A meeting in Manzanita
A true mix of media, the November Show at Manzanita’s Hoffman Gallery features collage art by Cathi Howell, textiles by Peggy Biskar and functional clay sculpture by Kathleen Larson.
Howell’s body of work represents a process of the meeting, overlapping, connecting and recycling of often unrelated images working toward a unified whole.
All of the images combined result in the synthesis of the almost 70 years of art making and creative endeavors; piecing together images from drawing, painting, printmaking, photography, fabric design, improvisational silkscreen, weaving and calligraphy.
Biskar works with the technique of “boro,” which refers to patched textiles prevalent in 17th- through 19th-Century Japan. Poor farmers wove fabric from hemp to make everything from work clothes to baby diapers to futon bedding. When the fabric was frayed and worn, double and triple layers of hemp were added, holes were stuffed with bits and pieces of rags and a heavy stitching called Sashiko was used to finish the item. The result was a richly decorated cloth thought now to be of significant artistic importance.
“While on a textile tour in Japan in 2018, I had the opportunity to see a major exhibit of boro farm clothing at the Amuse Museum in Kyoto,” Biskar said. “I was inspired by the indigo-dyed fabrics faded with age, the traditional clothing shapes and the bold hand stitching.
The pieces spoke of poverty, resourcefulness, creative design and the aesthetic of recycle, reuse, repurpose. It was from this experience that I began to produce fabric collages using Japanese fabric scraps sourced in part from a Buddhist temple flea market.”
Also channeling an ancient Japanese technique, Larson’s clay works are hand-built and inspired by nature.
“Clay allows me to use a forgiving material to make a visual story of the natural world that is very inspiring and fulfilling to me,” Larson said. “The pieces in this show are based on the Japanese style Kurinuki, which means to take away, to remove clay and turn it into a usable vessel of some kind. I use several tools to literally take clay away, to cut and tear, to scoop it out. There can be mishaps in the process, but it is a growing process that is very fulfilling. I try to create pieces that are functional as well as sculptural in nature.”
The show will run through Nov. 28 at the Hoffman Center for the Arts, located at 594 Laneda Avenue and open Friday through Sunday from 1 to 4 pm. For more information, go to hoffmanarts.org or call 503-368-3846.