Why I took Crafting

Crafting Content stuck out among all of the other Art Studio courses because the course description seemed more my style than the other classes. As an interior architecture major I see myself more as a designer than an artist, so "crafting" suits me more than the conceptual based classes. I have really enjoyed working with glass, and will hopefully enjoy the textiles and ceramics just as much.

I took this class because I am required to take two 3000 level art studios for the Interior Architecture major and crafting sounded interesting. I was surprised to learn what we were going to be doing in this class because when I think of crafting I think of easy Pinterest-like projects. Although this class has been harder and required more effort than I planned on I have really enjoyed everything we've done so far and had a lot of fun dealing with glass.

Why I Took Crafting Content

Much of my work is motivated by craft. Before I really understood art, I began at craft, learning to knit when I was five. The thrill of creating something, whether or not it was greatly useful, was intoxicating to me even at a young age. From there, I began to explore how this amazing feeling of creating something could be extrapolated upon, which lead me to many other artistic endeavors, but I have always stayed true to my crafting roots, always finding ways to incorporate it into my art. Last summer, I performed a piece I entitled What To Expect, in which I knitted 100 feet of chain with 8 foot dowel rods to symbolize the relationship I had with my deceased grandmother, and her battle with Alzheimer's and dementia. For my thesis show, I have been creating a fictitious, giant otter habitat from knitted, sewn, and otherwise textile-driven components. Knitted leaves and moss will adorn a screen printed tree, to create an entirely tactile environment for people to interact with. Needless to say, craft is a constant source of inspiration for me, and it will always be a part of my life. I was thrilled to discover an art class here at OU that actually had "Craft" in the title, let alone a topics course that would allow me to take what I know and go hog wild with what I learn. My goal in taking Crafting Content is to expand my crafting abilities to see where it takes my art, which is already pretty crafty.

(PS: I'm sorry this is late. I was working on another test and lost track of time. I hope it still counts, I understand if it doesn't.)

Motivation

The main reason I took this class was because I needed it to graduate. As I was looking at art classes to take, this class seemed the most interesting and I wanted to take something that I knew would be challenging. I am enjoying the class so far and I am learning about new processes that I have never used before. I look forward to what the rest of the semester brings!

Motivation

My motivation to take this class was the Art part of exploring glass, which is an old and interesting material that has been manipulated through out the centuries in various forms and it reinvention doesn’t seem to be ending anytime soon, therefore being part of experiencing and learning about glass got me excited to sign up for the class.

I had every reason to not return to this class after the safety concerns, but with just first hand knowledge about the art being created through class and inclusion of craft. I knew I was committed to the class and praying for my safety was the only other option, the truth is I made the right decision in the name of Art and now Craft.

I'm not actually interested in craft. But I did take this class, which says something. Quite frankly I'm a little tired of the constant labeling that happens within this subject matter. Anything could be used as a "craft material." The discourse that has been happening within this class so far has been frustrating. A lot of it is focused around labeling, defining, and excluding. "What is art?, find a 'craft' artist, why are you working in a craft material?," etc,. I wonder how important these discussions really are. Maybe we should be thinking about what these materials mean to us now. Not whether or not something is "craft," or "art." I think a lot about the position of clay or ceramics as a material in our [post digital?] age. I don't really think of it as a "craft material," I think of it as a great sculptural material--because that's what it is. I agree with Mike--it's all about love for making things. I think we're putting a little too much into "craft." We're over-thinking it, and making it into more than it actually is. 

I would say that I am not as interested in craft as I was taking this class. But I was interesed in learning new things in relation to craft and seeing where you can take craft art in general. I agree will a couple peoples statements about just wanting to create things. I like finding new ways to incorporate other things in my art and was very interested in the idea of working with glass and textiles because both are unexplored materials for me.

motivation

As a photography student I felt that at times I was drawn away from exploring and experimenting with different mediums and classes at Ohio University. When I heard of this class I immediately took interest in adding it to my final semester classes as a senior. While studying photography here I often yearned for a chance to work with materials again, creating an object that is tangible and 'in the round'. After scheduling this class I found out that we would be working with glass for the first part of the semester. Within my own photographic work for my thesis glass plays a major role in my themes. While learning about what all we would be working with at Hocking College I became excited to adapt new techniques and materials into my thesis show. I find this class to be a great opportunity to experience new mediums to convey students ideas through. -t.m.

