Featured Artist: Hannah Verlin

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First of all, would you please introduce yourself to our readers that might not be familiar with you and your work?

Featured artist, Hannah Verlin. Image courtesy of Hannah Verlin

My name is Hannah Verlin, I am currently based in Somerville, Massachusetts. I grew up in Cheltenham, a suburb of Philadelphia, PA. I moved to Boston to attend the School of the Museum of Fine Arts affiliated with Tufts University. I entered the school with the intention of studying painting and drawing, but after my first semester I began working in ceramics. I responded to the material and the process and made organic, darkly-fanciful sculptures with brightly glazed surfaces. It was at this time that I developed my interest in repetition and multiples. From there I explored installation art and video production. When I graduated in 2005 I culminated my studies by combining these various skills together in my projects. I have continued with this practice, tailoring my techniques and materials to each particular idea. My studio is located at the Sculptors' Workshop in Lower Allston, and I have been a member of the Boston Sculptors Gallery since 2008.


When and how did you get interested in art making?

I have always been interested in making art and was encouraged by my parents. Many members of my family are artists, poets, and performers, so my interest was nothing unusual. I am, however, drawn to many different subjects. One semester I considered leaving art school to translate Medieval Scandinavian literature! After graduation I briefly dabbled in Museum Studies. I enjoyed the course and then one day I realized that the classroom was full of women like me between 25 and 35, who loved the arts and humanities--- but I wanted to create art, not just install it. I also realized that with art I could incorporate anything and everything in my study. And that was that for me.


What do you do for fun besides making art?


Cycling with a friend in Budapest, July 2008. Image courtesy of Hannah Verlin

Riding my bike may be my primary form of transportation, but it is still one of my favorite things to do. As soon as I get on my bike I am in a completely different frame of mind--as though I have suddenly become someone else. I ride all year round: in the rain, the snow, and everything else. I often design my projects so I can carry them on my bike. Also, when I can afford it, I enjoy traveling to different countries, gathering new experiences, sights, tastes and smells.


What type of job(s) have you had in the past?

My first job after graduation from the Museum School in 2005 was working at an independently owned copy shop-- one printer, one computer, and me. I had lots of time and scrap paper for thinking about my own work. Since then I have been a studio assistant for a number of artists; the ceramics studio manager at the Museum School; a media technician for Harvard; and done numerous other odd jobs more often for experience than for money.


Currently, what type of job(s) you do besides making art?

I currently work for the public artists Mags Harries and Lajos Héder. I assist them with all stages of the public art production from paperwork to construction. I recently traveled with them to Phoenix, Arizona to assist with the installation of their project Zanjero’s Line. The project features sculpture, seats, bridges, and landscaping along the Highline Canal. I also work for Harvard University’s media service as my night job. All the work keeps me out of trouble and focused on my art.


Please tell us a bit about your work in general. What media do you work in?

The form and content of my work varies from one project to the next, but I take the same approach to each. Every project has its own life cycle, which begins by selecting materials and determining construction techniques. I use simple, recycled, or re-purposed materials.

Often I employ a single set of mechanical operations performed repeatedly and which become beautiful through repetition. I am especially interested in temporary work that only exists in single time and place. When the art’s duration has come to an end, either it has deteriorated or been reduced to meaningless materials.

Currently, I am working on several projects that concentrate on temporality. Some of the elements that I am focusing on include the process of osmosis, crystal formation, and melting ice as well as performance and participation.


Could you tell us about your recent installations, the Wishing Well and Agro-Culture?


Wishing Well - shelves, mason jars, coins, audience participation, 2008/2009
Image courtesy of Hannah Verlin

I first displayed Wishing Well for a small change fundraising show at The Nave Gallery in 2008. The theme of the show was money and small change. The installation features a grid of shelves each labeled with a wish varying from serious to light-hearted, such as "I wish ______were still alive" or "I wish I had a drink".


Wishing Well - shelves, mason jars, coins, audience participation, 2008/2009
Image courtesy of Hannah Verlin

A mason jar half-filled with water sat on each shelf. Viewers were invited to add coins to the jars for particular wishes. The growing pile of coins palpably depicted the accumulating wishes. At the end of the exhibition the collected money was donated to the no-profit gallery.


Wishing Well - shelves, mason jars, coins, audience participation, 2008/2009
Image courtesy of Hannah Verlin

I showed the piece again in 2009 for a show at the Boston Sculptors Gallery about transformation curated by Jane Ingram Allen. The proceeds from this installation were donated to The Make a Wish Foundation.


