Darlyn Susan Yee Interview

Clockwise from top left are selections from Darlyn Susan Yee’s three bodies

 of fiber artwork: Tying The Knot (detail), Body Cocoon No. 4, and

Security Blanket.

Hand knitting and manipulated machine knitting techniques are combined to create Darlyn Susan Yee’s Body Cocoon series.

In a prior interview you discussed your knotted work, which is what you are most known for. Are you still working the same way, or has there been a shift?

I’ve been working simultaneously to expand three distinct bodies of fiber work. In each, I apply traditional fiber methods to create three-dimensional forms. I continue to enjoy knotting the most. It is also the most detailed, representational and labor intensive work I create. Some of my knitted sculptures are a bit more portable at certain stages of their life cycles. This portability makes them ideal to stop and start when I am traveling. I'm also working on a series of knitted projects using and cast-off and obsolete materials such as barricade tape, correction tape, etc. These range from wall-hung pieces to freestanding sculptures.

You are still working with fiber, but how is the knitting different than the knotting?

My sculptural knotting is done with multiple strands or lengths of fiber hand tied together to form the fabric surface.

My hand knitting is generally created by using two needles and a length of yarn or string resulting in a fabric structure of interlocking loops. I also incorporate other tools, which replicate the movement of the yarn across the needles to create this flexible fabric.

What is hand manipulated machine knitting? Are these pieces hand knit, or by machine? Will you elaborate on your process?

Knitting on the machine I use is similar in nature to weaving on a hand loom. It relies on my hands to move the needles into the desired positions, and then to move the carriage across the needles to create the fabric. Once I remove the fabric from the machine, I manipulate stitches and add more knit or crochet to contour and finish the piece.

I understand that some of these pieces are just returning from an exchange exhibition in Slovakia, can you tell us about that? What was exchanged? What was the experience like? Did you go to Slovakia?

After Hours/Individual Stories was an exchange project between Orange County Center for Contemporary Art in Santa Ana and Galéria Z in Bratislava, Slovakia. It was exciting to assist in unpacking the crates of Slovakian artwork for display at OCCCA. And it was so wonderful to meet some of the Slovak artists in attendance at the exhibition. Unfortunately, I was unable to travel to Slovakia, but from the reception photos, the artwork sent by OCCCA artists was as well received as the Slovakian artwork was received here in the US.

What's next?

I really enjoy fiber processes. I plan to continue applying traditional techniques to take my work in exciting new directions. I’m in the design phase on a very large-scale project. And I'm anxiously awaiting the publication of my first book, Macramé Today: Contemporary Knotting Techniques, in July 2011.

Darlyn Susan Yee

Darlyn Susan Yee's exhibition opens February 1, 2011.

Best of TAG Opening Reception

On Saturday, January 8, TAG Gallery artists hosted the opening reception of BEST OF TAG, the annual group exhibition of its members. Guests enjoyed wine and cheese as they viewed the exhibition which features a vibrant mix of styles, subject matter and media. BEST OF TAG continues through January 22, 2011.





Gallery hours are Tuesday through Saturday 11am - 5pm, Sundays 12 noon - 4pm.

An Interview With Betty Sheinbaum

Reclining Woman and Greek Statues
oil on canvas 40 x 30"
Betty Sheinbaum

Betty Sheinbaum's rich variety of images reflect her 40 plus years of dedication and passion to life and art.


Your work is bursting with color and motion, are you working with large brushes? How do you choose your palette?

I work with small and medium brushes. Color reflects emotions – since most of my paintings have happy subjects, I use bright cheerful colors and color combinations.

Describe your process if you will, do you do drawings first, or go directly to paint?

I take many photographs and I use them mostly as my “inspiration.” I also love working from a model. I do lots of drawings before starting a painting.

How do you choose your subjects – is your own life reflected in your work?

I hope my life is reflected in my work. However, I am very tuned into our political and economic climate and find them inexplicable and depressing. I turn toward happier moments in one’s life out of self-defense!

Tell me about your figurative work – many of the poses do not include faces, or heads. Are you preserving the privacy of the model, or are you making a statement?

I wasn’t conscious that I wasn’t using faces in my smaller paintings, but I do love portraits, particularly in the larger paintings. I like working with different media and particularly mixed media paintings.


Waiting
mixed media, newspaper on canvas 24 x 30"Betty Sheinbaum

You’ve been painting for much of your life, how have you managed to carve out time for artmaking? Has it ever interfered with your “normal” life, or vice versa?

I became an artist during my time as a young wife and mother. I had studied art and
loved using my hands to express myself. I had some encouragement from my art teachers and while bringing up 4 children, I found I could work at home on projects.

After the children grew up, I took several art classes at UCLA extension and became
more and more involved both with painting and sculpting. I loved sculpture and spent 10 years as a welder working on taking cars apart and making abstract people and animals. This was physically taxing and at age 60 I had to give it up and go back to painting. I love color, which is such a great element of painting, but I like 3 dimensions better in sculpture.

What do you like about painting? About being an artist?

Being an artist satisfies my need to do something alone. I love people and their activities and relationships. I love using color. I’m intrigued by shapes and compositions which are always an interesting challenge. There is so much to learn about myself and others. Painting is a method of looking for better understanding. However, there is always so much more to learn and to try. I never feel that I achieve enough. I will never feel as though I have reached a goal (one that I have set for myself). This is both discouraging and exciting. The end result of a painting is for me, and I am the one I care most about pleasing. As a painter, I can live in an amazing, beautiful, intriguing world – one in which I am constantly learning something new.

Betty Sheinbaum's retrospective exhibition at TAG Gallery begins Sunday, January 23, 2011.


Betty Sheinbaum