Living Quilt for Sojourner Truth Installation Ceremony in Sacramento, CA, Nov 21, 2020

The Installation Ceremony for my outdoor art installation “Living Quilt for Sojourner Truth is set for Saturday, Nov. 21, 2020, at 2 PM. You can sign up to attend this open public event at this link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/public-art-installation-living-quilt-for-sojourner-truth-tickets-126486978959
My art installation is part of the City of Sacramento’s 2020 Artist in Residency Program, and my installation is at Sojourner Truth Community Garden, 7365 Gloria Drive (District 7) in Sacramento, CA. Hope to see you there.

Quilt block for Living Quilt for Sojourner Truth with seeds for wildflowers in the handmade paper

“Living Quilt for Sojourner Truth” Artist in Residency Project in Sacramento, CA

Because the pandemic is making public participation impossible, I am offering a series of Zoom programs for sharing my hand papermaking process of creating an outdoor public art installation “Living Quilt for Sojourner Truth” at Sojourner Truth Community Garden, 7365 Gloria Drive, Sacramento, CA. The Community Garden is in the Pocket-Greenhaven area (District 7) next to the Robbie Waters Library and the School of Engineering & Sciences and the Sojourner Truth Park in Sacramento.

Schedule of Zoom Programs (If you would like an invitation to the programs, please send email to info@janeingramallen.com)

Wed., Oct. 14, 2 – 2:40 pm (from my Santa Rosa studio)
Introduction to the project (If you missed the 1st program, watch it now on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRA1Kb4eifY&t=7s)

Wed. Oct. 21, 2-2:40pm (from my Santa Rosa studio)
Making the pulp and making stencils for the quilt design (The 2nd Zoom program is now online at YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3ZMp4Jm5AI


Wed. Oct. 28, 2-2:40pm (from my Santa Rosa studio)
Coloring the pulp and adding seeds for wildflowers (Here’s the link to the 3rd Zoom program now online at YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3tTngjOzlak&t=12s

Wed. Nov. 4, 2-2:40pm (from my Santa Rosa studio)
Making handmade paper quilt squares

This Zoom program is now online at YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vimrkLydbJc

Wed. Nov. 11, 2-2:40 pm (from my Santa Rosa studio)
Making borders for the quilt and planning the installation

Now on YouTube at this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hibg179f9HY

Wed. Nov. 18, 2-2:40 pm (at Sojourner Truth Community Garden)
Making the “bed” and weaving a headboard and footboard with branches

Now the Video for Zoom Program 6 recorded at the Sojourner Truth Community Garden is up at YouTube for public viewing at this link: https://youtu.be/-NW5lWzMvRw

Saturday, Nov. 21, 2-3 pm (at Sojourner Truth Community Garden, Sacramento)
Installation Ceremony to install the quilt
Public is invited for this outdoor ceremony (masks and social distancing required) at Sojourner Truth Community Garden.

sample quilt square for “Living Quilt for Sojourner Truth
in North Star pattern with seeds for wildflowers in the handmade paper pulp

Participating in Online Forum “What’s Next ? – Learning from Nature during Lockdown”

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The international organization for greener cities (The Nature of Cities at http://www.thenatureofcities.com) invited me to contribute an essay and images of my work for the online forum “What’s Next? – Learning from Nature during Lockdown. Here is the link: https://www.thenatureofcities.com/2020/09/30/whats-next-learning-from-nature-during-lockdown/

This photo shows the huge mulberry tree in my front yard that I have used for my hand papermaking art during the pandemic.

Large Mulberry tree used for papermaking located in my front yard, Santa Rosa, California

I was invited for this international forum as a result of being selected for an invited artist-in-residency project at Cour Commune (www.courcommune.org). My residency at Cour Commune in Voulx, is now planned for Spring 2021. I will post more information here soon about my residency in France next year.

I also wanted to let everyone know that my home and studio in Santa Rosa, CA, are okay for now. We are located in an evacuation warning zone for the current wildfires in Sonoma County that affected the northeast section of Santa Rosa. My family and I are all fine, and we are watching the news updates carefully and remain packed and ready to evacuate again if needed. The smoke and ash from the nearby fires make the air outside unsafe and hazardous, and we are staying indoors for now.