Agro-Culture - 400 test tubes, sod, water, 2009. Image courtesy of Hannah Verlin

Agro-Culture was part of the Shankpainter Sculpture Exhibition held at the Shankpainter Bog Park in Provincetown organized by Frank Vasello. The site was to be developed years ago into luxury home, but after the initial work began the town stepped in and bought the property. This was over eight years ago and the land still shows the scars of this intrusion. The installation consists of 400 plastic test tubes planted in the ground.


Agro-Culture - 400 test tubes, sod, water, 2009. Image courtesy of Hannah Verlin

Each tube was filled with water and a plug of sod. The rows of "plantings" suggest some kind of agriculture, although they will never have the chance to take root and grow. I designed the project both to reflect the bog with the layers of soil and water and as a kind unnatural nature preserve.


Tell us about your temporary public artwork called Nesting, which was installed under the McGrath O'Brien Highway in Somerville.


Nesting, paper pulp, plaster, 2007. Image courtesy of Hannah Verlin

Nesting, paper pulp, plaster, 2007. Image courtesy of Hannah Verlin

Nesting was commissioned in 2007 as part of Project SUM: Sculpture Under McGrath, organized by SSP Somerville. The McGrath O'Brien Highway divides Somerville with a maze of busy roads and highway ramps. Although a number of bus stops are located in the islands beneath the highway, the space has few pedestrian accommodations.


Nesting, paper pulp, plaster, 2007. Image courtesy of Hannah Verlin

Nesting featured 13 different forms made from plaster and paper pulp. These forms referenced wasp hives and birds nests, giving the sense of a living presence to a space so devoid of life.


What are the thoughts behind the creation of "Converge"? Could you discuss a bit your process?


Detail shot of an installation: Converge - copper wire, wax, 2009.
Image courtesy of Hannah Verlin

Converge - copper wire, wax, 2009. Image courtesy of Hannah Verlin

Converge was one of 14 small installation in my exhibition Interstitial at the Boston Sculptors Gallery (2009). These installations were made of thousands of strands of copper wire dipped into wax and seeming to sprout from the walls like an infesting fungus.


Split - copper wire, wax, 2009. Image courtesy of Hannah Verlin

Inductive - copper wire, wax, 2009. Image courtesy of Hannah Verlin

Un­like their natural counterparts, the forms grew in formations seemingly charged with energy and emotion--converging in together or expelling outwards. A little uncanny and a little whimsical, I thought of the installation as playing with the spaces in between— between walls— between people— between human and inhuman.


Deductive - copper wire, wax, 2009. Image courtesy of Hannah Verlin

Detail - copper wire, wax, 2009. Image courtesy of Hannah Verlin

The process I used to create the installations represents my approach to much of my work. I developed a series of very simple tasks: dipping wire strands into wax, inserting the strands into a board, and securing the pieces to the wall. The overwhelming repetition became part of the works' energy.


What is the most interesting comment about your sculptures you have heard from a viewer?


Penetrate - copper wire, wax, 2009. Image courtesy of Hannah Verlin

Although no particular words stand out in my mind, I always value the comments that I receive from people encountering my public works. Unlike art in the gallery, it meets viewers in their own context, free from the prejudices and pressures that formal art spaces often inspire. It becomes not necessarily art, but some phenomenon that intimately engages people’s sense of wonder and discovery.



Are you planning any exhibitions of your work in the near future?

I will be exhibiting the installation Buss in the group show entitled “Linear” curated by Kathleen Hancock at the Grimshaw-Gudewicz Art Gallery from March 11 to April 7, 2010.


Buss (concept drawing/ installation: string, pigmented water, lab equipment): 2010
Image courtesy of Hannah Verlin

Buss - "a kiss," 1570, like Welsh and Gael. bus "kiss, lip," Fr. baiser "kiss" (from L. basiare), Sp. buz, Ger. dial. buss probably of imitative origin.

The installation Buss will explore anticipation and the passage of time using colored water and white cotton string. Hundreds of strands of string will be suspended between the ceiling and the floor of the gallery in three columns. The separate ends of the strings will be submerged in water dyed bright red. Over the course of the installation the red liquid will seep by the process of osmosis through the strings from the top-down and from the bottom-up, staining the white cotton red. Slowly the two red paths will creep together, the space in between shrinking as they approach for a kiss. They may never actually meet, but the expectation of their meeting becomes more compelling than the event itself.


Are you available for commissioned works? Representing gallery if any?

I often do commissioned work, particularly for temporary events installations and events.

How have you handled the business side of being an artist?


