BackWall Gallery, Lowell

The Loading Dock Gallery has expanded to a new space, the BackWall Gallery, beside the former entrance. Four times a year a new artist will be featured to represent the Gallery 24/7. I'm honored my work is up this quarter.

Ten years ago, I emptied my mom’s home. 

Among the piles, I found photo albums.

 

Some from my childhood. Many from my dad's youth. One from my mother's childhood. They breathed with the freshness of the dreams.

The images of people, once children, now gone, overlap with my own memories:

of being the little sister  and of raising my girl.

They say each time you unpack a memory, it alters.

Our present rhymes with our past.

We embroider. We forget.

But the outline remains.

In the Studio

layered prints on reclaimed cotton

One whole day to work. A gift. The studio is hip deep in fabric and paint.

There's a chair there somewhere

 I am making scarves for the holidays. Each is unique intersection of time and opportunity. The fabrics range over a collection of years: silk charmeuse dyed by a local artist, kimono found at an estate sale, high-end jacquards from designer close-outs, plus vintage linens I've over-dyed.

In progress

Because apparently I cannot work in a linear fashion, I also find myself printing. 

 

Plus I'm hemming up some scarves from a black sheer I bought a year ago from a local designer. I hope to print these this weekend on the big print table in Lowell.

Experiments

And to fill in the cracks? Shibori-dyed vintage napkins. After cleaning out the basement this fall, the 1920s workbench converted nicely to a dye station. I'm on my second batch of shibori-style dying. This means lots of stairs. The dye station is in the basement (two flights down);  the tub (washing out) is two flights up. The laundry (final wash), is in the basement. The ironing is back up on the third floor. I suppose I could move that, but I do try to keep at least the kitchen and living room work-zone free. Piles for classes, yes. Ironing board, no.

Here's the next two batches of napkins, ironed:

Electric Blue and Blue Violet on Rayon/cotton blend

Same colors on 20" square linen/cotton blend

All for Open Studios in Lowell come December.

Begin Anywhere

This Saturday, July 5, Lowell Fiber Studio will be open for visitors. Join us to chat and see what's new. I have been working on pillows, made with hand-dyed and -printed scraps from the past year.

Home studio work table

take either elevator to the fifth floor

Lowell Fiber Studio is on the fifth floor of Western Avenue Studios, Lowell, right by the bathrooms and central stairs.

Glass, fabric, photography, more:  in the halls of Western Avenue Studios, you'll find company and inspiration. All five floors open this Saturday, noon to 5.

Western Avenue artists: a small selection (credits here)

  

On the second floor, stop in at the  Loading Dock Gallery.  July's show, Begin Anywhere, showcases  the exquisite work of Sonja Lee-Austin, together with my new collages. It is a celebration of possibility, with an expansive approach to material and form.

Dream: Counterpoint, Linda Dunn, 2014

Begin Anywhere

Loading Dock Gallery

 122 Western Avenue, Lowell, MA

Opening Reception Saturday

July 5, 5-7pm

From the Studio

Metaphor

The piece had both lured and stumped me for months.

Its resolution required cutting up "precious" pieces, discarding ideas, 

and over-painting work. It felt fantastic. 

 detail

The grey pieces were made from letters I wrote home from college.

detail

When I was little, I used to walk, alone, in the forest behind our house. 

I couldn't have been more than 5 or 6. 

Those long endless hours among tall trees...

detail

"Go, not knowing where. Bring, not knowing what.

 The path is long,  the way unknown."

-Russian fairy tale