Reflections on Water at SDA

Reflections on Water is the name of the Featured Exhibition at the Katherine E. Nash Gallery in Minneapolis as part of the Surface Design Association 'Confluence' conference. The gallery statement reads: "Whether viewed aerially, from a distance or close enough to feel the spray of a wave, water is central to the art of Barbara Lee Smith, Linda Gass, and Mary Edna Fraser. Their work invites the viewer to reflect on the power of water and the state of the earth's ecosystems in a way that heightens awareness and inspires contemplation, hope and action."

Artist, teacher, author and lecturer, exhibition coordinator Barbara Lee Smith lives on an inlet of Puget Sound in western Washington. Her artist statement for this work reads: "I dwell on water. Moved by its moods and changes, absorbed by its colors and shifting shadows, I aim to capture a moment of time, place, season and weather. Elegy and celebration, the works I make serve as reminders of both the power of nature and the power of humankind to create and to destroy." She uses nonwoven material as the foundation for her work, creating intricate surfaces that are printed, collaged and stitched to capture atmospheric and landscape references.

South Getty
painted, printed, fused and stitched nonwoven synthetic
50" x 50"

close up showing the painting and stitching

Above The Caldera/Santorini
painted, printed, fused and stitched nonwoven synthetic
49" x 80"

Marshland/Twilight
painted, printed, fused and stitched nonwoven synthetic
50" x 39"

Mary Edna Fraser's art often results from excursions photographing in the family's vintage plane around her home in Charleston, South Carolina. Her artist statement reads: "Highlighting environmental concerns using the ancient medium of batik is my passion. The art conveys a sense of place often employing conservation science. My aesthetic floating world adapts the bird's eye view inspired by woodblock prints from Japan's Edo period (1615-1868)." Her large scale batiks are environmental prayer flags.


Homage to Hokusai II
batik on silk
53" x 43" (3 panels)

Backwater
batik on silk
50" x 14"

South Edisto River, SC
batik on silk
156" x 36"

Linda Gass fell in love with textiles when her grandmother taught her to sew as a child. She lives in the Sam Francisco Bay area. Her artist statement reads: "My artwork combines environmental activism and the aesthetics of art making to explore land use and water issues. I blend painting and textile techniques to create textured aerial landscapes showing the human marks on the land that affect our water resources. Each work is inspired and informed by the landscape, its history, maps and aerial photographs."

Body of Water
stitched painting on silk
30" x 30"

Puzzle of Salt
stitched painting on silk
29" x 29"

For more details about all of their works, their web sites are located here when you click on their names:
Barbara Lee Smith for nonwoven synthetics

Mary Edna Fraser for batiks

Linda Gass for environmental activism