Jill Kerttula
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I finally made it: The Visionary Art Museum

3/14/2019

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Ever since we moved to Virginia I have been hearing about the American Visionary Art Museum. Folk/Naive/Outsider art has always been some of my favorite art (that along with kids' art). as evidenced by my  earlier post about the exhibit in Milwaukee - So I have been anxious to get up to Baltimore to see it. Finally made it, and it did not disappoint! 

It is an unbelievable museum of spirited works inspired by nothing but life and the primal need to create. The work is soul-baring and poignant; It is funny and playful; It is a joy to behold.
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You know from the minute you see the gleaming mosaics on the outside and then the giant Icarus flying in the stairwell (shown on the left) , that this is not your usual museum. The exhibits right now were themed "Parenting" and the stories told were from all sides of the coin - parent and child. Recounts of childhoods spent in danger or isolation were seen in all media. From a man who spent 30 years sculpting a "family" and then making detail costumes for each doll, to harshly scratched out drawings of a life spent hiding from addicted parents. An imprisoned father's depictions of life were shown  in detailed embroideries made from the unraveled socks he could get. So many lives told.

One of the main exhibits was dedicated to Esther Krinitz, a woman who along with her sister, managed to survive the Nazi occupation. The rest of her family did not. The individual depictions of the events leading up to, during and after the war were made to tell her own family of what had happened. The labor of love showed in every stitch, and the details of those memories were just incredible. ​​
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(Click on the image to read a larger version of this)
Here are just two of her images with the accompanying texts that were embroidered at the bottom:
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(detail)
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One of my other favorite displays ran along the spiral staircase. It was a ten yard machine sewn illustration of scenes sewn by a man at the suggestion of those who stopped by.
Here is his story, idea of what it looked like, and some details.
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It was a heart-wrenching visit, saved from being overly emotional by the gift shop at the end. What a place of wonder! Every trinket, accessory and fun things you could want for yourself or to give as gifts... will definitely be back there for the holidays! 
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Another "Blurry" Drive, and the New Studio Begins!

11/15/2015

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Yesterday we drove across Missouri, Indiana, Kentucky, West Virginia and Virginia to get back home to C'ville! I must say we live in a beautiful country. The fields, the trees, the hills, and even the flatlands are all amazing!

Our trip was great, good times and good people. Our butts are sore from sitting, and our own bed felt pretty darn good last night!

Today will start organizing my new studio space at the McGuffey Art Center. So very excited to get it up and going. Feels like I have been off the machine for weeks.... oh ya... I HAVE!!!

So, while I am organizing, you can see more of my "Intentional Blur Photo Paintings"

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The World Goes by in a Blur

11/12/2015

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We are on the road for about 2000 miles! As I watch the world go by I see the textures, that happen with my stitching, in the blur of the speed of the countryside going by. Last year, on a similar road trip I first tried this, you can see those on Facebook here. This year, after a lot of experimentation and testing, I finally have found a few combinations of f-stops, ISO, and shutter speeds,  that replicated the look I was looking for.  These blurs are pretty much as taken, with a little color editing, and I love the painterly look achieved, and am now ready for the ride home to try some more!
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One Steep Hike and One Super Sunset

10/13/2015

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Day 14, continued

After the Conference closed, I couldn't wait to get back to the nature of The Great Smoky Mountain Park. I decide that even though it was tourist-peak Sunday, I would go to one of the most popular places in the park; Clingman's Dome.
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the tower at Clingman's Dome
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the parking lot, where I started, as seen from the tower
The dome is the highest place in the park, and in Tennessee, but just in case that isn't high enough, there is a 54 foot tower perched on top! The walk up to the tower is a mere one-half mile, but is almost vertical, so feels like about 100 miles. The good news about being a photog, is that you can stop frequently and take pictures - or just act like you are taking pictures - and no one is the wiser.  After many stops, I reached the tower and then climbed the ramp up the addition 54 feet. It was a great view with the clouds wafting through me on their way to points further along. These waves of mist would change the lighting and visibility so suddenly a distant peak was visible, or the trees would peek out of the top of the cloud.

While it was a nice view, the crowd was more than I wanted to deal with, so I headed back down the path... my knees were not sure that was any easier than going up for them. I found a spot about half way down, that had a great western exposure to watch the sunset. So I stayed there for about the next hour, watching the people trudge up and run down, and the sun gently arc towards the horizon.
I had started the day down at the bottom in the fog, but by the sunset, it was crisp and clear up on top and, as it got cooler, the clouds formed an ocean of waves below us. So here are pictures of the ride up, the top, and the sunset on the way down.
And one panorama for you, too!
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Artist's Heaven: Arrowmont

10/1/2015

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Today I got to move into a studio on the Arrowmont Campus. What a joy and privilege. Arrowmont School for Arts and Crafts was founded originally as a general school, and later, morphed into what it is today.

It hold advanced level workshops for all types of craft: wood turning, textiles, ceramics, etc. You feel the energy just walking the grounds. There are several Artist-in Residences here - all staying for about eleven months, then there is the rotating calendar of classes that draw artists and instructors from around the world. Last month was the first month they provided a studio for the GSMNP arts, so my timing was pretty perfect!

