Entwine Opening

Entwine Show. Gallery 21. Gainesville, FL

The Entwine show opening went very well. The turnout was wonderful and many of my local friends came by. Two were even gracious enough to be resident spinners for the evening.  Sharon Emery and Ginger Clark -both accomplished fiber geeks- spun for guests and helped give a little context to the traditional process of handspinning. I could definitely see a shift in how people coming into the gallery perceived the work just by being able to have the experience of seeing a spindle in use. Sharon and Ginger were joined intermittently by other local spinners throughout the evening including our own nationally shown tapestry weaver Connie Forneris.

Sharon Emery demonstrating spinning to a visitor. © photo by R.Batista

Showing locally feels sasifying if only because I get to see so many of the wonderful people of my hometown all at once. It's so touching to have folks whether I know them yet or not come see my work and show their interest support. I can't begin to mention all of them or I'd have to write a book or at least a wiki and that is a project for another day (no really, it is on the list). Gainesville is very much Makerville; everywhere you turn is a musician, artist, poet, writer, jeweler, theater director . . . I've fallen very much in love with it partly because of that alone.

My co-artist and studio-mate, Cindy Steiler, exhibited work of great charm and sweet whimsy. I felt our work was well paired and hers seemed to lend a lightness to mine that isn't always apparent when alone. I exhibited a number of my Nubis (Latin "cloud") silk pieces as an installation near her mixed media work. 

Nubis ephemerus silk kites exhibited alongside Cindy's embroidered work

 

The soundtrack for the exhibit was created by Romain Challendes, and was an haunting combination of ambient sounds: stringed instruments, children laughing . . . 

Randy Batista and Sita Marlier at Gallery 21 did an excellent job making certain the community knew about the opening and we were included in the local paper with an image of one of my new tangle sculptures. My fairy godmother even unexpectedly arrived (as fairy godmothers are prone to do).

New Traces of Spun drawings, the Tangle (& . . . ) sculptures, and Specimens installation. © photo by R.Batista

Erin Curry. Tangle (& Arise) front and Tangle (& Swarm) back. handspun cotton thread, graphite dust, acrylic sheet, wood, and custom table. ©2011

Erin Curry. Specimens. handspun cotton, graphite dust under glass. 160 4"x6" pieces. ©2011

You can find a few more images from the opening on the gallery's Facebook Page which I suggest subscribing to as they had some other excellent shows come through recently. They were lovely to work with. Many thanks to Randy, Sita, Romain, and Cindy!

a quick spinning lesson for a young gallery attendee during the opening

Entwine Show

I hope all of you have had a lovely holiday and your new year is looking even brighter than the last. My 2012 begins with a show at Gallery 21, "Entwine".

"The work of artists Erin Curry and Cindy Steiler share a common thread. Each uses the traditional material of thread in divergent ways while intertwining ideas of handmade, process and narrative. Both share a fascination with the act of creating; some of Cindy's figures stitch each other into existence, while Erin's work dwells on the creation and character of handspun threads themselves."

opening reception:

Friday January, 6th 2012

6:30- 9pm

Gallery 21

21 SE 2nd Place (next to the Hippodrome)

The work will be up through January 27th. 

I'm so pleased to be showing with Cindy who also happens to have just moved her studio into Orange Blossom Art Studio where I've been working for over a year now (that's a blog post for another day). If you are able, please join us for the reception and I'm especially inviting all spinners to come with their spindles (or wheels) to share our processes and celebrate our community, I'd not be making the work I do without it.