I am able to work indoors on art for my upcoming projects in November. My exhibition at Haus zur Glocke in Steckborn, Switzerland (www.hauszurglocke.ch) opens on November 25, 2020. I am creating a “Lake Constance Site Map” now with internet resources and a few things that artist friends in Switzerland, Germany and Austria have mailed to me here in California. Lake Constance is a large lake in Europe that lies between Switzerland, Germany and Austria. Here is a photo of my Lake Constance handmade paper artwork in progress:

Lake Constance Site Map (in progress)

I will post more about the exhibition at Haus zur Glocke and my “Lake Constance Site Map” soon. The exhibition at Haus ur Glocke titled “Labor-Natur” will feature artworks by 3 artists who use nature as a laboratory to create their art. I will be showing a selection of my handmade paper site maps that are created from plant materials collected at each site. The Lake Constance Site Map is the first one I have made remotely since I was not able to go to Switzerland this year because of the pandemic.

I will also be working in my Santa Rosa studio during October and November to create another “living quilt” installation for the City of Sacramento’s artist in residency program. I will be making some live Zoom programs to show how the handmade paper quilt with seeds for wildflowers in the pulp is designed and made. I will go to Sacramento for one week in November to install my art project “Living Quilt for Sojourner Truth” at Sojourner Truth Community Garden in the Pocket-Greenhaven area of Sacramento, California.

This photo shows one square of the “Living Quilt for Sojourner Truth”.

one quilt square for my “Living Quilt for Sojourner Truth” installation in Sacramento, CA

I am using the North Star quilt pattern to refer to how quilts may have been used to show escaping slaves the direction north to freedom. Sojourner Truth was a former slave and famous as a leader in the abolitionist and women’s suffrage movements. Keep watching this Blog to see more about my public art project in Sacramento.

Wishing everyone good health and good air to breathe!

My Work Featured in Exhibition at Gallery Route One, Pt. Reyes Station, CA

Video of the Exhibition “Falling Open” is now online at: https://galleryrouteone.org  

view of “Stacks”

view of “Stacks

I am happy to announce that 2 of my recents works are featured in a group exhibition titled “Falling Open – On and Off the Page” at Gallery Route One, Point Reyes Station, CA. The gallery is open for appointment viewing in person or virtual viewing on the website at http://www.galleryrouteone.org

My work “Daily Scrolls” is featured on the poster that is in the street front window at Gallery Route One. My work “Daily Scrolls” pictured here is a book-like work completed during the first 91 days of the Covid 19 pandemic and has 91 handmade paper scrolls each created daily with text and collage on samples of handmade paper made in my studio with different plant fibers. The scrolls have painting, drawing, collage and writing on them and reflect what I was thinking about on each day from March 9 to June 7, 2020.  This is meant to be a participatory piece so the viewer can take out a scroll, unroll it and look at it read it, change or add to it and then roll it again to put back in the recycled metal shelving grid that is suspended from the ceiling.  This work is infinitely changeable and recyclable. 

Another of my handmade paper and string construction is also being shown in this exhibition at Gallery Route One, Pt. Reyes Station through October 25.  My work “Stacks” is a suspended sculpture composed of multiple sheets of natural colored handmade paper I created from plants collected along the Pacific Coast in northern California.  During a family vacation in late 2019, we often collected driftwood and built shelter-like constructions on the beach.  This was my attempt to make an architectural construction with nothing other than handmade paper and string and not use any glue or other materials or techniques that would make it not biodegradable.  This artwork can go back to the earth as mulch after its life as art.  This reflects my ongoing interest in art that is not permanent but changing over time and does not make use of materials or techniques that contribute further to our environmental problems. 

This exhibition curated by Renee Owen will be on view from September 18 to October 25.  The online opening reception is Friday, Sept. 18 at 3 pm and will feature a live video gallery talk with Renee Owen.  The talk will be recorded and available online during the exhibition.

Venturing Out – My Art Activities in September 2020 and Beyond

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Here are some of the art projects I am currently participating in and some that are coming up soon, as we venture forth from the pandemic and quarantine.

Hello World is an international online art exhibition and art project by TransCultural Exchange in Boston, MA. This international art project was conceived and curated by artist/curator Mary Sherman. This pandemic art project was conceived as a way to bring together artists from various countries around the world to share what they are doing and continue international cultural exchange travel during this time of the pandemic. This art project will be online indefinitely, and here is a link to my contribution for this project (click on the far-right photo in the second line):
https://transculturalexchange.org/activities/hw/projects.htm




