SUMMER 2013
Theme: Exchange
With this themed exchange as 'Exchange" I focused on the ideas of: communication, trade, receive, and people.
Using quotes or dialogue from verbal conversations I participated in, over heard dialogue, text messages, and my own written thoughts I translated those words into a language of hand gestures. The reason for this is not only my interest in hand gestures [I have a collection of observed hand gestures and their corresponding meanings taken from everyday conversations] but also because of the my experience of an extremely isolation in a small town over this summer [exaggerated by the late-night /early morning hours I kept]. The receiver of the card is forced [if they want to read the message] to translate the hand gestures into letters that form the words of the message. This is a slower more intimate experience with the cards and dialogue. The color washes relate to the tone or type of messages.
The envelopes used in some of the cards were from a collection I started years prior [partly because of my fascination of the envelope as a container - sealed and hidden yet open because of the plastic address window - as well as the security patterns inside]. The reversed envelopes draw attention to those small details we ignore [often tossing the opened envelope without noticing the patterns as both visually interesting or their practical use] as well as the tones, inflections and body language that is lost in so many forms of communication these days [text, email, telephone, social media sites etc.] which cannot be packed or sent but rather requires in-person exchanges.
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SPRING 2013
Theme: Life And Death
FALL 2012
Theme: Accidental Discoveries
SUMMER 2012
Theme: Collection
For the Summer 2012 exchange, the theme for the participants was 'Collection'
This exchange happened just after my cross-country move to Washington and other trips exploring the PNW. Through the process of these trips I decided to keep a record of the miles traveled via my cars odometer. For the exchange I chose to create a visual for this collection of milage notes and accumulated memories of these new places. The colors and patterns of stitching and paint are based on my impressions and memories of each place. In tracing paper I traced my route traveled from Ohio to Washington and through the PNW.
