Power Center for the Performing Arts

Critic (noun) a person who expresses an unfavorable opinion of something

For many people, including myself, the idea of having your art judged does not bring happy thoughts to mind and can crush creativity. My elementary school did not have an art teacher. A picture from a magazine would be taped to the chalkboard and we were simply told “Draw this.” The results were always graded using letter grades (A to E) one for content and and one for neatness. My work, if I was lucky, might…. just might…. get C-/D and there were no suggestions to help me improve my work. To this day the thought of drawing something sends me into an anxiety attack.

Critique (noun) a detailed analysis and assessment of something

Getting a thoughtful critique can raise art to new levels, broaden perspective and increase creativity. Last year I worked on large felt wall hanging for the annual Ann Arbor Fiberarts Guild show which runs the month of February in the lobby of the Power Center for the Performing Arts here in Ann Arbor, MI.

View From Above
(28″ x 82″- felted wool fibers)

This was one of the largest felt pieces I’ve ever made and felting it was physically demanding. I was pleased with the design – the mix of colors and line movement. It made a statement, especially from a distance. I believed it was good enough, so fingers crossed….. I submitted it.

It was not selected and in my disappointment I suddenly found myself emotionally back in elementary school. But here is where ‘critique’ turned this experience from the negative ‘critic’ into something positive. The jury committee had made comments. Some were positive (it was felted well and it did catch attention from a distance) PLUS there comments about where it still needed work:
1) there is no real change in value (light/dark) within each of the colors used
2) there was nothing new to discover once you stepped closer

So for the next year I thought about what I could do to embellish this piece yet stay true to my desire to only use felting techniques.

Using a barbed needle to punch fibers into place,

I needle felted silk fibers to give a broader range of color value and bring more interest and details, then I repeated the wet felting to blend everything together.

Top detail – before and after

Bottom detail – before and after

I am happy to say that Coastal Waterways was accepted for this year’s Power Center Show.

Critic or Critique? It’s all in how you say it and where the emphasis is placed.

Coastal Waterways
(26″ x 79″ – felted wool & silk fibers)

The weaving completed, I cut the Green Man off the loom on January 13, 2014
…only 1 year later than planned.

Now the finishing work began: all the warp threads knotted and secured, the long gap in the center forehead leaf sewn shut, clean up the back (weave in/sink the weft ends), plus there was a lot of rippling in the tapestry because my warp tension had become very uneven.

Crossing my fingers that blocking would eliminate the rippling, I put him onto the shower floor to wet down then I pinned him facedown onto a piece of foam board to block, squaring up the 4 sides. I stood him up in the bathtub to drain over night then moved the board near the floor register for the next 4 days to dry.

Once he was throughly dry, I unpinned him and turned him over. To my joy…. the blocking had eliminated the rippling = whew!!! Twill tape was sewn to the top and bottom, turned to the back and sewn down. Finished tapestry dimensions: 18″ x 18″. I used velcro to mount him onto black matboard and made a simple black frame. Final dimensions: 25″ x 25″. I packed him up and dropped him off to be juried.

The Green Man was accepted for the AAFG 2014 exhibit at the Power Center for the Performing Arts in Ann Arbor, MI. We hung the exhibit on Tuesday, February 4th and it runs through the month of February.

He is nicely positioned so he can check out everyone as they enter the theater from the lobby…. and is watching to make sure no food or drink is brought inside!

My daughter Andrea, who did the orignal painting, announced the other day, “Hey, Mom…. I’ve got an idea for our next painting/tapestry collaboration….. “

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Critic or Critique?

The Saga of the Green Man comes to an end