Kate's studio

2012-02-06T18:17:00.007-05:00

"Decades of Dreaming of You...", 2012, hair embroidery on hair from mother's head during gestation period, threads from unraveled pillowcase, 3 x 5 x 5". Embroidered text reads, "decades of dreaming of you...". (working photos)

Many years ago, when I was very young, I terminated a pregnancy.
Decades later, at the last possible biological minute, I gave birth to my daughter. This piece was made to mark the completion of this cycle in my life.

"If you are an artist who happens to be a mother.... " someone once told me, "whatever you do, don't use nest imagery."

2012-01-31T01:53:00.007-05:00

Looking for Fiber-Based Work on The Subject of Motherhood

Seeking examples of work in fiber-based media on the topic of motherhood for a paper to be delivered at the 2012 Textile Society Conference in Washington, D.C. Artist Kate Kretz will be delivering a lecture entitled "The Final Art Taboo: Identity Politics of Motherhood".

Female artists have gained some ground over the past few decades, but there are still unspoken rules remaining: artists who happen to be mothers tend to keep it quiet lest they be written off, and heaven forbid they make art on the subject. While art historians have always studied and noted the influence of travel, friends, and milieux on the work of male artists, the most profound and life-altering experience of all has been ignored in these discussions of creative inspiration, because it is an exclusively female phenomenon. This paper will feature work done by cutting edge contemporary textile artists who have artistically “come out” as mothers, addressing the topic with humor, depth, and sometimes, shocking candor. Fiber, a medium that references protection, nurturing, and other motherly attributes, serves as the perfect vehicle for art evoking the complex nature of contemporary motherhood.

Please email website links or up to 3 jpeg images to kkretz4art@aol.com by March 31st.

Kate Kretz earned a certificate at The Sorbonne and a BFA at the State University of New York at Binghamton before receiving her MFA from University of Georgia.

Exhibitions include the Museum of Arts & Design, Van Gijn Museum, Kunstraum Kreuzberg, Wignall Museum, Katonah Museum, Frost Museum, Fort Collins MOCA, Telfair Museum, Fort Lauderdale Museum, the Museo Medici, as well as Lyons Wier Ortt & 31Grand Gallery in NY, Chelsea Galleria and Hardcore Art Contemporary Space in Miami, and Packer/Schopf in Chicago.

She has received the NC Arts Council Grant, The South Florida Cultural Consortium Fellowship, The Florida Visual Arts Fellowship, and a Millay Colony Residency. After working as an Associate Professor and BFA Director at Florida International University for ten years, she recently moved to the Washington, DC, area. Kretz currently works in her studio while giving workshops and lectures at various universities.

Her work can be seen at http://www.katekretz.com, on Flickr, and Facebook.

2012-01-22T08:54:00.003-05:00

My newest piece will be finished in a day or two. It's really personal, so I have no idea if it's art, just know that it something that I needed to make to complete a certain internal cycle in my life. I will probably have to write a brief sentence and come out of the closet about a difficult issue in order for it to make sense to people and not seem like a pile of sentimental rubbish.

This has been a really fun and challenging piece to make in terms of solving problems and pushing the limits of the materials. It is a big sacrifice career-wise to make one piece and move on to something completely different, as opposed to creating an inventory of almost-identical pieces... I think about that all the time, as it pushes hard against my ambitions, but I can't work any other way. Life is too short.

2012-01-21T16:13:00.003-05:00

My newest silverpoint is featured in the exhibition "From What I Remember / From What I Forget" at The Principle Gallery in Alexandria, VA. It is a really lovely show that focuses on representational work, most of it obsessively rendered.

"Tempest", 2011, tarnished silverpoint on found spoon, 1.5 x 5.5 x 1"

2011-12-05T21:05:00.001-05:00

Above is a page featuring my work from the latest issue of "1626", a Chinese street fashion magazine.

2011-11-29T06:28:00.003-05:00

En route to Miami for the fairs!!! Beginning new paintings upon my return, for a solo show in April.

2011-11-25T17:16:00.003-05:00

Packing for Art Basel Miami.... very excited.
For the past few years, I have made the Spring Armory Fairs in NY (because they are only a few hours away), but two moves and the general life difficulties have caused me to miss the last few Art Basels. I'm beyond thrilled to go back to my old home base to see friends and absorb as much art as possible. Another step towards getting back in full swing.

2011-11-08T07:31:00.002-05:00

I will be giving a talk on my work, "Sincere, But Not: Catholicism and the Contemporary Artist" at the Southeastern College Art Conference in Savannah, GA, this Saturday, Nov 12th, as part of a panel on Religious Art Since 1980.

2011-11-04T10:52:00.004-04:00

I will be giving a paper in Savannah next week at the Southeastern College Art Conference. My paper,"Sincere, But Not: Religious Imagery and the Contemporary Artist" will be presented in the " Re-Framing Religious Art: Religious Art After 1980" panel on Saturday.

2011-11-01T14:09:00.000-04:00

My fiber work will soon be featured in "1626":

About 1626 Magazine:

Established in 2004, 1626 is the first urban and streetwear fashion magazine to circulate all kiosks, magazine booths, bookstores, and streets of China.

With their latest copy (released bi-weekly), you’ll get to feel the pulse of today’s latest areas of fashion trends, designs, world of gaming, music, movies and many more entertainment sources that’ll keep you well informed.

Distribution: Guangzhou , Beijing , Shanghai , Chengdu and Guangxi. Each magazine provides different content tailored for each local’s market.

