HARRIET CHENEY
The Receptacle Project

I have a destination and I wend my way slowly. Figuring it out is half the fun! I tell myself that we are all on a path, whatever we choose to call it. Mine is through art, and I hope it leads to healing and personal growth. 

I am primarily an assembler. Ideas carry me forward like wings. Working with my hands is therapeutic. It connects me materially and spiritually to past generations of makers. It roots me like a tree. I love working with wood and metal even though I just feel my way through it. Wild Plum is a wild experiment. I love drilling and hammering--I am untrained in woodworking/carpentry but I don’t let that stop me. I think that too often technique gets in the way of authenticity. 

I was born with a pencil in my hand. From an early age, I drew fashion illustrations, sorted into different categories: evening gowns, lingerie, etc. I built detailed cities with poster cardboard and tape. My father went gaga over my projects; I grew up feeling that his love was conditional on my constant creative output. He is long gone but I’m still trying to please him. 

I majored in painting at the University of the Arts, in Philadelphia, and did work towards an MS in Art Therapy at Pratt Institute. I worked professionally as a creative director and copywriter while my daughters were school-aged. I’ve always been a generator of ideas and a person who gets things done. I’m a recovering perfectionist and I face this down every day.  

Working in fiber has helped to loosen me up because I make it up and have fun as I go along. Mamoushka is one of my earliest fiber pieces. It still speaks to me because it expresses something seminal about being female. A friend once remarked that it looked like a woman in a babushka and I have never looked at it the same way again. It connects me to countless generations of my Eastern European ancestors. I see this piece as archetypal. It flowed from my hands without a conscious recognition of what I was making.

Wooden Blanket, Calico Cornfield, and Wakan Tanka II are pieces in my ongoing series, Wakan Tanka, The Great Spirit. This series represents a departure from ego-driven art and from questions of good/bad, black/white. These pieces transport me from material-based reality into a preferred world of beauty and spirit. 

I honor Native American traditions, myths, art, and the exquisite respect for nature. I respond deeply to the simple geometry of ancient people and the mysteries lying outside our perception.

So, too, I am influenced by the work of Hilma af Klint, the mystical Swedish artist among the first known western abstract painters. These works represent earth, sky, and growth. It doesn’t get more perfect than nature.

I truly believe all art is political and can influence the direction of events. I am pleased to be part of an ongoing SAQA global exhibition called Forced to Flee, focused on refugee issues. One of my pieces, Pogrom, has been traveling since 2018 to various venues. I’ve done other political pieces, most of which focus on the environment. Losing Green is from my green period, when every project dealt with the environment. Green is my touchstone. I’ll always need to return to it. 

 My strongest focus right now is my participatory assemblage, The Receptacle Project. I ask you to participate. Art, in its many forms, has been my salvation, as well as my passion. It has given me a place to put my feelings — good and bad — for safekeeping. The Receptacle Project is a growing installation of recycled Quaker Oats canisters, which I then weave, sew, and bead. It came from a groundswell of personal hurt. I often write it out to help process feelings. When I am stuck on a meat hook, unable to deal with my baggage, I simply put my thoughts for healing into a receptacle. It helps me and perhaps it can help you. 

Here’s how you can be a part of this project: Please write a positive message on a slip of paper, and seal it for privacy. It can be a blessing for the universe or a wish for personal growth. Your message will sit with other positive messages within the receptacles. 

It’s more important than ever for each of us to take responsibility for our current state of cynicism by practicing kindness, love, and generosity. My intention is that the energy generated by so many positive thoughts will help heal the world. We can — at least — give it a try. 

Mail your message to: The Receptacle Project, PO Box 117, Ardsley, NY, 10502-0117. Thank you in advance. 

www.harrietcheney.com