Tag Archives: Selfie Project

the Sheltering in Place project

It was a fun privilege earlier this week to help hang/place, amid a forest of willow branches, the little shelters that are the heart of the Sheltering in Place project now on view at The Highland Center for the Arts in Greensboro. Granted, when I left, the set-up wasn’t absolutely complete so I didn’t get to experience the full effect with special lighting and recorded haiku written specifically for the show. But I can confidently tell you that it is going to be a magical exhibition.

SiP Evite

The show will be open to the public by reservation only. Check the HCA website for information about their COVID-19 protocol for the building and the installation. Sadly, there will be no reception or artist talks due to obvious concern about large gatherings at this time. But truthfully, the work speaks for itself and perhaps savoring it in relation to your own sheltering experience will be the most meaningful way to enjoy it.

Relative Distance ©2020 Elizabeth Fram, Stitched-resist dye and embroidery on silk, with foraged twigs, 9 x 6 x 6 inches. The above image is to jog your memory so you can keep your eyes peeled for my piece in the show. If ever there was a testament to professional photography, this is it. Thank you Paul Rogers Photography

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Meanwhile, I’ve enjoyed spending time drawing our friends and neighbors up the street. An added bonus is that they took these photos on May 11th, recording our late spring snowfall. Karen’s sense of humor about being long-overdue for a haircut added to the fun of trying to capture her.

For whatever reason, Alan’s image was harder to nail down (my fault, not his). It was a challenge to balance the shade and reflected light under the brim of his hat. However, pushing into mixed-media by adding watercolor and white ink eventually got me over the hurdle.

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One final note before wishing you a happy holiday weekend:
I tend to collect quotes gleaned from my reading, but since I don’t have any specific place to keep them, they are always a lovely surprise to come across again when I’m sifting my way through old daybooks or stacks of paper that build up on my desk. I thought I’d leave you with this one from David Hockney as an offering of hope in the midst of all our uncertainty. Keep it in mind if and when you go to see the Sheltering in Place project.

I have always believed that art should be a deep pleasure…there is always, everywhere, an enormous amount of suffering. But I believe my duty as an artist is to overcome and alleviate the sterility of despair…New ways of seeing mean new ways of feeling… I do believe that painting can change the world. ~David Hockney

A Little Bit Of Everything

Such a sobering week.
I have spent most of it trying to grasp the horror of what we’ve all witnessed, while doing my best to learn from those who are far more in touch than I as they respond to George Floyd’s murder. The voices that have most moved me are those of people on the street, in the midst of peaceful protest, articulating their direct experience of life in this country as African Americans. Many of them, interviewed in the moment, demonstrate more grace and eloquence, measured strength and wisdom than one might think possible in the face of this latest devastating event.

How could one’s heart be anything but heavy at the way our communities of color have long been, and continue to be treated? Words are woefully inadequate.

I am a privileged white woman who has never for a moment worried that my actions might be observed and misconstrued as threatening. And even more tellingly, I have never ever worried that my children might be profiled or be mistakenly, dangerously detained because their race made them inherently suspicious. I cannot fathom how harrowing living within that reality must truly be.

I tend to turn to books as a means for reaching beyond my ignorance and for improving my understanding. Both Ta Nehisi Coates’ Between the World and Me and Angie Thomas’ The Hate U Give have guided me along that path. Kareem Abdul-Jabar’s May 30th op-ed in the LA Times also sheds light.

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My piece for the Sheltering in Place exhibition is now complete. The show will be a compilation of both visual work and haiku. Exact dates and venue are still to be announced. It will also be available to view online. I will let you know details as I get them.

In a completely unrelated note, other than the fact that it has to do with stitch, in 2018 the BBC produced a show called A Stitch in Time with fashion historian Amber Butchart. It explores historical figures in art and the clothes they wore. Each piece of clothing is carefully recreated, exploring techniques and materials as they were originally used. The mixture of art, history, and authentic construction techniques is fascinating. I viewed it on Acorn TV through my library’s RB Digital app, but you can also see the six episodes on Youtube.

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And finally, my “Selfie Project” of friends continues — this week with the supremely creative Hasso and her canine pal Woody. In addition to the one she sports in this image, Hasso wears, and has worn, many hats: artist, curator, landscape architect, graphic designer, illustrator, and organizer of our weekly life drawing group.

The photo she sent was filtered, so it was difficult to see and capture minute details (her eyes for instance). But as I told her when I sent her a scan of the finished drawing, that fact made this piece challenging in a good way. I love to get lost in details but, because of the blurred effect of the photo, I was forced to think more in terms of lines as marks and pattern for filling blocks of shape, rather than as a means for describing form. One of the great things about this project is that each new selfie offers worthwhile lessons to learn along the way.

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Finally, the ever-present question is what can each of us do to make the world a better place? I’d like to thank Cory Huff of The Abundant Artist for proposing to his email subscribers that he would match any gift up to $1000.00 this week to The Black Futures Fund. I can’t think of a better way to try to contribute to change than to support Black arts and culture.

Seeking Normal

This is the 8th week since our new normal began.
It’s crazy and it’s scary, but at the same time I am heartened to read and to hear daily accounts of resiliency and generosity of spirit that can’t be suppressed. It keeps me going.
Plus, creativity appears to be flourishing. Check out these two recent examples highlighted on the PBS Newshour’s Arts and Culture segment, ‘CANVAS’, for some welcome humor and to be inspired.

For my part, I’ve started working on two new projects, one drawing and one stitching. I’ll save writing about the textile piece for my next post, when it’s a bit farther along.

Meanwhile, as you know, I’ve been using the Sktchy app in my regular drawing routine. It’s hard enough to draw from a photograph but, especially during this time of isolation, it’s gotten to the point where scrolling through endless selfies of anonymous people vogueing and pulling silly faces, in order to find one that is interesting enough to draw, seems pretty hollow.
I, like everyone else, miss spending time with family and friends.

So the idea occurred to me that since we can’t see most people in person anyway, maybe I could coerce a few folks into sending me a selfie to use when I practice. I was quick to preface the request with the caveat that I’m not a portraitist, so best to keep expectations of likeness reigned-in.
But, aside from the fact that drawing people I know and care about is a much more interesting approach to keeping up with my drawing goals, it would also be a wonderful way, especially while socially distant, to spend an hour or two with each of them — even if virtually.

My friend John was quick to dive in. Among other things, he is a fabulous photographer, nature-lover, tree expert, chef, and humanitarian-extraordinaire! It’s entirely appropriate that he would send a picture with his nose buried in a bouquet of daffodils and with a twinkle in his eyes. While drawing him, concentrating on the features of someone who has quietly touched the lives of many, the world seemed a bit more normal again.

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This will be an ongoing project. If you’d like to participate, email me and I’ll send you the basic parameters. It’s very easy, I promise. In return, I’ll send you a high-resolution scan of the finished drawing.