Ars domestica ending soon

Libbie Soffer returns to Philadelphia but her art work remains for a bit more time. Please call or email and set a time to see the show. I will be IN most of the time. The show runs through May 28.

ars domestica

by Libbie Soffer

through May 28

Suited for Metaphor

Suits for lean times.
A suit for the runway.

Libbie Soffer and Carolyn Halliday work at times along the edges of fashion, fashioning wearable and unwearable suits for metaphor.

ars domestica by Libbie Soffer

through May 28.

My Father's Religion by Carolyn Halliday

June 4-July 12

reception June 17, 7-9pm

Hands at Work at the Mending Soiree

Hands, hands, hands

Friday evening, the Mending Soiree met as the spring rain pelted the windows. Libbie shared her stories, people knit, sewed, operated cameras...hands always at work.

Zach Pearl was here for a wedding and a few days break from his studies in Toronto. We had a wonderful lunch together, talking about his experiences in grad school, the past, present and future of art and art criticism. Then he came by for the first part of the Mending Soiree and, just like the old days when he still worked for the gallery, he took pictures.

There is ONE MORE Mending Circle opportunity:

Monday, May 23, noon-5 pm

Fashioning the unwearable

Fashioning the unwearable

Between the dress for two with no hem and the kimono from sharp brass flashing, Libbie and Carolyn both share a love of fashion as metaphor.

ars domestica, by Libbie Soffer continues through May 28. The last Mending Circle Monday, May 23, noon-5.

My Father's Religion by Carolyn Halliday runs June 4-July 12, with an opening reception June 17, 7-9pm.

Her show is in conjunction with:

Piecework- as textiles grow

Textiles have always grown incrementally, piece by piece. When it was industrialized, workers were paid by the piece. The work of Libbie Soffer and Carolyn Halliday both reflect the reality of the repetition, the piecework inherant in women's production. In the tiny little picture of Carolyn, you see her working slowly, with both her arms in casts. She broke both her wrists during the production phase and had to piece-out some of the work to family members.

ars domestica

More Mending Circles:

Daytime circles: May 23, noon -5pm

Evening Circle: May 20, 5pm

My Father's Religion

by Carolyn Halliday

June 4-July12

opening reception June 17, 7-9

My Father's Religion is shown in conjunction with

threads and nets and wires...knitting a life

As Libbie Soffer's work in ars domestica continues to question the threads of relationship and women's work through the ages...

Carolyn Halliday's work picks up the thread and makes it hard and soft at once, knitting in copper wire of various guages, entangling nature and definitions of body and self. Carolyn will lead a dialog with Libbie Soffer on Friday, May 20, around 7pm, as part of the Mending Circle Soiree that begins at 5pm.

Carolyn will open My Father's Religion on June 17, shown in conjunction with:

There is a certain mystery that lurks here...

Just off the center of the gallery lurks a mystery: a house that neither hides, nor quite shelters space. Enclosed in this house is our basic human vulnerability. It stands like a ghost, a chimera, a reminder that our sense of control and safety is a necessary trope that allows us to live in this world. When you look through it, it softens our vision like sweet nostalgia.

ars domestica continues through the end of the month, May 28.

More Mending Circles remain. Bring your mending and your stories. Libbie Soffer will provide company, expertise or her own nimble fingers, as needed.

Mending Circle times:

May 16, 17, 18 & 23, noon-5pm

Friday, May 20, 5pm until around 7 pm when Carolyn Halliday will lead a discussion with Libbie about her work.

And, remember, the Susan Hensel Gallery is always open Monday 10-5 and on other days by very generous appointment.

A lovely opening for a lovely show

ars domestica opened Friday, May 13, to a lovely crowd. Ella Fitzgerald played in the background as stories were shared and old friendships were re-kindled.

Darning, day dreaming, sewing

Doing what our forefathers and foremothers have done...meeting together, in a circle, to mend our socks and dainties. It has always been a time to catch up on the news, the families, the stories.

It is a time to reflect on what has been and what lies ahead.
Wisdom is shared in the quiet times between the laughter.

Don't forget the opening reception of ars domestica, Friday May 13, 7-10pm.

More Mending Circles:

Daytime circles: May 16, 17,18 & 23, noon -5pm

Evening Circle: May 20, 5pm

Old Sewing Baskets

Old sewing baskets.
Well worn jeans and old stories.
Laugher, always laughter!
Old darning eggs.
Pretty, tiny things, held safely since adolescence.

Don't forget the opening reception of ars domestica, Friday May 13, 7-10pm.

More Mending Circles:

Daytime circles: May 16, 17,18 & 23, noon -5pm

Evening Circle: May 20, 5pm

Sewing Circles began

The Sewing Circles began last Friday with much storytelling, much darning of socks and a few jeans patched.

More than anything, the pleasure was in the shared time together, linking ourselves to the history of making do.

Don't forget the opening reception of ars domestica, Friday May 13, 7-10pm.

More Mending Circles:

Daytime circles: May 16, 17,18 & 23, noon -5pm

Evening Circle: May 20, 5pm