Debra Disman

Artist

Tacoma

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 4: “THE BOOK AS ART: WONDERS”

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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. Shout out to Elon Schoenholz, Photographer extraordinaire who took the photographs below of “The Fall“, which will be shown in:

The Book as Art v. 7.0: Wonders
Presented by the Decatur Arts Alliance
Decatur, Georgia

August 9–September 27, 2019

The Decatur Arts Alliance (DAA) presents the seventh edition of the juried exhibition of artists’ books, The Book as Art, August 9–September 27, 2019. This edition will be installed once again at the Decatur Branch of the DeKalb County Public Library.  The show’s dates encompass the AJC-Decatur Book Festival, which takes place each Labor Day weekend throughout the City of Decatur. The DAA will sponsor a festive opening on Friday, August 23, 2019.

“A book begins as a small mass of material, formed and pressed into life by ideas, words, and machines. A concept becomes thought, becomes word, becomes book, becomes sculpture. From the tactile complexity of handmade paper, to the alteration of existing volumes, to a variety of other materials and concepts, these objects, in an increasingly digital world, stubbornly survive. The objects in this exhibition will interpret the concept of the book and invite the viewer to look beyond the printed page to where word has become form.”

The Book as Art v. 7.0: Wonders’ location at the Decatur Branch of the DeKalb County Public Library is just off the Decatur Square, ideally accessible to the more than 85,000 attendees at the Festival as well as to visitors throughout the run of the show.

The Jurors:

Denise Bookwalter works in a range of print media including traditional and digital processes, artist’s books, installations and dimensional prints. Her artist’s books utilize old and new print technologies to create collaborative works. Her work has been exhibited and collected in a variety of venues across the country and abroad. She received her BA from Northwestern University and her MFA from Indiana University in Printmaking. Bookwalter currently lives in Tallahassee, Florida with her husband and twin girls. She is an Associate Professor of Art at Florida State University where she teaches printmaking and is Area Head of the Printmaking Department. She is the director and founder of Florida State University’s artists’ book press, Small Craft Advisory Press.

Mari Eckstein Gower is an artist and writer with a studio practice in Redmond, Washington, where she currently focuses on creating one of a kind and editioned artist books. She grew up in Southern California and studied art and humanities at Scripps College and Claremont Graduate University. Later she continued her studies of printmaking techniques at ateliers in Montreal and then writing with Al Young, Bruce Coville, Jane Yolen, and Ursula K. Leguin. Gower’s artist books are included in collections across the United States and Canada. Her work has been exhibited in gallery and museum shows in the United States and Europe.

Andrew Huot is a book artist and bookbinder in Atlanta, Georgia. He operates Big River Bindery, a studio for bookmaking and letterpress printing, book repair, and design. He has a Masters in Book Arts from the University of the Arts, teaches bookbinding and preservation for the University of Illinois, and workshops in his bindery and across the country. He exhibits his work widely and it is held in more than 50 university library collections. His artwork takes his everyday life and uses the patterns, lines, and shapes to create work that is playful and strikes a familiar cord with viewers.

The Book as Art v. 7.0: Wonders’  location at the Decatur Branch of the DeKalb County Public Library is just off the Decatur Square, ideally accessible to the more than 85,000 attendees at the Festival as well as to visitors throughout the run of the show.

“The Fall“, 2019
7″ x 24.5″ x 10.5″
Book board, hemp cord, mulberry paper, paperboard, canvas

The Book As Art…The Book Is Art.

Sharing Shows 2: “ALL STITCHED UP”

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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. Shout out to Elon Schoenholz, Photographer extraordinaire who took the photographs below of “Prairie“, which will be shown in:

All Stitched Up
An international juried book arts exhibition
September 3rd – December 11th, 2019
Collins Memorial Library University of Puget Sound, Tacoma, WA


Prairie, (Front Cover, Outside) 2018, 10.25″ x 45″ x 15.25″, bookboard, jute cord, watercolor paper, tissue paper


Prairie, (inside) 2018, 10.25″ x 45″ x 15.25″, bookboard, jute cord, watercolor paper, tissue paper


Prairie, (Outside) 2018, 10.25″ x 45″ x 15.25″, bookboard, jute cord, watercolor paper, tissue paper

“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 will jury the show and a print catalogue will be created.

