Playing With Scissors

Thought I'd share a few images of my Bound Scissors out in the wild. Playing with scissors is a safe activity as long as they're bound and stitched up tight! I'm pleased that this interactive piece has now been exhibited in three venues, a year ago in Touch: Interactive Craft, this past January in Material As Medium, and this weekend as part of Play, an all media exhibition at the SAA Collective in Springfield, Illinois. 

The exhibition Play was juried by Bob Dixon, an ceramicist and retired professor from Benedictine University. Play is the spontaneous, unstructured time found to foster creativity and problem-solving skills. As we grow up we tend to trivialize play and relegate it to childhood, but it’s an important element of life at any age. The exhibit features work not only about play in the traditional sense, but also the idea of being in the moment, of inspiring wonder, of invoking your natural curiosity. The viewers are encouraged to interact and play with many of the pieces on exhibit.

PLAY: All Media Exhibition

SAA Collective / H.D. Smith Gallery / Springfield, IL

March 10 - 31, 2017 

Opening reception March 11 / 5:30 - 7:30 pm

Participating artists: Bruce Alves, Lex Archibald, Piety Choi, Betsy Dollar, Lauren Feret, Cathy Ganschinietz, John Hayes, Tessa Martinez, Corrin Smithson McWhirter, Beth Rodgers, Suzanna Scott

Thank you to all of you who've shared your images of Bound Scissors via social media. #boundscissorproject

 

Image by Adele Stuckey

Image by Leslie Mounaime

Image by Katie Riggs

Image by Arrowmont School of Arts & Crafts

Image by Arrowmont School of Arts & Crafts

Touch: Interactive Craft

I'm pleased to announce that my collection, Bound Scissors, will be included in an upcoming exhibit at the Arrowmont Galleries in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. Touch: Interactive Craft will be a unique experience as the premise of the exhibit is to encourage the viewer to touch and interact with the work.

Touch: Interactive Craft

January 16 – March 11, 2016

Opening reception: Friday January 22, 5:00 – 8:00pm, Juror Talk at 7:00pm

Binding Scissors

Every time I set foot in a thrift shop I tend to find pair or two of used scissors. My attraction to them is not need-based as most of them don't even cut well. I'm collecting them as objects with a past usefulness, handled and worn--a universal tool. My box of scissors has filled over the years and a couple months ago I decided to utilize them in a new project.

 

I'm taking each scissor and binding it tightly with strips of old sari cloth. I chose this material as my paternal family history is tightly bound to the country of India. As the scissors are wrapped they are rendered useless. Only the form remains as a recognizable symbol of its past use. They are now a simple object, a fetish that resembles the phallus. After the scissor is wound with cloth I hand stitch it to prevent unraveling and to lend the tactile nature of sutures to the castrated tool. The scissor is now secure in its mummified form. It has become a phallic symbol of life--scarred yet potent.

This is only the beginning. I continue to pick up scissors and add them to the box with others waiting for a new skin. Since sharing the project on social media I've received more scissors from around the country. A big thank you to everyone who has sent me a pair or two or more! One day I intend to exhibit these fetishes as a collection but for now I will continue to bind a pair a day.