#nonsolus

[amytavern]

I will be showing images of my process at the biennial CCA alumni show, Alma Mater: Methods, opening this Saturday, June 15 from 3-6pm. This year’s exhibition is about process and features images of artist process and working methods vs. completed works. My images are from the making of my on-going participatory object, Non Solus.

Pictured here: the threads and various detritus saved from all the contributions.

The exhibition runs through July 26.

CCA Hubbell Street Galleries 161-151 Hubbell Street San Francisco, CA, 94107

For a complete list of participants and further details, please visit this link.

[amytavern]

Non Solus, 10,645 real and imitation pearls sent to me by 147 people, my own pearls, silk thread, 9″ x 7″ x 6.5″, with table 52" x 18" x 37", 2015 on-going participatory object

Non Solus is made of thousands of pearls, both real and imitation, donated by 147 people from around the US and 13 different countries. Using the internet as a way to dispense information and make a public request, I asked for donations of a single pearl from anyone, anywhere. I received contributions from near and far, from people I know and others I have never met. Many donations included multiple pearls and many were special in some way: a grandmother’s pearl necklace; a single earring, once part of a set given as a gift from a father to a daughter; poppy seed-sized antique pearls acquired when a young Spanish jeweler befriended a retired jeweler. Some pearls came with letters, others did not. Some were packaged in tiny boxes with ribbons, while others were padded in bubble wrap. 

Starting with one pearl, the sculpture grew chronologically, donation by donation as each was stitched to the next. Every pearl was photographed, observed, and recorded before it was added to the piece. Non Solus is a on-going participatory object that will never be truly completed, much like how a pearl will grow indefinitely. It is about connection, participation, and collective memory.

Creating this piece was very special, to say the least. I never imagined it would grow into the complex work that it become, and continues to become. When I conceived the piece two years ago and put out my first call for pearls, I really thought a handful of people would respond and that the finished work would be the size of my fist. I never thought it would come to weigh 7 pounds and measure 9″ long! I also did not think I would receive the generous outpouring of care and generosity. I was given some truly unique pearls with heartfelt stories. I often found myself in tears as I opened a new package. 

Discussing it in graduate school with peers and professors allowed me to see it in different ways and to inform it or situate it within historical context (Joseph Beuys and his “social sculpture”) and various art theories, movements, and philosophies (archival art, feminism, phenomenology). Learning about these connections served to create a foundation for the work and deepened the meaning for me.

I am especially grateful to all the people who sent me pearls. I can’t begin to express in words how I feel. Thank you to each of you for being a part of this piece. 