2011-10-02T23:11:00.000-04:00

Art World Truth #7, 2011, embroidery on used studio overalls.

2011-09-22T21:10:00.000-04:00

People keep sending me these links.

2011-09-15T12:26:00.004-04:00

So... insanely busy. Preparing a talk on my work (putting it into the context of contemporary religious art) for the Southeastern College Art Conference this Fall. I am days away from completing a new Art World Truths piece. I am also doing sketches and beginning a cartoon for a very large, scary new painting, trying to push this embroidery on black velvet forward,
and I'm about a quarter of the way through a new 3D hair embroidery piece.
Waiting for weather to break so we can open the windows around here and smell the Fall air. Have finished a major job in Phase 1 of the living room transformation, Phase 2 will happen after my solo show in Feb. Will post pics this weekend. Teaching Color Theory at Montgomery College of Art & Design. And The Peanut is getting to be more fun every day.

2011-08-30T21:27:00.001-04:00

A review of the Berlin "Mothering" show in Revista Exclama magazine.

2011-08-30T18:11:00.002-04:00

.....and this, where a student illustrates the new not-technically-plagarized-Google-homework technique. The original text is here.

2011-08-30T18:08:00.001-04:00

Monkey Puzzle.

2011-08-30T18:05:00.005-04:00

It's important to Google yourself every couple of months... my work is mentioned here on Worn Through, a blog devoted to "apparel from an academic perspective". The piece was originally published at Gaga Stigmata, which is (can you believe it?) a blog "devoted to the study of Lady Gaga from an academic perspective".

2011-08-30T17:46:00.001-04:00

Somehow, I missed this feature at Little Yellow Birds. It's been a pretty crazy summer.

2011-08-24T17:18:00.002-04:00

I was recently interviewed about my embroidery here on the Enbrouderie blog.

2011-08-08T20:48:00.005-04:00

Working photos of new piece:

"V.I.P.", 2011, steel, latex, gold leaf, gold chain, and charm, 7 x 2.5 x 8"

A piece about powerful men and sexual entitlement.

2011-08-05T21:39:00.001-04:00

It was a pleasure to interview with Mr. X Stitch....

2011-07-13T14:36:00.001-04:00

My work has been featured over at Salon.com as part of "The Weird World of Contemporary Hair Art".

2011-07-10T20:35:00.003-04:00

This is the cover of the newest issue of Das Argument, a journal published by the Berlin Institute for Critical Theory.

In the studio... still making French knots, gold leafing an unusual object, taking a pillowcase apart thread by thread, and gearing up to start a big painting project. Oh, and finally finishing the decorative painting in my living room. I have acquired a new artwork that I am anxious to put up as soon as the walls are dry!

2011-07-01T13:43:00.001-04:00

An article in Nashville Arts magazine featuring great pics of some of the works that can be seen at the silverpoint show opening this weekend in Nashville. Looking forward to the opening!

2011-06-29T13:19:00.003-04:00

My two newest pieces will be included in the silverpoint show Silver: Points of Departure, curated by Carol Prusa, artist extraordinaire, at Tinney Contemporary Art in Nashville. Featuring the work of Joe Biel, Anne Connell, Lori Field, Marietta Hoferer, Michael Kukla, Kate Kretz, Carol Prusa, Susan Schwalb and Fran Siegel.

2011-06-22T14:47:00.003-04:00

New piece: "Memento Innocenti", 2011, tarnished silverpoint on found cup, 2.25 x 5 x 2.75". Have several more silver pieces in progress, and working with models for the first time in a while, building up to a big, scary exciting painting project. It is hard to believe that it has been almost three years since I worked in oils (mural for my daughter's room does not count).

2011-06-05T13:28:00.002-04:00

Works in Progress.

Lamb composed of thousands of French Knots on black velvet, and silverpoint on found baby cup.

2011-05-23T22:20:00.007-04:00

Been so busy, many things happening, have not had time to catch up. Here are a few images from the "Mothering" show in Berlin, which just came down:

They produced a substantial catalog (cover below), and the show was favorably reviewed in several publications that I linked to in my earlier posts.
Got an email from The Berlin Institute for Critical Theory, and they are going to put "Blessed Art Thou" on the June cover of the Marxist Journal of Philosophy and Social Sciences, Das Argument.

My Vagina Dentata Purse will be featured in a 2012 coffee table book "Humor in Craft".

I continue to make hundreds of French Knots for a new fiber piece, and I am busy polishing some silverpoint drawings for "Silver: Points of Departure", curated by Carol Prusa and opening at Tinney Contemporary Gallery in Nashville, TN, June 25-July 30, 2011. Looking forward to the show, and hoping to attend the opening.

2011-05-11T16:47:00.000-04:00

I have recently written a review of the new book, The Art of Not Making: The New Artist/Artisan Relationship, by Michael Petry, for Bourgeon, the online arts magazine.

2011-05-07T20:29:00.002-04:00

Recently interviewed for a teaching position, so I googled myself to make sure I knew what was out there, and found a bunch of new stuff. This is my work featured in a Dutch art blog from Sept 2009.

