Interstitial arts and preparation for Florida symposium: Lovefest2011

As mentioned in my last post, on Sunday, Jan. 16, the Board of
the Interstitial Arts Foundation met at our house for an all day
planning meeting. Since we are scattered across the country,
our monthly meetings are teleconferences, but we try to meet
face to face at least once a year. Pictured above from left to right:
Ellen Kushner, Delia Sherman, Larissa Niec, Katya Pendill,
GeoffreyLong, Erin Underwood and below myself and Felice
Kuan with Deborah Atherton - via paper drawing and iphone.
It is a fascinating group to work with as you can see if you go
on to the IAF website and click on "about" and "team":
www.interstitialarts.org
We spent the meeting visioning IAF's future and elected
Larissa and Felice as new IAF Bd. President and Vice
President. (Ellen and Delia, co-founders of IAF decided
it was time for them to step down from offices. )
I joined the Board in 2006 with Ellen and Delia's
encouragement after discussions at Mythic Journeys in
Atlanta. I've loved being pushed to think outside the craft
show/art box and have learned a great deal about the world
of writers, use of technology, and realized more than ever just
how many creative individuals seem to thrive in the interstices
of art! The IAF does a good job of encouraging me to explore
realms outside my comfort level -those places where learning
happens.

Next weekend in Winter Park Florida I will be venturing
into such a world. I'm participating in a conference
organized by Florida based Gladdening Light called;
Lovefest: A symposium of Art and Faith www.lovefest2011.org
As you will see if you click on the link, they have invited
progressive Christian theologian, Marcus J. Borg marcusjborg.com
to lead the conference. In addition, four artists have been
invited to participate to share our views of the
interconnection of art and spirit. Painter,
Diane McPhail, textile artist, Sonja Weber, singer
Virginia Shenck, and I will be on a panel moderated
by Jan Richardson janrichardson.com Saturday
afternoon. Later, each of us will present a 1 1/2 hour session
exploring our creative journeys through image, movement
(Sonja uses yoga) and song (Virginia) reflecting on sacred
influences, mentors and inspiration.

I've been reading a lot of Borg to have a frame of
reference for the conference. Since I quickly saw that
understanding the metaphors underlying stories
was crucial to his view of religion, I knew this is someone
I will enjoy getting to know. On Sunday he will talk about
"Thin Places" - where the worlds of reality and non-material
reality meet and the veil between is lifted. It has occurred
to me that it is in those thin places that many writers,
singers, dancers, artists thrive...not unlike the interstitial
spaces the IAF talks about. As I look over my life and
my work, I realize it is in exactly those thin places that
I feel most at home....open to spirit and material reality
at the same time.

When trying to explain my art, I often think of
Isadora Duncan's quote: "If I could tell you what it meant,
there would be no point in dancing it."...but next weekend
I will try to use both words and art. I'll definitely report back
in my next blog post.

Journey on!....Wendy

Savoring the world of the "In Between"

Since 2006, I've been on the Executive Board of the
Interstitial Arts Foundation -a merry band of artists,
writers, musicians and energetic folk who love to work
in the "in between" rather than try to fit into
marketing genres or categories. Artist without borders.
The IAF is all about networking and supporting creativity
and definitely has pushed beyond the craft show box
which was getting rather comfortable(if less and less
profitable.) Hanging with and being challenged by writers,
musicians,computer techies and more has shown me worlds
I never knew existed.It's amazing to see what lies by the
side of the road, once you step out the door!

This month, we're putting daily (or almost daily) posts on
the IAF blog - with answers to a few simple interview
questions directed to the Board, a way of introducing who
we are, as well as posting info on people and groups we
think play in the same worlds we do.I urge everyone to
check it out at:www.interstitialarts.org

My interview went up on March 17th:www.interstitialarts.org/wordpress/?p=171
- perhaps a logical date for posting
since one of my great grandmothers did hail from merry
Ireland. (I'm trying to find out more about her journey
here...I suspect Ireland wasn't so merry when she left!).
I never used to think much about the Irish side of my
heritage until someone pointed out that I should look at
what I have been creating all these years...populating the
world with little people and creatures with more than a
touch of Celtic influence and Irish folk tale essence. Lately
I've been thinking a lot about the threads which seem to pull
us through life,connecting us to the past and pulling us
into the future.

The artist I lifted up on the IAF site was Thomas Wargin. You'll
see info and some of Thomas's sculptures there, but I recommend
going to his full site as well:www.wargin.com
He's one of the artists who always inspires me when I see him at
shows and makes me want to push the limits of my work, not
worrying about where it seems to want to go, just being willing
to leap and fly there. This is not an easy thing to do in
difficult economic times, and yet, perhaps that is just when
we can't afford to be cautious. Below is one of Thomas's
bronze sculptures from his "narrative series"..with the
title "Eves Untold Story" Think of the tales it contains!



In my last post, I promised to begin to talk about some of my
favorite artists who were at the American Craft Council show in
Baltimore this year. Thomas was there. As was Christine Kaiser.
I love Christine's quirky, story-filled work. Here are a couple
images I took at Baltimore. The first one is titled "In a Minute".
The title of the one on the left in the second image is
"I should Dance".





Christine describes her work this way:"My pieces are fairy tales
for the modern world. Like most folktales their story isn’t
always revealed on first glance. They are (I hope) engaging
enough to catch your eye again and again. Part of their charm
is the tension between sweet and not so sweet." I'm drawn to
work with an edge...with tension and a bit of a question. Have
fun checking out her website:www.christinekaiser.com

Finally here is an image of a character I picked up at Baltimore
this year - named "Snogwart" by my grandchildren. He's climbing
on the back of my large dragon. Puppet is by Don Becker....more
about Don in my next post!



Now I'm off to work on my taxes - the Spring fun for all
self-employed people! Peace, Wendy