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Debra Disman

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Open Studios October 20th at 18th Street Arts Center!

October 7, 2024 By Debra Disman

18th Street Arts Center Logo
We’re just over two weeks away from our Change the Future event including Artist Open Studios on Sunday, October 20th from 3-7 PM.

This all-ages event blends creativity, technology and environmental action. Explore interactive installations, fly a giant augmented reality kite over Santa Monica, participate in hands-on workshops, and tour artist studios, all while discovering ways to protect our planet.

FREE & OPEN TO THE PUBLIC. ALL AGES WELCOME!

I’ll Be There!

A Peek Inside: 

Anne Krinsky combines painting, print, photography and video with archival and geographical research. She is fascinated by the passage of time and the ephemeral nature of the physical world. Since 2018, she has been working on an international project about vulnerable wetlands and climate change.
Diana Taylor works across painting, textiles and print media, exploring notions of time, loss and ruin in visual culture. Recurring motifs that reflect her interests are appropriated from museum catalogues, architectural reference books, craft kits, botanical guides, books on geology, ancient ruins, domestic patterns and other print ephemera.
David McDonald works in both sculpture and painting. The visual qualities of his work vary, but they are connected through a belief in process and intuition as a way of developing work. He believes all things in the natural world are interdependent, and creates situations within his work where this is true.
Debra Disman is a Los Angeles-based artist known for her work inspired by the book, which traverses textiles, installation, sculpture and performance to push the familiar into forms that arrest and baffle, while simultaneously offering places of contemplation and solace. 

RSVP TODAY!

On View

An Earth Twin at the Digital Dawn: Tom Van Sant’s GeoSphere Project

September 7, 2024-February 1, 2025

18th Street Arts Center
1639 18th Street
Santa Monica, CA 90404

Gallery Hours:
Wed-Sat: 12 PM-5 PM

LEARN MORE >>


18th Street Arts Center is Southern California’s largest artist residency program. Our mission is to provoke public dialogue through contemporary art-making. We value art-making as an essential component of a vibrant, just, and healthy society where the creative process is just as important as the outcome.
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18th Street Arts Center · Santa Monica, CA 90012, United States
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Filed Under: Exhibitions, New Work, Presentations, TEXTILE/FIBER, Venues, Work Tagged With: 18th Street Arts Center, An Earth Twin at the Digital Dawn, An Earth Twin at the Digital Dawn: Tom Van Sant, Anne Krinsky, Ara Oshagan / Labby, Dan Wang, David McDonald, Debra Disman, Diana Taylor, GeoSphere Project, Les Guthman/ Susan Kleinberg, Luciana Abait, Open Studios, SANTA MONICA, Tom Van Sant, Yvette Gellis

White & Texture & Paper & Fiber

October 4, 2024 By Debra Disman

I am thrilled to be participating in two show on opposite coasts which aim to share artworks that center on some of my specific interest in artmaking.

“White & Texture” at the Cultural Center of Cape Cod:
“Subtitled Monochrome Unity, we invited artists to explore the profound subtleties and striking complexities of using white as the driving color and how texture within the white and informs the execution and the narrative of an artwork. We wanted them to explore the effect of this limitation – without a “conventional” color palette.”

“White Zip”

“Paper & Fiber: Fourth Annual Show” at 1202 Contemporary in Gilroy, California:
“1202 Contemporary proudly presents its 4th annual Paper + Fiber show, celebrating two mediums that women artists have traditionally used for centuries, but have always been considered “craft,” or less than fine art.  Uplifting and supporting artists who have worked in textile, fiber, and/or paper mediums, this exhibition centers and hones in on the theme of figure.”

“Into The Bush”

“Profusion”

Filed Under: ARTISTS, Exhibitions, TEXTILE/FIBER, Venues, Women Artists, Work Tagged With: 'women's art mediums, 1202 Contemporary, 4th annual Paper + Fiber show, Cape Cod, Cloth, Contemporary Art, contemporary art using fiber, crocheting, Cultural Center of Cape Cod, Fabric, Fiber, fiber artworks, fiber as a medium, fibert artist, Group Exhibition, Group Show, Joan Nixon, Maria Barttuszova, Michael Buthe, Molly Demeulenaere, Monochrome, Monochrome Unity, nixed media, Paper, Piero Manzoni, String, Tactile, Textile, Textiles, Texture, Thread, Unifying Element, Unity, Weaving, White, Women's Work

“Adapting through Curiosity and Connection with Debra Disman”: My Podcast with Alyson B. Stanfield/Art Biz Success!