Motivation

My motivation for taking this class was probably pretty similar to some other people in this class - I needed it to graduate as a senior. However, I chose this class because it sounded like I could genuinely learn something new from it. I had expected initially to learn about concepts of craft as an art and explore different fields, etc. I was surprised to find out we'd be working with glass, but it's interesting to learn a new craft, even if I won't be using it in my field of study as a photographer (that I know of). I'm looking forward to moving on to the textile focus of this class though, as that's something Ive always wanted to explore.

-Shanon Wise

Motivation

I wanted to take this course to learn more about crafts.  I really didn't know what to expect, and it is my last semester so I thought it would be a good area of art to explore.  The only really craft thing I can think of that I have done for a class was make a toilet out of bottle caps.  It looks like a real toilet and I enjoyed making it.  So if I would have guessed what we were doing, I wouldn't have guessed we were working with glass, which was a nice surprise.

This weeks prompt

My motivation for taking this course was honestly graduating.  As a senior I have so many studio requirements that I have to fill just like everyone else and this class was one of the few that fit with my schedule that didn't sound incredibly horrible, so I signed up. After being in the class I actually like it more than I thought I would, aside from being rudely referred to as one of the "bad students" multiple times because apparently being in interior architecture isn't as special as the typical "art major", the class is interesting and I love working in glass and seeing all the different things that can be created with it.

In My Defense

My interest to take this course is rooted in making things. Making art is one of the best things a human being can ever do and this course offers just that. We have learned a new process to make art using glass. It's kind of a tough material to use and the laws that govern making with glass aren't very flexible. It's interesting to see explore limits of materials (I'm not positive materials actually have limits, but let's assume they do and see what happens). It's interesting to use all sorts of materials. What is a craft material? A material that has been traditionally used for craft? Is paint a craft material? Blood? How about talking, is that a craft material? Usually not, but what if we appropriated them as such?

This week's prompt

 In a short paragraph (50words min) tell me why you choose craft material in your work or what motivated you to take this course.

Fulvio Bonavia

Fulvio Bonavia is an award-winning advertising and editorial photographer known for his uniquely inventive imagery. He has used food to create haute couture apparel inspired by designers such as Alexander McQueen and Prada; crafted jewelry, accessories, handbags, and shoes out of edible elements for his book A Matter of Taste; and produced advertising images for clients like Pirelli, Montblanc, Sony and Adidas.
As a photographer, he brings his artistic and design sensibilities to each and every one of his pictures, doing all of postproduction himself so that his photographs are infused with his vision from start to finish.

I thought this would be appropriate for our blog.  Just for fun.

-Jordan Duff

Where Theory Meets Practice: A Critical Comparison of Research into Identifying Letters and Craft Knowledge of Type Design

This paper introduces scientific research findings and accounts of skilled design judgement to: (i) develop an interdisciplinary account of what affects our identification of letters when reading; (ii) analyse the relationship between the approaches of psychologists and designers to explaining how we identify letters; (iii) propose ways in which collaboration may work to make psychological research more relevant to typographic practice. The topics reviewed are addressed within each discipline and cover the contribution of letters and words to reading; letter features; essential or structural forms; uniformity within font design; and letter spacing. Analysis of the literature identifies possible means of reconciling different perspectives, points out some anomalies in interpretation of findings and proposes how designers may contribute to research planning and dissemination.

http://web.a.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=f6d49da6-3cb5-4743-8c0a-21fa9c8fe3a1%40sessionmgr4001&vid=13&hid=4106

This article is a summary of how the arts and crafts movement developed in Britain in relation with socialism. Sheila Rowbotham introduces the 'hands-on' utopian, C.R. Ashbee, and the Guild of Handicraft he established in 1888, shedding might on late nineteenth and early twentieth century arts and crafts ideas about work, consumption and society relating to the art and crafts.

