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Orient, Disorient, Repeat

5/28/2019

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Opening Reception for the Exhibition 'Orient, Disorient, Repeat' 
•  May 23, 2019  •


My Artist Remarks from the Opening Reception

 Thank you for coming. Hi, I’m Mary Pow.
 
I began this grant process with the simple desire to have more time to create art. I was interested in allowing myself the freedom to be creative. So, I spent much of the year researching the creative process. The social psychologist Erich Fromm said, “Creativity requires the courage to let go of certainties.” I took this to heart when I started my work last summer.

I decided to throw some uncertainties at myself and see what would happen. I pulled out an assortment of strips of fabric that I had saved from other projects. I started to arrange them and sew them together without thinking of the final result. I played a bit with the idea of back and front, and exposing the seams, which was something I had wanted to try for a while.

I wasn’t sure where this work was going to take me. I started to feel a lot of nervousness at the not knowing. What would the final exhibition for this grant turn out to be anyway? What was I going to do? And would I be a disappointment? It was a scary place to be. Yes, I was freaking out a little bit.

 
As I worked with my random scraps of fabric, without the solid knowledge of what the outcome would look like, I realized that I was living through the exact things I was researching. Doing something new requires one to be bold and brave. It can be really, really hard to allow yourself to trust the process and see where you end up. To trust yourself.

As I worked, I considered how human beings are such a confusing species. There is this duality to us. I mean, we have two opposing desires: predictability and exploration. How can we desire both? They are opposites.

On one hand, we love to fit things into boxes. We want simple explanations and absolute answers. We want things to be black and white. Plus, predictability is comfortable.

Contrast that with the human desire for exploration. We crave the new. We’re curious, we love to learn, make discoveries, and explore the vast unknown. We like a challenge, but this can be uncomfortable. ​
 
I got to a stopping point with the piece I was working on, so I hung it up in my studio doorway and stepped back. I didn’t know what I thought about it. Well, I thought I did. I thought I didn’t like it. I thought: What is this anyway? I don’t know what I’m doing! But then then sun streamed through it, and I realized that it was two-sided. And I had an ah-ha! moment. I realized that the things I was thinking about – the opposing human desires of predictability and exploration cannot be separated. They are two sides of the same coin.

And so, I realized for myself as well, that the only way to get through the challenging part of creating art was to push through the hard parts. If I allowed myself to go through the uneasiness of the unknown, I would find the delight of discovering new things; about myself, about my world, about my art. Once I pushed myself through the discomfort, the unknown became known. Thus, the title of the piece hanging in the window is “The Way Out is Through.”

 
I recently heard a journalist say, “How you see the world depends on where you look.” Which really resonated with me, as I love to consider all the different ways that people view the world. I can really get myself going, thinking about: what is reality anyway, when we all see things differently? You know, everyone experiences and understand the world slightly differently, and it all depends on what you value; what you notice; how you were raised. There is never a singular way to see the world.

Of course, people tend to seek out and spend time with others who share similar viewpoints because it’s really comfortable to be with others who see the world like we do. But I learned the importance of searching out ways to make yourself see things differently. The way to be creative and uncover new ideas, is to get comfortable with being uncomfortable.

 
The title for my large piece here on the wall, Luster, comes from a novel. In his book The Corrections, Jonathan Franzen writes, “Life had a kind of velvet luster. You looked at yourself from one perspective and all you saw was weirdness. Move your head a little bit, though, and everything looked reasonably normal.” This line sticks with me. I like to think that each person’s reality can be similar to the luster of velvet. If you are able to shift your viewpoint slightly, everything will look different. And if you can open yourself up to other viewpoints, your world can only expand.
 
If you have any comments or questions, I’ll be more than interested in hearing your viewpoint.
 
Thank you.