September 25, 2024 By Debra Disman

I was thrilled to have this conversation with the one and only Alyson B. Stanfield of Art Biz Success, someone I have admired and followed for a long time!
Some of the points we cover:

“In this episode of The Art Biz, Debra shares her journey, revealing how she has navigated this transition with resilience.

Throughout our conversation, several key themes emerge:

  • Debra’s fierce curiosity that drives her to explore and understand her surroundings.
  • Her drive to pursue new opportunities, no matter the obstacles.
  • The critical role of networking and the connections she’s made along the way.
  • The power of making consistent progress, even through small, daily actions.
  • The importance of staying adaptable in an ever-changing world.”

Please click the link below to hear, see and read about our conversation. I hope it holds some gold for YOU.

Adapting through Curiosity and Connection with Debra Disman (ep. 202)

Filed Under: ARTISTS, MEDIA, Publications/Interviews, Teaching Artist, TEXTILE/FIBER, Work Tagged With: Adapting, Alyson B. Stanfield, Art Biz, Art Biz Success, Art Career, Artist, Collaboration, connections, Conversation, Curiousity, networking, new opportunities, Podcast, Resilience, social practice artist, solo studio artist, The Art Biz Podcast

Flag Book and Variations: Book Structures Workshop with artist Debra Disman

September 3, 2024 By Debra Disman

I am thrilled to partner with Textile Arts LA and the Patricia Sweetow Gallery to teach “Flag Book and Variations: Book Structures Workshop”
on 

September 29 @ 12:00 pm – 4:00 pm

ENJOY BOOKMAKING IN COMMUNITY IN A GALLERY SETTING!

Presented by Textile Arts LA!

In Conjunction with Patricia Sweetow Gallery

In this hands-on workshop, participants will learn how to create the kinetic and versatile “Flag Book” structure, as well as a full-page variant, termed the “Folded Fan”. You’ll learn how to make folded page variations, and how to create one and two-cut apertures and pop-ups. With a focus on textiles and fiber, participants will explore ways to develop, embellish, and adorn their books with texture, color, pattern, and image, as well as how to employ “found writing” to add text.

I will guide you in the methods and extensive applications of the accordion fold in bookmaking, gluing, and collage techniques, ways of adding stitching/sewing, and how to create poetic text effortlessly will also be covered. The last hour of the workshop will be devoted to bringing projects to completion as time permits, how to add techniques from the participants’ chosen art forms and expertise to their books, and sharing completed or in-process books as desired.

Materials Included:

Book board prepared for book covers
Acid-free paper prepared for book spines
Acid free- glue sticks
Neutral pH Adhesive/brushes
Scissors
Folding tools
Awls/punching tools
Hemp and other cord and thread
Drawing and Writing Materials
Print Media (repurposed)
Fabric and paper scrap and samples (repurposed)
Designer wallpaper and textile samples

Materials/Tools to Bring if Desired:

Favorite scissors for cutting paper and fabric
Awl or other “punching” tool
Collage materials (that can be glued with a glue stick or fluid adhesive)
Print Media to cut up and repurpose (magazines/books/brochures/postcards

Purchase Workshop

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2024. 12:00 – 4:00 PM at Patricia Sweetow Gallery 1700 So. Santa Fe Ave. Suite 351, Los Angeles, CA 90021.
parking available

SIGN UP HERE!

Filed Under: ARTISTS, Artists' Books, BOOKS, Presentations, Teaching Artist, TEXTILE/FIBER, Work Tagged With: BOOK STRUCTURE, book structure variations, Book Structures, Bookmaking, bookmaking at 1700 Santa Fe, Bookmaking in Los Angeles, bookmaking in public space, bookmaking in the gallery, Carrie Burckle, Fiber, Flag Book, Folded Fan Book, Folded Fan Flag Book Variation, Found Poetry, Found Writing, Hands on bookmaking, Making Books By Hand, Patricia Sweetow, Patricia Sweetow Gallery, Print Media, TALA, Textile Arts LA, Textiles

Art Centers and the Like: The HeART of Art

September 2, 2024 By Debra Disman

Art and Cultural Centers are amazing places.

