Book cover, my piece on left

I am honored to be included with the artists featured in this book! Curated and written by Martha Sielman, Executive Director of the Studio Art Quilt Association, each of the artists has a generous 10-page spread.

A touring exhibition of work featured in this book begins with the International Quilt Festival, Houston TX in November 2011. A full itinerary of the tour and links to exhibit venues can be found on the Studo Art Quilt Association website.

Christy, Karin, and Nancy

“A Summer of Sandhill Cranes” featured the fiber art of Karin Franzen, ceramic tile art by Nancy Hausle-Johnson, and art photography by Christy Yuncker Happ. The exhibit focused on the life cycle and behavior of a pair of Sandhill Cranes that nest in George and Christy’s front yard every year. Visit the Christy Yuncker Photo Journal for more photos, videos, a blog, etc. George Happ produced a three part video walk-through of the exhibit which focused on each piece in sequence with a verbal explanation of the behavior exhibited in the piece. George apologizes for the background noise – the video was made for Christy’s mother, not for professional reasons, but he’s given his consent to provide links here. They are very informative and give a good sense of what the exhibit looked like!
View “Summer of Sandhill Cranes” Part 1
View “Summer of Sandhill Cranes” Part 2
View “Summer of Sandhill Cranes” Part 3

A Time to Dance - July 2nd

A Time To Dance – July 2nd was selected by curators Linda Fowler and Tracy Rieger of Quilt Surface Design Symposium for the exhibit “Happiness: Quilted Expressions” at the Ohio Arts Council Riffe Gallery in Columbus, OH.

Quietus

Broken Calm

Juror David Allen Sibley, ornithologist, author, and artist selected “Quietus” and “Broken Calm” for this multi-media exhibition.

A Time to Dance - April 28th

In November of 2010, A Time to Dance – April 28th was aquired by the Pratt Museum in Homer, AK for their collection.

Poster Art Thin Ice by Fred Freer

“In a Time of Change” is a collaboration of visual and performing artists, writers, and scientists working together to integrate scientific and artistic perspectives on climate change in interior Alaska. For the 2010 event, “Envisioning the Future”, artists joined sceintists for field workshops at the UAF Bonanza Creek (BNZ) Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) stations. The scientists shared information about ecological processes, long term trends, and potential environmental impacts. Informed by a broader understanding of ecology, artists were asked to share their vision of a future Alaska, which culminated in an art exhibit featuring 24 Alaskan visual artists and public performances featuring original theater, dance, readings and music.

Photo by James Barker

Photo by James Barker

Photo by James Barker

Photo by James Barker

Photo by James Barker

At left are five photos of the 2010 gallery exhibit.

Sponsors for the 2010 event:
National Science Foundation
UAF BNZ LTER
UAF Collaborative Council
US Forest Service
UAF Inst. of Arctic Biology
Fairbanks Arts Assoc.

History: 2007 to 2009
A detailed description and photos of the In a Time of Change program can be viewed on the LTER website. The website includes photos and descriptions from the 2010 workshops, but has not been updated to include the gallery exhibit or stage performance.

The program was born in September of 2007 when Bonanza Creek LTER hosted its first field workshop for writers, musicians, dancers, visual artists and scientists The group of writers, artists and BNZ scientists visited Caribou Poker Creek Research Watershed (CPCRW), within BNZ LTER, to observe forest burned from a recent year of severe wildfires, melting permafrost and the plants inhabiting the site. This workshop culminated in a public performance in March of 2008 entitled In a Time of Change, which focused on climate change and wildfire in interior Alaska.

The second BNZ LTER artist-scientist field trip (August, 2008) took participants on a boat trip down the Tanana River to explore the floodplain ecosystem. In 2009, a middle school course, entitled Climate Change and Creative Expression, was offered for early college credit at a local Alaska native charter school, which combined field and classroom science with creative writing and dance training, and culminated in a multi-media performance and book of poetry developed and performed by students for the public, entitled The Earth is Changing, Whatcha Gonna Do?

Dance piece is suspended above dancers

During the summer of 2010 I worked with the dance troup, Deliquescent Designs, to create this thirty foot diameter dance piece assembled from over 200 yards of silk organza. Using Procion MX dyes and a low-water immersion technique, I dyed it to resemble black and green lichens growing on a white rock.

Dance piece is lowered.

The dance troupe used it in their performances at the NY Fringe Festival in August 2012 and at “In a Time of Change: Envisioning the Future” in Fairbanks, AK, September 2010. The dance performed with this piece depicted the stages of methane gas as is transforms through its elemental stages of earth (trapped in permafrost underlying arctic ponds), water (released into arctic pond when permafrost thaws), air (released into the atmosphere), and fire (as a greenhouse gas that promotes climate warming). Photos were taken by Dennis McKinley at the NY Fringe Festival and are being used with permission by dancer Mary Beth Leigh.

Globe Trotters

“Globetrotters” was selected for the recently completed Fairbanks International Airport through the Percent for the Arts program. Sandhill Cranes are one of the most notable migratory species of birds in Alaska, in keeping with the Airport theme of migration. The piece is installed in the stairwell leading up to the Administrative Offices, which are open to the public during normal business hours.

Intimate Gathering

“Intimate Gathering” was commissioned by Bill Stringer for the Noel Wien Library in memory of his wife Sandra. It was installed during the summer of 2010 in the conference room dedicated to Sandra Stringer. Bill requested that the piece feature the sandhill cranes at Creamers Field in Fairbanks, a favorite of Sandra’s.

Pieces number 1 and 2 in a series of 9 pieces.

Pieces number 3, 4, 5, and 6 in a series of 9 pieces.

Pieces number 7, 8 and 9 in a series of 9 pieces.

“A Time to Dance” is a series of 9 pieces that depict the unfolding dance of an adult sandhill crane during its stay in Alaska – from late April through early September. The pieces are shown here at an exhibit at the Bunnell Street Gallery in Homer, AK in May of 2010. They were originally created for a 2008 exhibit at IGCA in Anchorage, AK. In 2009, they were exhibited at the LaConner Quilt and Textile Museum in LaConner, WA. Their final showing will be at the Bear Gallery in Fairbanks, AK in June of 2011.

For detailed information about all of the pieces, scroll down to the original post for the 2008 exhibit at IGCA and select “Read More”. You will find full size photos there as well.