New Work - On the Verge

On the Verge

It's time to share another new work! This is On the Verge. It's one of the quilts making its debut at the Virginia Quilt Museum in my solo show, Beyond the Blue: Contemporary Narrative Quilts by Sue Reno. The exhibit runs from August 16 - October 23, with a reception on September 23.

On the Verge, detail 1

I chose the title "Beyond the Blue" because the work I am showing is representative of my ongoing experiments with the cyanotype process. I began decades ago with traditional prints, albeit on cloth rather than paper, and mastered making very crisp, clean images. In 2017 I dove headfirst into the wet cyanotype process, which involves moisture and long exposures and produces unpredictable but beautiful results. Lately I've been selectively adding Solarfast solar dye chemicals into the mix to add colors beyond the basic Prussian blue, and this large fox grape print is a good example of this.

On the Verge, detail 2

But on its own, the breakdown of chemicals in the wet cyanotype process produces hints of a  wide array of blue, turquoise, green, and purple hues, and occasionally these lovely solar flare-like flashes of golden yellow. 

On the Verge, detail 4

The printmaking process, which is both demanding and exciting, is just one step in the process. The prints are transformed by selective stitching that adds movement and dimension. The next step is to set them into patchwork, which has its own set of challenges and rewards. I like to use a variety of fabrics--cotton, silk, and wool--from my deep stash of cloth going back many decades. Prints and colors in fabric come and go in trends and cycles, just like any consumer good, and a deep stash adds richness and variety that pull the viewer into the work. In this particular quilt, the patchwork contains scraps from my mother's dressmaking efforts in the 40's and 50's, along with silks I brough back from India in the 70's.

On the Verge, detail 5

The impetus for this quilt came from a chapter in my personal story. After decades in the same spot I moved, and resumed my art practice from a new perspective. I began by grounding myself, printing with the plants at the edges of my new yard. I found myself on the verge of something interesting and complex. As I worked on this quilt during the worst of the pandemic, it came to symbolize the challenges of living in a time of change and upheaval. We need to maintain a certain level of vigilance, because we feel ourselves to be always on the verge of more disruptive change. I do hold out hope that change can also be transformative in a positive, progressive way.

That leads us to the "Narrative Quilts" part of the exhibit title. These quilts arose out of my deep observation of my surroundings, and my response to the zeitgeist. But I am leaving the story open-ended enough that everyone can find common ground with their own unique narratives.

On the Verge features prints of fox grapes (the wild native grape here in Pennsylvania), Virginia creeper, and my perennial favorite native plant, pokeweed (Phytolacca americana). It measures 54" h x 49"w. 

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New Work - Partly Cloudy

Partly Cloudy

I am thrilled to share with you all one of my newest works, Partly Cloudy. It's just one of the new quilts that will be in my upcoming solo exhibit at the Virginia Quilt Museum, Beyond the Blue: Contemporary Narrative Quilts by Sue Reno. The exhibit will run from August 16 - October 22, 2022. I am planning on attending a reception at the Museum on September 23.

Partly Cloudy, detail 1

Along with so many other things, the pandemic changed my working style. I was accustomed to making a quilt, sharing the process and result in real time, then looking for a suitable venue for it. Because so many opportunities were cancelled or postponed during the past few years that was no longer a viable strategy.

Partly Cloudy, detail 2

I was fortunate in being able to mostly isolate in my studio during this time. I had worked towards this goal for years, and had just moved to Pittsburgh, with a new home studio and fewer outside obligations on my time and energies. The question remained--how to responsibly use this privilege? I made a point to work through fear and uncertainty and maintain a daily studio practice, but what about subject material? Like many, I was and remain appalled at the repercussions from extreme right wing politics, and the abrogation of human rights, but I am not skilled at making overtly political artwork. 

