Art Cloth Network: September 2023

Sunday, September 3, 2023

Talk about your art! by Regina Marzlin

Field Notes 1-20

In the fall of last year, I drove to a small art gallery about an hour's drive away from my home to see an exhibition. The work shown was by a Nova Scotian painter and printmaker, Bob Hainstock. I admire his abstracted landscapes and his use of colour. While I was looking at the exhibited pieces, I got talking with the gallery owner. We had a very nice chat about the artist's work, what I admired about it and how I thought it related to my own work. She asked a lot of questions about my own work, not having heard of me before.

My visit took an unexpected turn right there! She asked me if I was interested in showing in her gallery in the next year, and basically offered me a solo show on the spot. I was very surprised and agreed, of course. The space is great, it would be wonderful to have the whole gallery to myself and fill it with my art. I drove home with my head spinning, and wondering if it all would work out. The gallerist really hadn't seen my art at all, so I just hoped she wouldn't renege on her offer.

Fast forward one year, and my exhibition opened on August 28th, 2023. I'm very happy to have this opportunity to see this body of work in one room, and for other people to get to know my work as I hadn't shown in this area of my province so far.

The body of work I'm showing has been made during the last four years and mainly consists of stitched collages made with my monoprinted fabrics. These prints are made with natural material that I collect and is a snapshot of my immediate surroundings. The title of the exhibition is "Field Notes", referring to the character of a botanical expedition and exploration of the nature around me.

I will also teach a class about mono printing with natural materials at the gallery, to tie in with the exhibition.

It is important to have some engaging words at the ready to talk about your art, to describe it to people even without the help of visuals so they can get interested in what you do. You never know where this will lead!