Title:  Connections

Medium:  Mixed media

Size:  15” tall x 12” wide

Price:  $150

Artist’s Statement:  The elements in this piece came from different people and places over time.  They signify our own journey through life and the connections we form. 

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Details:

Raku Ceramic

Back in November 2022, Tore Bellis and I attended the 19^th Annual Artists’ Studio Tour through the Cross Timbers Artists’ Guild.  Participating artists in the group open their studios to the public to see where they create their art.  I’m always interested in seeing artists’ studios.    

Linda Chidsey’s home studio was at the top of our list of places to visit during the tour.  We met her through the Visual Art League of Lewisville where she’s displayed her artwork.    

Linda was very welcoming.  She gave us the tour and explained the process of creating the raku ceramic.  It was a special experience.  While there, I noticed broken bits of ceramic on the ground.  Linda encouraged me to take some of the pieces, which I gratefully did, explaining I’d incorporate them into my assemblage art.

The raku ceramic has a convenient hole in it.  I attached a strand of embroidery thread and wove the thread through the doily and incorporated the thread throughout the piece.

Vintage Greeting Card

My friend Crystal Nelson, also a Visual Art League of Lewisville member, gifted me with the most extraordinary collection of vintage greeting cards (birthday, anniversary, holiday, etc).  I find it difficult to use such special ephemera, but it felt right for this piece. 

Photograph

My aunt Angie Holguin gave me a collection of photographs that had no family connection.

Cardboard

Packaging from a box of ceramics that was shipped to me from a warehouse in Mexico.

Three Buttons

These are from a jar of buttons I purchased from an antique store in a quiet Texas town.  I wanted them to suggest they were saved from the woman’s dress. 

Background surface:  a mix of papers that have been scribbled, stamped, gelli printed and painted on.  There are also paint-soaked paper towels for added texture.  I also included tulle similar to what the woman has on her dress.  I wanted to suggest the surface was made during the Depression Era when people scrimped and saved everything.  And it’s consistent with the other materials used in this art piece.  Someone saved a jar of buttons and someone saved a lifetime of greeting cards. 

Dried rose:  courtesy of my friend Tom Cao from Flowerama in Plano.  He gave me a pile of extra flowers from his shop to use in my art projects.  The rose is meant to look like it was part of a corsage that the woman wore on her special day. 

Broken Frame:

The broken frame is mean to signify the woman’s story… legacy… soul… live on.  And new connections are made. 

Why this piece is particularly special:

I finished the piece right around Thanksgiving 2022 and I was excited to show Linda how quickly I had incorporated her piece of raku ceramic into my art.  I later learned Linda passed away on December 9, 2022.  Roughly 3 weeks after we had visited her at her studio.

Connections. 

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Exhibit Name:  Small Works

Dates:  August 12 – September 16, 2023

Location:  Lewisville Grand Theater

Art Group:  Visual Art League of Lewisville