California Petals is a public art installation I created in August 2020 for a downtown storefront window in Santa Rosa, CA, and it can be viewed at any time from now to October 15, 2020. My installation is part of the Santa Rosa Downtown Chamber’s “Open and Out” program of cultural activities in the downtown area to encourage people to stroll around in the “pedestrians only” blocks of Fourth Street where many restaurants and stores are now open for outdoor dining and limited in-person shopping. My art installation is in a vacant storefront window at 620 Fourth Street, and it consists of many giant handmade paper flower petals with seeds for California wildflowers in the pulp. After the installation comes down on October 15, I plan to “plant” these petals in Santa Rosa so that they will change over time, sprout and bloom in colorful wildflowers. Here is a link to my Blog that has more information about “California Petals”: https://www.openandoutsr.com/art/art1-cbcmw

public art installation California Petals in downtown Santa Rosa, CA

Falling Open: On & Off the Page, Themes of Our Time is a group exhibition at Gallery Route One, Point Reyes Station, CA, that will be online as well as open for appointment viewing from September 18 to October 15, 2020. This is an invitational exhibition of artworks selected by curator Renee Owen that includes handmade artist books, installations and other works that relate to current environmental, social and pandemic issues. For this exhibition I will be showing a new work titled “Daily Scrolls” created during my first months of pandemic quarantine. This artwork has 91 handmade paper scrolls each with unique text and images that reflect my daily thoughts and experiences during this time. For more information about this exhibition: https://galleryrouteone.org/upcoming-events/

Daily Scrolls paper sculpture

Upcoming Art Projects and Activities

2020 Lucid Art Foundation Alumni Exhibition is an online exhibition of selected works by past artists in residence at the Lucid Art Foundation in Inverness, CA. I was an artist in residence at the Lucid Art Foundation in 2013, and for this exhibition one handmade paper sculpture I made during my 2013 residency and another handmade paper sculpture created this year will be included. The first piece made in 2013 is titled “Feather Duster” and makes use of branches from a local olive tree and handmade paper “feathers” I created from local plants. My other paper sculpture in this exhibition created in 2020 is titled “Paper Poppy” and depicts a giant California golden poppy like those blooming in my yard during the pandemic this Spring. Here is a link to this online exhibition: http://www.lucidart.org/exhibitions#current-exhibitions

Paper Poppy

Living Quilt for Sojourner Truth, Artist in Residency Project, Sacramento, CA is a public art project that will be completed in November 2020 at the Sojourner Truth Community Garden, Sacramento, CA. I was selected for the City of Sacramento’s Artist in Residency Program to create a site-specific art installation at a community garden in the Pocket-Greenhaven area of Sacramento. For this project I had planned public participation activities and workshops, but this has not been possible because of the pandemic. I will create the handmade paper “quilt” in a traditional “North Star” pattern with seeds in the pulp and bring it to Sacramento in November to create a “bed” for the “quilt” and install it at the Sojourner Truth Community Garden where it will transform over time. I will be making Zoom programs for online public participation. For information about the City of Sacramento Artist in Residency program: https://arts.cityofsacramento.org/Programs/Sacramento-AIR See my Blog for updates about this project and the upcoming Zoom programs: https://janeingramallen.wordpress.com

quilt block in “North Star” pattern for Living Quilt for Sojourner Truth in Sacramento, CA

Labor Natur, Haus zur Glocke, Steckborn, Switzerland is an exhibition curated by Judit Villager of works by three international artists who explore connections between art and science and use nature as a laboratory. This exhibition is open to the public in Switzerland from November 21, to December 12, 2020. For this exhibition I will be shipping some of my handmade paper “site maps” made in residencies around the world to Switzerland and also creating a new “site map” of the Lake Constance area encompassing Switzerland, Germany and Austria in my Santa Rosa, California, studio. I am doing online research gathering photos and information about plants that are common to northern California and the Steckborn area. Also, Judit Villager is sending me some materials by mail from Switzerland that I can put into the mixed media handmade paper site map. I hope to be able to travel to Switzerland in Spring 2021 for an artist in residency public art project at Haus zur Glocke. For more information about this exhibition in German only: https://www.hauszurglocke.ch/agenda/ausstellung//labor-natur1/
Or see this link in English at my Blog: https://janeingramallen.wordpress.com

Lake Constance Site Map in progress

Papermaking Art Workshops and art consulting sessions in my new Santa Rosa studio will be starting again in 2021. Contact me at info@janeingramallen.com to get the latest information about upcoming classes and individual consulting appointment.

papermaking in my Santa Rosa studio – creating “California Petals”

My “California Petals” Installation Now on View in Santa Rosa, CA

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Yesterday I installed my “California Petals” installation in a vacant storefront window at 620 Fourth Street in downtown Santa Rosa, CA. The installation is part of the Santa Rosa Chamber’s “Open and Out” program of public art & culture activities in the downtown area during this Covid 19 time.  See this link for more information about the “Open & Out” programs in Santa Rosa: https://www.openandoutsr.com/art/art1-cbcmw

My art installation is right next to Beer Baron Bar & Kitchen, and many of the restaurants are open for take out or outdoor service (masks and social distancing still required).  Several blocks of Fourth Street in the downtown area are blocked off for pedestrian only traffic, and more art is planned for the “Art Walk” in downtown Santa Rosa. My art installation remains on view through October 15, 2020. I am hoping to “plant” the petals somewhere on vacant land in a park or other public place after the installation comes down. The “California Petals” have seeds for California wildflowers in the handmade paper petals that will grow and bloom in the same colors. See the previous post for more photos of how the “petals” were made. Hope you get a chance to see this installation!

