Through August 4
Free
Leepa-Rattner Museum of Art
Tarpon Springs
Details here
Surface Design =
The coloring, patterning, structuring and
transformation of fabric, fiber and other materials.
The Leepa-Rattner’s summer exhibit of fiber art has a dual purpose. Interwoven Legacies celebrates 25 years of the Tampa Bay Surface Design Guild.
It also honors the life and work of its founding President Marlene Glickman, 74, who passed away unexpectedly last May.
I had the pleasure of meeting Marlene many years ago when I took a quick class and dyed a silk scarf in a plastic bag at a Florida CraftArt Festival under a tent in downtown St. Petersburg. A passionate educator with 40+ years of research, learning and teaching,
Marlene was welcoming and shared her knowledge of fiber craft art. I didn’t join the Guild then, but became a member this past December, regretfully after Marlene had passed.
She introduced hundreds to making art with fabric, dyes and 3-dimensional designs throughout the U.S. Over the years, she inspired others who create, some who became established fiber artists. All, like Marlene, share their knowledge and techniques – and encourage creativity and innovation within the Guild.
Marlene Glickman is recognized for her signature Color Series: Day by Day-Pieces of Life artwork consisting of 26 panels with 365 fiber collages (12’ x 7’) in 13 colors from the color wheel. One of the prominent artworks from the series was acquired by the U.S. State Department for the permanent collection of the American Embassy in Sudan.
Showcasing Fiber Art
This fiber exhibit came to be as a result of a workshop collaboration between LRMA’s Curator Sara Felice and fiber artist Leeann Kroetsch, who stepped in as co-president of the Tampa Bay Surface Design Guild with Aida Sheets, after Marlene’s passing. As Sara says in her Curator’s Note, her interaction with fiber arts, traditionally viewed as “lesser, low art, or ‘women’s work,’ was limited.
The Guild “served as a catalyst to shatter my expectations, reshape my perspective and transform all preconceived notions I held about surface design,” she writes. “Accomplishing this through the joy of learning and embracing a free-flowing exchange of ideas, the guild serves to enrich the greater community through their love of all things creative.”
Interwoven Legacies brings together a total of 77 pieces that includes Marlene Glickman’s work and pieces by 33 members of the Guild. On display are colorful quilts, clothing (kimonos and scarves) and wall hangings created in many media and techniques such as printing, weaving, dyeing, embroidery, felting, block printing, screen printing, digital printing, shibori and other surface design.
Guild members featured in the exhibit are Joanne Baxter, Carol Bickford, Kate Bird, Sarah Butz, Debra Campbell, June Colburn, Linda Dawson, Cheryl Day, Sherry Dorst, Kathleen Fulmer, Marlene Glickman, Patricia Grice, Barbara Hacker, Bonnie Hacker, Barbara Kazanis, Angie Knowles, Leeann Kroetsch, Rebecca Ludwig, Susan Lumsden, Dana Maley, Davida Milne, Elizabeth Neily, Kathleen Peel, Pauline Salzman, Norma Santiago, Aida Sheets, Cathy Simms, Emily Stehle, Mei-Ling St. Leger, Patricia Toscano, Bonnie Ward, Peggy Wertheim and Barbara Williams.
Marlene’s Legacy
Marlene Glickman’s art pieces are in the newly renamed James W. Mitchell Jr. Exhibition Gallery.
Marlene created this quilt after the death of her daughter Chehalis Glickman (1979-1994) from cancer. “After her passing, I grabbed at creating something and returned to fabric art,” she wrote.
“My heartstrings still tug joyfully and tearfully at unexpected times, especially now while making this quilt, using her clothing and jewelry for the hearts, and remembering and writing about our times together.”
Posthumorous Collaboration, 2024
“This should really read ‘posthumous,’” says Elizabeth Neily with a chuckle, “But it came out posthumorous and I kept that title because Marlene would’ve liked that.”
Elizabeth inherited boxes of Marlene’s fabric, some of it already color-coded, and found several pieces already completed. She put together the red strip, added more black. And then she started embellishing with beads.
“Some of it was hers, some of it is mine,” Elizabeth explains. “What wasn’t finished, I added.”
Elizabeth says working on this collaborative color piece was “very meaningful in that it really gave me a connection to Marlene.” Marlene was “a very enthusiastic, inspiring person. I met her at the Guild about 8-9 years ago when I joined.”
Marlene’s Gifts
These items are mementos that Marlene gifted to friends, her family, colleagues and Guild members.
Last in the group is a doll-like figure with 6 arms!
Work by Members of the
Tampa Bay Surface Design Guild
The kimono jacket Barbara Williams designed was created from pieces of fabric started by Marlene.
Interwoven Legacies is a testament of a woman’s passion for color, creativity and teaching and how that can enrich a community. Celebrating 25 years, the Tampa Bay Surface Design Guild, as an artist collective, will continue to inspire and teach others through their love of all things creative.
Through August 4
Free
Leepa-Rattner Museum of Art
St. Petersburg College, Tarpon Springs Campus
600 E Klosterman Rd.
Tarpon Springs FL 34689
727-712-5762
Admission is free, donations are welcome
Hours
10 am-5 pm Tuesday-Saturday
1-5 pm Sunday
Special Event
Fashionable Legacies:
Showcasing Tampa Bay Surface Design Guild Wearable Art
6-8 pm Friday, July 26
Refreshments at 6 pm
Show at 7 pm
RSVP by July 25
Details and ticket information here
