EVIDENCE: The Art of Terry Jarrard-Dimond, 1987 - 2017

Joy and Sorrow - 2008

reconstructed hand dyed fabric, machine stitched

59"h x 38"w

MUSEUM BRINGS ARTS COMMISSION 50TH ANNIVERSARY

TO FLORENCE

The Florence County Museum announces an exhibition of works by veteran South Carolina artist Terry Jarrard-Dimond as part of the South Carolina Arts Commission's recently launched 50th Anniversary exhibition program.  The program was developed to celebrate 50 years of public support for the arts in South Carolina, with emphasis on the achievements of artists who have received the commission's Visual and Craft Fellowship awards.

The exhibition at the Florence Museum is titled EVIDENCE; The Art of Terry Jarrard-Dimond, 1987 - 2017.  It will be held in the museum's Special Exhibits Gallery, and will be on view from June 20 to December 3, 2017.

Jarrard-Dimond received the SCAC Craft Fellowship Grant in 1987, 20 years after the incorporation of the South Carolina Arts Commission.  She is represented by three works in the State Art Collection.

Terry Jarrard-Dimond grew up in Greenville County, SC.  She was one of 27 students in her class in a school which emphasized traditional conservative educational principles.  Art was a recreation, rather than a practical part of her education.  After the sixth grade artistic instruction came to an end.

Jarrard-Dimond's parents ran a hardware business in the small town of Marietta.  During one of father's frequent visits to a supplier for merchandise she convinced her father to buy her some oil paints and supplies. By the time she was a teenager, she had developed an intuitive interest in the properties of physical materials like wood, wire and textiles and had developed a compulsive desire to "always be making."

Her first academic exposure to fine art came while attending art classes at Winthrop College.  At that time it was an all-girl school.  While the art faculty recognized Jarrard's talent, the school never encouraged her to pursue post-graduate work in art, with one exception; in the last year of school she was introduced to an instructor who had been newly appointed to fill a temporary teaching position in the department.  His name was Tom Dimond and he introduced her to the idea of continuing her art education.

Tom Dimond and Terry were married and the couple moved to New York City. After the birth of their child, Adrian Dimond in 1970, they returned to South Carolina.  Upon their return to  several things happened. Terry made the acquaintance of weaver Alice Schlein, earned an MFA degree from Clemson University, had a teaching career and later worked as a designer in the textile industry.  

Over the past thirty years, Terry Jarrard-Dimond’s use of overlapping marks, layered materials, and literal woven elements, has explored continuous themes of interconnectedness.

The artworks on exhibit will include early sculptural works which utilize found objects in conjunction with constructed forms, as well as Dimond’s later explorations in large scale geometric compositions using hand-dyed, contemporary textiles. Finally the exhibition will look at several works from Dimond’s more recent two-dimensional experiments with encaustic and acrylic paint.

In her own words, “All living things leave physical evidence of their existence. Evidence is generated by the activities each performs… from the monumental to the minute. My work is my evidence.“

Other upcoming events and exhibitions in the year-long SCAC 50th Anniversary program will be held throughout the state, in Columbia, Greenville, Charleston, Sumter, and Rock Hill. Jarrad-Dimond’s work will also be featured in an SCAC group show at the Lee Gallery, Clemson University this October through November.

For more information, please visit flocomuseum.org and southcarolinaarts.com, or contact the Florence County Museum at 843.676.1200.

Paint, Paper and Fiber - Tom Dimond and Terry Jarrard-Dimond

Vortex - Terry Jarrard-Dimond - 2014

12.5" x 13"

fabric, dye, powdered charcoal, string, stitching

Thursday evening May 26th, 2016 was the reception for the two person exhibition, Paint, Paper and Fiber featuring my work and the work of Tom Dimond.  We want to thank everyone who came out as well as the staff of the Art Center of Clemson SC.  You made the evening!