The translation:

Kate Kretz (1963) is an American artist who has studied the Sorbonne in Paris, and the Binghamton University (New York) and the University of Georgia in the U.S.. Her intriguing works include paintings, drawings, textiles and embroidery and working with human hair. She bore a stir in the U.S. in 2007 with a painting of actress Angelina Jolie to see if the Virgin Mary. It can be regarding her paintings inspired by Catholicism and by old-fashioned Technicolor movies, the color palette gives added impact to the usually surreal subjects. She is so clearly a child of her time. Both the chosen form, the sometimes humorous, sometimes sarcastic ridicule and techniques does not differ much from that of her contemporaries. Her work - although I never really have been able to witness - gives the impression of high quality. Surrealism continues to fascinate, why? Would that have to do with our era? The reality of today because it sometimes seems surreal to be fiction. This is the work of Kretz at least somewhat cheeky (and maybe a bit flat for European tastes) forward.
In the Netherlands, she exhibited at the Van Gijn Museum in Dordrecht. Hopefully they come back in our country with an exhibition.

[purse in the shape of a vagina with teeth]

2011-04-06T01:04:00.003-04:00

So much going on.... the Berlin group show, "Re/Production: Mothering" was reviewed here , here and here (sorry, the Google translations aren't that great): "Blessed Art Thou" was printed in one, and (positively) discussed in both.

Last week, I was interviewed about my hair embroidery pieces for a Russian embroidery book that is coming out in the Fall.

I am off to NYC for the day on Friday.... a dawn-to-dusk commando trip to see a few shows that I simply cannot miss. I am preparing to pick up my paintbrush again, and although I am not exactly sure what is going to come out, I can tell you it's going to be a significant shift.

2011-03-22T16:39:00.002-04:00

I will be giving a talk on my work this Friday, March 25th, at 5:30 pm in the Katharine Woltz reception room of Rebekah Scott Hall at Agnes Scott College in Atlanta. The talk will be followed by a reception and the opening of the 2011 Collage Art Colloquium exhibition of work from Atlanta art schools. Please come/ tell your friends!

2011-03-18T08:00:00.003-04:00

"Tempest", 2011, tarnished silverpoint on found spoon, 1.5 x 5.5 x 1"

I was recently asked to be in a silverpoint show that will take place this summer. Most of my silverpoint works are older, so I decided to make a few new pieces. After an hour of working on a new traditional silverpoint on gessoed panel, I thought to myself, "there's got to be a more compelling, more interesting way to do silverpoint...", and headed off to the thrift store. There are more pieces to come, as well as a new embroidery composed of thousands of french knots.

2011-03-13T08:33:00.002-04:00

My work made the cover of the Spring 2011 Chaffey Review! I will begin posting work in progress again, as I am on a roll, experimenting with silverpoint and doing a new embroidery piece that involves hundreds of French Knots.

2011-03-02T11:31:00.001-05:00

off to New York for Art Fair Blitz, then back here for Spring Break studio time!

2011-02-23T21:00:00.002-05:00

I have been invited to be the keynote speaker for the Collage Arts Colloquium at Agnes Scott College in Atlanta next month... can't wait. It's been a while since I have been back to Atlanta, and it looks like it's going to be a really exciting day!

2011-02-23T20:37:00.001-05:00

A great review of "My sweet, sweet..." by Felicia Feaster in ArtsCriticATL.com.
LOVE her articulation of my work!

2011-02-22T11:53:00.004-05:00

Below is the translation for the press release for “BEYOND Re / PRODUCTION Mothering”, opening this Friday at the Kunstraum Kreuzberg in Berlin.

I am showing a full size study for “Blessed Art Thou”, 2006-10, 88 x 60”, graphite and watercolor on paper.

Subject: ". BEYOND Re / PRODUCTION Mothering" opening for Friday, 25.02. from 19 clock

Ladies and Gentlemen, Dear Friends,
We would like very much to the opening of BEYOND Re / PRODUCTION. Mothering invite for Friday, 25 February 2011 from 19 clock:

Beyond Re / Production: Mothering
Dimensions of social reproduction in the age of neo-liberalism

Exhibition - lectures, discussions - Film Program
A project of Felicita Reuschling in collaboration with the Art Space Kreuzberg / Bethanien, the Gunda-Werner-Institut and the fsk-Kino. Funded by the Capital Cultural Fund
26. February to 25 April 2011
Opening: Friday 25 February from 19 clock, welcome Dr. Jan Stöß, District Councillor for Culture and Education, followed by: DJ Iris Kettner

