Join us in YorkArts’ Gallery Thursday, June 12, 6-8pm as we celebrate the opening of 2014′s solo exhibition: “Game Change”, Artwork by Polly Stetler . Attendees are invited meet the artist and preview the exhibit over light refreshments provided by The Accomac Inn.  The event is free and all are encouraged to attend.

About the Exhibit…

Art-making oftentimes relies on the Artist’s courage to deviate from their comfort zone, explore new techniques, and their willingness to spend weeks on a single project just to find that it might look better cut-up into little pieces.  When an Artist is courageous enough to take risks with their work creativity abounds and “game changes” happen.

Featured Artist, Polly Stetler is no stranger “game changes” :

“Game Change” has become a metaphor for my work. I want to be true to my cut and pieced work, yet I want to remain flexible and open to new ideas and opportunities.  I enjoy and rely on the familiar, yet crave the world of possibilities, within reason.

In thinking about game changes, I decided that game changes happen all the time.  In my quilting, a class with quilt artist Nancy Crow changed me from a traditional quilter to a contemporary quilter.  When a class held downstairs from that class taught hand dyeing of fabrics, hand-dyeing became the heart of my work.  When a blog I read regularly showed the flour-paste resist process, I was immediately taken with its many possibilities.  The list goes on.

This exhibition features many of Polly’s newest, never-before-exhibited pieces , as well as a selection of older works consisting of pieced work using curvilinear strip-piecing techniques, quilts from her “cross purposes” series, and some earlier free-hand cut pieces.

Game Change will be on display at YorkArts Gallery June 12-August 2, 2014. Gallery Hours are Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays 10am-2pm, First Fridays: 5-9pm, or by appointment. YorkArts will be closed for First Friday in July due to the holiday.

 

Artist’s Statement/Polly Stetler

When I create a quilt, I focus on line, shape, color and balance, the same issues that every artist struggles with regardless of medium.  In my work, I freehand cut my fabrics and assemble them by machine.  I prefer to hand quilt my work because I enjoy the contrast between the crisp edges of the machine piecing and the organic look of the hand sewing.  I have chosen to machine quilt some pieces when the edginess of the machine work either enhances the work or has no impact at all.

My work begins with the creation of the fabrics I use; I use some commercial fabrics, but mostly hand dye my own solid colors (except black and white).  I am presently exploring surface design techniques such as shibori and other resist processes, and discharge.  These techniques have opened my work to gesture and mark-making, which has been described as a cross between drawing and writing.

I focus on non-representational, abstract work.  My new pieces for this show include two large works that seem to have developed into narrative work, while the small pieces are purely abstract in nature.  I am continuing to work with curvilinear strip-piecing as well.