Shadows of My Father's Religion

My Father's Religion, by Carolyn Halliday, drifts to a close, July 12. Do call to squeeze in an appointment.

The trees cast their mesmerizing shadows at all times of the day.

Opening Reception June 17

Carolyn Halliday uses the vocabulary and skills of textiles to sculpt forms that often reference body and/or nature. She hand knits wire and other nontraditional materials into forms that often grow from simple elements of nature and life’s daily debris. With her work, she magnifies nature,and references concepts of the feminine through the female form and domesticity.

My Father’s Religion grew from her experience growing up with a father who loved the woods. Her father’s religion was in the woods. The family spent all of their free time in the Northern Woods. At the time Carolyn would have preferred to stay in a hotel. Nonetheless, her father passed his religion onto her.

My Father's Religion is an installation that explores the calligraphic nature of a knit line, pays homage to the sanctuary of the woods, and questions if art, as in the Byzantium, can transform life. This installation is laid out like a Byzantine church(cross shape)The reference to the Byzantine church comes from her fascination with the idea that the images created for the church, during the Byzantium, were allegedly so powerfully beautiful that they converted people to Christianity. Can art or the beauty of nature transform one today?

Opening Reception, June 17, 7-9pm

shown in conjunction with:

It is a process

Carolyn Halliday loves process. She emailed me last week about how much fun she was having in the studio, knitting trees, getting ready. Of course, that was before the usual pre-show panic that all of us artists experience....the sense of running out of time, the self doubt, the tired body, weird dreams.

The main exhibition is complete.The temporary hooks are removed, the lights are adjusted, the shadows are cast. This week, in the run-up to the Surface Design Conference visits on Thursday, Carolyn will be working on the window installation of silver trees.

And I will be ironing muslin to drape the table and the various distracting aspects of the studio. And, making ice for the hot days ahead.

Susan Hensel Gallery is open on Mondays, 10-5. Other days it is wise to call ahead and make an appointment.

The gallery will also be open Thursday, June 9, 10-5.

Open Now: My Father's Religion June 4- July 12 Opening Reception: June 17, 7-9pm

shown in conjunction with:

Of nature and manmade materials...

Silver Birch Coffee Pot by Carolyn Halliday

Tell me about the role the natural world plays in your work.

I've been inundated my whole life with nature; grew up in a family that spent all of our free time outdoors, camping, etc. All we ever talked about was what bird we had seen, or what might be blooming. I birthed a son who has been obsessed with nature since her was 8 months. So the natural world is a constant source of material and inspiration for my work. Now that I have 2 ecologists/biologists in my family----my son and his soon to be wife, I am actively collaborating with them on work. They inspired the work Druse, referencing the danger of zebra mussels as invasive species. (Made of knit wire with zebra mussel shells) And I am very currently working on pieces that reference Darwin. Part of the point of My Father's Religion, is the necessity of preserving woodlands.

Where does the title My Father's Religion come from?

My Father’s Religion grew from my experience growing up with a father who loved the woods. My father’s religion was in the woods. The family spent all of their free time in the Northern Woods. At the time I would have preferred to stay in a hotel. Nonetheless, my father passed his religion onto me.

Open Now: My Father's Religion June 4- July 12 Opening Reception: June 17, 7-9pm

shown in conjunction with:

The interview continued...

Mango Seed Quilt by Carolyn Halliday

When did you become interested in knitting with wire?

Around 1996, when Minneapolis was hosting Convergence for the Hand weaver's Guild of America, I was very involved (as a volunteer) with the art wear show. A woman named Kerry McDermot from Arizona, had 2 machine knit copper garments in the show. Something clicked for me and I thought th

at was the coolest thing ever. I went into our basement in search of wire, found some florist wire, and knit a doll.

Dolls? Where did that lead?

So then I got intrigued with non traditional materials. Because I am frequently outside walking and grew up often in the woods, I started collecting stuff that might be used for knitting (tree roots) or was inspired by stuff to work into knitting (sticks, rocks). The tradition of basket making, and the range of materials being used in that textile medium, has influenced me. I also was intrigued with the challenging of shaping and knitting----for example--hmmm-how would I knit that vase shape; how would a make a knit box, etc. The transparency, shadow play,and rigidity of wire were all exciting explorations for me.

Somewhere in all of this, I moved away from the folk art sensibility into work that was increasingly conceptual. I was always seeking and learning and looking for the melding of textile and craft into the world of fine art---a split that continues to intrigue me.

Opening Soon:

My Father's Religion

June 4- July 12

Opening Reception: June 17, 7-9pm

shown in conjunction with:

A Little Background, Please

Love Song, by Carolyn Halliday

Carolyn Halliday, whose upcoming show My Father's Religion, hangs this week, responded to some questions I emailed her. So, over the next few days, I will share her responses with you.

When did yo learn to knit?

My mom taught me the basics of knitting when I was 8. I don't remember knitting particulars, other than a sweater of sorts for the cat, who preferred not to wear it. As a girl, I was expected to learn the domestic arts, and I did and wanted to learn them all, although I was always pretty imperfect in my skills. In JH home ec, I was told I knit wrong, and relearned knitting. Being left handed, I apparently developed a left handed way to knit (which is now handy to use) but I ripped out the whole sweater that I was working on for the school assignment, so I could re-knit it "correctly".

I remember seeing a spinning wheel at your house. Do you spin?

I saw someone spinning for the first time when I was 17, and I thought it was sheer magic. I was smitten with the idea of making thread from a scrap of fluff. But I didn't see anyone spin again until I learned to spin around 1978, and began using my hand spun for knitting and weaving. (I learned to weave around the same time, in the Portland Parks and Recreation Dept---they offered weaving!) Around 1988, I made a teddy bear of my hand spun for a pregnant friend, and got interested in dimensional knitting. So I started doing other animals, especially fueled by my son, who would tell me, "Now make a cow." I made a few different animals and dolls of hand spun and started to sell them at craft shows, like St Cate's. I should mention that when I moved back to Mpls in December of 1981, I immediately joined the Weaver's Guild of Minnesota, and have been forever grateful for the welcoming community and many classes and opportunities that grounded my early artistic attempts. Through the Weaver's Guild of Minnesota, and then the Textile Center, I learned much about dying, surface design, spinning, felting, paper making.

Opening Soon:

My Father's Religion

June 4- July 12

Opening Reception: June 17, 7-9pm

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