It’s up!

My newest exhibit (Migrations: Where have you been and what have you seen) is hanging at the Bloomington Playwright’s project until June 9^th.  The doors are open from 9-5 and longer on performance evenings.  It’s wonderful to have only this new set of fifteen pieces featuring migrating creatures all together, which makes the exhibit feel very cohesive.  In my studio they have to share wall space with the rest of my art pieces.  Nancy Riggert helped me transport the Migration pieces and hang the show, and in the process I realized I never posted an image of the completed ‘Stitch in Time’ weaving, so I thought I would share that here.  It was great fun collecting all of the sewing notions for the piece.  

Some are old ones that I’ve had for years, while others were discovered on recent scrounging adventures.  The featured red headed weaver bird is making an elaborate woven nest out of found objects, and of course threads and yarns are the ideal weft, even for a bird.  All of the elements just live together happily in the space.

One of the hats that I sometimes have to wear besides artist is exhibit curator to develop stories within my pieces in an exhibit.  Normally I focus on objects within a piece, but curating a show makes me consider how completed pieces interact with each other.  The challenge is arranging art pieces, some with shared elements and others quite disparate, into a flow that develops as you gaze or walk along a series of pieces.  I want your eye and your brain to create a story from beginning to end.  

For my water exhibit there was a natural progression from single droplet that led to an ocean, but in this case I hadn’t yet physically isolated the migration series from the rest of my art.  Some of the progression elements might draw you through seasons, from bleak winter through full summer.  You will see color and style progressions, as well as some of the deeper cultural themes that underscored the genesis of this exhibit in these difficult times for human migrants.

Concluding and hanging this body of work was a cause for celebration, but it has to be a quick one because I’m off to a show in Mississippi (Ridgeland Fine Arts Festival) within the week.  Tommie was home for a few days of his spring break before skipping off to Auburn to spend a few days with his girlfriend.  We had conch fritters using frozen conch from our North Carolina vacation, which is a nice way to remember the trip throughout the year.  I then had to buckle down to complete a few more pieces for the show, because Jim has been whispering in my ear that he’d like me to revisit a few of my most successful pieces for the three new venues I’ll visit in the summer.  And so I did!  I find that I’ve matured as an artist, such that these new iterations are even richer and more dimensional than the originals.  I made the next iteration of my Garden Walk composition, which is one of his favorites, and it forced me to dig deep into my yarn bins.  If you’ve never seen my storage room, you wouldn’t know that all my yarns are sorted by specific color ranges.  I have carmines, earthy reds, dark yellows and sky blues all in separate bins, which were flying off the racks to accumulate all the flower colors for the path.  What’s also fun in assembling the piece is remembering this history of each element in the weaving.  I wove the background in Bloomington, stretched out the weaving in Michigan, needle felted the trunks on the drive home from Kawkawlin on spring break, and crocheted leaf clumps on the way home from Oberlin when I collected Tommie.  The piece is warm and happy because it reflects the life I’m living. 

And yes, Pie.  Jim kept it a secret as to what kind it was as I smelled it baking and waited to test it.  This season of the year is challenging for finding pie fruit as we look forward to the farmer’s market but don’t have any fresh fruits.  He did a sneaky thing, combining a mixed bag of frozen fruit with a box of fresh blackberries to pump it up.  My first bite was of a cherry, which was crazy, and then I hit the blackberries, which were flavorful.  The crust was baked to my definition of perfection, which is a deeply toasted wheat flour taste.  I hope I see more of those!

Until next week,

Martina Celerin

Weave and ye shall receive!

I spent a delightful evening Friday at the reception for my ‘Looking at Water’ exhibition.  The Convention Center set out an amazing display of hors d’oeuvres to snack on, including butternut soup, gouda mac and cheese, and pumpkin tartlets.  Elegant servers whisked through the well-attended show with glasses of red and white wine on platters.  There was even a harpist, which provided a beautiful complement to my visual art.  We decided that the harp was perfect because of the connection between the strings in the instrument, the warps in the weavings, and the collection of yarns and wires comprising the pieces.  The subtle intonations of the harp are reminiscent of rippling water, creating a beautiful atmosphere.  I’m very grateful for how much effort that Patti Russo, Talisha Coppock and the Convention Center personnel invested in making the reception and show a wonderful event! 

The show itself marks another turning point for me.  It felt great to have all the water pieces completed and hanging.  It gave me closure to that body of work.  The highlight was all the delightful conversations I was able to have with people at the reception.  Many were new to my work, but it was great to bond with long-term supporters I have in the town.  Many picked up on the new techniques and subtleties in composition that were developed for the water-based exhibition.  It was heartwarming to share my sense of pride in accomplishment as we talked about the cohesiveness in the show and distinctive features in each piece. 

The life of an artist, sadly, isn’t all receptions and celebration.  With so much time invested in creating pieces for the exhibit, much that is mundane was pushed to the back burner.  I spent most of this week trying to restore some order in my life.  I fixed the vacuum cleaner and ran it over much of the house.  I processed a mountain of laundry and generally cleaned the rest of the house.  I even devoted some time to creating the last of the props for the Sounds of South performance of ‘Phantom of the Opera.’  

 I created an elaborate jewelry box for Carlotta and trays of beer steins for the cast members in the ‘Don Juan’ scene.  I made it out to Long’s Landing, and the supportive crew there donated large foam pieces for the phantom’s armchair.  I did just dip my toes back into the art world at the end of the week by adding colorful flowers along the walkway of my large-format commissioned piece.  I need some green yarn for a third commission in my cue, which will require dyeing various textured yarns.  

 I wound skeins of yarns in preparation for the big dyeing project.  I even did a little needle felting for a second commission in the cue, creating mushrooms and olives for the piece.  Last, I’m gearing up to make some more sweater petals for the holiday season at By Hand Gallery, as well as the upcoming Artisan Guilds ofBloomington show this fall.   

This year the three Guilds (Spinners and Weavers, Glass, and Pottery) will combine to show at the Convention Center on November 14^th and 15^th.  My ‘Looking at Water’ exhibit will still be there in the Rogers room, so stop in to visit both!

Of course family events are still proceeding at full steam.  The boys are both heavy into rehearsals (two nights a week) for Phantom of the Opera.  Tommie will be on stage, while Jacob was tapped to handle the lighting for the show.  It’s amazing to see how far they have come since the first rehearsals I saw in late summer, so now I’m looking forward to seeing the final, polished version on October 18^th.  Parents have been charged with ramping up advertising, meaning putting out yard signs, posters, magnets for cars, and anything else we can come up with.  Tickets are available on line, and we hope to see you there!   

Still, the best part of the week might have been the raspberry pie that appeared last Sunday morning after Saturday’s farmer’s market.  I had a slice each morning this past week, finishing the last one this morning with espresso.  The weather turned cold, but I’m looking forward to the first fire in the fireplace of the season tonight!  I hope you stay warm too!

Until next week,

Martina Celerin