Thursday, December 22, 2011

The Unveiling

Mayor Slay, myself, airport Dir. Rhonda Hamm-Niebruegge

An unobstructed view of the mural
 December 20, 2011 at 10:00 a.m. I was a very excited artist, it was the unveiling of my glass mural design.  It was a year ago that I created a mock up for the design and was off to Munich, Germany to work with glass artist to recreate that design in glass. The design is called 'A Whimsical View', it is what I call the deconstruction of a quilt. 

I am so thankful that I didn't listen to the voices in my head oh so many years ago about living my dream as an artist. I gave up a job in social work that I was not happy with. I buried my desire to be who I was meant to be, and paid dearly for it, because I was constantly in and out of the hospital. While laying up in the hospital in 1978, I vowed that once I was home and recuperated I would enroll in college. It was not to become an artist, it was to learn techniques, terminology, and to be around like minded individuals.  And I can say today, that I am so thankful that I took that step. I am now living my authenic self and enjoying every creative moment of it. My art has been such a blessing to me and for me and I give thanks daily.

Saturday, December 17, 2011

Ottawa Exhibit


information outside of the gallery
My first trip to Ottawa, Canada was quite rewarding. I was excited, nervous, overwhelmed, etc. But it all went well, my work was displayed in galleries #1 and #3. In gallery 2 was the work of a young man who created art quilts using recycled circuit boards-very interesting, I was in awe of the work. Prior to the reception at the gallery I was interviewed by CBC. radio about my work that was on display, and many individuals present at the gallery stated that they had heard the interview and wanted to meet me. There was quite a big turn-out. The road to Canada, was one that started years ago.

Adrian Harewood, CBC news anchor, is the person that put it all in motion. When he was doing a radio program at CBC.CA he took time off from 'life' and toured various cities here in the States. When he arrived in St. Louis, he talked to a fellow journalist that told him about the interesting couple in East St. Louis, Edna and Reginald Petty.  He called, we met at my home.  Prior to his leaving, some 6 plus hours later he made the pledge that he was going to help make it possible for me to have an exhibit in Canada.  As I said earlier, this was a long time coming.  One day I received an email asking if I remembered him, and was I still interested in having an exhibit.  With his help and the help of the curator Andrea Fatone, and the Embassy the exhibit was made possible.
Cultural Attache' Dr. Meriwether, myself, J. Jacobson, Amb. wife, and
Andrea Fatone, curator.



Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Up coming show at the Ottawa Art Gallery


Image credit: Edna Patterson-Petty,
Blues in the Night, 1996
 This is a write-up for upcoming exhibit in Ottawa, Canada


2 December 2011-19 February 2012
Edna Patterson-Petty, African-American Contemporary Quilts
Contemporary galleries 1 & 3


"Along with jazz, quilting is the uniquely American contribution to world art that bears the legacy of our African heritage and carries it into our common future...."*

The contemporary art-quilts of East St. Louis, Illinois artist Edna J. Patterson-Petty are improvisational and 'jazzy' in their aesthetic quality.  They function as conveyors of memories and histories of place-slavery, race and racism, community and self-emancipation. The quilts in this exhibition not only speak about adversity, they are testaments of the inventiveness of African-American culture as expressed in the syncopated jazz beat.

A consummate recycler, Patterson-Petty creates her colourful art out of scraps of cotton and silk fabrics, old clothing, organic and non organic materials found primarily around her home.  In her quilts Patterson-Petty fuses traditional quilt-making techniques from European, African-American and African cultures and extends them to produce visual narratives that employ a distinct applique' collage aesthetic.  The quilts seem to go against the grain of the rigid geometric structure associated with traditional quilts.  They are pictorial compositions that are infused with histories, as well as collective stories about the current socio-political moment.

Emancipation and agency are central themes in Patterson-Petty's work.  The quilt 'And still I Rise' (2010) presents black women as agents who have survived in the face of adversity and oppression.  In this quilt Patterson-Petty creates coherency from the fragments of a number of African icons, fabrics and texts, such as advertisement for the sale of a slave.  'If it weren't for the Women'(2010) pays homage to the important roles women play in ongoing struggles for social transformation.  It is the last in a series of quilts in the artist's Obama series (2008-2010).  The development and evolution of jazz as an African-American form and idiom are celebrated in works such as 'Trane Revisited' (1996-2010) and 'Blues in the Night' (1996). Patterson-Petty's engagement with jazz is also in recognition of the cultural specificity of the city of East St. Louis and its position in relation to jazz history.  East St. Louis was the boyhood home of jazz great, Miles Davis.

