Artists of the Month: MaryLee Eischen and Kim Hammer
Each month, the Franciscan Spirituality Center celebrates the creativity and talent of a local or regional artist.
MaryLee Eischen (pictured on right) and Kim Hammer are the FSC's Artists of the Month for November. The title of their original multimedia textile exhibit is "A Journey of Hope and Resilience." Public viewing hours are 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m. weekdays. All work is for sale, along with smaller textile gifts created by the two friends.
They will discuss the project and art as a spiritual practice during an Artist Talk at the FSC from 3-5 p.m. Tuesday, November 4. Details HERE.
ARTIST STATEMENTS:
MaryLee Eischen is a visual artist, writer and dancer. As a visual artist, she works with fabric, paper, photos, paints, words and text. She plays with and appreciates how light unfolds in nature and creates different colors all around her. She incorporates her view of the light from photographs, dyes and paints into her original artwork. Her energetic spirit views the world in a unique and interesting way that she shares in her art. She creates with textiles, words and movement. Art brings her whole body, art and soul to light in physical form.
Kim Hammer is a world traveler and travel professional, a sewist and textile artist, and longtime practitioner of yoga. She uses visible mending and integrates global textiles on denim in her current textile design work. She has begun to sew her own clothing for travel, using fabrics locally sourced in India and Bali. Alternatively, she explores color using watercolor and natural dyes. Kim is inspired by the handloom artists of India and the simple beauty of “the running stitch”, known as kantha or gudari in India.
ABOUT THE EXHIBIT:
In this exhibit, "A Journey of Hope and Resilience," MaryLee has the great opportunity to work with the textile art that Kim Hammer created or acquired on her travels to Southeast Asia. This collaboration arose when Kim was diagnosed with breast cancer and found the treatments daunting. MaryLee supported Kim emotionally through deep listening, a technique they learned in No Limits for Women in the Arts. MaryLee also sent cards to Kim as comfort, hope and strength to carry on when Kim had little strength to create. During her chemotherapy, Kim asked MaryLee if she would complete her textile art. MaryLee agreed, as an additional way to send love and healing during this challenging time. The two friends often say, "Art saves lives," because the act of giving and receiving was healing to both.
This exhibit includes batik art and indigo-dyed shibori along with patchwork quilts from fabrics that originate in Bali, or that Kim or MaryLee created. After adding fabric borders, batting and backing fabrics, MaryLee uses machine quilting to add outlines or intricate stitch/drawings that appear like drawings or paintings thus adding a textural element to the art. In one of the works, she has added her original poetry. In the patchwork quilt, MaryLee pieced the fabrics, and Kim hand-quilted and bound the piece.
The combined energy of the two artists creates amazingly masterful art. This type of collaboration could occur only through a deep trust in the friendship of the two women over years of creating art and creating friendship. The women have experienced injury, deaths and rebirths of self through their growth as friends and their love of art. Their deep respect for one another, love of all things art and ability to laugh during great trials have forged their friendship in deep trust and admiration. This show, " A Journey of Hope and Resilience," is a love song to the world of art and their deep friendship.
MaryLee Eischen
Kim Hammer
If you are interested in displaying and selling your original artwork, please contact Hope Clements, director of community engagement, at hclements@fspa.org or call 608-791-5295.