Feature on Erin Cork, Collaboration Partner

This is the 3rd in a series of posts on the people I worked with for the exhibit Collaboration:  Reaping and Sewing.  I met Erin Cork in 2006 when she was in grad school.  She came to my home studio to learn about my natural methods of coloring cloth.   Her graduate professor, Laura Strand, head of textiles at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville had asked if I’d be willing to share my organic printing methods with Erin.  (Laura is also one of my collaboration partners who I’ll be writing about in a future post.)  Erin and I quickly bonded and worked together for 2 summers    experimenting with composted and solar dyed fabrics with natural materials.   I was just starting my transition to rusting then and so we both experimented with that process too.  Although it wasn’t a formal arrangement I certainly considered Erin my student and I have treasured the friendship she has offered in return.

Erin recycled bed sheets for this early composting experiment.  The larger piece used walnuts hulls, banana peels, turmeric spice.  Fabric was then covered with plastic and sealed up for several weeks, then picked up and cured for a time before laundering.  

A number of bundles were solar dyed on the roof of my house.  We attempted to document what we were doing.  I don't know about Erin, but I know I wasn't very successful in keeping numbers and notes with the fabrics after they were washed.    This is one of Erin's bundles before it was sealed up in aluminum foil and ziplock for the process.

Erin created some wearables with the composted fabric she did at my house.  This skirt was exhibited at Main Street Gallery in Edwardsville.  If you look closely, you can see the yellow flowers of the bedsheet.

Erin’s work with tongue in cheek crochet installations of domesticated doilies and felt for her thesis exhibition and a 2009 Innovations in Textiles show at Fontbonne University greatly impressed me--and they are a hoot to boot.  You can see images of her thesis show on her website.  When I began formulating my plan to become involved with Innovations 2011, the idea of a teacher student collaboration seemed perfect.  

Erin Cork 2011, Collaboration with Erin Vigneau Dimick

Erin was my first recruit.  Then I learned she was moving to Virginia and getting married!  Suffice it to say, this year has been a busy one for her.  Starting a new teaching job; commuting home occasionally for wedding planning; making her own wedding dress which was embellished with hand crocheted and beaded elements; AND working on three complex pieces involving felt for the collaboration in addition to squeezing in meetings with our group—sometimes in person, sometimes on SKYPE—would be enough to send anyone over the edge.  But Erin handled it all with aplomb.   And she was a radiant bride!

The first piece Erin started for the collaboration involved this weaving by Laura Strand into which she integrated both needle and wet felted elements.  A detail is below.  Look closely at the wall tag and you'll notice a little red dot indicating a sale.  The buyer was none other than Marci Rae McDade!  Marci is former editor of the now defunct FiberArts Magazine, but as of January 2012 will be the new editor at Surface Design Journal.  I'll tell you about Marci's visit to our exhibit in a future post.

Erin created a third piece for the show, but my own photograph of the piece does not do it justice.  I promise you'll see all the work eventually.

To complete this post I contacted Erin who was kind enough to answer some questions about her art.

What possession do you most cherish?

There is something that William Morris said that I try to live by in regards to my possessions - "Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful." The usefulness of objects to me is not only that it is something functional, but also is it an object that holds some kind of memory as well. An object's usefulness could be as a memory trigger. Many of my possession are cherished because they belonged to someone else before me. In particular, I have many things that belong to my grandmother, in many ways I think of these objects as a way to stay connected to the original owner. I think one of my most recent acquisitions is probably my most cherished possession, my wedding ring. Not only does it function as a symbol of my marital relationship, it also was my great grandmother's wedding ring.

 

Erin Cork 2011, Detail of collaboration with Laura Strand

What is the source of your creativity? How much is from within? How much comes from outside sources?

I derive a great deal of inspiration from everyday events. Domestic life and the natural world spur my ideas. The way that I manipulate real occurrences comes from within. Combining two things (nature and domestic culture) that aren’t integrated in reality is where my internal creativity comes into play. I use creative thinking exercises to exhaust all possible options for a piece. Then I have a long list of ideas to choose from.

Thanks Erin!  

Look for upcoming posts about Erin Vigneau Dimick and Laura Strand.  The posts featuring Nina Ganci and Jo Stealey can be found here and here.

Eventually, the entire collaboration show will be documented, but that takes time, so I hope you'll be patient.

Collaboration: Reaping and Sewing

My collaboration with five other artists for Innovations 2011 mentioned several posts ago is progressing.  Time flies when you are having fun.  As curator of the exhibition, I am honored that they all accepted my invitations with enthusiasm and embraced the possibilities that come from such a teaming.  Our common link is that of teacher/student/mentor.
 
