Debbie Bein - ART blog

FANTASTIC FIBERS 2012

Debbie — Sat, 25 Feb 2012 13:07:50 +0000

Three, yes, THREE, of my recent works have been chosen to be exhibited in the FANTASTIC FIBERS 2012 exhibit at the Yeiser Art Center in Paducah, Kentucky, from March 30 through May 5. This is a HUGE honor, one work would have been quite sufficient! This show of 52 art quilts gets mega exposure as it runs concurrent with the famous annual AQS quilt show in Paducah every spring.

GENERATION GAP

BROKEN PROMISES

A PATCH OF POSIES

I am thrilled that my artist friends Judith Plotner and Wen Redmond are also juried into the show.

AN AWARD!

Debbie — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 15:08:16 +0000

This is HUGE for me! Another milestone in my artistic career…..

My work, OH SAY CAN YOU CELL, has been awarded the FOUNDER’S AWARD in the INFINITY ART GALLERY on-line exhibit entitled ‘LAY OF THE LAND.’

This is an impeccably designed and executed general art venue gallery which holds open calls for work from artists in all mediums. The award is a ‘portfolio’ on their site valued at $200. This is exposure on the internet that can lead to bigger and better opportunities. I am honored and privileged to have my work recognized in this way. THANK YOU, Infinity Art Gallery!

A SINGULAR EXPERIENCE!

Debbie — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 14:48:56 +0000

Last Friday night I missed the 9:05 train from Grand Central Terminal to Poughkeepsie by two minutes. I looked around for a place to sit down – no help from the Information Booth at that hour of the night to ask if there was a waiting room for ticketed passengers. Grand Central Terminal is one of my most favorite spots on the planet and I’ve spent many hours there over the years, coming, going, meeting friends for dinner, resting after classes, browsing the shops. The old ‘ticketed passenger waiting area’ had been replaced with an enterprising cafe or bar, and I realized finding a comfortable and free place to sit would be difficult it not impossible. I sauntered into the main entrance hall (which used to be the original waiting room filled with row upon row of bentwood wood benches), and after some debate with myself, I decided to ignore both the barriers marking the main entrance to the ticketing terminal and the NY City Policeman sitting at the far end totally engrossed in conversation on his cell phone, and I proceeded to make myself comfortable on one of the few antique benches which have been left intact around the edges of the very large marble-floored hall.

Confident that the policeman did not deem to evict me, I pulled from my bag Spring 2008 issue of Surface Design Association Journal which I’d been given at the SDA lecture I had attended earlier in the evening. I began turning the pages, enjoying myself thoroughly and feeling very lucky indeed to have garnered a comfortable spot for my, by now, 45 minute wait for the 10:05 train departure…when suddenly, with a start and accompanying goosebumps, I realized that I was looking at a photograph of the very same room in which I found myself presently sitting….the main waiting room of the Grand Central Terminal! The journal issue focused on floor art and the photo showed a carpet installation by Rudolf Stingel, “Plan B,” in July 2004 – blue and pink cabbage roses adorned and obscured the original antique marble floor.

I hastened to get my pocket camera out and took a shot of the magazine against the backdrop of the huge hall so I could keep this moment for posterity. There is no way to calculate the odds of this kind of experience and I am still in awe of the coincidence, a singular experience, indeed.

THE STATE of the ART (QUILT)….new publication

Debbie — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 17:08:58 +0000

Dr. Sandra Sider, current President of SAQA, has published a monograph on the art quilt and my work was chosen to be featured in the retrospective issue, (No. 6), “The State of the Art.” Quite an honor to be included in this important compendium of work in the art quilt medium. My work, ROOTS (from The Genome Series) is privileged to have a whole page by itself (page 28). Here is the cover, it is a nice book to have in your art quilt book collection, available from Amazon.

Here is my ROOTS (mixed media on fiber; 24″ wide by 37″ high; available for sale or similar works available by commission).