http://eds.a.ebscohost.com.proxy.library.ohiou.edu/eds/detail?sid=bb576131-f945-468f-aa4f-dfff6ded6dfa%40sessionmgr4002&vid=3&hid=4110&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmUmc2NvcGU9c2l0ZQ%3d%3d#db=a9h&AN=29972149

Kelly johnston

A TALE OF TWO THEORIES: MONOPOLIES AND CRAFT GUILDS IN MEDIEVAL ENGLAND AND MODERN IMAGINATION - Jordan Duff

ABSTRACT

Popular texts typically assert that guilds of craftsmen ``monopolized’ ’ markets
in medieval England. Norman Cantor’s Medieval Reader declares ``craft guilds’
. . . main purpose and activity was narrow regulation of industrial productivity
in order to restrain competition’’ (Cantor 1994, p. 278). Douglass North’s Structure and Change in Economic History asserts ``. . . guilds organized to protect
local artisans . . . [and their strength] in preserving local monopolies against
encroachment from outside competition was frequently reinforced by the coercive
power of kings and great lords’ ’ (North 1981, p. 134)

http://proxy.library.ohiou.edu/login?qurl=http%3a%2f%2fsearch.ebscohost.com%2flogin.aspx%3fdirect%3dtrue%26db%3dbth%26AN%3d4645428%26site%3deds-live%26scope%3dsite

Petersilge: Dangerous Liaisons- Relationships between Design, Craft and Art by Grace Lees-Maffei and Linda Sandino

This introduction article (that leads to several other articles outside of this one) reviews significant happenings in the evolving treatise about the interplay of design, craft and art. I found a poignant quote from the first page that summed up what I got out of this article as a whole:

            “Design, craft and art can be seen to occupy an unstable territory of permanently shifting allegiances of practice and discourse”

Enjoy! If you want to read this article, just go to the Jstor link below and login with your OakID and password.

http://www.jstor.org.proxy.library.ohiou.edu/stable/3527113?seq=7

Craft-Art as a Basis for Human Activity

This article focuses on Craft-Art education and its effects on socio-cultural education, and education for the future. Craft art is explored as a basic human activity according to philosopher Hannah Arendt. Each of the Art fields have different positions affecting the education system.

"What are Basic Arts Education and Basic Crafts Education? The Basic Arts Education system in Finland was established by law in 1992 to support the individual’s voluntary participation in art educa- tion beyond art education at comprehensive school. The system covers nine different art fields: music, dance, theatre, literature, circus performing and visual arts (architecture, fine arts, audio-visual art and crafts)."

Work Cited:
Karppinen, Seija. "Craft-Art As A Basis For Human Activity." International Journal Of Art & Design Education 27.1 (2008): 83-90. Art & Architecture Complete. Web. 14 Feb. 2014.

A Theory of Craft: Function and Aesthetic Expression

The article Alan C. Elder wrote is a review of Howard Risatti's book called, A Theory of Craft: Function and Aesthetic Expression.  He discussed the position conceptual craft is in today, in the middle of traditional ways and modern public expectations of craft.  He is grateful for Roszika Parker, Pat Kirkham and Griselda Pollock for writing about and bringing up historical debates about craft meaning and materials.  Much of the article is about Risatti's concern for craft being under appreciated as art because it's not just purely aesthetic, it is functional.  Also, it explains the book's main points which are looking at what craft is and looking at its relationship to fine arts and design.

http://eds.a.ebscohost.com.proxy.library.ohiou.edu/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=634da576-6134-462e-bbba-6404e3310f51%40sessionmgr4004&vid=11&hid=4103

Elder, Alan C. Winterthur Portfolio; Spring2009, Vol. 43 Issue 1, p142-143, 2p, Henry Francis du Pont Winterthur Museum, Inc.