Partly Cloudy, detail 3

What I am skilled at is making work full of beautiful and joyful imagery. I am skilled at a variety of technical processes that allow me to develop this imagery. I am skilled at making work that gently touches on environmental themes of awareness and preservation and the effects of climate change. I am skilled at making work that reflects my individual story and experiences, while leaving room for others to bring their own interpretation to the work, so that my narrative can become a group narrative. In difficult times we need beauty and joy, to calm the fear left by looking into the screaming void. So this is how I have passed the pandemic, and I have built a new body of work.

I am so grateful to the Virginia Quilt Museum for giving me space to share this new work! My exhibit will consist of ten quilts. Two have been shown before online but not at a physical venue, one was exhibited once but deserves more exposure, and seven of them are brand new, and I will be sharing them individually in the weeks to come. I think you will be as excited about this work as I am.

Partly Cloudy, detail 4

About Partly Cloudy in particular--I wasn't planning on this one, it developed organically. Through the dark winter nights I have a practice of sitting and doing hand sewing, and of late that has involved the obsessive production of English paper pieced hexagons (thanks to the James Webb Space Telescope artist project for setting me on this path). I had randomly pulled some silk scraps to piece, then began thinking about making an all silk quilt. I had these wet cyanotype prints on silk noil in my inventory, and felt they worked perfectly with the crisp lines of the hexagons. As I was working with the imagery on my design wall, the soft outlines of the prints reminded me of a cloudy day in midsummer, so here we are with another addition to my informal weather related series.

The plants used are sweet gum, wood poppy, Solomon's seal, bleeding heart, and calla lily. I handpainted the three main background panels and added in commercial silks from India and Thailand. The hexagons include silks from those same sources, as well an re-purposed men's silk ties. The finished work is 51" x 43".

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Dew Point at Associated Artists of Pittsburgh Exhibit

Dew Point

I am pleased to share that Dew Point will be included in the Associated Artists of Pittsburgh New Member Exhibit, to be held at the Martha Gault Gallery, Slippery Rock University, Slippery Rock, PA, from August 30 to November 3, 2022.

Dew Point, detail 1

There will be an opening reception August 30th from 5:30 to 7:30 that I am looking forward to attending.

Dew Point, detail 2

Dew point is a meteorological term denoting the atmospheric temperature, varying according to pressure and humidity, below which water droplets begin to condense and dew can form. I made these wet process/solar dye prints of tall blue lettuce and Japanese knotweed in high summer, when the dew point was indicative of the oppressive heat and humidity. The lettuce is a native wildflower, and the knotweed is a noxious invasive plant. I liked the contrast between their differing leaf forms.
Materials: artist-painted and commercial silk and cotton fabric
Technique: wet process cyanotype and solar dye prints, patchwork, stitching
Size: 57”h x 55”w

Dew Point, detail 3

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Experiments in wet cyanotype - part 78

Here's a fresh batch of wet cyanotype prints for your viewing pleasure. I've been doing a lot of sewing so far this summer, stitching on various configurations of previous prints, and haven't been making as many prints, but I still have to scratch that itch from time to time.

I started with a hemlock sprig, and two configurations of box elder leaves on mineral paper.

I then prepared two configurations of elm leaves on cotton sateen. I mixed just a smidge of green Solarfast in with the cyanotype chemicals.

It's been hectic around here, so I completely missed the exposed-but-not-rinsed photos, but I've got plenty of other examples of that in this series of blog posts. So lets just skip to the good stuff, like this completed hemlock print. I am in love with the complexity of this one!

There's a lot going on with the box elder leaves as well.

It's like there's distant galaxies swirling around in the background. (And yes, I am obsessed with the first images released from the James Webb Space Telescope.)

The prints on cotton are a bit calmer, but there's still a lot of beautiful variation and coloration going on here.

And maybe some distant galaxies as well, in the background.

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Experiments in wet cyanotype - part 77

Today's post is a good example of why I am never bored with this process.

On the solstice I prepared two prints, both with the same leaves - milkweed, Japanese knotweed, box elder, and some bonus black locust on one - both on cotton sateen, same blend of cyanotype chemicals with a splash of Solarfast. I put them out within 15 minutes of each other on a warm, evenly sunny day.

