That's a Wrap

 

There are so many ways to create in Fiber Arts.  Let's look at two artists who got wrapped up in yarn.  Their art can be considered both Fibers and Sculpture.

Sheila Hicks

Through out her long career, American artist Sheila Hicks has been innovative and inspired other fiber artists.  

At Yale, Sheila earned her BFA and MFA -- these are art degrees that mean she is like a "super-expert" in her art making.  Sheila learned about painting and sculpture but it was on a Fulbright scholarship that she traveled to Chile and got interested in fibers.  Sheila's travel to locations around the world inspired her art.

Sheila uses traditional craft to create installations of her fiber works. (An installation is an art filled room or space where you actually are in the art rather than just staring at it on a wall. Sculptures that make you feel like you've stepped into a new world or change how you see or feel about a space.). 

Known for her vibrant colors and innovative use of materials, Sheila makes us think about fibers in a new way. 

Sheila's art fills a wall inside the newly remodeled Powell Hall where the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra plays.  I hope you get a chance to checkout her colorful fiber art.

Let's look at another artist who created art wrapped with fiber materials.

Judith Scott

Judith Scott has become a well known American sculptor and fiber artist.  Judith was born a twin and with Down Syndrome.  She was mostly deaf and did not speak.  

At the time in history when Judith was a child, it was unfortunately common for people with disabilities to live in institutions. Judith spent most of her life in an institution for the mentally disabled.  (Institutions for people with disabilities are places where many people with disabilities used to live together, often in big buildings far away from their families).  How would that feel?

Judith's twin Joyce worked hard and got guardianship of Judith, meaning Joyce is not her parent but legally takes care of her like her parents would. As an adult, Judith moved to California to live with her twin sister.  

In California, Joyce enrolled her twin sister in Creative Growth Art Center, an art studio for adults with disabilities.  

It took some time but Judith eventually revealed herself to be a talented fiber artist.

She found objects of all sizes and would wrap them, weave them and interlace them with fiber materials like yarn and fabric.  Judith's art would eventually be recognized, appreciated and end up in museums around the world.  

How might Judith or Sheila's Fiber Art inspire work in our studio?  Maybe you'll create a form that you'll wrap yarn and string around.

Will you create art by wrapping, weaving, knotting and intertwining fibers?

Fibers Boot Camp

Pom poms

Fiber wrapped Figures

Get in the Game

Anyone can be an artist and sometimes the most unlikely person might just be one.  Let's look at some athletes who create art as well as art inspired by sports.

Micah Johnson grew up in Indiana and as a kid, worked at baseball everyday.  He spent hours at the gym and the ball field, refining his skills.  Micah would go on to play at Indiana University and then for the White Sox, Braves and Dodgers.  

It wasn't until Micah was an adult that he considered himself an artist.  While still in the MLB, Micah went to a sip and paint class and there he realized he liked to paint.  After home games, he found painting helped him de-stress. He considers himself a self-taught artist. He works with charcoal and paint, often creating portraits that inspire children and even adults to follow their dreams.  Micah's art has been featured in galleries, art shows, murals, digitally and even branded on clothing.

“For me to get to the Major Leagues, it took me 18 years of continuous work -- I started when I was three,” Johnson said. “So, with art, I'm trying to work at that rate to condense those 18 years down. But that work ethic is instilled in me because I know at the end of that work, you're going to get rewarded.”
“My whole mission is to inspire children,” Micah says. “But I try to have that looseness to it. And that's just how I am. I work a lot with just my hands. Sometimes I don't even have a paintbrush in my studio. I try to do these really bold lines and have that perfect blend of whitespace and also color. That's how I'd define my style now.”

Another athlete turned artist is Michael Thorpe. Michael played college basketball and now quilts images of the court in his art.  His mom taught him to sew.  He uses fabric and thread to sew basketball images.

Fast Break by Red Grooms

Athletes can make art but also be the subject of art.  Now, let's look at some art that features sports and athletes as the topic or focus of the art.  Baseball, basketball, surfing, skating, you name it, it has been featured. Artist Red Grooms created this precarious sculpture of action on the court.  What sport is Red showing in his art?

Artists use lots of materials as their "canvas" or surface to paint on but a basketball court becomes a massive painting.  St. Louis artist William La Chance designed this court in St. Louis.

Basketball court in St. Louis, Missouri's Kinloch Park by William LaChance.

St. Louis artist Marley Billie D used paint and wood to create jump ball while Felandus Thames uses hair beads to string together this floor to ceiling portrait of legendary basketball player Allen Iverson.

Artist Hank Willis Thomas used jerseys to create his version of Picasso's Guernica, a painting showing Picasso's feelings about a civil war in Spain.

Artists Kelsey Armstrong created these hoops and nets with materials we usually think of in which studio?

Artist Henry Taylor, paints heroes from his LA neighborhood.  See Alice Jump features Alice Marie Coachman Davis, an American athlete. She specialized in high jump and was the first black woman to win an Olympic gold medal.

Aquatic sports inspire these works of art by Derek Fordjour and David Mazanic.  Can you name some aquatic sports?

Friday night lights becomes the subject of Catherine Opie's photo series.  What sport is being played? The photos capture the landscape of the field and the high school community of the team.  How is a team a community?

We can't pass on Soccer as the subject.  Peter Max created this colorful art work for the World Cup and Dario Escobar fills a gallery with soccer balls to create his sports sculpture.

Do you LOVE sports?  Many sports inspire art including these tennis paintings by Bronte Goodieson and Gonzalo Centelles.
Are you a FAN of art featuring sports?

Will you make art about a sport you play?

Do you belong to a team?

What is something that interests you that you might make art about?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=erX4OJh0AvU

Ernie Barnes was a former American professional football player who became an accomplished artist.

and art about sports

https://www.sfmoma.org/exhibition/get-in-the-game/

https://www.sfmoma.org/read/from-the-court-to-the-canvas-get-in-the-game-at-sfmoma/

Catherine Opie  high school football on a Friday night.  

Aaron Maybin artist

https://www.southerncultures.org/article/now-we-can-deal-with-the-nuances-of-who-we-are/

https://www.sfmoma.org/exhibition/get-in-the-game/