Images of My Work at the Exhibition


Photography by Rik Sfarra

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"Luster"
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"The Way Out is Through" on left
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"The Way Out is Through"
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"The Edge Effect"
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"Luster" on the gallery wall, at right

Thank you to everyone for coming to the opening reception! If you missed it, you can see the exhibition through July 27, 2019.
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Viewpoints

5/9/2019

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I realize that I haven't been at all outspoken about the body of textile art I'm currently working on. Lately, I've been thinking about what I want to say in my artist statement for the upcoming exhibition of my work. It seems an almost impossible task to get down all the thoughts I have while I work into a one-page, 18-point-font statement!

Yesterday I wrote down a sentence I heard Joshua Johnson say on the radio: "How you see the world depends on where you look." It's a timely quote for me.
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Early this week I sewed the final seam on my artwork, "The Edge Effect".
I'm interested in viewpoints, and humanity, and creativity, and how we're interconnected, and how we each see the world. Thoughts about these ideas float through my head while I work. I take little notes about things I hear and read, and somehow, they all seem connected to a larger idea I have forming in my mind. It's hard for me to put these ideas into words, so I put them into my art.
Mary Pow artist textile art fiber artist working studio minneapolis
This week I'm mounting and stretching my textile artwork for the exhibition.
Everyone sees/experiences/understands the world slightly differently. I don't know if there is a right way or a wrong way to see things. I think maybe there are just different ways. Together, all these different viewpoints add up to create the world of humanity.

Personally, I think we probably need them all. Who is to choose which ones we don't need? Everyone has a different viewpoint. Everyone has a different opinion.
Mary Pow studio artist fiber arts textiles designer minneapolis minnesota color
My artwork entitled "Luster" is composed of 16 panels. It will be approximately 14 feet long by 5 feet high when installed in the gallery.
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Title inspiration for my piece, "Luster".
Maybe, instead of thinking one way is right and another one is wrong - if instead we're open to the 'other' - that is the best way. Listen to other people, learn from their experiences of the world, ask them what they see, what they notice; hear their opinions, respect their viewpoints, be curious. If you can be open to the other, your world can only expand.
Mary Pow Textile art Exhibition Textile Center Orient Disorient Repeat Jerome Fiber Artist Project Grant Exhibition 2019 Minneapolis Fiber Art
I invite you to see my textile art in person at the exhibition "Orient, Disorient, Repeat". The opening reception on May 23rd starts at 5:30pm with artist remarks at 6:00pm.

I hope to see you there! I'll be more than interested in hearing your viewpoint.
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3 Weeks Until Opening Day!

5/2/2019

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Mary Pow textile art orient, disorient, repeat textile center jerome project grant 2018 2019 minneapolis artist minnesota fiber art
Detail of "The Way Out is Through" by textile artist Mary Pow
I've been honored to be one of three grantees of the Jerome Fiber Artist Project Grant for the 2018/2019 year. As part of my grant, I've been exploring creativity and I've taken a break from making products, such as MinneBites and my Mary Pow line of handbags and accessories. It's allowed me to be able to find a studio art practice for myself and push myself in new directions. 

Well, the year is coming to a close and I'm so proud that my resulting textile artworks will be on display for 9 weeks at Textile Center's Joan Mondale Gallery starting on May 23rd.

I do hope you'll join me for the opening day!

Jerome Fiber Artist Grant Textile Center Mary Pow Heather MacKenzie Janet Dixon Jerome Foundation Joan Mondale Gallery Minneapolis Minnesota
Mary Pow actively investigates the creative process through her methodical cut-and-sewn color block work where she explores the multitude of viewpoints contained within the world of humanity.

Janet Dixon uses memory and imagination as a basis for the autobiographical abstract maps she creates using breakdown screen-printing and low immersion dyeing.

In her Queer Encrypted Weavings, Heather MacKenzie is creating an ongoing series of queer heirlooms using contributed text coded into textile structures.
See you there!
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    Mary Pow

    I am an artist and designer based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. My specialties are textiles and pastels.

    I also enjoy reflecting on the human condition.

    In my blog, I write about my musings and my art.

    Find my bio 
    here.


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