Thoughts about Disaster Toile!

For the "Calamity" show I also designed a pair of toile curtains. The show is about lots of things, but primarily, climate change and how it affecting homes. And I know some people asked me, what's with the textiles?

Sometimes, if you see an artist you love trying something different, if it's floppy or misses the mark, or isn't your style, it's hard to stay interested. You can think, "oh just keep doing that stuff I love". But that's a mistake. You have to keep supporting artists through their metamorphosis. For instance:

There is a ceramicist I follow that made the BEST coffee cups. I have a couple of them and the color, the feel, the handle. the capacity-- I love everything about them. Then one day she sent an email out that she would not be making them anymore. Boom like that, small farewell sale. And then she was making new stuff. That, in my opinion, was not great. But I stuck it out and supported her over a year she tried a bunch of things. And then, a new collection dropped, and boom. Her new look had gelled. It all made sense, the bowls, the cups, the colors. And still, a perfect capacity coffee mug.

A really great example of the "Don't Stay in Your Lane" directive in creativity is musician Trent Reznor. I love NIN, I have since the 90's, but what I really love about Trent Reznor is what a Renaissance Man he is. With music anyways. He can literally do anything. He was this gothic muse in the 90's, and crafted songs about rage and sex, but also these songs that would break your heart without any words. Now he does amazing soundtracks. I like that he didn't let the persona of the 90's define him. He stayed limber, and he kept seeking new sounds and worked with new people. He actually did the soundtrack for the Disney Movie "Soul", which is so crazy to me. Where is my raging goth god in a Disney Movie!? But we all have many facets to our personality--one minute we are a Great Chef, the next a Knitter, the next an Audience Member, or a Daughter or a Tea Connoisseur, or a listener to Monk Chants, or a Bestower of Knowledge.

I really wanted something to make the gallery space for Calamity into a home, because so much of the show was about homes. What better than curtains? Curtains are basically shorthand for home. I designed this toile off of some watercolors I had done of different weather and earth events. I had it printed on this lovely starchy cotton. I used my anemic sewing skills to create the piece and hung them at the very focal point of the show.

I feel sometimes, with the emphasis on brands, we can become hemmed in by the need to stay consistent. But that is the opposite of how artists work. We are much more like the seasons, where there is a period of accumulating information and materials, and growing with them, then reaping what we sow. There are times to let the fields go fallow and times to plant. There are wintering ideas that freeze and thaw in an unexpected sunbeam that gets thrown across our consciousness. One of the most difficult things for me has been to shave off parts so I can become a brand. Without doing that I'm not sure what would have happened to me. But now I'm choosing to bring those lost pieces back into the mix and see where it takes me. Artists should allow themselves to change and explore, test how vast their reach and sight is. Too many times people find a spot that works, and then just sit there, because it's a financially valid choice to do But that's not living. And that is why I made my Disaster Toile Curtains!