Public Art Installation Going Up August 6, 2020, in Santa Rosa, CA

 CALIFORNIA PETALS is my latest public art installation using handmade paper and seeds for wildflowers. This installation is part of the 2020 Santa Rosa Metro Chamber’s “Open and Out” program of art events in downtown Santa Rosa, California.  The many colorful handmade paper flower petals that make up the installation represent different wildflower species of northern California.  The giant petals, each unique and handmade using plant fibers dyed with non-toxic dyes, contain seeds for that color of wildflowers.  After this window display comes down, I will “plant” the petals in an outdoor space to transform over time and produce living blooming wildflowers. With its potential for new life, this art installation expresses hope for the future and brings new beauty and color to the downtown area of Santa Rosa. “California Petals” will be on view at the storefront windows of 620 Fourth Street through Oct. 15, 2020. 

For more information:  www.openandoutsr.com

The photos below show me making some of the handmade paper “petals” for the installation in my studio.  Photos were taken by my husband Timothy S. Allen (https://allentimphotos2.wordpress.com).  I used buttercut stencils on my papermaking molds to get the different shapes of the handmade paper petals.  I colored the paper pulp (a combination of abaca, linen, cotton and paper mulberry fibers) with fiber reactive non toxic dyes.  The seeds for wildflowers in each color of pulp will produce California wildflowers in the same color as the handmade paper.  

     

Photos of the downtown storefront installation will be posted here after I install the many “petals” on August 6, and “California Petals” will remain on view through October 15, 2020.  Hope you get a chance to take a stroll through downtown Santa Rosa in the newly designated car free pedestrian only blocks of Fourth Street. Other installations and art events are also planned for this area. Many downtown restaurants and bars are open now for takeout and outdoor seating; wearing masks and keeping safe social distances is required. My installation is at 620 Fourth Street in the vacant storefront windows next to the Beer Baron Bar & Kitchen.

For more information:  www.openandoutsr.com

Program about my Handmade Paper Art Around the World is Now Available Online

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Just wanted to let everyone know that the Zoom program I did this past Wednesday, July 8, 2020, for Yolo Arts “Knowledge at Noon” is available to watch anytime online at this link: https://yoloarts.org/public-programs/

The program goes over my process of making paper from local plant materials and creating my handmade paper art at several different artist in residency projects in Taiwan and different countries as well as in the US. Hope you get a chance to see it and let me know what you think.

I am continuing to work in my studio here in our garage in Santa Rosa, CA, and I hope to be able to go out for other art projects later in this year or next. I am doing some individual consulting and one-on-one papermaking in my studio now. Let’s keep in touch by email at least. I look forward to hearing from you.
Take care and best wishes,
Jane

“Flower Power” art installation Continues to Bloom at Yolo Art Center, Woodland, CA

My “Flower Power” outdoor art installation with handmade paper and seeds for wildflowers was installed at Yolo Arts Center, outside the Barn Gallery, on March 5, 2020, and it is continuing to bloom. These photos were taken on June 9, 2020 by curator Janice Purnell. This artwork is part of the exhibition of environmental artwork by 16 selected WEAD artist members (http://weadartists.org) and also contains indoor works in the Barn Gallery. Here is a link for the online exhibition: https://yoloarts.org/online-galleries/
The outdoor works in the exhibition are available for viewing at any time. The exhibition is scheduled to close on August 22, 2020.

Living Quilt for Newnan and Red Poppies Blooming Now featured in Newnan, GA newspaper

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Red Poppies blooming in the installation in May 2020

My Living Quilt for Newnan art installation created in August 2017 when I was an artist in residence at Newnan Art Rez is featured in an article by reporter Laurel Huster in today’s edition of the Newnan Times-Herald.
Here is the link to the article:
https://times-herald.com/news/2020/05/former-artrezs-living-quilt-blooming-at-childrenconnect-museum
It is great to see the red poppies blooming there in my Newnan art installation, and I hope it continues to live and bloom for many years.

the finished Living Quilt for Newton on Sept. 1, 2017