August 23 – November 16, 2014 | Jerome J. Crowley Community Gallery
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TzIumBjHtF0
Reception | Friday, October 3 | 5:00 – 9:00 p.m.
Please join us for a free, family-friendly evening of fun! Meet artist Christi Ziebarth and work together to make your own colorful buttons. She’ll also be available to discuss her work and abolitionART. Meet artists. Make art. Discover fun!
Inspired by true-life tales of present day children in the fishing industry of Lake Volta, Ghana, West Africa, this exhibition celebrates freedom one child at a time. Mother/daughter artist team, Dianna Williams and Christi Ziebarth bring a collection of hand-crafted textile and hand-cut acrylic-mosaic in colorful and rhythm-rich variety as a visual voice for the voiceless.
Over the past four years, the artists and their work have traveled to galleries, schools, churches, conferences, and community events raising educational awareness for present day abolition efforts around the world. Their message raises high the value of the “ripple effect” set in motion by care and compassion.
Dianna Williams, of Warsaw, Indiana, received Fine Art and Business degrees from Saint Cloud State University with a minor in Weaving Arts. A business owner of “Finery—Fine Sewing for Special Occasions”, Dianna extends creative talents into every aspect of life including the fine arts arena. “My current work is not quiet—using unlikely tactile media in unexpected ways to develop energy and evoke a response from the viewer. I splice together materials which conform to my designs, rather than limiting my ideas to what a single media can deliver. The topics and titles of the artwork in this series are meant to generate questions and raise awareness about desperate circumstances of children who have no voices…and ultimately to celebrate their hope and freedom.”
Christi Ziebarth attributes her stylization to years of teaching art where she found creative curiosity was illuminated when students were submerged in color-play or fitting shapes together. She took these two elements into the studio and developed her signature mosaic style in response. “Each piece has its place and purpose. There is a life-breathing value when each part belongs to one another. Everyone can relate to this journey of finding a place to call home.” Her works trace themes of family-bonds, cultural distinctives, visual narratives of biblical truths, and social justice. Recent commissions titled “Collaborative Community Art” include large-scale public works where community takes part in the creation of the acrylic color blends while the final work is pieced together in studio. Her most recent work for the Limitless Park of Winona involved 400 children in the creation process.
images: top: Dianna Williams, Caught in the Moment, 2013, multi-fabrics, machine appliqued bag wall-hanging 33″ x 52″
above, right: Christi Ziebarth, Liberation Viniette, 2013, hand-cut acrylic mosaic, 42″ x 42″
Learn more about the topic of child slavery in this New York Times article and this one from The Guardian.