Hannah's studio at the Sculptors' Workshop in Lower Allston, Massachusetts.
Image courtesy of Hannah Verlin

Working for professional artists, who create major works of public art has given me some valuable incite into the “business” end of art. I have become very adept at preparing requests for qualifications and proposals as well composing a press kit and communicating with fabricators. Though my “technique” could always use improvement, the experience has given me something to aim for in my own studio practice. The gift of Quicken and some timely tax advice from an x-boyfriend has also been a great help.


Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

My plan for the next 10 years is to create a body of work dealing with changing landscapes, particularly Antarctica.

What advice would you give to an artist just starting out?

Although in some ways I am just beginning a career in art myself, my advice to artists just starting out is: Persistence. Take up any opportunity to make or show art—work for other artists even if there is no money in it. The networking is invaluable. It's not a good way to get rich, but you have to start somewhere.


Hannah's top ten artists.

My artists du jour in no particular order:

• Janine Antoni
• Christo & Jean-Claude
• Anthony Gormley
• Cornelia Parker
• Fred Wilson
• Anish Kapoor
• Dorothy Cross
• Mark Dion
• Tara Donovan
• Richard Serra

Would you like to share your contact info with our readers? Do you have website(s) for interested readers to learn more about your work?

Your readers may contact me at hannahverlin (at) gmail (dot) com.

• HannahVerlin.com
• BostonSculptors.com/artists/verlin
• HannahVerlin.blogspot.com

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Featured Artist: Liz Shepherd

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First of all, would you please introduce yourself to our readers that might not be familiar with you and your work?



Liz in the studio at work on “Ladder” January 2010.
Image courtesy of Liz Shepherd


My name is Liz Shepherd. I was born in New York City and lived there until I was a teen. I still feel very much like a New Yorker (except that I am a Red Sox fan). My home and studio are now in Cambridge, Massachusetts. I was what they call a “mature student” and received my MFA from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in 2006.


When and how did you get interested in art making?


Liz in the studio at work August 2009. Image courtesy of Liz Shepherd

They tell me that I loved nursery school and I think that I just never gave up on “art projects”. I was in my first show when I was in something like 4th or 5th grade: a citywide art exhibit for elementary school students. Being a city kid, I never “went out to play in the backyard”, I made stuff in my room with little bits of fabric, ribbons, sequins, whatever I could get my hands on.


What do you do for fun besides making art?


Samode Palace, Rajasthan, India, December 2007.
Image courtesy of Liz Shepherd

Well, quite honestly, this is a tough question for me to answer. It seems like all the things that I do for fun are to feed my work: travel, going to the movies, reading. For better or worse, it is pretty much all I do. The rest of the stuff that I do is just in-between so that I can get back to making art. I enjoy friends and family, entertaining, etc. but almost all the time that I am “relaxing” I am impatiently waiting to get back to my studio.


What type of job(s) have you had in the past?

I was a producer in several multi-media design companies in New York and Boston for about 10 years. Before that I worked at the Children’s Television Workshop as the in-house graphics arts manager. During college I worked as a short order cook in a diner; I was very keen on being as independent from my family as much as possible. The oddest job was during a college break when I was the photographer at a department store taking pictures of kids on Santa’s lap.


Currently, what type of job(s) you do besides making art? Do you teach, write, and/or curate shows? If so, please give us some details.


Untitled (Hands #1), Intaglio, 2002. Image courtesy of Liz Shepherd

From 2002 until 2006 I worked as a teaching assistant and then in 2007 as a Graduate Teaching Fellow in the printshop at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. I spent those years learning how to make photo etchings. I have been teaching a class at SMFA called Photo and Digital Applications in Printmaking for the past few years as well as an Introduction to Printmaking class as a summer intensive class also at SMFA. I also teach printmaking in my studio and a hands-on seminar that is an introduction to printmaking especially for collectors and curators.


When did you, and what motivated you to establish Shepherd Print Studio? Where's the Studio located, what equipment and fittings you have set up in SPS? Could you tell our readers about the workshops, classes and studio rental being offered at SPS?


Teaching a seminar in the studio. Image courtesy of Liz Shepherd

Well, if you want to make intaglio prints, you nearly always need a very special press. I bought a press in 2006 when I graduated from school and I now rent out my studio/printshop to artists by the month. I have just about everything needed to make all kinds of prints: relief, polymer plate lithography, etchings (including photo etchings) and silkscreen prints (and photo silkscreens). I run very small classes but mostly I do a lot of tutoring because most people know what they want to learn and want to learn it as quickly as possible at their own pace.


Shepherd Print Studio. Image courtesy of Liz Shepherd

Shepherd Print Studio is located at 88 Garden Street in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The is open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., 7 days a week. For more info please call 617.842.4010 or visit website.


