Visit us during the month of December to view our featured artists Jane Gerdon with her Fabric Art and Ian Harrington with his Drawings.
Jane Gerdon – Fabric Arts
Jane Gerdon
Baggy Janes
I have been involved in some kind of crafts and creativity for as long as I can remember. I first learned how to knit and crochet when I was in junior high, although I’d never done a lot with that knowledge until a good friend talked me into taking a class on felting. I was hooked!
It has been a lot of fun working with different yarns, techniques, and embellishments to create something unique. I never quite know how a particular felted project will turn out until it is finished. Some have been a challenge; some have been very easy.
Fingerless gloves came along when I was looking for something less involved and time consuming. I also like the fact that these projects travel well and I can work on them anywhere. I love having something accomplished more quickly. Plus, I can look for interesting yarns when I’m traveling!
Mask making came as a result of a friend asking for help with masks for our medical professionals. My mom believed that if you had to use something, like a walker in her case, make it fun. I try to do that with the fabrics that I use in the masks that I make.
Blue felted purse with clasp pin
Ian Harrington- Drawing
Ian Harrington
My drawings are an exercise in observation, understanding and invention. Through the observation of selected imagery and the human figure, I seek to understand the structure and the physical properties of what I am looking at. The primary focus of my work is to take some subject matter, observe, and understand it through drawing. I then expand upon it and inventing new space seamless with the reality. Building upon this observation and invention, we’re left looking at a new realm.
To help me in this endeavor, I use figure drawing. Honing my ability to see and keeping me in the habit of pulling myself out of my work, figure drawing helps me to see the bigger picture. While I prefer to use a mix of charcoal, conte and chalk pastels to capture the fleeting temporary form of the human figure, I choose to work in graphite for the more arduous drawings. It allows me to be gestural or tightly controlled when need be. Its great range of values gives me the ability to create soft, subtle shifts or sharp, contrasting areas of black and white.This allows me to more easily create a naturalistic air to my work while allowing my audience to more readily accept the invented space as real.
Figure 4
