Art Opening: Friday, October 18th, 6-8PM
-This exhibit is from October 18th- November 8th-
A line is a path that expresses the energy used to create it. This is a definition that I tell my theatre design students. It helps explain how a path can be graphite on paper, a choreographed movement, a melody in music, or the arrangement of furniture on stage.
October’s exhibit at The Artists Hand is an arrangement of surreal landscapes and fantastical figures interwoven by a series of fiber art holding them together in a-maze-ing ways. In this arrangement you may find many surprises, not the least of which is a meditation on what makes up who you are.
The exhibit is a collaboration between fiber artist Rhonda Luckey, and her 47 year old daughter, Elizabeth Woods. They fashion it upon features of the ancient Greek story of Ariadne and Theseus. The myth of the Minotaur, the half man/half bull slain by Theseus, presents the problem of an impossibly difficult maze devised by Daedalus that Theseus must navigate. A ball of red thread she gives him to mark his pathway. Luckey and Woods have arranged their expressions to speak what words alone cannot speak. Exposing the threads that connect us all.
Walking this figurative labyrinth with my eyes, I find myself encountering a place of paradox. Probable impossibilities. One of my favorite writers, Maria Popova, writes on the intersection of art science by making connections between the two fields of creative endeavor. Philosophy is often the glue that holds these pieces together. In her article, “The Ship of Theseus” she muses upon a thought experiment that opens a doorway to being both ourselves and our parents or offspring.
A Prologue to the Installation
From Rhonda,
All parents can recall carefully preserving their child’s artwork, whether the child is 6 or 46. Ariadne’s Thread For me, my daughter’s “stream-of-consciousness” sketches and paintings express her inner-most thoughts. When experiencing her images, I often am pulled into the imaginal realm. While there, fibers become my prayer for re-discovery and transcendence in homage to Elizabeth’s creative spirit. As Elizabeth’s mother, I have come to understand, after almost a half-century, that what I can offer my daughter is a bit of light as she traverses the divine labyrinth of her life.
Writes Elle,
Now, at age 46, my mother’s weavings and expressions in fiber, mine the depths of my heart. As a daughter, I have come to cherish my dreams, nightmares, memories and wonderments. Together they forge a bridge to share my love and light with God in times of darkness. Who is Ariadne? Mother with her red threads of divine light to guide her daughter through the labyrinth? Daughter with her surreal landscapes and fantastical figures to reveal the child within and to encourage her mother to re-member her own childhood? Walk the labyrinth with us. You decide.
More About Rhonda Luckey as an Artist:
Enfoldme Fiber Design reflects the contemporary textile and fiber art of Rhonda Luckey. Drawing upon her early training as a weaver and garment maker, Rhonda explores techniques to create and recreate fabric using block printing, painting, quilting, sewing, and nunofelting. Her works are influenced by her early childhood living in Asia and Europe, where her mother immersed herself in the textile and floral artistry of Japanese, French, and Italian cultures. Rhonda’s techniques include, for example, Shibori, Sashiko, Ikat weaving, eco-printing and silk painting. Enfoldme Fiber Design is a counter to the dizzying pace of the 21st Century and provides Rhonda the environment to listen to the imaginal world within while being immersed in colors and textures from nature. From the woods to the garden, with antique linens and silks, with vintage garments and found objects, each piece is a labor of love and echoes her prayer of gratitude.
More About Elle Woods as an Artist:
Elle Woods grew up in Indiana, PA and has been a teacher for over 18 years. She is now the coordinator of Gifted Support Services in the Indiana School District. She studied visual and creative writing, but stopped creating after university. She is happy to have started again. For her, artwork is very spiritual. Elle Woods has 3 sons.
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