Please tell us a bit about your work in general. What media do you work in?


Image courtesy of Liz Shepherd.

Printmaking feels like breathing to me. It isn’t always easy but when I am exploring a new idea the struggle time is manageable. When I was working on my most recent edition of prints, the Immigrants, I knew almost immediately what I wanted to do and making that work was really fun and interesting.


Group of House, Cast Resin and Paper, 2009. Image courtesy of Liz Shepherd.


Blue Hands, Cast Resin, 2009. Image courtesy of Liz Shepherd.

I find making sculpture extremely demanding. It is slow, expensive, difficult and frustrating and I am never at all sure of what I am doing. Even when a piece is “done”, I am always wondering: “what is this? Is this anything?”


Could you tell us about the sculptures you assembled from pieces of furniture and daily objects? What are the thoughts and inspirations behind the creation of these mixed media sculptures?


Untitled (blue), mixed media/ found objects, Installation View MFA Boston Courtyard Gallery, 2007. Image courtesy of Liz Shepherd.

Cutting a chest of drawers in two, revealing the “innards” was a way for me to discuss my panic about my son’s illness without being overly literal. I was thinking about the failure of language to describe suffering. There is a vast gulf between the experience of trauma and being able to talk about it in a way that feels meaningful.


Red Chairs, Digital Print, 2007. Image courtesy of Liz Shepherd.

My new work was inspired at first by “Red Chairs” a piece that I did when I was thinking about the victims of 9/11 and the horror of falling from buildings. From a formal point of view, I am inspired by figures looking down from a Tiepolo (for example) ceiling.


What is the most interesting comment about your sculptures you have heard from a viewer?


I Don’t Know the Details, mixed media/ found objects Installation View, Tufts University Gallery, 2006. Image courtesy of Liz Shepherd.

A few years ago someone said that my work was “somewhat sedate”. That really annoyed me, mostly because I knew right away that is was true. It’s not surprising that what I took as a negative comment has really inspired and challenged me to work more freely. I am constantly fighting against my impulse to overly refine and resolve. The need to “fix” comes from my background in graphic design; it is very contaminating.


Tell us about your intaglio prints. Could you discuss a bit your process?


Cups and Saucers, 2006, Intaglio, 15 x 20". Image courtesy of Liz Shepherd.

Working on “Salt”, Intaglio, 2005 at the press in the studio.
Image courtesy of Liz Shepherd.

Salt, 2007, Intaglio, 7" x 10" (plate size).
Image courtesy of Liz Shepherd.

My intaglio prints are mostly made by applying a photo sensitive film emulsion to copper plates, exposing the plate to UV light, etching the plate in ferric chloride acid and printing the plate on an etching press.


Waiting #1, Intaglio, 2009. Image courtesy of Liz Shepherd.

Just about all of my printmaking (I also make block prints and screen prints) starts with collages that I do using Photoshop and then re-interpreting the digital images as fine art prints. For the “Immigrant” prints I started with a self-portrait that I made into a silhouette. The images that I collaged into the shapes are tiny portions of old engineers engravings.


Are you planning any exhibitions of your work in the near future? If yes, when and where, and what can the viewers expect to see in this exhibit?

I joined the Boston Sculptors Gallery so that I would challenge myself to make a new body of sculpture every two years. So, I have been getting ready for my upcoming show at the Boston Sculptors Gallery. The exhibition title is They Still Cast Shadows.


Cast rubber objects in process in the studio. Image courtesy of Liz Shepherd.

For this show I am working with materials and methods that are completely new to me: casting resin and rubber into rubber molds. I feel like I have taken some chances in this work for this show and I hope to be happy with it when it is installed the first week of February.


Checking a rubber mold. Image courtesy of Liz Shepherd.

The show will include a large site-specific installation of hundreds of translucent resin chairs hanging from nearly invisible filament. There are also a number of small, dark, uncanny resin sculptures and a series of etchings that merge original photography, computer generated imagery and traditional printmaking techniques.

The exhibition dates are February 10 to March 15, 2010, with an artist reception on February 12 and First Friday on March 5. Boston Sculptors Gallery is located at 486 Harrison Avenue in Boston's South End.


Staying Ahead, Silkscreen and Pastel, 2008. Image courtesy of Liz Shepherd.

This Fall I was in the 20th National Exhibition at the Los Angeles Printmaking Biennial and a very nice small group show at the Bow Street Gallery in Cambridge, Massachusetts.


How have you handled the business side of being an artist?


Working at the press in the studio. Image courtesy of Liz Shepherd.