Seen together, the works in Edna Patterson-Petty: African-American Contemporary Quilts provide us with an encounter with African-American experiences and stories told through her spirited improvisational process of remaking and refashioning.

                                                       Andrea Fatona, Guest Curator


* Ringgold, Faith, "Preface," Spirits of the Cloth: Contemporary African American Quilts, by Carolyn Mazloomi (New York : Clarkson Potter, 1998) p.8.                                                  

Friday, September 16, 2011

What my art means to me

My art is more than art quilts, or any of the other things that I create, it's an emotional journey filled with pleasant memories. I have always wanted to be an artist, even before I understood what the word 'art' meant. As a child I remember the warm satisfying feelings that I would get every time I did something creative, it was a way of escaping into my own little world. I was pretty much a loner so art became my companion. As an adult that satisfying feeling has only intensified, and I am still pretty much a loner, but I have been working on that aspect of 'me' for a few years now. LOL I know that my creative ability is of divine inspiration, because I dream art, I feel art, I get excited when I am around art and artsy people, and through my creations I reveal my internal world.


When I create specifically for someone other than myself, I want to hear their story or their vision of the art that they want. Through that process I can get an emotional feeling of what it is that they really want. I try to marry their ideas with my creativity to better be able to create a one of a kind art quilt just for them.



30 years of Storytelling


Dr. Eugene Redmond's memory

Above are two quilts that I created, When I made '30 years of storytelling' I interviewed 3 women in the Storytelling group to find out how they wanted to tell their story. Once I layed out the design concept, I met with the 3 of them again and did not move forward until each were pleased with the direction the quilt was going.

In the secon quilt, Dr. Redmond brought four bags of clothing that he had been holding on for some time (they were clean) and he wanted a memory quilt that emcompassed 40 years of his life.  He was quite pleased



Just a quick update


It has been a while since I posted, but that doesn't mean I haven't been creating.  I don't spend a whole lot of time on the computer except for checking daily my emails. But creatively I have been working on a dream of mind, creating community public art with some of the youth in the community. Above is the image of one of eight concrete benches in the community park near my home that will soon get and uplift. Right now they are quite bland but the dream is to create mosaic designs for each bench. The goal is to have organizations or individuals adopt a bench which will allow me the ability to purchase mosaic materials. 

Here are images of two  benches that  have been adopted and created during this summer. I worked with 55 children ages 5-12 years of age to created these designs.  

                                               

Something New



Visit the following link to see some of the art quilts that are in the 'Ties that Bind' exhibit which is a part of the Innovations in Textile event. The exhibit is at the Sheldon arts galleries in St. Louis, Mo. http://vimeo.com/29075618  Although I brought the textile group 'Fiber Coalition' to the gallery directors attention, which I am a member of, I chose not to create an art quilt for the exhibit..  I wanted to play around a little bit and do something a little different and unexpected of me, so I created three hats which you can see below. You can only see a hint of them in the video.


 For the last couple of years I have been creating pieces with fabric remnants that I have available, the only thing that I have purchased is threads.  The hats, which I no longer wore were floating from one space to another, so I decided to finally utilize them in a creative way. I created a muslin pattern of the shape of the hat and then did a fabric collage over the muslin.  The first hat is titled 'Patch Work' and each hat shows two views, the second hat is titled ' Safari', and the third hat is titled 'Musical Topper'  It was a fun gesture and I love the outcome. 

                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                                                                         
 
 


All about the music, not just hearing it but feeling it deep, deep, deep

                                                                                                                                                                                             

Monday, March 14, 2011

Just a quick update

A lot has been happening since I last posted. I thought about taking the time to blog, but my creative muse wouldn't let up, so I did what I had to do-created to the point of exhaustion. 'whew'  Saturday March 12, 2011 I along with two other wonderful women Olivia Lahs-Gonzales, Director of the Sheldon Art Galleries, and Dr. Adrienne Hoard, Professor at University of Missouri at Columbia celebrated women's history month as a panel, recognizing some of the struggles that have been encountered by women in the arts. The program was sponsored by the St. Louis Art Museum, and held at the Regional Arts Commission of St. Louis.

