Tag Archives: Surface Design Journal

Small Plates

To me, the half the fun of tapas – or a pre-Covid cocktail party with lots of different appetizers – is the variety of small plates one can sample. Most weeks, my time in the studio mirrors that approach – a little bit of this and a little bit of that filling up the hours. In that spirit, here are a few so-called “tastes” of what’s been swimming in my head these past couple of weeks.

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First, my big news is that the Fall Issue of the Surface Design Journal is now out. Every autumn SDA publishes an International Exhibition in Print. This year’s show, “From Confrontation to Catharsis,” feels both relatable and personal. The diverse scope of work exhibited addresses many of the overwhelming challenges of 2020. As I read each artist’s statement, the word that often comes to mind is “fragile”. So much of the work is a commentary on fragility: of our systems, our planet, our connections, our history, and even our human-ness.

SDA Journal Page

However, in viewing the show, one can’t help but also be reminded that there is empowerment and strength in expression, and as such there is an underlying sense of hope that resides with these works.
I am gratified and honored that “Until the Bitterness Passes”, one of my shibori houses from last year, was selected to be included.

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It’s Inktober!
While I haven’t followed every prompt set out this year, I have enjoyed interpreting of a handful of them. Here are just a few.

Another perk of the project is it’s great for filling up those last few straggling pages in one’s sketchbooks.

I have 4 different colors of ink on hand and Inktober has been an opportunity to experiment with them — supplementing with a tiny bit of watercolor when a different color is needed.

It also gave me an excuse to go ahead and purchase my new favorite under-$10 art supply (does one really need an excuse to buy art supplies?): a porcelain petal palette. It’s a great tool for mixing numerous values of ink all at once.

Porcelain Petal Palette

Oh, and speaking of cheap supplies, check out my new water jug! It’s a creamer that I found and snapped up this summer for just this purpose – also less than $10. The spout is brilliant for wiping the extra water off one’s brush before dipping it back into the ink. Now I wish that I’d also gotten the creamer from the black set since I usually have two water containers going at once, one for dirty and one for (relatively) clean water.

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Meanwhile, I’ve been puzzling my way through the shibori/embroidered “letter from home” I showed you last time. Surprisingly, the mussel shell was a snap to realize, but figuring out what to do with the envelope has been an unexpected challenge (lots of stitches sewn and then picked out). Next post I’ll write more about my discoveries and process along the way, but in the meantime I have some experimenting to do in order to figure out how to approach the dyed pattern in relation to the central shape – as well as what overall finished size/shape to use.

©2021 Elizabeth Fram, Stitched-resist dye and embroidery on silk, approx. 12 x 16 inches I think I’m going frame this one like this. Allowing the area without pattern to show provides a much needed sense of balance to the piece as a whole.

Framing will be part of that consideration. Unlike in this piece, which I dove into without finished dimensions in mind, I need to plan ahead so I don’t back myself into a corner.

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I get a lot out of James Cleary’s 3-2-1 Newsletter; it’s a short and sweet shot in the arm each Thursday. The list below was particularly resonate. Maybe for you too?

How to Build a Career in 7 Steps:
1. Do great work
2. Share it publicly
3. Cold email people 2 steps ahead of you
4. Talk about your work and trade ideas
5. Host events and meet in-person
6. Become friends
7. Rise together

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I get just as much of a lift from the beauty of my garden in fall as I do in spring and summer. While the colors are a bit more nuanced, they’re just as striking. Did you happen to read the NYTimes article “Take a Walk in the Garden Before It’s Too Late“?

With that in mind, my Instagram recommendation this time is @pottersarms, whose images of flowers, often in various states of decay, are quite lovely and somehow momentous.

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And finally, to bring you full circle, the next time you’re in Asheville, NC consider a meal at Cúrate – a tapas bar that will satisfy any yen for delicious variety.