I try to keep current by tearing myself out of the studio and going to as many shows as possible. Most of my friends are artists, I am in a fabulous critic group and in addition to my membership at the Boston Sculptors, I am a member of the Boston Printmakers, so, there is a fair amount of networking going on.

Where do you see yourself in 10 years?


Screening the walls for a site-specific installation, solo show at the Essex Art Center. September 2009. Image courtesy of Liz Shepherd.

I just need to make the work and do my best to make sure that people see it. I try to keep my focus on my work and not to make myself too crazy about the rest of it – the business. I am naturally ambitious (the New Yorker in me?) and so “getting myself out there” sort of comes naturally.


What advice would you give to an artist just starting out?


Cups and Saucers(Red and Green), 2008, Lino cut, 12.5" x 15.5".
Image courtesy of Liz Shepherd.

It helped me to think about not being too hard on myself while I was learning new skills. It is difficult for some of my students to accept making “bad” work until they become more proficient. I tell them what my teachers told me: to not be your own critic because it gets in the way of making the work. Too many of them are focusing on how they plan to frame the work as they are making it, and it is not productive, in fact, it kills creativity. I also advise my students to get to know what is happening in contemporary art and learn how to talk about their own work.


Tell us about the awards and recognitions you received in the past years.


Untitled, Mixed Media and lamp, 2 pieces, each is 16" x 24" x 30", 2005.
Image courtesy of Liz Shepherd.

I won the Boit Award in 2004 and 2005 at SMFA and was nominated for a Joan Mitchell Graduate Student Award. In 2006 I won the Praga Industries Materials Award at the Boston Printmakers North American Biennial. I was also honored when the Museum of Fine Arts acquired two of my prints in 2007.


Would you provide links to articles and reviews about your work?


Dressers, 15" x 20", Intaglio, 2006. Image courtesy of Liz Shepherd.

• Reynolds Advanced Materials Gets Wonky - artscope Magazine Nov./Dec. 2009
• Where words fail, artist’s work tackles the void, Stephanie Schorow, Boston Globe NorthWest, 09/11/08
• Pure Thoughts, Cate McQuaid, Boston Globe, 10/19/06
• A Glimpse of Tomorrow Today, Cate McQuaid, Boston Globe, 06/29/06

Are you available for commissioned works? Representing gallery if any?

“Ladder” is a site-specific piece and I can clearly imagine producing it for a public space as a commissioned work. I am represented by Boston Sculptors Gallery.

Would you like to share your contact info with our readers? Do you have website(s) for interested readers to learn more about your work?

My website is lizshepherd.com and I am on Facebook. My email address is liz@lizshepherd.com

Liz Shepherd's Top Ten Artists.

• Cai Gou-Qiang
• Gordon Matta-Clark
• John O’Reilly
• Robert Therrien
• Mona Hatoum
• Huang Yan
• Cornelia Parker
• Hiroshi Sugimoto
• Kurt Schwitters
• Michal Rovner

Finally, is there anything else you would like to say about your work?

I’d like to thank you for everything you are doing to support the Boston art community and for your interest in my work.


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Featured Artist: Joetta Maue

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First of all, would you please introduce yourself to our readers that might not be familiar with you and your work?



Joetta Maue, artist at work. Image courtesy of Joetta Maue.

I am, Joetta Maue, a full time mixed media fiber artist and photographer, living and working in Brooklyn, New York. My work deals with the conflicts and contradictions within intimacy and romantic love. I mostly use found fibers and embroidery to create my work which helps place it in the domestic setting of the home.

I am originally from Cincinnati, Ohio. I received my undergraduate BFA in photography at Ohio State, I then lived in Cambridge, Massachusetts for three years while studying and exploring mono-printing techniques. My MFA was received in 2007 from UMASS, Amherst where I began to explore using fibers more in my work and did my first embroidery. I now live in a Brooklyn, New York.

My formal training is in photography. During graduate school I began to explore ways to use my hand more in my work and as a result turned to embroidering text and language. This eventually led to me embroidering large scale drawings based on my photographs. Working with fiber felt like coming home as an artist.


When and how did you get interested in art making? What is your favorite medium for art and why?

I started to make art in high school- I had always been a very creative and hands on child and once I started taking art classes in high school, I knew that was what I wanted to be. I was particularly drawn to photography because of the need to slow down and look at things, to pay attention to small moments, shifts of light, and color. I also love being in the darkroom. After undergraduate, I started to explore printmaking and worked a lot in alternative photo processes. I missed getting my hands dirty and building the work myself. I took the opportunity of graduate school to truly explore myself as an artist. I went to a three year program, which allowed me to experiment freely throughout the first year. I decided to do an embroidery project as a metaphor for closing and healing, as I was interested in ending a long term body of work and beginning anew.


