Deconstructing Shawn's Shirt

From Shawn's shirt to "shirt." photos by Dorah Rosen.

I dreamed a parade!

I dreamed that all the little clothes, worn by their original owners, lined the street in front of the gallery, smiling and waving at the passing cars. They were so pleased!

Wonderful Stuff!

COMMUNION opened Saturday, April 18, with a shared meal and a wonderful discussion about art and fashion among Jon Coffelt, Carolyn G. Halliday, Kathleen Richert and Betsy Dollar.
Issues of identity and the stories we tell with our clothes were discussed.
I love the shadows cast by the little clothes!
Jon told the individual stories of many of the hand stitched clothes...like the story of Marlee; the story of the prom dress; the story of Ruth Bernhard's memorial to Stonewall; the story of Matushka's mastectomy dress designed by Versace; The soldier PJs that memorialized the "last camping trip." And so many more.

Installtion of COMMUNION has begun

Reader's Art 9 is packed and ready to ship next week. People came to see the show right up to the past possible minute. Some people called after the show closed, too late. It seems that the show built a stronger word of mouth following this year.

COMMUNION by Jon Coffelt has arrived and is being installed.



Don't forget the opening events on Saturday, April 18, starting at 5:30 pm.

Soldier PJ's

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These were Jon's pajamas when he was 6 years old. Before the time of Disney and Warner Brothers cartoon characters, boys were limited cowboys, toy soldiers and the occasional deer. Jon loved his soldier pjs dearly. Speaking of deer, his family went on a camping trip and had to take their pjs with them. It rained the whole way there and since they were pulling a boat behind the car everything in the boat became very wet. Once they set up the tent his mom thought is would be a good idea to try to dry out their clothes on the grill. For whatever reason, she chose to dry out Jon's flannel red housecoat with the deer heads first. Almost immediately they caught on fire. Luckily his soldier pajamas weren’t harmed at the time. Incidentally, after this horror and Jon's crying for a solid hour, his family decided to call it quits in the middle of the night and head home. They were tired, sad, broken hearted and very damp. It was their first and last camping trip as a family. Memories, memories.
2006

Don't forget! Reader's Art ends April 15, whether you have filed your taxes or not! Call to see the show! The gallery is open Mondays and I am here most of the other times as well...just call to make sure I do not have an off-campus meeting.

COMMUNION preview

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Juliet Blacksher, a dear friend of Jon's found out he collected antique fabrics. When she saw this 1930's silkscreen print, she bought all she could and had him make this miniature from some of it. The print is almost cubist with a 50's flair. Jon thinks artists take cues from fabrics more often than we want to imagine.
1998

#44 Camoflage

Don't Forget April 18, the opening of COMMUNION by Jon Coffelt
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Jon's cousin Lisa influenced this very sheer version of a camouflage dress. She would have worn this out on the town. This fabric was created in 1985 made of nylon mesh. Not for the faint of heart.
2000