NO.8
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| 2011 |
Year of Housewares Dept Expressions for LADYFITS
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You can pick up issue NO.8 - a reflection on 2011
RHYTHM OF LIFE: REED MATERIAL
From the beginning to the everyday life of the people, folk art is tied to a moment. It gives life a certain rhythm through ritual and ceremony, ranging from weddings, the end of harvest to the completion of work. The Czech & Slovak people had a highly developed sense of this form; they liked to use ceremonies to accentuate the rhythm of their life.
This installation serves as a rhythm to my life in this community, creating work that encompasses a moment through materials found in a thrift store. These materials are from the people of the community through their donations to Goodwill. The objects help to tell my rhythm as well as theirs.
Like most of my work, it begins with a single object that I find in Goodwill. This time it was a roll of reed material. I connected this object to the inspirational ritual of laying sand down in forms of folk motifs. This inspirational discovery was image based with little explanation as to why Czechs/Slovaks perform this ritual, so I gathered my own thoughts.
The ritual of laying sand seems to be so much a part of their human nature to create these learned designs in the environment around them. There is no need for a pattern to the motifs. Rather, it is purely a form of cultural expression.
I performed my own version of the ritual within the space given to me at the Cherry building in New Bohemia (New Bohemia/Czech Village). I created motifs through the space, utilizing the reed material and my own learned expression of Czech forms. These forms were done on the spot, allowing people to walk through the space of creation. It opened dialogue with people regarding their community, culture, thrift, and forms of artistic expression.
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| Resourceful Expression: $2.38 Reed Material |
I will focus my next post on the other portion of the installation - corn husk doll
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