At a lively breakfast one
Memorial Day weekend in 1996, a multi-talented group of women talked about past
achievements, loving friends and how fortunate they were to be in that special
place—that humble place where one wishes to share with others life-giving
forces resulting from the successes of hard work, education and relationships.
Jill Heppenheimer, business partner Barbara Lanning, Victoria Rabinowe, former
co-owner of Santa Fe Weaving Gallery, and artist Alice Watterson postulated
the challenge of finding the next generation of weavers and surface designers.
Heppenheimer remembers: “How necessary it would be to foster mentoring
from the established and experienced fiber artists who had come before them.”
This epiphany was the impetus of the Design with Heart— a conference from
which fiber artists can share information from their own experience and learn
from veterans in the field. Some of Design with Heart’s past conference
instructors include many talented artists such as Yvonne Porcella, Ana Lisa
Hedstrom, Susan Summa, Lissa Hunter, Ilse Aviks, Gina D’Ambrosio, Deborah
Hughes Zane, Linda Lee, Doshi, Susan Brandeis, Mary Jaeger, the late Gaza Bowen,
and color expert Maggie Maggio.
In early Spring 2006, the Santa Fe Weaving Gallery hosts the eighth annual,
and final, Design with Heart Fiber Conference. Taking place in beautiful Santa
Fe, New Mexico, March 25 through 29, the conference is characterized as “A
Gathering of New Design Energy for Textile Artists” according to its subtitle.
Gallery owners Jill Heppenheimer and Barbara Lanning are co-sponsors of this
event. From its inception, Heppenheimer and Lanning wanted to provide a reoccurring
venue in which fiber artists could benefit personally and professionally. For
any artist, there are numerous but essential career constituents that have become
integrated into the process of bringing artwork to the public such as marketing,
feedback, technology, and career management. It is not just the creative processes
of artwork, it is the encompassing variety of subjects in the program that offers
a steady platform. The conference is a skillfully created balance of inspirational
learning and thoughtful management of a fiber artist’s career.
Saturday, March 25, workshops
begin in the morning with Smashing Color Theory, lead by Maggie Maggio. Jill
Heppenheimer conducts an afternoon workshop titled, The Art Muscle & Automatic
Art-Making. Next up, is a workshop on Creative Career Management A Workshop
for the Professional Artist, directed by Rebecca Bluestone. The workshop, Talking
Digital in the 21st Century—for Artists, taught by Anne Ellen Geiger,
addresses the significance current technology has in the life of an artist as
well as understanding technical terminology relevant in a digital world. Geiger
notes: “Unlike the inner spark of creativity, or the desire to create,
no one is born with an innate grasp of technology. So relax about it, and decide
it is a skill that can be acquired like any other useful tool. Creatives that
devote some energy to becoming comfortably fluent in this ‘digital realm’
gain access to more opportunities and a larger marketplace.”
Seminars begin on Sunday, March 26, with informational themes such as Cultural
Compost & My Work, given by Ellen Kochansky, fiber artist and creativity
consultant; In Her Hands—Global Artisans, presented by Paola Gianturco,
photojournalist; and Artist in Transition—Next Steps in a Full Career,
with Marian Clayden.
Intensive workshops are held Monday, March 27 through Wednesday, March 29 starting
with Experimental Fashion, Susan Avila; Revamp-Reuse-Reject, Jean Williams Cacicedo;
Cloth as Identity and Lineage, Bhakti Ziek, as well as other seminal topics
of interest for fiber artists lead by veteran artists Maggie Maggio, Ellen Kochansky,
and Doshi. In Experimental Fashion, Avila teaches attendees to endeavor with
a more natural design diverging from the standard kimono. The workshop covers
ideation, pattern design and development, heat manipulation and disperse dyes,
giving the wearable art purpose.
Dual workshops, Smashing Color Theory and Color Quandaries, taught by Maggie
Maggio, address color theory and color combination used in the creative process.
Maggio teaches artists to rely on instincts rather than convention. Other inspirational
workshops are Words and Collage, and Beginning with Haiku as Inspiration for
wearable art, both taught by Judith Content.
Adding to the excitement of Design with Heart, artists are challenged to participate
in a fiber exhibition designing protective gear using tradition and innovation
dubbed Protection in the Year 2050. For this showcase, artists are asked to
create a garment depicting protection in the future, which must fit the human
form, by creating pieces reflecting environmental elements, such as rain gear,
sun block or wind breakers; or insects, like the need for bee keeper apparatus;
and clothing, which may keep people safe from injury in sports or war time,
from football padding, fencing uniforms to flak vests, body armor and helmets.
This distinctive exhibition is open to the public and on display at the Santa
Fe Weaving Gallery, March 26 through March 29. In addition to this special event,
is a Portfolio Sharing session in which artists can share their individual portfolios
with each other and learn about other perspectives of fiber art. This event
takes place on Sunday evening, March 26. Concluding the special event segment,
artists have an opportunity to attend a Critique by Appointment receiving a
compte-rendu critique (critical report) on current work from an instructor,
gallery owner or conference staff.
The grand finale of this dynamic venue is a special dinner with keynote speaker,
Coeditor of Ornament, Carolyn Benesh. Benesh will impart her thoughts and musings
concerning the direction of personal adornment in an anxious age, often predominated
by political, religious and societal turmoil. In addition to this final celebratory
evening, participating artists are invited to wear and model their own designs
as they wine and dine with conference staff and fellow artists.
Before there was Design with Heart, there was Santa Fe Weaving Gallery. Heppenheimer
says, “The art to wear movement began to lose its former energy, and Barbara
and I began to look for other ways to attain a newer and more vibrant identity.”
Thus, their personal interests lead them to Japanese textiles, which is still
their focus today. The gallery has always supported sponsorship and mentorship
in fiber arts. Jill Heppenheimer and Barbara Lanning brought their passions
to the gallery and turned it into a success, which has enabled them to support
the fiber arts.
Design with Heart began with a well-supported scholarship program for graduates
and undergraduates in studio arts. The program has received funds from Calico
Corners, many clients, UC Davis and Marin College of Arts; however, efforts
have since shifted from seeking money to providing an atmosphere of unique subjects
for artists. A successful mentoring program was also implemented which paired
an established artist with a talented emerging artist. An example of the program’s
success is the pairing of Judith Content and the late Holly Craft. The two artists
were not only successful together as partners but became lifelong friends. A
tribute to Craft’s accomplishments will be lead by Content at the conference
in March.
Nearly ten years
after team Heppenheimer and Lanning began their journey to seek out and mentor
a new generation of fiber artists, Design with Heart 2006 becomes the capstone
to their success and the prelude to another venture—smaller in size and
focusing globally, nonetheless just as significant in the lives of fiber artists
for many years to come. The fiber art duet will continue to sponsor classes
with design and age-old techniques that help to create a contemporary vision.
“We will not stop being involved,” Heppenheimer promises, “and
we will sponsor those venues which are in the learning mode.”
For more information on attending Design with Heart 2006: A Gathering of New
Design Energy for Textile Artists, March 25 through 29, in Santa Fe, New Mexico;
call toll-free 866.982.1737 or visit www.santafeweavinggallery.com.
Published
in Ornament Magazine, Volume 29, No. 2, 2005.
—Author A. Jennifer Dong is Editorial Assistant of Ornament. View Issue Order Order
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