Natalie Bechtel

Craft-Art as a Basis for Human Activity

summary: "This article based on my doctoral thesis examines the Basic Arts Education system in Finland, focusing on Basic Crafts Education and its description through action concepts. The main task of the study was to create a concept model. In the first part of the study a concept map was created from the practice of Basic Crafts Education. The aim of the second part of the study was to specify the concept map and to ground a concept model, which describes the reality of BasicCrafts Education. Basic Crafts Education, which I define as craft-art, is examined from the viewpoints of art education, socio-cultural education and education for the future. In addition,craft-art is explored as a basic human activity as defined by the philosopher and theorist Hannah Arendt. In the study the Delphi Expert Method was used and carried out through question rounds by email. The empirical data consists of expert knowledge where experts represent differentcrafts fields and areas in Basic Crafts Education such as pedagogy, education and administration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]"


article

"What goes around comes around? Craft revival, the 1970s and today. "

What goes around comes around? Craft revival, the 1970s and today.
By Andrea Peach.

 

Abstract:

This article critically reviews the concept of 'revival' in relation to making in contemporary culture. The 1970s are a period, which craft historians and theorists generally acknowledge as one of revival and reinvention of craft practice across Britain. Today, we find ourselves in the midst of what has also been described as a 'craft renaissance'. This article will explore some of the causal factors that led to the craft revival of the 1970s to examine whether parallels can be drawn with today's developments. The purpose of the article is to determine whether craft revivals share any common identifying characteristics, or whether each is unique to its particular period in time. Three key factors which contributed to the revival of the craft in the 1970s will be examined: the role of the state, the ideological relationship of craft to contemporary fine art, and the socio-economic climate of the time. The comparison demonstrates that although today's craft revival shares many points of commonality with the 1970s, revivals are not simply a repetition of the past. Because craft is in a constant process of reinvention and reinvigoration, so-called 'revivals' are instead uniquely complex and historically changing, reflecting more about the present and the future than the past.

Article can be found here.

Weaving with Rush: Exploring Craft-Design Collaborations in Revitalizing a Local Craft

The summary of this article suggests a synergy creation between industial designers and artisan groups to stimulate the development and preservation of a local craft in a sustainable and commercially viable way. it explores how designers may collaborate with artisans to unearth new opportunities for a local craft and how designers can make contributions to the artisan community. . To research the possibilities of a craft-design collaboration, a monitored project was conducted, where local rush weavers and design students worked together to create new product concepts. As a result of the collaboration, seven design concepts were proposed to expand this traditional craft into contemporary markets. Drawing from the collaborative experience, this study proposes a craft-design collaboration process to form the basis of an approach for local craft development and sustainability. Knowledge gained through this activity suggests that the concept of craft product design is embodied by combining what is desirable in craft with what is possible through design. This study reveals that designers can play a catalytic role in facilitating the propagation of local craft knowledge into other industries. This can cultivate the local craft industry and empower artisans to further their own innovations. This paper highlights the value of the alliance between craft and design as a mutual learning mechanism, where both sides can exchange knowledge and enhance their professional capabilities.

http://eds.b.ebscohost.com.proxy.library.ohiou.edu/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=94d2faa7-49ba-4a20-a331-1d34dcb3cb27%40sessionmgr198&vid=6&hid=107

Through the Creator's Eyes: Using the Subjective Camera to Study Craft Creativity

ABSTRACT:

This article addresses a methodological gap in the study of creativity: the difficulty of capturing the microgenesis of creative action in ways that would reflect both its psychological and behavioral dynamics. It explores the use of subjective camera (subcam) by research participants as part of an adapted Subjective Evidence-Based Ethnography (SEBE). This methodology combines (a) obtaining first person audio-visual recordings of creative action with a miniature video-camera worn at eye-level, (b) accessing the subjective experience of the participant through a confrontation interview based on the recording, and (c) formulating interpretations and discussing them with the participant. Illustrations of the technique are offered from a study of craft creativity, chosen as a test ground for its micro-level forms of creative expression. Findings exemplify how the technique enables microscopic description of creativity at both process and content levels. The benefits, limitations, and possible applications of the method are considered in the broader context of creativity studies


Click Here for Article

Anatomical models and wax Venuses: art masterpieces or scientific craft works?

