Debra Disman

Artist

  •

Debra Disman

Joy in Evidence at Intersect Art Center

By

“EVIDENCE OF JOY” is a group exhibition at Intersect Arts Center curated by April Parviz, who says:

“Today I went to the doctor. On the sign-in station there sat a small snowman made from an old salt and pepper shaker. His head was a little styrofoam ball. His hat was the lid of the shaker, and inside his little bottle tummy were a bunch of what looked to be miniature cotton-balls. As I waited to be checked in, I observed the fact that someone had made it. She didn’t have to. But she was perhaps feeling the joy of winter, and she wanted to share her joy. The snowman wasn’t sitting in her home, it was sitting here, for me to enjoy. And I did enjoy it. The reflection that she had experienced joy in making it, and the fact that she had done it selflessly, with no expectation of thanks, brought me joy. 

After my reflection on the sweet little snowman, I began to see evidence of someone else’s joy, intentionally being shared with strangers, everywhere I went. The person in the house five doors from mine, has a little jar of complimentary dog treats out on a bird feeder hanger in their yard, right by the sidewalk. People have lovely seasonal wreaths hanging on the outside of their front doors, not on the inside. Painted rocks are mysteriously left in people’s gardens by strangers. I’m sure that now I’m aware of this, I’ll be seeing evidence of joy everywhere. And strangers will discover footprints of my own joy, making their footprints joyful too.

When I look at the current world of art, I feel like I see a lot of evidence of many inspiring things, but not always so much joy.  I know in my own art practice, I am often fueled by loud palpable emotions like pain and confusion. Perhaps if I begin practicing using joy as fuel, I will begin to do it more habitually. Perhaps if we practice seeing joy more we can become habitual joy detectives. 

Show me all the joy! I want to see and share artwork made in joy, artwork made upon discovering evidence of joy, and work that is just pure joy to look at! “

The show puts together visual works and text which come together to create and offer Joy.
such as this poem by the inimitable
 Mary Oliver, 2017
“If you suddenly and unexpectedly feel joy,

don’t hesitate. Give in to it. There are plenty

of lives and whole towns destroyed or about

to be. We are not wise, and not very often

kind. And much can never be redeemed.

Still, life has some possibility left. Perhaps this

is its way of fighting back, that sometimes

something happens better than all the riches

or power in the world. It could be anything,

but very likely you notice it in the instant

when love begins. Anyway, that’s often thecase. Anyway, whatever it is, don’t be afraid

of its plenty. Joy is not made to be a crumb.” — Mary Oliver, 2017

VIEW THE CATALOGUE to see and read more
SEE THE SHOW PAGE!
SEE THE SHOW VIDEO!

I am thrilled to have two pieces in the show:
Narrow Bridge, 5.5 x 16 x 3.5″, board, paper, fabric, linen thread

and
BedTime Story, 12 x 28 x 8.5″, book board, textiles, cloth, clay, beads, hemp cord, watercolor paper

SEE THE SHOW PAGE!
SEE THE SHOW VIDEO!
VIEW THE CATALOGUE!

Northridge Branch Library “Writes the Book”!

By

I am thrilled to work again with the Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs Neighborhood Engagement Artist Residency (NEAR) program for 2024-25!

I will be an artist-in-residence at the Northridge Branch Library, conducting bookmaking workshops and events for the local community and library patronage from September 2024 through April 2025 on selected Saturdays as well as during the week after school.

I am honored to be serving the City of Los Angeles again through the DCA. Let the bookmaking begin!
See the INFORMATION HERE!

WOMEN : Defining Our Representation and Making Our Mark

By

Every Year is the Year of the Woman!

Here are two inspiring Artist Roundtables from two inspiring shows I am proud to be a part of:

Women. Defining Our Representation
Presented by Black House Artist


See and listen to the ARTIST ROUNDTABLE!
My roundtable presentation in good company!

and

Women Artists Making Their Mark
Presented by The O’Hanlon Center for the Arts


See and listen to the ARTIST ROUNDTABLE!

 

INTERPLAY of Texture, Color, Form and Materials

By

INTERPLAY, the Surface Design Association exhibition at the The Dairy Barn Arts Center’s O’Bleness Gallery

I am thrilled to participate in INTERPLAY, organized by the SDA!
(The awesome Surface Design Association!)
Presented at the The Dairy Barn Arts Center’s O’Bleness Gallery
8000 Dairy Lane
Athens, OH 45701
June 28 – September 5, 2024
Opening Reception:
June 28, 6 – 8PM
I am showing:
“Rent Wound Tear, Mend Heal Repair”
64 x 68 x .5″, (variable), canvas, paint, hemp cord, string, lace

SEE THE SHOW HERE!

Interplay presents works that explore parallels, synergies, or tensions between two or more ideas. Artworks may examine connections between seemingly unrelated concepts, map relationships between maker and materials, or reflect interactions between maker and tools. Works employ traditional, interdisciplinary, or collaborative methodologies.

Honoring the diverse range of approaches within fiber art and highlighting the rich tapestry of multicultural links, Interplay looks toward a future informed by the past, bringing together ideas for fresh reflection, reinterpretation, and deeper understanding.