In addition to having an opportunity to talk with individuals about the work both Tom and I gave a gallery talk.  Gallery talks are such a treat for artists as it is a chance to share some of what happens in an artists' studio and how the work is brought into fruition.

Actually, just having the work hanging on white walls, nicely arranged and well lit is a treat and I find it to be a time to re-evaluate how my body of work is developing.  (I hope my work will always be 'developing'.)

Evidence of Life - Terry Jarrard-Dimond - 2016

10" h x 7"w

Oil/Cold Wax on oil paper

My contribution to the show was new encaustic and oil/cold wax paintings and fiber pieces which spanned perhaps a five year period.  I am pleased to say that my art vocabulary was clearly evident throughout all of this work.  My love of mark-making, smudges, shape and clear composition are some of the aspects I value in my art.  Perhaps the most notiable differences between the paintings and the fiber work was the color palette and the scale of the work.  Most of the fiber pieces feature a neutral color palette while most of my paintings are colorful and varied.  My paintings at this point are also small with the largest pieces piece being 12" x 12" and the largest fiber piece is 50"h x 34"w.  Learning how to work small has been a challenge but I am beginning to develop a feeling for this new small scale work but intend to work larger in time.

Valley Scape - Terry Jarrard-Dimond - 2016

6"h x 9"w

Oil/Cold Wax on oil paper

My art is developed during the process of making the work.  I do not begin with detail sketches or plans but rather I begin with a feeling of where I want to go. If the work offers me an interesting and different path I often choose that unknown direction and my willingness to allow the work to direct me is a big part of why I keep making art.  The excitement of seeing the work come together is my "runners high".  It is the light at the end of a tunnel.  The sunrise after a dark night.  It is finding my way through a dark forest.  This may sound overly dramatic but this is how I experience the resolution of a successful piece.  I get excited. Sometimes I am relieved.  Art is a demanding endeavor but it is this process of discovery that I seek when working.

A few weeks ago I wrote about artist Tom Stanley's show at Hampton III Gallery in Greenville SC.  Stanley described his process of developing work as  "call and response".  This description really rang true to me.  As artist works we make choices which results in "something" happening.  It might be something good or not so good but either way we must respond. This process continues until we find the work we were looking for OR we find something quit new which propels us forward.

My experience with fiber is built of years of working in that medium.  I have a certain comfort level with that medium but my experience with paint, regardless of the specific type of paint, is less developed. At this point I am thrilled to see myself in this new medium.  My marks.  My shapes.  My layering.  My preference for specific spacial relationships etc.  My job with paint is to be open to the possibilities and enjoy the experience.

Check back in on Wednesday May 1st 2016 for my thoughts on the work of Tom Dimond.

Updates and Video from My Studio

Thank you to everyone who has written with concern about my well being due to the devastating flooding here in South Carolina.  My family and I are fine as we just didn't have the amount of wind and rain here in our area that the midlands and low-country received.

I am in an exhibition at The Columbia Museum of Art in Columbia SC that was scheduled to open last week but the opening had to be rescheduled due to the flooding.  The building actually had some damage on the exterior but no damage to the interior or artwork.  The opening reception is now scheduled for Friday, October 16.  This show features women who live or have lived in SC and have been making art here.  I look forward to seeing this work and meeting new people and seeing old friends.

As part of the exhibition, the museum has made video's of several artists in the show.  I am pleased to be one of those and you can see a clip from the video on YouTube Here.

Find the hours and directions to the museum Here.

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Issue 6 of Inspirational Magazine Will Be Available Tuesday September 15, 2016

The sixth issue of John Hopper's beautiful online magazine will be available Tuesday, September the 15th for you to download.  I've seen an advance copy and it is beautiful!  I'm very happy to be part of such a quality publication.

