Beast on the Loose!
Breaking news… The good people of Dayton, Ohio need to beware… this guy is stomping into the city.
Last fall I worked on this project with my art friend Karol Kusmaul. She needed to collaborate on a project for her MFA at Savannah College of Art and Design. We settled on creating a body of six quilts which would address concerns each of us have about societal/political issues.
Our works turned out to be completely different from one another. What we worked on together was the preliminary creation of surface design. From there, we created independently.
We created a lot of painted fabric together.
I went through a lot of stages working on this project. I experienced challenges: creating illustrations outside my normal working range. Creating a composition that would hold them all together. And I experienced fun: creating and collaging the skin and the body part of the giant reptile was interesting and enjoyable.
Then, when I got to the part of creating the figures representing bigotry and and ignorance, it wasn’t fun anymore.
There I was drawing and piecing together little cartoon characters that represent terrible societal forces. And I was depicting them feeding the American electorate. It was, and is, very sobering.
Here is the finished quilt. It’s 52”H x 35”W.
Why is it invading Ohio?
I am pleased that this work has been accepted to exhibit at the Edward Dixon Gallery in Dayton. The show is the third annual “We’re Doing It All Wrong,” The show prospectus states, “The juried exhibition is a challenge to artists and viewers to recognize, react and learn about the many ways humanity continually fails itself. Artists are encouraged to submit work that captures or is a comment on a tradition, a system, a practice, an institution or anything they see that needs repair or removal that has existed in this state for far too long. “
The exhibit opens August 3 and continues through September 30.
I am grateful that Karol’s project pushed me outside my easy comfort zone to tackle some big ideas.
For all the artmakers: Happy creating
For all the art lovers: Happy appreciating
Thank you for reading. I always enjoy questions and comments.
--Bobbi
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