Artists of the exhibition: Ditte Bjerg / Fillipa Berglund, Denmark; Lizza M. David / Claudia Liebelt, Berlin, Margi Geerlinks, Netherlands; Lisa Glauer, Weimar, Sibylle Hofter, Berlin, Natalia Iguiniz, Peru, Elzbieta Jablonska, Poland, Verena Jaekel, Berlin; Lenka Klodova, Czech Republic, Kate Kretz, USA, Christine Lohr, Berlin, Janina Moebius, Berlin, Tracey Moffatt, Australia, Dulce Pinzón, USA; Heike Rusch Meyer, Berlin; Mary Sibande, South Africa; Zoitl, Berlin; Migrants Rights Centre Ireland: Aoife Smith, Ireland; TIWA (Taiwanese International Workers Association), Taiwan
January 2011: The employment of mothers is now on the scale of values in modern society at the top. But how women manage to balance work and family? How is motherhood designed in structures between child care and work, in which, the role of the man barely changed? The exhibition Beyond Re / Production: Mothering reflects contemporary art and documentary views on motherhood and the associated image of caring. The desire and fear images that are linked to the social character of the mother in the current bio-political process of transition should be made visible.
Together with the comprehensive program, the art exhibition is as part of a feminist discussion process that responds to the situation of working mothers and the (resulting) Dissemination of low-paid domestic and care work as a symptomatic expression of social reproduction in neo-liberal societies, in turn, without women labor migration would be unthinkable.
The works of 19 artists and groups move from ten countries on the borders between self-report, artistic research and political practice. Thus, Lenka Klodova sets in their photography, "Life with a handicap" with the balancing act of the working mother apart, must hammer out a super-mom, despite the daily pressures a masterstroke in terms of flexibility. Mary Sibande from South Africa is taking the racist and postcolonial aspects of paid care work, and the Quilt "Blurred Boundaries" refers to the blurred boundaries between work and private spheres, which are typical for domestic and care work. The installation "Mammamil" shows breast milk in tetra-shaped Sunkist - a paradox that the civil assessment of breastfeeding than most private care and reverses alludes provocative.
The supplementary education program provides visitors with further cultural, political, and subject-specific approaches and backgrounds to "Mothering" and "Care Work", to support an interdisciplinary and ongoing work on the topic. The presentations address the domestic and care work, which are mainly in wealthier countries with immigrant women, and often performed under precarious conditions. The film series associated with this aspect of adoption and child neglect and offers "Look Back" with a piece of feminist film history.

2011-02-16T07:09:00.002-05:00

The first two pages of the flyer advertising the group show "Mothering", which opens in Berlin next week...

2011-02-07T21:02:00.001-05:00

Just learned that "Blessed Art Thou" will be published in another upcoming textbook, to be published by Fountainhead Press.

2011-02-02T13:49:00.002-05:00

"My sweet sweet..." opens tomorrow night in Atlanta from 6-8 pm.
Free poster at the opening!

2011-01-29T12:04:00.001-05:00

Here is the 72 page catalog from the "Myself" exhibition of contemporary self portraiture currently up at the University of Nevada, Reno. It's lo-res, about 7MB.

2011-01-29T11:02:00.003-05:00

The "Myself" exhibition at the University of Nevada, Reno, is up until February 18th, and "My Sweet, Sweet..." opens this week at Agnes Scott College in Atlanta.

2011-01-15T18:16:00.004-05:00

"Testosterone", 2011, 16 x 20", gouache on paper, glitter frame.
Part of the ongoing Little Exorcisms series.

2011-01-15T17:31:00.004-05:00

"Unravel", 2011, 14 x 11", Prismacolor pencil on paper

and a pink glitter frame.....

2011-01-10T12:10:00.003-05:00

"Myself", a survey of unconventional self-portraiture, opens Jan 20th at The Sheppard Fine Arts Gallery at the University of Nevada, Reno. The exhibition was curated by Marjorie Vecchio, PhD, and a 76-page catalog features a co-essay conversation between Mira Schor and Joy Garnett. The show runs through Feb 18th. One of my hair embroideries is included.

2011-01-05T13:01:00.002-05:00

I am participating in the group exhibition "Myself", opening this month at the Sheppard Gallery at the University of Nevada, Reno. The exhibition is curated by Gallery Director Marjorie Vecchio. Catalogue co-essayists include Joy Garnett and Mira Schor.

2010-12-28T12:36:00.003-05:00

"Lack of Magic", 2010, 24 x 18", watercolor and gouache on paper.

2010-12-23T08:17:00.004-05:00

I have been silent, but I have been working.... on all these "Little Exorcisms" that are cleaning out my pipes so that I can move on. I am making what needs to be made, I feel that I have no say in the matter, I am trusting that it will all make sense somewhere down the road... it always has in the past.

I have a slew of group shows coming up in February, including one in Berlin! I have a few weeks break from school, and will be spending lots of time in my studio, so look for new postings. Until then, have a wonderful holiday!

2010-12-20T12:59:00.004-05:00

"Insomnia II", 2010, 24 x 14", latex, watercolor and gouache on paper, from the "Little Exorcisms" series.

2010-12-04T09:14:00.003-05:00

An Open Letter To Bill Donohue of The Catholic League on The NPG Controversy:

As someone who has been in the crosshairs of the Catholic League not once, but twice, I have given a lot of thought to the issue now facing the National Portrait Gallery. There was a lot of chaos in my life during these moments, and I never really had the time to gather my thoughts (because we were too busy installing alarm systems and removing my address from various sources to protect my family from the threats of “Christians”.)

Artists develop a visual vocabulary, often made up of their own life experiences. Yes, there are a few (in my opinion) shallow artists who will desecrate random symbols simply for shock value, but the majority of the people who get in trouble for using Christian imagery in their work were raised Christian themselves.... which is why the images hold such power for them. As someone who was raised Catholic, attended Catholic Schools for 12 years. and stared at all the religious pictures in my house while growing up, it would be absurd if religious references DID NOT come up in my work. No one owns the symbolism of the Catholic Church, it is my symbolism too. The Catholic Church would like to control how their icons are used, and by whom, but they do not have that right. Asking a Christian artist to refrain from using images that are burned into their brains is like asking a French person to refrain from speaking French.

More importantly, if the good people who are offended by this type of work took even a moment to try to understand what the borrowed symbol means in the surrounding context, I am convinced that they would often agree with what the artist is trying to say. Instead, the second an icon is spotted in a way that seems threatening, the switch is tripped. Like a stubborn child who views things as either black or white, there is no dialog, no discussion, but the planting of feet in a constant pre-determined stance. I remember an exchange of emails that we had, when I tried to explain to you that one of my images was an image of reverence to me, and your response was “That’s what you artists always say!” That’s what we always say because it is true. I blame this gap in understanding on the lack of arts education in our schools... we are growing into a nation where a majority of people do not understand the meaning of the word “metaphor”.