Follow this link to download and support this venture:  http://thetextileblog.blogspot.com/p/inspirational-magazine.html

Exploration/Resolution - Tom Dimond and Terry Jarrard-Dimond

Continuum - Tom Dimond

Exploration/Resolution is now open and features my recent textile work and recent mixed media painting of my husband, Tom Dimond.  The show is being presented at two sites, Greenville Technical College and Riverworks Gallery in downtown Greenville, SC and in the Visual and Performing Arts Department galleries on the Greer Campus of Greenville Technical College.  

Obon - Terry Jarrard-Dimond

Both Tom and I will be giving a gallery talk at the Greer Campus on Thursday, August 28 at 4:30 p.m.  We will also be on hand for First Friday, September 5 at Riverworks Gallery 6-8pm.  The exhibition and gallery talk are free and open to the public.

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Challenges Are Good

This photo was taken at the Clemson Unitarian Universalist Church

where we performed in "I Played With the Band".

I have had a busy couple of weeks.  My show, Textile Constructions 2014, opened at Upstairs Artspace in Tryon, NC, I played piano with a band Friday evening and drummed with my djembe drum class at the Clemson Arts Festival on Saturday.  Lucky me.

Preparing for an exhibition is certainly a long term sometimes stressful endeavor but it's one I'm familiar with and enjoy.  I am not much of a collaborator when it comes to making my work so there is lots of alone time in the studio.  My art is not performance art.  It is made, installed and viewed.  The primary interaction I have is at an opening or reception when you have the opportunity to talk about your work and see how people respond.  I did an artist talk for this show and enjoyed that very much.  I actually wrote out some questions for myself and responded as a way to prepare for the talk.  I won't say I don't have some nerves when I do this but I've done it many times so it's not really stressful.

Playing with a band and two singers was another story.  One of my fantasies has always been about being a jazz pianist and playing alone or with a band and singer so I suppose I can mark that off my bucket list.  The event is planned each year by Elaine Fredendall who is my piano teacher.  Elaine is fantastic, she's fun, knows her stuff and loves to perform.  She invites a group of musicians who have a group and they come and play with her students.  Each student prepares one piece.  There is no practice with the band/singers, you just go up give them your tempo and play!

I was about number 16 on the playlist and as I watched the kids go up and play I began to have a minor freak out.  I think I am her first adult student who has played in this event.  Students are not asked to memorize the pieces, we have music, but of course in preparation you play the piece so much you do end up knowing the piece by heart.  As I sat there all of a sudden I couldn't think what the first few chords were.  Very un-nerving.  But my time came, I played and I did very well.  I played a nice version of Danny Boy and the male singer was fantastic as well as the female singer who backed him up.  I'm hoping that next year there will be other "kids" in my age group.

These are West African djembe drums.  The one on the left is authentic and was made in 

Ivory Coast.  The one on the right is also a djembe but was likely made in Indonesia 

as a tourist drum.  I bought the one on the right 5 years ago hoping to find 

a teacher.  I had to wait a while but it was

worth the wait. 

On Saturday I played with my drum class and that was far less nerve-wracking.  In this situation you have many people playing the same music with you.  If you miss a beat no biggie.  Most of our audience had no idea how we should sound anyway.  Again, it was fun.  I will continue with both the piano and drum.

I'm sharing all this with you because I think it is stimulating for people to have some range of activities in their lives.  I also believe it's wonderful to interact with other people in a creative activity.  The drumming and the piano playing are an event.  Yes, I put in time practicing alone but I had to be present and demonstrate what I could do in "real-time".  It was great to see the people respond.  It was a different type of challenge.  It was a different kind of reward.  It called on me to summons my courage and step out of my comfort zone.  

I'm already thinking about what music I want to learn next and what I want to play.  

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Textile Constructions 2014 Open Through June 20th

Terry Jarrard-Dimond pictured during the gallery talk

at Upstairs Artspace.

Saturday evening marked the opening of Textile Constructions 2014 at the Upstairs Artspace in Tryon, North Carolina.  The work was beautifully installed in the freshly painted gallery.  Now wonderful to have work in such a beautiful location.

