During the month of February, Elizabeth Conner, VALISE member, and Patti Shaw, a Seattle artist who transforms found materials into unexpected forms and textures, will brighten the gray mid-winter light with reflective materials and an energetic “back room” installation.
For February’s show at VALISE, many of Shaw’s works will include materials left over from the lighting of votive candles at Seattle’s St. James cathedral. Shaw says she likes to think that the vestiges of collected votives “still carry traces of a prayer. When working with these materials I feel a connection to the many people who, in their day-to-day struggles, lit these candles to find peace.”
With a background in textiles and quilting, Shaw describes her process: “When I work with a needle and thread, I am reminded that it is a way to keep things from coming apart. It is a way for me to feel more connected to my art, and a way to feel connected to the world.”
Conner’s interest in how people move through and interact with architectural spaces, combined with a drastic clean-up effort in her island studio and office, has inspired a large-scale three-dimensional drawing that will occupy the back half of the gallery space. “I love the freedom to experiment and improvise provided by this frisky collaborative group called VALISE. My bread and butter job most often requires permanent artwork in equally permanent spaces. I jump at the chance to make something that will probably surprise me, and just might fall apart.”
Join us for the February 4W Event! Sunday, February 27 from 1-3pm!
Click here to learn more.
