jeanne vockroth

This weekend I’ll be having my first solo show of the textile work that I’ve done since I’ve been in Florence.  The show will be up from April 2 – June 4 in a restaurant near Piazza delle Cure here in Florence. If you’re in Florence, feel free to come to the opening on April 2 and if not, send your support via the internet!  Below I’ve attached the poster and artist’s statement for the show. I’ll be posting images from the opening as well as new work within the next two weeks.

Lace in the Sky is a show of the textile designs that I have completed in Florence since my arrival last September.  Using the processes of serigraphy and batik I have continued to work with the concept of home.  I began my work in fibers last fall by combining images from New Orleans and Florence, seeking to create work reflecting my present and past senses of home.  In my current work I have begun to use decorative motifs, combining influences from Art Deco jewelry design and Japanese prints.  These intricate designs that I associate with my own childhood attempt to convey the delicacy and fragility of finding a grounded home in today’s world.  By working in non-traditional, artisanal mediums I attempt to express tranquility in detail and repetition and create work with a strong sense of craftsmanship, which is often overlooked in today’s fast-paced society of mass production.  Like a piece of lace, I hope for my work to express the aestheticism in fragility and vulnerability.

As part of my current graphic design course I am designing my own logo and logotype to represent myself as an artist.  I have created a number of different logos and have included them with their respective moodboards below. Please give me feedback!

I have finally documented and added images of my last two Batik pieces from last semester.  Here they are:

Oil Spill with Spanish Moss, Batik with Emrboidery and beading, 2010

Brunelleschi, gli Innocenti, e le cose per i Bambini in Piazza Independenza, Batik 2010

Just in case you were wondering, I haven’t dropped off of the face of the earth, and have been continuing to work in Florence.  This semester my artistic focuses have shifted and I have been focusing on graphic design work including logos and business cards to promote my own work.  Before all of that, however, I had to get reacquainted with Photoshop, which I chose to do by making a few zainy collages that I have incldued below for your viewing pleasure:

I snapped a picture of these hand towels hanging out to dry last fall in Cortona and combined them with a little embroidered bird patch that I have.  The background is a scarf that I knitted and scanned into photoshop.

The mustard background is yet another piece of my knitting that I collaged with various photos I took last Christmas of the Carousel in Piazza Repubblica in Florence.

This is my latest batiked scarf.  The design is a repition of a piece of lace that I found at the euro store.  The blue background with the golden stars is my representation of the ceiling of the Arena Chapel in Padova.  This design is common in many Rennaissance churches.

Here are images of my first completed screenprints.  These have been in progress since the beginning of September.  These were done with 3 screens (one color for each screen).

The design is a block repeat based on an original design I made of Magnolia Flowers and a Magnolia tree inside of a quatrefoil frame.

The first eight images are blue and pink prints on gold satin and the final six images are the same screens printed in variations of pink on white jersey.

Here is the latest update on my first completed batik.  The batik/silk painting is complete, the wax has been ironed out, and the piece has been laundered.  I’ve mounted the scarf onto quilt backing and now I’ve begun some embroidery and beading on the piece.  After I’m finished embellishing it, the black thread will be removed and I plan on making a fabric frame for the piece and eventually it will be a wall hanging.

This is my first project in Batik.  It is 50 cm square silk scarf with a design based on Louisiana Spanish Moss and oil globs that I saw on my trip to Pensacola last summer.