Ringing In a New Year!

ART/PLACE 25TH ANNIVERSARY EXHIBITION AT HOUSATONIC MUSEUM


Works from Arle-Sklar Weinstein's "Artist Portrait Project" are on display as part of the 25th anniversary celebration of Art/Place artists at Housatonic Museum in Bridgeport, CT. The Museum's press release states,"A highlight will be a wall with a grid of artist portraits created by member Arle Sklar-Weinstein."

The seeds of the project sprouted in 2007 when Arle was participating in an artist residency in Spain. This inspired her Artist Portrait Project, a series of photo montages of eight international artists and writers. Arle explains that her artist portraits are usually transferred to fabric and then stitched; the works in this current exhibit are 16" x 20" gallery wrapped canvas portraits.


Art Consultant and Reviewer Camilla Cook writes that Arle's work "captures the essence and soul of each artist and their work, but it is the selection of 'artifacts' and montage presentations that displays her astute eye."

Arle will be giving an artist talk and doing a book signing at the exhibition on January 8, 2009, 5:30-7:00 PM.

OFF THE GRID Registration Reminder

It's time to send in your registration for the 2009 Surface Design Association Conference "Off the Grid." For more information, visit the Surface Design Association website.

SDA Member News December 1, 2008

Kyoto Kimono Holiday Sale!

Kimono, haori, obi, fabric, Japanique boutique, gifts and more!

Friday, December 12, 2008
Noon - 7:00 PM

American Association of University Women Branch House in Murray Hill
111 East (Between Park and Lexington)

New York City

Get a preview of the wonderful items you can purchase by visiting the website at http://www.kyotokimono.com/.

If you can't make this sale, you might be interested in bringing Kyoto Kimono's beautiful products to your home for a fashion show and sale, or set up a fundraiser for your organization. Just contact Nancy McDonough, owner, at info@kimono.com . Nancy is also accepting speaking engagements for 2009. She'll be happy to give you more information.

Barbara Arlen Consulting in India

Barbara Arlen left for India on November 18, where she will stay until early January. During her time there she will consult with traditional hand weavers creating original Benares designs and colors for duvet covers and decorative pillows for use in selected Taj Hotels through a grant from the Taj Trade Initiatives with Artisans in Varanasi, India. She will also consult with Paramparik Karigar, a craft person-run NGO in Mumbai, India, and work with traditional Pattachitra, palm leaf hand painters and master Ikkat weavers creating new products for their arts domestically outside of Puri
and Bargarh, Orissa, India.

I hope that Barbara will send us some photos and highlights of her experiences there. I am also trusting that she was safe during the devastating terrorist attacks in Mumbai.

Introducing NYS SDA Member Judith Plotner

Judith, a NYC native, studied painting and graphics at the High School of Music and Art and Art and City College of NY, where she received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1961.


Judith and her husband Stan live "off the grid" on a 20 acre former goat farm in Bleecker, NY with two ponds and a 100 year old farmhouse. The couple purchased the house in 1984 as a retreat from city life and moved there permanently 18 years ago when Stan retired from a career teaching industrial arts in the Bronx.

What is life like off the grid? A gas generator powers Judith's computer, copier and sewing machine. In winter, Judith and Stan pump their own water from a deep-draw well outside the house and heat it on a wood stove or gas cooking stove.

Lovers of nature and the outdoors, the couple gardens, hikes, skis, canoes and thrills to the breathtaking beauty of their natural surroundings right at the foothills of the Adirondack park. But in addition to living a life close to nature, Judith is also an accomplished artist.



Judith creates textile art works that integrate her love of fabric and collage with her training as a painter and printmaker. Her techniques include monoprint, photocopy, silkscreen, stamping, dye and paint.

Her work combines typography with fragments of written messages and journals, using the printed word both as an element of design and to provide hints of communication. Judith works in series, continuing the exploration of an initial idea through successive pieces. Each piece is multi-layered. Although her works are both pieced and appliqued, she frequently leaves raw edges to add vitality and immediacy to the work.

To see more of Judith's work and read an article about her lifestyle that appeared in a 2001 issue of Adirondack Life magazine, visit her website at http://www.judithplotner.com/