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August Issue 2008
Plum Elements in Charleston, SC, Features
Works by Rose Wirtz
Plum
Elements in Charleston, SC, is presenting the exhibit, From
the Woods and Fields Natural Pigments in Painting and Fibers by
Rose Wirtz, featuring a collection of works by local Charleston
artist Rose Wirtz, on view through Sept. 27, 2008.
Nature is the best place to begin when discussing Wirtz's work. Her modes and mediums are varied but the beginning point and the ending point are the elements that lure us to wood and field - carpets of soft moss or blankets of bright flowers. In addition to her work as senior illustrator for a custom handmade rug company based in New York, Wirtz works her wonders by first creating dyes from organic materials.
The exhibition offers a range of Wirtz's creations from her natural pigment paintings, basketry and fiber work. She explained that to make her dyes for her paintings or to dye the fibers for her textile pieces she simmers and reduces organic materials - such as mushrooms, onion skins, indigo, flowers and even maple bark for a period of days or weeks, coaxing the material until it is a palette of color that feels alive. Like nature, "nothing is predictable," said Wirtz. "When painting on paper, some of the dyes are transparent - black walnut creeps like it's sending out roots, soot masks, onion vanishes, and osage orange glows." Wirtz further explained, "Each dye has it's own characteristics and personality that makes each painting session unique."
Wirtz's paintings are more subtle in color, while some of the natural fibers enable brilliant color. She uses her carefully mixed pigments on cotton, linen, silk, wool, jute, raffia, hand spun wool and even dog hair for her hooked pieces.
For more than 12 years Wirtz has been studying and writing about natural dyes and fiber techniques. As a result of this passion, she explains she has become an "artistic wanderer." Her research has taken her across the US and even to the rain forests in Venezuala. "I travel down the road and the woods call to me," said Wirtz. As she talks about "an abundance of fallen branches, fading petals, weeds, detached lichens" it's easy to see each one stirring up something new for her to experiment and discover.
Wirtz's work has been exhibited at the Brunnier
Art Museum, American Folk Art Museum and the Onna Village Museum
in Okinawa, Japan. Her BFA is from the Parsons School of Design
in New York.
For further info check our SC Commercial Gallery listings,
call the gallery at 843/727-3747 or e-mail to (info@plumelements.com).
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