FORM NOT FUNCTION news

Debbie — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 16:31:12 +0000

VERY pleased that one of my favorite works has been accepted into the FORM NOT FUNCTION exhibit at the Carnegie Center for Art & History in New Albany, Indiana, from January 6 through March 3, 2012:

ALLELE -The Genome Project Series

and a detail….

I have combined both free-motion machine stitching and quilting with hand stitching on this piece, a technique which I have been using quite often. The fabrics are the delectable African (Ghana) hand-dyed batiks on jacquard woven cotton cloth that I’ve used exclusively in this series inspired by the mapping of the human genome. And the fabrics and this series has led me to another series which is dominating my current work, Organically Grown. One good thing leads to another, it is a good life!

QUILTS+ART=QUILTS

Debbie — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 12:25:40 +0000

VERY pleased to announce my work was juried into the Quilts+Art=Quilts 2011 exhibit at the Schweinfurth Art Center in Auburn, New York.

This is a fabulous space and fine art center in a gorgeous part of our state just thirty miles south of Syracuse. This is the third year I’ve tried for this exhibit and I guess THREE is the magic number. The opening was the October 29 weekend, we had dinner at Rosalie’s Cucina, shopping in Skaneateles, brunch at Springside Inn and plenty of time to enjoy the HUGE exhibit of exemplary art quilts.

Photo is taken by good friend and art quilter Elaine Quehl, she sure made me and my work look GOOD…..and she loved my name tag and took a shot so I’ll include that here,too…

DEEP SPACES exhibit

Debbie — Sun, 02 Oct 2011 13:23:44 +0000

I made a work for Larkin Van Horn’s DEEP SPACES traveling exhibit, entries needed to be 18″ wide by 45″ high, without exception and exact. I was very happy to learn that it is included in this excellent show of fiber works, both art quilts and vessels. All the details of seeing it in person and purchasing the CD are here….read on!

Deep Spaces
A Textile and Mixed Media Exhibit

Curator Larkin Jean Van Horn selected the theme “Deep Spaces” following a conversation with friends about the limits of space and the photography from the Hubble telescope. While it was clear that textile art dealing with the cosmos would be an appealing exhibit, the title implied so much more. Artists interested in participating in the exhibit were encouraged to interpret the theme in any manner that suited them, and the entries were outstanding. The artists went deep into space, deep underground, deep under water, deep into the woods, canyons and prairies, and deep into the mysteries of the heart. Each artist worked in her own style, whether photorealism or pure abstraction or something in between. Holding all this wide variety together is a common size (18 inches wide by 45 inches long).

The task of choosing the fifty pieces in the exhibit from the hundred-plus submitted fell to Larkin and two other highly experienced textile artists, Debra Calkins and Anne Niles Davenport. For one of the venues (Latimer), Larkin also invited several artist friends to create three-dimensional works for an existing display case. In the final total, we have 58 works from 19 states and two international entries.

In line with Larkin’s desire to do good in the world wherever possible, a catalog has been created for this exhibit, and will be for sale in disk format, either at the exhibit venues or from the Deep Spaces website: http://www.deep-spaces.com, or in book form from Blurb: http://www.blurb.com. (A direct link will be available on deep-spaces.com when it is ready.) All proceeds from the sale of the catalogs will go to Doctors Without Borders.

Dates and venues:

September 5 to November 6, 2011
Latimer Quilt and Textile Center
2105 Wilson River Loop Road – Tillamook, Oregon
http://latimerquiltandtextile.com/
Opening Reception: Sept. 11, 2011, Noon to 4:00 pm
28 textile art and 8 special 3D pieces

October 20 to November 30, 2011
Edmonds Conference Center
201 Fourth Ave. N. – Edmonds, Washington
http://www.edmondsconferencecenter.com/
ArtsCrush Opening: Oct. 20, 2011, 5:00 to 8:00 pm
Art Walk Opening: Nov. 17, 2011, 5:00 to 8:00 pm
22 textile art

January 10 to March 12, 2012
Sam Houston University Museum
19th St and Avenue N, Huntsville, Texas
http://www.shsu.edu/~smm_www/GenInfo/
Opening Reception: January 19, 2012, 5:30 to 7:30 pm

March 28 to June 24, 2012
LaConner Quilt and Textile Museum
700 Second Street, La Conner, Washington
http://www.laconnerquilts.com/
Opening Reception: March 31, 2012, 2:00 to 4:00 pm

Due to the limits of space, 28 of the fifty pieces, plus eight 3D pieces will be shown at the Latimer while the remaining 22 will hang in Edmonds. The full fifty pieces will be shown at the other venues.

