Andrea Graham

Biography

Andrea Graham is a feltmaker and educator residing in rural Ontario with her husband and three sons. She is a member of the Kingston Fibre Artists, the Canadian coordinator for the International Feltmakers Association and a member of the Board of Directors at the Ontario Crafts Council. Andrea has studied feltmaking with numerous respected feltmakers. She is passionate about educating the public across Canada and the U.S. in recognizing the complexities of handmade felt through her teaching and lectures. Andrea will be the 2011 Artist and Educator in Residence at Queen's University.

Andrea has participated in international juried and invitational exhibitions showing work in Holland, Scotland, Germany, Italy, England, Japan, the U.S. and Canada. She has received several awards from the Kingston Arts Council, the Ontario Crafts Council , the Ontario Arts Council and the Tom Thomson Gallery. She has been featured in publications around the world. Her solo show "Adaptations" (2010) was with the support of the the Ontario Arts Council. Andrea’s work was part of the biennial Ontario Craft Council exhibition: “Ontario Craft ‘07”, in addition to their inviational touring exhibition, “Elemental Connections: an Exhibition of Sustainable Craft” (2007-2009), and several other OCC exhibits. Andrea's work wll be included in FiberArt International 2010 in Pittsburgh (Traveled exhibition, 2010-2012), "The Climate is Changing" at the Textile Museum in Prado, Italy (traveling Europe 2009-2012)

Gail Perrone, curator of “NeoFelt: Future of an Ancient Art" (Colorado) recognises Andrea as:

"...a trailblazer" in her craft, and that Andrea is "...moving into newer areas of what's being done with felt that are stretching the traditional forms we typically make in this medium."

Andrea is looking forward to continuing with her work based on environmental matters and the fact and fiction of plant life, specifically plants we consume. She seeks to expand on the themes of mutation and adaptations of the natural world in our changing climate.

Statment

Using both traditional nomadic and modern feltmaking techniques, wool fibre is magically transformed. Felted wool is traditionally created with wool fibre, soap and water. Alternately, a single barbed needle borrowed from industrial felting machines can be used as a sculpting tool, entangling the scales on the wool fibres creating felted fibre. These techniques together allow for endless possibilities.

In my current work, ambiguous sculptures express the paradox of living organisms: strength and fragility, persistence and surrender, liberation and containment. Open wounds and haphazard sutures serve as metaphor for the victimization of our environment as a result of our consumer culture.

In the cycle of growth and decay, resilience is silently expressed. Curious sculptural form awakens a sense of wonder in the potential of the smallest seed and organism for either success or failure. It is this precarious state and the need to nurture and protect that I wish the viewer to explore as they consider revisiting their consumer practices. The use of wool and the alchemy of feltmaking in the execution of my art allow me to use a sustainable material which is both consistent with my message and the organic nature of my work.

Andrea Graham

http://www.andrea-graham.com/about.html

Andrea Graham Installations

"Prophecy"

Thirteen dresses installation

Union Gallery - Project Room - July 2010



The potential and self-worth of a child are determined by a myriad of factors. The dress serves as symbol for the potential equal ground of a young life and the beginning of ones hopes and dreams for a child. This is paired with the labels that we often impose upon children, particularly little girls. The juxtaposition of a sweet dress and a label “bad girl” may appear at odds, but I argue it is no more at odds than the label of “good girl”. When we assign an identity, while the intention may be to motivate, to project our own selfish desires, or in praise or discipline, it can be equally damaging in the life- long struggle to reject or adopt that label.

Andrea Graham

http://www.andrea-graham.com/Installation.html

Helena Rose

My work focuses on identity, human emotion and her own personal family history. I gain inspiration by learning from other artist’s such as Ruth Rae, Michelle Caplan and Sally Mankus. I am also inspired by philosophical ideas, art therapy and literature by writers & poets such as James Joyce and Sylvia Plath.

I work & experiment with numerous techinques that include collage, sculpture, fibre art, photography, installation and ‘found’ or ‘ready made’ art. I have spent a project exploring my own family history provoking thoughts and memories through collage, photography and mixed media pieces. My work often deals with difficult subject matter such as death, oppression, gender roles and family but my art practice allows her to explore and examine these different issues and look at them in closer detail.