The gallery talk started at 4pm and the reception began at 5pm.  We had new visitors arriving throughout the evening and the work was well received. 

My friend Bruce Schlein took this photo of my husband Tom

taking a photo of Bruces bride, Alice and me.  We make

our own fun.

The show will be up through June 20th.  The gallery is located at 49 S. Trade Street and is  open Tuesday - Saturday from 11-5pm. 

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If you are in the area I

hope you will drop-in

and see the

show.

Textile Constructions Scheduled for Upstairs Artspace

Aurora - Terry Jarrard-Dimond

hand dyed, discharged, and stained fabric

Machine Pieced, Appliqued and Machine Stitched

34"h x 84.5"w - 2012

Terry Jarrard-Dimond: Textile Constructions

You are invited to the opening reception of Terry Jarrard-Dimond: Textile Constructions at Upstairs Artspace in Tryon, NC Saturday May 10th.  There is an Artist Talk at 4p.m. and the reception is from 5-8p.m. Everyone is welcome.

The exhibition features work which explores texture, surface and construction.

The show will run through Friday June 20th and the gallery is open Tuesday - Saturday, 11-5pm.

Upstairs Artspace is located at 49 S. Trade Street in Tryon, NC.  For more information visit: http://www.upstairsartspace.org/.

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Hope to see you at 

Upstairs Artspace!

New Encaustic Painting and Taxes

Untitled - Terry Jarrard-Dimond

Encaustic Painting - 8" x 8"

Last week I took time to continue my work with encaustics.  This process is very unique and challenging and very engaging.  I have chosen to work small and with a limited palette as I begin to understand how to work with the materials to get the results I want.  The edges of the above image is cropped only because this is a very casual shot of the piece and it was photographed on a white wall so part of the work blended with the wall.  The edges are much softer at this point.

Most of this week will be taken by preparing my tax information.  Record keeping isn't my strong suit so this is always a trauma.  I took one of those online "test" recently to see if I am right brained or left brained.  My results said I used the two sides of my brain equally.  Interesting.  I know I certainly don't utilize the part dealing with numbers very well.  You don't want me to keep your inventory records or balance your check book.  Thank goodness for computer programs.

Have a good week friends and I'll see you on the other side of my tax week from hell.

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or

Bad Accounting 101

New Textile Constructions - Part II

 Untitled - Terry Jarrard-Dimond

13" x 13" - Fabric - Cording - Monoprinted - Painted and Stitched

Last week I showed 3 new small works made from a variety of fabrics I had around my studio.  This week I continued to work and completed 3 additional pieces and I still have more materials for the future.

Untitled - Terry Jarrard-Dimond

13" x 13" - Fabric - Cording - Monoprinted - Painted and Stitched

One of the things I'm enjoying about this work is what I perceive as the perspective that seems to be present.  Some of the work looks like ariel views, some landscapes while one makes me think of water and water plants.  This is one of the aspects I've always enjoyed about non-objective work, you see what you see.  Your imagination and your experience with the world come together and something special happens.

Untitled - Terry Jarrard-Dimond

13" x 13" - Fabric - Cording - Monoprinted - Painted and Stitched

The upcoming week will not be a studio week as we have guests coming in from the San Juan Islands off the coast of Washington state.  I'm looking forward to good conversation, music, food and friends.  Can't beat that.

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New Textile Constructions

Untitled #1 - Terry Jarrard-Dimond

13" x 13" - Fabric - Cording - Monoprinted - Painted and Stitched

My week began with an idea for a new large work.  I pulled my materials together but the materials did not live up to my idea.  As I sat in my studio pondering how to get started I became aware of a small unfinished work which had been floating around my studio for some time.  I decided to work on this small piece while thinking over the "big" work.  The result of that small effort is pictured as Untitled #1. (I will give this work and the others in this series titles a little later as I don't like the use of "untitled".) 

