Handcrafted Locally and Destined to Last a Lifetime
This article was written by Cindy Cotte Griffiths and posted on May 16, 2010.
Rockville is fortunate to have several working artist studios at VisArts, where artisans produce works of real originality.
Our throw-away consumerism might finally be waning. People are carefully considering where they spend their money and desire quality instead of quantity. Sales of handcrafted items and artwork have been strong as people seek finer, well-made pieces. Rockville is fortunate to have working artist studios in VisArts at Rockville where the artisans take their work beyond any run-of-the-mill notions to produce real originality. The more you know these artists and their work, the more you’ll appreciate the possibilities.
Mimi Harris
When she was a little girl, Mimi Harris lost a charm in the shape of a tiny pair of workable scissors while running home from the 10 cents store in Takoma Park. She never forgot. As an adult she spent her time searching through shops to find a replacement. If she hadn’t lost the scissors, she might not be creating with antiques. She specializes in jewelry designed with antique trinkets from the late 1800’s, particularly pin backs which were used for advertisements. She also includes plastic items from the gumball machines of the 30’s and 40’s and the parts from dissembled clocks. Her whimsical pieces can be completely personalized. Phrases can even be etched on dangling metal tags.
She laughs at herself when she’s making the necklaces, bracelets and earrings referring to them as fragments of her imagination. Since she’s constantly exploring, it’s no surprise Mimi also uses natural objects. She has created necklaces out of snake vertebrate, raccoon penis bones, tulip poplar stamen, coral and sea beads. Pieces can be cast in gold to be dressy or in leather for a casual look. This is the beauty of the creative process by a real artisan. Her newest twist is carving and cutting cuttlebone, then casting it in silver. Mimi and her studio mate Pam Hill-Bryne are also experimenting with precious metal clay for jewelry. Silver, bronze, copper and gold are produced in the form of clay which can be shaped before being placed in a kiln to burn away the unwanted elements, producing a precious metal piece in any shape. Mimi creates things that make her smile and you will too.
Judith Heartsong
Judith Heartsong has been painting for 29 years yet she notices a change. No longer content to simply purchase a painting and disappear, people are signing up for the newsletter, returning for conversation and attending her shows. These relationships allow her paintings to have meaning. Sharing the history makes her paintings special and patrons take the story with them. Judith enjoys nature studies, florals and birds and considers herself fortunate to be able to paint what she likes. She takes 2-3 commissions per year which often force her out of her comfort zone. She’ll find herself wondering “What will I do with that?”
Throughout her life growing up near Erie and living in Florida, she’s always been near bodies of water. Her current study of Delaware shorebirds exhibits her intrigue with waterways and reminds us of our environmental stewardship. She’s fascinated with the different birds which come together into a group on the shoreline but act like their individual breeds. The Red Knots in the right of her painting migrate from the southern tip of South America to the Arctic. They stop on the Delaware Shore where she has painted them eating the tiny green horseshoe crab eggs among the pebbles. The authenticity of the scene required “tons” of photos over the years combined with bird references and stories. The Red Knots are endangered and may not survive another 5 years. Learning about their fate makes the painting even more poignant.
If Judith wakes up inspired to create something different like a mixed-media piece, her work will go in that direction for the day. Her bright, sunny windowed studio invites patrons to join her on this journey. Prints and note cards have also been popular and provide an affordable alternative for taking pleasure in her work.
Fiber Art Studio
How much thought do you give to the material of our clothing? How is thread made? Do you know what felt is? Last month VisArts removed the smaller gallery in the studio area and converted it into a fiber art studio which is now shared by eight established artists from the area who can help answer these questions.
Two of the artists, Anne Sanderoff-Walker and Jeanne Bohlen, have added very meaningful pieces to the tables, benches and closets decorating the studio. Anne has brought along her first loom which she assembled from a kit 20 years ago to use during a time when she needed to stay home and recover from surgery. Even though she has others, she has never stopped weaving with this 4-harness loom. Jeanne has the very first spinning wheel on display.