For more information on locations and hours, see http://www.deep-spaces.com

My work is entitled DANTE’S BASSO LOCO.

The CD is stunning and well worth purchasing for your collection of art quilts and fiber art. It is also a good cause. Many thanks to Larkin and Van for once again pulling off a FABULOUS event!

NEWS!

Debbie — Sun, 02 Oct 2011 12:55:52 +0000

Too long since my last post, I’ve been BUSY! Quick update here about what has been going on and some NEW developments in my artful endeavors….several months’ worth!

I loved my TOKEN QUILT idea so much that I made TWO MORE.

This one is donated to the Quilt Surface Design Symposium Scholarship Auction Fund in Columbus, Ohio in June. I was the VERY lucky recipient of a scholarship this year, am taking a five day workshop with artist Fran Skiles.

I decided I needed a TOKEN [ART] QUILT for myself, so I made another….measures about 15″ square and will be hung in my living room…no photo available of this either…YET!

And while we are talking donations….I made a rather nice piece for donating to my guild Silent Auction at our annual quilt show in May. This is entitled Serengeti Shadows and I’m proud to know that my good friend, Carolyn Cooney, purchased it for her personal collection. This is an HONOR indeed as Carolyn is an incredibly talented quilt artist and winner of the NSQG BEST OF SHOW 2011 and BEST DESIGN for her incredible rendition in fiber of a walk in the forest…

SAQA quilt donation time is now!

Debbie — Tue, 08 Feb 2011 20:12:36 +0000

Can you believe it? Feels like I just sent one off…actually I did but it was for the SAQA Trunk Show. Well, with a myriad of other things that I SHOULD be doing, I had a brainstorm and couldn’t stop myself yesterday and today from bringing this year’s quilt to completion…and I gotta tell ya’, it oughta be illegal to have this much fun!

The title is obvious, TOKEN QUILT; approximately eleven inches wonky square. Well, I just loved making this thing and I love how it turned out. I’m hoping that someone will want to purchase it for their very own…but only time will tell! Auction is September, I’m an early bird. Here is a shot in detail…and yes, they are genuine pre-used and vintage tokens.

I NEED HELP….resolved!

Debbie — Fri, 14 Jan 2011 15:42:14 +0000

UPDATE! THANK YOU to Judith Anderson of New Hampshire, when she sent me her suggetion for the series title, I knew it was the one!

HANGING-BY-A-THREAD.

I NEED YOUR HELP: I have made two quilts in a new style and I have more ideas either in the back of my brain or roughly sketched in my journal, so this would constitute a NEW SERIES for me! I usually work in series and I like to give my series names but I’ve been at a loss as to what to name this one. SO-o-o-o-o, I thought it might be fruitful if I threw this dilemma out to my art quilt network for suggestions, ideas, feedback, etc….on WHAT TO NAME THIS SERIES….

So far, I have two finished pieces, shown here first is OH SAY CAN YOU CELL which is currently on display at the Visions: No Boundaries exhibit at Oceanside Museum of Art in Oceanside, California….the high point in my art life so far, I’m still pinching myself to be among such accomplished and noted artists as Joan Schulze, Jette Clover, Judith Plotner, Deidre Adams, Elizabeth Busch, and MANY OTHERS (see photos of the exhibit several postings back…)….but I digress – here is

OH SAY CAN YOU CELL (70″ W x 30″ H)….

And here is the second in the series (again….), YOU’RE FRACKING KILLING ME (45″ H x 18″ W), and if you don’t know what FRACKING is, please Google it and don’t believe all the big business propaganda, there is NO THING good about FRACKING (except maybe my quilt, haha….).