I put the phrase small effort in italics because while the sewing together of this construction was quick, the development of the component parts took a good deal of work.  Some of the fabric was monoprinted with dye while some was created with charcoal, pencil and textile medium.  Much of the fabric has cording stitched across the surface and then painted with acrylic paint.

Untitled #2 - Terry Jarrard-Dimond

13" x 13" - Fabric - Cording - Monoprinted - Painted and Stitched

After completing Untitled #1 I thought of a large piece of fabric I had which had been developed in a very similar way and was languishing in a storage closet.  I retrieved that fabric along with a small stash of remnants of manipulated fabric and began to create a series of new small works.

Untitled #3 - Terry Jarrard-Dimond

13" x 13" - Fabric - Cording - Monoprinted - Painted and Stitched

I've written recently about remounting some of my older pieces in a new manner but I've decided that these works will be mounted flat with a mat and put under glass.  The pieces are very organic but they are not precious.  They "want" to be flat.  I haven't made a decision at this point what type of frame will work best.

I have more of these materials I plan to continue with this series.

***

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Terry Jarrard-Dimond: An Interview With Myself

Designing on the design wall.

Recently a friend pointed out to me that the pages on my website which listed my exhibitions, awards and teaching experience had disappeared!  I checked and indeed the pages were missing.  I suspect a recent change in the software for my website was the cause of this disappearance.  My friend pointed out that I needed to fix this omission quickly as this is the time of year people make their plans for upcoming workshops and if someone was interested in taking one of my classes they would likely be interested in this information.  Of course my friend was  right about this but as I thought about it I decided I wanted to share not only the list of accomplishments but more about myself which might help someone make the decision to study with me.  So here goes.

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Question:  What qualifies me to teach a workshop working with textile materials?

Response:  Like many artist my age I have worked with different types of materials but fabric and fiber have almost always somehow found a way into my work.  I learned how to sew as a teenager and continued to make clothing until I was an adult.  Along the way I taught myself or studied with others to learn many of the traditional fiber related techniques and processes: weaving, spinning, embroidery, knitting, crocheting, dyeing etc.  and even had a hand weaving studio for a time.  About ten years after undergraduate school I returned to university and earned an MFA.  Actually, I went into that program as a weaver and came out of the program doing mixed-media sculpture.

For 13 years after finishing graduate school I worked for the South Carolina Arts Commission on their Crafts Truck and then as an Artist-In-Residence all over the state of South Carolina.  Even though I was making sculpture in my studio, most of these residencies involved some type of work in textiles.  During this time I also taught Two-Dimensional Design, Drawing and Sculpture as an adjunct faculty member at Clemson University, Anderson University, Lander University and The Museum School at the Greenville County Museum of Art.  In addition to this teaching I also did numerous workshops for other colleges and art programs including being on the faculty for The South Carolina Governor's School for Arts for 10 years while it was a summer program.

During these years I worked with every age group except kindergardeners.  My students ranged from those seeking degrees in art to the casual student wanting to try something "different". 

Later I left teaching and worked as a textile designer until I retired.

Working directly with the fabric.

Question:  Having had these very diverse experiences, what did I learn?

Response: Teaching and then later working as a designer in a range of situations was a challenge.  Each group has its' own dynamic but universally I saw that people want to do well with their work, however, depending on their background and their personality, being in a group of people that often they don't know personally can be very stressful.  A workshop is a kind of "hot spot" where I believe you have to be willing to risk something in order to get the most out of the experience.  This can mean trying something you've never done before and not getting the results you want.  It can also mean sitting next to the person who is a total "newbie" yet everything they do comes out "perfect".  If people get too much into comparing themselves or judging themselves against one another it can be very difficult.  One of the most important things I learned was to work from achievement rather than disappointment meaning that I try to find the best in everyone's work.  If someone desires a "hard" critique I can work with them but I only do this if invited.  Most workshops are only a week long and that is not enough time to establish a relationship which supports tough criticism.

Trying something new.