They are CENTERS. Centers of art and culture to be sure, but also centers of learning, personal and collective growth, education, care, community, cooperation and love.

Amazing to show in, but especially amazing in the services they provide, the opportunities they offer and the roles they play for their near and far communities.

I am going to explore these worthy and precious resources and entities in the next few posts, but firstly, I need to get my arms around them in a big, collective heARTfelt hug!

I will add to, or write further interactions of this post over time.  I would also like to write about Libraries, College and University Art Galleries and smaller galleries as exhibition spaces and hubs of community and world culture.

These are the art and cultural centers I have shown in over the last few years, essentially since 2018:
(I included some very special organizations such as Blue Roof Studios, Shoebox Arts and ArtShare LA in Los Angeles, CA, “We Are The Arts”/The Arts Council of Fayetteville|Cumberland County in Fayetteville, NC, the Hera Educational Foundation and Gallery in Wakefield RI, and the Springfield Art Association, in Springfield, IL, even though they don’t have the word “CENTER” in their monikers, as I believe they serve many of the same heART-FULL functions as those that do.)

18th Street Arts Center,  Santa Monica, CA

O’Hanlon Center for the Arts, Mill Valley, CA

Webster Arts, Webster Groves, MO

Intersect Arts Center, Saint Louis, MO

The Dairy Barn Arts Center O’Bleness Gallery, Athens, OH

Umpqua Valley Arts, Roseville, OR

 The Cultural Center of Cape Cod, South Yarmouth, MA

Springfield Art Association, Springfield, IL

The Korean Culture Center, Los Angeles, CA

“We Are The Arts”/The Arts Council of Fayetteville|Cumberland County, Fayetteville, NC

Artworks Center for Contemporary  Art, Loveland, CO

ArtShare LA, Los Angeles, CA

Shoebox Arts, Los Angeles, CA

Kelso Art Center, University of Incarnate Word, San Antonio, TX

Tubac Center for the Arts, Tubac, AZ

Sebastopol Center for the Arts, Sebastopol, CA

The Irvine Fine Arts Center, Irvine, CA
  
The Louise Hopkins Underwood Center for the Arts, Lubbock, TX

Hera Educational Foundation and Gallery in Wakefield RI

Blue Roof Studios, Los Angeles, CA

San Francisco Center for the Book, San Francisco, CA

The Center for Contemporary Art, Bedminister, NJ

Yeiser Art Center, Paducah, KY

Brand Library and Art Center, Glendale, CA

The Minnesota Center for Book Arts, Minneapolis, MN;

Foothills Art Center, Golden, CO

Filed Under: ARTISTS, Exhibitions, Venues, Work Tagged With: 18th street art center, American Art Centers, Art Center, Art Center as Community, art centers, Art Centers in the US, Art Share, Arts at Blue Roof, Arts Council of Fayetteville, ARTWORKS Center For COntemporary Art, Artworks Loveland, blue roof, Brand Library and Art Center, Contemporary Art, Contemporary Artists, Contemporary Curators, Dairy Barn Arts Center, Foothills Art Center, Intersect Arts Center, Irvine Fine Arts Center, Korean Cultural Center, Korean Cultural Center of Los Angeles, Minnesota Center for Book Arts, O'hanlon, Sebastopol Center for the Arts, Shoebox Arts, Shoebox Projects, Springfield Art Association, The Center for Contemporary Art, the Kelso Art Center, The Louise Hopkins Underwood Center for the Arts  (LHUCA), The San Francisco Center for the Book, The Yeiser Art Center, Tubac Center of the Arts, Umpaqua Valley Arts, Webster Arts

Joy in Evidence at Intersect Art Center

August 19, 2024 By Debra Disman

“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!

Filed Under: ARTISTS, Artists' Books, BOOKS, Exhibitions, TEXTILE/FIBER, Work Tagged With: April Parvitz, Art and Writing, Connection, Contemporary Art Exhibition, Dovetal Reception, Evidence of Joy, Group Exhibition, Group Show, Intersect Arts Center, Joy, Mary Oliver, Megan Kenyon, Positivity, Saint Louis, Text and Image, visual art, Written works

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