Intimate Hand Work
Exhibit Statement

On March 17, 2020, most of us were anticipating a day in which there would be a nod to the Irish St. Patrick, an excuse to wear something green, and looking forward to the start of Spring. For some of us, the cancellation of that night’s dinner reservation was a metaphor of what was to come in the next 48 hours:  the abrupt shut-down and closing of all but essential services; a sheltering in place against an invisible enemy; a confusing confluence of restrictions and mis-directions; and the growing realization that day-to-day life, as we knew it, had changed, utterly. The coronavirus shifted everyone’s priorities.  As the numbers of cases and deaths spiraled upwards, artists everywhere faced the mounting pressures of isolation, loss of access to tools and materials, the interruption of our work and our expectations. All of this, often, was in direct conflict with the changing responsibilities for our relatives and neighbors.  

This exhibit of work, most of which was completed within the last fourteen months, reflects our individual responses to our personal situations, to the stresses in our lives, to the catastrophe that is this pandemic, to the social unrest and political strife.  The artworks are intricate, incorporating the intimate hand work and careful detail that has helped each of us to find serenity and harness our strengths.  The work has brought us together as artists, as women, as friends and as members of our community.

Artist’s Statement
Elizabeth Curren

This roll of paper got started as an alternative journal: 2020 was to be a year of breathing easier, of starting a new decade, of hoping for change.  There were many projects planned and anticipated: a two-week participation in the Paper and Book Intensive; several art conferences; a writing project; two residencies; preparing for an exhibit; a long-awaited ten-day trip to Paris.  Before January was three weeks in, there were the sudden deaths of two dear friends, a brief hospitalization, and alarming news of a dangerous virus that was beginning to spread throughout the world. Not an auspicious beginning.  I began to write, to collect quotes, headlines, facts, figures and bits and pieces of ephemera, making sketches and drawings, and collaging on this roll of paper.  It is not the journal I expected, yet it reflects the year that I experienced.

As the pandemic gained momentum and all of our lives were changed, most of what we had planned, scheduled, anticipated and expected to happen, simply disappeared.  What became important was staying safe, staying isolated, finding supplies and sustenance, volunteering and donating, trying to work and watch out for one another.  Small pleasures took on great importance. We became more appreciative of the hard work and kindnesses of strangers. This paper journal is more a ‘scrawl’ than a scroll. It reminds me, grounds me, and focuses me on events that have had terrible impacts for our planet.  These events are all interconnected, the good as well as the bad. These are the ties that bind us.

Artist’s Statement
Alice Quatrochi

My exterior, extroverted world has been cloistered away.

The moments I can share become pale and fractured 

substitutes of experience, delayed and filtered through 

keyboard and pixelated spilt-screens. I yearn for union 

and exert my intentions through arts and actions that defy 

delays and distancing. I am driven to translate my 

rhythmic heartbeat into a transcendental current.

Artist’s Statement
Tina Hudak

Words are central to my art whether the expression is through the alphabet or imagery; all carry meaning. Trained as a professional calligrapher during the 1970s, its natural progression extended to papermaking, book arts during the 1980s through the 1990s. Now, in the 21st century, digital and simple printmaking techniques are central, especially during the COVID pandemic. Opportunities to experiment with materials in my small studio, then learn and collaborate virtually are a blessing. The work in this exhibit is a direct result.

Lisa Rosenstein

Carolee Jakes