“Cape Elizabeth Supper”

When I was growing up, my mother used to save leftovers, no matter how small, and freeze them for later. Eventually there would come a night when she would pull them all out, reheat and serve with a green salad. It was another way she avoided waste and, perhaps more importantly, got a night off from cooking. She jokingly called the culinary mélange “Cape Elizabeth Supper,” in honor of our public high school fundraising potlucks.
In that spirit, I’ve been saving up an assortment of links and announcements to share with you all at once. Think of it as a mid-summer break for both of us.

First the announcements:

A view of “Hidden Messages” Photo: Rosalind Daniels

Many ‘calls for entry’ rely on themes. I generally tend to skip over them since that’s not how I prefer to approach my work and meeting their parameters is often a stretch. However, the premise of Hidden Messages: Old and New at the Chandler Center for the Arts’ Gallery in Randolph, VT was a different story, offering a platform that resonates strongly with both the intention behind several of my pieces – the idea of something “hidden in plain sight” – and the process I used to create them.

Espresso & Peanut Butter ©2018 Elizabeth Fram, Stitched-resist dye and embroidery on silk, 14 x 11 inches. This work is something of an ode to the hidden and often unsung beauty of the quotidian, a fact of life that I have come to more fully appreciate through my regular drawing practice. Photo: Paul Rogers

In coordination with the Surface Design Association, this exhibition features the work of 15 Vermont textile artists who break the boundaries of traditional fiber processes and techniques, infusing their work with underlying layers of meaning. You can view a sampling of the show online but I also hope you’ll consider going to see it in person. It’s a disappointment that I won’t be able to attend the opening reception due to an eagerly anticipated family commitment, but if you go, many of the artists will be there, keen to speak with you about their pieces and the ideas behind them.

The Secrets She Keeps ©2020 Elizabeth Fram, Stitched-resist dye and embroidery on silk, 24 x 18 inches In this reimagined portrait of Barbara van Vlaederberch after a painting by Hans Memling, both the subject and the process used to create it address the idea of unrecognized identity. The sad fact of being visible, yet invisible is something that intrigues me. Unfortunately, it has been a reality for women throughout history. I could find very little information about van Vlaederberch, only that she was married to a prominent citizen of Bruges and had given birth to 18(!) children. You can’t convince me she didn’t have a story to tell. Photo: Paul Rogers

The three works I have on view allude to the idea of “hidden” in different ways conceptually, two of them emphasizing the theme through a multi-step process that involves “losing” a white-on-white stitched drawing within a field of stitched-resist dye and pattern, and then bringing the image back to the surface via a second layer of embroidery using threads in colors that contrast with the dyed background.

House Divided (Mitch and Nancy) ©2021 Elizabeth Fram, Stitched-resist dye and embroidery on silk, 18 x 24 inches. This piece relies on visual metaphor to communicate my point, while navigating between the superficially obvious and hidden layers of meaning through imagery that is symbolic of a deeper idea. Photo: Paul Rogers

Here are the show details:
Hidden Messages: Old and New
July 10 – September 5, 2021
Chandler Gallery at the Chandler Center for the Arts
71 N Main St. Randolph, VT 05060
Opening reception: Saturday July 17th, from 4-7pm
Gallery Hours: Saturdays 12-5, Tues-Fri 11-4 when Chandler Offices are open (look for the Open flag or call 802.728.9878 and press 2), and during Chandler events.

And please note, as part of Hidden Messages, an exhibit of traditional and contemporary quilts are concurrently on display at the White River Craft Center, also in Randolph.

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I recently learned that my piece Until the Bitterness Passes was selected to appear in “From Confrontation to Catharsis”, the 2021 SDA International Exhibition in Print. The full exhibition will be featured in the Fall 2021 issue of the Surface Design Journal.

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Last week I finished my contribution for The Violet Protest, which you may remember was a call, created by Ann Morton, for 8″ square works of equal parts red and blue to encourage thought about bringing our differing political factions together rather than continuing to separate them more widely. My square will appear in stack G-3 in the ongoing exhibition at the Phoenix Art Museum through September 5. If you will be in Phoenix at some point this summer, I encourage you to go to the museum to view the project before the squares are sent to members of Congress at the end of the year. Or, if that’s not possible, you can get a feel for the scope of the undertaking at @thevioletprotest on Instagram. (My Instagram recommendation for the week).