In process - Waking with you. Image courtesy of Joetta Maue

I had never embroidered before, little did I know that I would absolutely fall in love with the process and medium. I know find myself, less than four years later, working primarily as a fiber artist.


breaks my heart…, 2009, hand embroidered re-appropriated linen, 14 x 14"
Image courtesy of Joetta Maue

My favorite medium is embroidery as I truly love the slow meditative process of the work. This specifically works well with my themes, as I meditate and work meticulously on drawing the nose of my husband, words of profound love and fear, and the arch of my sleeping eyebrow, allowing more love and intimacy to be built directly in the work. With that said there is nothing like printing a beautiful C-Print in a darkroom.


What do you do for fun besides making art?


Image courtesy of Joetta Maue

I am a yoga instructor and love finding time to explore my practice. Both my husband and I are avid readers and will often take a book up on our roof or to the park to hang out for hours and enjoy the sun. Or even better yet take ourselves to the beach!! Otherwise, my rare free time is spent enjoying my husband, friends, and family. With that said I still usually have a needle and thread in my hand. I am expecting my first child in April- so I imagine my fun time will change a lot with their arrival.


What type of job(s) have you had in the past?

I have had a number of jobs. I spent about ten years prior to graduate school managing two coffee shops, one in Ohio the other in Cambridge. And I loved it. The schedule and lifestyle was very supportive and conducive to my art practice.

I have taught a number of art classes through a variety of locations from undergraduate classes at UMASS, to craft centers, community centers, and through non-profits. I love teaching and embrace the opportunity to do it as often as I can. I particularly loved teaching college level art majors as they are so open to exploring art and the themselves. I hope someday life will lead me back to this. In the mean time I enjoy teaching classes to a variety of communities throughout New York.

I have also worked in the gallery system, at both a high level blue chip gallery and an emerging artists gallery. These experiences were invaluable to me as an artist as I learned excellent skills in running the business side of being an artist- and there is one! As well as learned to understand and appreciate the roll of the gallery. However, I do not think working in the gallery system long term is a good move for most artists as it is a career itself and demands most of your time and energy as well as can be discouraging.


Currently, what type of job(s) you do besides making art? Do you teach, write, curate shows, and/or manage a gallery? If so, please give us some details.


In process - Waking with you..., 2010, hand embroidered, appliquéd, and painted re-appropriated linen, full size bed installed on floor. Image courtesy of Joetta Maue

I am mostly a full time artist. Showing and selling my work around the country and overseas. I spend my days at work in the studio and on the computer attending to the business end. I also teach embroidery classes at a number of craft centers, teach with two non-profit organizations in New York, curate, and teach yoga.

Please tell us a bit about your embroidery drawings on antique linens. What are the thoughts and inspirations behind the creation of these drawings on linens? What is the specific message you strive to convey to your viewers?

I use all found linens to work on as I find the connection to the past, female voice, and domestic space very important. My work very much comes from a feminist tradition and voice, therefore I like being able to collaborate with creators and needle workers of the past and give them and their work a new voice.


I wish she were my best friend..., 2009, hand embroidered re-appropriated linen, 18 x 18". Image courtesy of Joetta Maue

My words and images are all based on my own life and the experiences, often complicated, of being a lover, a wife, a daughter, a woman, and artist and all the contradictions these different roles have.


Comfort, 2009, hand embroidered re-appropriated linen, 4 x 4"
Image courtesy of Joetta Maue

I work very intuitively, coming up with words to work with all the time and taking notes in my notebook. My images are based on photographs of unstaged moments in my life.


I am so sorry, 2009, hand embroidered re-appropriated linen, 5 x 8"
Image courtesy of Joetta Maue

Joetta's studio. Image courtesy of Joetta Maue

I hope the work speaks to the viewer about the challenging and complex emotional experience of being a human being. Specifically the moments of being truly vulnerable and truly joyful. Celebrating these moments equally.


So tired..., 2008, hand embroidered re-appropriated linen, 10 x 10"
Image courtesy of Joetta Maue


Could you discuss a bit your creative process? How does it all start, what techniques and materials do you use? From where do you find your material?


Image courtesy of Joetta Maue

I usually start with the linen, which I find in antique stores, flea markets, and am often given. Often I will hang the linens in my studio for weeks or even months before I know what it wants to say.


In process... Asleep, 2009, hand embroidered, painted, and appliqued re-appropriated linen, 67 x 47", dimensions vary in installation. Image courtesy of Joetta Maue.

