“Brilliance” at Wayne Art Center
Jurors, Carolyn Ducey, Ann Johnston and Bruce Pepich reviewed over 800 images from which 50 pieces, including “Brilliance”, were selected for Art Quilt Elements 2024. Frequently I shy away from quilt identification but this show makes a commitment to present and celebrate this medium as a fine art form. On view through April 27, 2024.
Wayne Art Center
413 Maplewood Avenue Wayne, Pennsylvania 19087 610.688.3553
CICELY AIKMAN: From Friendship to Florida
on view until April 14, 2024 at the Caldbeck Gallery.
Open for First Friday: April 5th, 5 – 7 PM
Cicely Aikman (1923-2013) as a painter and as my stepmother had a strong and supportive impact on my work. Her fierce individuality encouraged my search for my own distinct voice. Please visit and enjoy her web site and work at cicelyaikman.com
Cicely’s free and lush use of form, line and color has had a great and lasting impact on how I see the world -and how I think as I work. She is in my mind when I take pleasure in a moment of light, when I discern the uniqueness of a shade, and the simplicity of a curve. She was a master in paint before her time. …Deidre Scherer
“Holding Our Own”
My series, “Surrounded by Family and Friends” is featured in Camilla Rockwell’s documentary film, HOLDING OUR OWN: EMBRACING THE END OF LIFE, which was screened at the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, and broadcast on Vermont Public Television. It is now viewable for free on YouTube.
HOLDING OUR OWN is still available as a DVD through Producer/Director Camilla Rockwell at rockwellcamilla@gmail.com
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My Work is Represented at Mitchell-Giddings Fine Arts
Mitchell Gidding Fine Arts, 181 Main Street, Brattleboro, VT 05301 802.251.8290
Acquisition by the RISD Museum
“Sisters, Sitting”, my thread-on-fabric work, is now in the collection of the Rhode Island School of Design Museum at 20 N. Main Street in Providence, RI. Created in honor of Hildegard Bachert and Edith Schnabel, this double portrait was recently donated by Dorothy Kerzner Lipsky.
“I have such deep appreciation for Deidre’s stunning work and for Dorothy’s support and generosity in bringing this wonderful piece to the RISD Museum. …So striking! I’m transported by the level of detail overall, but especially in the sisters’ eyes, which reveal such profundity, humanity, and personality. And the hand gestures! So much to pore over and to feel…”
…Kate Irvin, Curator and Department Head, Textiles, RISD Museum
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Acquisition: Bennington Museum
My thread on fabric work, “Stories”, has been officially added to the Bennington Museum’s permanent collection through the generous donation of collectors, Sharron and Frank Kropa. In 1988, a detail of “Stories” appeared on the cover of Threads Magazine along with a six page article that I wrote about my work. The Bennington Museum is located at 75 Main Street, Bennington, VT 05201 Phone: 802.447.1571
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Acquired by the Racine Museum
“Hands of Light”, a collaboration I did with Jackie Abrams, is part of the permanent collection of the Racine Museum of Art. Currently it’s in an exhibition titled Vignettes: Concentrated Views of RAM’s Collection, which runs through August 19, 2023. For more information, visit Racine Art Museum, 441 Main Street, Racine, WI 53403 Phone: 262.638.8300
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Exhibition at Mobilia Gallery
Jackie Abrams and Deidre Scherer’s Collaborations
continuing….
Four of our vessel collaborations are featured in honor of Jackie Abrams’ legacy. Jackie and I spent two years creating together and making 20 collaborative pieces many of which have found homes such as the Racine Art Museum in Wisconsin. For information on location and hours, visit Mobilia Gallery, 348 Huron Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02138. Phone: 617 876.2109
“Connection”
This commission of two clasped hands is based on a deep and loving relationship that has spanned many years. I fulfilled and framed this work after the fracture of my right wrist (six weeks in a cast and six weeks in physical therapy to regain my strength and dexterity) … it’s as if the strength of their connection resonated in my healing. Now, available as a print.
Commissioned Portrait
In 2021, I began and completed a commission to honor a family’s patriarch in “Paternal Portrait”.
Double Portrait
Starting with a photo shoot in October 2018, I began a project to immortalize two creative women and their relationship. This commission proved to be an adventure that only was completed in July 2020 when Edie and Jackie received their portrait.
In their own words: “I feel the spirituality in you that expresses itself in the meditative way you perceive and relate to us as individuals and as a couple. I feel seen, understood, accepted, and respected.” …Jackie
“There is a gentleness and unity in the narrative that you tell in this portrait. …the image-maker and the sitters equally strong in their creative agency. Your work of thread on fabric holds the DNA of our women’s culture within its design, medium, and subject matter.” …Edie
Everyday Mermaid is Available!
California poet and friend Christina Isobel and I have been working on our book collaboration for many years. In responding visually to her poetry, I discovered a vibrant language of symbolic abstraction. Now we are PUBLISHED -to order a copy, visit Christina’s Amazon page!
MY WORK ON COVERS:
My work, CHILD AND MOTHER, is featured on the inside cover of the Plough Quarterly’s Winter Issue 2021 which focuses on disability: www.plough.com
Fred F. Scherer, Artist, Diorama Painter, 1915 – 2013
March 1st was the 108th anniversary of Fred F. Scherer’s birthday!
My father was an early and steady influence on my art making. As a child, I’d play hooky by commuting with him down to the American Museum of Natural History in New York City where I’d spend the day roaming the halls while he painted. Many times I’d sit on the edge of a diorama watching him work. 2018 is the 103rd anniversary of his birth. I welcome and encourage you to visit and celebrate his life’s work: fredfscherer.com