The particular video in question was made at the height of the AIDS crisis by a gay man and gifted artist who lost the love of his life, and then succumbed to the illness himself at an early age. At that time (and even to this day), Christians were saying that these people who suffered and died got what they deserved. The treatment of these people as though they were unclean is not unlike the way that lepers were treated in the Bible, that is, until Jesus approached them without fear and came to their aid.

Jesus, who taught us to love, forgive, accept and help one another. Jesus, who said “Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.” Jesus, who associated with all manner of people that society did not deem acceptable and came to their defense. Jesus, who asked us to treat others as we would like to be treated.

Most of these objectionable symbols, including the one in the video removed from the National Portrait Gallery, are used in the art to address the vast disconnect between the teachings of Christianity and the actions of its present day members, as evidenced in (among other things) the shameless treatment of AIDS victims in this country.

It is often said that artists create these controversial works "just to get attention". It’s true, they are trying to get your attention.... not to anger you or wound your sensibilities, but to make you think, and to open the dialog... not about art, but about the truly tragic and vital issues that the work is about. Perhaps that is why it has been so important for you to shut them down.

2010-12-01T20:18:00.003-05:00

I was excited to see that my image was chosen for the invitation of the upcoming exhibition, "My Sweet, Sweet...". The show opens February 3rd at Agnes Scott College's Dalton Gallery in Atlanta. The visual artists for the exhibition have been chosen, but there is currently still a call for sound pieces that would fit with the theme.

2010-12-01T15:26:00.005-05:00

So, I keep making these gouaches. I feel like these "Little Exorcisms" represent a kind of purging that I need to do before I move on to my next big project. For the first time in my life, I am just making things fast, thinking that I will edit them or adapt them later. Feels strange, but empowering, to just have ideas and execute them. I don't know if I like this one enough to release it to the greater public yet, because I am already in process of doing another version of it. But I think if I put this particular piece in a pink glitter frame, I would like it just fine, at least enough to hang it in my own house.

2010-11-13T12:51:00.008-05:00

"Little Exorcisms"

"Woman With An Urgent Vocation (and a Master's Degree)", 2010, gouache on paper, 10 x 24"

I am going to make a few of these. Haven't done any paintings in a while... these little exorcisms are like clearing the meconium out of my pipes so the good stuff can come through.

P.S. My friends have asked me to make this available on t-shirts, mugs etc... so THIS will be my first foray into "products".

2010-10-25T17:14:00.002-04:00

"Kate Kretz is also keen on collectables, and in her Your Fragility…, she has embroidered her daughter’s frilly blouse with the words “Your fragility in this sharp world is paralyzing” using the hair she lost while the girl was in utero. Immensely powerful, this statement of love and fear is also a connection of body parts and seems to temporarily re-cement the bond between mother and child—until the child outgrows the shirt."

Here's the rest of the review of the group show "Separation Anxiety" at the Wignall Museum in CA.

2010-10-18T13:58:00.002-04:00

This Thursday, will be giving a paper and sitting on a panel entitled "Crafting the 21st Century" at The Southeastern and Mid-America College Art Conferences in Richmond, VA.

2010-10-05T11:54:00.004-04:00

"Separation Anxiety" opens this week at The Wignall Museum of Contemporary Art outside LA. Wish I could see it, it looks to be a fantastic show. That's my most recent hair embroidery on the invite!

2010-09-06T06:41:00.002-04:00

Two group exhibitions open this coming week.... "Drawing Revisited" at the Green Hill Center in Greensboro, and "Manifold" at Austin Peay University. The piece above, "Close.", will be at the "Manifold" exhibit, which is a show about the fragmented body.

2010-08-19T05:02:00.002-04:00

My daughter's nursery mural is finished. At least, I'm trying really hard to leave it alone. I have been repeating the mantra "it's good enough..." as I tried to complete it, otherwise I would have spent the rest of the year on it, and I need to get my new studio up and functional. I will post pics of the whole room, it's quite a transformation... I just need to get the electrician in to put up the chandelier, and get the moulding up.

2010-08-04T05:03:00.001-04:00

2010-08-01T20:01:00.002-04:00

Don Stewart from artistchronicle.com interviewed me at the opening of the North Carolina Fellowship exhibition a few weeks back: the video is here.

2010-07-25T13:52:00.000-04:00

in-progress nursery mural

2010-07-24T00:41:00.001-04:00

2010-07-22T08:03:00.000-04:00

2010-07-20T11:25:00.000-04:00

2010-07-19T13:27:00.001-04:00

Nursery mural, in progress

2010-07-11T23:17:00.001-04:00

Tom Patterson's review of the NC Fellowship exhibition in The Winston-Salem Journal.

2010-06-11T15:33:00.003-04:00

Art World Truth #6 (detail), 2010, embroidery on used studio work clothes.
Part of the Art World Truths series.

2010-05-31T10:37:00.005-04:00

Work on stuff for the new house continues, as well as some studio work, which I don't want to give away until it is further along.

Beginning of the sketch for Lili's nursery mural:
Aunt Irene's tables, which I used to hate and want to get rid of, until I had a vision.....
The one on the right is in it's original state, the one on the left is primed.