Nina Ganci was my art student (in the mid 80s) at the high school in St. Louis where I used to teach.  Nina marched to a different drummer then and now.  She founded SKIF International in 1994.  Laura Strand was my professor and is head of textiles at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville where I earned my MFA in 2003.  Laura introduced me to her grad student Erin Cork in 2006.  Erin spent two summers with me learning composting and solar dyeing techniques before getting her MFA so I claim her as my student too.  Erin also studied book arts with Erin Vigneau Dimick, an adjunct professor at SIUE who works closely with Laura and considers her a mentor.  Rounding out the circle is Jo Stealey, head of the fibers program at University of Missouri Columbia, and Erin Cork's undergrad professor. 

Below are some of the snaps I’ve taken at various monthly meetings since the collaboration began back in December.  Part of the fun is that we are meeting at SKIF headquarters in St. Louis which is a riot of color.

Jo Stealey (L) and Erin Vigneau Dimick are discussing Jo's scroll book

while Laura Strand looks on.  Erin Cork, who lives in  Virginia now,

looks on from Skype on the laptop perched on the stool.  Jo has used some

of my shibori rusted silk to construct the book.

 





Above:  Can't meet without feasting!  L-R:  Erin Vigneau Dimick, Erin Cork, and Jo Stealey.  Erin Cork is getting married this summer and has made a couple wedding related trips back home.  We try to schedule our meetings around that and when she can't be in St. Louis we catch her on Skype which has been very interesting.  Above left--Nina Ganci (R) listens to Jo as she comments on Nina's quilt in progress.  Nina is using some of Jo's paper shifu to embellish her quilt.



Nina dangles a piece of plastic that has been used for stencil painting on her clothing and sweater designs for SKIF International, her fashion company which is headquartered on "The Hill" in St. Louis.  This plastic and many other stencils will probably find its way into the quilt.



I realized after looking through all the pictures that I wouldn't be in any of them--so while I was trying on my new SKIF sweater, a gift from Nina, I snapped myself in her "still life" of mirrors.

None of us can walk into SKIF without trying on some of Nina's latest creations.  I've got some fabulous shots of the store, and I sat down recently with Nina to talk about her life and business which I'll share with you soon.  BTW, I hope to give you some background on all of the artists in the next few posts. 

Erin Vigneau Dimick, Laura Strand, and Nina Ganci are listening to Erin Cork on Skype as she comments on Vigneau Dimick's work in progress.

In January each of us brought a collection of things from our personal studios and then took turns selecting items that we wanted to work with.  The swap meet was great fun.  I came home with at least one thing from each artist, although not everyone did that.    Two big pieces are well underway.  I have plans for at least three more.  So I better get off this blog and get to work! 

Collaboration: Reaping and Sewing opens August 26, 2011 at the Jacoby Arts Center in Alton, IL and runs through October 2.  The reception is 5-8 PM on August 26.  A talk by the artists is being scheduled sometime during the exhibition.
  
Jacoby Arts Center is on the October 1 bus tour of Innovations galleries.

This is a prototype for our showcard.

Natural Selection at By Design Gallery--show images

I apologize for being away so long...the holidays and some personal family events became a priority, but I couldn't let too much of the new year disappear without posting images from the Natural Selection show that comes down this week.  Below is a shot that includes Erin Cork's felted and stitched pieces in the back corner of the gallery. 

The gallery at By Design in Alton offers a long narrow space with some unusual traits.  The building was formerly the Mississippi Lime Works.  The floor is concrete and slants toward the street and along one side you can see the floor curves up forming a narrow ledge.  It proved to be a challenge to display my art there, but with my cast iron and pipe banner stands it worked out OK I think. 

Above: Both of these pieces are rusted organza layered over black raw silk.  The one on the left is Key to the Moon and was rusted from an arrangement of objects.  The other piece is Fault Lines done in the shibori rust method.

Ron Vivod's manipulated digital photos look great on the old brick wall.  I'm trying to talk him into setting up a blog of his own where you can see his work in detail.

I'll have to check with Ron on the title of this butterfly piece.  I think it is stunning.   Just had to use this shot as the gallery shot can't do justice to his work due to angle I was forced to photograph from.

   

Above:  Two close-ups of Erin's beautiful manipulated, felted and stitched work.  A few of the pieces include Erin's own hair. 

The door to the gallery was open and a puff of wind was moving the two pieces on this stand. Both were done by the shibori method on silk dupioni. On the white door you can see one of the pieces I've done by stretching the shibori rust silk over a ready made canvas.  I stretch a layer of felt and staple it to the canvas first so that I can pull the silk to the back and stitch it in place.  The felt provides a needed cushion for the silk over the rough canvas and sharp corners.


The piece on the left is actually a shawl.  At 90" long it looks great hanging as well as wearing.  When I picked up my work today, I left it behind for Lillian to sell along with my scarves and other wearables.    Lillian told me today that the other shawl I'd left with her--stained with elderberries--became someone's Christmas present.  Hope they enjoy wearing it.  The large piece on the right is Free Association.  I used sueded crepe de chine which despite its drapey quality hangs very nicely.