I has developed many different skills during the duration of my first year at Salford University and Foundation Year at Liverpool Community College such as image transferring using image maker, emulsion paint, and contact paper, papermaking, altering books by melting, burning, staining and distressing surfaces. I have also experimented with manipulating photographs both digitally and by hand and enjoy printing on different surfaces such as vellum, vintage paper, handmade paper, acetate, mulberry paper, baking paper, metal, glass and wood. I like to explore and play with the different translucency of paper to create interesting collages and mixed media pieces.

I am involved with a number of projects outside University. I am a cultural ambassador for the Art & Literature Magazine, ‘Aesthetica’ and I am also one of the Project Facillitators for the ‘Me and My Movie’ Project, organized by the BBC which encourages creativity and film making skills to young children. I have also contributed work to the Cynic Online Magazine and attend workshops and exhibitions in my local area.

In June 2010, I will be travelling to Riga, Latvia to be part of the Creative Future Enterprises Boot Camp which will involve me producing and giving presentations on how to regenerate the Art and urban area in Riga and will also be representing Salford & Manchester by giving a presentation on the area and the University to a group of people from 6 different countries.

http://helena-rose.com/artists-statement/

Eva Hesse (1936-1970)

All about Eva - Arthur Danto (2006)

http://www.thenation.com/article/all-about-eva

Visual Arts Definition by NAEA

Visual Arts, as defined by the National Art Education Association, include the traditional fine arts such as drawing, painting, printmaking, sculpture; communication and design arts including film, television, graphics, product design; architecture and environmental arts such as urban, interior, and landscape design; folk arts; and works of art such as ceramics, fibers, jewelry, works in wood, paper, and other materials.

National Art Education Association, ©1994


The National Visual Arts Standards

http://www.naea-reston.org/store/NAEA_Natl_Visual_Standards1.pdf

Teoria e Prática Complementam-se

Toda a teoria deve ser feita para poder ser posta em prática, e toda a prática deve obedecer a uma teoria. Só os espíritos superficiais desligam a teoria da prática, não olhando a que a teoria não é senão uma teoria da prática, e a prática não é senão a prática de uma teoria. Quem não sabe nada dum assunto, e consegue alguma coisa nele por sorte ou acaso, chama «teórico» a quem sabe mais, e, por igual acaso, consegue menos. Quem sabe, mas não sabe aplicar - isto é, quem afinal não sabe, porque não saber aplicar é uma maneira de não saber -, tem rancor a quem aplica por instinto, isto é, sem saber que realmente sabe. Mas, em ambos os casos, para o homem são de espírito e equilibrado de inteligência, há uma separação abusiva. Na vida superior a teoria e a prática completam-se. Foram feitas uma para a outra.

Fernando Pessoa (1926)

Techné: Corpo Único Teórico-Prático

Se tivermos a capacidade de desmontar o termo technê, este é um termo que apela àquilo que é a epistêmê, o conhecimento. (...) Qualquer área, na sua technê, tem essa componente do corpo único teórico-prático.

Hugo Ferrão (2007)

Epistêmê e Technê (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)

http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/episteme-techne

Objecto Comum / Obra de Arte

Modelar só por modelar não tem interesse nenhum. (...) Uma coisa é copiar, repetir, outra é criar. (...) Este lápis é um lápis aqui em cima da mesa, mas se eu lhe der alguma importância, pode transformar-se noutra coisa. (...) Se eu o carregar com outros conteúdos, de carácter simbólico e/ou estético, poderá passar a ser um objecto artístico.

Virgínia Fróis (2007)

Artesão / Artista

A evolução da arte levou a que a tecnologia fosse..., não digo desprezada, mas votada a uma grande ausência. A tecnologia, hoje, não é considerada muito importante. (...) Hoje, o artista é muito mais o criador da ideia do que o fazedor da coisa.

Joaquim Lima de Carvalho (2007)

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