Once I have decided on the text I use a water soluble marker to write the text out. Then I start the slow task of embroidering. Wash, iron, and hang. I generally do not frame my works as once I put them behind glass they become more like an artifact and lose their vulnerability.

My image based work, usually starts with the image. Noticing it while I am living it, getting my camera and capturing it. Then I have the task of finding the right linen for the image. I usually try to relate the role of the linen in domestic space and the action of the image.

For instance an image of my husband sleeping might be embroidered onto a vintage pillow case. Once the linen is found I enlarge the image through various techniques, trace a contour drawing of the image onto the linen and the begin to embroider.


In process... Asleep, 2009, hand embroidered, painted, and appliqued re-appropriated linen, 67 x 47", dimensions vary in installation. Image courtesy of Joetta Maue.

In process... Asleep, 2009, hand embroidered, painted, and appliqued re-appropriated linen, 67 x 47", dimensions vary in installation. Image courtesy of Joetta Maue.

Sometimes, I add elements of fabric and applique into the drawing, sometimes I paint the image once the embroidery is finished. All of this is done very intuitively and often without a plan, by simply responding to the lines of the drawing, my materials in the studio, and my hands.


In process... Asleep, 2009, hand embroidered, painted, and appliqued re-appropriated linen, 67 x 47", dimensions vary in installation. Image courtesy of Joetta Maue.


What is the most interesting comment about your embroidery drawings you have heard from a viewer?

Since, I have a very popular blog, that discusses my work I have had many comments on it. Rarely, but occasionally people are offended by the work as I use very intimate language, acknowledge the existence of sexuality, and use cuss words.


In with you, 2008, hand embroidered re-appropriated linen, 36 x 32"
Image courtesy of Joetta Maue

Fuck, 2009, hand embroidered re-appropriated linen, 11 x 11"
Image courtesy of Joetta Maue

This generally amuses me and makes me feel like my work is successful in generating emotion. Otherwise, many people have commented very positively- most specially on how much they relate to the vulnerability in the work and technique.


Are you currently showing your embroidery drawings? If yes, when and where, and what can the viewers expect to see in this exhibit?


Little Boy Sleep, 2009, hand embroidered and painted re-appropriated linen.
Image courtesy of Joetta Maue

My work is currently on view as part of a solo show, Waking with You, at Elizabeth A. Beland Gallery in Lawrence, MA through February 19, 2010. Waking with You, is an exhibition that features my work dealing with the place and subject of the bed.


Touch, 2008, hand embroidered re-appropriated linens, 50 x 22 x 17".
Image courtesy of Joetta Maue

Asleep, 2009, hand embroidered, appliquéd, and painted re-appropriated linen, 67 x 47". Image courtesy of Joetta Maue

The work displayed is mostly from my image based embroideries but also includes a full wall of text and photographs from my online project waking with you.


Waking with you, online project, 2008. Image courtesy of Joetta Maue

The blog project waking with you was a daily documentation of my bed immediately after I work up and text pertaining to the immediate emotions of my morning. You can see the project in its entirety at WakingWithYou.blogspot.com


Waking with you, online project, 2008. Image courtesy of Joetta Maue

The bed is a very important space and subject in my work as it is a powerful and meaningful place within our lives, most of us are born in a bed, have our most vulnerable and intimate times in a bed, and most of us die there. As a result, I utilize the bed as place and metaphor in my work often. Since I am most interested in exploring the emotions and experiences of intimacy, the bed is a natural subject for me. This work is a culmination of projects done in the last 2 years that explore this.


Waking with you, online project, 2008. Image courtesy of Joetta Maue

The center piece of the exhibition will be a bed size installation titled, Waking with You, of a large scale embroidery piece that for the first time combines my embroidered autobiographical text and images together on one linen. This piece was made specifically for the exhibit and is an exciting new direction in scale and sculptural quality that I am moving towards as an artist.


Waking with you, online project, 2008. Image courtesy of Joetta Maue

The exhibit is a quiet and vulnerable installation exploring love and the potential loss of love. The opening reception has been scheduled for Friday, January 8, from 5pm to 7pm. All are welcome. Gallery is located on the first floor of Essex Art Center at 56 Island Street, Lawrence, MA. For additional information about this exhibition, please visit website.

I also have work displayed as part of the exhibit Connective Thread, a fiber exhibit that I curated currently on view at Sweet Lorraine Gallery in Brooklyn, New York. I also have work in the upcoming Fiber Art International and Designing Thread at Mount Ida College in Newton, Massachusetts.


How have you handled the business side of being an artist?


