Computers Can Weave, Too
Visiting artist Pauline Verbeek-Cowart will unveil the mystery of the computer assisted AVL dobby loom during a day-long workshop April 11th. The computer software runs the loom and is used for designing the weave structure. In her studio, Pauline uses an electronic hand-Jacquard loom developed and built in Norway. The computer interface allows for the correct lifting of each thread on the loom while the weaver throws the shuttle and advances the weave. "The beauty of a computerized loom is the lack of physical limitations. Patterns can be generated and woven more quickly with less room for error," notes Verbeek-Cowart. While this may seem to limit creativity, Verbeek-Cowart actually finds it gives her more room to be creative. "Because the threads are lifted automatically, I can program the computer to lift infinite combinations of threads while I throw the shuttle by hand and create all manner of designs. The possibilities are endless." For Verbeek-Cowart, this is the perfect marriage of precise technology and the unpredictable nature of the human hand.
Gyöngy Laky
Apricot Orb, 2000
Apricot prunings, hand painted dowels
19" x 22" diam.
Collection of Joseph Azrack and
Abigail Congdon
Photo: M. Lee Fatherree
Gyöngy Laky will be given materials to create an installation in the Museum's lobby without any prior planning or rehearsal, working from Wednesday through Friday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. April 9th to 11th. With her invented construction techniques and branches collected from the surrounding countryside, she will compose a piece that demonstrates her approach to structure. "I want people to see how simple these complicated structures can be to build," notes Laky. "I love making my process available to the public." Without knowing the size or texture of the twigs, Gyöngy cannot predict what the structure will look like. Even the size of the room will have an impact on her creation. For Gyöngy, this only adds to the challenge. "I'm looking forward to surprising myself."
Fiber art became an established art form in the 1960s. By definition, fiber art includes any type of artwork that uses fiber techniques or materials. Within the field there are several genres including the personal, political, environmental, aesthetic, abstract, and figurative.
Mentoring in the World of Fiber Art
Four artists from the Museum's new special exhibition, "Generations/Transformations: American Fiber Art" spoke with OverShot Editor Diane Oktay about mentoring in the world of fiber art. As in other fields, mentoring opens doors and builds careers. What is unique in the art world is the way ideas and inspiration get passed from one generation to the next, influencing the creative process of each artist.
A woman viewing one of Gyöngy Laky's early exhibitions said, "Oh, you must be a student of Ed Rossbach." At first, Laky, who was a student of Rossbach's at the University of California, Berkeley, was surprised because she thought her work was so different from her teacher's until she realized that it was its improvisational nature that created a link to his. As a student of Rossbach, a professor and artist who is considered the dean of fiber art, Laky had learned from a master, and while her work is unique, the influence of her teacher is present.
For Laky, mentoring also means networking that can dramatically influence one's art. "A mentor understands you and your art well enough to make critical connections happen." Laky's mentor Joanne Segal Brandford connected her to landscape and sculpture artists in England, which helped shift her work toward environmental and agricultural themes.
This connection trickled down to the next generation, ultimately influencing the work of artist Susan Taber Avila. A student of Laky's, Avila uses recycled fabrics to do machine stitched sculpture. "Gyöngy Laky's emphasis on environmentally conscious artwork had a huge influence on my own choices of materials," she recalls. For Avila, the most important aspect of being mentored is having an advocate, someone with an established reputation who lets the art community know about a new person's work. Avila says that what she wanted from her mentors changed over time. "At first I wanted to know how to be an artist and develop a body of work. Later I was looking for guidance on how to make a career out of my art," she said.
Ferne Jacobs was mentored by another pillar of the fiber art community, Lenore Tawney, whom she first met in 1975. After seeing Tawney's work at the First World Craft Exhibition in Toronto and reading interviews with the artist, Jacobs felt she had to meet her. A phone call led to their first visit, a simple walk around Tawney's SoHo studio loft that lasted for hours. For Jacobs, just being with Tawney was an inspiration. Having a mentor meant learning how to live an artist's life and confirmed that it was possible. Jacobs described it like this: "It helped me understand that being an artist means finding your own uniqueness rather than being part of a crowd."
Pauline Verbeek-Cowart benefited from being in direct contact with her mentors, Lia Cook and Cynthia Schira, observing how they thought and worked, and seeing their art. "The passion and complete immersion of these artists in their field was a model I wanted to emulate." Much like Jacobs, seeing what it takes to be an artist was the most important lesson Verbeek-Cowart learned.
Those who are mentored eventually become the mentors. At University of California, Davis, Gyöngy Laky mentors graduate students working toward their MFA. "I love teaching because I can have a substantive relationship with my students over time."
Mentoring as a teacher brings its own challenges - how to provide guidance and technique without unduly influencing the creative process. "Ed never showed students his work and I feel the same way," says Laky. "I want them to do their own work. The trick about teaching is figuring out how to encourage and provide information as it's needed."
As a teacher, Pauline Verbeek- Cowart finds her students need little structure and she gives them just enough information to fire up their creativity. "I want to leave enough room for each student to find their own aesthetic, their own way of solving a problem." Unfortunately, with today's emphasis on diversifying what students learn, Verbeek-Cowart sees a decline in meaningful mentoring relationships. "Mentoring requires an extended period of time to build real trust," notes Verbeek-Cowart, who teaches at the Kansas City Art Institute.
What goes around comes around. Both Laky and Verbeek- Cowart say that they also learn from their students. Laky says she has been "hugely influenced by my students, not consciously perhaps, but sometimes I can see tangible proof of the connection manifesting itself in my work. I love that!"
There is some debate in the art world about how much technique is necessary, but among these artists, the answer is clear. As artist Susan Avila put it, while technique aids conceptualization, if technique "goes awry, that's just part of the creative process." Unlike a craft where perfecting technique is of great importance, in fiber art, technique is a tool. "There are so many wonderful ways of doing things. Technique is not the most important thing," says Gyöngy Laky, who gives her students lots of technique quickly and finds that students sometimes even invent their own. "You want to refine your skills because at some point you want to be able to execute the things that jump into your head. It enables you to try more things. But it's a balance of doing it well and bringing a freshness to it. There's a really nice quote from Henry Miller that expresses this idea so eloquently," says Laky. "The thing is to become a master and in your old age to acquire the courage to do what children did when they knew nothing."
- Henry Miller
While the creative process is a solitary enterprise, staying in touch with the world of fiber art is very important to these artists. Attending conferences, such as the Surface Design Association's bi-annual meeting, allows them to meet old and new colleagues who are likeminded. These traditional venues - exhibitions, conferences and lectures - are still popular, but the advent of technology has brought new ways of keeping in touch. Email is a popular form of connecting with colleagues and even "meeting" new ones, and the Internet is creating even more venues. In partnership with curator Myra Block, Susan Tabor Avila developed a virtual gallery with rotating exhibits of artists from around the world. Avila sees the website as an educational and a marketing tool. Keeping the website current also means meeting many new artists and keeping in touch with the fiber art community. ATHM will hold a Fiber Art Weekend - a two-day symposium and workshop in conjunction with the exhibition that will bring together those interested and working in fiber art.
- by Diane Oktay
