieces in the show, Birch Trees was by far the most challenging. Built on plywood and layered in encaustic-embedded silk tea bags, it weighed over 45 pounds. I had just one week to complete the edges and figure out how to hang it vertically — safely and cleanly.

After experimenting, consulting with the curator, and recruiting my husband for engineering support, we solved the issue. Once hung, it stood upright with presence — a sculptural focal point that grounded the rest of the installation. That moment was a personal triumph.

                                   

  

                                          

        

 The Birches

 

Reactions and Takeaways

Hearing from viewers — seeing their responses — reminded me why we do this work.

Finishing The Birches taught me the value of starting with a plan for presentation — even if that plan changes. It also reminded me that art isn’t always soft or serene. Sometimes it’s heavy, literal, and full of problem-solving. And that’s part of the beauty.

     Sharon's website