Transition

by Sawtooth School for Visual Art's Artist of the Year - B. Jane Doub

To provide us with insight to the textile piece I have created as Artist of the Year, "Transition" is defined as a movement, development, or evolution from one form, stage, or style to another. Color and texture move across the artwork through the use of painting techniques and different yarns. I am fascinated by the contrast in the surfaces, texture and colors. I achieve my vision when the elements are combined and a cohesive work of art is created.

The wall piece is a combination of two different types of fiber. The horizontal strips are hand woven of cotton and rayon yarns. Each strip is an evolution of color and texture.

The vertical bands begin as a large piece of canvas. The canvas is hand painted in a color movement using textile pigments. The canvas is cut into sections and the edges are finished to prevent fraying.

To complete the wall piece, the woven and hand painted strips are woven together and secured onto a foam core board that is covered with a black silk noil fabric. The piece is mounted on an off-white archival mat and is floated behind a second mat of the same style. The piece is framed in a square black wood frame.

This 21" x 21" fiber piece can be displayed almost anyway, but take caution not to place it in direct sunlight.

The Artist of the Year is nominated by a committee of Winston-Salem arts professionals and patrons, and their recommendation is then reviewed and approved by the Board of Directors of the Sawtooth School for Visual Art.  Working closely with the artist-elect, the Committee and Sawtooth's staff plan and execute all aspects of the year-long program.  The year begins with the release of an art work-in-edition created by the artist, and culminates with an exhibition of that artist's work.  During the year, the artist is the subject of news features in both local and regional media, and serves as juror for Sawtooth's annual student show.

The Sawtooth School for Visual Art was formed in 1945 as the Arts and Crafts Workshop, and serves as the premier community school of visual art in the NC Triad.  The School employs professional artists to instruct students aged three to ninety through classes and workshops in a wide variety of visual media.  The Artist of the Year Program was initiated in 1987 with seed money from the John Wesley and Anna Hodgin Hanes Foundation.  In recognition of the great diversity of art produced in the Triad, the Artist of the Year program considers candidates working in all media, technical and aesthetic approaches to craft and visual art.  The purpose of the program is to celebrate individual artistic achievement and recognize an area artist with long involvement in art education.

During the years of the program, artists working with the media of book arts, ceramics, fibers, metals, painting, photography, drawing, sculpture and glass have been honored.  Regardless of their visual discipline, all honorees have demonstrated the highest caliber of quality and unsurpassed commitment to arts education.