It was well attended, there were over one hundred people in attendance. I know this because we were told that the room capacity was 110 seats, and all the chairs were full and a few people were standing at the back of the room.  I am not that comfortable with public speaking, but people seem to think I have something to say that is worth listening to, especially since I keep being asked. But in all honesty, I love talking about how empowering art is, the product is important but the process is equally important and to me very cathartic. I used four of my art quilts to discuss empowerment and I will post the images as soon I take the time to photograph them.

I am working diligently on art pieces for my next exhibit which will be in Ottawa, Canada in December of this year. The exhibition area is quite large (I received the floor plans) so you know how I am spending a lot of my time, right! As I said earlier my creative muse is in high gear and I am loving every bit of it. But I did want to take out a few moments to give every one an update on what is going on in my creative life. Next post there will be images, I promise. Mean while enjoy the video clip of the art show that I curated called INCLUSION.

Thursday, March 3, 2011

Inclusion snippet on you tube

Click on link to see a snippet of some of the images that were on display at SIU-E.  The exhibit "Inclusion" closed March 2, 2011

http://thisweekincas.com/2011/02/28/inclusion-more-than-just-a-word/

Saturday, February 12, 2011

What's New with Edna: INCLUSION

What's New with Edna: INCLUSION: "I was given the opportunity to curate and art exhibit at my Alma mater, Southern IL. University at Edwardsville, for Black History mon..."

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

The Right to be ME


As I sat in my studio looking through a variety of creative magazines, a strong thought jumps into my head 'I have a right to be me'. Too many times we as artist, as people really, are not given the okay by our peers, family etc. to grow. We are who they last saw us as. In our art we are the quilters, the painters, the sculputurer, etc. We can't try other things, we can't incorporate into our style of design. Actually we also don't give that right to ourselves, we are afraid of disappointing anyone, so therefore: we disappoint ourselves, we find it difficult pulling ourselves out of the proverbial 'rut'. I don't mean 'rut' in a demeaning way, but more of becoming complacent, not wanting to explore outside of our comfort zone.
I came to the conclusion that it is okay to meander with my creativity in the directions that strongly call to me. It is like taking a road trip, there is a destination in mind, but along that road trip there are places of interest at many of the exits that call to me. Because I have no set time to be at my destination I take my time and explore.


In traveling we have to refuel our car, service it, etc. Like wise as artist, and as people we have to refuel our mind, nourish our body, replenish our spirit. We have the right to be who we were meant to be. So after a little time spent exploring I get back into my car and continue on my journey. Everything is alright, I am exerting my right to be me, and push my art in the direction that is satisfying to me and continue to grow creatively.
My trip to Munich Germany Nov. 2010 allowed me that 'exit' to explore into another form of my creativity, 'mosaics' . I am passionate about my fabric art, but mainly I am passionate about ART. I love learning, exploring, experimenting with different mediums. It is okay, it is all a part of the right to be me. I may not please others with my art all the time, but I do have to honor myself-always.

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Rejection is not a means to an end

Today I received a rejection via email. But I took it well, I gave thanks that I was notified and didn't have to wonder for weeks whether or not I was one of the artist chosen. It is so disheartening to apply for a 'call for artist' and never hear anything one way or the other. I must say I have grown in many ways and I don't take the rejections personal any more, I just release it and move forward. I know how we all have some horror stories of our many, many rejections to the point of letting it reduce us to tears-I have been there and never want to go there again. Now I give thanks that that is in the pass, and I give my energy to the letters of 'congratulations' and the possibilities of what creatively lies around the corner. For every door that closes, hopefully a window opens.

Sunday, January 9, 2011

Spirit work

I see spirit as my deep, inexhaustible power source. But sometimes life become so consumed by the demands of the day that I forget to tap into it. But by creating art it allows me to escape into a realm of relaxation that allows me to connect back with my power source at a moments notice.

Find your source of relaxation and don't forget to tap into it daily.