ACN Blogpost Adding Light to My Art by Barbara Matthews

I have resisted adding light to my art because it would introduce an extra complication for galleries. However, I relied on the gallery to be able to have natural light for the piece. That was frequently not the case.

In an early attempt, I utilized LED strips that required soldering together—Yikes—more complicated than I could handle and consequently not successful.

I did have success with one small piece, Hug or Kiss, using LED strips and a battery pack. The battery had a surprisingly short life, enough to last through the opening reception and a few days after, but not for the entire run.

Hug or Kiss? 12" x 12"

In the 15 years since my first attempt, the lighting offerings have advanced. I found under-the-cabinet LED lighting that has proven to be easier to incorporate as options for my art.

The strips come in 10, 12, and 16 inch lengths, have magnets to aid installation, an internal battery, usb connections to plug into an outlet, and a remote controller.

I constructed from wood a separate piece that could be placed behind the art. A slight angled cut on the top shone the light directly on the art. Adding two flat washers to the top allowed the light strip to snap securely into place. At home I turn the lights on and off in the evening. At the gallery, the lights could be plugged in with a usb cable that I will supply.

Wood base on left with flat washers

USB connection and controller

Position of lighting behind art piece

Piece before lighting

Piece lighted

With wall art there are different challenges, the lights are more integrated into the piece.

In the wall art below with a foundation of acrylic glass, the challenge was to find a way to add metal where the magnets on the lights could attach.

Two small corner brackets found at the hardware fit the bill and these could be glued using E6000 glue.

Corner metal brackets glued to the acrylic back

Light strip in place

Fiber Disguised 16"x33"x2"  before lighting

Piece lighted

I Work With Intention by Barbara James

My work is informed by the lush landscapes and historic character of my home in the Lowcountry of coastal South Carolina. When I am thinking about a new piece, I look around and see many possibilities. Before beginning, I often take photographs and may even do some additional reading or interviewing about the subject of my piece.  I then start to work letting the materials guide me in an intuitive manner. 

 This year’s Art Cloth Network juried exhibit theme,” Intersections”, inspired me of make art works informed by the Rails to Trails Conservancy, a national system of connecting trails used for biking and walking. 

The Beaufort, South Carolina section of the trail is called the Spanish Moss Trail with 10 miles of trail that have repurposed the former Magnolia Rail Train Line, rich with history and local color.  I took photos of buildings and foliage along the path, a small portion of the railroad bed that can be seen intersecting it and sections of the new paved trail.

The selection of materials proved a challenge, but that came together when I found some artifacts and dove into my stash of vintage fabrics and trims. I determined that the materials needed a historic appearance that could to achieved by wrapping fabrics and vintage handwork around rusted objects found along the trail and in the foundry where the metal was smelted to build and repair the track. The fabrics and handwork were then tea dyed. 

 I worked in small sections and hand stitched the pieces together with scatter stitches and French knots. This not only connected the pieces, but added interest and helped tell the story. I mounted the piece on white cotton and continued to stitch in an intuitive manner.

Here is a photo of the completed piece.

                                                            Rails to Trails 1

                                                            18.5"W x 14"H

Here are some detail shots.

 Click here for for a link to Barbara's website

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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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