After taking a workshop and constructing a hand spindle, she had an overwhelming wish to purchase the spinning wheel in a shop window. When Christmas money arrived during a tough economic time for her family, she was able to purchase the object of her desire and start spinning. The artisans’ willingness to share their most precious possessions expresses how much they love teaching about their crafts.
Anne Sanderoff-Walker
“Seeing something constructed under my hands” is what drives Anne Sanderoff-Walker as she creates her woven textiles. She goes out of her comfort zone when weaving to try new and different ideas. On the very first day in VisArts she took advantage of the shiny new studio table and dyed a lovely pink pattern on a white scarf she had woven at home. She’s currently working on a cityscape, “Mirage At Sunset”, by weaving buildings into the scarf pattern with black weft thread. The warp was treated with fiber-reactive dye in the studio to produce the blue, purple and reds for this fun experiment. The colors change as she weaves. All of her scarves, jackets and vests adorn the body invoking a personal style with unparalleled chic.
Anne also makes legacy quilt wall hangings with family trees for a child’s room and personalized prayer shawls in chosen colors for bar/bat mitzvahs. She creates wedding canopies with double tree designs which can incorporate bits of family wedding gowns or other sentimental cloth pieces. Each of Anne’s unique designs will be cherished for a lifetime.
Jeanne B (Bohlen)
If I didn’t have a full explanation from Jeanne Bohlen about the 4-day Shibori process to begin to make a seamless felt jacket, I would never appreciate the work, time and creativity required to mesh wool together with silk to produce felt. Felting is making a textile without weaving. Wool is wet and agitated until it joins by shrinking after turning and kneading.
Jeanne came to her art indirectly after being an information professional. She started to make yarn in 1972 because her grandmother taught her to knit and she wanted her yarn to have texture. Afterwards she learned natural dying techniques. Explanations from artists in their studios give value to their creations. This is why the working studios are so important. It’s not just an item, it’s a whole education.
All of the artists also educate each other by attending workshops and sharing techniques. Together they inspire innovative frontiers. As Jeanne explained, the space at VisArts allows artisans the freedom to think “What would happen if ?” and realize they can try anything. You never know where they might lead you when you enter the VisArts world.
Mimi Harris
Mimi Harris
When she was a little girl, Mimi Harris lost a charm in the shape of a tiny pair of workable scissors while running home from the 10 cents store in Takoma Park. She never forgot. As an adult she spent her time searching through shops to find a replacement. If she hadn’t lost the scissors, she might not be creating with antiques. She specializes in jewelry designed with antique trinkets from the late 1800’s, particularly pin backs which were used for advertisements. She also includes plastic items from the gumball machines of the 30’s and 40’s and the parts from dissembled clocks. Her whimsical pieces can be completely personalized. Phrases can even be etched on dangling metal tags.
Jewelry by Mimi Harris (photo on left by Mimi Harris)
She laughs at herself when she’s making the necklaces, bracelets and earrings referring to them as fragments of her imagination. Since she’s constantly exploring, it’s no surprise Mimi also uses natural objects. She has created necklaces out of snake vertebrate, raccoon penis bones, tulip poplar stamen, coral and sea beads. Pieces can be cast in gold to be dressy or in leather for a casual look. This is the beauty of the creative process by a real artisan. Her newest twist is carving and cutting cuttlebone, then casting it in silver. Mimi and her studio mate Pam Hill-Bryne are also experimenting with precious metal clay for jewelry. Silver, bronze, copper and gold are produced in the form of clay which can be shaped before being placed in a kiln to burn away the unwanted elements, producing a precious metal piece in any shape. Mimi creates things that make her smile and you will too.
