Jan Radesky has been experimenting with fabrics since she was eight. The techniques she uses now, including Japanese sashiko, Chinese brush painting and fabric collage, grew out of childhood collages with magazines and paper. Sashiko means “little stab,” and uses a special needle and thread to create designs and patterns on traditional indigo fabric. Chinese brush painting is made with sumi ink and ink brushes on rice paper.
As a child, what Jan remembers most is “doing art: I loved to color, draw, paint, sew doll clothes, create something out of nothing … it didn’t matter what. Art was a chance to pretend, work with my hands, create, and be alone with my thoughts.” Through high school and college, she says, “I found that I loved to work in textiles, paper, wood, ink and watercolor.” Today, her fabric art process includes cutting small pieces of fabric, placing them on cotton muslin, gluing them down, and sewing them free-motion with a sewing machine.
Her exhibit at the Marilyn Citron O‘Rourke Gallery at the Benicia Library opens December 4th and goes through January 3rd, with a reception December 9, 1-4pm. The show is called The West Meets East, and is reflective of Jan’s thought process about the directions in culture, including the dwindling usage of words in the age of selfies. She reflects, “‘Thoughtful’ would be the word that best describes me. I carry around a thought, an idea, a scrap of paper for months, weeks, sometimes years until I find a way to express it. I use fabric, paint and any thing else in my environment that will portray the message that l have thought deeply about.” This exhibit will be Jan’s first solo show.
Art Exhibit: Fabric Art
The West Meets East
Jan Radesky
Dec. 4, 2018-Jan. 3, 2019
Reception Dec. 9, 1-4pm
Benicia Public Library
150 East L Street
Benicia, CA 94510
707-746-4343
www.benicialibrary.org/gallery
Hours:
Monday-Thursday 10am to 9pm
Friday-Sunday Noon—6pm
