Debra Disman

Artist

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BOOKS

Exhibitionista: “All Stitched up” with everywhere to go…

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Thank you to my sister Susan, for attending the opening of the “All Stitched Up” show in the Collins Library at the University of Puget Sound, on September 14th. Too far for me to travel in this moment, especially as were driving back from the Bay Area at that time!

“To stitch is to join together, to mend, or fasten as with stitches – to sew. To stitch is to bring together fabric, paper, wounds of the body, or cultural divides. Stitching can be an act of healing, hope, practicality, creativity, and revolution. All Stitched Up recognizes and celebrates the work of book artists’ where stitching has become an integral part of the visual design.” — Curators Catherine Alice Michaelis, Jane A. Carlin, and Diana Weymar  

Susan took some great pictures, which is critical, as artist books, indeed, any kind of book, is challenging to display, being composed of so many different parts, all of which cannot be seen at the same time. Such is the magic and mystery of this old technology, the book.

Judging from this shelf, the show was themed in different ways, including color and materials.

Hey Susan…thank you! (Great haircut too…)

Susan even took a shot of my page in the catalog. Cool!  I ordered the catalog, a great effort put together by Curator Catherine Alice Michaelis.  Great way to support the show and celebrate the works it brought together.

Gratitudes!

Sharing Shows: ARTISTS WHO TEACH

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I am excited and honored to be included in a number of current and upcoming shows across the US, and will be sharing about them in blog form, as well as in the EVENTS section of my website, as a way of further describing and chronicling my practice, honoring colleagues, and sharing gratitude for these opportunities and the people, organizations and institutions that make them happen.

I am thrilled to be a part of:

ARTISTS WHO TEACH

A National Juried Exhibition Celebrating Visual Art Educators.  This exhibition presented at several sites and includes lectures, workshops and events celebrating art educators.

Presented at:

Ellington-White Contemporary 113 Gillespie Street, Fayetteville, NC 28301
and
Fayetteville State University Rosenthal Art Gallery

September 14 – November 2, 2019

National Art Education Week is September 8 – 14th

As part of an ongoing commitment to promote the visual arts. Ellington-White Contemporary Gallery (EWCG)   showcases the arts as an essential part of a complete education, whether in home, school, or community. Students of all ages—from kindergarten to college to creative aging programs—benefit from artistic learning, innovative thinking, and creativity.

Celebrating National Arts in Education Week with this national exhibition is a way to recognize the impact of visual arts and share the message “that the Arts matter” with friends, family, and communities. During this week, the field of arts education joins together in communities across the country to tell the story of the impact of the transformative power of the arts in education. Celebrating National Arts in Education Week with this national exhibition is a way to recognize the impact of the visual arts and share the message “that the Arts matter” .

Through this exhibition, Ellington-White Contemporary Gallery celebrates,  advocates, and  brings attention to the cause of art education.

Here here!

I am showing “WINDOW TREATMENT“
2018
Sculptural Artists Book / mixed media: book board, file folders, hemp cord, assorted papers and cardstock, paint, wax

The piece is comprised of an accordion spine, front and back covers, and “flag” pocket pages through which cords are sewn, stitched, and threaded. The surfaces have been textured with torn and crushed papers, painted, and waxed.


Front Cover Exterior, closed


Interior, open


Exterior, open

“Offal” is not so Awful

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I am thrilled to be included in the current exhibition at the Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery, OFFAL

https://www.lamag.org/portfolio_page/offal/

Thank you Steven Wong, Curator, for putting this together.

Thank you Brianna Bakke, Assistant Curator, for your writing.

And, thank you to the whole curatorial and installation staff and any volunteers, for creating such a beautiful, immersive display of all the works.  “Throes of the Body” has never been lit like this before, and it made all the difference.

The detail of the piece could really be seen,

and made accessible to the viewers.

Gratitudes!

Fairy Tales…Make Your Own Books

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It was a gift to be able to work with students every day for five weeks this past summer, and introduce them to the book arts as well as other media. As a teaching artist, we often only see students once a week, so to be able to watch them learn and grow on a daily basis was a thrill!


Surrounded by scads of art supplies, tools and materials, 5-6 year old students in our “Fairy Tales” and “Make Your own Books” classes had an ideal situation for creating!


This outstandingly creative young student in “Make Your Own Books” certainly did just that, using her flag book to try out all kinds of drawing and painting media while exploring color, shape, line and texture.


Each flag page held a different combination of media, including acrylic and watercolor paints, pastels, crayons and markers.


Students created books large and small, including tiny ones that would fit in a (albeit rather large) matchbox!


Mixed media reigned supreme, such as combining letter stickers with markers and paint pens.


Oops! Markers on the project, not on your fingers!


Making and embellishing file folder portfolios was our first project. Some students created so many books they made a second portfolio to hold them!

A brilliantly bookish and imaginatively magical time was had by all!
Goodbye summer program, until next year!

Children Create Unique Handmade Books

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It was a gift to be able to work with students every day for five weeks this past summer, and introduce them to the book arts as well as other media. As a teaching artist, we often only see students once a week, so to be able to watch them learn and grow on a daily basis was a thrill!

In our “Creating Unique Handmade Books” class, students aged 6-8 learned and created a variety of book structures while exploring all sorts of materials. They learned about folding, gluing, sewing, and book structures including accordion, single signature, flag book, and side binding.

At the end of our time together, parents were invited to celebrate their bookish achievements, and a good time was had by all!


We used a wide variety of materials to create our books, including all sorts of papers, ribbon, stickers, washi tapes, feathers, glues, drawing and writing tools and more!


The accordion or concertina fold is primary in many bookmaking structures. Students learned this process then applied it to several projects.


Our wonderful TA wrote personal notes to all the students!


Single signature (a gathering of pages sewn together through the fold) structures were fun for the students to create, because they looked to them like “real” books.


We invited families to join us the second to last day of class to see all the students had created.


This student adores pattern and collage and had an impressive array of books featuring these by the end of our class session.


Mother and daughter peruse her handmade books together.


A young student shines as she shares her accordion-folded and flag books with her parents.


Sharing books with Dad…this student created so many books he made a second portfolio to hold them all!

It was hard to say goodbye after such storied adventures this summer, but it is my hope that these students will continue to exercise their imaginations as they make books and develop their skills and creativity.
They are well on their way!

Inspired By Great Artists: Keeping the Faith

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One of the Great Artists my students were inspired by this past summer was the amazing Faith Ringgold, inventor of the “Story Quilt“.

Inspired by Faith, students created a “quilt” through the combination of felt, textiles, fabric and painting on canvass, embellished with buttons, “pom poms”, ribbon and more, then painted borders to add to their quilts.

As a side project, some students created painted compositions using their names. It was fascinating to see that they used the same color combinations in both.

Our End of Class Show…a line-up of Faith Ringgold-inspired textile collages

Students had their own “color stories” as well, which repeated throughout their works.

The students employed a variety of materials in create an impressive amount of detail.

 

The students, all girls aged 9-11, seemed to pour their hearts into this project, working on it for twice the time planned.

Inspiring!