DIY: Do It Yourself Series

Through September 23, 2008

(left to right) Faythe Levine, Handmade Nation Banner, detail; felt, thread; Betz White, Fused Plastic Octopus Bag; Heather Cameron, Swap-o-rama-rama, Quilt.

DIY features the work of the eight do-it-yourself crafters who will be in residence in 2008 for a Connecting Communities collaboration. The exhibition will be accompanied by a short preview of Handmade Nation: The Rise of DIY Art, Craft, and Design, a soon-to-be-released film by artist and documentary filmmaker Faythe Levine (WI). Providing an introduction to the emerging indie crafts movement, Levine's work records the marriage between historical craft technique, punk culture, and the DIY ethos. Other artists of the DIY movement whose works are on display are Heather Cameron (CA), John Murphy (NC), Jonathon and Valerie Nicklow (CO), and Betz White (MD). They take old clothes, fabrics, sweaters, and even plastic bags, and give them new life as quilts, stuffed creatures, soft sculptures, and totes. Vinyl records, old garden hoses, drums, vacuums, and hubcaps transform into lamps, coasters, and clocks under artist Jeff Davis' (PA) and Rodney Allen Trice's (NY) direction. Artist Sarah Kate Burgess (MI) believes the value of jewelry comes from the process of making it, such as distinctive rings made of simple paper. Community participants of all ages and from across the region have the opportunity to create DIY works, and selected works will be added to the exhibition throughout the series.

(left to right) John Murphy, Stupid Creatures; Faythe Levine, Bird Volcano, hand stitched appliqué, embroidery and hand-sequined on felt stretched on canvas stretchers; Sarah Kate Burgess, Do it Yourself Ring - Patch.

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