2010-05-27T08:02:00.002-04:00

Moving into a new house, packing up the old... painting furniture, at long last creating the nursery I could not create before Lili was born. Embroidering a new "Art World Truth" and working on my tiniest painting ever late at night.

The NC Fellowship exhibition opens at the Green Hill Center in Greensboro, NC on Friday June 4th from 5:30-7:30. The exhibition features 18 NC artists who won the $10,000 award, and will run through August 22nd.

2010-04-26T10:07:00.005-04:00

Finally.

Closing on a new house today, and moving from the "temporary" apartment we have been in for the past year to a place where I will have a real studio once again.

These past two years have been the most difficult time in my life: It began when my husband was laid off two weeks after I became pregnant. He was unemployed for 7 months. He finally got a job in DC, and commuted there every week for two months at the end of my complicated pregnancy. Five days after giving birth, we moved to a temporary 2 bedroom apartment in DC with a large dog, a cat, and a new baby. Temporary nursery for the daughter I have been waiting for my whole life. We commuted back to NC every weekend with an infant during her first few months of life, getting our house ready to go on the market. Postpartum depression and heartbreak when we discovered our daughter has a hearing disability and will wear hearing aids for the rest of her life, which means the first 6 months were filled with tests, we continue to meet with teachers every week to be sure her speech develops normally. The cost of hearing aids far surpasses the lifetime insurance cap of $1,000 for her hearing disability. In January, I started three evening jobs at various universities after watching my daughter all day. My husband has done consulting work on top of his full-time job. During this time, I stayed up late and got up early to embroider in a corner of our bedroom, to draw and paint on paper pinned up on the wall of our living/dining room. We still have not sold our house in NC, which means we have been paying rent and mortgage for the past year, but buying this house will keep us from pouring more money down the drain in rent.

Continuing to make art during this period makes me more proud than anything else I have accomplished in my life.... it also kept me alive.

New work is here.

2010-04-07T12:21:00.002-04:00

I am thrilled to announce that I will be participating in a group show on mothering in Neoliberalism from a feminist point of view at the Kunstraum Kreuzberg/Bethanien in Berlin in February of 2011. Stay tuned.

2010-04-01T10:31:00.006-04:00

"Your Fragility....", 2010, mother's hair from gestation period embroidered on child's garment, velvet, 15 x 16".

Upon the occasion of my daughter's birth, I became almost agoraphobic, irrationally figuring that, if we never left the house, nothing bad could ever happen to her.

This piece, made within her first six months of life, is a simultaneous invocation for her safety, and a confession of my own newly hyperbolized emotional vulnerability. The hair used is that which was on my head during the time that I dreamt of her, during the time that I carried her. Like rings of a tree, a length of hair embodies the passage of time, carrying a discernible record of an organism's extreme life experiences.

The repetitive act of embroidery seems to be made for calming worry... trying to tie things down, sew them in, make them stay.
Embroidering with hair possesses its own unique intensity: each barely perceptible stitch is like a rosary bead, marking a tiny but ardent prayer whispered over and over.

2010-03-31T10:55:00.003-04:00

NEW WORK

At my solo exhibition, "Purge/Deluge, Part II", which opens this Friday at the Hillyer Art Center.
The artist scheduled for the April show cancelled, so I was offered the opportunity to extend my show. As I just got back some new work from the "Embodiment" exhibition, I have hung some of it at The Hillyer Center, along with 3 new works that have just been completed. I will post the newest hair embroidery tomorrow, along with some installation shots from the exhibition. Tell your friends! The Hillyer Center throws a great party.

2010-03-17T08:39:00.002-04:00

This Saturday the 20th, at 2 p.m., in conjunction with my solo exhibition at Hillyer Art Center, I am hosting a screening of Pamela T. Boll's film "Who Does She Think She Is?" at the Hillyer Art Center, 9 Hillyer Ct, NW, in Washington DC, 20008, followed by a panel discussion with artists who are also mothers Elena Patino (who is also showing at the Hillyer Art Center), Sarah Wallace Petruziello, and Tess Cummins. We will supply tissue and brownies.

Seating is extremely limited. Please RSVP to events@artsandartists.org to reserve your seat.

2010-03-14T12:23:00.001-04:00

A review of the "Embodiment" exhibition by Tom Patterson in today's Winston-Salem Journal.
(the second review on the page)

2010-03-12T19:01:00.005-05:00

New Piece: "Special Angel", 2010, 20 x 16", graphite, paper, etched mirror. (SOLD)
Preparing for my Powerpoint lecture at the Hillyer Art Center in D.C. tomorrow.
2 p.m. 9 Hillyer Ct, NW

2010-03-11T21:22:00.002-05:00

A giant hair embroidery photo on page 27 of the Washington Post's Express weekly paper. A nice welcome to D.C.!

2010-03-10T07:46:00.001-05:00

First Washington review of my show at The Hillyer Center.

2010-02-28T16:19:00.006-05:00

Current and Upcoming Events

This Thursday, the 4th, I will be participating in the panel discussion "The Ivory Tower" in conjunction with the "#class" exhibition at Winkleman Gallery in NY. The discussion takes place at 4 p.m. All the panels are being webcast at http://hashtagclass.blogspot.com/

"Love, Infatuation, or Lust" is still up at Hardcore Art Contemporary Space in Miami through April 5th.

