I'm excited to be part of another show at the 40West Arts gallery, "Art of the Wheel." 40West Arts is just off Colfax - Highway 40 - and is part of the burgeoning West Colfax Corridor, which is now a Colorado Certified Creative District. In this show, they're celebrating more than a century of the wheel along this road, the longest commercial street in the country.
I had a lot of fun creating my piece for this show. I knew I wanted to embellish whatever wheel I chose with beads and thread, my favorite media. But what kind of wheel? Bicycle wheel? Skateboard wheel? Lawnmower wheel? I wanted something a little different, but something that had a connection to my life in Lakewood. Then I remembered the 3.5” computer diskettes I had saved from my years working in libraries. They were wheel-shaped (the inside, anyway), and a now long-forgotten part of one of our newest forms of transportation—the Internet, or Information Superhighway. Perfect!
Inside each 3.5” plastic case is a black, shiny flexible plastic disc with a metal center. I embellished the edges of these “wheels” with beads in a rainbow of colors, and then stitched designs with thread—a sort of hieroglyphics—on the surface. The discs are mounted on a board backing so that they are allowed to spin freely. And they are meant to be spun! The stitching is designed to be kaleidoscopic when spun. I love the idea of re-purposing, re-beautifying old objects. These discs were once used to move data—to transport ideas—but now are obsolete in that function. Now they are transformed into something new, beautiful, and fun.
I hope you'll come out to see the show! It runs July 29-August 29. The gallery is open Tuesdays through Saturdays, 1-4pm, and is located at 1560 Teller Street in Lakewood. Opening reception is Wednesday, July 29, from 5:30-7pm. Hope to see you there!
I had a lot of fun creating my piece for this show. I knew I wanted to embellish whatever wheel I chose with beads and thread, my favorite media. But what kind of wheel? Bicycle wheel? Skateboard wheel? Lawnmower wheel? I wanted something a little different, but something that had a connection to my life in Lakewood. Then I remembered the 3.5” computer diskettes I had saved from my years working in libraries. They were wheel-shaped (the inside, anyway), and a now long-forgotten part of one of our newest forms of transportation—the Internet, or Information Superhighway. Perfect!
Inside each 3.5” plastic case is a black, shiny flexible plastic disc with a metal center. I embellished the edges of these “wheels” with beads in a rainbow of colors, and then stitched designs with thread—a sort of hieroglyphics—on the surface. The discs are mounted on a board backing so that they are allowed to spin freely. And they are meant to be spun! The stitching is designed to be kaleidoscopic when spun. I love the idea of re-purposing, re-beautifying old objects. These discs were once used to move data—to transport ideas—but now are obsolete in that function. Now they are transformed into something new, beautiful, and fun.
I hope you'll come out to see the show! It runs July 29-August 29. The gallery is open Tuesdays through Saturdays, 1-4pm, and is located at 1560 Teller Street in Lakewood. Opening reception is Wednesday, July 29, from 5:30-7pm. Hope to see you there!
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