Artist Spotlight: Ronit Shalem

Ronit Shalem is a Bay Area artist and frequent visitor to San Jose Museum of Quilts & Textiles. We were captivated by her hypnotic process and textile influence- it's a real feast for the eyes! You can find more of her work here:

Describe the main differences of your 'old' studio to your 'Shelter in Place' studio.

I’m lucky to have a studio at home so there is no actual change in location or setup. However, now during Shelter in Place (SIP), my family is present therefore I need to adjust to sharing space.

What has surprised you about your art practice since the Shelter in Place order?

I am a people person. Before SIP, friends would drop by all day long to visit while I’m working and I love it! However, I do realize that somehow these days, I need more quiet in order to concentrate on my work.

What do you do when you get "stuck" in your creative process? Where do you turn for inspiration?

I love to take walks either in the neighborhood, at parks, or in the city. While walking, I take many photos and then I use them for inspiration in my sketchbook. Also, I read a lot, love doing meditations, and talking with friends as they usually have great ideas.

What are you currently reading/ listening to?

I’m reading an amazing book called, “The Power Of Now” by Eckhart Tolle. I enjoy listening to lots of rock music - especially live shows.

What advice would you give to other creatives at this moment in time?

Breathe.
Take in the change that is happening around you
Conduct video conferences. It is such an amazing opportunity to connect with new and old people, to get rid of geographical boundaries, to get to do new things and to experiment.

What drew you to the fiber art medium over others?

I’m fascinated by ancient arts in general, especially the local iconography in the form of artistic language that represents community and traditions. In particular, I admire the hard labor involved in textile making, the stories which are hidden in the patterns, the representation of women and sisterhood in textile making.

Artwork Spotlight: Claudia Casarino, "Sin Titulo"

#MondayArtworkSpotlight: Claudia Casarino (@casarina) is best-known for her installations that feature delicate, often transparent garments hung in multiples. In Sin Titulo, currently on display in the exhibition "Inside Out: Seeing Through Clothing," Casarino presents a series of suspended tulle dresses, each designed to fit her own body.

When lit from above, each individual dress imprints a spectral double on the wall behind it. For Casarino, tulle acts as an important material for exploring social issues related to the body and women’s experiences. The artist writes, “For me, its transparency is a metaphor of clothing itself. It covers the body but reveals other things. With tulle, the gaze transcends the garment.”

Artist Spotlight: Margaret Timbrell

Our third Studio Artist interview is with San Francisco-based artist Margaret Timbrell. Margaret has participated in group exhibitions at San Jose Museum of Quilts & Textiles, and was also our Artist in Residence in the Fall of 2018. You may remember her work with needlepoint and humorous, uncanny autocorrected spellings. 

You can see more of her work here:

What are materials and processes utilized in your body of work?

My work is mostly needlework. Usually needlepoint or embroidery but recently I was commissioned for a 15' wide latch hook portrait of Minnie Pearl. It hangs behind the reception desk of the newly opened Graduate Hotel Nashville. While sheltering in place I'm writing down the funny things my 4 year old twins are saying and stitching them on some Candamar needlepoint canvases. See my newest masterpiece, My Butt Hurts, for reference.

Describe the main differences of your 'old' studio to your 'Shelter in Place' studio.

3 weeks ago I was rich in studios! I am currently the AiR at Ramon’s Tailor, an alternative art space on Jones St, I have a new super messy studio space at the Pacific Felt Factory in SF, and I have use of the facilities at the Minnesota Street Project Studios. Now I stitch on the corner of our sofa that has the best light which is awesome because that’s all a needlepointer really actually needs. Everything else is storage.

What advice would you give to other creatives at this moment in time?

Keep on making. Your art is providing hope to others around you. I find it immensely inspiring to follow other artists and makers on social media. Post your Work in Progress (WIP) (@ me or forward to my Instagram) and I will share it in my mini daily “gallery” of WIPs and recently created work. Let art help carry us through this!

What drew you to the fiber art medium over others?

The pragmatism of needlework is one of its most appealing features. You can stitch anywhere, on almost everything, for many reasons: decoration, mending, communication. 

What non-art related activity do you do to invigorate your body/ mind?

I run. 

Anything else you would like to say or mention?

Stay inside and keep stitching.