Question:  How do I plan workshops?

Response:  Most of my workshops are planned around the Elements and Principles of Design.  I use this as a format because it seems there are so many people who haven't had the experience of formally studying design.  While I do incorporate some technique, I don't think that is the most important thing I have to share with people.  I want my students to leave my classes with added confidence in their ability of make observations about their own work and feel they can solve design issues for themselves.  This is a tall order for a weeks work but these workshops can be a start.  

I spend a good deal of time working on my programs and try to find unique ways to approach exercises along with the tried and true approaches.  I'm a great believer in experimentation and while students may not go home with a stack of finished works I work to see that they go home with ideas to carry them along to a finished work.

Enjoying new territory.

Question: What's the most difficult part of workshop teaching?

Response:  I myself have participated in many workshops as a student so I understand the commitment that is made in time, money and emotion.  Knowing that, the most difficult thing for me is to try and meet the needs of all the students.  I don't know if that can be done but I do try to spend individual time with every student every day and contribute to their growth as an artist.

Having a one-on-one talk.

I invite you to check out my workshops for 2014.  There are links at the top of the page.  If you have questions please contact me at tjd225@gmail.com.

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How to Mount Flat Textiles

Painted Desert II - 14" x 14"

Terry Jarrard-Dimond

fabric, dye, discharge, stitching

I'm pleased to announce that my work, Painted Desert II, has been selected for Transformation, Community and Self.  This exhibition is a juried competition sponsored and hosted by the Herring Center for Continuing Education on the campus of Furman University in Greenville, SC.

Originally the work had been mounted directly to a piece of rag board, framed with a mat for display in a deep glazed frame.   It looked nice but as I reviewed the piece in preparation for delivery to the show, I decided I wanted to try something different.  With this in mind I researched the topic and found a nice article written by Ann Frisina, textile conservator for the Minnesota Historical Society that presented a simple and archival method of presenting textile pieces.  You can find the information HERE.

I'll leave the details of the process to the PDF file you can get from the above link, but basically it involves a simple "pillow" style envelope made in a quality fabric (I used off-white linen.) into which the mat board is inserted.  The textile piece is then position on the face of the board and stitched under the edge so the stitching doesn't show.  This board is then inserted in the glazed frame.  Quick, simple, beautiful and archival.

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The Queen Must Die and Other Affairs of Bees and Men

Telling the Bees

Terry Jarrard-Dimond

wood, paint 

Last evening I participated in a gathering of a group of artists to discuss our favorite books.  There was no established criteria for choosing your book so we had a nice variety of subjects and types of books represented.

One Stop Bee Shop

Terry Jarrard-Dimond

wood, twine, wire

This work is now in the South Carolina State Art Collection housed at the

South Carolina Art Museum in Columbia, SC.

I choose a book I read some years ago, The Queen Must Die and Other Affairs of Bees and Men by William Longgood with illustrations by Pamela Johnson.  Longgood introduces the book with this description: This book is about those marvelous and perverse creatures, the bees.  In a larger sense it is an appreciation of the daily miracles we dismiss as commonplace or over-look altogether, a minute examination of the small better to understand the larger canvas of life.

No Kings

Terry Jarrard-Dimond

wood and paint

I'm not sure why I was so attracted to this book.  I don't keep bees, I'd never read about bees or thought much about them, but I did buy the book and I took it with me on a two week artists retreat at the Hambidge Center in North Georgia.  I went to the retreat with only a vague idea of what I would be working on but I had taken lots of mixed media materials, wood and my bandsaw.  I began reading and the descriptive language of Longgood began to fill my head with ideas for new work.  The writer had managed to fill this small tomb with drama, science, myth, history, all presented in a way that made it impossible for me not to see the stories and revelations in relation to people as well as bees.

