March 6 – April 25, 2015 • Studio Gallery
Opening Reception: Friday, March 6, 6 – 8 pm
This whimsical and compelling exhibition explores a one-of-a-kind collection of designed and crafted boxes, each with a unique theme. Filled to their brim with mementos, antiques, souvenirs, and memorabilia, every box is a separate collection reflecting trips and places from the artist’s past. The boxes are astounding in their intricacy and how they confront issues with the detritus and details of everyday life.
Meet Artist Marcella Edmund
Saturday, March 21, 11 am – 4 pm
The artist will be available onsite for questions and discussion about her process in creating the works in this fascinating exhibition.
Collecting “little things” is as much a part of my creative practice as making objects. Tending to and displaying collections is a rewarding part of the activity. Collecting leads to self-education and social interaction, which are big words for Fun!
Every game needs a few rules; the “building” motif provides guidelines of shape and size.
The container must be flexible and provide easy access, to allow growth of the collection.
Looking for building forms gives me the excuse to travel all over the world…
–Marcella Edmund
ARTIST STATEMENT AND BIOGRAPHY
Raised in India, I thrived on the visual jungle that our family experienced. The bazaars, the bright saris of our Aiya, and the boxes of donated clothing from “Home” contained magic in their cloth.
Returning to the west was a shock as I spent my teens in Detroit, Michigan. Fortunately I enrolled in the Arts and Crafts program at Cass Tech, and I learned design, pottery, and jewelry making. My mother taught us sewing, knitting, and crochet, and I learned weaving on my own. My sisters and I discovered the Salvation Army thrift shops and spent happy times there, with side trips to the fabric stores.
I was awarded a BFA at Calvin College in 1978, and moved to Wisconsin for its natural beauty and small cities. I live in Eau Claire with my husband, Hugh Passow, and together we have the Antique Emporium, an old-school shop in an historic building. We are in the antique trade because we are collectors ourselves.
My creative practice flows in many directions, with fiber being my favorite medium. One of my artistic expressions is to create “homes” for certain things that I gather. Using carpentry and fiber arts techniques, I create small, realistic buildings of different cultural origins, and each new shelter inspires topics for my studies. Endowing a group of objects with an identifiable structure elevates the collecting practice and perpetuates it. This in turn aids me in the field to remain interested and entertained by the Hunt and the Find.