We are particularly (but not solely) interested in works that showcase collaboration and focus on building a sense of shared community. That may include collaboration between two or more artists, two or more communities, or crowd-sourced projects. Sewing that joins people and ideas link us to historical social and political sewing circles from the abolitionist movement of the 1800s, to the corporate resistant DIY movement kindled by the Riots Grrrls in the 1990s, to the knitting collectives of today that focus on the anti-war, pro-science, and pro-choice movements. In addition, you may draw inspiration from the embroidered books of the Victorian period, the rise of needlecrafts during the Arts & Crafts period, and family traditions of sewing by machine or hand stitching.” —All Stitched Up

Schedule:

September 3rd – show opens
September 14th – opening celebration
December 11th – show closes

Curators

Catherine Alice Michaelis is an artist, writer, publisher, curator, teacher, and most recently – videopoet and animator. As proprietor of May Day Press, she is best known for her artist’s books that incorporate letterpress and pressure printing techniques. In 1998, Catherine began to feature sewing in her print work in relation to family, intimate secrets, and emotional healing. She collaborates often, with both artists and writers, and her 1999 collaborative project, Stack the Deck: 22 Artists Mark the Cards for Women’s Health & Healing, is frequently on show somewhere. Her artist’s books have been featured in solo and group exhibitions throughout the U.S. and are collected in over 80 institutions. Catherine was profiled in the ‘Nature’ episode of Craft in America on PBS in 2017. She lives near Olympia, Washington.

Jane A. Carlin is currently the Library Director at the Collins Memorial Library at the University of Puget Sound. Prior to joining Puget Sound, Jane was the Director of the Design, Architecture, Art and Planning Library at the University of Cincinnati and has also held positions at Oxford Brooks University in Oxford, England, University of Texas, Arlington and Indiana University-Purdue University, Indianapolis. Jane has long been an advocate for the artists’ book. Her graduate these, A History of Art Book Publishing in Great Britain, serves as the foundation for many programs and classes she has taught on the art and history of books, including classes on William Morris, the history of the book, as well as artists’ books and social justice movements. In 2008, Jane brought the book arts to the Collins Library and has worked with community members to form Puget Sound Book Artists, an organization dedicated to supporting and promoting book arts. Jane is the curator of numerous exhibits at the Collins Library and currently serves as the Vice-President of the PSBA organization.

Diana Weymar lives in Victoria, BC. She has a studio practice and is the creator of Interwoven Stories, an international textile project. She grew up in the wilderness of Northern British Columbia, studied creative writing at Princeton, and worked in film in New York City. Interwoven Stories has been exhibited and implemented in Colombia, Switzerland, Syria, Canada, and the States. She has worked with, is working with or had a residency with The Zen Hospice Project, The Nantucket Atheneum, The University of Puget Sound, UMass Amherst, The Peddie School, The Arts Council of Princeton, Build Peace, Trans Tipping Point Project, and The Textile Arts Center (Manhattan). Her work has been exhibited and collected in the States and Canada. She also curated art for the NRG Energy Headquarters in Princeton, NJ.

I am thrilled and honored to be n this show, and cannot wait to see the catalog of all the Stitched Up works included.
It should be fascinating.

Gratitudes.

“All Stitched Up”

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I am thrilled and honored to be showing my work “Prairie”  in “All Stitched Up”
An international juried book arts exhibition
September 3rd – December 11th, 2019
September 14th – opening celebration
Collins Memorial Library University of Puget Sound, Tacoma, WA

“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 will jury the show and a print catalogue will be created.

We are particularly (but not solely) interested in works that showcase collaboration and focus on building a sense of shared community. That may include collaboration between two or more artists, two or more communities, or crowd-sourced projects. Sewing that joins people and ideas link us to historical social and political sewing circles from the abolitionist movement of the 1800s, to the corporate resistant DIY movement kindled by the Riots Grrrls in the 1990s, to the knitting collectives of today that focus on the anti-war, pro-science, and pro-choice movements. In addition, you may draw inspiration from the embroidered books of the Victorian period, the rise of needlecrafts during the Arts & Crafts period, and family traditions of sewing by machine or hand stitching.

This exhibition will include pages from Diana Weymar’s Interwoven Stories project. This includes Refashioning Identity, which was created by members of the Puget Sound community in 2016/17 as facilitated by Weymar.” —All Stitched Up