Honey In the Hive

Terry Jarrard-Dimond

wood, woven fan, paint

During the retreat I created 13 new sculptures related directly to ideas spawned by reading The Queen Must Die.  This was very unique for me.  While I've always collected titles, phrases, bits and pieces of information which touched me and seemed to point toward new work, I've never been so moved by one book.  I did additional reading about bees and bee keeping and I continued to make work on this theme, however nothing has ever inspired me to make as much work on a single topic as Longgood's book.

Chambers

Terry Jarrard-Diond

wood, metal slats, wire, aluminum

Most of these works were sold through my gallery at that time, The Signature Shop in Atlanta, Ga.  I don't know where they are, who purchased them, if they are still hanging in some home or office, I don't even recall the names of all the pieces, but I hope they have given the owners as much pleasure as I received when I made them.

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Where the Bees are

Always Buzzing.

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Try Your Hand At Something New

BeeBalls - Terry Jarrard-Dimond

Wood, Brads, Paint

This week I attended a gallery talk by Spartanburg artist, Jane Nodine.  Jane's current exhibition, Thermal Response, is being presented at Riverworks Gallery and in the campus galleries at the Greer Campus of Greenville Technical College.  

Gallery talks in educational setting are most often planned for the benefit of the students and Jane herself is an educator.  She is both an instructor and chair of the Art Department at the University of South Carolina Upstate.  With this in mind, there were many art students in attendance.  

During the talk Jane mentioned her history regarding the many mediums she has employed during her career which solicited the question from one of the students, "How do I find my medium?"  The response from Jane was, "You try everything that is offered through your school program."  

This is such good advice and you might think it's obvious but often students (of any age or situation) make a commitment to a medium before they have really explored the possibilities.

This lead me to think about the artists I know who have worked across mediums with ease.  If you spend time on the web looking at artists' sites you will often see pages dedicated work done in different mediums: painting, drawing, prints etc. all done by one artist.

I find this expansive approach to making art exciting.  If you are the viewer you are given an opportunity to see what the artist can do in different mediums and if you are the artist you have an opportunity to show different sides to your art view and express yourself in new and diverse ways.

During my adult life I have worked with weaving, sculpture and constructed textiles.  Each body of work has it's own flavor but there is a vision that runs through all of them that is my voice.

Try something new.  Buy some new materials, read about a process that is new to you, take a class or workshop.  You may find the new process isn't for you or you may open the door on a wonderful new adventure.

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Residue - What is left behind

Residue - Terry Jarrard-Dimond

Fabric, Charcoal, Medium, Paint and Stitching

20.5"h x 22.5"w

I completed the construction of Residue a couple of weeks ago.  I titled the piece Residue as it is made primarily from the "left-overs" from a couple of other pieces.  The only new elements are the three pieces with the white shapes which were screened on with paint and added to the composition.

I thought about this title for a bit and then looked up the meaning of "residue" to make sure I was correct in the usage.  The meaning in my dictionary was: a small amount of something that remains after the main part has gone or been taken or used. Perfect.

detail - Residue - Terry Jarrard-Dimond

I have often worked this way or at least always found that the pieces of fabric I cut that don't work for one piece often find their way into other pieces just as they were left.  This happens because I have an established art vocabulary and while I hope it will always be growing and changing, there are certain elements which will remain constant.

detail - Residue - Terry Jarrard-Dimond

I'm at a point now where I need to go into the studio and make a large amount of new fabric.  This is the same as a painter who makes her own paints and has a very personal color palette.  You just can't run to the store and pick up what you need.  In the meantime I'll just keep sorting and looking at my scraps to see what else may be waiting to be used.

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Above and Below

Above and Below - Terry Jarrard-Dimond

Muslin, Charcoal, Paint, Stitching

Life is always full of surprises.  Some we welcome and some we just as soon not have to face.  We often put value judgements on these experiences which is a natural thing to do but these judgements can influence our thinking and our feelings in ways we aren't aware.

