From The Wednesday Group

by Alta Turner

In the fall of 2004, The Wednesday Group took the next obvious step, determining that a collaborative piece would complement our collective portfolio….From a wide variety of suggestions, we wisely settled on AnnaByrd Mays' profoundly interesting and amazingly simple concept: Take a portion of an historic tapestry "less as an actual historical study….and more as a way of understanding how one might reinterpret an historical piece with ones own aesthetic reaction"…. 28 individual pieces from 15 artists represent the highly diverse responses to the imagery, structure and history bound into that segment of a reproduction of a tapestry fragment. Outlines drawn on the image show the boundaries of the selected pieces, highlighting the 26 unique foci in red. 2 images had been woven twice each.  Of particular interest are the areas of focus of the imagery, their relative scales and their orientations with respect to the source image.

above: The Wednesday Group Design Source delineating selected areas.

Diversity in the pieces abounds such that mounting has posed its own set of problems to solve.  It was fairly quickly determined that a common mounting, stitched onto card stock covered with fabric of the Paternayan #531 color would best integrate the components into a pleasing whole.

…All 28 images are posted to The Wednesday Groupgallery on the Brennan-Maffei Tapestry web page (www.brennan-maffei.com).

above: The Wednesday Group Project, prototype, one of
four panels for installation.

Review of "Echoes of Appalachia"

by Delores M. Diaz

The fiber arts exhibit "Echoes of Appalachia: Images and Objects Inspired by the Traditions and Landscape of the Mountains" is an exuberant affirmation of life…. The exhibit pulses with color, texture, and the voices of the three exhibiting artists. Each of the artists, Diane Getty, Tommye Scanlin, and Pat Williams, speaks uniquely and eloquently on universal themes of personal relationships, nature, and experiences that are fundamental to all human existence.

Two of Scanlin's larger tapestries are moving tributes to people who have touched her life.  "Mom" portrays Scanlin's grandmother as she fondly remembers her, seated in a favorite chair, her arms folded in her lap.

above: Tommye Scanlin, Mom, 41" x 32"

Scanlin wove "Rocks and Water" in memory of Bob Owens, a friend and colleague, recalling his advice, "Don't paint the water, paint the rocks!" "Rocks and Water" is a composite of four 12" x 15" panels…."Fall," which predates "Rocks and Water," is a 26" x 40" tapestry based upon a combination of two images:  a small watercolor and scans of fall leaves….Both of these pieces demonstrate an understanding of nature gained from much direct observation.  Whereas "Fall" portrays the beauty of a season, "Rocks and Water" is a deeply personal response to nature and to the person who inspired her vision.

above: Tommye Scanlin, Rocks and Water, 12" x 15"
below: Tommye Scanlin, Fall, 26" x 40"

Scanlin has also produced a series of tapestries that are abstractions of quilt squares…."Quilt Square 2," for example, is one of the earlier pieces in the series and is based upon a quilt made by her grandmother.

above: Tommye Scanlin, Quilt Square 2, 12" x 15"

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