Artist Statement

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Please Come: Show Opening Friday, Sept 2nd

"Dragon's Rising" 24"

Artist Bio & Statement

All creative expression comes from the One source.  The blessed gift of being creative is my experience of “flow,” when time stops and joy is a stream burbling through me. 

I am fortunate to come from a lineage of female artists and musicians.  Having moved away from my early path as a pianist and vocalist, I had the fortunate misfortune to be felled by serious illness at 28 years old.  Homebound and needing something to do as I moved from bed to couch, I reached for long-forgotten skills taught by my grandmother, mother and aunt.  Thus began a new journey into my artistic soul.  Through the grace of stillness, induced by my illness, I began creating as I felt called. 

I move through the world by intuition, emotion, touch, smell, visual sensation.   Thoughts, ideas and emotions have “feeling,” color, image and sensation for me…visceral experience.  Fiber allows me to integrate my emotional and spiritual “felt” sense with my love for kinesthetic life. 

My art shares my vision of the physical, emotional, and energetic textures of the natural world and internal experience.  My work explores the relationship between nature, soul and humanity, and how the threads of this dynamic relationship impact emotion, personal awareness, and the experience of beauty as the soul is nourished.  All speak to me of that communion which is the essence of Being and the nurturance of soul.

My designs come to me from dreams and dream-like visions, from nature, from the souls I meet, and from my own healing, evolving and spiritual journey as a human being.  I seek to express either a deep felt-sense that wells up from inner experience and body-soul memory, or a spirit I sense in an image.  I explore where that memory or spirit takes me in the process of transforming it into fiber.  In the case of body-soul memory, I seek to follow the thread that creates the bridge between a felt truth within me and visual expression, making visible the inarticulate.  Each piece leads me on a journey.  In the end, I discover a spirit greater than I sensed originally.  The work unfolds to show me beyond, as Leonard Cohen says, “….what I only know the limits of.”

I experience profound communion with nature, with Creation, with my own deepest self, and with G-d through the birthing of each piece.  Poems often emerge to join the artwork, sometimes even preceding and inspiring the piece.  My use of technique is defined by the needs of a given piece.  I love the exploration of technique to “voice” the piece as it wishes to be “heard” and felt.

www.stephanieknead.com

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Wooded Mountain

I love to be in the mountains, in nature where all sound belongs to the Earth and her creatures…from the wind shooshing through the pines high above to the nestlings of the moles and bugs below.  In between are the streams, pouring down the mountain’s flank, the smell of loamy soil and dry lichen rising under the heat of the sun’s kiss, my own breathing.  My soul opens up and drinks nourishment through my body.  It is a blessing. 

Creating these pieces in my studio takes me back to this communion in nature.  So each piece is infused with that loving nourishment and peace.  It’s a joy to create them.  Pay Pal & Checks.

 

"Wooded Mountain" roughly 18" x 7" $60

 

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On a Dark and Stormy Night

As it snowed outside, I felt so warm and cozy inside.  I love being in my studio, marinating in creative juices. 

Standing at my window for a moment to watch the snowfall, I noticed blossoms on the tree under the snow.  Then…my reflection and that of the warm room glowed trancelike to my attention.  I captured this image. 

My studio’s warmth on a dark and stormy night…

Creativity inside and out...nature: the ultimate inspiration...

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Art & Craft: The Difference

What is the difference between art and craft?  As I am about to create a “Holiday Sales Gallery” that will be almost entirely craft, this seemed a good time to write my thoughts on the subject.

This can be a volatile topic in the art and craft world (or worlds, as the case may be.)  There is much dissension. 

I do think that art and craft are different.  I also think there is crossover.  There are art pieces that contain an equal, or almost equal portion, of craft (see the quilts of Gees Bend.)   There are craft peices, many, that contain an artisitic esthetic and/or originality to them.  Reducing anything to a label seems to me a mistake, especially as there is much beauty in both.

In general, we have an understanding that craft applies to those objects that also serve a useful purpose, generally in the home. 

For me the distinction between art and craft has more to do with the originality brought to the creation, the idea/vision, the techniques and how they are applied, whether the final piece makes you, on some level, gasp.  If it does, it is art, whether it is an earthenware bowl, a quilt, or an oil painting. 

Artists and craftspeople often see the art of craft and craft of art somewhat differently than nonparticipants.  Because we are “in the conversation,” we are generally more aware of what is being produced, and so of what is original, unique…what we consider art.

A bystander might experience art in a piece that is little more than a semi-original copy of another’s style.  To another artist or craftperson, this would not signify as art.  But if it is the first time you have seen it, then to you it might be.  I think both perceptions are valid. 

To take away someone’s awe at what is new to her, is mean, and it certainly doesn’t encourage her to trust her response to beauty as she perceives it.  Such response is essential to art making and art loving.  At the same time, it is possible to share someone’s enthusiasm while sharing knowledge of the broader context for this art.

As easy examples of art and craft from my perspective, below is a slide show of three pieces I have created: art and craft.  Creating something from one’s own vision in a unique and original way, this to me makes art.  “Antelope Canyon” and “Bridges to Nowhere” are art.  “Batik Queen” shares an artisitic sense of color, but is essentially craft.     

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From Where Art Emerges

All creative expression comes from the same source.  The blessed gift of being creative is my experience of “flow,” when time stops and joy is like a stream burbling through my Being.  One of the places in life where I experience this is in my studio. 

I had the fortunate misfortune to be felled by serious illness at 28 years old.  Homebound and needing something to do as I moved from bed to couch, I reached for long-forgotten skills taught by my grandmother, mother, and aunt.  This began a journey into my own artistic soul.  I am blessed to come from a lineage of female artists.  Through the grace of the calling inherent in my illness, to reform my life in better synergy with my soul, I began creating according to my inclinations as a kinesthetic human being.  I operate by touch, smell, visceral sensation.   Thoughts, ideas and emotions have “feeling,” color, sensation for me…a kind of visceral experience.  Fiber allows me to integrate my emotional and spiritual “felt” sense with my physical love for touch and texture.  

My art is inspired by my sense of the spiritual, my love for the creation that is this earth, and my desire to express healing visually.  My creative process is one way I commune with the larger Creation that Is.  As a friend once said, “My way of talking to G-d is to go to my studio and make art.”  My designs come to me from dreams and dream-like visions, from nature, from the souls I meet, and from my own healing and evolving journey as a human being.

https://stephanieknead.wordpress.com/

http://innerteacher.wordpress.com/

I am available for commissioned work.  Please feel free to email me directly with inquiries at sknead7@aol.com.