Article Abstract:The art of wax modelling has an ancient origin but rose to prominence in 14th century Italy with the cult of votive artefacts. With the advent of Neoclassicism this art, now deemed repulsive, continued to survive in a scientific environment, where it flourished in the study of normal and pathological anatomy, obstetrics, zoology and botany. The achievement of having originated the creation of anatomical models in coloured wax must be ascribed to a joint effort undertaken by the Sicilian wax modeller Gaetano Giulio Zumbo and the French surgeon Guillaume Desnoues in the late 17th century. Interest in anatomical wax models spread throughout Europe during the 18th century, first in Bologna with Ercole Lelli, Giovanni Manzolini and Anna Morandi, and then in Florence with Felice Fontana and Clemente Susini. In England, the art of anatomical ceroplastics was brought to London from Florence by the sculptor Joseph Towne. Throughout the centuries many anatomical artists preferred this material due to the remarkable mimetic likeness obtained, far surpassing any other material. Independent of the material used, whether wood, wax or clay, anatomical models were always considered merely craft works confined to hospitals or faculties of medicine and have survived to this day only because of their scientific interest. Italian and English waxes are stylistically different but the remarkable results obtained by Susini and Towne, and the fact that some contemporary artists are again representing anatomical wax bodies in their works, makes the border that formerly separated art and craft indistinguishable.

CLICK LINK BELOW TO ACCESS FULL ARTICLE 

Anatomical models and wax Venuses: art masterpieces or scientific craft works?  

-T.M.

Blarg

"Reselling an item you were not involved in creating is not allowed in our handmade category."

Etsy.com

I'm a little dissapointed but I think that will pass, possibly. I think of factories unfortunately, they literally just suck artful out of the craft and creative process. Craft isn't only present at Herend or Logan Clay Company, it's behind Hanes and the workers who produce for Pier 1 Imports. Personally I think that Collingwood is ego tripping. Does he want to kill craft? The machine, our replacement, is producing craft objects? So the people that produce and develope the exterior panels for our spaceships…. Shouldn't they be associated with craft? Because space ships amaze me, almost as amazing as the Vancati Mouse. These objects and their spread is much different than the companies I mentioned above, it's heavy for me to write these things. The hand and the heart always is troubling. I wouldn't necessarily associate Herend with fine art and design, some would kill me for that statement, but their end is about being a porcelain factory, producing tableware all by hand for the bourgeois and 1%. Worker owned even through World War 2. I have no problem stating that they employ craft but are not making art, I have a hard time seperating things. . . They aren't even trying to memorialize your dinner through uniqueness, it's a super object, like the ferrari. Secular and contemplative only in so far as beautiful and handpainted butterflies.  The exchange is non-artful and would leave me cold. I worry that we are loosing creativity in not only form but through language and perception these days. The Vancati Mouse running around in Herend's show room, now thats some craft based art. I disagree with what most of Collingwood has stated, but I'll post what he's asking for and I hope we are considering the end of the means and the means themselves.

Fairly certain this dish set is close to these from our view within the contemporary.

Demos - Not Art

            Pieces made in demos at Ohio U. by Del Harrow, Linda Lopez and Mathew McConnell

If someone gives a demonstration of their process, they take the viewer through some of the steps that they take to make their art. Demos are important because each demo is a little different. If the work of two demos is similar, maybe the conversation will be different. Like other craft materials, the ceramic process is usually vaguely-defined from artist-to-artist. In this photo alone we have (respectively) hand building with coils; hand building with coils, with coils added to the surface to create another surface; and creating an object, making a plaster mold of it, then casting the mold in clay.
Demos use craft materials and processes, but are not art.

Craft not Art

The DIY crafts for the house are not art they are kitch items that house wives or babysitter make with the kids as an afternoon activity. They don't have a thought out purpose or concept.