The nine person show, Embodiment, will have its delayed-due-to-weather opening this Friday, the 5th, in at the Greenhill Art Center in Greensboro, NC. It is an AMAZING show, I cannot wait to see it!

My solo show, Purge/Deluge, will also open this Friday at the Hillyer Art Center in Washington, DC. The person scheduled to exhibit after me cancelled, so my show will be extended through the end of April. I will not attend the opening on March 5th, but I will be attending the second opening on April 2nd, so come say hello. I will be showing mostly older work in March, and will rehang the show with newer work in April.

In conjunction with the Purge/Deluge show, I will be giving a Powerpoint lecture of my work on Saturday, March 13th, at 2 p.m. On Saturday, March 20th, at 2 p.m., we will be hosting a screening of "Who Does She Think She Is?", followed by a panel discussion of 4 artists who are also mothers (including yours truly).

2010-02-27T18:00:00.003-05:00

Unofficial pics of "Stay.", 2010, 18" round, baby shoes, baby blankets, embroidery thread, convex glass, frame.

2010-02-24T17:14:00.006-05:00

Art World Truth #5 (unframed), 2010, embroidery on studio dress.

This is the latest piece in my ongoing Art World Truths series.

2010-02-22T13:07:00.002-05:00

On the left is part of a new piece, on the right, the beginnings of a sketch for a proposal I am doing. It needs to be more sad/intense.
This piece, which has been finished for a while, is now going to be matted with a baby blanket, and framed, then it can go out into the world.

If I can stay up a few nights this week, there will be 4-5 new pieces in the world.

2010-02-17T08:55:00.002-05:00

Mind numbingly busy. Working with my brother on (finally) updating my web page. Finishing a hair embroidery, a new Art World Truths piece, framing my "Stay." piece with an elaborate shirred, pleated, or smocked mat. Teaching two classes. Submitting two proposals. Loan forms for shows. Scanning and cataloging hundreds of images to build my new digital library for teaching.

On March 5th, my solo show of new and old work will be opening at The International Art & Artists Space/ Hillyer Art Center in Washington DC. I am in process of scheduling an artist's talk for the month of March, as well as a screening of "Who Does She Think She Is?" with a panel discussion following. It should be amazing. Please spread the word.

Also on March 5th, the opening for "Embodiment", an amazing nine-person show at The Green Hill Art Center in Greensboro, NY. I will, unfortunately, miss both openings, as I will be in NY for The Armory Show and the panel discussion at Ed Winkleman's on the 4th.

So forgive me for not writing. Things will calm down in April, and posting of in-progress work will resume then, I promise.

2010-02-08T08:58:00.002-05:00

I am thrilled to be one of the invited panelists discussing “The Ivory Tower” as part of the “#class” exhibition/continuous happening at Winkleman Gallery in NY. This particular discussion takes place at 4pm on Thursday, Mar 4th. The exhibition, along with daily events and provocative panel discussions, will be asking tough questions about the state of the artist in the Art World.

2010-02-05T20:54:00.002-05:00

The "Embodiment" exhibition opening at the Green Hill Center in Greensboro has been postponed until Friday March 5th, 5:30 - 7:30 due to inclement weather.
I am "snowed in" in DC for the weekend, transforming thrift store jackets into one-of-a-kind outfits for the College Art Association Conference in Chicago next week.

2010-02-03T00:05:00.007-05:00

How The Recession Transforms A Vocation Into An Addiction

One day without it, and you’re cranky: deprived for a week, you become unbearable. The question of sacrificing basic comforts is irrelevant: your life revolves around the ability to “get your fix”. You believe it keeps you sane, allowing you to function as a productive member of society. You go back to the familiar behavior time and time again, even though it steals time, money, and causes conflict with those around you.

These are some of the common behaviors surrounding addiction. Often, it takes a progressive set of circumstances to reveal that someone really has a problem: for serious artists, the recession is that wake-up call.

A recent study conducted by Leveraging Investments in Creativity (LINC), a non-profit that works to support artists, reveals that more than 50 percent of artists have reported an income drop in the past year. 18 percent claimed an income loss of over 50 percent in that period of time. Artists who were (barely) able to support their need to make art when times were good are now facing a sobering truth: while the compulsion to create remains, the resources are not there.

Yes, I said “compulsion”. If you are not personally acquainted with any artists, or if you only know “Sunday Painters”, it can be difficult to comprehend how vital the realization of their visions can be. Laypeople have romantic words to describe artistic motivation, but terms like “passion” and “inspiration” are quaint, flaccid adjectives when used to articulate a drive so strong that it drowns out rational thought. Few people are able to conceive of this impetus that stems from your core, compelling you to go several nights in a row without sleep, or go a day without remembering to eat. For serious artists, the decision to devote themselves to creating is really not a decision at all, but an urgent, fundamental, and innate need.

The Art Boom of the past few years has painted a picture for the public of a new type of artist, epitomized by the likes of Jeff Koons and Damien Hirst. In fact, most artists across this country do not have glamorous, prosperous lives with 20 studio assistants: they are essentially slaves to their own creative drives. The LINC statistics show that a majority of artists work a second, or even a third, job to finance their art making activities. Unlike other “professions”, artists do not necessarily see any monetary gain from the student loans they invested to get their BFAs, followed by MFAs. They can cross the hurdle of securing coveted gallery representation, get amazing reviews, and spend 20 years of 70 hour weeks building up an absurdly thick resume, and still not be able to make ends meet. But, when pressed, I think that money retains little value to most art practitioners, except when they are looking to procure the capital needed to realize the next project.

