Wendy Osterweil - reflections on specific work

reflections on specific work

Printmaking and fiber arts

Cat's Out of the Bag, art quilt The image of this art quilt involves vessels of various kinds. The contents of the vessels remain hidden from view. The tension between wanting to know and fearing knowledge, or what is within, is part of what these container/symbols suggest. Womb-like vessels such as seedpods, boats, purses, bags, and flowers can also suggest fertility and growth. When one “lets the cat out of the bag,” one must deal with the consequences. Read more... Mapping, Art Quilt I began this quilt in 1999, and by September 11, 2001 I had printed all the background patchwork. That horrific day made the quilt look incomplete, practically insignificant. The news media was suddenly flooded with faces of refugees from Afghanistan. I kept seeing those faces, wanting to understand the connections between our lives here and their lives far away. At that point I turned away from my quilt-in-progress and created instead a series of linocuts depicting refugees. Read more... Heart Monoprint Series The heart prints come from my interior landscape and map the process I felt while Gil Ott, a dear friend was dying in 2003-04. When someone close is dying, the human heart has the opportunity to open up to emotions and experiences it never had before. I felt deep grief to see Gil so sick, suffering in ways that the doctors could not treat or help yet I also felt great love for him and for his courage to fight for his life, despite the odds. As an artist/poet himself, he inspires me to make art and to live as connected to the world as possible, to be open to people and their stories, and to embrace one’s creativity. Read more...		view these pieces in the galleries: cat's out of the bag: art quilts mapping: art quilts heart monoprint series: monoprints