Working on the Interwoven catalog

This summer was a busy one--buying a house, teaching College Preview at CCAD, and starting my new position at Ann Hamilton Studio. However, I did manage to make significant progress on a catalog for Interwoven, the project I did in February 2010 with St. Andrew Lutheran Church.  CCAD sophomore Luke Kramer, an up and coming young designer, worked with me on the design of the catalog.  He did a great job!  I've got a few loose ends to tie up with some of the stories and credits, and then it should be ready to publish.  I am looking forward to sharing the catalog with the members of St. Andrew, whose stories and images illustrate how the making of shawls and quilts can connect a community in a truly remarkable way.  I'll be sure to post a link to it here when it's all ready!

City Art Center Exhibition - Delaware, OH

I am currently showing at the City Art Center, 22 E Winter St, Delaware, OH from January 7-30, 2011.  Open hours are Thursday, Friday and Saturday afternoons.



These works are made using ceramic slip (or watered-down clay) to make an initial mark, and then tracing the edges of the water in the clay as it absorbs into the paper.  As the clay dries, it shrinks and embosses the paper, causing it to ruffle.  In some of the works, I have mixed fabric dye into the clay.  This is what causes the turquoise marks.  I think of these drawings as meditations on time, material, and impermanence.

Mark Bradford-inspired collages by my CCAD freshmen

Last week, my two freshman Design courses completed their first group public art project.  It was inspired by a trip to the Wexner's Mark Bradford exhibition.  A few of the students were standing in front of one of his giant collages, and said that they wanted to work that large.  Just as Bradford collects all his material from LA where he lives, the students gathered all their collage elements from downtown Columbus where CCAD is located.  It was a proud moment for everyone to see them on view to the public!

My new website!

I am excited to announce that I have a brand new website at www.nicolegibbsart.com!  I will still be using this blog for ongoing news and updates, and they are linked to each other.  Enjoy, and let me know what you think! 

Nice review of Interwoven project

Kristin Forbes, a freelance reporter, wrote a nice review of my project with St. Andrew Lutheran Church in Beaverton, OR. Here it is!

Artist Collaborates with Beaverton Church in Interactive Art Project

The Interwoven Project

From Feb. 6-14, I am working as an Artist in Residence at St. Andrew Lutheran Church in Beaverton, OR. We are making a piece titled Interwoven that will document the use of handmade fiber arts to mark transitional moments in community and individual life. It is inspired by a 1943 article by Margaret Mead about the connectedness of art and everyday life, as well as by the Protestant observance of the Transfiguration and its connection to sukkahs, the temporary tents made during the Jewish celebration of the Feast of the Tabernacle. This is my first collaborative social-based artistic project, and it will include a photography workshop and book project (Sun., Feb. 6), a lecture (Wed., Feb. 10), and a temporary collaborative installation (Sun., Feb. 14). Here is a brochure that describes the project in detail, and there is a separate flyer in the post below about the lecture. All are welcome to attend and/or participate!

The Interwoven Project - Artist in Residence Lecture, Wed., Feb. 10th @ 7:00pm

Great review of my show

Here's a great review of the work in my current show, Remote Sensing, in the Columbus Dispatch last Sunday.

Remote Sensing - New Work at the Ohio Art League Gallery

Check out my show at OAL, and if you're free today, I'd love to see you at the opening!

January 2-27, 2010

Opening: Saturday, January 2nd from 6-8 p.m.

Ohio Art League Gallery
1552 N. High St.
Columbus, OH  
www.oal.org

Works by Nicole Gibbs
Curated by Susan Li O'Connor

"Remote Sensing" is a collection of mixed media drawings that employ the cool, impervious perspective of satellites to investigate control, communication, and chaos within dear and difficult relationships.

Spills, Birds, Satellites

(Click here to see these images in a larger-format slideshow.)

Just before departing for my temporary teaching position in Olympia, WA, I put up a selection of my recent works for friends and family at the Clean Space Gallery on OSU's campus. It was a great opportunity to experiment with ways of showing these pieces, which were made over the course of two years.

At eye level
At normal art-viewing height are the most resolved pieces, offering a synthesis of my ideas about spillage, chaos, and order. These works are deeply psychological for me, and reflect the ongoing process to understand my past and the relationships that have shaped who I am today. Many have an aerial or synoptic perspective. The palette is cool, calculated, and sometimes hyper-colorful, just like the countless satellite images I grew up looking at when I went with my mom to work at the EROS Data Center, a partner facility of the US Geological Survey. The satellite is a remote sensing device. Its eye is emotionless. It is clinical and unflinching. There are times in my life when I want this incorruptible perspective—to see my situations, relationships, and artwork with a calm clarity.

In contrast, I invite liquid into my work to act as a mentor, collaborator, and antagonist in my efforts to let go of control. With its susceptibility to gravity, evaporation, and pooling, liquid serves as a counterpoint to the straight lines and geometric shapes present throughout the imagery, and stands in as the great Unexpected to which one must adapt. By welcoming it into my artwork, I attempt to build flexibility and responsiveness into my process and mindset.

Above eye level
Along the top of the room, I displayed a chronological record of my evolution through material and form in my drawings. They are experimentations, and not necessarily complete works unto themselves. I installed them high above in the clerestory level of the space so that they could only be seen in any detail with binoculars. I think of this as the idea space--above one's head and just out of sight. The viewer who wants to see them up close must exercise willpower to do so. Observation is an active task; birders know this all too well. Like birders, the viewers had access to technology (binoculars) to undertake this task, if they so chose.

Below eye level
On the floor of the space, I installed my Water Shadows. Made from tulle, these patterns read more like wet spots on the floor, and many people walked on them. (They even fooled the facilities maintenance supervisor, who thought his crew had some cleanup to do. I showed him the secret of them--boy was he surprised when I picked up a "stain"!) I like the idea of activating the peripheral, and its important role in stimulating curiosity.

Many of these pieces will be on view during January in my solo show at the Ohio Arts League gallery in Columbus. More info on that to come soon!