In 2013, I was gifted an (atrocious) quilt top. Unfinished and unwanted, the quilt was made entirely of double knit polyester. It was the kind of quilt that every 80-year-old woman owns, made of squares of hot pink, caution orange and the occasional floral monstrosity. Yet, it was strangely alluring and I welcomed the challenge of creating pieces from something so obviously discarded.
What followed is a series of 50 thread Sketches, inspired by sections of the quilt I selectively curated. I am finding hope and comfort in taking something twice removed from its origin as a nefarious garment, the leisure suit. By redeeming these leisure suit blocks to a position where they are noticed, I am elevating them.
take care is a set of two 'yard signs' made from an abandoned corduroy quilt. Embroidered in French knots, this simple installation extends a common Midwestern greeting to all in isolation. From our little family to yours, take care.
ART-IN-PLACE (AIP) is an initiative of CNL Projects and Terrain Exhibitions. AIP was inspired by the generosity of artists and the power of art to transform and connect us.
take care was created for ART-IN-PLACE, an initive that invites artists to exhibit an original work of art outside their home or from a window visible to the public between May 20- June 20, 2020.
Visit https://www.cnlprojects.org/artinplace to view participating artists.
Art Week DSM - Emerald City - All Yards Art Show
take care will join #artweekdsm2020 June 19 - 26th for the All Yards Art Show in addition to a screening of work/play With lots of yards participating, the Greater Des Moines area will be transformed into DSM Emerald City. Driving, walking and biking through neighborhoods will provide unexpected surprises from a safe, social distance.
Visit https://www.rachelbuse.com/dsmemeraldcity.html for more information.
to set a place is a new work made of two found placemats with the embroidered text of ‘the orphan’ and ‘the foreigner’. This socially engaged work will be displayed in galleries and will travel into peoples homes. This works intention is to reflect on what it means to be hospitable and what it looks like to set a place for ‘the other’. Included with this work is a notebook filled with prompts and the reflections of previous participants.
To set a place attempts to cultivate avenues for social inclusion through a call to radical hospitality. It begins a discourse about the value of diversity at our tables and in our institutions. Through the process of personal reflection of our own ‘otherness’ and the prompting to open our homes and institutions, this project aims to stimulate neighborly care for the marginalized in our communities.
To inquire about hosting this work in your home, workplace, or gallery please contact Catherine Reinhart at catherine342@gmail.com.
Textiles + Topography is a body of works comparing and contrasting topography and textiles. These pieces take the form of drawing, weaving, and sculptural works. The bulk of these works were created in May 2018 at a art & science residency at the Cedar Point Biological Station near Ogallala, NE. Through observation of the natural environment, immersion in the landscape through walking, and interactions with the researches at the biological station I created these works.
Conceptually, these works investigate the relationship of the real - specifically land topography and weavings, and the ideal - the systems used in cartography and weaving draft drawings.
What non- physical or digital systems do we use to understand and catalogue the land on a macro scale?
How is this data translated visually and how do these images relate to textile and woven structures?
MFA Thesis Exhibit
March 12 -16th, 2012
University of Kansas
Lawrence, Kansas
U.S.A
To touch a hem.
To be hewn
Behind and before.
Bathed in brilliant light.
Enveloped.
Surrounded by fabric.
Vaporous threads.
There is a space between ceiling and floor.
A liminal existence which radiates Life.
Fragile yet glorious.
An exploration of the unknowable
