On exhibit in the South Gallery: August 30 - September 24
Statement:
This exhibit is entitled “Time To Take Time.” It is a reflection of my age and the passage of time. I began with the four digital color photographs of sunflowers. I had the images printed on silk. I placed a thin layer of silk batting beneath with a backing and embellished with hand-dyed old lace, beads, silk threads and embroidery floss. My intent was to explore ways to combine photography with stitchery...a marriage of light and thread. I began the four pieces in November of 2019. By the time I finished the sunflowers, the world was engulfed in a pandemic. Locked down and isolated I decided to make more art.
I looked around my studio for inspiration in my many drawers of whatnots. I found a stack of vintage women’s hankies from childhood. I decided to use the hankies as tiny canvases for more art. From other drawers, I found scanned and photographed items printed on fabric I had not used in other projects, buttons, old lace, scraps of old fabric. My goal was to avoid going out into the world and attempt to stay sane, safe and busy during the pandemic. I set out to create playful images, fun little stories that would make me and others happy.
I would like to thank a few people who helped me with this project:
• Mary Sandbothe for unveiling a style of contemporary embroidery I didn’t know existed.
• Jeff Berg, who printed the sunflower images on silk.
• Russ Sackreiter, who handcrafted the cherry and walnut frames for the sunflowers.
• Mike Trial who donated the cherry and walnut wood for the frames.
• Yola Ciolli for professionally photographing the images.
Deb Roberts lives in Columbia, Mo. She works primarily in photography and fiber. Inspired by her Grandmother Myrtle, she began sewing at the age of 9. Needles and thread have been a constant in her life. Nine was also the year she was given her first camera, a Kodak Instamatic camera. Sewing and photography have always been interests. It is in recent years she has experimented with combining the two mediums.
Woven into the art of photography and fiber is a wide assortment of objects, such as: buttons, bugs, stamps, sticks, stones and fabrics that she has collected over the years. Recently she began adding to her childhood collection of women’s vintage hankies.
Since moving to Columbia in 2001, Deb has been active in the Columbia Art League. She won the Les Bourgeois collector’s series wine label competition in 2003. In 2014, Deb’s art story quilt, entitled “Cooper’s Landing” was selected for the City of Columbia’s Commemorative poster. The piece was the first and only fiber work ever selected for the poster.
