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| Dorothy Caldwell Canyon 2012 stitched cotton earth ochre 13 x 17 inches |
I just finished reading the article in the recent SAQA journal. It is very well done and I believe that it respects your work and long career. Congratulations.
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| Dorothy Caldwell detail of Canyon |
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| Dorothy Caldwell Before the Glaciers Melt plant dyed with stitching and applique 14 x 17.5 inches |
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| Dorothy Caldwell detail of Before the Glaciers Melt |
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| Dorothy Caldwell Looking Up / Looking Down 2016 dyed in the Australian outback with iron oxide and eucalyptus printed and stitched cotton, 55 x 59 inches |
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| Dorothy Caldwell detail of Looking Up / Looking Down |
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| Dorothy Caldwell detail of Looking Up / Looking Down |
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| Dorothy Caldwell New Growth in Pink Earth 2016 stitched cotton, pink earth ochre 17.5 x 15.25 inches |
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| Dorothy Caldwell detail of New Growth in Pink Earth |
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| Dorothy Caldwell detail of New Growth in Pink Earth |
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| Dorothy Caldwell Silent Fog / Listening 2016 stitched cotton with ink wash 11.25 x 14.5 inches |
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| Dorothy Caldwell Crossing the River 2016 plant dyed and stitched linen 12.5 x 9.25 inches |
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| Dorothy Caldwell Outcrop 2012 stitched cotton with earth ochre 13 x 17 inches |
"A stitch is a mark like any other mark. It is a dot, a line, a texture.
One of my questions is how the mark made with a needle and thread is similar to or different from a drawn or painted mark.
The act of stitching involves the small muscles of the hand while seated. In contrast, a painter may use his or her entire body to make a mark.
I often think about how to make an energetic stitch - a stitch with a sense of gesture."
Dorothy Caldwell
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| Dorothy Caldwell detail of Outcrop |
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Judy
14 comments:
thank you for this post.
I was also writing to say thank you-I appreciate your candor and opinions on the work! Thanks for sharing
interesting. i can picture slinging threads out in an arc, and the energy you sense from that, as it flies through the air. and then stitching the threads down where they fall. but will you still sense the energy?
A very personal post for you Judy. I say this because of how I see your stitch work being as much about the gesture as it is about the cloth thread fiber that you gather together through time. It is the gesture and intent that is made visible through a physical form. And don't you just want to touch those surface.
Thank you Judy for these pictures........
Awe is a word I tend to avoid using but it's what I feel when I see Dorothy Caldwell's work.
interesting thoughts on the energy of the gestural mark and response to the materials through process. The stitched line in cloth holds a sculptural relationship to the surface rather like relief carving, the moment of freedom & fluency, the energy of the work is in those first roughed in lines, strong and firm, trembling and tenuous, clear or seen though a glass darkly
Love Dorothy Caldwell's work and it is wonderful to see so many pieces here. Thankd you for the mini survey.
I love the idea of gestural stitching - it has a feeling of largesse. My own work always seems to end up very tiny and restrictive no matter how hard I try to free it up.I'm inspired to make more of an effort to be bigger!
This idea of a body's gesture being translated into the fine-motor realm of hand stitch is powerful and requires a certain amount of courage to follow through on.
Most of the pieces by Dorothy Caldwell in this particular post are small - measuring around 12 inches by 17 inches or less. The exception is the piece looking up / looking down. However, even at small scale she is able to place energetic marks on small grounds, so it's not the size of her work that engages our haptic sense and our body's recognition, it is her masterful placement of shape and space, and those energetic marks.
I swoon.
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Thank you Judy for introducing me to this beautiful work.
So beautifully said, Judy - and while your remarks say about everything that many of us feel as we stand in front of Dorothy's special, thought provoking and very moving work, there is always more...
The line, the depth of practice and her well-honed and devoted knowledge and recognized willing to share, evident as the work speaks... it drives the viewer inside to breath in the marks and follow the courageous placement of the 'repairs'. She lives in her artwork, bringing it to each of us as a gift, an offering.
I love to read your posts and think of your work in the same breath as a remarkable experience. I celebrate your sisterhood in understanding and living art very well.
bethany
judy! this is marvelous, thank you.
what a great post, her work is simply amazing and enjoyed your comments so very much.. x
Great post!
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