SAAM presented a virtual program series featuring artists Lauren Fensterstock, Timothy Horn, Debora Moore, and Rowland Ricketts as part of Forces of Nature: Renwick Invitational 2020. Each of these invited artists looks to nature as a way to contemplate what it means to be human in a world increasingly chaotic and divorced from our physical landscape. Representing craft media from fiber to mosaic to glass and metals, these artists approach the long history of art’s engagement with the natural world through unconventional and highly personal perspectives. Enjoy programming that ranges from artist conversations with curators to workshops and studio tours.
Artist Conversation with Rowland Ricketts
On Tuesday, December 8, SAAM presented a lively online conversation with artist RowlandRicketts and exhibition guest curator EmilyZilber. Discover how Ricketts’s farm-to-studio artistic practice uses natural dyes and historical techniques to create contemporary textiles and immersive site-specific installations.
This program is presented in partnership with the George Washington University Museum and The Textile Museum.
Artist Conversation with Debora Moore
On Thursday, January 28, 2021, SAAM presented an engaging online conversation with artist Debora Moore. Discover the beauty and wonder of the natural world through Moore's spectacular glass sculptures. In this lively conversation, Moore discusses her creative process and work featured in Forces of Nature with Stefano Catalani, exhibition juror and executive director of the Gage Academy of Art in Seattle. Learn more about Moore’s history as a trailblazer in the glass field, and why experiencing nature is key to her development as an artist.
The Smithsonian Women's Committee Endowment provided generous funding for Forces of Nature: Renwick Invitational 2020 public programs.
Artist Workshop with Timothy Horn
On Thursday, February 11, 2021, SAAM presented a virtual workshop hosted by artist Timothy Horn. Learn how Horn creates his large-scale adornments that combine decorative arts, science, and history. Then follow along as he shares his techniques and leads a tutorial on how to make your own dazzling embellished creations.
Materials that might be helpful for this activity:
- Rhinestones or Swarovski crystals (various sizes)
- Beads (various sizes)
- Floral wire (1)
- Jewelry pliers (1)
- Jewelry tweezers (1)
- Brooch pin back
- Hot glue gun or strong craft glue
The Smithsonian Women's Committee Endowment provided generous funding for Forces of Nature: Renwick Invitational 2020 public programs.
Artist Conversation with Lauren Fensterstock
On Thursday, April 29, 2021, SAAM presented an engaging online conversation with artist Lauren Fensterstock. Discover the wonders of the celestial world with Fensterstock, and guest curator Emily Zilber. Fensterstock’s large-scale installation at the Renwick Gallery is a dazzling mosaic of obsidian, glass, and crystals. Learn more about the artist’s creative process; how the sixteenth-century German manuscript, The Book of Miracles, inspired her current work; and how weather and celestial activity act as metaphors in our current age of changing climate.
The Smithsonian Women's Committee Endowment provided generous funding for Forces of Nature: Renwick Invitational 2020 public programs.
Studio Tour with Rowland Ricketts
On Thursday, May 20, 2021, SAAM presented an intimate behind-the-scenes look at the fascinating world of textile artist Rowland Ricketts. Ricketts invites us into his studio and guides us through his creative process. Enjoy an exclusive step-by-step tour and demonstration of how the artist harvests indigo using traditional Japanese farming techniques, dyes textiles in an environmentally conscious manner, and assembles his large-scale installations. Ricketts's multi-sensory installations also incorporate soundscapes composed by frequent collaborator Norbert Herber and participatory engagement from non-artists. There is something for everyone with this unique virtual look behind Rickett’s veil of indigo.
The Smithsonian Women's Committee Endowment provided generous funding for Forces of Nature: Renwick Invitational 2020 public programs.