Liminal: of or relating to a transitional or initial stage of a process.
Liminal: occupying a position at, or on both sides of, a boundary or threshold.
I'm currently on a plane making my way up to San Francisco where I'll hook up with my wonderful friend, Liz Kalloch. One of our pieces from our Liminal Series, created during the two-week collaborative art residency we did last summer, is part of the pop-up abstract contemporary art exhibit TAG, opening this Saturday.
The Liminal Series focused on the idea of “pattern as language” and how patterns have been used throughout time as a practical (and critical) communication tool while at the same time rooted in aesthetic beauty and creative expression. Patterns have been used to teach, tell stories, identify, and claim identity. They have held secrets, history, and vital information. Patterns are in and of themselves their own alphabet.
Native Americans wove creation stories in baskets. The women of the Aran Islands (Ireland) knitted clan patterns into sweaters that not only kept their fishermen warm and dry but also identified them should they be lost at sea. Quilts identified safe houses and laid out routes to freedom along the Underground Railroad.
In creating this series, Liz and I took a “call and response” approach — starting with one artist’s pattern then the other artist “answering” that pattern with her own. The series plays off our mediums (painting and marbling) and reflects designs steeped in tradition but still born from our own voices.
If you'd like to see one of the Liminal Series pieces, it will be on display at Mark Drive Studios (11 Mark Drive, San Rafael, CA) this Saturday from 3 p.m. - 8 p.m. with an artist reception from 5 p.m. - 8 p.m.
Stay tuned for more news from Liz and I about our New Ground Collaboration!