Kelly Johnston 

Craft thats not art

these images are interesting and presentable, but they don’t fit in the definition of Art although they crafts. Art has more thought and meaning.

Cross Stitching

I would not cross stitching to be an art, but more of craft. While I respect the time it takes to create one of these pieces, I would expect to see this in more of a craft fair setting, or something your grandmother would gift to you.

-Shanon Wise

I don't really consider DYI tutorials on making dream catchers as art. Typically these tutorials purpose serves as a quick, easy craft to hang in your home or wherever else. Dream catchers hold many important symbols among the construction of the interweaving lines and the bent length of wood. Originally the hole in the center of the dream catcher was used to trap the bad dreams while the web allows the good dreams to enter the sleeper. Now they seem more decorative than purposeful, but once there were specific gems and stones used to represent different things as well as specific bird feathers - many of which are now endangered. This was especially good for young children and infants because of the belief that the feathers from the Owl (representative of the female) and the hawk/eagle (representative of the male) hung above and influenced them. I don't consider it to be art because of the removal of content that happens when it becomes a quick craft project.

Stephanie Orr

week 3 Craft, Not Art.

http://media-cache-ec0.pinimg.com/736x/6b/58/04/6b58047349e09ca13b541d443f29be5f.jpg

http://media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/71/c7/eb/71c7ebc7ffba5e32232f88c71cdc74ab.jpg

I think that the different ways to make photo collages on DIY& Crafts on Pinterest and other sources showing how to arrange your pictures to look good are crafts but not art.  Because the photo collage is not of raw material and anyone can put their pictures into these placements, making a collage of pictures to display should not be considered art, but it is a fun craft to make something that looks good to hang on your wall.

Natalie Bechtel

Petersilge Week 3: Craft/Not Art

After giving it a lot of thought, I resolved to post about candle making. Like many crafts, it has a rich history, dating back to the qin Dynasty (221-206 BC) when the Chinese created the first candles from whale fat. Since the dawn of its existence, the candle has been a craft item heavily tied to ritual, from religious purposes to time keeping. It even became a guild craft in the 13^th century, indicating at least a distant relationship to fine art.

The production of candles eventually moved from “chandlers” (professional candle makers) to machines in the early 1800’s, which, for a small period of time, dominated the market of lighting options. The invention of kerosene and lamps, followed shortly by the invention of the light bulb, quickly snuffed that out, however. At this point, the desire for candles became mostly decorative, leaving it in a strange grey area between craft and art.

While candles were made for a time to serve essential purposes such as time keeping, light giving and religious ceremony, they lack the portion of artistic design that is the artist’s hand. Lacking representation by artists who have a visible style of work that individualizes them, candle making then falls for me in the category of craft, in that a set of designed requirements are reached, but not art.

This is not to say that wax candle artists do not exist. Artists such as Urs Fischer, Walter Martin and Paloma Munoz all use wax candles sculpturally to a truly exquisite effect. They are, however, adapting the craft of candle making into their own form of art making, therefore taking the candle out of its intended craft and injecting it into a set of relationships and ideas that comprise the craft of the artist.

Candle making will always, inevitably hold these ties, which leaves me with a burning desire to incorporate it into my own art making to break down the barrier of craft and art (something I love to do). 

Week 3

When I first think of "crafts" I think of things like knitting and DIY projects on HGTV or Pinterest. For something to be considered art I think it has to have a conceptual meaning behind it; whereas craft are created to look aesthetically pleasing and typically serve a specific purpose. For example, this scarf; it looks pretty and if made by hand would've taken a lot of time and effort but I don't think it anything close to being considered art.  Anyone can learn to knit or slap some paint on a canvas but for it to be viewed as art it has to have a concept and a purposeful meaning behind it.

wk 3

I don't think that the DIY Pinterest crafting projects are art because art is described in the reading as being conceptual and thoughtful. These pieces are not that at all, they just look "pretty" and may be fun to create. I also don't think they are art because they can be created by anyone, even children do these projects.