All artists go through periods when they question their life choices. Those who live alone often sacrifice food, living conditions, and credit ratings in order to feed their art making. Accountable to no one and entrenched in their work, it can take years for them to “hit bottom”, and question whether the decisions they have made are in conflict with their own best interests for survival and longevity. When the occasional sales and grants that supplement a “day job” dry up, getting the second or third gig to make meager ends meet sucks up all the time that used to be spent making art.

It is often when one begins to share life with another that a mirror is held up for individuals to see and confront themselves. When a creative person enters into a relationship with a non-artist and gets to the point where they are making joint decisions about money with their partners, they are forced to look at the income vs. expenditures with a new set of (rational) eyes. Even the most supportive significant others can be tested when weighing the benefits of cobalt blue paint at $442.00 per pound against chicken at $2.49 per pound.

Regardless of marital status, when there is enough money available, art making can still be viewed as a vocation. Like one who chooses a religious life, artists acknowledge that the money’s not great, but the higher calling, with its soul-feeding rewards, sustains them. As long as they are creating, they exist in a state of bliss, despite ascetic surroundings.

But when sales drop off, the galleries close, and institutions declare that they will be giving no grant money this year, there are those among the creative ranks who are slapped in the face by the bottom line that they have been ignoring all these years. There will be interventions and reassessments. The cold economic reality of this time is so severe that it challenges the very definition of what it means to be a practicing artist. Because in this country, where money reigns and art is considered a luxury, “passion” is just another word for financial liability.

2010-02-01T08:02:00.003-05:00

Current / coming shows:

"Between Two Realities " at Principle Gallery in Alexandria, VA, just opened.

"Intimate Apparel", University Gallery, University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth
Jan 30 - Mar 14, 2010

"Embodiment", a nine person show at the Greenhill Center in Greensboro, NC, opening this weekend. Feb 5 - Mar 28, 2010

And a solo show, "Purge/Deluge" at the Hillyer Art Center in Washington, CD (of old and new work, because during "women's history month", pickins are slim in the Kretz inventory)

2010-01-28T02:17:00.003-05:00

Today, Radley had a malignant tumor removed from his leg. We are so blessed that it did not spread.

2010-01-22T08:25:00.001-05:00

I have a piece in a great show opening this weekend at Principle Gallery in Alexandria, VA.

2010-01-12T08:10:00.000-05:00

A Gallery of my "freaky" work appears at Trendhunter....

2010-01-11T20:46:00.002-05:00

A Flickr sneak peak of "Embodiment", an 8-person exhibition opening at the Green Hill Center in Greensboro, NC on Feb 8.

2010-01-10T00:17:00.001-05:00

A swell T-shirt in celebration of the 2010 Whitney Biennial....

2010-01-07T00:01:00.001-05:00

New statement:

One of the functions of art is to strip us bare, reminding us of the fragility common to every human being across continents and centuries. Often, I will meet someone, and the visible weight of his or her life becomes almost unbearable to me, it rips me open. The objects that I make are an attempt to articulate this feeling.

I give birth to the tactile as I am swallowed by the virtual. I obsess over craft as our world becomes disposable. I wield emotion in its messiness because it's uncool. I work until my hands shake, because the world does not care.

I am banging my head against the wall, but the stain is beautiful.

2010-01-05T00:50:00.001-05:00

One of my "Art World Truths" pieces will be at the Miami International Art Fair this weekend at the Miami Beach Convention Center, in the Chelsea Galleria booth.

2009-12-19T13:57:00.000-05:00

Lili, 8 mos. Happy holidays!

2009-12-11T07:53:00.004-05:00

Something's got to give, and I apologize that blogging is taking a back seat to actually making art, and dealing with my even more-demanding-than-usual real life. This project is days from being finished:
The hair embroidery will likely be a few more weeks, as I prepare to teach an experimental drawing course at (don't laugh) Catholic University, write the last of ten grants and several exhibition proposals, and prepare for Christmas.

2009-12-02T11:17:00.002-05:00

My hair embroideries are included in the forthcoming textbook, "Foundations, the Fundamentals of Art and Design", written by Steven Bleicher, and published by Pearson/Prentice Hall Press. The book will be published in Fall of 2010.

2009-11-25T21:20:00.001-05:00

I will have new work at Chelsea Galleria, 2441 NW 2nd Ave., in Miami's Wynwood district during Art Basel Miami. Please stop by if you are in town for the fairs!

2009-11-23T16:22:00.004-05:00

Crazy busy. I will be teaching an experimental drawing class in January, and there were about 30 books from my personal collection that I desperately needed to teach the course that were in the very back of a storage pod that was stacked with boxes 7 wide, 6-7 tall, and 10 deep. In the middle of these layers were tied off pieces of plywood and one of my husband's motorcycles. My amazing husband spent Saturday unloading the pod (that was originally loaded by 3 burly men) & loading it back up again so I could get to my books. He saved me untold time and grief... many of the books that I needed images from were exhibition catalogs & out of print books. We never anticipated that we would be living in limbo so long, or that I would teach a class here this soon.

In other news, Nov 20 was International Overalls Day. I opened my mail to find that I received an "International Overalls Day Award" for my "Art World Truths" series. The professor who sent me the award lives in Norway and is writing a book on overalls. I am almost finished with the newest Art World Truth piece.... I have had to fill in the text on this one, because it is embroidered on a print dress.