Joetta at work. Image courtesy of Joetta Maue

I work everyday at it. No one talks about how organized and diligent you have to be as an artist to manage the business side of being a professional - or how incredibly time consuming it is.


Joetta's Studio. Image courtesy of Joetta Maue

I generally dedicate my morning hours to my daily posts on my blogs, responding to emails from clients, galleries, and places that I teach. In addition I dedicate one day entirely to researching and applying for shows, grants, and other professional opportunities. The best way to tackle this side of being an artist is being organized and diligent about your business practices. And you definitely get better the longer you do it.


Tell us about the awards and recognitions you received in the past years.


Home, 2009, hand embroidered re-appropriated linen, 10" round
Image courtesy of Joetta Maue

I was selected to be an artist in the online juried exhibit Four, at BECA Gallery, New Orleans, LA. Four artists were selected from online voting for the exhibition. I was awarded Best in Show at the exhibit Stitch Spectacular, Savannah Georgia.

I have been invited to participate in a number of exhibits throughout the country and abroad. I have been featured on a very large number of blogs as well as interviewed for online journals.

I was a guest speaker at the Hello Craft conference in Washington D.C and for the New York Outreach Program in NY, NY.

Most recently I was a featured artist in the premier issue of Needle Magazine. My work was also featured in a Lion Brand Yarn Studio article in Martha Stewart Living, January issue, pg 70.

Additionally, I am very excited to be a featured artist in the forthcoming book, Indie Craft, edited by Jo Waterhouse, out in the fall of 2010.


Are you planning any exhibitions of your work in the near future?


In the studio, part of At working thought installation, 2009, hand embroidered re-appropriated linen and found hanger, 45 x 18". Image courtesy of Joetta Maue

I am always planning exhibitions and have a number of shows coming up both in the near future and farther future. I like to have thing on the horizon to keep me motivated and making new work. I am a finalist for a fall solo show in Brooklyn, New York and hope that I am selected. You can visit my website for details and link to any exhibits in the near future

Where do you see yourself in 10 years?


Artist at work. Image courtesy of Joetta Maue

I see myself in many ways with a version of my current life, spending my days doing what I love- at work in my studio. I simply see my studio being larger, my work selling more, and having more ambitious work and solo shows. I also would love to someday have an administrative assistant to help out with all my emails and such. I hope that in less than 10 years I can have that. I will also be a mom in the next year and can imagine this will change my life as an artist and an individual greatly. I hope that in 10 years I am what I am now, a professional full time artist!


Would you provide links to articles and reviews about your work?


Image courtesy of Joetta Maue

• SweetSweetLife.typepad.com
• LionBrandYarnStudio.com
• ScoutieGirl.com
• ArtfulText.blogspot.com
• Blog.FreePeople.com
• ThisIsLoveForever.com
• Katie-Anderson.blogspot.com

Are you available for commissioned works? Would you like to share your contact info with our readers?


Image courtesy of Joetta Maue

I do commissioned works on a regular basis. Most of my commissions have been text based works but I would be delighted to consider an image based commission. Please contact me directly for information joettamaue (at) gmail [dot] com


Do you have website(s) for interested readers to learn more about your work? Can we find you on art blog, flickr photostream, and/or short films on YouTube?


Overwhelmed, 2009, hand embroidered re-appropriated linen, 10" round.
Image courtesy of Joetta Maue

• JoettaMaue.com
• LittleYellowBirds.blogspot.com
• etsy.com/shop/joettamaue
• flickr.com/photos/23166365@N02

Your top ten artists.

• Louise Bourgeois- i love, love her fiber works.
• Annette Messager- my favorite for years.
• Tracey Emin- for obvious reasons.
• Sally Mann- such incredibly evocative work.
• Bill Viola
• Kiki Smith
• Sophie Calle
• Ernesto Neto

Some emerging artists I very much like are:

• Rebecca Ringquist
• Michelle Dickson
• Kimberly Hart

What advice would you give to an artist just starting out?


In process... Laying, 2009, hand embroidered re-appropriated linen, 22 x 10". Image courtesy of Joetta Maue

Be dedicated. Be committed, Be prepared for very hard work. Develop a tough skin because no matter how much praise you get you will also get criticism and rejection.

NETWORK!!! Keep your contacts and relationships with other artists, bosses, professors, and collectors organized and updated. Keep reminding them of all that you do.


Finally, is there anything else you would like to say about your work?


Teaching me, 2009, hand embroidered re-appropriated linen, 9 x 9".
Image courtesy of Joetta Maue

I love creating my work and spending slow time with my thoughts, my love, and my hands. I hope you enjoy it too.


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