Deborah Valoma
The fifth and final artist-in-residence for Laurie Herrick is Deborah Valoma, a San Francisco-based weaver. Watch her install a human-scale loom and The Lab choreograph a dance performance, July 5–16.
Deborah Valoma choreographs and documents a dance performance based on the structure and movements of Herrick’s weaving drafts on a human-scale installation of a loom the The Lab. Herrick, whose “Weaving in Motion” lecture slides are available on the Museum’s website, believed that the execution of a weaving could be less of a challenge if weavers understood the fluidity of the physical steps involved in winding, warping and weaving on a loom. Valoma’s project calls attention to the physical movements involved in weaving, and how weaving is a spatial practice.
Deborah Valoma is the director of fine arts and associate professor of textiles at California College of the Arts, where her specialized field of research is the cultural history of textiles as a global aesthetic practice. Deborah has served on the board of directors of several community-based organizations that focus on the preservation of traditional performance arts from diverse cultures and countries, including Cuba and Brazil. Through her studio work, she explores the material, conceptual and poetic nuances of the medium of fiber through a hybrid practice that incorporates digital weaving technologies and hand processes.
— Posted on 06/29 at 11:18 AM
Ai Weiwei Released
Chinese authorities have released controversial artist Ai Weiwei after nearly three months of detention for “economic crimes” despite outcry and many appeals from the international arts community. Ai is an outspoken dissident of Chinese government and often incorporates political commentary into his work.
— Posted on 06/23 at 10:36 AM
Elizabeth Whelan
Textile designer Elizabeth Whelan works at the Museum June 21–July 2 as the fourth artist-in-residence for Laurie Herrick: Weaving Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow. She will also speak about her work at a Craft Conversation on June 25.
About her residency project and her studio practice, Elizabeth explains:
I will be working on one or two designs that are intended for production on a Jacquard loom. Including painted artwork and woven studies, the work I am doing is preparation for the Jacquard design by doing weave studies and working out the artwork in repeat. I plan on trying out different weave structures that would be suitable for Jacquard production, all based on 8-harness weaving.
I design textiles that will go into production—often large scale productions and those that are sold on consumer products world-wide. Most of my work in the last several years has been designing textiles that are for very specific products that need to work within other production technologies beyond the textile itself. The textiles become components of a larger product, and have moved beyond both decorative and technical aspects, evolving to include other characteristics that are important the assimilation into an end product. My work is found on the ergonomic chairs designed by Niels Diffrient for Humanscale, and I am now creating textiles for specific products for Nike.
I design from the bottom up—experimenting with materials, doing hand-woven work on my loom, dyeing samples, in addition to drawing and painting a pattern for repeat. These designs are sent to mills around the world to produce. Craft is both the starting point and end point of my work. I create the textiles employing craft techniques and finish the textiles by inspecting production and guiding workers in their correct and proper installation.
— Posted on 06/20 at 12:44 PM
Uniquely Portland
The Museum was recently featured in Alaska Airlines Magazine which highlights the best and more original places to visit in Portland, a one-of-a-kind city. Read the article online (page 44).
— Posted on 06/14 at 02:17 PM
75 Gifts for 75 Years
To celebrate the Museum’s 75th Anniversary, collectors have donated works to the Museum collection that will be on view in 75 Gifts for 75 Years, an exhibition illustrating how gifts in the collection function as a teaching tool in the Museum.
— Posted on 06/13 at 03:40 PM
Record-Breaking Gala
This year’s gala surpassed Spring fundraising records as guests contributed sponsorships and special appeal gifts totaling over $440,000 to PNCA and Museum of Contemporary Craft. Contributions support students, faculty, exhibitions and programs at both institutions.
— Posted on 06/06 at 12:53 PM
Around the Center
With over 80 years of combined association with The Gallery, the wood and metal work of three artists—Dale Larson, William Moore and Greg Wilbur—is featured for the month of June.
— Posted on 06/06 at 10:54 AM
