Fall down 7 times, get up 8: Perseverance and Appreciation

"Wall Drawing #2" ©2010 Ayn Hanna, 36"x43", Textile Painting (5 layers cotton fabric hand-dyed by the artist, cotton thread)

I rarely give up.  Sometimes it gets me in trouble.  Other times, it gets me great results.  I’m still learning about boundaries and deciphering which situations I need to keep pushing through, which ones I just need to let go, and which ones I need to step back, re-evaluate, and approach a bit differently.

Recently, I wrote a post about being sad because I had screwed up and gotten one of my textile pieces double-booked in two really great juried shows. Flash forward to today, and I am thrilled to let you know that, thanks to the graciousness of Karen Roxburgh and the Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum, it is all going to work out in the end.

When I told Karen that my Wall Drawing #1 textile painting which is included in the current Evolutions Show at the RMQM had also been accepted in the nationally juried Drawing in the Expanded Field Show and that it was to be the only textile piece in the show and they had declined to accept an alternative piece, Karen agreed to let me replace Wall Drawing #1 with Wall Drawing #2 (above) in her show, so that Wall Drawing #1 will be able to be included in the Drawing show after all.  I am humbled and appreciative of Karen’s thoughtfulness and willingness to work with me to find a solution that worked for both show venues.

Wall Drawing #2 and Wall Drawing #1 (below) are each constructed of multiple layers of fabric with shapes cut out (reverse appliqué) to reveal the different layers as well as shapes appliquéd to the surface, and then with stitching added to create variety of line, complete the images, and quilt the layers together.

"Wall Drawing #1" ©2010 Ayn Hanna, 36"x44", Textile Painting (5 layers cotton fabric, cotton threads)

The Drawing in the Expanded Field Show will be at the Hatton Gallery, in the Visual Arts Building on the CSU campus from Oct. 6 – Nov 12 and opens next Wednesday, Oct. 6 with opening reception from 6-9pm.  Excerpt from the show announcement:

This is a national juried exhibition of contemporary drawing that goes beyond traditional drawing practice. The works selected comment on, or directly challenge our preconceived notions of the discipline through various approaches and a wide range of media that are currently employed by the artist of today. In the words of one of our jurors, “through stitched threads, twisted ribbons, the linear shadows of a three-dimensional floor installation or the trajectory of a shopping cart in a supermarket” this exhibition illustrates just a few of the ways in which drawing is expanding its horizons.

One of the 2 Jurors of the show, artist and writer Deanna Petherbridge, International Getty Scholar and founder of the Centre for Drawing Research, RCA, UK, will present a public lecture, “The Primacy of Drawing” on Wed, Oct. 6, 5pm, Room F101, Visual Arts Building.

If you’re in the area, please join me at the opening reception next Wednesday night!

Tags: Deanna Petherbridge, Drawing in the Expanded Field, fabric painting, RMQM, rock art, textile paintings, Wall Drawings