Participants

Chris Keener, Huron, OH, Terry Taylor, Candler-NC, Lisa Norton, Shoreline, WA, Renee Zettle-Sterling, Coopersville, MI, Amy Hockett, Charlotte, NC, Bonnie Lambert, Helena, MT, Lucia Tremont, Syracuse, NY, Rebbecca Tomas, Seattle, WA, Charlene Schneider, Maineville, OH, Ellen Vontillius, Swannanoa, NC, Denise McCarthy, Houston, TX, Gill Miller, Lancaster Park, England, Shannon Cobb-Tappan, Dunedin, FL, Mark Fenn, Capel Iwan, Wales, Jowita Allen, Chevy Chase, MD, Baba Barnett, Raleigh, NC, Shava Lawson, Seattle, WA, Janna and Leah Marinelli, Traveler’s Rest, SC, Kelly Johnston, Bainbridge Island, WA. Kathy Clark, Reykjavík, Iceland, Laura Siegel, Brooklyn, NY, Jannie Rozema, Wageningen, Netherlands, Rachel Ehlers, Lake Ridge, VA, Tom McCarthy, St. Louis, MO, Anastasia Young, London, England, Jane Wells Harrison, Lenoir, NC, Janet Link, Raleigh, NC, Jenny Baughman, Roswell, GA, Lisa Juen, Utica, NY, Hilary Pfeifer, Portland, OR, Susie Luyet, Paia, HI, Sarah Powell, Oberhaching, Germany, Liz Willis, Pirton, England, Philip Sajet, Amsterdam, Netherlands, Jen Townsend, Pittsford, NY, Heather Allen, Raleigh, NY, Raissa Bump, San Francisco, CA, Michael Magno, Brooklyn, NY, Casey Shepard, Los Angeles, CA, Eileen Wallace, Athens, GA, Kathy Brughelli, Middletown, RI, Marianne Dages, Philadelphia, PA, Fritz Maierhofer, Vienna, Austria, Dan Price, Chicago, IL, Mary Quin, Decatur, GA, Claire Sommers Buck, Austin, TX, Linda Callahan, Gloversille, NY, Katie Rosenthal, San Diego, CA, David Chatt, Seattle, WA, Chris Boland, Sheffield, England, Rachel Davis, Milwaukee, WI, Kris Baker, Seattle, WA, Maria Phillips, Seattle, WA, Lori Hawke-Ramin, LaFayette, NY, Michele Tuegel, St. Petersburg, FL, Kelsey Simmen, San Francisco, CA, Erin Wheeler, Johnstown, NY, Crystalyn Brennan, Brooklyn, NY, Elisa Bongfeldt, Berkeley, CA, Stephanie Voegele, Milwaukee, WI, Adrienne Smart, Arlington, TX, Susan Owen, Vilas, NC, Elizabeth Brim, Penland, NC, Meadow Thurston (in memory of), Carolina Apolonia, Middelburg, Netherlands, Rebecca Illet, Cambridge, England, Kathleen Edwards Hayslett, Coralville, IA, Madeleine Veillet, Gaspe, Quebec, Canada, Virginia Hungate-Hawk, Seattle, WA, Tracy Scott, Atlanta, GA, Michelle Smith-Lewis, Seattle, WA, Sarah Rachel Brown, Philadelphia, PA, Jenna Warburton, Seattle, WA, Paul Casey, Seattle, WA, Lisa Macutchan Gray, Seattle, WA, Lori Talcott, Seattle, WA, Catherine Chandler, Portland, OR, Stacey Mosteller and Noreen Coveny, Endicott and Richfield Springs, NY, Holinka Escudero, Mexico City, Mexico, Jane Ponsford, Esher, England, Jan Smith, Salt Spring Island, BC, Canada, Mary Wolaniuk, Boulder, CO, Christina Carlbaum, Gnarp, Sweden, Louise Perrone, Vancouver, BC Canada, Devon Matlock, San Francisco, CA, Siri Kvalfoss, Tyssedal, Norway, Claire MacDonald, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Emily Kidson, London, England, Michele Wyckoff Smith, London, England, Tara Locklear, Raleigh, NC, Robin Kranitzky and Kim Overstreet, Richmond, VA, Natascha Bybee, Seattle, WA, Natalia Araya, Valencia, Spain, Katja Prins, Amsterdam, Netherlands, Diego Richardson Nishikuni, London, England, Andrea Wagner, Amsterdam, Netherlands, Lylli Meredith, Seattle, WA, Elle Sharifpour, San Diego, CA, Miri Admoni, Sde Tzvi, Israel, Bonnie Levinthal, Philadelphia, PA, Lien de Clercq, Antwerp, Belgium, Melody Woodnutt, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, Katharina Schneider, Blönduós, Iceland, Karen Vanmol, Antwerp Belgium, Yvette Dibos, San Diego, CA, Devon Clark, Palm Harbor, FL, Amy Sledge, Sheung Wan, Hong Kong, Amy Bishop, Aptos, CA, Anonymous, Long Beach, CA, Anastasia Egorova Shelyakina, Illes Balears, Spain, Cathy Woodall, Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire, England, Caitlin Skelcey, Urbana, IL, Sam Woehrmann, San Francisco, CA, Rachel Weidinger, Oakland, CA, Hilde De Decker, Antwerp, Belgium, Kit de Sousa, Randolph, NJ, Bette Schuler, Tuscon, AZ, Melissa Lyon, Sherman, NY, Susan Bolding, Hayward, CA, Catherine Chambers, Ísafjörður, Iceland, Jonis Black-Parr, Seattle, WA, Christina Shmigel, Shanghai, China/Bakersville, NC, Nikki Couppee, Oakland, CA, Sara Erkers, Gothenburg, Sweden, Dawn Nakanhishi, Soquel, CA, Kerianne Quick, San Diego, CA, Shane Prada, Baltimore, MD, Mike Holmes, San Francisco, CA, Julia Turner, San Francisco, CA, Tescia Seufferlein, Oakland, CA, Lisa Fidler, Petaluma, CA, Sharon Tavern, Richfield Springs, NY, Elísa Mjöll Guðsteinsdóttir, Reykjavík, Iceland, Brooke Marks-Swanson, South Bend, IN, Lisa Heller, Philadelphia, PA, Kathleen Browne, Ravenna, OH, Megan McGaffigan, Vancouver, WA, Maya Kini, San Francisco, CA, Maria Porges, Oakland, CA, Chelsea Poe, Oakland, CA, Liz Oppenheim, Oakland, CA, Sara Valente, Herkimer, NY, Helga Ragnhildur Mogensen, Reykjavík, Iceland, Zoe Ani, San Francisco, CA

Images by Jamee Crusan.

Thanks for reading.

[amytavern]

Non Solus is currently in a group exhibition at the Penland Gallery at the Penland School of Crafts. PERSONAL | Universal is about the use of personal narratives that point at broader themes. Jessica Calderwood, David Chatt, Shawn HibmaCronan, Stuart Kestenbaum, Sarah Rose Lejeune, Anne Lemanski, John Littleton, Yoonmi Nam, Corey Pemberton, Shoko Teruyama, Kate Vogel, and Susan Webster are also included.

I am thrilled to have this piece at Penland and alongside these amazing artists. Penland is so special to me and I can’t wait for my people there to see this piece. The opening is today, June 2 from 4:30-6:30 and the show continues through July 15, 2018.

Thanks for reading.

[rumyanahristova]