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I am honored and pleased to be exhibiting my newest body of work, the Tarp Series, in the University of Nebraska’s Robert Hillestad Textiles Gallery, December 17, 2018 – February 1, 2019. This exhibit includes mostly larger pieces from the Tarp Series, but also some of my smaller scrolls. The Robert Hillestad Textiles Gallery is located in UNL’s Home Economics Building and is open weekdays 8:30-4pm or by appointment (closed December 21-January 1 for Winter Break.)

Over decades, my work has consistently focused on painted, printed and dyed textiles in the form of wall pieces and functional items. In my current body of work, I also include drawing, and mixed media with polymer medium and India ink, creating large tarps and small scrolls.  Not only are these works gallery pieces, but I’ve also been using photography to temporarily place these pieces in outdoor, natural settings and places I’ve traveled.

In 2016, after creating time-consuming quilted art pieces for 15 years, I found myself wanting to work more spontaneously in a larger format and to create more of pieces. My bucket list also included a return to and mastery of drawing. At the same time, I also wanted to continue my long relationship with the tactility of fabric and the drag of brushes on the texture of cloth. 

After the Presidential Inauguration in 2017, my pent up energy manifested itself in expressive approaches to drawing and brushwork. One day, I was cleaning brushes by painting out the remaining ink on spread-out newspaper sections. These were striking in how they reflected the stark news stories of the day.  I continued in this vein, painting and mounting two weeks of New York Times sections from March and from April on cloth to make the piece Two Weeks in March, Two Weeks in April which I discussed here on my blog. 

All well and good. But I’m not really a narrative artist. I approach my work like I do music. These questions emerged:

Where does art belong in our lives? In challenging times? What does it mean to be a maker under circumstances where political comment, identity and narrative are a primary conversation?  Is there a role for creative expression in non-narrative ways, much like the role that music performs?  How can we “play” more?

And so, the Tarp Series was born. Liberating. Metaphorically, I see tarps as protective, versatile and adaptive.

In my work, what appears to be abstract is actually the compilation of life experiences. Music, visual mark-making, the natural world and the emotive effect of color all figure into my studio process. I’m happiest with a brush in my hand. Fabrics allow me a large-scale, exuberant canvas.  I use only my own handpainted, monoprinted cotton fabrics in my work.  The Tarp series also incorporates drawing and installation photography. 

The Scroll series is another story. These small, intimate works are no more than 4” tall and arose out of an international call for entry. I never work so small, but with the addition of polymer medium and stitching on my own fabrics, I was drawn, literally, into small little worlds. They accompanied me to woods, to fields, to water, to my garden, to Vancouver, Washington DC, Japan, New York and more. One even tried to get into the National Gallery.

The exhibition at the Robert Hillestad Textiles Gallery also includes a powerpoint showcasing this body of work, techniques and more. While you may not be able to visit in person, perhaps by including details and background images in this post, you’ll have a more intimate view. Many thanks to Michael James and Michael Burton, faculty members at the University of Nebraska, for making this exhibition possible. And to Robert Hillestad himself, who was a pioneering professor of textiles there and for whom this gallery is named.