Shows

2002                          Renton Arts Commission - Ellen Koehn & Debi Harney                      "The Art of Cloth"                       March/April, Carco Theater Gallery                                  Renton, WA   A painting starts as a blank canvas on a frame; a piece of art cloth starts as a fluid piece of blank fabric.  The fabric is enhanced with meticulous layering of imagery. The artist starts with a blank, adds color with dye or paint, textures with thread, beads, and other materials to create something original and new.  The artist tries to convey a thought, a feeling, or idea through the manipulation of the cloth. The next step for the cloth is incorporation into an art quilt. While the finished piece may not resemble the traditional bed quilt, the craft of quilting is evident. Contemporary influences have moved the quilt from the bed to the wall, the office, the museum and gallery. It is hard to pigeonhole the work of these two artists.  They both use multiple techniques to create their work.  Debi Harney specializes in dyeing and layering images with embellishments for her whole cloth art pieces as well as constructed work.   Ellen Koehn has used the watercolor style of piecing to create work.  She is featuring her painted fabric work in this show.  Creating the fabric as well as the finished piece continues to make this medium exciting and challenging for both artists.