We Are
artEAST Issaquah 2015
We Are seeks to explore ideas about personal identities and self. The artists have been asked to respond to notions referencing human characteristics, who they are, how they might be perceived and their own personal interpretations to the world that they move in.
The exhibition forms a visual diary of sorts, and is an eclectic installation of 2 and 3 dimensional artwork and also poetry. The various "collections" communicate information about the artists’ social, cultural and self-identity, through memories, experiences and the artwork that they have created.
Three Dresses
What we wear and how we present ourselves to the world as a visual expression, says something about who we are and how we want to be perceived. What we choose to put on each day often reflects, or changes the way we feel about ourselves and gives us a sense of outward identity.
Thinking about clothing, and the memories that can be evoked from a simple piece of fabric, I produced Three Dresses. Using dresses as my canvas, I explored ideas of self. Each one has a different process, and different creative approach, but they all have embedded references to my world and childhood.
I wanted to present these dresses in such a way to show a progression of process and thought. They are all different but have a certain continuity that transitions from one to another. What better way to show these pieces than on a washing line.
De-Generation: Fabric, plaster of Paris, house paint, found objects, wire, shellac
The skirt is laden with random objects of my life, from old tea bags, to receipts, tickets, ribbons, maps, and buttons bags filled with small bits of nonsense from the bottom of my handbag and that junk draw we all have at home.
This under story of information has then been treated with many layers, to encrust and combine all these individual elements of my life to give a sense of unification. The rusted wire edges and split tea bags add a wonderful feeling of degrading matter and the imperfections of life.
Day By Day: Fabric, house paint, wire, ink, wax, shellac
Initially my thoughts went to a summer dress that I had as a child that was covered in bright pink polka dots. As I worked this dress, other marks appeared. Scribbling's of things important to me, names, addresses, numbers, images, private thoughts and meaning distorted within the symbolism.
The outer surface of the fabric was treated with wax and shellac to hold its form, and a wire framework gives it a twist of structure, climbing ladders and the odd whimsical flourish.
Simplicity: Tissue paper sewing pattern, acrylic, ink, shellac
From an early age I made my own dolls dresses and then my own clothes. This became the way I was able to have the clothes that I wanted. I made my own wedding dress, making alterations to the original Vogue pattern that I had. Sewing was an important part of my growing up, along with art of course.
This dress is in tribute to learning to sew, and adding my own designs and ideas to pieces that I made. Using a dress pattern from the 1970's, and embellishing it with a stencil printing technique, I then sewed it together to represent a delicate fleeting moment of a young girl growing up.
Visual Diary's
As a process artist, it is the materials that I use that tend to initiate my art making. Over a three month period I have created a series of works and scribing's that have been generated in response to materials and happenings source from my daily life.
My approach has been to take small items that represent pieces of my day, and play with them, embedding them with marks, lines and texture. Each piece has become a diary of sorts, and holds a memory referencing a small moment in time.
I find that by using non-precious items in my art making, it allows the creative process to be a much more freeing expression, and the focus becomes the beauty of mark making and raw materials that are used.
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VALA Eastside Summer Season 2014, Voices in the Corridor
This is a Multimedia Public Arts Project funded by the City of Redmond WA, and produced by VALA Eastside.
Lead artists: Jessica F K Lambert and Jacqui Calladine, poets: Kelly Davio and Jeannine Hall Gailey, and visual artists Anna Macrae and Flora Ramirez Bustamante.
Voices in the Corridor is a visual and spoken word art project taking place in Redmond’s Cultural Corridor between March and September 2014. The project seeks to question the cultural identity of Redmond, and initiate conversations about the perceived and future cultural landscape of the City of Redmond, whilst drawing on influences from the Redmond City Master Plan for Arts and Culture.
Flora Ramirez Bustamante and I collaborated on making the visual artwork, responding to, and referencing material we collected from video interviews from various community groups.
We wanted to be as versatile as we could in how we designed our projects, in terms of materials, public space, interactions, 2 and 3 dimensional works and the final installation. We created six integrated projects that we felt addressed different aspects of the interviews, and also had their own unique properties and visual characteristics.
Whispers of Home - public space intervention, 40 delightful tiny Homes placed on the streets of Redmond
Journey of Home - written responses from the handmade Visitors Books, that were placed inside the Homes
A Different Type of Practice - large abstracted collage map of Redmond that comes off the canvas, referencing space and identity
Transparency - 3 suspended vinyl panels, totaling 12 x 12 feet, outlining the City of Redmond painted with abstract symbols and features of Redmond
A Wish on the Table - sculpture created from found objects from the streets of Redmond
On Track - a wall to floor piece referencing the old railway line, with scribbling's
Flora and I were also the Featured Artist for the Redmond Arts Festival in August. We rounded off this Public Art Project by bringing three interactive art making experiences to the community referencing our work on Voices in the corridor.
