Playing Up Downstairs | Eleanor Anderson, 2019

April 5-May 26th, 2019

Eleanor Anderson, Playing Up Downstairs
Praxis Artist-in-Residence
I approach my work across mediums with as much room as possible for continuous recalibration. When I sit down to weave, I compose on the loom without a preconceived drawing in mind. I strive to honor a tradition with nimble improvisation and a sense of intuitive impulse. The moment in the process when I choose my colors and materials gives me joy and satisfaction.

I am often unsure where the idea begins and what the end result might be: did the sculpture inform the surface of the cup? Is the loom a tool or part of a piece? Is this best executed hard or soft, delicate or strong? Sometimes the “OR” is not helpful: I am learning in my studio practice to say “Both/And” more often.

This body of work was made at 4 different studios, in 3 different states (Colorado College, Women’s Studio Workshop, Brick Ceramics & Praxis Fiber Studio).  I love landing in a new place, responding to the available glazes, types of looms or perhaps the perfect cone of yarn given to you by a friend who is trying to clean her closet. I am inspired by the artists working around me and the ideas and techniques picked up through osmosis and conversation.

The grid is a metaphor for something distinctly human made. It references my love for textiles: warp and weft, and my attraction to compulsive accumulation of marks, order and control. But what about a grid that cannot be forced into right angles? I use this soft grid to invite you, the viewer, to perhaps be a little softer as well, more vulnerable and playful.

I want to dedicate the show to my family, particularly my parents who let me be their roommate for the past 6 weeks while I was an Artist-in-Residence here at Praxis Fiber Studio. Thank you Mom, Dad and Claire for always being my support system.

Thank you for coming to see the work.

With gratitude,

Eleanor

BIO

Eleanor Anderson graduated from Colorado College in 2012 where she studied printmaking and fibers. She works across a broad range of media including ceramics, textiles, prints and collage. She has been a resident at the Textile Arts Center is Brooklyn, NY and the 9th Semester Fellow in Design at Colorado College and a resident at the Women’s Studio Workshop in Rosendale, NY. Most recently she finished a two year Core Fellowship at Penland School of Crafts in Penland, North Carolina.
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