I got the place all settled yesterday, and a piece cut and ready to sew. Today the gods have provided a day of heavy rain, so I will not even be tempted to go sight seeing instead of working, so enough said... I am off to work while you take a look here at the grounds.
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Great Smoky Mountain Park Adventure is about to begin!

9/26/2015

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I will be leaving Monday morning for the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. I will be in an apartment in the park for the month as the Artist-in-Residence. The checklist is almost complete, and the art supply and fabric pile is larger than either the clothes or food piles, so I think I have my priorities right.

Some  "plein air" landscape quilting is in the plans   - putting down the fabrics on site and stitching later.
I have packed all kids of "toys"; dyes, screen print, paints, fabric crayons, etc etc. Because my real hope is to play, play, play, and experiment! I will also be trying some natural dying with a workshop that will be in the area.

The fall color should be in its full glory while I am there, so inspiration should abound for both photos and fiber.

Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts is just a mile down the road from where I will be living. It happens that the Surface Design conference is there while I am in the park, so I will also be attending that as well as the Natural Dying Workshop with Catharine Ellis. More inspiration I am sure!

I am so lucky to have this experience, and I will be sharing it with you here!

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Traveler's blues

11/7/2014

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I used to have a job that required I travel a lot. It was back in 'the 90s' when computers were either ungainly or impractical to take with you traveling  and cellphone minutes were precious and connections precarious. Weekly, I would fly to some hub (Chicago or Detroit) sit for a connection (or miss a connection and sit a long time) and do what people did then in airport waiting areas. Often that meant striking up a conversation with whatever road warrior or weary traveler happened to be in the vicinity. Once boarded on the plane, there was the immediate intimacy of being partnered in a small seating area with a total stranger. Often these were people you had shared eye rolls with when the airline had announced a delay, or they had helped heft your bag into the overhead compartment.

What followed was often a traveler's dance of deciding if conversation was welcome or not. If it was, what followed were usually interesting tales of travels made, airport mishaps and near misses, details of the visits to come at the next destination, business meeting comparisons, and often family histories or insights that seemed so much more confessional or intimate than the situation warranted. The conversations were so prolific and interesting, that I often thought about compiling a book of them - 'Short Stories from Economy Class'.

It has been years now since I was a frequent flyer. I just flew to Wisconsin and back, and realized how times had changed. Earphones. Everywhere. No eye contact, no traveler's camaraderie, road warriors connected only by being wired to the same docking and power stations. Even in the airport bars, the tablets were out, the phones connected and conversations were being held with people around the world, but not at the next bar stool! And the same happened on the planes. The small tablets and 'airplane mode' phones insure close to non-stop connection with anyone other than those next to you.

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I am no Luddite. I love technology (see here I am talking to you on the computer!!) but there does seem like a loss here. Never will I get advice on a good restaurant, from the person going home to where I will be a visitor. I once heard trucker stories from a guy who drove trucks across country to deliver them and then flew home - who knew people had that job. That conversation will not happen again. Sure there were many times I hoped beyond hope that the person next to me would NOT talk because I wanted nothing but peace and quiet, but that was easy to signal by closing my eyes, or cracking a book - any experienced traveler knew that meant "do not disturb!"

It is no surprise - all this connectedness and disconnection at the same time, but I have been gone from airports long enough for it to be really noticeable to me. It changed an experience I have always thoroughly enjoyed into a much more mundane one. I hope the guy next to me enjoyed his movie, and the guy across the aisle got all his emails sorted. It sure would have been interesting to know what books all those kindles were tuned to. Guess I will just have to meet them all through Facebook or somewhere else on line.

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Road trip Boredom; One last trip

7/9/2014

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We have finished moving across country. During the course of the last few months, we have made several trips from Wisconsin to Virginia and visa verse - each about 1750 miles round trip. We have explored, home hunted, explored more, moved, and moved more. The first several trips were really fun, but during the last two weeks we have made the round trip twice... it was a test of my endurance to say the least. My photography subject matter and attention were put to the test... The first sign of the decline came when the selfies started happening (on the right).
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After that, the documentation of the trip took a rather interesting turn. They charm of the landscape was lost to me, and I turned to the car interior and immediate surroundings. Thankfully we made it home to VA safe and sane, and I thought I would share the results of my boredom with you:
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This was fun until I thought about what would happen if the airbag went off.
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Oh look!!! A truck is stuck to my Tootsie Roll pop!
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About mile 1350 I realized that I could hold all of my hair up with one pencil, if positioned strategically.
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About mile 1400 I realized that it might not be car sickness that was making my stomach a bit queasy.
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The contemplation of both the irony and relativity of the name of this trucking company kept me occupied for several miles
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As the wind whipped this around I thought about how A) totally ineffective they are, and B) how much longer will they exist, and C) how often they get in the way of a photograph.
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Dear GPS Travel Lady; We can not go two directions at the same time no matter how many arrows you use.
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Mile 1550 I discovered a hang nail.
We have been very lucky with safety, weather and all during all these trips, but it is nice to settle in now. But I have to include one more picture. On the right are four of the men that made the driving better!
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  • Home
  • Art Work Info
    • Old News & Musings
    • Ceramics
    • Fiber Art >
      • Process & Videos
    • Drawing & Painting >
      • 2014 Daily photo
      • 100 day project
    • Photography
  • CONTACT & ARTIST INFO
    • RESUME
    • ARTIST STATEMENT