And now for the promised links:

“The Woman Who Made van Gogh”, a NY Times story by Russell Shorto reveals how Vincent van Gogh’s sister-in-law is finally recognized as the force who opened the world’s eyes to his genius. If you prefer, you can listen to the full story on The Daily podcast.
Here’s a new take on eco-friendly art restoration. “Send in the Bugs. The Michelangelos Need Cleaning” by Jason Horowitz. Read how scientists and restorers completed a secret experiment by unleashing grime-eating bacteria on the master’s marble masterpieces to remove centuries of filth.
If, like me you are an Alice Neel fan, you will enjoy Erica Ackerberg’s article about the fascinating people who sat for her portraits.
And lastly, in the process of encouraging a friend to visit Benozzo Gozzoli’s fresco Procession of the Magi in the tiny but spectacular Medici Chapel within the Palazzo Medici Riccardi, I came across a wonderful podcast: Rebuilding the Renaissance by Dr. Rocky Ruggiero. In each episode he explores the development of art, architecture, culture and history in Italy. Have your device nearby while you listen so you can look at the works while he discusses them in detail. (In the mood for some armchair travel? Read more about this jewel box chapel and other visual delights in Florence in my 2018 post L’Arte di Firenze).

Giving Intuition its Due

There are rules of ‘making’ that have been drilled firmly within our brains, often leaving us consumed and creatively tongue-tied by their prescribed boundaries. Yet I think it’s healthy to keep in mind, in an effort to access the core of what we ultimately want to say through our work, that selectively disregarding the paths laid out and trodden by those who have gone before, or even those who walk alongside of us, can lead to wonderful discoveries.

In her “first person” essay in the Spring 2016 Surface Design Journal, Juliet Martin discusses the Japanese philosophy of SAORI, an ideology that “encourages freeform work — no patterns, no rules, (and perhaps most importantly) no mistakes”. Saori is a type of weaving devised by Misao Jo that ignores restrictions, giving voice to the expression of hidden personal creativity. Martin writes in greater depth about her experience with and exploration of Saori in her article Unmistakable: How I Understand Saori Weaving on the Surface Design blog. Applying this mindset has had a fascinating affect on the way Martin approaches her work. I encourage you to read her post regardless of your medium, as I believe its core ideas swing open a door to greater creative possibilities across all disciplines.

At it’s heart, Saori celebrates working intuitionally and allows for the “happy accidents” that often elevate a piece beyond what might have been initially planned. As a way of working, it lends permission to set aside rules and to relax into one’s process, letting the actual act of making guide the way toward fortuitous discoveries. And I have to wonder, couldn’t all our work benefit from a little more of that?

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If you are looking for a great art book to round out your August, check out McCloskey – Art and Illustrations of Robert McCloskey. Even if you didn’t grown up in Maine, I have to believe you are familiar with Blueberries for Sal, Make Way for Ducklings, One Morning in Maine, or one of McCloskey’s many other books. And if not – grab a young friend and check them out from the library! His work is so iconic to me that, when we brought our daughter to Boston at the beginning of her college search, I made sure to find time to search out Nancy Schön’s bronze sculpture of McCloskey’s beloved Mallard family in the Boston Public Garden.

What I didn’t realize is that in addition to his fabulous illustrations which speak so strongly of Maine, McCloskey was also a wonderful painter who travelled widely, living and painting in Rome (he won the Prix de Rome during World War II), Greece, Mexico, and on the island of St. Thomas. The text, written by his daughter Jane (the baby in One Morning in Maine) is personal, not scholarly, and gives a comprehensive overview of McCloskey’s career while simultaneously sharing page after page of paintings and sketches that expose a depth of work that won’t disappoint.