Story Boas
Why
Art, like life, flows in unexpected and sometimes unnoticed ways. New chapters emerge unannounced. Sometimes you're in the middle of one before you know it has begun and you won't know what it's about until it's almost over. Nan's art flows out of an impulse, an insight, a thought, colors and words.
The Story Boas each took on the form of the old-fashioned feather boa, the classic talisman of showy beauty. They are heavy and are meant to be gently worn. They are full of color and sparkle, texture and shape.
The Story Boas are as quintessential 'Nan' as her work gets. They were created because giving things their due leads to further reflection, which in turn produces words and thoughts that deserve attention.
Nan’s boas are meant to make you curious about nature, about birds, about journeys, and about how we see ourselves in the world.
What
Beauty Boa
It began with a quote from Fran Lebowitz. "You look better than you’re ever going to look again." This launched a period of reflection on beauty, especially how we view it in modern western culture, but also things that Nan found beautiful, and even people who she found beautiful: Jane Goodall, Audrey Hepburn, Maya Angelo. This was the first chapter. The colors chosen were blues and greens for this piece.
Paris to Barcelona Boa
This piece flowed from a long road trip with two friends: Paris to Provence to Barcelona. A wrap-around like the other boas, it begins with the name of the first airline (overnight delay), the unexpected First Class seating, rerouting through Amsterdam… Eventually the whole trip - hotels, museums, special restaurants, people we met, wines we drank - every event was woven into the piece. It is decorated with charms and many other small items collected along the way. The idea for it originated from the beautiful ruby red Swarovski crystal neckless purchased for 3 euros at a flea market in a tiny hilltop village near the Mediterranean.
Making this piece allowed for a reflection on landscape, architecture, design, and most importantly, the journey: all through the lens of beauty. Red, it’s beautiful, isn’t it?
Ornithology Boa
Reflection on birds, the shapes and parts of their feathers, birds’ beauty in their environments, lead to the emergence of the piece. She studied their migrations, colors, and their feathers for herself but also through the lens of her father, a lover of journeys, and of birds. Each of these levels deserving of and receiving the touch of the "artists loving hand." (from Don McLean’s “Vincent”). Bead feathers and bright colors flowing and draping.
This work was begun November 2013, completed June 2014. and is made of several individual sections. One section contains the names of 93 different species of birds. One section the name of 27 individual parts of birds feathers or the purpose of that type of feather. Including 63 different original feather designs make another section. The words of each section hang from long ropes worked in tubular peyote stitch. The front centerpiece includes some needlepoint on 32 gauge silk gauze (1024 stitches per square inch.) The title of the work is also part of the centerpiece.