Juror:
Due to her inimitable curiosity, Annet Couwenberg has pursued the ongoing conversations between traditional textile production and digital technologies throughout her art and teaching career. Couwenberg’s art, informed by her early work in the fashion industry, is diverse and includes sculptural forms and jacquard weavings as well as work with fish fossils and skeletons inspired by her study with a fish scientist as a Smithsonian Artist Research Fellow at the National Museum of Natural History. Couwenberg’s interdisciplinary work has demonstrated her capacity to create new realms. As a researcher of both traditional textiles and emerging techniques, she embraces a multi-directional knowledge exchange between new and established, creating art that visualizes methodologies to protect and preserve traditional practices while also expanding upon them. Born in The Netherlands, Couwenberg moved to the United States to receive MFA degrees at Syracuse University and Cranbrook Academy of Art. She has worked internationally, including in Korea, Turkey, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Poland, and The Netherlands.

Mark your calendars for Wednesday, July 31, 2PM ET for the Interplay Textile Talk and be on the lookout for our online gallery –  links coming soon!

SEE THE SHOW
LISTEN TO AND VEIW THE Interplay: Limitless Connection TEXTILE TALK

Interplay: Limitless Connections
Surface Design Association

THIS TEXTILE TALK
Join us as we celebrate three exhibitions highlighting the very best contemporary fiber art. We’ll hear from Interplay award winners Lyndsi Schuesler and Ji Young Kim, along with exhibition juror Annet Couwenberg. Interplay honors the diverse range of approaches within fiber art and looks toward a future informed by the past while bringing together ideas for fresh reflection, reinterpretation, and deeper understanding. Held in conjunction with Interplay, Echoes: A Solo Exhibition by Rena Wood pays tribute to textile histories and past makers. Rena will give us an inside look into the ways she imagines repetitive hand work and its connection to time. Moderated by Nora McGinnis, Interplay: Limitless Connections features artists who encourage us to think in new ways while also honoring tradition.

 

WOMEN ARTISTS MAKE THEIR MARK

By

WOMEN ARTISTS MAKING THEIR MARK 2024
Co-Juried by Donna Seager of Seager Gray Gallery
and Priscilla Otani of Arc Gallery. 

SEE THE SHOW!

July 23 – Oct 1

Tuesday, July 30 at 4 pm Pacific Time
Zoom Roundtable with Jurors

Download Exhibit Catalog (PDF)

I am delighted to have two works shown in this exhibition:

K no W Safe Place, 2023, 60 x 48 x 48″ canvas, netting, hemp/nylon/cotton cord, lace, ribbon, paint, wood

Torrent and Tangle: Keep Your House In Order, 2019, 10.5 x 25 x 18, book board, hemp cord, paper, paint, lace, ribbon

Please see my works on Page 6 of the Exhibit Catalog

Continuing their annual show devoted to women artists, O’Hanlon Center for the Arts is committed to bringing more gender equity to the world of art. This 16th year we extend our reach around the globe to artists who identify as female.

The works in the exhibition are all created by persons who identify as female.
1103 works were submitted and 79 works were selected for this exhibition.

The curation and presentation of the selected work are exceptional. The  O’Hanlon Center for the Arts  promotes the artists through social media, print media and email outreach.  Please see the printable Exhibit Catalog and the online shows are archived.

Visit their website to see examples of other online shows: https://www.ohanloncenter.org/exhibits/current/

O’Hanlon Center for the Arts emphasizes the creative process and the continued pursuit of meaning and authenticity through observation, exploration, and experimentation.

in a WHISPER…

By

Whispers resound and reverberate in the new Verum Ultimum Gallery space in Portland.

Says Owner and Curator Jennifer Gillia Cutshall:
 “…when the murmur from art echoes beyond the walls & settles somewhere secret.  And “Whisper” with an exclamation may signal contradictions or dualities.  The term carries symbolism pertinent to the momentous occasion, but it also carries mystery to be filled in by artists’ interpretations.  Verum is open to all perceptions of this theme.  Delicate expressions are presented, as are bold, and the term WHISPER may be framed in many ways, not necessarily meant to be a literal elucidation. All mediums and modes of expression were welcomed..  Verum Ultimum Gallery tasks artists to define this inaugural exhibition to herald in Verum’s new space in Southeast Portland this summer of 2024!”

She shares  further “There are whispers everywhere, they arrive in our dreams, at a bus stop, museums, and beyond. Original works of art carry whispers. The whispers from the artists mingle with the viewers subconscious, and a connection is made!…The idea of the “whisper” may be inextricably attached to the importance of the unknown or the hidden. A degree of reverence may be ingrained in our collective psyche around all things art. For me, perhaps it began when I first entered museum spaces as a young girl (in NYC), I remember adults turning to children with their pointer fingers glued to pursed lips. They were signaling that hushed tones (and respect) were the order. And anticipation is in order, like the closed curtains and the dimming of lights in the theater, the collective whisper commands our attention toward these 38 provocative works. They whisper far beyond the bounds of literal elucidations.”
There are 38 artists and 38 unique, original works of art in this inaugural exhibition in the new space!

I am thrilled to show “Excavation of the Interior“ (shown closed and open below)
12 x 28 x 12.5″, wood, paper, cloth, hemp cord, linen thread

                   

SEE THE SHOW

SHOP THE SHOW

PURCHASE THE CATALOGUE