Debra Disman

Artist

  •

Fiber

SANCTUARY: Know Safe Space at 18th Street Arts Center 2025

By

Hello World.
Welcome to Sanctuary.
How are you doing today?


“Sanctuary” / Know Safe Space expand upon my 2023 piece, K no W Safe Place with the addition of a hanging roof surrounded by an inverted “forest” of knotted colored cords hung from the ceiling in various arrangements allowing pathways to the suspended black sanctuary space. The installation will grow and change over time with the addition of these hanging elements.

Sanctuary: Know Safe Space, 2025, 10′ x 48″ x 48″, canvas, netting, burlap, cord, lace, ribbon, paint, wood

This installation draws upon my ongoing study of the groundbreaking practices of artists Charlotte Salomon and Eva Hesse using artmaking to transcend trauma; research into sanctuary movements and spaces and the use of textiles within these; exploration of the“quipu/khipu”, a record-keeping device made of knotted cords of assorted colors used in various cultures in the central Andes of South America; and investigation into the work of artists who have used fiber-based materials to create environments, structures and shelters including Do Ho Suh, Chiharu Shiota and Tracey Emin.

I will also engage in dialogue with others inside the Sanctuary space, informally videotaping these participants’ response to the installation and their immersion in it, as well as offering “interviewees’ the opportunity to share about their own practices, projects and practices, especially as they relate to 18th Street Arts Center. These short-form videos will serve as an informal archive of our present moment, the role of the creative process in it, and the support and sanctuary 18th Street Arts Center is offering to the community by allowing us to Know Safe Space. If You would like to be interviewed/dialogue in the Sanctuary please contact me at  debra@artifactorystudio.com

Video Interview with fellow 18th Street Artist in Residence Luciana Abait
https://www.lucianaabait.com/
@lucianaabait
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VnlPJaaeuB8

Video Interview with Los Angeles-based Artist, Curator, Educator, Costume and Set Designer Snezana Saraswati Petrovic https://www.snezanapetrovic.net/
@saraswatioblak
https://youtu.be/ZCfAOdw27xk


And May You Know Safe Space…

EXHIBITIONISTA: EMBRACING THE CRAFT at CORE Art Space

By

I am thrilled to participate in

Fiber Art: Embracing the Craft

September 12 – 28, 2025
at

Fri: 5p – 9p, Sat: 12p – 5p, Sun: 12p – 5p

Core Art Space — 6501 W.Colfax Avenue, Lakewood, CO 80214

Long disparaged in the art world as mere “craft,” fiber art has been enjoying something of a renaissance in the last few years. Artists working with fabric and other fibers, such as Bisa Butler and Alexandra Kehayoglou, have gained international recognition, and the New York Times has declared that “fiber art is finally being taken seriously.” We say, it’s about time! What’s not to love about the beauty, versatility, and luxuriousness of fiber media?

In this show, Core Art Space celebrates the skill, dedication, and ingenuity required to make beautiful art out of fiber materials. We celebrate weavings, quilts, embroideries, beadwork, fiber sculptures, or wearables—all artwork using a foundation of fiber materials and processes (including fabric, yarn, thread, beads, roving, rope, etc.; stitching, weaving, felting, quilting, knotting, wrapping, lacemaking, etc.) is eligible. Both traditional and experimental forms and techniques included.

Juror

Fiber and mixed media artist Susan Dillon explores the physical manifestation of emotions and memories using fabric, thread, yarn, bones and found objects. She creates environments filled with life forms, some familiar and some more otherworldly, which are encrusting surfaces & niches and colonizing their surroundings. Susan has had her work exhibited nationally and has won numerous

awards for her fiber art. Her work is in private collections around the globe. She teaches workshops as well as private lessons on fiber art techniques. Susan lives in Denver, CO with her husband & furry “keeds”. She has her studio at Globeville Riverfront Art Center (GRACe), open by appointment and at special events.

I am showing “PROFUSION”

8.5 x 24.5 x 7.75, book board, mulberry paper, watercolor paper, raw canvas, hemp cord

NOMADIC Encounters: “The Center Will Not Hold” 2025

By

I participated in the 2025 Torrance Art Museum’s (TAM) innovative contemporary art pop-up NOMAD IV which was held at Del Amo Crossing, 21535 Hawthorne Blvd, Torrance, CA 90503, JULY 11-13, 2025

So Much FUN!

NOMAD IV is a non-commercial exhibition that showcased the diverse and dynamic talents of 175+ Southern California artists featuring sculpture, painting installation and more.

The event itself is a giant artistic get together, aimed at letting artists show what they have been making recently to each other as well as to the wider public. It  presented an opportunity to meet peers, make connections, and arrange for future opportunities. It is a non-commercial exhibition that showcases the diverse and dynamic talents of LA artists.

NOMAD IV was presented alongside the third edition of TRYST, TAM’s international alternative art fair for artist-run spaces and galleries.

I presented a further iteration of my 2023 performance piece,
“The Center Will Not Hold“, this time reimagining the central tarp-based component as a sort of tent, with legs and feet sticking out, a la the classic Judy Garland Wizard of Oz film, which evocation was remarked upon.


Prep at studio. Embroidered Indian shoes long ago gift from sister travels.  Who knew?


All tied up


Packed into zebra beach bag, useful gift from other sister. Who knew?


Expandable/contractable. Basic piece created from a tree landscaping tarp. Flexible material.


Set up near window on second floor of Del Amo Crossing in Torrance. Light streaks across the floor…



Shifting the legs and feet around.


The braids increase the footprint of the work.


Play in texture


Young collaborators rearranged the legs and feet, and then added their own!


The inimicable and always impeccable Louis Jacinto and Kene Rosa, gracing our scene.


Lots of wonderful visitors. Wonder what “Tapestry LA” is?


Virginia Arce, from the Irvine Fine Arts Center, and her partner visited!


What an experience!  Thanks to Max Presneill and the whole team at the Torrence Art Museum and City of Torrance for making the effort to create this magically expansive opportunity for SoCal artists!

RAW FOOTAGE: With The Artist: Debra Disman Part II

By


See VIDEO of the “KnoW Safe Place”

“With the Artist: Debra Disman Part II“
In Conversation with Erika Sukstorf
developer of “raw footage” (more to come)
Please click link to view

RAW FOOTAGE: With The Artist: Debra Disman Part I

By


Please see VIDEO of the “KnoW Safe Place”

“With The Artist: Debra Disman Part I“
In conversation with Erika Sukstorf
developer of “raw footage” (more to come)
Please click link to view

Raw Sound: The Podcast with Erika Sukstorf

By


In Conversation with the inimitable Erika Sukstorf….
We listen, we talk, we listen again…

Raw Conversation Podcast Part 1:

Raw Conversation Podcast Part 2