I think the title of this piece is an example of skewed thinking.  As I created this piece I was focused on the marks made on the fabric as non-objective residue of the process.  I liked the liveliness of the marks and the way they fell in the scraps of fabric I had created by tearing the fabric before applying marks.  I started with the top left and right rectangle.  They've been floating around my studio this summer and I just kept looking at them knowing I wanted to incorporate them into something.

As things go, as I was sorting fabrics one day I laid them side by side on top of a the bottom fabric and liked the value contrast.  At that point I had not added the white shapes.  This was then pinned on my design wall and studied for a few days.  The center top element was added next.  My first intention was to make the piece almost square but as I toyed with the dimensions I decided to extend the bottom element and make the work more elongated.  I don't really recall at how I made the decision to add the white shapes and to screen them on rather than sew them but I did it quickly and very spontaneously and was pleased with the results.

detail - Above and Below

I wanted to preserve the ragged edges of the top but have "clean" edges on the bottom.  This required that I add batting and backing in a very different way from my usual process but that's another story.

So back to Above and Below.  When I look at the finished piece I see earth and sky and soil and seed.  The words above and below are really loaded words.  Above is often perceived as better.  Below is often perceived as lesser.  We live above ground.  We are often buried below ground.  But what else can be below?  Seeds!  The things of new beginnings.  The gifts of the future.  Water often flows underground and springs forth fresh and purified by the earth.  Good things can and do come from below as well as above.

***Be sure and check out The Thread Nest".  I've added new examples since last week.***

detail - Above and Below

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The Thread Nest - A New Blog

My Thread Tower

Today I'm announcing a new blog The Thread Nest which will be a simple pictorial documentation of the love of thread in the form of "thread nests".  This term refers to the beautiful mass of multicolored thread that often develops in baskets, bags, boxes, drawers etc. when artists and stitchers of all kinds work with thread.

Top Basket

I will be putting an image with a link to this blog in the sidebar of Studio 24-7 where you will be able to see that a new thread nest has been added.  From The Thread Nest you will be able to link to the new artist website or blog and perhaps find out something special about their thread nest.

Basket Two

Basket Three

This is wool needlepoint thread for a commercially printed canvas I purchased recently.  It might be finished in 2020.  Sometimes it's fun to just follow the pattern.

Basket Four

This is the bottom basket which holds everything from embroidery thread from my mother, beading  and metallic thread to string. I sorted the colors and types of thread a few times but it always goes back to this.

So click on the link and stop by.  Not much there just yet but it will grow.

***

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Obon - Honoring Your Ancestors

Obon - 19.25"h x 49.75"w

Charcoal on muslin

The title of last week's article was "The Transitory Nature of the Physical World".  I've decided that I like that tile and will use it as the umbrella title for the series of works I am currently making.

The piece I'm featuring today is Obon which refers to a Japanese tradition of honoring your ancestors.  I found the word while researching ancestor worship.  Obon is a holiday where people visit relatives both living and dead.  People gather to clean the grave sites of their loved ones as a way to honor and remember.  Other parts of the world have similar customs such as The Day of the Dead in Mexico.

In the south there is a custom for churches (especially Baptist congregations) to have a service during the summer that is called Homecoming.  People who may have gone to the church as a child or at some other time in the past attend the service that day.  There is a sermon and then a picnic afterwards.  If the church happens to have it's own cemetery, which many do, people may visit the cemetery and lay wreaths.  It's a family event.

Obon - detail

My family on my mother's side has been in South Carolina for over 300 years.  I have visited some of the grave sites of these ancestors and know a little about them through the stories of my mother who is now 95 years old.   But trying to connect with the idea of these people is always rather difficult for me. I do however honor their lives and wish I could time travel to see them, to see how they lived and what characteristic they had that may still survive in me.

This piece has a mystic quality which lead me on this particular search.  The work is composed from some of the first fabrics I made using charcoal.  The fabric was created in complete innocence, meaning that I had no specific expectations.  Innocence can be a blessed state...especially when the results are something you appreciate.

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