Wednesday, September 19, 2012

"JUST US AT WORK" — Project Review

























With over 1000 photos from the past 100 days in Kassel, Germany, to choose from, it is difficult to limit this summary to two dozen images. We have grouped these photos into 4 sections; Artists/Participants, Places, Art/Work, and Extended Relationships. Of course, there is cross-over in each section. Above, we focus on the three artist-collaborators who formed the core of 'just us at work' — Veronica Betani, Cebo Mvubu, and Deborah Doering. We also say 'thank you' again to those artists and artisans who spent one or two weeks working in the Amtsgericht with us: Nancy Adams, Glenn Doering, Kathryn Trumbull Fimreite, Irene Perez Gil, Shauna Hupe Angel Blue,  Denise Laurin, Magdalena Linden, and Kathryn Maple Whitten. We sincerely appreciate your contribution to 'just us at work.'

Our main workplace for 'just us at work' was the entrance hall of the Amtsgericht (Offices of Justice) on Frankfurter Straße 9 in Kassel, Germany. On our first day, June 1, 2012, we hung the "Manifest O", a 9' x 21' hand-embroidered tapestry, conceptualized by DOE Projekts, and embroidered by the artists of the Keiskamma Art Project of Hamburg, South Africa. We then began to work with the idea of the zero and one in a specific movement pattern, to create various embroideries and painted prints. By the end of our 100 day project, 35 embroideries and 40 painted prints had been created. In addition, we had over 200 sketches of various concepts and designs, and also several dozen "wax rubbings" created from stencils we hand-cut. Eight embroideries and two prints were sold during our 100 days in Kassel. Previous to the start of the project, several of the art works were promised to supporters/patrons who had pledged funds for our project. We continue to seek out opportunities to exhibit and sell the artwork; purchasing our work contributes to the ongoing work of both DOE Projekts and Keiskamma Art Project. Please contact Deborah Doering, dadamsdoering@yahoo.com, if you are interested in providing such opportunities.