Yahoo SPIN Wall Hanging 2004
This isn't really an article, but a chronicle of lives woven together by intangible threads across the internet ... please enjoy this remarkable journey with us.
A group of people came to know each other through their love of silk painting, via a Yahoo group on the internet. Over many months and after sharing tirelessly with all, friendships were formed, merged, and a closeness came about without anyone having met each other in person.
One brave soul - Isabella - thought it would be a great idea to create a lasting memory for all of us in the form of two wall hangings on one rod, bringing us all together. We come from all walks of life, all corners of the globe, and some were planning to meet for the first time in Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA in August of 2004.
Isabella's mission was to whip us into action and have the Yahoo SPIN banner ready to participate in the Silk Painting Exhibition. She did, we did, it did :-)
This is our story.
Teena Hughes - silk artist / SPIN webmistress
Artists' Squares:
Top row, left to right
Teena Hughes (AUS) :: Kim (USA) :: Celeste (USA) :: Christine (USA)
2nd row:
Maureen (USA) :: Sigrun Lara Shanko (Iceland) :: Sissi Siska (USA) :: *Fountain* Kirsten Reagan (USA)
3rd row:
Karen (USA) :: Jean-Louis Mireault (CAN) :: Isabella Whitworth (UK) :: Josette (USA)
4th row:
Annie B (UK) :: Benita (USA) :: Tani (NZ) :: Vani (USA)
5th row:
Bette (USA) :: Kristina (CAN) :: Trish (USA) :: Maureen (USA)
Artists' Stories
UK :: Isabella Whitworth:
I had this crazy idea to put people together in fabric who only meet online and here we are, united in friendship, enthusiasm and creativity. I thank all participants for trusting me with their work! Sorry I can't be here in Santa Fe in person.
USA :: Kim del Re:
*A thousand fibres connect us with our fellow men.* This quote by Herman Mellville says it all...the wall-hanging is a tangible way to extend our bonds of friendship. The individual squares becoming one is metaphorical for the kindred artists reaching out across the miles to become one family, sharing the same goals of making beautiful art.
QUEBEC :: Jean-Louis Mireault:
A place to be. A comfortable homey feeling is what my silk square is about. On the square you can see my house. And SPIN is my silky family. They welcome me to Santa Fe (which I am unable to attend) and I offer them my home as a welcome message. To be present on this hanging is a sign of my joy and pride at being part of this marvelous silk painters' group.
USA :: Maureen Hurley:
I didn't dare dream to join the SPIN conference, I didn't dare dream to paint a square for the quilt, as all the artists were chosen, but when one fell out, dream and fact merged in the nascent void, while under a full Equinox moon, Coyote-the-trickster he wasn't afraid to dream big: El Mundo was his oyster he sang from the heights of Mt. St. Helena to the depths of the Russian River the Shibukai following that silver snake of a river down to the sea, where he dreamt of salmon vistas and silken kin on the high plateaus: T'suke, Cibola, and the Sweetcrack, el R�o Grande, and so I let him go, for I could not paint a dream that large.
Celeste Schwendiman:
I was thrilled at the opportunity to participate in the group project. The square is my first attempt at silk painting. Unfortunately, I will not be able to attend SPIN.
USA :: Sissi Siska:
In the spirit of the Orchid Banners, I decided an orchid in my signature colors with mixed media techniques would properly represent me. Its wonderful to be part of this project.
N.Z. :: Tani Harper:
I am a beginner but I wanted to do the square because I was really touched by the camaraderie of the Yahoo Silk Painting Group. My square is a way of showing appreciation for the generosity of the experienced members of the group who helped me during my first attempts at silk painting.
Josette Thompson:
Unfortunately I am not able to be in Santa Fe but hope that I will be there in thought with my little silk square. Hopefully I will be able to be at the next SPIN meeting and have the opportunity of meeting all the wonderful people I have learned to know in the internet Yahoo group.
USA :: Karen Sistek:
As the threads of this silk are combined into a masterpiece of art, so are the threads of our lives connected in friendship and the love of painting on silk.
AUSTRALIA :: Teena Hughes:
Flashes and splashes of kaleidoscopic colour, filling me with exuberance and the joy of being alive ... finding an online group of fellow silk artists around the world was like finding a bunch of best friends not seen for aeons! What a thrill to talk to these people daily online, getting to know them, their art, their personalities, their lives and then bringing it all together in an expression of friendship.
Kristina Tickle:
I have been painting on silk for two years. I was hooked before even set brush to silk after seeing it demonstrated on a television show I am honoured to participate in the wallhanging and sorry that I cannot attend the conference.
Trish Paschall:
I am amazed to be connected to others who love to create in this medium. Who love to watch colors and threads interact. Who are filled with joy at the surprising, beautiful results as the silk takes on a life of its own. Though I've never met them physically, I know them inwardly, where my creative spirit dwells. I am very grateful, blessed and nurtured by this profound connection.
USA :: Christine Sutherland Toll:
I am very pleased and proud to be part of this hanging as it ties artists from all parts of the world and leaves an everlasting image of our various levels and expertise. My square is a painting which has only one resist line other than my signature. I used a sketch of a full moon rising over the Clark Range in Yosemite National Park to create a moment of that evening on Glacier Point.
ICELAND :: Sigrun Lara Shanko:
I thought the idea to join artists who have never met, in a wall hanging was something one should not miss. My piece represents my project *Stone Carvings in Silk* and shows runes floating around the square.
Bette Kerrigan
As a novice in silk painting, I am finding my way, allowing my creativity expressed through my work, the harmony and balance within myself.
UPDATE :: DECEMBER 2005 :: AUSTRALIA | |
| The YAHOO BANNER spent a delightful sojourn in Cairns in tropical far north Queensland [Australia], and was featured at an Artist's Luncheon in early 2005, with the theme of *Connections :: Intangible Threads*. Teena Hughes gave a presentation on how the Yahoo Banner came to life, the incredible international effort, the bringing together of people from all walks of life in many different countries - in fact, "peace by piece" ... small pieces of artwork creating two whole pieces [supported on a rod] via silk painting - an ancient medium which brings peace to the hearts and souls of those who participated in the project. The Yahoo Banner will be in Sydney, Australia over the next few months and hopes to be the guest participant at one or more events - information to follow. Requests for the Yahoo Banner's Passport to be polished ready for travel have been received - when it finishes its tour of duty and hopefully dazzling audiences in Sydney, it will wing its way to New Zealand, land of the long white cloud, to be on show. | |