Firestorm – Pikes Peak Weavers Guild

Woven Together: Firestorm

These are the names of but a few of the wildﬁres in the 2012 U.S. season.

By early August, an astounding 42,933 wildﬁres had been entered into the U.S. database and 6.4 million acres had burned. The Waldo Canyon ﬁre alone consumed two lives, 346 homes and 18,247 acres. At its peak, 32,000 people were evacuated from Colorado Springs, Manitou Springs and other nearby communities. 2012 proved to be one of the western region’s worst ﬁre seasons in decades.

As artists, how do we respond to disasters like these? We use our medium to create work that expresses the emotional turmoil of seeing, experiencing and surviving wildﬁres: horror, fear, loss, relief, gratitude and renewal. From all of these comes a commemoration,
Woven Together: Firestorm.

Woven Together: Firestorm

The images should play as a slideshow, or you can click on the picture to manually browse the photo gallery.

Photo credits: Holly Parker Dearborn and Susan Bowman

Juror: Jeanne Steiner

Jeanne Steiner is a textile artist who has merged weaving with dyeing for over 35 years. She holds a B.F.A. in Art from Colorado State University and is currently serving as Weaving Instructor and Arts and Crafts Program Director at Colorado College in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Steiner has also held positions as Visiting Faculty for the Visual Art Department at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, Assistant Director of the Bemis School of Art (Fine Arts Center, Colorado Springs) and Exhibition Chair for Fiber Celebrated 1997.

Steiner’s work has been shown extensively and is in many private collections. She most recently won the Complex Weavers Award in Small Expressions 2012 (Handweavers Guild of America). Her current interests include handwoven and dyed sculptural pieces and wall art. View Steiner’s work at http://jeannesteiner.blogspot.com/

Invited Artist: Maryse Levenson

Maryse Levenson, Invited Artist for Woven Together: Firestorm, comes from a rich lineage of fiber and textiles. In the rural area of France where Maryse was born and raised, she learned about sheep, spinning, knitting and sewing at a very early age. She was fortunate to be surrounded by a great grandmother, grandmother and neighbor, all skilled fiber artists who were willing to teach. By the age of 5, Maryse was knitting and by 11 sewing her entire wardrobe.

Maryse moved to the U.S. in 1957. While living in the Midwest she was introduced to weaving in 1979 by a friend and this quickly became her passion. Soon, she added spinning to her repertoire of fiber related skills. During a 15-month stay in Japan in the late 80’s, Maryse became interested in kumihimo and enrolled in many classes at the Kyoto Adachi School of Kumihimo. As a logical extension, she took beading classes to be able to incorporate beads into her braided jewelry. Her quest for new techniques and ideas across a broad range of interests continued in the following decades as she participated in workshops with other fiber artists.

Maryse’s work has been exhibited extensively and she has won many awards. She is an extraordinary artist and teacher and is a member of many weaving and braiding guilds including the Handweavers Guild of America, Complex Weavers, the English Braid Society, and several cyberspace fiber-related groups. Her Colorado studio is shared with a beautiful Maine Coon cat by the name of Prince Onslo du Chaton.

In describing her work, Maryse says “Weaving, dyeing and kumihimo give me great enjoyment and fulfill a deep need for color, structure and meditation.”

View Maryse’s work at www.fiberexpression.com

Curator: Holly Parker Dearborn

Holly Parker Dearborn is an artist and independent curator who has been a leader in the Colorado Springs art community for many years. Parker Dearborn, who received her MFA from American University (’06) was the recipient of prestigious scholarships and graduate research grants and studied in Italy and Washington, DC.

She was recently selected for the position of Resident Artist & Curator for Ivywild School, one of Colorado Springs latest urban renewal projects creating a multi-use commercial center from an elementary school built in 1916. Additionally, Parker Dearborn is a member of the Museum Committee of the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center and has held graphic design and advertising director positions including over eight years as Director and Curator for the Smokebrush Foundation for the Arts.

Parker Dearborn was lauded in 2009 with the Pikes Peak Arts Council’s nomination of “Best Local Exhibition” for Living with Beauty: Handwoven Textiles for the Home. In 2007, she won the award for “Best Local Exhibition” by the Pikes Peak Arts Council for her creation of the Hot Off the PressColorado printmakers invitational at the Business of Art Center.

Additionally, Parker Dearborn has enjoyed designing and teaching curricula for FutureSelf, Wunderkind, and The B.I.G Idea Workshops.

View Parker Dearborn’s work at www.parkerdearborn.com

Pikes Peak Weavers Guild Awards

Prize	Artist	Piece Title
First Place $450	Alice Schlein	They Will Be Back
Second Place $350	Cathy Coatney	Hot Spot
Third Place $250	Elizabeth Calnan	Order to Chaos

Other Awards

Prize	Artist	Piece Title
Handweavers Guild of Pueblo $200	Patricia Dunston	Signs of the Time
American Tapestry Alliance Award for Excellence	Urban Jupena	Hot Spot
Complex Weavers Award	Barbara Walker	Lodgepole Cycle
Handwoven Weaving for the Home Award of Excellence	Janet Birch	Elements
Handweavers Guild of America Award	Lesley Willcock	Setting Fire to the Rain
Surface Design Association Award	Anne Evans	Falling Ashes

Accepted/Exhibiting Artists:

Jeanne Steiner, Colorado, USA (juror)
Maryse Levenson, Colorado, USA (invited artist)

Klaus Anselm, Virginia, USA
Nicki Bair, California, USA
Mary Balzer, Colorado, USA
Charles Benson, Minnesota, USA
Janet Birch, Wisconson, USA
Helen Bressler, Colorado, USA
Elizabeth Calnan, New South Wales, Australia
Tien Chiu, California, USA
Cathy Coatney, Colorado, USA
Sharon M. Crary, California, USA
Deanna Deeds, California, USA
Patricia Dunston, Washington, USA
Deb Essen, Montana, USA
Anne Evans, Colorado, USA
Linda Giesen, New Mexico, USA
Sue Hintz-Siegrist, Colorado, USA
Marilyn Hoisington, Colorado, USA
Sandra Hutton, Colorado, USA
Urban Jupena, Michigan, USA
Beth Ross Johnson, North Carolina, USA
Scharine Kirchoff, Texas, USA
Linda Lugenbill, Colorado, USA
Rebecca Mezoff, New Mexico, USA
Claudia Mullek, Washington, USA
Siv Nelson, Colorado, USA
June Person, Washington, USA
Karen Pierce & Marc Jenesel, Colorado, USA
Michael Rohde, California, USA
Sandra Rude, California, USA
Mary Saxton, California, USA
Alice Schlein, South Carolina, USA
Jan Seltman, Colorado, USA
Susan Seufer, Colorado, USA
Deborah Shoenberger, California, USA
Cathy Sterling, Colorado, USA
Kathe Todd-Hooker, Oregon, USA
Melodie Usher, New Mexico, USA
Barbara J. Walker, Oregon, USA
Dottie Weir, Colorado, USA
Lesley Willcock, Bedfordshire, UK
Carolyn Wostenberg, Wyoming, USA
Elynor Young & Gary Young, Idaho, USA

Manitou Art Center (formerly the Business of Art Center)
513 Manitou Avenue
Manitou Springs, CO 80829
719-685-1861

Hagnauer Gallery
513 Manitou Avenue
Manitou Springs, CO 80829

Additional Sponsor: Texas Instruments Foundation

Photo of Maryse Levenson: Eric Murphy
Photo of Jeanne Steiner: Susan Bowman
Woven Together: Firestorm logo – Susan Bowman
Firewater graphic – Jane Rock