WEEK 3- Christopher Derek Bruno

http://www.christopherderekbruno.com/

The reading expanded upon the idea of craft and art being separated by process. Craft being an object that is created with a specific goal or desired outcome in mind before the production of the product is started. Whereas art is more of a fluid process that allows for the introduction of new ideas or materials to enter the process of art-making during the conception of the final product. This work by Christopher Derek Bruno to me is a good example of craft that I do not consider art. Christopher Derek Bruno uses craft and wood in a way to design a pattern to which he sees visually aesthetic. His patterns are not open for growth for the sake of relaying a message, but rather a static form that follows rules of design. His work remains more of a piece of furniture for walls rather than a piece of art that pushes a specific idea or concept. 

-T.M.

Angelica Pozo - Ceramics

Wilson Hills Elementary
Worthington, Ohio

This ceramics artist integrates her work into the natural world, landscape, plant forms, and the environment. My studies focus on Interior Architecture so I like that this artist harbors two different elements at the same time; the natural environment, and manmade. Pozo integrates her art into all areas of structure and space.


- Jackie Brumfield

Week 3 Topic - Jackie Brumfield

     As beautiful as these pieces look, I do not consider them art. My connotation of art is that it must have a conceptual meaning behind the work. Jewelry and other functional objects are something that an artist creates to sell and make a living. Just because they are visually appealing does not mean they are considered "art". 

Week 3 Topic

To go with our current readings, find an example of craft that you do not think is art. Explain your reasoning for your choice.

Georgia Redpath -Glass

Georgia works present the borderline the natural world and our constructed environment : how the two coexist and how elements from one side of the divide seem to mimic those from the other. She uses glass to achieve detail which i find interesting and a great way to express art as well as her combination of other materials with a strong presence of glass.

 Eliza Bennett "A Woman's Work Is Never Done" 2011

Using the body as medium she embroiders her hand to appear worn and raw. She jousts at the notion that women's work is "easy". Drawing connections between traditional women's work such as cleaning, catering and most importantly caring and the effects these have on the physical body. I venture to say she makes visually apparent what impacts these roles have on the metaphysical body.

 Ursula Commander

Textiles from ceramic, blah.

Christine Wertheim and Margaret Wertheim "Crochet Coral Reef" Ongoing 

A collaboration between sisters, and now globally between artists, that was positioned to bring awareness to the disappearing Barrier Reef. I find interest in the expanse of "species" created through the changing of patterns, however slight, from person to person in this ongoing work.

 Sydney

 Chicago

 "Midden" 2006

Collaboration between Christine Wertheim, Evelyn Hardin, and Pate Conaway. Made from:

• All plastic takeout containers we used at home, at work, or while traveling. (Hauling it home on airplanes is a real pain in the neck.)
• Cleaning product containers (detergents, disinfectants, toilet cleaners)
• Hair product containers (shampoos, conditioners, dyes. Fortunately Margaret has super-short hair and uses no hair-care products. This has become a major reason not to go back to long hair).
• Old shower curtains, bath scrubs, toothbrushes, soap bottles (now we only use bar soap.)
• Plastic drink bottles (We Really try not to use these any more, but its impossible not to accumulate some.)
• Plastic bags and plastic wrapping used for packaging cookies, crackers, pasta, rice, frozen vegetables, meat, deli goods and other food products. (Everything comes in plastic these days! But some things come in less plastic. We try hard now to choose the Least-plastic options whenever we go shopping).
• Plastic knives and forks from meals away from home (we now try to travel with our own cutlery)
• Plastic pill bottles and vitamin sachet packets (we are both fans of Emergen-C which does not seem to come in any bulk form.)
• Plastic toys and geep-gaws (somehow these things come into our lives as gifts or stupid purchases - we try not to do this anymore) 

Do-Ho Suh "Specimen Series" 2013

Made from polyester these life size reproductions show the inner workings and framework of objects within his Manhattan apartment. I'm interested in these works for their CAD like appearance and construction, due to materiality of the polyester screen. The internal exposure of these objects points to mass production but the object themselves are all items deemed "necessity" in the contemporary, common place because of this I imagine their replacements.