Minnie Pearl @ the Graduate Hotel Nashville
Margaret Timbrell
15' wide latch hook portrait

Artwork Spotlight: Rose Sellery, Skin and Bones

We’re delighted to have three wonderful works by Rose Sellery (@rose_sellery) in Inside Out: Seeing Through Clothing. Today we’re highlighting Skin and Bones, a wearable sculpture made of found animal bones, upholstery piping and a tea-stained back brace.

These materials evoke flesh-colored body parts that echo and exaggerate the imagined wearer’s skeletal form. Like much of Sellery’s work, Skin and Bones plays with language—the title offering a wry commentary on a fashion industry that promotes unhealthy body standards in its demand for thinness.

Moving beyond the gallery, the artist’s conceptual garments come to life on the runway in fashion shows with Pivot: The Art of Fashion (@pivot.artfashion), organized by Sellery and Tina Brown (@ilkastyle).

Artist Spotlight: Pantea Karimi

Our next artist spotlight is San Jose-based artist, Pantea Karimi. If you've visited San Jose Museum of Quilts & Textiles in the new year, you may have viewed Pantea's solo exhibition The Forgotten Women of Science. The show featured lesser-acknowledged female scientists from ancient times to the nineteenth century, and their contributions to their respective fields.  Ada Lovelace, Hypatia of Alexandria and Mary Ward were highlighted to name a few.

San Jose Museum of Quilts & Textiles celebrates this exhibition as a way to commemorate the 100th Anniversary of Women's Suffrage. Read more about Pantea and her process here:

What are the materials and processes utilized in your body of work?

I usually work with prints: digital (illustration) and manual (silkscreen and monotype). I enjoy working with interactive installation and various substrates such as paper, fabric, wood and metal. Some of my works also use mixed-media techniques, such as silkscreen combined with ink or watercolor.

Describe the main differences of your 'old' studio to your 'Shelter in Place' studio.

The main difference is the (limited) set-up and tools. 

What do you do when you get "stuck" in your creative process? Where do you turn for inspiration?

I take a break from the subject for a few days. I do different things, for example, I read online articles, or watch TED talks that are relevant to my work, process, or content. Usually this helps to get inspiration and a fresh perspective towards the subject. 

 What artist, who works in a different medium, informs your practice?

I am influenced by the works of modern avant-garde artists. In terms of abstraction and arrangement of my own forms, I draw inspiration from the Russian Suprematist artists El Lissitzky (1890-1941) and Kazimir Malevich (1878-1935). These artists were in search of a style of abstract painting based on geometric shapes, which they believed promoted the supremacy of pure artistic feeling over the depiction of objects. 

In my art, I also draw inspiration from artists from around the world, my peers, and art genres. Among male artists, I appreciate the technicality and creativity of William Kentridge’s work. I have seen many of his animations and exhibitions in London and San Francisco and his recent Opera, which was wonderfully performed and staged. His work is very inspiring to me!

When it comes to female artists, I am usually inspired by their biographical narratives such as their struggles, achievements, and creative paths. My list is quite diverse and here are a few from various cultures and times: 

Artemisia Gentileschi (her female perspective was highlighted in all of her paintings)
Louise Bourgeois (her thought process and artistry)
Louise Nevelson (her use of materials and composition)
Barbara Kruger (use of bold images and texts as well as the message of her works)
Sally Mann (for her work, creative process in general)
Marlene Dumas (she draws inspiration for her works’ imagery and content from published media: newspapers and magazines. Her female figurative paintings have elevated the subject from its roots in vanity, using it to depict personal, psychological, social, and political concerns. Her works are emotional and make me think).
Es Devlin (for her most amazing, creative theater and stage-sculptures. For her confident thought process and outcome)
Marina Abramović (for her persistence, the power of performance and feminist art)
Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian (Iran.) (beautiful use of her Iranian heritage techniques and materials: mirror-mosaics. Her work is a perfect marriage between Iranian and the Western culture while keeping her Iranian identity dominant) 

What advice would you give to other creatives at this moment in time?

Get the best out of your situation.

What non-art related activity do you do to invigorate your body/ mind?

I like to exercise at the Gym, go for long walks, organize, and clean my studio and office routinely. 

What is your favorite afternoon snack?

Nuts or cheese puffs.