Spills and Coverings Series

Spills and Coverings Series

Coverings are pieced together to control what appears on the surface.  But they are made up of tattered pieces, barely joined by a thread suspending the ever-expanding gaps that form within. Controlling this facade is an illusion and the bare emptiness underneath lingers in the shadows.  Tension builds to a breaking point and coverings are worn down.  Cover stories crumble and walls disintegrate like brittle leaves as reality spills though.

Vulnerability appears in accidental spills. The fragile pieces are unveiled and the hidden, intimate parts unfold like lace as the spill reveals brokenness and the delicate threads lose shape and fall apart.  There is freedom in a spill rushing over and flooding in, leaving marks that influence and ruin what once was in the layers beneath the surface. It breaks the normal boundaries, unable to contain what was stirring within. 

Walls Crumble ; machine embroidery and mixed media on shaped, cut wood panel; 35" X 41" ; 2010
$650

if any of the pieces below do not have a price listed, it is because they are currently on display in an exhibit, 

please email me at deeannrieves@gmail.com to inquire

Rushing Over ; machine embroidery, mixed media, and acrylic on wood panel ; 31" X 17" ; 2010
$430

Letting Go the Grasp ; Machine embroidery and mixed media on shaped, cut wood panel ; 55" X 46"
$800

Tear ; machine embroidery, fabric, and lace on paper ;  30" X 24" $475 (framed)

Puddles To the Ground; machine embroidery, fabric, canvas, vintage lace, and mixed media ; 78" X 32" X 31" d (puddle on the floor)

Knots Unraveling ; machine embroidery, fabric, and paper ; 20" X 16" (in shadowbox frame) ; 2010
$290

Broken Pieces Falling (triptych) ; ceramic pieces, lace, and mixed media on panel ; 12" X 12" (each) ; 2010 ; SOLD

Overflow ; machine embroidery and mixed media on shaped wood panel ; 37" X 38" ; 2010

Pieced Together; machine embroidery, fabric, canvas, paper, and mixed media acrylic; 48" X 39" ; 2011
$735

Scar ; machine embroidery, fabric, and lace on paper ; 30" X 24"
$475 (framed)

Stirring ; machine embroidery, fabric, canvas and mixed media on cut wood panel ; 24" X 24" ; 2010
$500

Pooling ; machine embroidery, fabric, and lace on paper ; 30" X 24"  $475 (framed)

Moving the Pieces; machine embroidery, plaster gauze, ceramic pieces, and mixed media on wood panel; 41" X 35" ; 2011
$650

No Longer Bound; fabric, canvas, twine, acrylic, mixed media and machine embroidery on wood panel; 36" X 32" ; 2011
$590

Covered ; machine embroidery, fabric, and acrylic on wood panel ; 46" X 24" ; 2010
$480

Holding It Together ; machine embroidery, canvas, and mixed media on cut wood panel ; 24" X 26" ; 2010

Her Tattered Covering ; machine embroidery, lace, and acrylic ; 48" X 35" ; 2010
$700

Tugging, Clinging, Falling Apart (triptych) ; machine embroider and fabric ; 12" X 10" each (in shadowbox frames) ; 2010
$350

By A Thread ; machine embroidery, lace, and mixed media on cut wood panel ; 26" X 11" ; 2010

 SOLD

Delicates Spill ; Installation ; machine embroidery, lace, and acrylic ; 2010
$850

Tearing Away; paper, canvas, fabric, machine embroidery, mixed media and acrylic on wood panel; 51" X 27" ; 2011
$480

Pulling Back ; machine embroidery, fabric, and lace on paper ; 30" X 24" (framed)
$475

email me at deeannrieves@gmail.com to inquire

Fiber Focus 2011 

September 6 - October 13

at Art St. Louis

OPENING RECEPTION TONIGHT: Friday September 16, 6:00-10:00

555 Washington Avenue, #150 • St. Louis, MO 63101-1239 • 314-241-4810

my pieces in the show: 

Puddles to the Ground ; 78" X 32" X 31" (puddle)

Holding It Together ; 24" X 26"

why

I keep getting stuck in this rut of not being open and vulnerable on my blog.  The whole reason I blog is because it helps me think through my work, my processes, and perhaps it would interest someone else to see more of the process.  So if I am not open and honest, who am I even helping?  I've noticed sometimes it helps me write if I pretend I am writing to someone who I am very open with.

