Show Title: “The Maze of Me”
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A statement by the Artist, Lee Langdon
I consider this show to be a graduating portfolio. I am a self-taught fiber artist, understanding that self-taught only means not using an art school or university program. During the pandemic I was blessed to be able to explore many media and techniques, utilizing CreativeBug (offered for free through our County Library), You-Tube, Instagram and several guided forays with two different groups of artists meeting over Zoom. As a result, each piece is quite different in color, media, subject matter and approach. Looking at the whole, though one can see that each reflects a different part of my personality, as well as my history. Army Brats move around a lot, and by staying in my home in Sudden Valley for the fifteen months of the pandemic, I was able to experience the changes in light through the winter, the routines of the seasons, and how art enlarges a tiny existence.
I was able to explore my own family history, through Ancestry.com (again, from our library) but looked at it from the mothers’ perspective. I had grown up only knowing my family back to my immigrant grandparents. Now I had the names of three more grands and great-grands. Adding my own grandchild to the mix, I could trace mothers through 6 generations. I captured this in the deeply personal “Family Threads.”
An offhand comment about my dress resulted in two pieces. I would love to dress as a Rich Bohemian, though I make do with “artsy clothes” and “wearable art”. My extreme traveling is the source of “Woven Circle” which I completed in a weaving class in New Zealand. And while traveling, I often check out native dress. I was bemoaning our lack of such when I realized that jeans and a tee shirt is our “national dress”…an homage to Denim and Blue Jeans.
I am proud to be a bleeding-heart liberal, and spend many hours working for social justice. My reasoning is less political than emotional…my heart goes out to so many people who have less than I do…particularly the sick and dying. With COVID so brutal, I wanted to capture all those emotions.
And while I am less nature and the environment-oriented than many of my friends, I must acknowledge Sudden Valley’s impact on my soul. The birds and the tree reflect that part of who I am.
So I have gone through a maze to get to this ripe age; this show might amaze you in capturing such a varied life: Army Brat, Corporate Executive, Mother, Daughter, Sister, step-Mother, Grandmother, Board Member, Seeker, and Artist.