After a long exposure, but before rinsing, they looked like this. One is a bit less dramatic, perhaps, but both pretty standard at this point.

And here are the finished prints. The first one is a bit pale, with dark outlines.

The second one is pale all over, yet still well defined. It's a bit unlike any result I've had before, and I think it's just lovely.

So why are they so different? The only variable is that  I ran out of sheet plastic to cover them, so on the second one I used a slightly thinner gauge of plastic sold as a painting drop cloth. But why would that affect how the chemicals reacted? More experimentation is obviously needed, to see if it can be  replicated or it's just a happy accident. So on to the next printmaking session!

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Experiments in wet cyanotype - part 76

Hello, welcome to part 76 of my experiments in wet cyanotype. I've been at this since June of 2017, and show no signs of stopping. Each and every time I have a printmaking session I am enchanted by the process. I share my experiments, the good, the bad, and the indifferent (although it's mostly been good) simply because it brings me pleasure to do so, and in the hopes that you enjoy following along. 

This time out I started with some common mullein leaves, Verbascum thapsus. It's originally a European species, but it's been here since the 1700's. As far as I know it's not causing any serious problems in the way some non-native invasives do. I usually encounter it as solitary plants that are integrated into the wild landscape. It's a biennial, so its first year it grows a rosette of leaves, and the next summer it sends up a truly impressive flower stalk. 

I love the leaves because they are huge, and they are fuzzy. They are very dramatic in a print, and the thick furry leaves can manage a long exposure in the sun without collapsing. For scale, these prints are cotton sateen panels about 24" x 48". In the first panel I used just mullein, and in the second added a huge leaf (I have a thing about huge leaves, obviously) from a cultivated Ligularia 'Desdemona', and a quartet of oakleaf hydrangea leaves. 

I mixed the cyanotype chemicals with a slug of Solarfast green, and watered them down just a bit because I was at the end of my ready mixed supply and needed to stretch it.

Here are the panels after a nice long exposure. The weather was in the mid-70s F and the sun peeked in and out of the clouds.

Here they are after rinsing and finishing. They are a bit paler than my usual but the seemed to suit the day and the weather and the general ambiance of early June very well.

I love how the darker tones are concentrated around the leaf shapes. I rank these as very successful prints, and will be using them in an art quilt.

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Experiments in wet cyanotype - part 75

My usual spring gardening activities were delayed this year, due to unseasonable cold and wet weather. So May turned into a very busy and intensive foray into pruning and planting. I moved here in the summer of 2019, and most of the first year was spent rejuvenating existing plantings and fighting a massive thistle invasion; after that I was able to begin to shape things to my liking. This spring it seems like the plan is finally coming together.

Anyway, part of the pruning involved a leatherleaf viburnum, which has taken off with great enthusiasm and needed some guidance and shaping. The leaves are very, well, leathery, but also have a lot of fine bristles on them. I thought they would be ideal for some long exposure wet cyanotype prints.

I set up a bunch of them on mineral paper, my current/ongoing obsession, and also did two larger ones on cotton sateen. I added just a small amount of Solarfast green to the chemical mix. This first batch of photos is before exposure.

Here they are after exposure and before rinsing. 

The little bristles on the surface of the leaves adhered fairly firmly to the surface of the mineral paper in a lot of spots.

Rather than try to pick them off and risk damaging the paper, I decided to wait and gently soak the leaf fragments off in the rinse.

On the sateen prints this was less of a problem.

Here are the finished prints. They were well worth the little bit of extra trouble!

There's tons and tons of variation to look and marvel at.

So unpredictable and so cool.

The prints on the sateen are a little less wild but no less lovely.

This last image is number 974 that I've posted since I started documenting my wet cyanotype experiments, so I'm quickly approaching 1,000 with no sign of slowing down. I hope some of you have been enjoying coming along for this ride as much as I've enjoyed sharing it.

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