STACY BOGDONOFF

Introduction:

         I am writing this in May 2021 and would be remiss not to note the year we’ve all just experienced.  Covid hit the city, and the world, like a thunderbolt in February 2020 and everyone had to deal with fear, loss, anxiety, stress, and change.  TSGNY members have not met in person for over a year, museums and galleries were shuttered, and the world shrank to the size of a laptop screen.  Yet, there were some benefits to be found and I am grateful for the extended time I had in my art studio. 

Tell us something about your background:

         I earned a BFA in painting and photography from Syracuse University and came to NYC to be a waitress.  That’s what artists did back in the mid-70’s.  Little steps and segues led to a thirty-year career as a food entrepreneur with a side gig as an artist.  While building a business and raising a family, I always maintained a studio and worked with mixed media in different directions.  By 2015 I was able to devote my attention full time to my studio practice. 

 
How did you come to work in fiber?

         An early series of small collages (actually inspired by TSGNY show at The Finn Gallery in Greenwich, CT.) brought me to work with paper, textiles, tape, adhesives, silk, perforations, burlap, paint, printing, and amber shellac.  Burlap emerged as a motivating medium, and I began to manipulate and move the warp and weft to re-form it.  I quickly realized I needed a taut warp to use as my ‘canvas’ so took a course in rigid heddle weaving and began working into the static field of vertical threads in front of me.  I didn’t advance the warp to weave a length of fabric.  Instead, I painted the warp, blocked off certain areas, and began to use different media for weft and filling in the field.  My current work uses this rigid heddle loom, stretched rug tufting canvas, and quilt-like collages combining paper and textiles. 

Who/what inspires you?

         As I delved deeper into my studio practice, I found myself searching for the ‘why’ of making art.  I was very comfortable working with non-representational, abstract components of art.  I could choose shapes, colors, mix media, and create texture - and the results worked visually but lacked emotional connection and expression.  Technique and material could always grab my attention and fuel ideas but  I found myself searching for  a more personal motivation for my creativity:  I needed to merge my art and my identity.  I was seeking authenticity and truth, boundaries, and a structure within which to create. 

I looked at my past work, my deep well of ideas, the artists I admired, the conversations I was having, the text I was reading, the things I was noticing and recording.  I saw a theme emerge and I honed-in on it.  I realized I was exploring the theme of “Home and Shelter”.  I was making art about the shifting foundation of home and how it changes as we age, lose people, add generations, move, and re-settle.  How we continuously redefine home and our need for safety.  How shelter evolves as life changes, and how home adapts and protects us through these stages. 

         An on-going series I’m working on is titled “Nine Ovals, Eighteen Houses, and Fifty Vertical Spaces”.  The work is not representational and not all woven, but the theme is consistent and ties it all together.

Tell us about your process:

         I tend to work on several pieces at once.  This keeps my hands, back, mind, heart, and eyes fresh.  My work takes a long time to complete and generally goes through three stages:

·      First: landing on the idea.

·      Second: finding the materials and technique that are graceful and right for the concept. (There can be many false starts and abandoned attempts at this stage.)

·      Third: the long execution process.  When I get to this last stage I work carefully and deliberately and am generally satisfied with the final result.

     I don’t often put a lot of time into something that fails.  The failures come at the second stage when I’m searching for the intersection of concept, materials, technique, and execution. 

  I’m trying to work larger these days and my latest piece is 60”x48”.

I also try to be ambitious.  I don’t want to repeat myself or make safe, pleasing art.  For instance, I know I’m comfortable with natural colors and textures; that’s an area where I succeed. So, to challenge myself, I forced myself to work with baby pink and sky blue in this piece.  I don’t think it’s entirely successful, but I stretched myself and that was the goal.

  Like many artists, one piece leads to another.  One idea can feed the next one, and one technique  - or accident in the studio -  can lead to the next piece.  “That Happened” was originally going to be a vessel-type woven sculpture but, when I sewed the two woven sides together and opened them to create one large flat sheet, I found a whole new piece in my hands.  A completely different direction presented so I stopped and let the piece lead.  “That Happened” took me to my latest piece “One Less”, which incorporated the rolled woven edge, hand stitching, and a woven component from an earlier piece that hadn’t yet been used.

Making my art is an organic process. 

What are your current goals?

         I genuinely love my identity as an artist and living in this world of concepts and creation.  My time in the studio is pure pleasure.  I’m never lonely and always feel fulfilled and grateful when I’m deep into a project.  I get frustrated, disappointed, and fail … but I never question my deep motivation and love of making art. 

I am not as sanguine about the business of art and struggle with show applications, rejection, selling, the website, and building a reputation.  My current goals are to continue building this body of work, piece by finished piece, and find the galleries, shows, jurors, and clients who connect with my vision. I strive to make every day full, purposeful, and gratifying. 

www.StacyBogdonoff.com