Dear Amy,

This is my fourth year working full time in my studio and to be honest this year has been a bittersweet one with my career. So I have questioned my purpose often, and really been asking myself why a lot.  Not in a depressing, "I quit" sort of way (although I must admit I have had a couple of down days and allowed myself to sink a bit), but more in a philosophical sort of way-- why do I do what I do? What does it mean to me to be an artist?

I even questioned whether or not I could just make pretty things for people to buy because they were pretty, is that what the galleries are wanting? Is that what people are buying? Should I care about this?

I was in a festival the other day and I feel like my work was well received overall, but a lot of individual reactions were comical at the time, but also thought provoking:
"Well that's... interesting"
"I had to come take a close look at that.... never seen anything like that before"
"What... is that?"
"Why did you start cutting holes in your paintings?"
"How in the world did you come to do this?"
"I don't know much about art, but this is interesting, but what does it mean?"

Raw , the diptych that sold at the Franklin Jazz Festival 2011 Sept 3-4 in Franklin, TN with WCCAC

It was almost like being in school again in a critique and it was so good to have to explain myself and put it all together.  It really helped me connect the dots.  After questioning my career and considering what to do next, I have come to realize a few things about my perspective on art.  To me, my artwork has to be:

1. aesthetically pleasing AND conceptual (not to mention meaningful to me)
2. part of a series of pieces, thoughts, concepts (even if these overlap)
3. the process of the work is important to the meaning of each piece
4. the way each piece is presented does not have to be exactly the same

I do think that I need to put a little less pressure on myself in my studio.  It is work. art. work. but, it has to be enjoyable, inspiring, and an adventure that I am eager to stay in.  I had a portfolio review a few years back and she asked me where I wanted to go in my career-- did I want to paint stuff that people would buy to put over their couch? no, but I do want to sell my work and make a living doing what I love.  or did I want to be famous (what does this even mean nowadays?) and edgy in my work to get attention? no. not interested in political, edgy, weird, stuff that drove me insane at art school. or did I want to be the type of artist that was both and fit somewhere in between. yes, please.

Still thinking through it all...

method.

new works in progress in the studio

nothing about my life is really routine- what time I wake up in the morning, what I have to do every day, how long I need to work, finances, etc... I consider myself a pretty self-disciplined and organized individual (almost obsessively so, with way too many charts, lists, and goals to keep up with) but I do everything at random times, in spurts.  I think in a lot of ways this is positive-- I do not have your every day job where things are predictable and become mundane, but sometimes I desire more of a method.

I feel like I should have worked out a method for how I work.  In school I feel like that was some of the advice I got- begin a certain way, do the next step, keep going and adding and doing similar steps to each piece in the series and they will eventually all be resolved on their own individual levels.

But, this is hard to do when I am working the way I do.  My Spills and Coverings Series, for instance, I have been working on the series long enough you would think I would have it down but some pieces are on paper, some are on paper then glued to wood, some start on wood then I add paper fabric and thread, others begin with fabric and thread, or even plastic and thread, they are all very different processes.

all new works around 14" X 20"

I have begun working on some pieces that in my head are a new little series called "small spills" but I am debating whether or not small is a negative term.  I have tried to have more of a method of working (not an easy transition by the way) but it is going really well and I really have enjoyed making these new pieces.  I think working a little more methodically was helpful.

here is a photo of a piece in progress and you can see the solvey plastic I use to sew on that dissolves in water..

 

I am so excited!  Finally a breakthrough after being out of my studio routine for the summer and working on shows.   I am enjoying this new work and even enjoying working small, which is usually a challenge for me.  Below are my new favorite pieces:  

Above Water and Drifting