Judith Heartsong
Judith Heartsong painting the pink
Judith Heartsong has been painting for 29 years yet she notices a change. No longer content to simply purchase a painting and disappear, people are signing up for the newsletter, returning for conversation and attending her shows. These relationships allow her paintings to have meaning. Sharing the history makes her paintings special and patrons take the story with them. Judith enjoys nature studies, florals and birds and considers herself fortunate to be able to paint what she likes. She takes 2-3 commissions per year which often force her out of her comfort zone. She’ll find herself wondering “What will I do with that?”
Judith Heartsong's painting of Red Knots and other Delaware shore birds
Throughout her life growing up near Erie and living in Florida, she’s always been near bodies of water. Her current study of Delaware shorebirds exhibits her intrigue with waterways and reminds us of our environmental stewardship. She’s fascinated with the different birds which come together into a group on the shoreline but act like their individual breeds. The Red Knots in the right of her painting migrate from the southern tip of South America to the Arctic. They stop on the Delaware Shore where she has painted them eating the tiny green horseshoe crab eggs among the pebbles. The authenticity of the scene required “tons” of photos over the years combined with bird references and stories. The Red Knots are endangered and may not survive another 5 years. Learning about their fate makes the painting even more poignant.
If Judith wakes up inspired to create something different like a mixed-media piece, her work will go in that direction for the day. Her bright, sunny windowed studio invites patrons to join her on this journey. Prints and note cards have also been popular and provide an affordable alternative for taking pleasure in her work.
Fiber Art Studio
Two of the eight area artists who create in the Fiber Art Studio at VisArts
How much thought do you give to the material of our clothing? How is thread made? Do you know what felt is? Last month VisArts removed the smaller gallery in the studio area and converted it into a fiber art studio which is now shared by eight established artists from the area who can help answer these questions.
Two of the artists, Anne Sanderoff-Walker and Jeanne Bohlen, have added very meaningful pieces to the tables, benches and closets decorating the studio. Anne has brought along her first loom which she assembled from a kit 20 years ago to use during a time when she needed to stay home and recover from surgery. Even though she has others, she has never stopped weaving with this 4-harness loom. Jeanne has the very first spinning wheel on display.
Anne Sanderoff-Walker models a hand-dyed, hand-woven scarf she created
Anne Sanderoff-Walker
“Seeing something constructed under my hands” is what drives Anne Sanderoff-Walker as she creates her woven textiles. She goes out of her comfort zone when weaving to try new and different ideas. On the very first day in VisArts she took advantage of the shiny new studio table and dyed a lovely pink pattern on a white scarf she had woven at home. She’s currently working on a cityscape, “Mirage At Sunset”, by weaving buildings into the scarf pattern with black weft thread. The warp was treated with fiber-reactive dye in the studio to produce the blue, purple and reds for this fun experiment. The colors change as she weaves. All of her scarves, jackets and vests adorn the body invoking a personal style with unparalleled chic.
Anne Sanderoff-Walker on the loom in the Fiber Art Studio at VisArts
Anne also makes legacy quilt wall hangings with family trees for a child’s room and personalized prayer shawls in chosen colors for bar/bat mitzvahs. She creates wedding canopies with double tree designs which can incorporate bits of family wedding gowns or other sentimental cloth pieces. Each of Anne’s unique designs will be cherished for a lifetime.
Jeanne B (Bohlen)
Jeanne Bohlen shows off the beginnings of a felt jacket
Jeanne came to her art indirectly after being an information professional. She started to make yarn in 1972 because her grandmother taught her to knit and she wanted her yarn to have texture. Afterwards she learned natural dying techniques. Explanations from artists in their studios give value to their creations. This is why the working studios are so important. It’s not just an item, it’s a whole education.
Beautifully colored yarn created in the Fiber Art Studio
All of the artists also educate each other by attending workshops and sharing techniques. Together they inspire innovative frontiers. As Jeanne explained, the space at VisArts allows artisans the freedom to think “What would happen if ?” and realize they can try anything. You never know where they might lead you when you enter the VisArts world.
