Christine Mauersberger: May 2012

Textiles in a Tube 2 show announcement

I don't enter many shows, but this one spoke to my sense of wonder.

Hmmm, what if I made a smaller version of this piece and was able to roll it up so that it fit into a mailing tube. (36 inch long x 3 inch diameter)?

Challenge on.

Of course, I needed to make it and install the piece in my upstairs hall, photograph it and then wait to hear whether I was accepted. I thought, ok if I don't get in, I don't have to think about how I'm going to roll this up.

This is the work I entered.
It is 24 inches wide x 7 feet long and is approximately 10 to 12 inches deep.

Detail, showing the layers and reflection on the wall.

I received notification from the Riverworks gallery director, Fleming Markel, that the juror, Kathleen Loomis, selected my piece to be one of 14 that will be in the show.

Here are some images of how I worked and created the piece in my house.

I worked in the entrance hall to the second floor of my house

Yes, I do have a bit of 'red' around my house...

The great mother of all inventions is Necessity.

Owning a home that was built in 1918, previous inhabitants used all sorts of clever means to improve the house throughout its life.

I've never liked the tiles in this entrance, but now, I think they are the best asset for staging this type of artwork!

I used the styrofoam ceiling tile as the temporary "top" of the work and taped each sewed line to the tile.

I tried to photograph it in the hall, but it just wasn't working,

I couldn't get far enough away from the piece.

so, I removed the ceiling tile with the artwork attached.

Then

I used duct tape to stick it all to the ceiling in the hall on the 2nd floor in my home.

Look up, you can see the silver duct tape holding the ceiling tile up.
The tape held it all for about 10 minutes, then it fell to the floor.

I thought that if I should get into the show, I'll transfer everything to metal rods for the 'real' installation.

Well, I did get in, and I did transfer everything and make it all nice and tidy for shipping and easy (I hope) easy installation.

I also created a step-by-step document for the gallery.

Here's how I wrapped the piece.

There are 4 rods at the top of the piece, with thread lines looped over the rods.
This photo is actually the last photo before I rolled the work up to fit into the tube.

This is a picture of my floor in my living room.
I placed a piece of plastic 'tablecloth' material on the floor, then placed the first layer of the artwork onto the plastic.

Layering the work for packaging

If you look closely, you can see the 'ghost' of the previous layers below the plastic sheet.

This is the Red Tulle that hangs as one of the layers.

I decided to share these photos and write a bit about all the steps it took to create the piece, photograph it, enter it, ship it and so on.

Even when an artwork looks simple or simple-to-make, nothing is completely simple.

Thanks for your time today.

If you're near Greenville, South Carolina anytime between June 1 and July 15, 2012. Stop into the RIVERWORKS Gallery
Greenville Technical College's downtown gallery
At Art Crossing on Riverwalk in Greenville, SC

and see the show.

Emily Felderman

Shaker Hts, OH USA

Bonsai

7 .5" x 4.5"

Private Collection

When I think of exquisite stitching, Emily Felderman's work is at the top of my list. I posted about her in 2010, showing you her small heavily stitched landscapes and leaves.

Here, she has pushed her work quite literally in to the work-objects of life.
Each of us has a favorite pair of scissors whether it is to snip threads or cut into fabric, to cut flower stems or to cut wire, no doubt, all of us have held a pair of metal scissors with the assured knowledge that this tool will do it's job.

Emily has taken these long-loved tools and changed their purpose and made them an object of desire and memory.

Do you still have your mother's or grandmothers' small embroidery scissors?