Amazing Living Women Artists

Greetings and welcome to a series of posts about amazing living women artists! I will be sharing the who, what and why of some living women artists between now and May 15. Why? Well thank you for asking! A couple of weeks ago, I asked if you, gentle reader might be interested in this. And the answer in the comments was a resounding ‘yes!‘ Also, I am going to be away doing research on all things art and painting for awhile. So, I hope these posts about amazing living women artists will sustain you while I take a break from posting my paintings on Thursdays until mid-May.

Landscape or Ground Rules

Just to set the ground rules so you understand the landscape and road ahead, here are some details. I don’t personally know any of these artists. If I have met them in person, I may share that. But what’s more important to me is that these are working artists, whose work I admire and who you may not have heard of.

The scope will be short and sweet. This means I hope to share one or two images of the artist’s work and, if you’re interested, how you learn more about them. That’s it! The plan is to share these amazing living women artists’ and their work, once a week from now till mid-May. Are you excited to ‘meet’ this week’s artist? Me too! Here she is.

Meet Precious Lovell

Ms Lovell has been sewing her entire life. In her artist statement she writes “I see cloth and clothing as a visual language.” Imagine telling stories with texture, mood, and tension? And, how about interpreting history with thread and needle as the platform. I have heard of historical fiction and paintings. But I had never thought about using fabric for this purpose.

Her show at Anchorlight Gallery in downtown Raleigh, NC is gorgeous, troubling, visceral, engrossing, and imaginative. Think – a visual representation of Hannah Nikole Hannah-Jones’ book “The 1619 Project.” Here’s a sneak peak of one of the pieces in the exhibit.

If you live in the Raleigh area, the show is up till April 15, 2023. You can reserve a spot to visit the gallery here.

Why

You may be wondering why I would choose an artist who does not work in oils to share here? I wish you could see the fine details of the work in this show. And, I confess I have always admired people who can wield a needle and thread. Why? Let’s see…perhaps it’s because this ability did not come naturally to me. In high school home economics class (aka sewing) I have a vivid memory of sewing a blazer. I loved the colorful checkered fabric I chose. The act of sewing didn’t seem to improve over time. How so? Well, I had sewn one of the sleeves on upside down and backwards. What the heck?

Ms. Lovell, on the other hand, has spent a lifetime perfecting her work; more than 50 years. At her show, I kept getting drawn in to each object in the show for its beauty. But the closer I looked the more engaged, overwhelmed and, frankly, saddened I became by the messages in this work. I realize this is all very obtuse and hard to describe well.

So perhaps what I want to say is this exhibit opened my eyes to the African American experience here and now and for the past 400+ years. It’s worth seeing and acknowledging.

And You

How about you gentle reader? Have you experienced a story, or history in a new framework lately? If so, please do tell! I would love it if you shared in the comments below. And, just a reminder, these posts will be coming out each Friday till mid-May. I look forward to sharing a new artist next week.